A DAY IN THE CAPITOL

A couple of Fridays back, I took the early morning train to London for A Day in The Capitol, an event organised by Lionsgate to mark 100 days to the release of Catching Fire. The day focused on Capitol style, looking at costumes and make up for the new film. There were makeovers, chats with designers and a screening of the first film. My ideal day out!

FANCY STUFF

The whole event took place in an apartment at The Soho Hotel, which I was surprised at, as I thought it would be a much bigger event. Attending were about 20 journalists, the organisers from Lionsgate, a make up artist, fitness instructor and the creative director of clothing label Lucas Hugh. The scale of the event and the relaxed environment meant that it was possible to have group discussions with everyone and get all the inside info on the wardrobe and Catching Fire.

Anjhe Mules, Creative Director of Lucas Hugh

I mentioned that the creative director of Lucas Hugh, Anjhe Mules, was at the event. Although Lucas Hugh is still a fairly small brand (only three years old), designs from the inaugural collection were picked up on by Trish Summerville, the costume designer for the second film. Lucas Hugh is a sportswear brand that includes garments that can be worn as normal daywear as well as for exercise. The initial collection featured a jacket that caught Summerville’s eye and she saw it as being an item that could not only be worn in training scenes in the film, but also as daywear for the citizens of the Capitol. The Hunger Games has such an influence on them that this jacket is something they can wear because it not only plays an important role in the Games themselves, but also because it has that added glamour that Capitol fashion requires. A fitted slick black sports jacket with gold and silver reflective detailing and hidden pleating at the back is not only classy and elegant, but simple and practical as well. Samples of the jacket along with matching top and leggings we on display at the event for people to have a detailed look at.

Lucas Hugh

Made from polyamide elastic, the outfit is durable and absorbs sweat- essential for the actors when they’re shooting the training scenes! All seams are glued together so they are less likely to split and the jacket has a waterproof spray coating. The pretty reflective gold and silver geometric patterns are hand painted onto the fabric. Wowzers. If you want to spend money to look classy when you’re out jogging or cycling (although no amount of money or fancy clothing can make me look fancy while doing exercise), then you need this jacket!

Training Jacket, designed by Lucas Hugh

Summerville was looking for a fresh new look for the wardrobe for Catching Fire. Based on futuristic sportswear, Lucas Hugh had the design style she was looking for and already had the technology needed to endure high levels of exercise. Every design from Lucas Hugh is sent to athletes from a range of sports. They test and give feedback to the designers about the quality, cut, durability and overall design of the clothing, so Lucas Hugh can produce high quality garments that buyers will love. Celebs such as Jennifer Lawrence’s personal trainer and Madonna are fans of Lucas Hugh and I can see why!

The full training suit used in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The design process for the clothing used in the training scenes took a year and a half (just Summerville and Mules doing the design work), while all the costumes had to be made in just three months. This was Angie’s first time working on a film and she explained how she was nervous about having a key role in such a big franchise, as well as taking care of and maintaining her business at Lucas Hugh.

Effie-esque

Adding crafty touches to an outfit to match Effie's McQueen Butterfly dress that's featured in Catching Fire

SHINY JEWELS

Other things from ASOS

At the event were also numerous items from ASOS, all of which has similar designs to what’s worn in the Capitol. We were able to try things on (along with Capitol wigs) and have a Capitol makeover from make up artist who works for Lionsgate. She has previously worked on celebrities and has done makeovers for other events organised by Lionsgate. I didn’t catch her name, but I know she’s an astrophysicist. All the yeses. Ever. I asked her what the main things to consider when getting a Capitol look with make up. Emphasis on the eyes, bringing the eye shadow lightly down onto the cheekbones to really highlight them and bright lip that falls in the same palette as the colour of the eye makeup. All these must coordinate with the rest of your outfit. She used mainly MAC and Smashbox eye products to create these effects. Also, there is A LOT of glitter with this look. If you wear contact lenses, don’t put the makeup on too heavily. You’ll forget it’s there and occasionally rub your eyes. I did and by the time I got off the train at Bradford on Avon, I looked like I’d gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. Not a good look. I’d like to apologise for the quality of some of the photos. I was trying to hold the camera steady whilst simultaneously stopping my wig from falling off and peering through my glittery gloop coated eyes.

Make up from MAC, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and others. SO MUCH GLITTER.

