ANNA SUI Fall 2012 Runway Review

Mannequin Mayhem at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Soooo my friends, I'm slowly but surely coming back down to earth after my brief encounter with New York Fashion Week last night at the ANNA SUI show. Since my actual runway post is destined to be quite dense, I figured a quick snapshot of my arrogate seize over the Mercedes-Benz tent booth would be a nice transition.

Once again, I was running on an absolute adrenaline high watching my muse of all muses Daphne Groeneveled walk the runway...wait rewind...watching Lindsey Wixson, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Lily Donaldson, Anais Pouliot (Canada's next finest export), Hanne Gaby Odiele, the creme de la creme, de la creme, creme, creme!! And ANNA SUI's Fall 2012 was just divine, whimsical, think 60's Jean Shrimpton with far eastern influences.

There simply are no words as I feel myself getting closer and closer to where I'm longing to be. A special BIG TIME thank-you to Brandon of Would You Rock This for making this all possible. To catch a glimpse of the show head over to style.com's review and stay tuned for my own review here. Now it's time to illustrate my favorite looks from the collection OOOoo ready set PAINT!!

Much love,

Meag xx

Happy Valentine's Day + ZELEB GIVEAWAY Winner!!

Hello Lovelies,

It's finally here, the day of the big reveal!! I'm so excited to be apart of this giveaway. Having been gifted one of the five ABSOLUTELY STUNNING dresses myself, I can say with certainty just how special they are. Unfortunately if you did not follow all of the entry instructions, your comment was removed from the GIVEAWAY, and you were automatically disqualified (so sorry)!! Thank-you to all who participated and for leaving such beautiful commentary about my work. I was very sad to delete those comments from my page but they didn't, however, answer the question. And now without further ado...the winner is:

RONJA MURUGANAND (BubblyBrunett)

Congratulations Ronja, you were the first person to post an answer and the true random generator selected your comment as the winning number!! I will contact you shortly to arrange for your dress of choice and delivery address. Again, thank-you to each and every one of you for signing up and for your continued support. I'm so beyond grateful for your feedback, encouragement, insight, and positivity always. The journey keeps getting better with every month and I couldn't be more honored to have you along for the ride. Lastly, I just wanted to add in the spirit of Valentine's Day and the remarkable Whitney Houston, the following lyrics:

I found the greatest love of all

Inside of me

The greatest love of all

Is easy to achieve

Learning to love yourself

It is the greatest love of all

With that said, whether you spend today with a special someone or on your own, just know that you are never without love if you remember to always love yourself.

Hugs and Kisses,

Meag xx

Illustrating at ANNA SUI - Fall 2012 Runway Show

ANNA SUI Fall 2012 Invite

Hello My Darlings!!

How have you all been?! I apologize for the embarrassingly long absence from my blog. I assure you it was with good reason that I took a mini hiatus. More importantly I've come back with some great news to share. Many of you I'm sure already know that New York Fashion Week is in FULL effect which means fashion enthusiasts from across the globe are flocking to the city in droves. The diehards are racing to shows, cocktails, shows, parties, shows, and back again. The rest of us on the fringe are watching (or maybe not) the chaos from outside the fishbowl.

I am lucky enough, however, to have been selected by Would You Rock This to illustrate at ANNA SUI's Fall 2012 show this coming Wednesday February 15th!!!! I'm responsible for documenting the event with a brief write-up and photos, along with three fashion illustrations from the collection which will be showcased over at Exude Magazine and the Would You Rock This Blog. I cannot begin to tell you how UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED I am to be attending this show. ANNA SUI has been one of my longtime favorite fashion designers ever.

I'm an absolute textile print junkie. Give me anything in a crazy floral, bright geometric all over pattern, and I'm smiling ear to ear. ANNA SUI's prints are no exception and I just adore the fact that she's one of the few true nitty gritty New York veteran designers out there. Oh and not to mention that she is a major supporter of the fashion illustration field; just check out her invite above illustrated by Jerry Schwartz. I decided to illustrate her fragrance SUI DREAMS above because, truth be told, it was the first designer perfume I ever owned; my high school boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas (cuuuute!!).

Before I forget, if you haven't yet, make sure to enter my GIVEAWAY x ZELEB London before it closes tomorrow February 13th 2012 at MIDNIGHT!!

Alright my loves, time to get back to work. I've got crazy amazing commissions, collaborations, and projects to fulfill that I can't wait to share with you all in the near future.

Muchos Besos Desde New York,

Meag xx

Valentine's Day GIVEAWAY - ZELEB Dress!!

Natalia Vodianova wearing ZELEB

Hello My Loves,

I have such exciting news to finally share with you all!! Travel Write Draw has teamed up with UK fashion company ZELEB London for a totally lust worthy Valentine's Day GIVEAWAY!!

