Jul 232009
 
 

If Donna Karan didn’t invent uniform dressing in the eighties, she went
a very long way toward making the idea a sexy one. Now, with the economy
in a nosedive, she’s brought the clever, potentially budget-saving concept
back for Fall, and the result is one of her strongest-looking collections
in seasons. It starts with a jacket or a draped jersey top—all exaggerated,
sculpted shoulders with a wrapped or belted waist. On the bottom, it’s
either a long, lean skirt or tapered trousers. That powerful, triangular
silhouette came down the runway in all sorts of arrangements, each ready
to be pulled apart and reconfigured with any number of different pieces.
A caramel calfskin trench jacket, a white poplin button-down shirt, or
a black silk parka might be paired with a stretchy, below-the-knee jersey
skirt, while a portrait-collar alpaca jacket or turtleneck bodysuit might
top cropped pants.

But it wasn’t all about separates. Dresses, whether they came long-sleeved
or in a drapey goddess style, followed the same commanding lines. Karan
only abandoned the bold shoulder to reproduce on the runway a look that
she herself has been wearing for years. Made from satin jersey suspended
from a necklace of leather-wrapped rings, the halter-style “cold
shoulder” dress—as she calls it—has been battle-tested
not only for sex appeal, but also for ease. Who wouldn’t want to slip
into a uniform like that?

 

       
       
Share

Marc Jacobs – Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear – Accessoires

 Fashion Accessories, Fashion Trends  Comments Off on Marc Jacobs – Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear – Accessoires
Jul 232009
 
 

Leave it to Marc Jacobs to deliver a neon-hued, big-shouldered, crimpy-haired
eighties antidote to the gloom and doom of 2009. “I was thinking
about the good old days in New York,” he said after the show, “when
getting dressed up was such a joy.” By the good old days, Jacobs
means the nights he spent at clubs like Area, the Palladium, and Paradise
Garage. Maybe it was the recent Stephen Sprouse project he completed at
Louis Vuitton, or perhaps it’s the fact that he now lives in Paris full
time, but his Fall show was a big, juicy nostalgic kiss to a city that
doesn’t really exist anymore.

The show started simply enough, with a gray cardigan sweater and charcoal
trousers, but when the model walked past, you saw the back half of a kilt
and braces—Jacobs’ new uniform—and knew it was going to get
personal. He worked his way through little silver-and-black A-line shifts;
party dresses in metallic leathers and floral brocades with flaring, full
skirts and monster shoulders; velvet bustier tops and high-waisted over-dyed
jeans; and Crayola-bright jackets, capes, and hooded coats. The only filter
that separated these clothes from their East Village forebears was the
expensive, luxury fabrics they came in. Every girl had a different hairdo,
shellacked into Mohawks, flips, and bouffants, and the makeup was straight
off the album cover of Duran Duran’s Rio. The cumulative effect of all
that color, volume, and optimism? One editor called it “A Flock of
Seagulls meets Alexis Carrington.”

Will fashion as outrageously ebullient as this—in some cases, make
that just plain outrageous—sell in the harsh reality of the late
aughts? (And talking about harsh: More than 1,000 people were nixed from
the invitation list this season in a cost-cutting slash and burn.) Jacobs
insists that he wasn’t thinking about the economy when he was working
on the collection, and maybe he wasn’t. These days, wagering that women
will splash out on feel-good clothes is as good a bet as any.

 

       
       
Share

Louis Vuitton – Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear – Accessories

 Fashion Accessories, Fashion Trends  Comments Off on Louis Vuitton – Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear – Accessories
Jul 172009
 
  

Marc Jacobs ended the season at Louis Vuitton
in Paris as he began it with his own show in New York: with the eighties.
Different city, different accent, though, and this slice of the late eighties—ruffled,
ruched, and poufed as it was—looked as if Jacobs had pulled out his
1987 magazines and worked up a playful homage to Christian Lacroix. He didn’t
quite put it that way backstage, however. Jacobs said that, partly in preparation
for the Model as Muse exhibition at the Met and his role as honorary chair
of the opening gala, he was thinking of “all those great French muses
of the late eighties.” Specifically, he cited Marie Seznec (who modeled
for Lacroix), Victoire de Castellane (who worked for Chanel), and Inès
de la Fressange (who was virtually French fashion mascot in chief at the
time).Looking back on those days of chichi fashion extremes brought out a lot
of jeune Parisienne frivolity in the clothes, if not the staging, which
was done, pseudo-salon style, without a runway (albeit in a large transparent
tent parked, as usual, in a courtyard of the Louvre). The chance of a
close inspection revealed lots of puffy peplum jackets, tons of shirring
and ruching (in print or leather), bubble skirts, bejeweled satin leggings,
and a mini lace Marie Antoinette pannier dress with a saucy sheer balconette.
Jacobs’ take on big shoulders ran from grosgrain bow-smothered balloon
puffs to the widest short coats (in camel or red) on any runway—almost
as broad as they were long.

It was also a rich accessory fest for the leather goods company. Leather
necklaces and belts came fashioned like paper chains, and thigh boots
were topped with ruffles and balanced on pearl and glitter-covered heels.
The all-important bags had also acquired eighties pie-crust frills and
gilded monograms. If it wasn’t quite the fashion tour de force of Vuitton’s
Spring collection, this penultimate show of an often dour and cautious
season read as a welcome interlude of cheerful, flirty confidence in a
post-crash depression.

 

       
       
Share

Pantone View: Colour Planner for Spring – Summer 2009

 Fashion Accessories, Fashion Trends, Jewelry Trends  Comments Off on Pantone View: Colour Planner for Spring – Summer 2009
Jul 012009
 

 Pantone announced the release of the summer 2009 edition of the Pantone View Colour Planner, its cross-discipline color forecasting tool, titled “Independence.”

Summer 2009 celebrates the spirit of independence and the promotion of individuality.

Rather than follow any one specific trend in color, this season focuses on a state of mind and is largely influenced by sociological factors.

The changing world and emergence of new markets have resulted in many people taking a proactive stance in their personal contributions to the betterment of the world.

According to Pantone’s research, the world of design and merchandising is reacting to a desire for designs catered to a self-defining style.

People are increasingly noticing a change in values in the world and interpreting these inspirations to suit themselves.

“The Pantone View Colour Planner is a critical tool for providing color direction to a wide range of businesses and industries,” said Tod Shulman, vice president of the fashion, home and interiors division at Pantone.

“For summer 2009, Pantone is forecasting a trend toward color palettes that reflect individuality and make people feel good about who they are.”

Pantone View Colour Planner showcases seven palettes for use in women’s wear, menswear, active wear, cosmetics, interiors, industrial design and graphics.

Pantone Color Report
Share

New York winter 2008.09 – SKIRTS ( part 5 )

 Fashion Trends  Comments Off on New York winter 2008.09 – SKIRTS ( part 5 )
Sep 062008
 

BOUFFANT

Requiem Requiem
Requiem Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli Rodarte
Rodarte Rodarte
Rodarte Rodarte
Rodarte Rodarte
Threeasfour Threeasfour
Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Hilfiger
Tuleh Tuleh
Vera Wang Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto Yohji Yamamoto
Zero Maria Cornejo
Photos : Vogue
Share