I seem to have sort sort of bird flu. Yeah, I am obsessed with avian aesthetics at the moment. First it was owls, now regal and graceful necked swans have taken my fancy:
Actually… to be honest this fascination has been simmering for a while now – no less than 3 short stories written for my university work featured a swan motif. No wonder this site is called Code For Something.
Of course no swan fan club meeting is complete without a nod to Bjork’s infamous Oscar dress. 2001, obviously ahead of her time.The egg shaped purse was pure genius.
Now it’s 2009 and Tara Bethune-Leamen’s luxe label SWANclothing is producing some really intelligent totes and garments. I’m definitely coveting one of her classic louche bags, but in the mean time I really enjoy reading the delightful SwanDiamondRose blog.
- SWANclothing Tote
Also revelling in this iconography is Kate Sylvester, one of my favourite New Zealand designers. Sylvester recently released her A/W 2009 collection – entitled Black Swan. Inspired by ballet, roses, and the obvious; it’s a breathtaking collection filled with fabrics reminiscent of the feel of soft down and sleek cuts.
- Aleksandr Gorsky’s staging of the Petipa/Ivanov Swan Lake for the Bolshoy Theatre, Moscow, 1901.
I like this subtly printed tee:
As her design rationale explains, “the term ‘black swan’ evolved into a reference for perceived impossibility actually coming to pass (recently culminating in the ‘black swan’ theory in economics)”. I love her reference points, intelligent fashion makes weak at the purse strings.
And last but not least, the ‘Black Swan’ is also the inspiration behind a haunting Thom Yorke song:
I am your black swan, black swan
But I made it to the top, but I made it to the top
And this is fucked up, fucked up…
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Beautiful. Add it to your play list (but don’t listen to T.Y. when it’s raining, melancholy!) and read more about the Black Swan theory here.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I love that swans have special legal protection in the UK as well… they belong to the Queen.. and I couldn’t imagine it any other way, there’s a certain regal quality to them!
Arg love that song, love Thom Yorke! wish he would bring out another album :/
Lovely lovely. Especially the first image.
My school emblem was a swan.. Your thoughts make me feel proud and can finally see the beauty in it – something you never think to see in your high school logo!
this is really strange i never saw this post. somehow my google alerts aren’t catching things. so, thank you for the mention!