Month: February 2012

French Vogue Le journal de la Fashion Week à New York #2

Another artistic expression of New York Fashion from a french perspective…

Victoria Beckham speaks about the many types of jersey she uses in her show and how much she loved the bags (totally agree!); We see the always much anticipated and star studded front row seats of New York staple, DKNY…

“Chaude”, “rose”, “amoureuse”, “Tina Turner”, “Fetish”, and “Paris” — all words which Diane Von Furstenburg chooses to describe her seductive “Rendez-Vous” titled collection (close to topping my list of favourite shows so far – look forward to a review soon!)…

And finally we see the jaw dropping collection of Thakoon, which just went above and beyond all expectations, choosing peacock feathers prints, ruby reds, duchess satin and 8pm in the evening as the central elements to his absolutely stunning collection…

PS: Loving the song in the background!

French Vogue Le journal de la Fashion Week à New York #2

New York Fashion Week Favourite: Marc Jacobs a/w 2012

For my first fashion week review I thought it would be appropriate to deviate from ordering the shows as to the date they were shown and jump straight to New York’s darling: Marc Jacobs — he’s always been an absolute favourite designer of mine as he, alone, sparked my initial interest in fashion & was the first luxury designer handbag I ever invested in.. I guess you could say he sort of has a sentimental value in my heart.

His autumn/winter collection more than proves himself worthy of such admiration and talent; starting off with an outer-worldy set of an icy, warped, wintry village – designed by renowned artist friend Rachel Feinstein (who is one of the features in the latest LOVE Magazine) – Marc restored the subversive elements to the world of fairy tales.

It was like being Alice in a Marc Jacobs Wonderland (complete with mad-hatters and exaggerated everything) mixed with Little Red Riding Hood, lost in an enchanted forest.

The colourful parade of furry Dr Seuss hats (designed by Stephen Jones) combined with holographic-looking appliqués, paisley-prints (which are continuing to be on trend so it’s a perfect time to invest now for both spring and fall!), oversized safety pins holding in place the draped fur shrugs with chunky crocheted stoles around the shoulders, and unique Ostrich shoes gave the audience a less traditional Disney-esque feel of fables

Layered wraps & capes reigned supreme with a piled combination of textures, colours, and patchwork present in every outfit. Silhouettes included hourglass shapes and exaggerated hips, and were bulkier and looser with expert box pleating for cropped jackets & loose dresses worn over cropped pants.

I loved the Oliver Twist sentiments of basic fabrics and colours contrasted with rich and luxurious embellishments and embroidery (another ongoing trend seen on the New York catwalks — see Altuzarra for example). The juxtaposition of the most elemental fabrics with the most affluent produced dramatic and absolutely beautiful, albeit unconventional, looks and is seen as a continuation of the past 2 season’s fascination of contrasting fabrications…

Although it wasn’t his usual kind of beautiful, this collection showed something else — it was a somewhat daring and ornate kind of beauty, which evoked a sense of curiosity and fun into fashion… poetic & magical — Master Marc does it again!

French Vogue Fashion Week Journal – New York #1

This is such a cool alternative video showcasing New York fashion week so far… models off-duty, street-style looks of the moment as seen on socialites, editors and style ambassadors, and great shots of the action on the runway and behind the scenes…

The runway set design at Lacoste was wintery and exciting, Prabal Gurung names Joan Smalls as his model of the moment and his colour Blue, and the video also features one of my favourite shows of the season – Moroccan inspired Altuzarra – providing a preview of my upcoming post talking about one of the recurring trends hitting the runways in the Big Apple this autumn season… Can you guess what it is!?

I know the anticipation may be too much to bare…. Stay tuned!

French Vogue Fashion Week Journal – New York #1

Best of Paris Couture: Valentino s/s 2012

It was a bouquet of flowers á la Valentino by Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri — romantic & girly, légère & luxurious, and yet refreshingly different compared to the other couture shows.

Consistencies of feminine floral patterns on layered chiffon, and heavy silks & satins with prim & proper silhouettes, gave us a “Jane Eyre-esque” vibe with the high Victorian necks and long sleeves.

The collection evoked an element of couture modernity with white woollen trousers (very wearable and rather informal for traditional couture!) and had with it a sense of understated sexiness (you know that’s my favourite!), ending the show with lace covered in embellishments of pearls and crystals  – showing some skin yet keeping things hidden underneath sheer fabrics.

Vintage shoes in matching florals topped it all off and the models looked so fresh, simple and elegant with that one flick of winged kohl, lining just the outer edges of the eyes whilst keeping the rest of the face neutral — always one of my most favourite couture shows — it never fails to impress, astonish, or leave us fantasising in awe…

Colour-pop & Back-Impact

There are subtle and simple ways to make an outfit POP. One of my favourites is through teaming a single-coloured outfit of grey, black, navy, or white with an eye-popping print. The understated colours work to make the graphics of the prints really stand out, without forcing a full off-the-runway statement (because let’s face it, not all of us can pull off head to toe D&G on an every day basis like Anna Dello Russo…).

If you aren’t a prints person however, you can make the same statement by using pops of brights – teaming them with the same understated colours mentioned before.

Spring is on its way, so what better way to welcome the warmth (I, personally am ready to get rid of these freezing temperatures!) and embrace the neon spring 2012 trends than by adding a bit of colour to your wardrobe? Pinks, oranges, yellows, neon purples and cobalt blues…

Oh, and for lovers of the understated sexy look (like myself) — why not go with a cut-out cashmere for a little back-impact… showing a little skin never hurt anyone right?!

I’m wearing: Wilfred Cashmere wool-blend jumper, forever21 necklace, Zara skirt & heels