Bita Rad

New Karl & Rick Owens sneaker collaboration.

If I had these pieces, I would dress like this everyday, for every occasion, for no particular reason.

Photographer : David Sims

Styling : Emmanuelle Alt

Model: Iselin Steiro. She rocks the hell out of this shoot.

Ok, but really. I lOoooVeee Kate Lanphear. Love love.  She was the Style Director of Elle Magazine US until recently and her street style photos are always on my inspiration boards. Not bad for a tomboy from Fairfax, Virginia…

“If you asked me who my style icons were, I’d say I began with old-school heavy metal. I love the androgyny and the glam. In high school I covered my bedroom walls with Axl Rose posters. Appetite for Destruction was out, and I trailed Guns N’ Roses’ tour bus in my Honda Civic (its plates read AXL LVR). I had these amazing, skinny, tight-enough-to- cut-off-your-circulation acid-wash jeans with an inky blue plastic zipper that ran up the seam, purchased at Spencer’s Gifts at the mall. I had begged my mom for them. They were part of a look: slouchy suede boots, oversize suede jacket, outrageous jeans. Breaking the suburbatopian mold by wearing metalhead garb definitely wasn’t something one did to fit in with the cool kids in Fairfax, Virginia.”

In the Summer of 2009 I moved to New York to design for DKNY Jeans at their design offices in the Meat Packing District. It was only a few months after I made the move that I was asked to move with them to Singapore. Here are some glimpses of fashion, the city’s culture, and my short but sweet life in my favorite city.

Shows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

During the Swine Flu breakout at Conde Nast

Me and the view from the  DKNY Jeans design offices at the 601 Building in Meat Packing.
I so miss this office!

And why?

As a fashion student at Otis, my general education courses were all very nontraditional. I was introduced to TED Talks, by one of my Digital Media teachers, as a requirement for study content for one of my papers. Ever since, it’s been one of my favorite sites to check on. For those of you who don’t know, it is a website of interesting and really random lectures by experts.

Here is a video I found today about fashion copyright, knock-offs, “inspiration” etc. by professor Johanna Blakley at USC.

Here are photos of some amazing work from Afghanistan that I took at a street market. The 5-yard long hand embroidered blankets blew my mind…

Insense…

Every now and then, while researching designs at the office, I come across a designer whose unfamiliar name or work leaves a lasting impression on me. Newcomer Alice McColm is one of those names. Her first collection, which premiered at Graduate Fashion Week in June 2009 (Middlesex University alum), should be recognized by new and aspiring runway designers everywhere. While she doesn’t stray far from practicality and current trend, her approach to fabric and fur medium is rather new and extremely refreshing. It could effortlessly fit on the runways of New York Fashion Week (right alongside Rodarte). McColm has done an excellent job of finding the balance between what is familiar and what is new, while applying big statements to each look. I, for one, am excited to see what she comes up with next.

I’ve used this spread probably a hundred times since its release in the July 2006 issue of W Magazine. It will forever be one of my favorite references for texture and silhouettes. And I’m sure it is on the inspiration boards of fashion houses across the World. Brilliant!

EDITORIAL: Relax

MAGAZINE: W magazine July 2006

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Thompson

I will be randomly posting photos I’ve taken here and there. These from my recent research trip to London & Paris! It was love at first sight.