fantastical fashion

dresses from avant garde Dutch fashion designer Iris Van Herpen’s. top image via cyanatrendland.

i'm lovin' it!

while having morning meetings with 2 lovely ladies yesterday to discuss having their upcoming labels on cate, i was pleasantly delighted with the care the lady at McCafe at East Coast took to jazz up my hot choc : )  my meetings went well too, and i had a great time chatting and learning of their dreams, aspirations and concrete plans to bring them about.

one is smack in the middle of her final year in fashion studies and the other is a full-time lawyer in m&a and more, i'm sure. really, it's great to dream, but equally important to plan how you're going to achieve that dream. that said, we probably don't dream enough, so take 5, have a cuppa and dream some!

shop update: in celebration of the upcoming International Woman's Day...

...Glor is offering a 35% off their sublime Blooming Bravery silk dress. offer valid for orders placed by March 8.

the karen hilltribes trust

we are always very encouraged to hear of good that comes out of adversity and troubles in life. it's life-affirming and to us, points upwards to a God who sees, hears and helps. the Karen Hilltribes Trust is one such story, of a UK mother's quest to fulfill her volunteer son's wish to help the Karen people, cut short by his untimely car crash.

8 years on and with over £1.5million raised, the Karen Hilltribes Trust is now working in over 300 villages in a region covering 100 square miles of remote, mountainous country to fulfill three key aims of: improving health, improving education and improving the peoples' ability to generate income for themselves and their families. their projects include the installation of clean water systems and latrines, improving education by providing school buses, dormitories and teaching, building irrigation systems and regenerating land.

the long term vision is to see the Karen people empowered to support themselves in a sustainable way. and the trust continues the son, Richard Worsley's legacy by offering volunteers the opportunity to spend their gap year teaching English in a Karen School. if you'd like to help, visit their website here, and as mentioned in our last post, 100% of the proceeds of this gift set of 10 cleaning kits (S$60/US$43) will also go towards the trust.

happy Monday!

shop update: choo yilin artisan jewellery launches the hilltribe dew drop series

                     
here at cate, we are kicking off a 6-week long hilltribe awareness campaign with our designer and friend, Yilin of Choo Yilin Artisan Jewellery. Yilin has been working closely with hilltribe artisans in Thailand for their beautifully textured silver pieces, which have been a great complement to her design philosophy of individual, handcrafted designs that are very much organic and asymmetrical in nature. with a wider social cause at the forefront of her mind, her commissioned pieces help to preserve the centuries-old cultural art-form of hilltribe silver craftsmanship, supporting the artisans' culture and economy.

                    
the hilltribes dew drop series features the hilltribe artisans’ textured silver work heavily, with Yilin's signature natural, almost-quirky embellishments. expect to see more sophisticated detailing in this collection – stronger textures and unique forms, with something for the ladies and gentlemen alike. her hilltribe pieces are available for sale on cate at 15% off for the duration of the hilltribe awareness campaign, till the end of March. also on sale, this gift set of 10 cleaning kits for S$60 (US$43), with 100% of the proceeds going to The Karen Hilltribes Trust.

                      
we'll be sharing more details on this charity, as well as 'postcards' of the hilltribe artisans as a working community in our next post. stay tuned!

lovely, indulgent letterpressing

by dolcepress via baroque moments.

seeing light

                     
the Furà pendant lamp by Italian designers Studio06 is inspired by the light that filters through the rocks. proves once again that some of the best inspiration comes from nature. via dezeen.

vacation-ready nautical belt

on the other hand, we're loving the freshness and polish of this cotton belt by Strenesse Gabriele Strehle, US$310, at Latrice, Bryn Mawr, PA. via elle.com. at work or at play?

fall 2010: bibhu mohapatra

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smart, sophisticated office-wear by young designer Bibhu Mohapatra's fall 2010 show in New York, via Style.com. 

fall 2010: vena cava

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our cocktail hour picks from Vena Cava's fall 2010 show in New York via style.com.

one day poem pavilion

this is the One Day Poem Pavilion by Jiyeon Song. using a complex array of perforations, the pavilion's surface allows light to pass through, creating shifting patterns which, during specific times of the day, transform into legible text of a poem on the ground. the poem consists of 5 lines with each line lasting about an hour, offering a meditative moment within our hectic lives. via thomas baekdal.

