#TechStyle at the MFA Boston!

I had the honor of attending the opening of #techstyle at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston last month (yes I'm super late posting this). I love fashion as a way of expression but I'm always curious about those who are pushing the boundaries of fashion and the way we interact with what we wear. I had not seen much tech infused fashion before so I was truly excited to see visually what can happen when you mix it up. Today, designers are using technology during the designing process but also as a way to create with the use of 3D printers, digitally printed fabrics and laser cutting. These are some of my favorites from the night. You can catch the exhibit in Boston until July 10th and I highly recommend a visit!

3D printed skirt and cape by Iris Van Herpen, created in collaboration with artist Neri Oxman from MIT's Media Lab.

3D printed shoes by Francis Bitonti

Specially designed for this exhibit, the Nervous System was commissioned to create this petal 4D printed dress using Kinematics. 4D printed, it uses body scans and foldable modules to conform to the body. Talk about a perfect fit!

Designer Manish Arora created this stunning bodice using laser cut technology and traditional intricate Indian craft techniques, combining old and new. Check out his collection on his website, so gorgeous!

Avant-garde designers Viktor and Rolf Haute Couture use laster cutting and digitally printed fabrics to create this disected framed wearable art!

United Nude 3-D printed shoes. Loved these!

ThreeASFOUR designers created this 3D printed stretch mesh dress based on sound waves and serial forms.

Digital printed dress by Mary Katrantzou.

Designer Ying Gao kinetic reactive garment that uses electronic sensors and dressmaker pins to create organic like movement.

Cute Circuit designed this interactive dress that you can actually tweet! Cool idea but I do not want my clothing also hooked up to the internet. I would probably get technology anxiety wearing this hehe!

If you don't know some of these fab ladies below go check them out! It was fun to be among others that enjoyed fashion as much as I do! Left to right. Kelly Rego, Samantha Ramage of A Glimpse of Glamour, Lei Ann of Lei Ann of Lei Ann Off Duty, Me!, and Cassandra Knight of Castanet. 

Samantha is the pretty lady that invited me and she runs the fabulous blog A Glimpse of Glamour. She definitely won best look of the night in my eyes <3 but I do have a soft spot for reds, pinks and roses!

If you missed it, I share some of the details of my outfit here <3 I did not have much technology infused clothing in my closet so I just did my thing but channeled the bold and daring queen of tech style Bjork.

Thanks for stopping by as always!

XO

Spring Fever!

A couple weeks ago I was invited by my friend Sami of A Glimpse of Glamour to attend the opening for the Techstyle Exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. I was feeling quite daring coming out of winter hibernation, so I was in the mood to go all out. I didn't have anything to go with the tech style theme so I figured I would just channel Bjork, the queen of tech style when putting this outfit together. I also decided it was the perfect opportunity to go BOLD and wear that new blue lipstick in my collection, why not!?! To be totally honest it's not my favorite outfit just because I'm not used to the proportions of the pants but considering I didn't have a full length mirror available (in the middle of a move and never got around to buying one), it was one of my more funky outfits. I felt pretty badass and it helped release some of my color cravings I was having with spring right around the corner. Except yes, it snowed the day before! Oh New England.. 

I will be posting some pictures from the event next so stay tuned to see the creative genius that can happen when you mix technology and fashion!!! For now I hope you enjoy this outfit pairing. Photos were quickly taken outside my apartment before the event by my sweet Anthony. He did a great job for a five minute shoot!

Outfit Details:
Pom pom crown- gift- originally from Thailand
White blazer and pants- thrifted
Red button up- free people bought many years ago from TJ Maxx
Boots- gifted
Carpet purse- thrifted in California
Beaded bracelets- Sisco Berluti
Cuff- gifted
Large blue and turquiose stone rings- Avizeh
Red stone ring- Zamarut Jewel
Other jewelry- collected/thrifted
Blue Lipstick- Makeup Monsters Cosmetics in the shade Back Lash- cruelty free and vegan!

