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Haute Couture: Atelier Versace a/w 2012-13

I’m back from a minor break this spring due to various technical difficulties and a little exam distraction BUT all is right with the world as i’ve decided to pick Couture Week to start it all off again… and with Donatella’s collection for Atelier Versace, what a start it has been!

With a celebrity packed front row at the Ritz Paris – home to Gianni Versace’s couture shows for 8 years – the traditional sentiments within the pieces were unsurprising and full of class, including pastel chain mail, hip-high slits (i’m assuming these will be Angelina and Anya’s favourites for showing off those mile long legs!), and scarf prints on sculpted body-con micro minis – signature Versace sexiness!

Lindsey Wixson opened the show in an A-line trench constructed from thin strips of ivory patent, woven through rose gold buckles, her waist cinched with a belt that took everyone straight back to the recent men’s collection. As the show continued, the game of peek-a-boo became bolder with slashes of skin on beaded evening dresses joined together with tiny strands of crystals or silk chiffon – daring yet not quite overstepping onto the road to tacky.

Tiny circles and hexagons were hand cut out of leather (as seen on the baby yellow trench, one of my favourites) showcasing the exquisite detail seen throughout the pieces. The woman represented was a “sexy, strong warrior” according to Jessica Alba, and Christopher Kane even suggested that Donatella herself should have modelled – which she could have with those minuscule waists much like her own!

Being her second couture catwalk since 2004, Donatella described the process of coming back as “very emotional” after having previously stopped showing Versace’s couture collections on the catwalk seven years ago. I was a little unimpressed with the initial collection, it didn’t really rub me the right way, so my expectations were wary whilst awaiting the second…

This season’s collection however was softer, more feminine and less “in-your-face” than the last one… Compared to the bright neons and acidic colours, combined with the architectural structure of last season’s pieces, Sunday’s show was much softer by sticking to a simple, clean colour palette of sorbet shades & jewel tones (which masterfully matched the rings worn on the index fingers of the models, made from yellow diamonds, emeralds and topazes – ah yes, the eye for detail…) and was a lot easier to take in. Sure, it may not have emanated the “strong, powerful woman” in such an obvious way, but the effect was still there within its own subtlety (possibly even in fuller force).

“Ultra sexy and feminine” & “signature Donatella but really updated” – the words of British Vogue’s fashion director, Lucinda Chambers – effectively sums it up and the verdict is in… a strong and beautiful start to the week. I mean really – what’s not to like?!

Sleeve-Separates @ New York Fashion Week…

DKNY
DKNY
3.1 Philip Lim
Altuzarra
BCBG Max Azria
BCBG Maz Azria
Custo Barcelona
Jason Wu
Jason Wu
Prabal Gurung – all photos: elleuk.com

If you invested in a leather sleeved coat this winter, you don’t have to worry about contemplating subsequent purchases in order to save up for a new styled outerwear essential for next winter because the fashion-fixation that is contrasting sleeves is set to remain on top form, at least for now, as the opposing fabric started out as being limited more or less to leather (not that there’s anything wrong with adding a little edginess & rock glamour in our prim & preppy lives!). This season it broadens it’s horizons…

Since first appearing in Ricardo Tisci’s Givenchy s/s 2009 collection in the form of crocodile leather on cotton jackets, numerous designers (Alexander Wang, Philip Lim, and Christopher Bailey for Burberry – to name a few) have been proponents of the trend – upping the ante each season and producing their own interpretations to incorporate everything from raffia, lurex, to suede. It took it’s extreme form in Dries Van Noten’s 2010 collection – having filled almost the entire show with visions of contrast sleeves in every which way and form (adorning jeweled sleeves to cargo jackets and bombers, bold yellow sleeves to leopard print blouses, and oversized mohair sleeves to cropped sweaters – I could go on!).

Given the industry’s constant (and understandable) obsession with juxtaposition, the love affair with contrast sleeves is unsurprising. They are the perfect fashion paradox: allowing a woman to be edgy but soft, dressed up & dressed down all at once. To me, contrast sleeves ooze effortless chic — an accomplishment any fashion fanatic is in a constant competition for — they are a way to add a little light playfulness & fun to the often hard & heavy hitting autumn/winter outfits, as most outerwear pieces stick to one colour and one fabric, covering up anything exciting which may be lurking beneath.

Prominently displayed on the New York catwalks, favourites included: the ever-traditional leather sleeves seen at New York staple brand DKNY (love the deep red crocodile leather!); long knit & transparent-sleeved throw-overs at Philip Lim; Altuzarra’s contrasting black-fur & Moroccan-inspired gold coin sleeved coats; bold juxtaposing fur sleeves at BCBG & Custo Barcelona; bolder fur on the awe-inspiring belted military jackets at Jason Wu, and daringly blue-furred bomber jackets at Prabal Gurung (i think it’s fair to say that fur has replaced last season’s leather, no?).