rest in peace, alexander mcqueen

our thoughts are with the family of gifted iconoclast Alexander McQueen at this time for their loss. what a tragic waste and loss, and not just because he was a famous person. for that matter, why is it that highly artistic and creative people seem more susceptible to succumbing to dark thoughts?

for anyone contemplating suicide, please know that you are beloved and irreplaceable, and that there are people who can help with your grief and provide a listening ear, such as Befrienders International.
photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

organic clothing series: #1 myths and realities of organic cotton

the rise of stylish, eco-aware customers in Europe and the U.S. has seen the recent, respectable increase in the sale of organic clothing with a 50% growth since 2002. with organic cotton making up only 1% of global cotton production, it is a drop in the ocean in sustainability stakes.

yet, in our continuing quest to be better informed consumers, we nevertheless thought to share some benefits of organic cotton farming vis-à-vis conventional cotton farming: (1) similar yields and quantity, (2) protects farmers’ and their families' health through reduced dependence on pesticides, (3) empowers women as loans to purchase expensive chemicals and equipment (required for conventional cotton farming) are almost exclusively available only to men, and (4) improves farmers’ income and livelihood thereby breaking aid dependency and debt cycle. reason enough? full report and stats via ecochic magazine.

chanel's tattoo art

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never fans of tattoos ourselves, temporary or permanent, we were nevertheless intrigued by these delicate, whimsical ones created by Chanel's global creative director, Peter Philips. debuting last october at the Chanel show at the Grand Palais in a barn setting no less, Chanel will be selling these tattoos for US$75.00 a set starting mid-february. think little birdie peeking out from under nape-grazing chignons. what do you think?

and by the way, that's Dree Hemingway on the left. via garance dore, stylelist and bellasugar.

liv tyler, walk this way

 

lovely cover, lovely liv. we hear liv’s personal day-to-day style is very laid back, slightly boyish even. and that perfectly describes cate! via elle uk blogs.
cover: liv tyler, issue: march 2010, photo: rankin

pretty play things

delight your little one with these hand screen printed organic cloth balls by dressmeup.

hello weekend!

if like us, you've had a rather full week, take a deep breathe and let it out slowly. it's almost over! we're signing off for the week and wishing you a lovely weekend : )
photo: simply bloom

eschewing the conventional for organic beauty

i've told jewellery designer Choo Yilin before, and i'll say it again, i love this pair of wedding bands!  the milgrain bordering and organic nature of these rings are so very vintage and to me, personal by it's very nature of being individually handcrafted. they reminded me immediately of a shopping excursion i took with my mum down one quaint little shopping arcade in Perth's city central where i came away with my very first piece of vintage jewellery, a delicately handmade diamond engagement ring that had seen more years than me.

i found a matching pair of earrings, seen on the Armani Privé spring 2010 couture show, via style.com. "It's about the moon," explained Giorgio Armani, and yes, the lunar reference is quite, quite clear.
model: Kelli Lumi (MAJOR), photo: Don Ashby & Olivier Claisse

Anna Wintour flexes her muscle in Carine Roitfeld's turf

on the world stage, or rather, the leading fashion capitals, here's a hilarious read by bryanboy on the theme of nurturing young designers, specifically the pivotal role that influential fashion editors play. this second picture posted had us bursting out laughing. and for the record, we heart Carine Roitfeld.
photos via AFP, bryanboy.

page turning stuff.

for the old school, here is l'albatros by oscar lhermitte.

downtown chic

always a fan of relaxed cuts ourselves, we liked this skirt from up-and-coming French designer Anne Valérie Hash's spring 2010 couture show. work the look with a white or black jersey racer-back tank and tough heels. and there's a rather heart-warming story behind the collection involving Alber Elbaz's pjs and all, via style.com.
model: Aminata Niaria (IMG), photo: Marcio Madeira 

ranunculus, our favourite blooms

for the romantic bride: something blue

for the sophisticate: a mix of olives, black ivy berries and silver-green branches

for the whimsical & spontaneous: mix it up with a vivid array for the flower girl

for the classic bride: a soft pink bouquet

by martha stewart weddings.

lovely script

a behind the scenes look at Okay Type founder and type designer Jackson Cavanaugh's creation of a beautiful script masthead in the tradition of Doyald Young. via type theory.