COMO ENCOUNTER
DISNEYLAND BY NIGHT
As night falls upon the land, new life is breathed into Disneyland...
Colourful, beaming lights illuminate the park and Discoveryland in particular comes alive.
PARISIAN THRILL
November suits Paris so beautifully - there’s something charmingly melancholic about the gloomy, overcast skies, the way they complement both the stark, industrial, etched-out design of the Eiffel and the romantic yet austere presence of Notre Dame at the same time.
VENICE ROMANZA
Bella Venezia, in all her pristine, postcard-perfect glory; the crystal waters of magical canals and enchanting gondola rides, a palazzo here and a basilica there, clocktowers with whimsical zodiac art, and charming laneways pose the perfect backdrop for romance-fuelled couples and families alike. Oh, and - an evening spent at the opera is undeniably the cherry on top when embracing Venice's old-Italy opulence.
A WEEKEND IN TUSCANY (FLORENCE, PISA, SIENNA, LUCCA)
One of the more central regions of Italy, Tuscany is home to some of the most breathtaking landscapes, artistic masterpieces, and rich, colourful history and culture that most of us know Italy for today.
I loved having the opportunity to not only visit the astounding Florence but also Sienna, Lucca and Pisa (yep, as in the Leaning Tower). With architecture and sculpture so exquisite, old cities and winding roads so quaint, and sunsets each evening so marvellously stunning - a trip across Tuscany is undoubtedly an essential for any traveller wanting to learn more about Italy's truest treasures.
EXPLORING LAGO GARDA
With pallid blue and matte silver expanses of water, this autumn-time visit to northern Italy’s Lago di Garda was strangely peaceful in what would normally be a tourist-filled haven. With pops of colour in the form of florals decorating the quaint town of Sirmione and friendly ducks and geese abound, a trip to Lake Garda serves as the perfect backdrop for a day trip from Milano.
ISLANDS OF LAGO MAGGIORE
5 DAYS IN SWITZERLAND
With so many beautiful cities, staying in only Zurich would be a missed opportunity for anyone visiting Switzerland for the first time - the picturesque lakes and rivers, restaurant strips and gardens all across the melting pot of cultures that is Switzerland are simply far too lovely to miss.
WINTERTHUR
A transformed industrial area with a quiet community and a peaceful, early morning charm played the role of home base for my stay in Switzerland. University students, bars, cobblestone paths and a lively night market set the backdrop for Winterthur.
BERN
While Zurich is often mistaken for Switzerland's capital, it is in fact the whimsical beauty that is Bern.
Nearing the French region of Switzerland, Bern plays host to the famed Tour de France each year, and is home a most unlikely yet adorable symbol; the bear. Not only can you visit them in an open enclosure known as Bärengraben, but keep your eyes peeled for the symbol of the bear all around the town's infrastructure.
LUCERNE
A Swiss Venice if there ever was one, Lucerne was the quaint, fresh and Sunday-stroll-worthy setting for a family day. Touristy, yes - but with such an impressive lake filled with flowers, a carnival and a rowing regatta, it was certainly for good reason.
ZURICH
And of course, what trip to Switzerland would be complete without a visit to the famed Zurich? With an Old Town to rival any iconic European city's, the atmosphere had a certain comfort and chillness about it to contrast some of the more fiery passions of neighbouring countries.
LUCIO FONTANA - AMBIENTI/ENVIRONMENTS
We visited the opening night event for Ambienti/Environments, Pirelli HangarBicoccas's exhibition of reconstructed and iconic works by the late Lucio Fontana. Featuring immersive art experiences and installations that explore Fontana's studies in light, space and architecture, this exhibition is not one to be missed.
PIRELLI HANGARBICOCCA
FREE ADMISSION
ENDS FEB 25 2018
10AM - 10PM THURS - SUN
WINTER IN 35MM - PART 2
More photos from my first few rolls shooting on 35mm - I wanted to use these photos to capture two things; the people in my life who I loved to spend time with, and the feeling of being realistically immersed in nature.
