2018 was such an exciting year for us in fashion, and our collection “The Visitors” was the perfect way to cap it off, at the annual Supercrawl festival here in Hamilton, ON.
This collection was our most encompassing yet, with 13 looks on 13 models, rocking the runway in the hot September sun! We really wanted to go for a more eclectic party vibe this time around, and I think we really captured the essence of what we were looking to achieve!
The collection was inspired by the ABBA song “The Visitors” – a wicked disco jam, about the anxiety of having guests showing up at your home for a party! Strangers surrounded by your books, paintings, and furniture…it can leave you in a quite a tizzy.
Disco glamour, divas, glitter, and rock n roll definitely played a hand, and we really wanted to play off the idea of visitors – who perhaps could be from a different dimension; so, there’s also a bit of space and sci-fi moments happening throughout.
Each piece is one of a kind, handmade, and uses vintage fabrics and materials.
Styled by The Eye of Faith
Makeup Up by Janet Granados & Claudia Alaimo
Hair by Hexe Noire & Poison IV
Best of all, we got to end the show with our girl Amanda Lear’s “Fashion Pack”, who was another inspiration for this collection!
For more information on any of these pieces, feel free to email us:
Wow, this summer was a wild ride for us!!! From manning the Supercrawl Pop-Up Shop right in the heart of Downtown Hamilton, helping rep local fashion artists, as well as creating our most exciting collection to date, “The Visitors”, using some flashy vintage fabrics we have accumulated over the years (pictures to be posted soon)!
But, as you know, there is no rest for the wicked and we have quite a few things simmering this Fall!
We were honoured to host a Spice Girls / 90s Karaoke at Toast Wine Bar in conjunction with the screening of “Spice World” for the AGH BMO World Film Festival. Of course, we continue our Karaoke Cabaret residency at The Casbah every second and fourth (October 23) Tuesday, and we have a very special Halloween karaoke on Oct 31 at the legendary Sous Bas! So if you are in Hamilton, ON, and need to let loose on All Hallow’s Eve, be sure to stop by!!!
Now, of course, we have some really cool fashion events coming up also. This Sunday (October 28), we will be participating in the Hamilton Vintage Community Pop-Up at The Spice Factory, with 40+ vendors, drinks, and loads of vintage shopping !!!
We can’t wait…we will have a unique assortment of vintage mens, vintage womens, and some of our one of a kind, handmade pieces made using vintage materials. We will be bringing some wicked pieces priced as low as $5, so don’t miss out!
Also, we have a very exciting fashion presentation for the Hamilton Film Festival at the Zoetic Theatre, where will be a presenting in a show inspired by “Darkness” – which couldn’t be more up our alley! Our looks will be showcased to film industry professionals who hopefully will take a liking to our designs!
After all, just a few years ago; Guillermo Del Toro filmed his Academy Award wining film “The Shape of Water” right here in our city, so you never know!!!
Always put your best foot forward, in life . . . which leads us to our next project, which we will save for another post. A GRAND ANNOUNCEMENT . . . stay tuned!!!
So, apologies that we haven’t been able to sit down and share some of the cool vintage musings and memories we have been collecting in a while, but as you can see, our life has been pretty hectic, but rest assured, we will be getting back into the swing of things once the dust has settled.
Thank you for checking us out, and for those who have followed us for years, thank you so much for your support! It means EVERYTHING.
We just uploaded about 30 new pieces in our {SHOP} last week, so be sure to check those out and use code XIXIXI for 25% OFF.
So, lately we’ve been obsessed with the decadence and glamour of the 1970s disco scene, especially in Europe! And when we found this video by avant-garde superstar Amanda Lear, we found it to be the perfect combination of vintage awesomeness and spooky elegance!!!
We didn’t know very much about this divinity (don’t worry…we will be working on giving her an honored place on our altar of Style Idols & Divinities), but we have been delving into this marvelous woman’s life like no one’s business!
Here is a woman who hobnobbed with The Beatles, David Bowie, Brian Jones, Bryan Ferry, Andy Warhol…had the model looks of Verushka and the voice of Marlene Dietrich. Not only that, she was a close confidante to THE Salvador Dali, and remained one of his closest friends and muses until his death. She even closed Jean Paul Gaultier’s 1980s pop music muses collection back in 2013!
What is so wonderful about Amanda is her mystery . . . sometimes things are best left to the imagination, and Lear keeps this enigmatic quality to this day (her birth date and nationality is still unclear, as well as other rumors circulating)!
This is what we respect most of this bad ass woman! Just be yourself, and everything else will fall into place.
