[ INSPIRATION + ILLUSTRATION ] series by MELANIE BOYCHUK

Here is the latest Inspiration + Illustration series by Melanie Boychuk, illustrator contributor for FV. Here, she shows you her source of inspirations to create her illustration from Elle Canada - March 2013.

You can also check out her website, missmel.com to view more of her work and to contact her if you need an illustrator for any projects.  To also view her past illustration posts on FV, go here.

©MELANIE BOYCHUK illustration and Fashion Vignette layout. All rights reserved. No part of these images may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

[ TREND REPORT ] NEUTRALS by Marina Araujo Alvarez

Today's post [ TREND REPORT ] NEUTRALS is from one of our team member, fashion and trend contributor Marina Araujo Alvarez who is a Fashion Designer and Stylist located in Barcelona, Spain. 

Make sure to visit her amazing and inspirational blog, marinaaraujoalvarez.wordpress.com and her website marinaaraujoalvarez.com.

© Marina Araujo Alvarez - all rights reserved.   Inspirational layout may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

TRENDS // COLOR & MORE - SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Colours & More is a colour and trend forecast for Womenswear, Menswear as well as for the field of Interior design.

Four seasonal trend themes are highlighted by 10 original PANTONE colours and moodboards, divided into the themes: KEY COLOURS/WOMEN/MEN/INTERIOR.

Go here to order your copy.  

DESIGN COMPETITION // ARTS THREAD + NIKE - APPAREL EDITION

LIFE GOES FROM ONE CLUB TO ANOTHER

Whether you’re working out or going out, what you wear has to look right, fit right, and work right.

Welcome to the Nike Club to Club Design Competition: Sport and Lifestyle Apparel Edition.

Design a head-to-toe outfit for a day in the life of the modern athlete.

The top 2 winning designers will receive one-of-a-kind, customized Nike product, and an introduction to the Nike Design Hiring Team.

Deadline: MIDNIGHT January 26, 2014
Location/Age/Experience: Open only to legal permanent US and UK residents who are students or graduates of an undergraduate or postgraduate higher-education institution and are aged 18+ at time of entry.

Prize: 2 Winners will each receive:
$500 Nike Gift Card + Nike Customized Varsity Jacket + NIKEiD Product Experience, and an introduction to the Nike Design Hiring Team.

All entries will be considered for a Summer Internship at Nike World Headquarters.

ENTRIES MUST INCLUDE

Page 1: Inspiration
Create an inspiration board telling us more about Tania OR Jarrett and what inspired your collection. Bring your athlete to life and show us how you approach the design process.

Page 2: Exploration
Create five hand sketches showing head-to-toe outfits for each part of your muse’s day: drawings should be expressive and gestural in nature. Demonstrate your drawing skills and show us how you think.

Page 3: The Final Look
Choose your best look and render it in technical, detailed full color. Include texture, prints, material specifications, etc. Bring your look to life and show us your technical skills.

To Learn more, go here.

STYLE FILE // SEASON'S WHITE, BRIGHT + SPARKLY - HOLIDAY 2013

Images via Pinterest

Wishing you a wonderful HOLIDAY 2013. 

FASHION VIGNETTE
xoxox

TRENDS // TREND COUNCIL - S/S 2015 ACTIVE + SWIM

Trend Council is a fashion trend forecasting company who delivers expert analysis and design inspirations. Their team provides a great wealth of consulting services for all your company's design needs.  Trend Council focuses on the Ladies, Juniors, Mens, Young Mens and Active markets. To learn more about their services, go here.

Seasonal 2015 Active colors and influences for swim and street style.

It's a color blocked redux, this season sees saturated reds and bold blues done in scuba-like materials for the beach.  The result is a look clearly inspired by a retro version of Santa Monica and the California surf lifestyle.

Bright pinks, light blues and yellows couched in stark whites with black highlights make for a graphic port if trend.  Stretch mesh and soapy matte jersey  and an undercurrent of athletic sensibilities round out the mood.

