Emergent Magazine

I was recently asked to do an interview with Emergent Magazine about alabakov.

Its very humbling and nice when magazines like this approach you. It shows that my hard work does actually get noticed!

Have a look at the interview here.....Im very happy!

Thanks Emergent xx

much love xx

Its released!

Ive been talking about it for SO long and now it has been released.

Head over to www.alabakov.com.au and check out the full S/S 10/11.

All piece handmade to order!

much love xx

Miu Miu who?

I know its meant to be top 5 friday but.......................

Miu Miu

Hideous collection.

What was she thinking?

Thoughts?

(www.style.com)

much love xx

Lets skip autumn...

So I've made the decision to skip Autumn/Winter 2011 and prepare for a big Spring/Summer 11/12 collection.

A/W usually isnt a big selling season and for that reason I have decided not to proceed with it. I can do a lot more with S/S and therefore want to put more energy into it.

Although I'm yet to release 'Porcelain Lady' for this season, my brain is buzzing with ideas for S/S 11/12!

Just a sneak peak of where my inspiration is:

Cant wait to show you the progress!

much love xx

Brownlow wrap up!

So the Brownlow has come and gone, and such a surprise it was this year!

I was very very impressed with most of the dresses and wanted to share my top 5 with you

Winner of the night:

Nadia Coppolino wearing Connie Simonetti

This dress ticked all the right boxes. It fit perfectly to her body and dropped in all the right places. The fabric was on trend and although completely hand beaded it wasn't too flashy. Her hair and makeup complemented the look and didn't age her. Its a perfect 'Black Tie' dress.

2nd Place:

Taylor Wilson wearing Baccini and Hill

Old school glamour always has a spot at 'Black Tie' events. The dress was proportionally correct and the minimal sequinned panel on the shoulders didn't overtake the look. The colour was on trend bringing the dress into a modern look. I do think her bag was far TOO big and looked out of place but minor details in an overall beautiful look. And a finger fringe may have been a better option!

3rd Place:

Kylie Brown in Lisa Ho

This dress is stunning. Very on trend and fashion forward with the colour and drape method. I'm not usually a fan of all things Lisa Ho, but this dress stood out as a winner for me. The colour matches Kylie's skin tone and the draped panels fell in the right places. The silhouette was feminine and didn't make her look like she was trying too hard.

4th Place:

Jesinta Campbell

Not a WAG in any sense. but a stunning dress. The emerald green was a standout on the Blue Carpet. Once again, fell in all the right place and didn't show too much skin. The ruffle was large and elegant. I would have gone for an 'up-do' hairstyle to show off the back of the dress, but that's a personal thing I guess!

5th Place:

Lauren O'Shannesey

(all photos courtesy of HeraldSun.com.au)

This dress was COMPLETELY overlooked which is such a pity. Her overall look was elegant and glamorous. The print was refreshing in a sea of solid colours. The purple/navy is a big trend coming thorough for next winter, but when the colours are used in a style such as this, it works. A big tick for hair and makeup too!

I did adore Ms Twigleys dress but think Aurelio Costarella has produced far better things then what she wore. The colour was a little off, but the hand pleated flowers along the hemline were stunning! Im sure she had a bit to say in the creation of the dress which is probably why it wasn't as beautiful as I hoped for!

Anyway, this is my wrap-up! What do you think? Was my top 5 your top 5?

much love

xx

totally M.I.A

Life just happens, and when it does something has to give!

Unfortunately it always seems to be this blog.

I apologies and now I will start fresh...... again!!

I will be blogging 3-4 times a week.

Fridays will be my 'Top 5 List'. Not something new to all you blog lovers out there, but something which will keep this blog up to date!

So to start fresh, lets talk bout 'Porcelain Lady'

It is set to be released on October 1st. The entire collec

tion is something I am very proud of and cant wait to get it out there. Don't want to give too much away but lets just say its full of organza and silk's and completely feminine! Wont show all the pics, but just an updated one for you all!

much love xx

Behind the scenes

When I plan all my photo shoots I always have a clear direction of how I want the photos to turn out. I decide on the hair, makeup, model, lighting, camera positioning, poses, colours and anything else you can think of!