Make up artists can perform miracles. Effie Trinket/drag queen/Sybil Fawlty.

After we’d all be Capitolised, we settled down to watch the first film. I’d forgotten how good it was. Then we had a personal trainer come and talk about a thing that Lionsgate and the-gym-that-must-not-be-named are doing. I’m not sure how much has been said about it, but basically people can sign up for the twelve weeks before the release of Catching Fire to take part in an exercise regime that is a bit like a routine you’d do if you were competing in The Hunger Games. You track your progress through a series of challenges and see how well you’ve improved since the beginning of the programme. I am seriously considering signing up for it. As tough as it sounds, it’ll be a laugh! We were given goodies at the end of the day in the form of a free copy of The Hunger Games DVD and the second book. I hadn’t read any of the books before seeing the film and was super excited when I finished the book in two days. I’m making it my mission to read the first and third before uni starts again next month.

Goodies from the day

So that was a little snippet of my Capitol day out! (Who am I kidding? This post’s the longest thing I’ve ever written). I had such a fun time and thanks to Lionsgate for putting on such a brilliant event. We need more like this please!

GET THE LOOK: A CAPITOL FACE

You can’t have Capitol clothes without the Capitol face. Theatrical and bold; fancy false lashes and quirky colours are essential. Pick a colour scheme to match your outfit and you’re away!

The Queen of Capitol fashion, Effie Trinket.

A few weeks ago I heard about a site called Shiro Cosmetics. They specialise in nerdy themed make up with equally amazing names, such as The Legends Collection and The Super Effective Collection. It’s also pretty reasonably priced, vegan, handmade and animal cruelty-free. Most eye shadows are available in sample, mini or full size, ranging from $1- $5. However, there are special shadows such as The Hobbit Collection that cost up to $6. Intertube lip-glosses are also available in sample, mini or full size and cost between $1.80-$6.50.

They also have the ‘Derps’ range, which are colours that aren’t the exact shade of the colour trying to be produced. These are available at discounted prices and the colours are still amazing, despite being wrong.

Wait. There’s more. You can order custom lip-glosses. If you see an eye shadow or blush that you fancy and it’s ‘lip safe’, you can have it turned into a lip-gloss! SNAZZY.

After you’ve looked at the ones below, take a look around the whole site. It’s a bit like Etsy, in that you’ll be looking around for ages and get side-tracked by all the cool stuff and ruin your social life a bit but it’s brilliant fun.

They do have a Tributes Collection and it is super awesome. However, I thought the eye shadows from The Super Effective collection were more suitable for getting a Capitol look, as they are brighter and more bold than the Tributes Collection. Although this beauty has Effie Trinket written all over it:

"Happy Hunger Games!"

All of the following products are from Shiro Cosmetics unless otherwise stated.

Blusher: Get those cheeks rosy with this Potion mineral blush… 

Potion Mineral Blush

Eye shadow: From the Super Effective Collection use Elite Four, merged with Smell Ya Later and lined with a bit of Team Rocket.  

Elite Four

Smell Ya Later

Team Rocket

Eyelashes: Rose Lashes from the ‘British Collection’ at PAPERSELF are beautiful and wonderfully dramatic. Perfect for the Capitol look (£12.50).

The British Collection: Rose Lashes

Lip-gloss: I’ve picked two different colours of intertube lip-gloss from Shiro Cosmetics’ for the Capitol inspired look. Although they are both great colours, I think the first one will compliment the purple eye shadows more. The second one is just bloody amazing.

Gloss 1: Insanity Wolf. A white gloss that’ll compliment purple eye shadow and add to the quirkiness of Capitol dress. 

Intertubes: Insanity Wolf

Gloss 2: This lip-gloss is awesome. Not just for the fact that it’s the perfect shade of Capitol pink, but also because it has the best name for anything ever created. ‘Smashing.’ Why so brilliant? It has a picture of Nigel Thornberry’s face on it. It completely changes how you say ‘smashing’ in your head.

Intertubes: Smashing

If you want to see how to blend all these lovely eye shadows properly, head over to Queen of Blending’s youtube channel. She doesn’t use Shiro products, but you’ll get some tips for how to apply them, along with eyeliners and false lashes.

With a Capitol face like Effie Trinket’s, the fashion odds will be ever in your favour.

“LORD NELSON’S TROUSERS, IT’S A YETI!”