DESIGN COMPETITION // FRONT ROW SOCIETY - JACQUARD SHOT

Editorial via Front Row Society

CREATIVE BRIEF

Submission Deadline: 15 January, 2014, 6pm CET
Voting Starts: 16 January, 2014, 6pm CET

Attention knit-lovers! Front Row Society is trying something fresh again and it’s going to be like wow! This time, we’re adding a new new member to the FRS family: Woven Scarves! One of the most important things about this competition is that it is being held on Facebook. So to take part, you need a Facebook account. But you've got that – right?

For this very special, Facebook-exclusive FRS challenge we will be producing the scarves on a Jacquard loom, rather than printing as we usually do, so we want you to take the concepts made possible by this advance in technology and run with them. But we are also imposing some order on the possibilities! We are running a very strict four-colour palette, meaning that you can use three of the colours horizontally and one color vertically; just consider how weaving works if you are having trouble picturing it. 

So, create as simply or as intricately as you like; as powerfully or subtly as you want. As long as you know your design will shine, use the limits to challenge yourself!

This special competition is for woven scarves. As always, don't forget that your print might need to be adjusted to fit the appropriate template. All templates are marked with design specifications to help you get your design just right. Please note that all FRS templates may differ slightly from final manufacturing specifications, so make sure your print is versatile and flexible enough for production.

What can you win?

Each winner receives a one-off immediate prize of 200€. plus one of their products when it arrives in stock. But that is not all - each & every time we sell 500 pieces of your design, you will receive an additional €200. This means that FRS can continue to embody the spirit of fashion democracy, rewarding our top designs again...and again...and again! We will also conduct an interview with the winner, publicizing their design across the fashion community in Berlin and worldwide.

To learn more about the competition go here. 

TRENDS // SPLASH LIMITED - SPRING 15 PRINT TRENDS

Splash Limited Design Studios who is based in New York City is a full service art studio and agency providing services for the fashion and home industry over the last 25 years. They have serviced thousands of designers from Abercrombie to Oscar de la Renta with fresh original and custom artwork, print ready files, digital fabric printing and more.  They have recently added a new service, s.l.i.d.e providing 24/7 a revolutionary website giving you the hottest forecasted print trends.  To learn more about them and their services, go here.  Below is their Print and Graphics Report for the Spring 2015 season.

TRENDS // COLORUSH - FALL/WINTER 2015-16

Trend pick for the day is Fall/Winter 2015-16 from ColoRush.    This publication has 6 color themes with basic colors, inspiring moodboards and color combinations.    To order your copy, go here. 

TRENDS // PATTERNBANK - PRINT AND PATTERN FALL 2014 HIGHLIGHTS

Patternbank is an exceptionally great resource with over 20 years in the print, graphics and fashion industry. Their global research brings you essential inspiration ideas for graphics, prints and patterns, making Patternbank a valuable resource and intelligence tool for any business, designer or buyer.  To stay informed of their reports, sign up for the Patternbank Weekly Digest here.  

Patternbank brings you their key print highlights from the Pre Fall 2014 collections. Even though these pre season collections are not as print heavy as other seasons, there are still some interesting developments that caught their eye.

Go here for Part I and here for Part II Print and Pattern Fall 2014 highlights.

    THAKOON   

Fractured Geometrics – Plaid Exploration – Twisted Classics – Herringbone-esque Pattern - Mixed Pattern - Modern Floral Use

   ZERO + MARIA CORNEJO 

Crazed Pattern – Textural Allover Prints  - Monochromatic Colour  - Modern Tie-Dye Effects – Brushed Movement – Overprinted and Masked Pattern

   THAKOON   

Micro Pattern – Asymmetric Prints - Simplified Florals – Bold Graphic Repetitions – Simple Form

    FENDI    
Solid Colour Placement - Dip-dyed Ombré Look – Masculin Colour Blocking – Weave and Texture Mixes – Oversew Effects

   NICOLE MILLER   
Plaid and Floral Combinations – Geometric Embellishment – Native Funk & Flash Inspiration – Indian Embroidery – Crazed texture with Soft Plaid – Dip Dye – Boho Pattern Mixes

    MISSONI   

Textured Repeats – Intense Pattern Build-ups – Linear Doodle Repeats – Irregular Stripe Forms

DESIGN COMPETITION // FRONT ROW SOCIETY - TWISTED THREAD

Editorial via Front Row Society

CREATIVE BRIEF

Submission Deadline: 31 December, 2013, 6pm CET
Voting Starts: 01 January, 2014, 6pm CET

We live in the age of instant gratification - a quick click or a finger swipe and you can find any fact, access any image, and bluff any argument. So for this challenge we want to see a skill that takes longer to develop: Needlework. 

