August 2010

Ben and Brenda

A heaven couple, whose combined talents create a crazy amount of creativity. Ben Briand, an award winning film director and Brenda Harvey who designs accessories for her label Benah, fittingly complete our “artist & muse” week.

Brenda Harvey shot by Ben Briand

An intimate film by Ben of a conversation he has with Brenda about how their individual inspirations affect on the other’s creative process. A very personal look into their artistic relationship.

Benah, is a high end fashion brand with a focus on understated accessories. Drawing on a nomadic upbringing, collecting objects here and there and a love for subtle luxury items with a past history. Benah is her long term passion project realised by Brenda.

Ben is a creator of films, commercials, music videos and video installations. Recently, the Cannes Young Director Award winner completed three short films back to back, ‘Apricot’, ‘Castor & Pollux’ and ‘Some Static Started’. This trilogy explores Briand’s favourite themes of memory and identity. With a background in fine arts, he possesses the ability to form delicately crafted visual images whilst also generating honest human warmth from his characters. (Oh yes and he’s the brother of recently posted, equally gifted, Nic Briand)

POSTED BY Romy

Nic and Susien

Nic and Susien are lovers and the creative pair that formed the aptly named fashion label Lover.

Photo of lovers Susien Chong, Designer and Nic Briand, Creative Director.

“More often than not Nic and I will give each other books, DVD’s or CD’s to each other as presents. We love how inspiring they can be, and they always end up referenced into a collection, somewhere, somehow.  Last Christmas we gave each other books, that became the starting point for our new Spring Summer collection, ‘Untitled’.” Susien

Image from ‘Man Eater’ by Aurel Schmidt, a book given to Nic from Susien.

“Nic gave me a book of photographs by Lewis Carroll, most famous for his masterpiece ‘Alice In Wonderland’. The photos have a beautiful Victorian feel about them, with many of them being of his muse Alice Liddell, who inspired the book.” Susien

From these books sparked the idea of creating a collection that was based around the female artist, with touches of tomboy and Victorian beauty.

POSTED BY Romy

Gibson and Renee

This young couples ‘artist and muse’ relationship is intertwined- they both inspire each other. Art Student and Photographer Gibson Fox and his girlfriend Renee Warne documented a recent road trip, where elements of the experience influenced the design of Renee’s jewellery collection and the creative synergy of the trip formed these images for Gibson.

Photo’s by Gibson Fox and his partner, Renee Warne below.

Gibson’s photographic work was recently shown as part of the China Heights Gallery ‘This Is How We Roll’ exhibition, a diverse documentation of the skateboarding/art scene across different states & cities. Renee is the designer of recently launched artisan jewellery label, Billy Bride that I posted on StyleMeRomy last week. We love her rings!

POSTED BY Romy

Sam and Bianca

How fitting a couple to profile next. The romantically inspired fashion designer, Bianca Spender and her partner Sam McGuiness, an environmentalist who inspired her spring/summer collection.

Photo of Bianca Spender in Paris by partner, Sam McGuiness.

A storyboard in Bianca Spender‘s office of her “love among ruins” collection. The references were born from a holiday with her partner Sam and son, Domo, to an overgrown farm that had an entrancing, enchanting and romantic mood.

“I was drawn to the work of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones whose mythical settings evoked the same dreamy atmosphere. The scenes in his paintings were rich in costumes with their artistic draping and armor details providing a myriad of inspiration.” Bianca Spender.

Meet Bianca herself for a personal insight into spring/summer collection at her store, 9 Oxford St Paddington, Thursday 26th August. 6.30-930pm

POSTED BY Romy
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