It may be a little extreme, but I have such vivd images in my head, and to produce exactly what I want to see, I need to take control of everything.

I have a great team around me that understand how I work. My work ethic does not suit everyone, but luckily the people around me understand my slightly manic brain!

Here are some behind the scenes shots...enjoy!

much love xx

quick...

a BIG post tomorrow about behind the scenes...

soo busy!

much love xx

SJP

I adore Sarah Jessica Parker's style.

She always gets it right.

The premier of the SATC2 movie in New York was no exception.

The colour was absolutely spot on and her hair and makeup was perfect.

Oh, and I can't wait to see the movie!

much love xx

I'm back from FFF

What an amazing weekend I had at the Fashion Forward Festival in Sydney

Not only did I showcase my new collecgion, I met some amazing and tallented designers. It was so nice to be surrounded with people that shared the same goals with you.

Just a quick post to link you over to 2 bloggers whom I met.

Darren from BOY MOMENTS was an absoilute gem. He has taken some amazing shots of the festival so please head over to have a quick look.

Margaret from SHINE BY THREE is adorable. He blog is so addictive thanks to her fabulous sense of style, and very witty remarks!

I will have my own photos up soon.... promise!!

much love xx

Presenting....

Porcelain Lady

Spring/Summer 10/11

Here are a couple of image!

Hope you love them as much as I do!

Much love

xx

Ohh the shoot..

...went so well! I am so happy!

A quick post to let you know I will give you a sneak peek at one of the images for
PORCELAIN LADY - Spring Summer 10/11

Stay tuned!

much love xx

The look book...

As I said on my previous post, I've been working hard to get my new collection up and running in time for the Fashion Forward Festival in Sydney.

The collection is called "Porcelain Lady"

It explores themes of whimsical fabric, sheer see-through panels and a cream colour palette.

I'm shooting the look book on Saturday and I have enlisted a fabulous makeup artist (my sister-in-law) to create a dramatic "harajuki" look.

Here is my inspiration that I sent her

Porcelain flawless skin, dramatic eyelashes mixed with pink lips will compliment the clothing perfectly.

Cant wait to show you the picture!

much love xx

I fell..

off the blog bandwagon again....

BUT IM BACK!

Ive been working SO hard to get my Spring/Summer 2010/11 ready for a trade fair that I have been invited too.

Its called the Fashion Forward Trade Fair at the Paddington town hall in Sydney. You can find all the info here

Im SO excited to be able to unveil my FIRST full collection. I had the inspiration for this collection for a little while and I'm so happy its coming together exactly as I hoped.

a sneak peak of one of the dresses!

much love xx

VB

Some may judge.... but I heart Victoria Beckham.

Her sense of style and exquisite shoe collection is beyond words.

Here are my all time favourite looks...

much love xx

Sheer delight

I stumbled across an AMAZING fabric store on Brunswick Street a few weeks ago by the name of The Fabric Store. This is the sister store of their Sydney one, and I'm thrilled that they now reside so close to me!

Fabric makes me so happy. Its the fundamental part of my design process, as I don't start designing until I find the perfect fabric, colour or print! So you can imagine my delight when I walked past it with my husband one morning after breakfast... Was he delighted..? not so much!

The look on my face of sheer excitement made him laugh a little!

You MUST head down there!

Oh... and the sales girls there are so lovely and helpful!

images from The Fabric Store

much love

xx

Where am I?

Back in Melbourne... that's where!

I have been in Bali for the last 10 days having a very very relaxing holiday. It was my third time back to Bali and I can not wait to go again!

But while in Bali i did miss out on a few thing:

1/ The Leiela Lady Accolade Comp

2/ Fashion week

3/ Daily Labels Launch Party

So...

1/ Although I did not win the Leiela Comp, I am very proud of myself to have been in the top 5.

2/ It may sound so strange, but I don't like Fashion We

ek as a spectator. I find it highly uninspiring as I don't like to copy other fabulous designers garments and I don't like that I cant see the actual garment close up! Strange... I know!

