Vera Wang's Beautiful Dream

It is believed that dreams can be the manifestations of our subconscious desires or feelings of our more internal and spiritual state. Colors represent auras and their importance in our subliminal messaging to ourselves and others should not be underestimated. With that sentiment in mind, Vera Wang delivered a telling bouquet of wedding gowns for Spring 2013, at her New York studio on Sunday, April 15.

Translating from "Mei Meng," meaning "beautiful dream," Wang's show used powerful shades of the color of blood, fire and passion as her 15 bridal designs were perfectly missing any hint of traditional white. The non-white wedding dress has become of trend in the past few seasons with black and pastels, but no designer has palpated the love between two people, and the internal inferno that burns between them, into an ornately crafted work like Wang has done this season.

From a coral cardinal red to a plum-eggplant dahlia color, each dress showcased its own intricacies. Those that appreciate the details have an eyeful, with crystal black studded floral applique, folded and bunched hints of Chantilly lace and cutouts revealing some back. Most looks were strapless which provided the perfect amount of skin which naturally will balance these colors off a blushing bride, but, also provided respite for an often voluminous and bulky bottom half. For fashion forward brides looking to stand out with structure, see the well crafted crimson mermaid gown which gave a fitted illusion as a tulle A-line skirt covered waist down for a sheer effect.

Wang added a brilliant spark of life to the coming bridal season and with her rose colored glasses we should take note of her renewed zeal for making lavish wedding dresses and the mystery of what she will show us next.
Via: Vera Wang's Beautiful Dream

Read More

The Rakes Stylish Latest Progress

Finally a fashion moment in London's first-ever menswear fashion season, as designer Clive Darby wowed rather wonderfully with his latest collection for the house of Rake.

Rake as a name, rake as attitude, in this stylish show presented Saturday, June 16, with great nonchalance in Little House Mayfair, an intimate dining club and the latest outpost in the extended Soho House empire.

The rake - a dissolute tradition of gentleman behaving badly that dates back to the 16th century and King Charles II "Merry Gang" band of revelers - is an institution of which British men remain immensely proud. Though it was ironic that in a month that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee and the Queen's dedication to her nation and people, the defining show in London turn out to be inspired by hard-living dandies.

Around the finely worn timber paneled club, the hirsute models cruised by in global travellers, whisper light pea-coats in faded blancmange, truncated double breasted silk jackets forgivingly cut, micro naval blazers and mega baggy fine cotton trousers, all very artfully rumpled. They looked like ideal gear for a sunset drink on distant seaside terrace, like the tamarind and vodka cocktail served by a small army of staff at this tightly edited show. Barely 100 guests made it London's most sought after event.

Darby said his inspiration wandered from the "sun-soaked desert to the narrow alleyway of the shadowy souk," which together led to a refined haute bohemian mood. A feeling that continued right through to the finale where the evening dress all came without cravat or bow ties; the cotton pique shirts with starchily erect collars and the cool styling that featured temporary Moroccan henna tattoos and Levantine worry beads worn as wristbands and watch chains.

"Evening gear for the big occasion and the disreputable drinking den," insisted Darby of this gutsily bold collection. Just make sure our name is on the guest list.
Via: The Rakes Stylish Latest Progress

Read More

Valentino's Edgy Gilded Dream

If any catwalk show attracts an audience of enviably glamorous youth it is above all that of the house of Valentino, which presented a quietly edgy and blatantly romantic collection in Paris, on a blustery and rain drenched Tuesday, March 6.

Before some 1,200 pampered guests, on a carefully laid antique parquet catwalk, the Valentino design duo of Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri opened their fall 2012 collection with a small battalion of sleek black leather cocktails, runway gowns and mega wide culottes. Somewhat eccentrically, these have become a significant trend in Paris this season, even if they seemed defiantly impractical in this week's weather.

"We were thinking of Pasolini's Medea meets Penelope Tree," said Piccioli with a twinkling eye, before posing before an elaborate mood board for several TV interviews. The designer was referring to the American beauty who was the icon of Swinging Sixties London, and Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini's somewhat histrionic interpretation of the Greek classic starring Maria Callas, memorably attired by costumer Sartoria Tirelli. That story, one will recall, concerns the myth of Jason and the Argonauts voyage to Medea' kingdom in search of a golden fleece.

