Let's go live in a tree house

A tree house, a free house,

A secret you and me house,

A high up in the leafy branches

Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,

Be sure and wipe your feet house

Is not my kind of house at all

Let's go live in a tree house.

Shel Silverstein

Walking in the rain towards my little tree house, up high in the sky.... 

Designer Dimanche: Adrian Wu

Toronto-based fashion designer Adrian Wu

Adrian Wu was recently voted by iVillage.ca as one of the ten Canadian designers to watch for in 2012. His spring/summer 2012 collection created buzz like no other. Wu is unpredictable, daring and created one of the most peculiarly fascinating collection at fashion week.  Wu’s collection called “Creatures of the Photons” is said to have been inspired by the ambitious topic of quantom physics, and apparently, the models represented “evolution” of some sort.

"My theme was quantum physics, but at the same time, it was this conceptual idea of taking the modern silhouette and modernizing it, the whole idea of Parisian dress making,” he revealed backstage during an interview conducted by Daniela Codreanu.

"Creatures of the Photons" - Adrian Wu S/S 2012 at LGFW

At age 18, Wu taught himself how to sew and then shortly after, he started his own design company. He already has seven collections under his belt at now age 21. According to oy. & co – Wu’s marketing agency – “Wu is known for his layering in fabric and eccentric pieces such as French Couture styled gowns with focus on authentic 18th Century siecle des Lumieres craftmanship, fabrics and silhouettes.”

The runway was covered in what looked like circle-shape place mats of assorting colours and a live string quartet positioned at the centre of the runway accompanied slow-strutting models (due to their towering platforms). 
Wu told us he used the colours blue, green, and red for his dresses: “It was inspired by the orbs that circle the electron,” he said.

A male model opened the show in white platforms and a lace white shift dress. The show continued with a mix of male and female models wearing swelled up haute couture dresses. Few dresses were made for everyday wear, only perhaps Lady Gaga would give it a go at this point in time. Most models wore head pieces that looked like orbiting wires covering the front of their face like veils. Their mysterious significance was revealed by Wu after the show: “They were actually representation of black holes,” he said.

The three-dimensional aspect of each dress was a pure delight to look at as each were overwhelmingly covered in fabric, fabric and more fabric. A favourite of mine was the gorgeous blood-red ball gown with protruding baby-blue balls coming out the front at waist height. Such a bizarre of a design but what a beautifully crafted dress. See for yourself, and let yourself be mesmorized by Adrian Wu’s designs and the amount of time he must be putting into such amazing creations.


Please watch Adrian Wu's Fashion TV profile. It's amazing and gives you a great insight into the kind of designer Wu is. He considers himself more of an artist than a designer, talks about his boredom of life and how he defies social dress conventions: "Why can't men wear dresses?," he says. Wu is pure genius. 

– Claire Miglionico with interviews by Daniela Codreanu

Click on the photos for direct sources. Thank you. 

My room has orange walls

Ideally, I'd live in a tree house (dead serious) but I am more than content with my little orange square of an office (previously my bedroom. I now zzz in the basement where it's permanently the north pole).

For the new year, I wanted to get rid of a lot of books, objects, clothes I had no interest in anymore. For the longest time, I kept everything – and I mean everything – tucked away in various little corners of my room to the point where it was perma-chaotic just to look for something. I had piles of receipts from previous purchases, books and class notes from grade 9, and clothes and books I simply didn't wear or didn't read (or never wore, never read). I used to want to keep everything just in case or "just 'cuz" but I finally grew tired of this growing clutter.

Today, I finished ripping apart a bag full of old receipts, made room on my trestled desk , found posters and old paintings I've been wanting to frame for a good while and most importantly, I got rid of a lot of shit (all in big garbage bags ready for consignment stores, Fair's Fair, and Value Village).

I have never felt so clutter-free in my entire life so I felt the urge to take a bunch of photos in a Design Sponge kind of way.

And yet, you shall see that my room still looks filled with stuff '... Do enjoy!

Photography: Claire Miglionico

I finally nailed my white pendulum clock to the wall, next to Jason, Andy, suited men (not a big fan of Ok Go but liked 'em suits!) and right beneath "dream". On my lil' brown couch: I found this art therapy painting I had done last year. It's really odd but I like it for some reason.  I'm thinking of framing it. I also found a map of Versailles from my 2007 France travels – also something I'd like to frame. Right above my lil' brown couch is a newspaper cut out from the Reflector of a layout of peeps sporting 'stashes for Movember. I dig 'em moustaches thus why it had to go on my wall. On the right is my closet and above my closet sits a fake-vintage Portobello Road sign from my travels to London, UK in 2008. Underneath my desk are boxes full of newspapers and such. 

A little close up of my wall: everything is always crooked, never straight, but I'm OK with that. The postcards are from Toronto fashion week. They were in fashion designer Baby Steinberg's gift bags. I liked the postcards hence why they are now on my walls.

This is my work area, where I wrote most of my reviews for Calgary Fashion and where I do most of my projects and write most of my essays. The blue corduroy backpack that's hanging from the chair is from Urban Outfitters (hehe)...it's quite sturdy. 

Ceramic lizard I brought back from Guadeloupe. 

This bookcase holds all of my travel books. On top are two buckets filled with toques and scarves. The mickey mouse box holds childhood photos of friends, shared moments etc and the brown envelope next to it has old Hollywood photos given to me by my grandpa who owned a photography shop back in the days. My good friend Jessica gave me the frame with photos of both of us. The first photo was taken at a journalism reunion in September 2009 and the second one St.Patricks Day 2009 at the good ol' Liberty Lounge. 

I actually found the big New York book in a London bookstore. I didn't buy it there because it was too heavy to bring home. I ordered it online in Calgary. Not the greatest photo book ever. I think I mainly liked the idea of where I had originally found this book. I have yet to go to Vienna. 

These are my cork boards. They are kind of inspiration boards. I just pin random stuff on there. I have postcards from friends, a thank you letter from a student I used to tutor, a letter from The New York Times' Senior Editor Sheila Rule wishing me all the best (I applied for a summer internship at The New York Times a couple of years ago. I knew I wouldn't get it, but it was quite cool to receive that letter,  a keepsake really!). My latest addition to the boards is a calendar of all fashion weeks around the world given to me by Margy MacMillan – MRU's sweetest librarian. 

I found the rooster alarm clock in the basement in a plastic box of things of the past. It was my first clock. I must of been five-years-old. Next to it is my lomo camera I love dearly. I haven't used it in awhile but thinking I will soon. My yellow one-eyed piggy has a lot of pennies I need to roll...It was given to me by a friend in high school. 

The Diana camera is ceramic-inspired. The photo frame is of my cat Toupi when he was a year old. I took the photo at our old place in Montreal. 

Books and mags. Love 'em. I love reading on interior design, art and fashion. Film.ol.o.gy is a compilation of 365 movies to see (not all Academy Award nominess or winners, thank god) and Treehouses of the world showcases the coolest tree houses around the world.