Tsarina Winter Coat & Trashion Baroque Japan Jacket I think autumn is the most productive time of the year for me. I 'm working day and night on my new ideas and the best thing is that i really enjoy it and don't feel tired at all. I worked on two new designs last week, something i've been wanting to do along time but never got around doing it in summer. I'm always a little bit hesistant to work on a piece of clothing because i'm afraid to mess up and not be able to cover up my mistakes. Anyway, i decided to take the plunge and restyle these two items into something very different. The long coat is inspired by Russian Tsarinas and Matryoshkas (yes - again russia, can't help it). I painted bronze hearts, embellished with lots of hand sewn seed beads on the sleevs and around the edge. Then i put little matryoshkas in the middle of the hearts and taller ones alternating with the hearts. The most difficult part was stencilling the art nouveau pattern. I had to cut it out of flimsy paper and keep it still on this thick coat, but it was worth it because i think that pattern really makes the coat stand out. The other jacket is an upcycled trashion creation, with a japanese twist. I have loads of fabric scraps and i thought it would be a nice idea to use this jacket like a canvas and turn it into a collage. I actually worked like a painter here, with my jacket on the dress dummy, paint brush in one hand and glue gun in the other. I was not sure what to put inside the cameo frame, to be honest, of all things that decision too the most time! I wanted something that really contrasted with the baroque style of the jacket and the fabrics i used, so i chose a japanese geisha. many thanks to my lovely sister for modelling them for me :)

Cabaret Cairo Bag

My newest bag! I'm quite happy with this one because this is the first bag that is completely "My Design". I still can't make bags, but i found someone ( a little boutique in Aleppo) that wanted to execute my designs in their own workshop...et voilà, my first line of bags was born! I love the look of the fifties and sixties so i wanted a firm bag with an old fashioned clasp, but with a modern touch like a pocket for a mobile phone. For Cabaret Cairo i used a fabric that i brought back from my trip to Syria and the picture featured in my dissertation about fashion, so you could say this is a real Yasmin Bochi bag :

My newest matrioshka chokers!