do you guys remember the beautiful braid elsa hosk had in our may catalog? one of our amazing home office fp girls was inspired to teach herself how to do something very similar, and we did a little tutorial for you! i love this… i have a feeling i’ll be rocking this braid a lot this summer :) Read More
remember liz, our brooklyn fp girl who makes rad vests? well she’s at it again…my jaw dropped when i opened my email this morning and saw her latest project! not only are her patriotic vests to die for, but these photos are so inspiring. thank you liz!
you can check out her etsy shop here.
did you all have a nice fourth of july? what was the highlight of your weekend?
the catalog was shot by alexandra valenti featuring models ashley smith, anastasia khodkina and jessica mau along with austin band the happen-ins, and the video was shot by our videographer and edited by swell. song is “be yer fool” by the happen-ins, which you can download here!
It’s day two of getting to know our employee of the week, and check out how adorable she was looking today! I love the combo of the ditzy polka-dot shirt underneath a girly denim romper. She looks innocent and flirty all at the same time. Definitely a Candy/Meadow combo just like she said…
Aside from checking out what she was wearing, I wanted to know what she was working on today. Essentially, she’s the one that makes sure you can all find what you’re looking for on our site, and today she’s working furiously to get all of the product from our July catalog (which also drops today!) up on the website.
She goes through, page by page, merchandising the clothing and accessories into their relevant categories for the web. We’re moving into fall already, so she notices missing categories as she goes along, and makes a note to have them added in later. This needs to be done in correspondence with every catalog, look book, blog post – anything that links to clothing someone might want to buy.
I have to say, it sounds tedious, but I’m incredibly grateful to this pretty lady for all her hard work – it means I have an even easier time of filling my closet with Free People clothes… Whoops =P
“the art of transforming something common into something precious.”
…so states the bio for dara gerson and ashley lowengrub’s jewelry line, alkemie, summing up exactly what they aim to do with their designs. after growing weary of the toxic working conditions and environmental impacts of the gem and fine metal industries, the two jewelry designers – now a husband and wife team – joined forces to create a line that only uses local, eco-friendly materials. all of their designs are made of 100% reclaimed metal and manufactured by hand in downtown LA. their amazing pieces are certainly precious and combine sculptural and organic elements that reflect their love of the environment and planet earth.
there is definitely something very 70s and spiritual about their jewelry – i could easily picture stevie nicks piling it on her wrists and hands before taking the stage for one of her epic shows. alkemie’s pieces are featured throughout our july catalog, and they suit our rock and roll theme perfectly.
an inspiration tear from our shoot
the amazing legend buckle belt above is also by alkemie! and below is the beautiful dara of alkemie, wearing the pieces in a photo taken by her husband, ashley.
pieces featured: butterfly wing ring, maltese cross lace cuff, crest moon wrap ring.
Free People is introducing a luxury collection that takes sweater dressing to new heights. It is the first Free People capsule collection based around the craftsmanship of hand crochet and knitting. Inspired by a trip to Florence and a love of yarn, the collection breaths a life of elegance and sophistication into our upcoming line – If you have a love for crochet then this will take your breath away.
“FP Spun features garments made with Italian yarns, shiny silk blends and nubbed soft linens accentuated with intricate jacquards and stitches bringing a little shine for a fancy detail. The dresses range from short and flirty to slinky and long to shaped and sculpted. Each item portrays a different personality– it’s an extremely versatile collection”
The items are uniquely made, no sketching or design process is involved just a love for fine yarns telling a story as our designers knit through their imagination. We are in love with this delicate collection. Here’s a little insight behind the label from our head sweaters designer Rachael
What is FP spun?
An elevated, elegant, unique line of sweaters, beautiful dresses, skirts, glistening shorts and pants.
How did it come about?
I had just been to Pitti Filati in Florence and was inspired by all the shiny, iridescent, plush platinum, rose & liquid gold, shimmery sandy yarns and fell in love with all of them……the beauty of the yarns was amazing. A glistening joyful delight. As I had never really explored such yarns it was all untouched territory to me, so fresh and new and something I really loved.