I have to give a shout out to my friend Heidi for gifting me some of her beautiful ethnic hand me downs. I'm so in love!

XO
Feda

She Who Tells A Story Museum of Fine Arts Boston

She who tells a story is an exhibit that gives meaning to the phrase "pictures can speak a thousand words". That through art the unspoken can be spoken, the silenced are given voices, and stories are brought to life in the most poetic and touching of forms. I was so impressed with this exhibit. I'm always impressed when women create art. It's a voice I feel doesn't get heard enough. I think every single woman has a story to share, through her own unique experiences in life.

I went to see this exhibit on two occasions. The first with my dear friend Maria, the founder of a very beautiful non-profit Found in Translation (shameless plug) and the second when I went back to see the Hippie Chic exhibit and stopped by again to get one last glimpse. I had some mixed feelings about it the first time and second time I was just absolutely in love. Sadly it's no longer being shown at the MFA in Boston but the exhibit will be traveling to different places across the world. Pictured below is some of the pieces that caught my eye.

Featured artists throughout this post in the order they are shown.
Shadi Ghadirian - Untitled
Lalla Assia Essaydi, Bullet Revisited

Newsha Tavakolian- Listen

Shirin Neshat- Mystified
Rania Matar

When you go to see any type of art, sometimes you have to take off your cap of judgement and leave it at the door to fully take in the experience. As I walked through taking in the images, many of the more political pieces relating to veiled women made me feel sad and angry. Limitations and restrictions on women just really, really bother me. Oppression in any form, being social, political or religious should not be tolerated anywhere and in any form. Other pieces made me reflect on war and how it changes society and the life of the common person.  Lalla Assaydi's piece called bullet showed the "exotic" middle eastern woman adorned with what looks like sequence, but upon further inspection are actually bullets. It touches on the idea of women often being the victims during times of war.

The piece I connected to most was Rania Matar's series of middle eastern girls in their rooms. She hit the nail on the head in my opinion. I can relate to the complexities of being a middle eastern, Muslim, woman in the US and the constant push and pull to conform from two extremes. The feeling that you never quite belong. I think that's what the rooms represent to me. The space where they can just be themselves whatever that encompasses. I also studied sociology in college and did my senior work on the identity of Muslim youth in America so this stuff is always sooo interesting to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibit. Each piece stirred my thoughts, and made me reflect. I think when art does that, it has done it's job. I hope that it brought another view of the middle east and it's women who are often depicted as "oppressed" and voiceless. These women, and many that I encounter in my personal life, are bold, courageous, and have important things to say about the state of women and the world. I was blown away by the level of artistic expression and it has inspired my own work in many ways. It was just one of those exhibits that gave me goosebumps!

If you're wanting to get more of an idea of the show from he perspective of the artists, I also enjoyed reading this article: http://artery.wbur.org/2013/10/09/female-photographers-middle-east-boston-mfa

Hippie Chic MFA Boston Exhibit

I visited the Museum of Fine Arts Boston a while back for the exhibit Hippie Chic. As someone who has always connected with the hippie era, I was excited to go check it out. As I expected, I was like a kid in a candy shop! The display of colors and textures in the clothing was beyond gorgeous. That, along with the wallpaper and decor really made it so you felt as if you were stepping into a hippie wonderland. They had everything divided into "types" of hippies ranging from crafty, to trippy, to retro and ethnic.

My favorite was definitely the ethnic hippie! I wanted every one of those dresses! The trip confirmed my relation to hippies is in fact very REAL, minus the drugs! I was really into the head gear as well ;) Specifically the flower crowns and turbans. I think I'm a blend of crafty, ethnic, and retro. Are any of you hippies? How would you categorize your hippieness?? 

I think today's fashion is in a way another hippie type of era with the borrowing of thrift and vintage styles, the rise in DIY fashion/accessories, and the overall experimentation that is happening these days. It's an exciting time in fashion!

Peace, love, and happiness,

Feda