3/ Launch party sounded like a ball! But more importantly alabakov is thrilled to be apart of this awesome website. You MUST check it out here... Daily Labels

The red dress is mine!

much love

xx

Next step

So, I guess you can tell that the colour is red! I did intend to keep this a secret until the end but didn't really think it through....oops!

So based on the alterations to the toile and pattern, I have sewn up the dress in the base fabric.

Poor image quality... but it was a very quick photo op between busily matching side seams and sewing!

much love xx

Toile

Using a cheap fabric, in a similar weight, I cut the pattern and fit it to my mannequin.

To get the best fit, I pin the seams to make the waist tighter. There was some excess fabric at the strap which i pinned out. On the mannequin the fit was great. It was firm and structured and had no gaping!

Next step - first fit using the actual fabric!

much love xx

The LEIELA process

The stage of fashion design are:

Inspiration to sketch to fabric to pattern to toile to amen

dments to pattern to first fit and then garment completion (well this is a very short process!)

Over the next few posts I thought I would show you the process for my "Leiela Lady Accolade" entry.

I wont be showing you the completed garment till the end, so lets skip the inspiration stage and move to the pattern stage...

This is "draping"method and I do quite a lot of my work like this.

I first start with paper and fitting it to the manequin. I then cut the shape of the bodice and transfer this to a flat pattern.

Next stage... toile!

much love xx

Paper patterns + water = disaster

If you follow me on Facebook, then you would be aware that my studio flooded over the weekend.

Seeing the damage made me cry.

Every surface area of my studio had water on it. Nearly all my paper patterns (

close to 100) were ruined.

Scissors are rusted and fabric drenched.

Needless to say, I have since moved out of the studio back into my garage.

It seems like I've taken 10 steps back, but these things should only make me stronger...

it WILL only make me stronger!

some of the damage :(

much love xx

Where did the week go...?

Sorry sorry sorry sorry!

I don't know where the week went, and feel terrible for neglecting my little blog :(

But I am back on track!

So, alabakov has been invited to be apart of a new website called Daily Labels.

Its a new concept where each day has a new garment for sale. The catch.... its only available for those 24 hours! So each day you will get an email letting you know what's available and you have 24 hours to purchase!

I love this idea! Its quick easy and constantly delivering something new. The best thing about it is that alabakov will be designing garments exclusively for Daily Labels! So excited!

So go join up to their database and let the fun begin!

I made the finals...!!

Was so thrilled to hear that I had made it into the finals for the "Leiela Lady Accolade" award as apart of the LMFF.

I was one of five chosen... woo hoo!

The brief was to design a dress the suited the Leiela design philosophy. I needed to send through sketches and supporting images.

So I am now in the process of making my dress up. The final is on March 21st and I cant wait for it!

I will be posting photos of the progress of the dress, without giving too much away of course! I will unveil it to my lovely bloggers on March 15th!

Wish me luck!

much love xx

My. Happiness.

A very quick post to introduce you to my little man....

This. Is. Maurice.

I. Heart. Him

much love xx

CWC

Last November I was asked to be a guest speaker at the Creative Women's Circle meet.

It was such an amazing experience, and I am very grateful that Tess invited me along.

Its a great initiative that invites a different guest speaker along to discuss their own personal experiences in their chosen field. I spoke about being a young designer within the industry and the pros and cons of my business concept. I received some very kind feedback by those who attended so I was very pleased to say the least!

And so now I open up the invitation to you all. Below are the details.

don't forget to RSVP if you want to attend

much love xx

RIP MR MCQUEEN

A very sad day in our little world today...

The industry just lost a little piece of brilliance...

images from style.com

RIP Alexander McQueen

And now... ME!

I am Stephanie Carello.

Designer, pattern-maker, sample machinist, grader, manufacturer and business woman.

Alabakov has moved from my imagination into the real world, and I cant describe the feeling.

There is still a long way for my little label to go... but watch this space!

We will be there very soon.

photo borrowed from www.misskish.com.au

much love xx