The prize you ask?! One of these five INCREDIBLY beautiful ready to wear party dresses.

Dress Codes from L-R: 0787, 0793, 0784, 0790, 0786

I had heard from ZELEB's lovely PR person back in the Fall and finally we found the right concept to make this all possible. After all, whether you are single, happily committed, detest the holiday or love it, who wouldn't want to win a gorgeous dress on Valentine's Day?!

For those of you who don't know, ZELEB designs and produces all their dresses in house with the finest couture sewers and pattern makers. Their celebrity client list ranges from the breathtaking Anne Hathaway, Natalia Vodianova (illustrated above), Jenny McCarthy, Amanda Bynes, to the smoldering Keira Knightley just to name a few ;). They have all been linked to their respective dress of choice on the company's website and now you can have the chance to win your very own!! Simply follow the rules below on how to enter.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Follow Travel Write Draw with Google Friend Connect and Bloglovin'

2. Like Travel Write Draw on Facebook

3. Follow ZELEB on Twitter

4. Like ZELEB on Facebook

5. Lastly, leave a comment here on this post describing how you plan to spend Valentine's Day this year; include your email and Facebook name in the comment.

This contest will be open from January 30th - February 13th 2012. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced right here on Valentine's Day February 14th. I will also send the winner an email and they will have the opportunity to select from one of the five dresses above using the associated code. I will forward your dress request and size to ZELEB and they will send it to you directly.

SOooo good luck all you hot tamales!! Can't wait to see who the winner is!!

Much love,

Meag xx

TWD Darling: Liz Cabral

Photos: Tommy Ton for Style.com

Hello My Loves,

Finally I'm able to introduce to you my first ever TWD Darling; The beautiful, fierce, fashion maven, coined "the one to watch" by Mr. Tommy Ton himself, Liz Cabral. She also happens to be the Fashion Director of Canada's FLARE Magazine and, might I add, single handedly proving that Canada is not just following the trends, but setting them too BIG TIME. I'm not sure at what point I caught on to her style, between the impeccable street shots and her feature on The Coveteur, but I've officially found my new style inspiration and illustration muse.

Oh and it doesn't end there, she can actually add accessory designer to her CV as well!! Cabral collaborated with Canadian shoe giants ALDO on an incredible Python Wedge Sandal last Spring and The Shopping Channel for the Flare Lamb Convertible Shoulder Bag. My ultimate goal has always been to take my knowledge of trends, illustration, and design and convert that into wearable products. Naturally I can't help but admire her ability to do the same. With all the major Fashion Weeks just around the corner, I can't wait to catch more glimpses of her all over town.

I hope you all enjoy the first ever TWD Darling post because there are plenty more to come. Loads of inspiration, not nearly enough time :)!!

Much love,

Meag xx

Exciting News: You can check out this illustration on FLARE's Facebook Page here!!

Celine x Mondrian

Celine SS12

Fashion inspired art, art inspired fashion; the argument falls perfectly into the "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" causality-dilemma category. In the case of Celine's SS12 standout, primary colored clutch, there is no doubting its derivative. This wouldn't be the first time designers borrowed from Piet Mondrian's De Stijl works either. We've all seen Yves Saint Laurent's signature color-blocked shift dress, and Christian Louboutin's lust-after Mondrian wedge. So why is it that designers are so frequently drawn to this simplified graphic pattern?

Furthermore, at what point does referencing art in fashion go from flattery to copyright infringement? While I'm not arguing for one side or the other here in this scenario, I think it's a particularly relevant conversation in light of the legal battle between Louboutin and Laurent; instigated over the use of a red soled shoe in their resort 2011 collection. Ideas and their rightful owners are such a hard thing to pinpoint. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that Celine's clutch is sure to be a season sell-out, regardless of it's source of inspiration.

Anyways, gotta run to the airport. Back to NY for me :)

Much love,

Meag xx

SUNFLOWER

Moschino SS12

I know, I know...those of us on the East Coast won't be seeing sunflowers or anything resembling Spring for another long while. I just couldn't stop myself from injecting a little ray of light onto my blog though. While preparing my submission for Company Magazine's High-Street Edit SS12 Fashion Illustration Competition, I definitely picked-up on another major trend for the season: Sunflower Yellow. Moschino ranked my top-five favorite SS12 collections and they happened to use the color throughout from Bolero jacket to knee-length skirt.

Top/L-R: Marc Jacobs, ODLR, Giambattista Valli, ODLR

Bottom/L-R: Moschnio, Altuzarra, Moschino, Giambattista Valli

Other collections pushing the trend included Oscar de la Renta (in the most refreshing combinations I might add), Giambattista Valli, Marc Jacobs, and Altuzarra to name a few. They all have me dreaming of a summer under the Tuscan sun. A girl can dream can't she lol?!

Much love,

Meag xx

Photos: Style.com