It’s been a while since we’ve posted on here, so we thought we owed something to the gods of the internet! I can’t believe its been almost 7 years of us having this blog, and all the incredible things it has led us to, we couldn’t even have imagined on that fateful night we created it.
These incredible things, however, lead us to be very busy and it makes it hard to get time to create the content we know you love! So, here a little catch-up with everything we have been up to!
Spring always seems to be a busy time for us, and we have been up to some fun things. Currently we are creating a collection for one of our city’s biggest fashion events, Glamour in the Hammer. It is a wonderful event that helps support the incredible philanthropic efforts of the Good Shepherd and promoting the long history of giving they have done for those in need.
If you are in the area, tickets are still available, and are going fast! Ticket includes a fabulous fashion show featuring the city’s top designers, as well as drinks and eats from the city’s top restaurants. Definitely not to be missed. {click here for tickets}
This year, our collection +WUTHERING HEIGHTS+ hopes to bring a romantic edge to the grunge aesthetic inspired by the ghostly mood of the English moors, combining vintage fabrics and street chic style for many new one-of-a-kind pieces to add to the many creations we have made over the past {click here to see them}.
As well, as preparing for that, we are also embarking on a voyage to the 1980s with our costume design for Hamilton Theatre Inc.’s “The Wedding Singer” which has been chalk full of its own challenges, but insanely fun to sort through weird and wild 80s party fashions. The silhouettes and details of that time period are just over-the-top, and that of course, we absolutely love! Again if you are in the area, {click here} to get tickets for a wickedly funny show! Show runs May 11 – May 26.
Last but not least, we are fresh from our annual collaboration with The Vintage Marketplace, which is our city’s biggest vintage shopping event. Whilst we were berated by a historical ice storm, the event was still a success with hundreds of people making it out to shop from a myriad of local vintage vendors, with many new faces, which is always great to see our little community growing in that respect.
On top of our booth, which we were very proud of in the end, we also had the honor of producing some entertainment for the weekend. What we came up with, we never could’ve foreseen, but it all seemed to make so much sense, and was a wild way to shake up our usual fashion show segment.
Instead of a retrospective fashion show, we created the VMP DRAG FASHION FLAUNT ft. Queen Costia Sterling and Sapphyre Poison. If only you could be there to see how fantastic this show was (or maybe you were, if so, leave a comment), the Queens delivered vintage inspired numbers that ranged from Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and even a number from the iconic musical CHICAGO.
The most magical moment had to be when the many children who had come to the show gathered to watch the Queens, and the wonderful smiles on their faces as they watched the magic. Definitely a show for the books.
So, as you can see, we have been swamped with projects, but promise to get back more in the swing of posting on here. We have so many fabulous stories on the back burner that are just waiting to see the light of day, so definitely stay tuned…
If you have been missing us, be sure to follow us on INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, and FACEBOOK to stay up to date, and see what we are up to!
Remember we also have dozens of unique, one-of-a-kind, time traveled vintage pieces in our {SHOP} which is always changing, so do check it out, and remember to use code XIXIXI for 25% OFF at the checkout.
Creatures of a day! What is a man? Man is the dream of a shadow.
-Pindar
SUPERCRAWL is upon us again! North America’s fastest growing festival is in its 8th year, and is set to be bigger and better than ever. Which is why we are so excited to announce our latest runway show entitled {NEW KINGDOM} to close the Designer Showcase in the Maker’s Market Fashion Tent at 9pm on Saturday, September 9!
+
This collection is inspired by the palette, modernity, and of course, glamour of Ancient Egypt and is a nod to a new society who embraces the {past} to invigorate the {present} and propel us all into the {future}. We are featuring both menswear and womenswear, and most of the designs utilize vintage materials for a truly one of a kind statement.
We’ve been preaching for years, but its a still a huge issue! We fill our landfills with so much wasted fabric that its killing our planet. If we can work towards helping reduce this footprint in any way- we are vigilantly dedicated to this cause- and if more people could follow suit, who knows what could change?
+
You are only a spirit
-Djehuti {ancient egyptian proverb}
+
So if you’re around this Supercrawl weekend in Hamilton, ON make sure you swing by the Fashion Tent at James and Murray and check out some of the city’s best fashion, and of course, our {NEW KINGDOM} at 9p on Saturday, September 22!!!
In our society, it’s easy to take things for granted. Food, water, shelter- all things that we wouldn’t second guess or question as being a part of our lives, are for too many people, a day to day question of when, where, and how?
Here in Hamilton, Ontario many of these people in need are helped every year by The Good Shepherd who last year alone provided food and clothing for 61, 466 people, and not even including the thousands of tenants they shelter around the city.