The photo of myself was taken by Zoe.
I'm not a photographer - I just like documenting the world around me and my life.
These photos were from winter 2017 prior to my departure from Melbourne to Milan, shot on a Pentax Espio 60S.
WINTER IN 35MM - PART 1
My first time ever trying film photography, shooting 35mm - some selections from the first roll developed. I really enjoyed capturing what my life really looks like, rather than using it as just another medium to create an image from my imagination.
The photos of myself were taken by Paul and Zoe.
I'm not a photographer - I just like documenting the world around me and my life.
These photos were from winter 2017, prior to my departure from Melbourne to Milan.
IDENTITY BY MAXINE
Maxine Zanoni’s work to date shows promising potential for her future as a photographer, and with a portfolio that really speak for itself, I was so excited to shoot with her.
And you know that when I get told to dress in a way that expresses my “true identity”, you’re gonna end up with a monstrosity like this - enjoy!
BROWSE MAXINE'S INSTAGRAM
CHATTING WITH LUCIANA ROSSIO
Luciana Rossio is the romantic moniker of Californian native Jennifer, whose paintings play with inviting colours and intriguing texture to create imaginative pieces that capture attention instantaneously.
Certainly a hidden gem of Instagram’s art community, Luciana’s feed is like diving head first into melting ice cream and never wanting to resurface.
Tell us a bit about who you are, where you're from, and how you first started becoming interested in creating art;
My name is Jennifer Roos & I create art under the name Luciana Rossio. I am originally from the desert in southern California, but have lived many different places as an adult including Southeast Asia. I'm currently living right outside of Washington, DC. I have created art & have been designing things since I was a child. As an adult I spent a lot of my time designing & working creatively in the fashion industry. When I moved to Southeast Asia I became quite bored creatively, So I decided it was time to paint again. And that was when Luciana Rossio was born.
What do you like to think about when creating your paintings? Describe your creative process;
My creative process is different every time. Travel is a huge inspiration for me & a great way to clear my mind. Color is also a huge inspiration for me. I often have more of an idea of the colors I want to use & just let the painting take shape as I start to paint the canvas. I also am very inspired by music & poetry, sometimes a painting is born just by a few lines in a song.
What are some of the main themes and ideas you try to convey with your work?
I think that art should be translated by the person enjoying it. I often hesitate to title work because I feel sometimes it takes away from the experience. For the most part I hope people feel something when looking at my art that in some way helps them or inspires them.
Who are some of the artists you look up to and are most inspired by?
Joan Mitchell, Vanessa Prager, Xu Zhen, Vincencia Blount
What are your hopes for the future with your artwork?
I hope to continue to make art that people enjoy, to spread love & inspire others.
TETRIK 3.0
In the realm of local small businesses and young upcoming labels, Tetrik stands out - boxy, structured silhouettes straight out of some darkwave nether-dimension, it's only a matter of time until the Melbourne label overruns the streets of Tokyo, Berlin and beyond.
I was thrilled to be asked back for my third time (!!!) to shoot with Tetrik, and if you ever have the good fortune to cross paths with one of their amazing core team Aidan, Kim or Bri, I promise you'll leave with a smile on your face.
With a background in creating fabric structures you may recognise from your last doof (check out Tetrik Structures), designer Aidan's winter offerings for Tetrik include warm, fleece lined fabrics, new patterns and prints with their signature purple accent, and a perfect, versatile array of layer-ready garments for our unpredictable midyear weather.
Combined with an emphasis on wearable, unisex designs, Tetrik's future-focused vibe is all the more appealing when you realise just how well each item has been crafted with top-quality fabrics and utterly precise construction.
Photographer: Briannagh Clare Photography
SHOP TETRIK
THE SECRET LIFE OF JEANS
PHOTOGRAPHER: WYNONA STOCK
DESIGNER: ASHLEY MARTINIELLO
MAKEUP: LILIANA OPPEDISANO, ZOE CRAWFORD
MODELS: VICTORIA, PHEROZA, ANNA
MIDYEAR CHECK-IN PART 2 - RE-PROGRAM + FREE DOWNLOADABLE WORKBOOK
Perhaps one of the largest pitfalls even the most well-meaning of us can fall into, is the obsession with planning and ambition met with a lack of follow-through. How often do we tell ourselves we will achieve something, work hard and take the plunge, commit ourselves to some kind of path to greatness, and end up 6 months later having made no progress at all?
Here’s the thing; there’s no magical answer. There is no instant potion of motivation you can drink, there is no pill like in that Limitless movie (though I often wish there was). And while your personal mindset, discipline and own unique circumstantial obstacles may clamour your path to success, what you absolutely can do is mitigate those limitations and give yourself the best possible chance to turn your dreams into reality. It’s an act of optimisation, if you will.
Following on from last week’s Life Audit (click here to check it out), you’ll probably be feeling a little clearer about where you’re at right now and where you want to be. We briefly touched on that dastardly part in the middle - you know, the whole thing of actually “getting there”, connecting the present to the desired future - but it’s time to develop on that.
This certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all method, so feel free to customise it to your own experience. Whether your goal is to become a world champion in your chosen field, or maybe just to cut down on some minor bad habits, it’s not about how ‘big’ or ‘small’ your goal may objectively seem. Rather, it’s proportional to your own personal story and what’s meaningful to you. This doesn’t have to be anybody’s business but your own - make yourself proud, this is something you can do purely for you.
This Re-Program workbook will give you a comprehensive and meaningful framework within which to plan the next 6 months of your life. It will give you the tools to take one of your goals and create an action plan to achieve it. We’ve all heard the advice “break down your goals into smaller goals”, and this is a tangible iteration of that tactic.
Break your goal down into 6 distinct objectives, one for each month. Your job for each month is to focus on that one objective alone - it can be easy to get lost in the bigger picture of your ambitions, so this will help you lock in some tunnel vision on one step at a time. From there, you'll define a weekly task for yourself in order to achieve that objective (yes, breaking it down even further), allowing yourself to check in every week to keep you disciplined and on track - playing on the strategy of 'habit building'.
Be forgiving; part of being human means that perfect consistency will be near impossible, which is why you can allow yourself a mid-month check in to review your activity. There is also a section at the end of each month to give yourself an opportunity to reflect before you move forward, which is crucial to ensure you're honestly assessing your progress and growing meaningfully.
Remember to keep this workbook somewhere you'll be able to easily reference it!
x E
MIDYEAR CHECK-IN PART 1 - LIFE AUDIT + FREE DOWNLOADABLE WORKSHEET
I know for a fact that I can't be the only one feeling this way. Midyear makes everyone feel somewhat stagnant in one way or another - the slow creep of winter settles in, it gets a bit harder to get out of bed in the morning, the first few waves of cold and flu season are doing the rounds. If you're studying, you'll be working hard on getting those last few assessments or exams out of the way, even though the motivation you needed to do that has already well since departed. Unless you're on the other side of the world and you have a fun summer break to look forward to, midyear is kind of a slump. It's like the hump day of the year.
It's also around about the time you begin to lose faith in those well-intentioned goals you set for 2017 at the start of January - and while it feels like you have every reason to bin those goals, midyear is actually more like your saving grace. It's a second chance, and a perfect opportunity to reflect and conduct an honest life audit for yourself to get back on track.
There are a lot of free downloadable worksheets, YouTube videos, and blog posts out there that are great to consult for this kind of thing, and having consumed and used so many of these tools for the past few years, I feel like I've been able to develop my own version that works best for me.