Think back to when you first picked up a needle and thread, stitched two pieces of fabric together and realized that suddenly you had the power to create anything you wanted (with a bit of practice!). We want to see modern and experimental work, using those skills! 

Remember that blanket stitch your grandmother taught you, or that time as a kid when you were obsessed with crochet, or that piece of embroidery that took you two months to finish? Use that experience and twist it. 

Dust off your sewing box, get your thimble out and get your thread on! 

This competition is for scarves. As always, don't forget that your print might need to be adjusted to fit the appropriate template. All templates are marked with design specifications to help you get your design just right. Please note that all FRS templates may differ slightly from final manufacturing specifications, so make sure your print is versatile and flexible enough for production.

What can you win?

Each winner receives a one-off immediate prize of 200€. plus one of their products when it arrives in stock. But that is not all - each & every time we sell 500 pieces of your design, you will receive an additional €200. This means that FRS can continue to embody the spirit of fashion democracy, rewarding our top designs again...and again...and again! We will also conduct an interview with the winner, publicizing their design across the fashion community in Berlin and worldwide.

To learn more and to submit your designs, go here.

TRENDS // PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR 2014 - RADIANT ORCHID

Inspirations via Pantone's Pinterest  Radiant Orchid Board and Illustration by Katie Rodgers with Paper Fashion.

PANTONE® 18-3224 Radiant Orchid, a captivating, magical, enigmatic purple, as the color of the year for 2014.

“While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”

“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”

To see the full report, go here and to order your color and for the color formula, you can go here.

DESIGN COMPETITION // MILLI MILLU . STREET-CHIC STYLED LOOK

 PUT TOGETHER A STREET-CHIC STYLED LOOK FOR MILLI MILLU BY 

GLACEAU VITAMINWATER

Editorial via Talenthouse

Submit a photograph showing you in a street look designed by you.

Creative Brief

Chic, clever, luxurious and attainable, London-based luxury handbag brand, Milli Millu is a breath of fresh air in the handbag industry. Milli Millu believes any woman can be a great stylist, so they thought, why not have their customers and fans, alike, share their styling ideas for inspiration?

Milli Millu invites fashion designers from around the world to create a street-chic, styled look for the chance to be featured in Milli Millu’s social media outlets, as well as in Milli Millu's newsletter that goes to over 15,000 subscribers.

This amazing opportunity for fashion designers could help you get your foot in the door of the fashion industry so if you have a flair for style and an eye for fashion, Milli Millu would love to see and share

your ideas by submitting a photograph of yourself in   your proposed outfit.

Fashion Designers are welcome to take inspiration from Milli Millu’s Stylings Ideas section on the company website; we are looking for

fashion forward yet stylish looks.

Career Opportunities

The artist as selected by Milli Millu will receive:

• A Milli Millu Handbag!
• A photo-shoot session with the Milli Millu’s photographer and styling team (if based in the UK)
• A feature in Milli Millu’s Homepage and “Styling Ideas” section
• A feature in Milli Millu’s “Diary” alongside brand ambassadors, CEOs, and Fashion Editors
• Exposure across the brand’s social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
• An amazing chance to get featured in Milli Millu’s newsletter which goes out to over 15,000 subscribers
• $400 courtesy of glacéau vitaminwater

The artist as selected by the community and Milli Millu will receive*:

• Features across the brand's social media outlets with posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
• $200 courtesy of glacéau vitaminwater

*The host will select from the top 10% of the highest voted submissions.

Schedule

Launch Date: December 09, 2013
Submit By: January 15, 2014
Voting Period: January 16, 2014 - January 23, 2014

Artist Selection: January 27, 2014

Each stage will close at 10am PST.

Go here to view the competition and here to submit your designs.