Inspiration for Geisha Design

I found a couple of pictures on instagram that really spoke to me through the colours they have used and the use of the Cherry Blossom Tree which is seen right at the end of Memiors of a Geisha.

What I liked about this one is how she made the Geisha into a pop art style combing and old tradition with a contemporary  twist. If this was my design I would have brought it further down the neck and made the brows longer. 

The cheeks on this picture just call to me! How she's used the blush but contoured with that as well is just amazing . It defiantly makes her face seem more doll like. 

I like how she has drew the cherry blossom going down her body. If this was my design I would have made it go up into the hair more, she has the flowers but it would be nice to see branches. Maybe could make them out of wire so it's leaning up over the head. 

For me it was the juxtaposition of the eye shadow that made me like this design. It still made me think of Geisha this could be down to the colours and how dark the eyebrows are.  

With the picture it was the hair. It made me think of the Cherry Blossom tree and how the hair could of been placed like this with tiny flowers added on top. Effortless beauty. 

Mémoires Of A Geishia - Review

Before watching the film I read the story on IMDB just so I would have an understanding on hat was going on in the film.
A short outline of the film; A young girl name Chiyo was taken from her family along with her sister at a young age because her mother was dying and they couldn't afford the treatment. The two girls were sold to Geisha houses. Chiyo hated it and tried on many occasions to leave, after many attempts her Auntie of the geisha house decides she can no longer train to be a geisha and now must be a slave for the house. Chiyo becomes depressed and doesn't really understand her meaning of life till one day she meets a man who is kind to her and buys her a snow cone and tells her how he loves Geishas and treats them with a lot of respect. From that day on she trains hard to become the best geisha so one day she can be owned by him. The story goes on with love of course and how a different man falls in love with her but not the Chairman that she once met on the bridge. It isn't till the end you find out the Chairman loved her all along but never had the right chance to tell her.


Throughout the whole film the colour red is shown in most scenes through clothes, light coming in through windows or the props. Red represents many sides it can be seen as power, evil, sensual, joyful and can also be a visual courage.

The first true bright colour of red was shown when Chiyo meets the Chairman for the first time. He buys her a snow cone with is covered with a bright red liquid.

For me this red colour was foreshadowing the future and the relationship that will form between Chiyo and the Chairman. This represents the power of kindness and how the chairman is a nice man, but also the lust and the love Chiyo will develop for him throughout the film.

When Chiyo is training to become a Geisha , Mameha her mentor begins to talk to her about loosing her virginity to become a true Geisha. The lights in the houses are all shining out a warm rich colour red.

A warm dark red is seen to be quite sexual and a colour for love and sex.


When they all get sent to different countries because of the war. The opening scene after the war starts off by showing red within the water. When I first saw this it reminded me of all the blood that would have been shed from the war. I believe this is what the director wanted to portray.

Using red in this way showed the evil side of the red colour and how it isn't all joyful and happiness.

In the last scene of the film, Chiyo meets the Chairman again she is wearing a slight bit of that bright red within her kimono which was scene on the snow cone when they first met.

Other colours with big meanings were also show throughout the film. The colour orange is shown when Chiyo runs to say a prayer after meeting the Chairman. The colour orange represents naiveté on Chiyo's behalf thinking becoming a Geisha and getting close to the Chairman would be easy.

In one scene there is a classic use of colour of evil and pure,using black and white. Chiyo is wearing white and the evil older Geisha in her house called Hatsumomo is wearing black. Hatsumomo doesn't want Chiyo to win bidders and be known as a better Geisha than herself. 

Another time a use of colour was used to represent a meaning and mood was after Chiyo was caught by the Chairman having sex with an american. She stands on top of a mountain and lets go of the handkerchief he gave to her when she was a little girl. Her dress that she is wearing is a grey colour along with the clouds the weather is dark a gloomy. 

Grey as a colour is emotionless of used to portray loss and depression. For Chiyo this is the loss of respect the Chairman had for Chiyo and her feeling she will never become his Geisha. 


Overall I feel the use of colour was used very wisely throughout the film the director never forced it in your face always left it within the background letting you feel the emotion without not always knowing why. I throughly enjoyed watching this film and would recommend it to other people. 