For the past three years, we have had the honour of showcasing our own original vintage inspired collections at the Good Shepherd‘s fabulous night of fashion – “GLAMOUR IN THE HAMMER”.
This year the event sat upwards of 800 people, and showcased looks from 10 of the city’s unique designers including Blackbird Studios and a vintage retrospective from Milli’s boutique featuring some of the haute couture and designer fashions she has acquired over her many years providing luxury designer fashion in the steel city.
And in a society that is very focused on ‘self’ – it always feels good to feel compassion for people in need, and know that somehow through our passion for fashion we are able to help others while we do it!
Style Group is another fantastic company who lended their many talents to archiving the event, and here is a little taste of what the night was all about! Kudos to Alex Coombs for putting it altogether!
This year The Eye of Faith presented +GODDESS+ , a collection of one of a kind garments inspired by the kick ass-ness of 80s and 90s supermodels. It was a collection of pure glamour, and we are so pleased with the outcome.
We can’t wait to share our designs with you, so stay tuned!
Also, if you would like to make a donation or learn more about the Good Shepherd – click here!
So, as you may or may not know, in the past two years we have evolved our purveyance of time traveled vintage clothing to creating one of a kind handmade fashions inspired by the {past} to influx the {present} and change the {future} of style.
It really made sense in our mind to make this shift, and has led to some incredible opportunities. While we are making new clothes, many of our materials are still vintage, which makes these pieces all the more special, and perfectly in tuned to our philosophy.
We often say we didn’t choose fashion as a destiny, but it truly chose us!
Which leads us to this video, which is a super wicked behind the scenes glimpse of a vintage inspired photo shoot we had the opportunity of collaborating on with Style Group!
We had the honour of working with photographer Derrick Vanderkolk who helped us transform his Cotton Factory studio into a timeless jetset rock n roll pad, and with the help of Nate Belgrave we have this memorable behind the scenes glimpse of a truly amazing day.
The undeniable Nicole Buston truly gave us some magical moments which we will be sharing on the site, so stay tuned! And of course, we couldn’t do it without the help of our makeup artist extraordinaire Janet Granados.
When people ask us how we’ve been, and we say “Just keeping on, keeping on…” – this is what we mean!
We were given a piece of advise once from the Canadian mentalist Chris Mysterion back in our humble beginnings, who said: “When it comes to being in a creative field, you never dodge at an opportunity to collaborate, to do things, to create”, and we’ve held this mantra close to our heart and mind ever since.
Seems to be working out.
Rewatching these moments makes us know that we are definitely on the right track!
Check out this righteous collection of photographs from Nick Waplington of the menswear in Alessandro Michele’s triumphant 2017 Cruise collection for GUCCI making another landmark in style for the classic Italian high fashion brand, and what is being known as another groundbreaker in the area of men’s fashion and style.
The inspirations are vast and varied ( spot turn of the century collegiate vibes, 80s punks, 90s street couture, 1920s leisurewear, 70s bohemian playboys, 50s varsity jocks, 19th century naturalists, Edo Japan, and more ), and its this exciting eclecticism that is putting Michele at the forefront of truly changing the way we look at specifically men’s fashion, which for the most part has become a sea of black, beige, and boring.
Our motto has always been ‘more is more’, and we’re happy to have such a prestigious like mind in our corner on the matter. If you are unfamiliar with the new GUCCI vibe, this collection of portraits will not only be getting you a taste, but you will truly understand what all the buzz is about. Taken almost portrait style, the loud and eccentric looks are jarringly juxtaposed against the backdrop of a stately English country home like a tribe of wanderlusting young men who had just conquered the Old World and are setting forth establishing the New.
This is a new voice, yes; and yet, much of what we see isn’t necessarily “new” in any way, in fact, as we pointed out with the mass of inspirations colliding in this collection, its a true example of taking from the {past} to invigorate the {present} and thus poising change for the {future} …
“The men’s wardrobe is like a ritual and I am fascinated by it and its codes. The codes are not to be cancelled, they have to be reinvented and repositioned in a different fresco. There is the part of formalwear which I consider like the father of all the different styles. There are some punk pieces which are the most romantic part of the collection. When you are punk you are romantic, because you want to break the rules. And then there is the preppy/street part which recalls college-wear and is thought for more relaxed moments. Each of these parts has its own codes and, as always, I enjoyed putting a sort of confusion among the different codes and languages.”
We have always felt like fashion and style is like a secret society full of codes and rules and symbols that all add up to create greater meaning . . . like geomancy, the way you mix and match elements have different suggestions and powers. If you are wise, you can use these powers to your advantage in your day-to-day, and even make great strides in following your path to destiny.
