Did you know? #6: "Shredded" with Adam Saaks

Adam Saaks is a world-class famous fashion designer from Los Angeles whose creations have been modeled by numerous stars and featured in many TV broadcasts and social events. His style consists of a very quick but delicate nip-and-tuck performed on any clothing item of stretchy fabric. Pants, shirts, dresses, swimsuits and more get a Saaks makeover with many cuts, stretches and rips done by the designer, who puts it all together into one peculiar and unique handcrafted masterpiece. His recognizable style stands over two main pillars: 

1. Adam Saaks likes to shred clothes.

2. He can do it on-the-go.

Adam is publicly known for his precise and creative cutting skills, leading his fans to name him  "The Master Shredder", "Fashion Butcher", "T-Shirt Circumciser" and "Adam ScissorHands". Some of his videos called "Shredded" have become very popular in his Youtube channel nowadays, with more than 45,000,000 total views. "Shredded" is nothing else than a fashion travel show where Mr. Saaks does public displays of his abilities, showcasing real-time fashion creations both on random pedestrian women and models. The clothing's concept could be showing some skin in a sexy way, but instead of cutting everything off in a vulgar way, he focuses on fabricating intricate knits, twists and patterns with the fabric itself. 

"Shredded" with Adam Saaks in New York City

Saaks once explained in an interview that his idea of shredding clothes came out by mistake. He had been a designer working with fabrics and models for ten years, and one day he was asked to cut a shirt in public. He started doing so and his performance started to draw people close who were amazed by his curious skills. "Everyone started applauding and I wasn't even done" stated Adam. He felt the emotion and expectation building up and he knew at once that it was his thing. "I thought: This is so natural to me... The crowd loves it, I love it, the girl loved it. So it was a pretty good formula and I fell in love with it with the first shirt I ever did" said Saaks.

Working with the item's lines, angles and edges is one of the main principles Adam likes to follow. Using the selected piece as a guideline, he imagines where and how the cuts could go along and merge into the clothing item. He then slices it up, knots and weaves the strips, and adds some finishing touches.

Well this certainly looks familiar...

Adam travels the world showcasing his high fashion street art. He's been in talk shows, TV interviews and fashion shows worldwide. United States, Turkey, Austria, India, Belgium, Philippines, Thailand, France, Sweden, Russia, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Korea and many other nations have made it into Saaks's performing locations. On the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, famous international superstars, models, actresses and others have been "shredded" by Adam Saaks. 

For example Shakira features one of Adam's creations in her "La La La (Brasil 2014)" FIFA World Cup video. The piece was handcrafted by Saaks and named after Shakira: "Shak Long Sleeve Body Suit", which can now be purchased online in a variety of colors and sizes for 450$.

These are some of the many celebrities that have been "shredded" by Adam Saaks. You can view more if you click here.

• Heidi Klum (German top model and actress)
• Mila Kaladjurdjevic (Montenegro top model)
• Giulia Arena (Miss Italy 2013)
• Moani Hara (Miss Hawaii 2014)
• Shakira (Colombian singer)
• Red Foo (American singer)
• Mariah Carey (American singer)
• Michelle Ashman (American actress)
• Sameera Reddy (Indian Bollywood actress)
• Jayde Nicole (Canadian model)

"Shredded" with Adam Saaks, cut dress on Mila Kaladjurdjevic

To this day, Adam Saaks has already written a book "Love At First Cut" and opened an online store where you can order custom made pieces (of course, handcrafted by Adam himself). He also currently offers online booking for personal appearances and promotes his Cutting Tour Dates, including performances in a long list of live shows throughout the world.

Learn more about Adam and his famous shredding in his official webpage.

Heartryoshka (The Heart Matryoshka)

Thinking of cute and original anniversary gifts, I came up with the idea of creating a Heartryoshka. For those of you who don't know what Matryoshkas are, this is how these iconic dolls look like:

Matryoshkas (also known as Babushkas) are Russian nesting dolls carved out of wood. They consist in a number of dolls painted to look the same or similar, but each of them is smaller than the next one in order to fit them all inside each other. Matryoshkas can come in many shapes, sizes, numbers and themes: from sets of three to sets of twenty, or from traditional Russian motive dolls to funny-themed ones.

Monster-themed Matryoshkas

In this case I made felt hearts that fit inside each other. My Heartryoshka is a set of six hearts of different colors, with the last one holding the initials of the two lovers. The making process is quite simple:

1. Cut as many pairs of felt hearts as you need to create your Heartryoshka. Measure each heart before cutting it to make sure it will fit inside the immediate larger one.

2. Sew together the edges of each pair together and cut a slit across the middle of one of the heart's sides. Sew those edges too (be careful, you don't wanna sew it against the other half).

3. Decorate the smallest heart if you want to. I sewed the foam initials carefully.

4. Put each heart inside each other and you're ready to go!

Did you know? #5: "The Last Goodbye"

About a week ago Peter Jackson posted on his Facebook page a video of the song "The Last Goodbye", performed by Billy Boyd. This song will be featured in the third and final release of The Hobbit saga, "The Battle of the Five Armies", as a honorable final closure for the Tolkien series.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" premiered yesterday at London

and will open on December 17 for USA

Long story short, this tune from the original motion picture soundtrack summarizes the long and passionate journey from the very beginning, featuring some of the best scenes from the "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" movies, mixed with behind-the-scenes footage and Boyd performing the song. For those of you who don't remember (shame on you!) Billy Boyd portrayed the hobbit Peregrin "Pippin" Took throughout the three "The Lord of The Rings" movies.

Both the melody and lyrics are powerful, evoking strong emotions from all the best and worst moments shared during the adventures that took place in Middle-Earth, and transforming the five-minute video into a heartwarming connection between the fans and the fiction. The song was composed and written by Billy Boyd himself, with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens collaborating with the lyrics.

If you haven't watched it yet, be prepared to get goosebumps and maybe shed a tear or two.

The fact is 16 years, 6 movies and one fellowship after, the classic story is finally coming to an end. And this will be a true "last goodbye" to the Middle-Earth series.

You can read Billy Boyd's interview with Entertainment Weekly HERE.