Tree's insouciance and Medea's off-beat opulence shone through this collection, which varied from the courtly to the hyper-feminine. What worked best were often the simplest ideas - a flawlessly cut little black dress with puckered shoulders and flared sleeves - though the high point were the lacy, semi-sheer ensembles, whose feminine assurance can be matched on no other current runway.

Plus, the collection contained some sure-fired hits, notably a patchwork lace and mink frock coat and a really brilliant trio of white on ecru lace cocktails.

It also underlined the growing self-confidence of the duo, who after some dozen shows where they very obviously avoided using Valentino's signature red, this season sent out a dramatic quintet of looks in that sinful hue.

They also committed something of minor heresy by showing long evening dresses cut off above the ankle. In the famed 2008 documentary entitled "Valentino: The Last Emperor," the legendary designer chews out a staff member in a fitting for daring to show a dress in that very length.

Moreover, as a show this event lacked a certain energy. In their earlier presentations for Valentino, Chiuri and Piccioli used huge video imagery to create a theatrical mood, and this show could have done with that element of drama.

That said, this season was ultimately a major success for these designers, who have imposed an easily identifiable new style on Valentino, which in its essentials respects this Roman brand's haute gamme tradition.
Via: Valentino's Edgy Gilded Dream

Read More

Louis Vuitton's Accessories Express

All aboard, the Louis Vuitton express is about to leave. In an exceptional setting - even for this extravagant house - a life-sized steam train pulled 50 yards across the tracks in a show tent built inside a courtyard of the Louvre on Wednesday, March 7. It bore the name, Louis Vuitton, from whose single carriage emerged two score of grandly dressed models, each accompanied by a porter, who carried several pieces of their luggage.

It was a neat piece of staging, not least because it meant Louis Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs could show well over 100 pieces of baggages - and bags, as we know, are the heart of Vuitton, the world's most profitable luxury brand.

"When the clock strikes 10 the train will pull into the station," read the program notes, though as it happened, the Vuitton special arrived at 10:05, so for once, this label's show - famous for its punctual start time - began a little late. Even so, well-heeled guests had a mighty scramble through heavy Paris morning traffic to make it in time. Many did not, clutching their tickets desperately outside in a fresh shower.

Those who missed the show, would not have seen that, like the steam train, it was a somewhat old fashioned collection, even if not quite archaic. For fall 2012, Jacobs sees women in Edwardian chic as nearly all his model passengers wore extended A-line coats over lengthy skirts and ankle revealing pants. Cut with large, splayed lapels, this selection of masculine tailoring, which varied from equestrian hacking jacket to courtly tails, was all finished with elaborately ornate metallic and mirror buttons. Eventually the mirrors and metal took over several of the finale coats, and the models - who all towered over the tiny uniformed staff - shone brilliantly as they marched down the platform.

The bags were a thoroughly enticing choice - from grained leather weekenders and cloth monogram carpet bags to graphic black checkered suitcases and russet hued totes that glistened just like the carefully aged platform. Indeed, if the show had any star it was actually the hats, an amazing assemblage of feathered cloches that looked a good deal more revolutionary than the clothes.

Later in the evening, Jacobs unveiled a new Louis Vuitton photography exhibition in the other end of the giant Louvre, a retrospective in the Musee des Art Decoratifs. It attracted thousands to the final major bash in the four city and 30-day international catwalk season for fall 2012 collections. And a smart reminder by Vuitton that business has never been better for this truly unique brand.
Via: Louis Vuitton's Accessories Express

Read More

Magically Mannish Miu Miu

They say fat is a feminist issue, but fashion is too, especially in the hands of Miuccia Prada, whose latest collection for her label Miu Miu, was a fashionable game changer staged on the final day of the French runway season in Paris on Wednesday, March 7.

Signora Prada's fashion has always stood for expressing the importance and independence of women. Her first aim is to add a certain dignity and elegance, which separates her from so many other designers whose most pressing goal is to make them beautiful.

Not that this fall 2012 collection was not a beauty. With its concentration on dandified masculine tailoring, it was frequently enchanting, though much of its charm lay in the way the clothes will eventually distinguish the women who buy them.

As ever at chez Miu Miu, the setting was sublime. Staged in a massive modernist government building near the Trocadero, elaborately decorated in a mat gold carpeted seating and a runway in exactly the same material as the stiff show invites, the collection opened with silk gents' suits worn with shirts, ties and platform shoes.