Through Alessandro Michele’s meticulous orchestration, and continuing success in the fashion industry, be sure to check out the change that is ready to explode in our everyday! Just look around . . .
After looking through the photographs, I’m sure you will notice the sense of individualism achieved in this collection which is a funny thing to say, when a collection is usually thought of as a wholly distinct and cohesive mass, however, what Michele knows is that there will be dozens of different men who in their daily lives belong to whichever tribe (suits, shorts, bohos, rock n rollers, geeks, streets, etc.) and having such an eclectic array provides the greatest cohesion amongst men.
Also, note the artisanal quality of each piece. This not the same GUCCI that you find horrible knock-offs of in Chinatown . . . these are truly thought out works of art. From the embroidery, to the hand painting, to the beading, bleaching, patchwork, knitwear; each piece has a true artist quality that renders the price tags not even as devastating when you think of the work involved, as well as the increasing value throughout time.
Even with all the embellishment, at the end of the day you are looking at classic and timeless pieces. If you check out our {SHOP} you can find a lot of style-wise pieces that can help you achieve the look!
The Eye of FAITH Vintage- GUCCI Cruise 2017 Inspiration- witts end rock-n-roll tropical graphic shirt
The Eye of FAITH Vintage- GUCCI Cruise 2017 Inspiration- Calvin Kleain Beached Denim Jacket
The Eye of FAITH Vintage- GUCCI Cruise 2017 Inspiration- Brown Leather Playboy Loafer – Size 9.5
The Eye of FAITH Vintage- GUCCI Cruise 2017 Inspiration- Single double-breasted green plaid blazer
The Eye of FAITH Vintage- GUCCI Cruise 2017 Inspiration- Vintage Green Graphic Sweater Vest
As you know, we were amped for Supercrawl 2015, and the festivities did not dissapoint! Granted, we were two very busy fellows both days, but Saturday (our +HOLLYWOOD BABYLON+ debut designer collection {more to come on that end}) was fairly tame compared to the grandiose task of collecting, organizing, and executing nearly 100 looks, vintage head to toe from three collections (our own, and our friends of Lost & Found Vintage, and Vintage Soul Geek where we now sell a curated selection of our vintage menswear), and making it all on time!! What a whirlwind . . .
But, what a fun one at that!
The show was split into {FIVE PARTS} during which models were running from the tent back to the green room to change into their next looks before all heading out together in what had to be our favourite segment of the show…+BEYOND+
It just wouldn’t be The Eye of Faith without the inclusion of the {past}, {present}, and {future}, and this segment allowed us all to flex our styling muscles a little harder than we usually get to on any normal given day. There was a lot of discussion about the fact that the colour green was predominant in our +BEYOND+ segment, and while it was wholly coincidental, taking a look back, I think it’s a testament to the GREEN powers that be when living a vintage lifestyle. As I’ve said a hundred times over; every year millions of pounds of textiles are sent to landfills, and every year millions of pounds of textiles are produced to add to this gross disposable society that they have conceived for us, and it’s just not cool.
So many remarkable gems are out there if you just take the time to look! Styles and ideas are recycled non-stop by big box corporations and mall shops and even high end designers these days, so why not just go straight to the source and get the real thing! I don’t get it . . . it also allows for a high level of creativity to your everyday life, and who the hell wants to look like everyone else anyway? Surely not us. . .
We are so lucky to live in a city full of so many great vintage stores, and I wish that more people would take the time, and use their resources to shop at them. Other than our own brand, Lost & Found Vintage and Vintage Soul Geek who we worked with curating the show, there are upwards of a dozen that could have joined us including Girl on the Wing, 11:11 Vintage, Shop the Edit, New Olds , Modify Your Closet , and of course, Out of the Past ! So while the world still waits for a true renaissance of our old habits and ways, we can count our lucky stars that we live in a community that truly embraces these concepts.
I made a remark before the beginning of the 40s/50s segment of the show stating how amazing it is that shopping vintage actually allows you to time travel in your everyday to day, so how amazing is that?!
Well, prepare to do some time travelling yourself if you check out some of these amazing highlights from the show that were featured kindly on Vanessa Divers’ personal blog !!
If you like what you see, and can’t live without it, email us at the.eye.of.faith@gmail.com and we can most likely hook you up (that is if someone hasn’t snapped it up already).
Overall, it was a very special day, and so cool to be given the opportunity to have such a mainstream platform for our collection, our friends’ collections, and to share our passion for bring the past back to present, and in doing so, hopefully shaping the future. . .
Special thanks to our amazing models on the day who gave all their essence over to the clothes, brought their own unique being, and really rocked the runway for us! We could not have done it without you.
Hopefully there will be videos to come, but thought we could share these pics while we wait!
