And we’re finally here, to the closing of one fashion week and saying hello to London - which actually kicked off with its fashion week two days ago. Let’s see the best looks, day by day.
Day 6
Tory Burch gave a great start to this day of runway shows with Moroccan-inspired prints reminding of the beautiful rugs woven in North Africa. The style was in between relaxed, chilled and cool, feminine. I would have liked more pieces in the ethnic prints of the beginning. Very polished instead was Jil Sander Navy (photo 1), extremely well-structured, with beautiful bright young colours. Loved the quilted total looks.
Would you ever say such a designer as Vera Wang, who creates the most beautiful wedding gowns, could be able of such amazing dark fashion? Nearly everything was black in her ready-to-wear collection, silhouettes were kept really plain, very far away from the ruffles and white organza of the bridal gowns. A sort of indie vibe kept together the whole collection.
One of the most commercial brands of NYFashion Week, J.Crew (photo 2) opted for simple wearable clothes where the exciting element was the pairing of subtle tones with bright shades of yellow, blue, red. Classic pieces from a woman’s closet reinvented - from the cream-coloured jumpsuit with a formal cut to the oversize grey tailored trousers. A little bit chaotic Rodarte collection (photo 3) was, but I liked it because it made me think of very inspiring references: the circus, with the blingy dresses worn by its performers; the street, with black leather and fur nodding to a dark urban style; at the same time, though, it was vulnerable, feminine, sweet, with chiffon and flowers made of sheer lace adorning the front of the mini-skirts paired with velvet deep cleavage tops.
There was nothing new in Jenny Packham’s collection, yet everything was pleasing to the view and extremely cool looking. The champagne gold, the pearl tones, the bows, the lace gowns, everything talked about opulence, but it was not an ostentatious kind of wealthiness, it was more of a contemporary chic lifestyle. Rachel Zoe knows how the market works, and she knows what people want. Her collection, then, can never do wrong: nothing is too much, nothing is superfluous, everything is essential.
All the lines coming out of the Jacobs maison - even this Marc by Marc Jacobs (photo 4), which is not designed by Marc Jacobs himself - seem linked by a common goal: dressing women for war. It’s an everyday battle, the one that all women have to face when waking up in the morning and preparing for a new day. So why not fighting while wearing cool stuff? Shoulders are always very strong and one of the focus of the garment, but they are never too exaggerated. Wallpaper-like prints are mixed to written panels and activewear insertions in a colourful but wearable extravaganza.
Lela Rose presented a collection where everything was extremely measured, even in the peacocky prints and fringed fabrics, which didn’t look too heave or showy. Impossible, then, not to talk about the debut of Peter Copping at Oscar de la Renta, after the death of the much beloved designer some months ago. However, I thought this collection lacked of self-confidence. Of course we have to recognise that substituting such an artist of fashion as De la Renta is a stressful and difficult task, but it seemed to me Peter Copping didn’t want to overshadow his master, and in this way he ended up with a mediocre collection. Nothing like the last one Oscar designed last season. He will be greatly missed, again.
Narciso Rodriguez (photo 5) understood the secret to make every woman look thinner and taller, and applied it to every look he sent down the runway for next season. So the rules are: never use colours that are too bright or flamboyant, but always go for nudes, black, white - especially cream; tighten the waist but go looser towards the top part and the feet - resulting in amazing slightly flared trousers; whatever you can elongate, just make it longer - what about the ankle-length waistcoats? Divine.
After the first two looks KTZ collection (photo 6) stated itself with the strength of a loud scream: IT WAS AMAZING! Definitely one of the best runway shows so far, maybe not as wearable as you would expect from New York Fashion Week - after all KTZ is based in London - I just thought as genius to take ethnic prints and decline them in flamboyant shades - my eyes were actually hurting with brightness @_@ - and put them everywhere, even translating them into fur. GLAMAZING!
Day 7
You can’t expect pure innovation from a designer all about business like Michael Kors, but in some way he always manages to transform the wearable things he create in something effective just as if he was dealing with art. He always chooses the best prints, the best colours, the best silhouettes for this prints and colours, the bust fur, the best length of dresses, trousers, skirts. And when it comes to accessories, well, his market success in this field is enough to tell everything about it.
Starting a runway show with a pop of colour is always a great way to grab everyone’s attention from the beginning, and I loved the fiery red Jason Wu for Boss decided to send down the runway for the first looks, especially because it was paired with grey coming from classic suit tailoring. Everything was immaculately constructed, as usual, but I would have preferred seeing more of that sparkle of colour of the beginning.
Psychedelic is the right word to describe the most hippy-like collection I’ve seen so far, despite having watched so many inspired by 70s. And Anna Sui’s ambition was probably to conceive a total collection, in the sense that this one really included everything you can think of about hippy style, just like a brain storming: strange headpieces, print mixing, chiffon, maxi dresses, fringes, leather. But it was Delpozo (photo 7) the collection that really made me crazy about it. I was waiting for it because I knew it was going to be epic, and yet I was shocked. The neon yellow was enough to make me swear I will love Delpozo for the rest of my life, but in general this was one of those collections which you can NEVER forget. Amazing knitted pink dresses, cut-out decorations of flowers and birds in thousands of beautiful colours. It was bold, it was elegant, young, fresh and with a touch of irony. Just the best.
