TV the Label

It initially struck me as an odd name for a fashion label- I first spotted the name TV while scoping out the Alice Euphemia blog in search of some boutique named goodies. As the old saying goes, ask and you shall receive, I found the name TV as well as some interesting photographs of a model with a knitted fox sitting atop her head advertising a dress dubbed 'the sack'. Perplexed as well as intrigued I did a bit of a search on Google but here is my main gripe with fashion labels with this sort of common name. It can be extraordinarily hard to find information about a brand when given such a general and discrete name. 

I made my way to the website for TV and found that the brand first started in 2006, but could curiously only find two collections available to view. Not to be picky or anything but within five years it is unusual to only have two collections worth of clothing... and it's not exactly as if there were many outfits within those two collections. Still though, I was mesmerised by the balance of the old with the new.

There was the new stylised Peter Pan collar and the fresh lemon coloured blouses mixed in with the vintage inspired such as tapestry creations including skirts, bags, vest, high-waisted hot pants and matching bustier, as well as slashed denim shirts, boiler suits and pinafores. I must admit, I myself sort of prefer vintage clothing to what's in store sometimes but it's reassuring to see the best of vintage clothing recreated and re birthed without it smelling of musty old second-hand stores and mothballs. It's the best of vintage clothing without the worst of it.

The first image you will see when exploring the TV website is this mirror image of a girl in a lemon coloured high-necked blouse, thick dark blue denim skirt with a disgruntled and distrusting expression on her face and loosely holding a thick roped tapestry bag as a prop. I really like the bag, it seems so theatrical and recycled- like someone with manic kleptomania stole a pair of thick curtains as well as tassel ropes holding them together and recycled them into a bag. I wouldn't mind getting my greasy mitts on something like that, it's the perfect size and the drawstring closes with a lemon colour at the top which matches the blouse photographed. Also the skirt looks thick and of the best quality denim, they really got the length of the skirt right. It's not too long as to be dorky and annoying but it's also modest and not cheap either. It's a welcome balance really, considering denim skirts wouldn't work well with the maxi skirt fad.

I was also startled by this image of the morose looking model posing on a loosely structured dress of what looks to be a thin, cotton material with a knitted fox. I was intrigued by the use of prop, I'm still a little unsure as to whether the fox is part of the collection and was available within store as a hat or fake fur stole. The presentation of the collection is very neat and minimalistic- no where else is there an item that doesn't look like it doesn't belong as part of the collection. It'd be great to wear something like that as a fur stole, clearly not fur and taking things in vain in a folk-art sort of way. I can't believe no one's ever really thought about doing it before.

I don't care much for the dress- yellow is a very difficult colour for anyone to pull off and I'm not a fan of the texture either but I do like the bag. It's so big and robust in that vinyl black material. It looks like you could hoard many a secret in that bag without it ever seeing the light of day. Comes in handy if your a woman.

I really like the floral jumpsuit, as well as the high necked collar. The top half of the piece gives off such a formal impression but the bottom half of the piece seems to scream 'let's play!'. It's always reassuring to see that a piece like that has pockets, I can't even count the amount of nice dresses I have within my wardrobe that are perfect for a Summer in Melbourne without pockets. Pieces of clothing without pockets these days are just a nuisance and something else to worry about, whether it be having to search through your bottomless-pit of a bag when a phone rings or having to get change out for the bus. I always have peace of mind and feel more practical when I know I;m wearing something with pockets. You could wear this cute little jumpsuit quite easily to the park or for picnics, and I suppose considering the pattern is floral you could even get away with grass stains (although it's not advised). I like the styling of the jumpsuit with confident suede boots, it makes it just that little more stylish.

The tapestry waistcoat gives me a vintage cowboy sort of vibe... and I know just the perfect pair of boots to wear with it (if I ever got my hands on it that is). I have a soft spot for the material so I guess I felt a bit excited to see it used in a collection as heavily as this. There is again the light yellow blouse and the denim skirt combination, minus one tapestry bag. I do prefer the bag over the vest, I keep on lusting over bags at the moment but they're both pieces of equal loveliness and merit.

I felt my eyes widen when I clapped my eyes on this piece, it certainly is a new and modern take on the humble denim shirt and I do like the notion of the slashes through the sleeves but I have a few concerns about it. First of all it looks like you've just had a fight with a piece of machinery in a factory and come off second best and two, the slashes are too rounded. The shape and structure of the shirt looked fine without it and it might have been a good idea to incorporate such bold and clever holes in your design but I do think that the actual execution of the idea fell short.The turned up cuffs make the slashes look even more dorky and impractical. I think it would have been better to leave the denim shirt as it was, or have some sort of suede motif to give off a cowboy kind of vibe. I admire them for their brash behaviour and their design but still, it could have been done just a little bit better.

This whole ensemble makes me feel really excited deep down in the pit of my stomach. For a while leotards, bustiers and high waisted short shorts were all the rage in the last few months and American Apparel still produce clothing of a similar gymnastic and retro flavour. I had been keen to get on the bustier band wagon myself but the trend ended and I don't always feel so confident in showing off my tummy. There's nothing wrong with it- just how it looks when I'm not using a mirror bugs me. Anyway, I love the bright red of the material, the lines and structure of both pieces. It all just screams feminine and vintage glamor. I don't care that no one wears bustier tops anymore, I'm dying to try and get my hands on this one with matching hot pants!

The last of the tapestry pieces from TV's 'Nothing But Flowers' collection, and from what I can gather it's their earlier collection. That's a shame really, if it was their latest release I may just have a chance at being able to find those pieces at Alice Euphemia or something similar but my chances look slim; especially since they don't have an online store attached to their website. A pity that. I love fully structured skirts that are reminiscent of ballerinas as well as pleated skirts. It has the perfect length and shape to it, hiding any wide hips but making you look curvy just the same. The black, long sleeve top with neon blue detail is cute too and the styling of it with the skirt seems jumbled but they go well together. The modern and the vintage representing the present.

The brightly coloured pieces shown in this post are from what I assume to be their more recent collection 'TV Hits'. I did think the pun was cute and the bright colours as well as geometric shapes and patterns were interesting too. The blue striped top coupled with this printed pants remind me of the Versace for H & M collection, which I expect to be a bit more pricier than any of the pieces shown here... well you would hope that wouldn't you? I really like the pleated pants, their structure seems to be straight-forward and business-like but the pattern is vibrant and eye-catching. I think that pants would go well with just a plain singlet top or shirt, you can't have too much going on with that crazy chain-link fence pattern in green over a blue background of the pants.

TV is the eponymous Australian ready-to-wear collective established in 2006 by Monika Tywanek & Ingrid Verner. The label has developed local and international success for its sculpted knitwear, technical tailoring, graphic prints and artisan collaboration.

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TV continue to collaborate on projects and with retailers including installations at TOPSHOP UK as part of the EMERGE designer installations. 

I leave you with a final close-up of the knitted fox... it looks like a beanie wrapped around the model's head! Now that is something I really wish I had, though I would struggle to justify wearing it out especially now since it's Summer. It's just so cute though and even has it's own scarf wrapped around it's neck. I like the speckled effect of the yarn; I only hope that TV produce more items like this or that I somehow manage to learn to knit competently to create something like this for myself.