Whether soft and overflowing on dresses & tops or bright and bold for maximum impact coats & cropped jackets, this emerging obsession of contrasting sleeves has worked its way up the hierarchy of trends throughout the past seasons (one sleeve at a time, ha!) and has earned the top spot being a must-have item included on everyone’s wish-lists. These sleeves are here to stay…

Cultural-Crossover Journey Collections @ New York Fashion Week: Altuzarra a/w 12 + Rag & Bone a/w

There was a jet-setting sense of glamour to the collections of both Altuzarra and Rag & Bone as they displayed a beautiful array of travel-inspired elements: simple dresses, embroidery, masterly-tailored outerwear, pleated & tulip skirts, knitted fur sweaters (sleek & chunky), minimalist/maximalist… They were both too much, yet just right, as every aspect of the outfits could be deconstructed & every element of clothing able to be taken out and worn on its own – absolutely wearable.

Joseph Altuzarra added panoptic romanticism & exoticism to his first collection after his CFDA Fashion Fund win. Seeking to present “the wardrobe of a well-travelled woman”, he began with the idea of a woman with very french & straight base pieces, adding to them little elements of what she had picked up in Mongolia, Morocco and India – thereby creating a woman of a “Worldy Mystique” – confident and strong… yet with an approachable poise.

The dense knit dresses with gold coin embellishments were sensual, yet loud and confident; the military coats and outerwear displayed tailoring done to an expert degree of talent, the thigh-high leather boots and textural patterns were very rare – different, yet identifiable, flared pants, velvet jackets, fur pea-coats, contrasting sleeves, vermillion… I could go on…. Tightly edited and very well-styled… they were clothes real women would love (and love is an understatement!) to wear.

Having said all that, how could we forget Markus Wainwright and David Neville’s move away from the beachy sentiments of Rag & Bone’s spring/summer collection towards one with packed on layers of patterns and rich colouring for autumn/winter?! Having always had a type of “outsider” fashion, they have enabled themselves to gather more dispersed elements of design, fusing this with their ancestral sense of Englishness & fun to create the very looks which define them.

Markus Wainwright, after having visited India and upon seeing the beauty behind the contrasts of wealth & poverty, between the very rich textures and the extremely expensive, delicate and embroidered textiles and base cloths, decided to present a collection showcasing the impact of England on India and vice versa — creating a journey within which there was an element of urban sensibility…

Provocative & opulent with a colour palette of royal navy and deep violets with light patterns on grey hues, and of course pops of maroon (these shades of deep reds & burgundy which no NYFW catwalk went without!); beautifully understated Indian influences with jodhpurs and floral tapestries teamed with straight goat-hair gilets  – keeping texture plays central – gave the audience something to lust after and again – womenswear which was wearable – in the chicest and trendiest of ways.

If you asked me to choose between these 2 brilliant collections I wouldn’t be able to — But that’s the beauty of fashion isn’t it? Why would you ever have to choose, when you could simply take parts of both collections, blend them into one outfit & have it all.

New York Fashion Week Favourite: Diane Von Furstenburg a/w 2012

“Rendez-Vous” – the notion that anything can happen, that anything is possible; a sense of adventure – was the title of DVF’s fall collection which was all about seduction. The show notes of Diane and French creative director Yvan Misplaere tell us that “glamorous is at a moment’s notice… she is effortless & elaborate” and bearing “a heightened awareness to the promise of places she has not yet been“… so mysterious! – which is precisely the intended effect we received of the collection.

While we’re used to DVF’s signature prints and expert wrap-dresses, she pared things down this season, which ended up having dramatic and alluring effects, combined with the bold colour blocking. Despite this minimalistic colour trend (which wasn’t so minimalistic if you take into account the bold brights), whimsical prints were still present with jigsaw puzzles, little eyes, and chains, which symbolised the whole aura of fun, mystery and spontaneity so central to the message within the collection…

Silhouettes were sleek and languid yet had cover ups in combination, thereby presenting a “Ying & Yang“, which Diane described as “what makes a woman fun“. So she was the queen of juxtapositions: the matte & the shiny; the short & the long; the tight & the loose — each seen within the show and each invoking a sense of confidence, which every DVF girl possesses at its finest.

Finally, a review of this beautiful display cannot end without at least mentioning the delicious colours… deep magentas, peacock blues, rich maroons, mustard hues, gold, muted chartreuse… even daring to play these striking colours together in a mastery of colour blocking — “we do colour blocking with our eyes closed“… well if this is what happens when her eyes are closed, I can’t imagine what amazing things she’d come up with, with her eyes open!

Overall a very wearable collection with clean and simple elegance… smart blazers, loose trousers, a clear mix of separates, dresses, and jumpsuits (the pink jumpsuit paired with the aubergine coat is on my wish list!) — it was bold, daring, strong… evoking exactly the type of “elegant but glamorous & seductive” woman who is “ready for anything” that Miss Von Furstenburg so perfectly aimed to show us.

I don’t think the question is whether this woman is ready for anything, but rather: is the world ready for her? — I think i’d like to wear the clothes and test out the theory myself!

Are you ready for your rendez-vous?

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!