da da

My new name/label/card design is finally here! 'da da' means 'yes yes' in my native tongue, but it also comes from my nickname since I was a child. Just like many little girls growing up in Sarajevo named Daniela were simply called Dada, I came into possession of the same exact nickname. I only wanted to split the name in two, for the obvious reasons. It had to be short, simple, but also close to home.

Rectangle

What if making a dress would be more like designing a building, with a life it will contain inside in mind, but still having one of it's own just hanging there on the wall? Fabric architecture, in constant balance between the sculpture and a dress...
'Rectangle' is one of my recently completed ones. I'm trying to do more sculptures these days, all while cooking up some brave new things for the store.

Hypo.Thesis Art Show

Hypo.Thesis is an upcoming art show I will be part of this March, March 20-28. Ten Central Florida artists, each with a very different point of view will be showing their latest juiciest work. To find out more, or if you live in the Orlando area and would like to stop by, please visit the Hypo blog.

Sneak Peak

Just a peak at newness! Colors and textures I'm obsessing over these days.
My absence does not mean I've abandoned the written word, but I have been juggling a bit lately; new old Etsy store, new new Etsy store, new designs, possible names, brand, packaging options...
I do want to say thanks to all, you wonderful ladies for visiting and leaving comments!

Danca Goes Vintage!

Yes, my Danca store will now be selling vintage only, and I am opening another Etsy store featuring my own designs. It was the time to separate my love of vintage from the items I'm making, and hopefully it shows to be a smart move on my part.
So visit Danca! You might just find what you were looking for!
Meanwhile, I'm working on opening another store! Wish me luck.

Pulver

Did anyone else got so overwhelmed with cute puff sleeves, ruffles, pleats... and I do love pleats, but these days I crave a straight, simple, almost minimal look. The answer is Pulver, the city Berlin. The looks are from their SS/08 collection.

Umami Like Felt Bag

I've got this fun Umami Midori book from my sister for Christmas, and this is the first portfolio bag inspired by one of the bags from this book. It's big, it's skinny, fully lined with yellow blend cotton, with a nice large side pocket, and an old belt handle. Not too shabby for felt I must say.

Not Your Grocery Brown Bag

This year's holiday gift bags may not be in the spirit of the obligatory red and green, but they are ideal for odd shaped gifts, or if you just need to hide what's inside. I made these using brown bag paper, thread, twine for closure, and leftover construction paper and eyelets for tags. They stand propped up and have that sculptural 3d feel to them, can be reused, and they always stand out in the crowd.
I might use the same concept for packaging of my own clothing.

C Neeon

C Neeon is two very talented young ladies from Berlin who know their color and cut, how to throw an awesome show outdoors, and just the perfect way of taking photos of their clothes. These here are the pictures from their AW 04/05 'daydreamnation' collection. Their latest 'love you delicious' SS/08 was an outdoor show, and you can view the entire collection on their site. Enjoy!

Diana Brinks

The label, Diana Brinks, the city, Copenhagen, and the form, pure and simply beautiful. I love it, so should you, because clothes like these are not much affected by time, let alone trend and fashion. These images are from the SS/08 collection, but I think I like the pieces from her FW/07 even more.

USE unused

I first came across this promising Hungarian label via Temporary Showroom, and fell in love hopelessly. In a true constructionist fashion the figure is sometimes a bit complex, but always flawless and flattering, never overpowering, simply good design. USE unused comes from Budapest.

Mel En Stel

Mel En Stel:



My own half visible belt, reversible day and evening dress:



Ilse Eriksson, the lady behind Mel En Stel, knows her cuts, very charming, sometimes courageous, yet it all seems so comfortable and wearable. Even the first two dresses, with a little something discrete underneath would be doable. I love the half visible belt, it reminds me of the Origami dress, from my first collection, one side is 'work' and gray, another 'evening' purple satin. I think I will revisit the reversible, half way belt idea, yet another obsession of mine.

Peel and Gray

Sometimes subtle is just the right thing, like these two dresses from my latest collection, Peel and Gray. They can be worn as short dresses or tunics layered over skinny jeans or tights. Yes, I said tights, I think paired with a brave pair of boots tights are quite proper.

The Wind

Issey Miyake's latest, The Wind, was released in October of this year, in Paris. The greatest thing, a complete video of the runway show is available now on line. And I think even if you are not Miyake's fan, you would still find his clothes, the music, the wind... all, quite intriguing.

My Own

These two pieces are from my latest collection. I was very interested in leaving a garment almost square/rectangular in shape, since that is the raw shape fabric comes in, so not much is discarded. And also, I wanted to see how far I can go with folding instead of cutting, and I'm pretty happy with the start.
First one, 'Dada,' could be worn back to front and inside out, since there is no real front, back, or the face.
The second one 'Pagoda,' has a collar on one side of the neck line only, that can be worn either up or down, according to mood, and also back to front as well.
I'm constantly trying to take the idea of versatility further, so less pieces are needed in your wardrobe, but yet nothing is missing. This also means less mindless mass buying, and more of a few well designed useful, well made pieces.

Tom Scott

I love Tom Scott's approach to design, and I don't know if it comes from his past work as an accessories designer, but he does not treat the material the same way other designers do. There aren't any rules in his work, but yet there are. He's brave, and it shows, and it works so well. Makes me want to try working with knits, even though I did a lot of jersey in my last collection, knits seam to be a step further to sculptural, more finalized garment, since it's not a piece of fabric you cut into leaving a lot to be discarded; It's a more of a final complete piece.

All Day Long

Sometimes I make dresses that are purely design driven, other times they come to be out of basic simple need for that certain something you can wear to the store, or just hang around the house, or with proper boots even to the movies. It looks structured, and maybe even rigid, but it's a very comfortable knit jersey dress all day long...