If you don't know where to start, here's a FREE downloadable worksheet I've put together for you to fill out. For it to be most effective, remember to be as honest with yourself as possible when filling it out. Not all of the subsections might apply to you, so certainly customize it to what's suitable for your own situation - and keep it somewhere you can access easily and quickly so that it's not forgotten about!
Part 2 coming next week will focus on REPROGRAMMING to put this Life Audit into practice; because you can plan for weeks straight, but you'll need action to follow up in order to achieve anything.
CULTURES OF KINDNESS
Enter a world where the prevailing culture is kindness, thanks to RMIT Fashion Honours student Sammi Guss and her fondness for the fusion of comfort and innovative design. With garments that envelope you in what can only be comparable to a warm hug, Sammi's oversized silhouettes and feature knit panels combine in this development shoot for her collection Cultures of Kindness. Shot at Moorabin's Karkarook Park on a beautiful Sunday with some surprise animal companions, the positivity and tenderness depicted in this shoot were truly coloured throughout the magical day.
Thank you to this wonderful team for having me!
PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL FOXINGTON
DESIGNER: SAMMI GUSS
MAKEUP: MICHAELINDA PAUL
MODELS: PIERCE AND JASPER
YESTERDAYS VIRGINS
All images courtesy of Simone Wild
CHATTING WITH SIMONE WILD
Why do we take socks so for granted when they have the potential to be such a luxe outfit accent? They’re basically the lychee smoothie of the apparel world (criminally under-appreciated, okay).
Cue Simone Wild, and her small but almighty Germany-based label specialising in sensuously soft velvet socks. You’ll be hurriedly hiding your fishnet collection in shame (and your boyfriend’s cringey Santa Cruz socks) once you lay eyes on these beauties.
Available in muted tones including soft rose, mustard and olive green, you can’t help but feel transported back to childhood days in your grandparent’s 70s-style lounge room. Simone Wild allows you to luxuriate in that special place where demureness and hedonism meet.
Tell us a bit about your background in design and fashion;
Everything started with a tailors’ education. After that I studied as a product developer in fashion and moved to Berlin for different jobs, from design to pattern making.
In 2010 I decided to return to Stuttgart and start working for the contemporary fashion store ave as Buyer and Deputy Store Manager. Due to my job I’m totally into fashion and always on a journey to find out what’s new and necessary for the upcoming season.
Where did the idea for velvet socks originally spring from?
Summer shoes always arrive in winter to the stores, but if I buy something I immediately have to wear it and that’s the reason I love to wear socks with mules, pumps and sandals. Velvet is currently a big topic in fashion; I was searching to find socks made of velvet but I couldn’t find any, so I decided to make a pair for myself. I was wearing them and everyone I met loved them and asked if I could make some for them too - that was the beginning of the project.
We recently saw your socks on the runways in South Korea; can you tell us about that opportunity and what it was like working with other showcasing designers?
That was a really spontaneous cooperation; Kiok contacted me on Instagram because my tictail shop was sold out. They told me that they would love to combine [the socks] with their collection for fashion week in Seoul and if there was an opportunity to receive them ASAP. I was on holiday at the time and the show was one week later, but I thought it could be a great opportunity and I liked the style of Kiok. So, when I came back I started to sew and produced the whole order in one night to send express to Seoul. The socks arrived just in time on the day of the show. The collaboration was really nice and uncomplicated it was a pleasure that my socks had their first big performance in South Korea.
What advice would you have for young creatives looking to turn their work into business ventures like your own?
Go for it - but do it within your own possibilities and as you feel good about it. The first 700 pairs of velvet socks I sewed myself and I still made my full time job. Only when it started to run, I decided to make bigger steps.
What's next for you?
Currently I have no idea what the future will give me - but for the moment I have to organize my production and start working with shops all over the globe. This will be a lot of work but also much fun and new inspiration. In any case, my size range must increase because a lot of men are interested and I would love to expand the color palette.