After I had been shopping in Paris and London I had a bit of an “Ab Fab” moment, and all I wanted to wear was sweaters from head to toe…..“head to toe”, I know ridiculous! I was really into fine knit trousers to open crochet tops and sheer layering pieces……maxi crochet dresses and long fluid skirts
Meg, the president of Free People, had inspired me by bringing in some of her beautiful vintage sweater pieces, dresses, skirts and fabulous pants. And then began the first chapter of designing into a unique, sweater exclusive, high end line “FP Spun”. Elegant dresses, skirts, shorts and pants using all the wonderful yarns that caught my eye….such a delight to be able to use such beautiful yarns. I had discovered something new that I loved ……
Dresses have always been a passion of mine. I love searching for the most unique vintage piece and designing into elegant dresses….bringing out the beauty of the person within. It’s always nice to feel pretty, beautiful, elegant and happy, a dress is always the answer to happiness for me.
What makes FP Spun so special?
It’s nice to be able to create something from the beginning. The beauty of the garment evolves and unfolds as you crochet and knit with the yarns. It then forms into something beautiful that you can design into. It’s so much fun; I always feel like I’m sculpting with the yarn, and it then leads you into an amazing dress.
All the yarns are Italian or Japanese. The Japanese have the most innovative space dye colors. They are very unique. We have also started to line all the dresses with delicate beautiful French laces, and as the collection evolves, we are beginning to piece the garments with French embroideries and embellishments, pretty exciting stuff……shine + Italian or Japanese + French laces = sheer happiness for me and a beautiful garment.
We hope you love Fp Spun!
Visit the shop here
There are so many interesting jobs with really quirky, fun, cool people behind them here at Free People. We think they’re awesome, and we think you will too. So, beginning this week, we’ll be starting something new on the blog to get to know them better – employee of the week!
This week’s employee is our assistant web merchandiser. Read her introduction below, and stay tuned all week for daily updates on who she is and what she’s doing!
our creative director’s story about the flag:
“I have had this flag pinned up and ready to sew for months now but it never got sewn. But recently my dear, sweet mother came to visit and she took this flag home with her and she sewed for me so I would have it for the 4th of July!! Moms rule!!!”
so sweet! happy fourth of july everyone :)
There are many highlights to summer, but one of my favorites is fresh fruit! It’s probably the easiest thing to prepare, tastes amazing, and can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert. =)
Ingredients:
16oz Strawberries
2 Large mangoes
1 Banana
1 Lime
1 ½ tsp Sugar
Instructions:
You can eat the salad plain, or mix it into Greek yogurt like I did for breakfast one morning. There are so many ways to go about serving it – get creative!
“Beauty can come from the strangest of places even the most disgusting of places,It’s the ugly things I notice more, because other people tend to ignore the ugly things”- Alexander McQueen
While I was studying fashion design at university, I was introduced to the wonderful and magnificent world that was created by Alexander McQueen. I became fascinated in his approach to Fashion… I found him an incredibly interesting person. He did not just create fashion for women to wear, he created stories, visually stimulating performances as captivating as a movie you want to watch over and over again.
His background in tailoring made him a perfectionist. Every little detail was done so well that I was often left breathless.
One of the first shows I was introduced to was “Deliverance” Spring/Summer 2004, and I think it has remained one the most beautiful fashion shows I have ever seen.
Deliverance was inspired by the 1970’s Sydney Pollack film ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They’. When the famous dance marathon theme came alive and models and professional dancers sashayed intensely around each other, the runway became a theoretical performance. I loved the disturbance of this show, and the contradiction it created. Beautiful craftsmanship against the backdrop of America during the great depression was unsettling – a battle between the beautiful and the damned. At the end of the show, the professional dancer wears the exact same dress as model Karen Elson, who opened the show, but the sequins are tarnished and the embroidery unpicked and distressed. This show got me good, and I was then hooked to everything he did.
As you can imagine when his life ended, it broke my heart. Such a maverick was lost. However, a couple of days ago, I managed to experience some of his magic at the Met in New York. The “Savage Beauty” exhibit was such a beautiful and eerie experience that took my breath away.
Have any of you guys been?
we had a little fourth of july celebration at the office and everyone brought such amazing stuff! if you’re having, or going to, a party this weekend – here’s some tasty inspiration for things to serve or bring :)
and this last one, we didn’t have at our party, but i had to include it:
remember our rainbow tie-dyed cupcakes? follow the same instructions using just red and blue dye, and then add some sprinkles on top!