GET THE LOOK: CAPITOL DRESS

I recently did a thing for Geek Syndicate where I wrote about the Capitol Couture revamp. It’s a Hunger Games based site that’s been re-launched in celebration of the new film, Catching Fire, due to be released November 22^nd this year. The new Capitol Couture has more of a focus on high fashion similar to that of Capitol fashion seen in the films.

I wrote a follow-up post, which showed how to get the Capitol look but with high street garments instead of high-end fashion. You can find that post here (when it’s up on the site). I then thought it’d be interesting to do a ‘Get the Look’ post for a more expensive outfit using high-end high street, and also one achieving the make up style of Capitol fashion. The make up post can be found here.

Dress: This stunning number from French Connection is a classic example of Capitol fashion. It’s fitted waist and gathered skirt reflect Georgian dress and is a lovely neutral colour, which you can team up with any bold accessories.

French Connection Dress, £200.00

Shrug: Exaggerated shoulders and shape is what comes with this beautiful feather shrug from Ted Baker. Key elements of the Capitol look. 

Ted Baker Shrug, £199.00

Belt: This ASOS gold metal belt will synch in your waist and break up the dress to create an hourglass silhouette. It’ will also match your other gold accessories.

ASOS Gold Belt, £30.00

 Jewellery: Layer this gold collar from ASOS over your feather shrug for a glamorous and classy look.

ASOS Gold Collar, £25.00

Shoes: These boots from ASOS are called ‘Trinket.’ Need I say more?

ASOS 'Trinket' boots, £50.00

So that’s your outfit sorted.

Next up: How to get a Capitol face.

Abstract Illustrations

Today I’ve been working on my journal I’ve had to write as an intern helping the 3^rd years. I’d run out of things to write, so I’ve done some experimenting with illustrations as it’s been mentioned in my journal and in conversation with my 3^rd year partner that it’s something I need to work on.

So with this work, I decided to mess about with shape and proportion and work on some more abstract stuff that I don’t usually do. I’m pretty happy with the results, so I thought I’d blog it.

Most of the pictures on these are from a magazine called Citizen K. I get the French version as reading it every now and again keeps the French in my head after not studying it for a couple of years. Plus it’s €1 instead of £6. BARGAIN.

Ok, it’s not exactly illustration. I’ve just cut up body parts from magazines, matched them with clothes and drawn a couple of things on them. Not much, but it’s a start! For someone who doesn’t usually like doing illustration, I like the surreal effect this kind of collage illustration gives. I’ll definitely look into exploring this idea of size and proportion and try and incorporate more of my own drawing into it soon.

WONDER WOMAN CONVERSE DONE RIGHT.

 A couple of years ago, I blogged about Reebok’s take on the iconic Wonder Woman design (which were AMAZING) and also how Converse had a similar idea, but messed it up. Big time. They went against what Wonder Woman stands for and produced a design that was stereotypical GIRL LABEL: all pink and pretty and pastel colours and bleurgh. You can see more of my rant here.

HOWEVER. Converse, this time round, you have redeemed yourself.

When I heard they were bringing out a brand spanking new DC range, I was thinking ‘PLEASE don’t fuck it up.’ The outcome? Converse done good. All the designs in this collection are bright, loud, fun, everything that superhero stuff should be. Each character has their own design own unique quirks, for example the Joker Cons have HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA written all along the side of the sole. Plus, not only do they not have the stereotypical boy label/girl label shoes, but also the vast majority of the range is unisex!! No sexist barriers! GO CONVERSE.

So finally, I could buy myself some decent Wonder Woman shoes. After a bit of a mishap in the store (which shall remain unnamed… Unless you ask), I walked out with my lovely lovely super shiny Wonder Woman Cons with bright yellow laces. They turn heads. These truly are Cons of awesomeness.

Snazzy snazzy but not so shiny shiny anymore

My 'oops I walked through mud' Cons and Patricia's Joker Cons

Like all Converse, they’re comfy and snazzy, but these were not as durable as all my other Cons. My oldest pair is 4yrs old and are tattered yes, but I still wear them a lot. Not gonna lie, I’ve worn the Wonder Woman pair a fair amount. I knew the inside that rubs against my heel would wear a bit. But I didn’t think the back piece of plastic supporting the heel would actually crack and begin to chip off. It only happen to one of the shoes and has never happened to any pair of Converse I’ve owned before. Because of this, I took them back to the shop to get an exchange as they were still under warranty. I was expecting the same excellent customer service I received last time. *COUGH* Turns out the shop in question had cleaned up their act and no questions asked, I got a replacement pair and walked out the shop with my second pair of lovely lovely super shiny Wonder Woman Cons with bright yellow laces.