Chinese Fashion

As I was unable to attend the lecture on Chinese fashion, I decided to look into it myself. I started off where I always do on pinterest! Looking through pictures I noticed Chinese fashion has two very different sides to it. One being a very traditional look using silk, floral patterns and rich colours such as red, blue and green. On the other side of Chinese fashion it is minimalistic, simple lines and monochromatic colours. They seem to create different original designs with some designers incorporting complex sensory technology.

Chinese traditional fashion normally has large sleeves with the bottom of the dress covering the feet. Tapestry thats intricate covers most of the outfit. One of the most popular colours founds within a traditional outfit is red, within the book ' If's Purple Someone's Going To Die' there are many meanings behind the colour RED.  Powerful,Lusty, Defiant, Angry, Anxious and Romantic.

Within the book it explains how warm orange reds are romantic and for lust, however this isn't the colour of the traditional Chinese dresses, they are more pillar box red. A bright red represents courage and power, just like the ruby red slippers within the 'Wizard of OZ' they made Dorothy carry on down the yellow brick road.
Within the Chinese meanings of colour for the Red represents power, joy and luck. For Chinese people red is a popular colour with many women having a red wedding dress, this is to start the marriage off with good luck and joy.

Within the designs are intricate patterns of flowers mostly sewn by hand in the colour Gold. Although for the western region Yellow/Gold is mostly seen as a cowards colour, for the Chinese it represents wealth and being heroic.

I love the combination of these colours together they are both so rich in colour and look amazing together. To me these colours together symbolise a wealthy look.

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Modern Fashion

Modern fashion with in china has become monochrome using a lot of technology within their designs.

Colours such as WHITE, BLACK and GREY are emotionless colours and don't really have much meanings behind them.

The colour white represents cleanliness and purity while Black represents a negative side which is mysterious. These colours both contradict themselves but work so well together and balance each other out.

For me I love how designers nowadays are now using materials that aren't just fabric to design clothes. As shown above pegs are used to make a detailed neck piece. Lights within a dress which turn on during the night.

The shapes of these outfits are completely different to the traditional design of chinese dresses. With sharp lines and funny cuts they make you look twice.

Nowerdays within Chinese fashion i think designers are using a mixture of both styles still trying to keep hold of the fabric and style of their old culture.

Chinese Opera Masks

Although I wasn't able to attend the lecture I've done a bit of research myself into the culture and history of the Opera Masks.

This kind of opera arose in the 19th century, where they would wear beautiful costumes and paint extravagant masks on to their faces. These mask would help tell the story and depict certain characters and what their fate would be in the story.

Colours and its meaning.

RED

Peking Opera. (2011). Beijing Opera Facial Mask. Available: http://opera-beijing.com/beijing-opera-facial-mask/. Last accessed 9th May 2014.

Mostly red in masks ment loyal and brave character. 

 BLACK

Viacheslav Zotov. (2009 onwards). Chinese anscient Beijing opera mask.Available: http://www.123rf.com/photo_5603427_chinese-anscient-beijing-opera-mask.html. Last accessed 9th May 2014.

Black on masks symbolises boldness and determination


YELLOW and WHITE

Fotosearch. (1998-2014). Stock Illustration of Traditional Chinese Opera Mask for Yuwen Chengdu. Available: http://www.fotosearch.com/UNN463/u15053008/. Last accessed 12th May 2014.

Yellow and white faces in shows represented characters that had split personalities, a bit two faced.


GOLD and SILVER

fotosearch. (1998-2014). Stock Illustration of Traditional Chinese Opera Mask for the Ox King. Available: http://www.fotosearch.com/clip-art/chinese-opera.html#comp.asp?recid=4844567&xtra=. Last accessed 12th May 2014 .

Gold and Silver masks represented Mystery within the show someone who wouldn't let you in to much.

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The more white on the masks suggest the more malicious the role is. This is such a contradiction to how we view white in our society, we see white as being pure and innocent. Chinese masks have been around for over 800 years and continue to be a big part within the culture.