Created in hyper colorful zigzag prints in mixes of purple, soft pink and bright orange, the tailoring grew more dandified through the show. Plus, the designer came up with some great tailoring tricks, like a sleeveless double breasted jacket with side slits for the arms to appear, or several cape/jacket combinations that were charming eye puzzlers.

"I wanted to think that when a woman is dressed in one of these suits, and she sees everyone one else in a dress, she just goes pffffft," the designer told FWD with a knowing laugh.

Once again, her choice of footwear was unlike anything else we've seen on Continental catwalks, sturdy platforms in unlikely combinations of leather that looked like polished furniture, worn old skins, shiny suede and tough metal buckles. So, while it was the last important show in the four weeks of fashion shows, this latest excursion by Miu Miu will be one of the most influential of all collections. And, more importantly, it will empower women of taste in today's world.

Via: Magically Mannish Miu Miu

Read More

John Galliano: Ladylike Erotica

If any designer is having a good fashion season it has to be Bill Gaytten, whom after a highly accomplished show for Christian Dior two days ago, staged a suggestively seductive collection for the house of John Galliano on a rainy Sunday, March 4, in Paris.

Inspired by English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley, this fall 2012 collection was thoroughly revealing, and not just because the chiffon fabrics outlined the elan figures of the clever casting, but also for unveiling Gaytten's ability to create clothes in the Galliano style.

This veteran designer, who worked for Galliano for over a decade and a half, wowed from a Tudor era start, with alluring drop-dead sexy silhouettes, mixes of see-through chiffon and courtly costume silk. Combining mini capes, slinkily cut bias cut cocktails and micro pleat skirts, the models marched out into the all-black setting through a cloud of dry ice.

Gaytten also managed to riff on the Galliano tradition of deconstruction though with his own touch, keeping it tougher and adding fox fur arms and panels. Done up with matching tights, garter belts and saucy padded booties, the models emoted all the way down the runway, clearly enjoying the edgy sexuality.

For winter, Gaytten plans to wrap his ladies in mohair plaid, cut like Restoration dandies, though underneath the whole semi-sheer look kept the mood red hot. Beardsley, known for his erotic fantasies, obsession with mythology and famed images of Salome, would have loved this show. It re-ignited his love of sexuality, and the power it grants women.

The designer was also blessed with some fantastic hats from Stephen Jones, fabulous assemblies of peacock and crow feathers. Add a cast that clearly loved the clothes and this was a sure-fired hit for Gaytten - a perfect finale for this quiet Englishman, who lingered happily at his bow, the audience applauding lustily.
Via: John Galliano: Ladylike Erotica

Read More

Givenchys Hard Core Chic

If one had to pick a designer who is setting the fashion agenda above any other this season it is very much Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy.

His sizzling, hard-core chic, fall 2012 collection staged in a college in north Paris Sunday night, March 4, also announced the comeback of a triumphant sexuality in today's fashion.

Opening with tough, cool, all-black lambskin leather cocktails and striking redingotes finished with superbly cut masculine tailoring touches - tails, reverse lapels and back pockets - the show was a hit from the get-go.

Tisci injected all his signature references - religious insignia, military boots, dramatic earrings and a certain Renaissance flourish - into some fantastic looks.

Beautifully cut coats came with multiple panels - worsted wool, chiffon and sleek silk - often finished with mink sleeves or elbow femme fatale high gloves. Done up with dark brown eye shadow and dark mauve lipstick, the models strutted with tremendous self-confidence down the catwalk, illuminated by three huge fluorescent rings hung from the rafters of the high school gym.

No other designer is more clued into current club culture and kids than Riccardo Tisci, who took his bow dressed like an uber-cool street tough-nut himself. Just back from a trip to club capital Berlin, where he visited the legendary Panorama Bar, Tisci inserted a tough and dangerous vibe into his clothes as in his dragoon's leather boots and dessert plate sized earrings. Influences one only sees in an after-hour club where the prevailing message is that anything is possible. In Tisci's able hands this feeling turns into actual clothes and merchandise and his multi-colored fur bombers, always including his signature red, and lace-trimmed dresses will be sure to lead a generally luxurious and mannishly tailored season into a darker and tougher direction.

"Guy Bourdin, equestrian and late Berlin," explained Tisci to FWD in a packed backstage, referring to the legendary surrealist French fashion photographer.

Before the most celebrity packed front-row of Paris so far, it felt like a defining moment for this designer. Suddenly, Givenchy is the hottest act in town.
Via: Givenchys Hard Core Chic

Read More