Doll Eyes NY SS15 Fashion Show

To some of you these two gals may be very familiar faces. But for any of you guys who are not yet acquainted, I am so thrilled to introduce you to this super talented and inspiring duo. Meet Elena Kanagy-Loux and Stella Rose Saint Clair, the designers of the experimental fashion brand Doll Eyes.

I've been an admirer of Stella Rose for years (she's on the left in the pale blue skirt). I can't really pinpoint where or when I first discovered her, but bits and pieces of her style often popped up on my radar. I'm positive that she made it into my Friday Faves here on the blog a few times over the years. And more recently, probably close to a year ago, I became friends with Elena (wearing all pink on the right) on Instagram. We definitely share similar aesthetic tastes in collecting, fashion, and decor…lots of pretty pastels, fabulous vintage, and a look that starts out classic but is then whimsically appropriated into a very unique personal style. I promise that you'll fall in love with Elena's Instagram feed…you can follow her at: @erenanaomi

And if you want to learn more about Stella Rose, I highly recommend this fantastic article in the Seattle Times that tells the tale of how she was literally discovered right on the street in NYC, and from there she was prepared to meet every new and amazing opportunity with hard work and confidence in her own personal style. She's a very inspiring gal.

Ok, so this is where the paths of Doll Eyes and Everyday is a Holiday converge. It was just Fashion Week in NYC. Ever since me and Aaron met, New York City has been a very special place for us as a couple. We spent a whole lot of the formative years of our artistic career there…shopping, exploring, eating, absorbing…we have so many exciting stories that can be traced back to our years when we were under the tutelage of New York City. Fall Fashion Week especially was always a magical time for us. (note: it's in the Fall, but the collections that are debuting are Spring and Summer wear.) I'm a Fall baby and lover of all things Autumn, so when Fashion Week would hit I always made it into an event. Aaron and I were always in the city during Fall Fashion Week. So, just a few weeks ago my fabulous Instagram friend Elena contacted me and asked if me and Aaron would be interested in creating some of our cake diecuts to be used in the Doll Eyes fashion show. She made reference to the above pic of that fab heart shaped cake, and said that the collection would be in the spirit of that cake image, and that our diecuts seemed like the perfect fit. I agreed immediately!

We had a full plate at the time...lots of orders to make, pack, and ship. But when something special like this comes along, you make time for it. Having the chance to collaborate with other artists that you love is one of the main reasons for being an artist in the first place! :)

Here's the thing…we didn't have any of these cake designs finished yet. Let me give you a little bit of behind-the-scenes info about me and Aaron…we have about a million yet-to-be-completed designs and collections here at Everyday is a Holiday headquarters. You wouldn't believe how many fab designs we have just waiting in the wings. We simply don't have enough time to bring them to fruition. We do what we can, when we can…it doesn't really stress us out too much…but it would be awesome if we could pause the rest of the world for about a month while we went bananas getting all of these half done designs all the way done. Cakes for Doll Eyes needed to be fancier, more decorative…lots of piping, pretty color, and piped roses. Right away we decided that we could include one of the pieces from our Gilded Sweetness collection. And we especially wanted to give them a tiered cake like the one above…the kind of cake that a scantily clad gorgeous gal would jump out of. So over a couple of late nights we painted that one and a couple others from scratch. We worked hard right up to the 25th hour, and then overnighted them all to Doll Eyes in New York.

The gals were sweet enough to invite us to the show, but there was no way we could take the time away to attend. As I said above, we were swamped, and after making these cakes we had a lot of catching up to do.

But fortunately, there was a live stream of the show. We were able to sit at the worktable in our studio and see our artwork grace the stage alongside the latest Doll Eyes fashion collection! It was sooooo fun! Just look at their set up. They didn't go with a traditional runway…instead they had set up a sweets table and backdrop, and the models came out from either side and circled the table. Some of them danced, some showed off their contortionist skills…and the girly French soundtrack was perfect. Many of the models strutted out holding baguettes and tearing of bits to nibble as they posed about the stage.

It was such an honor to contribute our artwork to this amazing show. We absolutely love the style of Elena and Stella Rose, and it's so cool that they thought of us when they were designing the look of their show. Like I said above, getting the chance to collaborate with artists that we hold in such high regard, is one of the best things about being an artist.

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you love Doll Eyes and the two fabulous gals behind the brand. Make sure to keep up with what they're up to on Instagram: @dolleyesny…they're always inspiring!
xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi!