Burda Style For people who sew

This may or may not come as a surprise to you – but I am a huge sci-fi fan. Books, television shows, movies…fashion. Yes, fashion – and I’m not just talking Star Trek costumes.

Books like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick and Neuromancer by William Gibson offered decidedly postmodern views of the future – dystopias full of pumped-up artificial intelligence, big-brother style law enforcement, vigilante justice and grand ideas of what the future of technology looked like. Film took these futuristic views a step further by creating solid visuals we could tie to all of these ideas, including amazing clothing and set design that is just as much anchored to the definition of Cyberpunk as the original writings from which the genre was born.

I don’t know about you, but this year has flown by, I can hardly believe it’s already November. Whether or not you’re ready, it’s time to start gearing up for the holiday season and that means planning your holiday party attire.

Here in the U.S. we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks – the rest of the holiday season just seems to snowball from there – and I thought I would pull together a few outfit ideas and BurdaStyle patterns to help get your wardrobe holiday ready, hopefully with some time to spare.

November is a month full of stylish birthdays: Marie Antoinette, Vivienne Leigh, Hedy Lamarr and Lauren Hutton just to name a few. Two icons of style who would be celebrating birthdays this week as well are Katharine Hepburn (Nov. 8) and Grace Kelly (Nov. 12).

Visibly at opposite ends of the style spectrum, both ladies were – and still are – regarded as icons in their own right and continue to influence legions of stylish ladies and designers alike. Whether you’re keen on Grace’s ladylike charms or Katharine’s rebellious swagger, you’re sure to find loads of sartorial inspiration from these Hollywood stars.

This week Vogue‘s indomitable EIC Anna Wintour celebrated her 62nd birthday and more than a few fashion outlets took it upon themselves to dig through the archive of Wintour style and pull up her greatest hits and misses. I couldn’t help but get a laugh out of some of her ensembles (proof that the 80s wasn’t nice to anyone) and thought I would share some of my favorites.

We’re just starting to feel the first bit of winter chill in New York and it already has me dreaming of spring’s warm return. Until then, I’m just going to stare longingly at all the beautiful spring collections and dream of what I want to make for myself once the temps start climbing again. For our Southern Hemisphere dwellers, you can get started on spring 2012 trends now – and the first one I’m bringing to you is (whether you love it or hate it) the bra top.

With all of the hustle and bustle surrounding New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks – we can often forget that there are loads of other fantastic fashion week showcases all over the world. From Nashville to LA, Berlin to Moscow – fashion is an international language with each city putting it’s own unique spin on clothing and style. One of my favorite places to watch fashion unfold is Tokyo. Japanese designers and fashionistas are known the world over for their trendsetting (or trend bucking) creations – from the high-fashion, avant garde designs of Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo to street style trends like Lolita and Agejo, Japan is an amazingly artistic and unique environment that provides loads of inspiration for almost any sewing or DIY endeavor.

Last week we were given the opportunity to share the results of a fantastic collaboration between Urban Threads and KMKostumes. The product was an amazing Steampunk-inspired dress that got me thinking about how much Steampunk and Victorian-era style has influenced fashion over the last few years, and vice-versa. Not only that, but tons of our talented BurdaStyle members have uploaded amazing creations inspired by both romantic Victorian style and the Steampunk aesthetic (which draws a good amount of it’s influence from the former).

Halloween is upon us and if you don’t already know, we’re hosting a pretty fantastic contest with BERNINA. Whether you’ve already submitted your entry (and we’re starting to see some amazing ones as evident by the images above), are putting the finishing touches on your costume or you’re still in need of a last-minute get up, we pulled together a few fun costume ideas and some of our favorite BurdaStyle patterns that you can use to make your look complete.

Ok, I’m going to make a little confession: as soon as fashion week starts I always wish I had a fast forward button that would skip immediately to the Paris shows. It’s not that I don’t love what designers in New York, London and Milan are doing – but there’s something about the beauty and artistry of Paris fashion week that still makes me as giddy as it did when I was a little girl waiting by the mailbox for my giant copy of Vogue to arrive. Regardless of where your favorite designers show or what city inspires you the most, there were loads of great looks on the Parisian runways just begging for you to try them next spring, and we rounded up our last batch of favorites as fashion month officially comes to a close and we eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring 2012.

Italian designers and fashion houses are known the world over for their luxury and flair for the dramatic, and this season during Milan fashion week it was no exception as designers like Miuccia Prada, Consuelo Castiglioni and Roberto Cavalli turned out fresh, fun and daring looks for spring 2012. Ready to get a jump start on the season? The Milan runways were full of vibrant patterns ranging from the pop art florals at Marni to the jazzy art deco looks at Etro and we pulled together a few of our favorites to inspire you to dig through your fabric stash and start playing with your prints!

Ah, London…I’ve always had such a romantic notion of London and the UK in general. I suppose I naively base my assumptions on one too many Masterpiece Theatre dramas, but a girl can still dream, right? Another reason I am so in love with London is that I feel like fashion is much less restrained than it is here in the US.

Just as we’re gearing up for fall’s colder weather, designers are rolling out their looks for spring 2012 and it already has me excited for warm weather to come back around. So far in New York we’ve seen in-your-face florals, sleek and sporty ensembles and everything in between but fashion week is just getting started and I can’t wait to see what the London, Paris and Milan designers have up their sleeves. Want to get started on a few of the spring trends? Check out some of my favorite looks from the runways, plus download great patterns for you to get the look now (but shhhh, don’t tell the designers!).

Even though pre-­‐season shows have taken on a life (and a series of trends) all their own, they are still a fairly good indicator of what we can expect to see on the runways come fall and spring. For this week’s Trend Report we’re playing a little game in the office called “Predict the Trends”, and decided to pull together some of the most prominent looks and trends from the 2012 Resort shows as an idea of what we could see designers sending down the runways in the coming weeks.

From the romanticism of Alexander McQueen to the rock ‘n’ roll rebellion of Balmain, metallic embroidery is adding a luxe edge to some of fashion’s latest looks. Check out some of our favorite embroidered creations and try it on your next project with Amann Group Mettler Poly Sheen® thread. A larger surface area means the thread reflects more light and is sure to bring attention to wherever you decide to stitch it. Toss in a few sequins or beads for a textural effect and take your garment project to the next level.