Next, I'm saving up for these high-top beauts:

DC Converse rating: 4/5

FREAKING AWESOME apart from the slight breakage. 

Image Sources: Google Images

Muse Project

This is the final part of my generic fashion module for year one. We had to either create or pick a figure  that we find interesting, write a piece of creative writing and produce an illustration inspired by them. I chose to look at Wonder Woman and her role in feminism.

First up: a mood board showing my research for the project. I also looked at feminism separately from Wonder Woman and what role it plays in today's society.

Here's my piece of creative writing, showing all the words associated with Wonder Woman and feminist attitude:

Warrior

Opportunity

Noble

Daring

Energy

Rights

Woman

Open

Mighty

Amazon

Novel

Talented

Heroic

Equality

Fighter

Excellence

Modern

Intelligent

Notable

Influential

Strong

Terrific

Here's my illustration inspired by Wonder Woman. I drew a charcoal portrait of her and cropped it down to create a kind of comic book strip.

I WON A THING!!

A few weeks ago, I begged everyone to vote for me in the Rarely Wears Lipstick Awards; an event to mark the 10yr birthday of Lori Smith's blog.

Much to my surprise, you all listened AND I WON!!

It was a huge shock to me, as I was nominated for the Creativity Inspiration Award along with a group of OSSUM people! I didn't think people cared about mixing art and science that much!

All the other nominees and other categories can be found here on the RWL Awards page. Please do check out their work! They are all truely amazing and inspiring people, organisations and websites and it was wonderful to be in the same room as all of them last night!

Also, huge congrats and massive THANK YOU to Lori & co for putting on a brilliant evening! After getting in contact with Lori at FOTSN last year, she's played a big part in getting me to where I am and I have a lot to thank her for!

HUUUUGGGGEEEE THANKS to all who voted. It's lovely to know that my work is appreciated and I'll have some free time soon to talk about all my other projects I've been doing recently!

Stay nerdy X

Dominic Jones: Jewellery Designer

Occupation	Jewellery Designer
Style	Designs show elements of warrior/tribal themes
Years Active	Four: Launched in 2009 with collection ‘Tooth and Nail’
Background	Trained as a jeweller at Sir John’s School of Art & Design
Awards	New Gen Award (Five times) ‘Jewellery Designer of the Year, 2011 ELLE Style Awards Nominated for 2012 British Fashion Award for ‘Emerging Accessories Designer’
Collaborations	Art collective, ‘Wowow’ 2009, Alice Dellal to launch ‘Dominic Jones Jewellery’ Gemfields Ambassador of the World Land Trust Charity. Previously chosen as one of eight world class jewellers to design a one-off piece with Gemfields, to raise money for endangered elephants
Worn by	Beyoncé Rihanna Florence Welch

 

The jewellery produced by Dominic Jones is powerful and expressive, even though it uses organic shapes. The reflective, sharp structures give a sense of power to each piece. This is emphasised by the references warrior and tribal-like shapes and angles used. Claw-like points give an animalistic and aggressive feel to his work, enhanced further by the armour-style finish each piece has. His main influences come from the punk subculture.

Dominic Jones

www.alexloves.com:

 “Dominic Jones is one of those young jewellery designers really breaking through right now. His pieces are solid chunky gold and silver, with a real punk twist. (His good friend and punk-goddess Alice Dellal is a backer behind the brand). This season’s collection is vampire inspired, with the Tooth and Claw rings, and the Fang necklace. At £225 they’re perhaps not that cheap, but some things are worth the investment. And sometimes it’s nice not to have to scrub the cheap jewellery off your fingers everytime you’ve worn them.”

 

I like the aggression and warrior-like elements Jones’ work has. Although most of his work is either gold or silver, he has some pieces which use bright colours to make his work more feminine. His work could reflect the personality of a strong and confident woman who may perhaps wear his jewellery.

Florence Welch for Dominic Jones

Pink Claw ring

Alice Dellal for Dominic Jones

 

Alligator cuff

Daphne for Dominic Jones

Headpiece #1

Headpiece #2

Jessica Brown Findlay For Dominic Jones

Jessica Brown Findlay For Dominic Jones