Marchesa (photo 8) toned down the volumes for this runway show inspired by 30s and 40s, with feathers, pearls and fringes giving movement to the little dresses or to the long, sleek gowns where the focus was on the waist. Kinda reminded me of the dress Dmitry designed for the red carpet challenge at Project Runway All Stars - is Georgina Chapman copying?
Wayne featured a collection where prints were banned, except for a tartan brown and grey coat. The aesthetic is really clean, I loved the fact they chose very feminine elements to complement the dull colours - black, grey - like bows and ruffles. Destructuring is instead the key-word for Proenza Schouler (photo 9), this time accompanied by sexy cuts of the dresses to show a little bit of skin, but always in an experimental way. Graphic juxtaposition of lines and layers gave a graphic quality to it.
Day 8
Tokyo Runway Meets New York is an event for Japanese fashion talents, and this time Han Ahn Soon (photo 10) really stood out among others with a futuristic look where cool hip clothing - fur coat, baggy trousers, street style accessories - met future - loved the insertion of metallic leather.
From Romania Dorin Negrau couldn’t help being heavily inspired by his land’s traditions, with long knitted pieces paired with chiffon gowns embroidered with colourful lace. It lacked of sophistication though. Sophisticated and simple, as usual, was instead Calvin Klein Collection, this time with a decorating twist set to the minimum. Dresses and jackets were made of rectangular pieces of fabric put together like a puzzle, or also the bouclé pieces of the end really fit the aesthetic of the brand; colours veered mostly to a dark palette.
Marc Jacobs with his eponymous line closed London Fashion Week, depicting a woman that you can define as a mistress: algid, dark, a lot intimidating. For this purpose, silhouettes were really long, colours were mostly dark - black, navy blue, bordeaux, maroon - and there was a strong sexiness going through the whole collection - the completely sheer gowns seemed like an invitation to touch and at the same time were frightening in their ostentatious transparency and sex appeal.
It has been ages since I’ve posted anything, mostly because this is the only outfit I’ve been wearing lately! I’ve been forced into a hiatus by the weather.
With temperatures dropping as low as -29 degrees Celsius (-20 degrees Fahrenheit!) I’ve been waddling around with layers of tights and long underwear under my pants for days! Being a fashion blogger in the north isn’t easy.
Wearing a little civic pride with this cute little tank from Bamboo Ballroom in Edmonton. The Whyte Ave boutique has long been one of my favourite shop local destinations, and I love that they’re branching out with their own design.
Tank top from Bamboo Ballroom, sweater and leopard belt from J. Crew, pants from H&M, bag is Marc by Marc Jacobs, sunglasses by 3.1 Phillip Lim, earrings by Kate…
I went to a pool party this weekend, and kept it simple with the Hawaiian Sunset print from J. Crew. The long sleeves on the popover were perfect for when the temperature cooled down in the evening.
The little sunglasses necklace from Marc by Marc Jacobs was my favourite touch.
Hat, shorts and top from J. Crew, bikini is so old I couldn’t even begin to guess…., necklace Marc by Marc Jacobs,…
Playsuits are so trendy this year, but since it won’t really fit my work wardrobe, I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money. I picked this one up at winners for less than $20.00.
I paired it with a sunhat and a nice leather bag to dress it up for a perfect weekend look!
My “Sweet Nothings” necklace by In God We Trust is just the right finishing touch.
I’m rocking the J Crew Cove Floral print today. The drawstring pants are comfortable, and perfect for work or weekend.
The J Crew Grande Crystal Drops necklace dresses up anything! And while the pink in the tee shirt doesn’t really match the pants, they still go together.
Pants, tee and necklace by J Crew, flash aviators by Ray Bans, Petal to the Metal bag and flats by Marc by Marc Jacobs.
What do I do to keep my casual Friday outfit from becoming too boring? Slip on an eye catching jacket. In this case, the Wilfred Pollard jacket by Aritzia.
Other than that, casual Friday is just that, casual. Graphic sweatshirt and a great pair of aviators complete the look.
Coat from Aritzia, sweatshirt from Urban Outfitters, sunglasses by Ray Bans, toothpick jeans by J. Crew, boots by Dolce…
Label: Marc by Marc Jacobs Fashion Show: Spring/Summer 2014 in New York Models: Lindsey Wixson, Kati Nescher, Mijo Mihaljcic, Esther Heesch, Tian Yi, Juliana Schurig, Elisabeth Erm, Anna Ewers, Estee Rammant and Josephine Le Tutour Photographer: Yannis Vlamos http://marcjacobs.com http://mbfashionweek.com
Marc by Marc Jacobs offers a new take on the classics for the brand’s Spring/Summer 2014 collection. The classic suit is given a slouchy shape in satin for a pajama-inspired look while white t-shirts worn underneath are kept simple and uncomplicated. Jacobs also got sporty with baseball jackets and a golf-inspired look of trousers and mens tees with color-blocking in satin. Rounding out the collection’s relaxed shapes are the final looks featuring satin dresses or jumpsuits adorned with sparkling star shapes.
It has been ages since I’ve posted anything, mostly because this is the only outfit I’ve been wearing lately! I’ve been forced into a hiatus by the weather.
With temperatures dropping as low as -29 degrees Celsius (-20 degrees Fahrenheit!) I’ve been waddling around with layers of tights and long underwear under my pants for days! Being a fashion blogger in the north isn’t easy.
My hat says it…
