turn on the bright lights

Jil Sander
Spring 2011

I'm not one for fluorescent colors, but how can you resist after you watch that?

blockhead

Marni
Spring/Summer 2010
Easy, without pretense, sublime. Something to look forward to next spring...

mia

Dear Readers,

Excuse the lack of posts. Consider this a breather for not only me, but you as well before things pick back up. Adjusting to a new city and finding work can be time consuming beyond belief and as a result, draining on all fronts, especially my creativity. The fashion month coverage was more sparse than what I'd care for it to have been on this blog, but you can check out the dozens of reviews I wrote on the 212DRESSINGROOM blog and I'd recommend taking a peek at Bitch, Please's extensive reviews. Overall, I thought it was a weak season. Women are going to have a tough time balancing on insanely high heels and not looking ridiculous in harem panted jumpsuits or transparent laden pieces. The collections that really said something beyond what the trends dictated were the ones that really stuck out as defiantly beautiful and innovative with a bit of accessibility. If women's fashion has the edge of fantasy over men's, that's what should come through in the designs, however women of today need something functional and ultimately comfortable, wearable, and fitted to their own personalities. A seemingly impossibly magic trick to pull off, but it's what keeps fashion relevant and evolutionary.

Here are the top collections of the Spring/Summer 2009 season:

Dries Van Noten
Jil Sander
Narciso Rodriguez
Marc Jacobs
Ann Demeulemeester
Lanvin
Giles Deacon
Yves Saint Laurent
Calvin Klein
Balenciaga

milan: jil sander

Jil Sander
Spring/Summer 2009
This is the best quality I could find of this show and trust me, the clearer the image for this show you'll have a greater understanding as to why it's one of the best of the season. The fringing that controls the movement of the body, the sick jewelery, and the sensual surprise of exposed backs all adds up to fashion at its finest.

when it all falls down

Prada
Spring/Summer 2009
This may be the evil sadist in me, but isn't this kind of fun to watch what with the world going to shit?

summer madness

Another head spinning couple of weeks of fashion are behind us. Sigh. Milan and Paris and men's wear shows and the couture shows (too lazy to touch upon those, but I did love Lacroix's and Givenchy's) just blurred right into each other. I can't imagine actually being in the thick of it (actually, it's one of my eventual goals), but there were some interesting trends and shows along the way that really stood out amongst the glut. Shorts, loose shapes, pajama style dressing, and monochromatic looks (namely in day glo colors) were the general trends from the Milan and Paris shows. With men's wear it's important to note that men dress in a primarily conservative and simple way. Shirt, pants, suit, casual wear, and shoes are pretty much the bare bones of men's wear. That might sound like it's stifling to a creative mind, but working within that box can produce rich and exciting results. Here are my ten favorite shows that captured that essence of the tradition of men's wear but introduced something relatively inventive along the way:

1. Versace
2. Lanvin
3. Veronique Branquinho
4. Marni
5. Burberry Prorsum
6. Alexander McQueen
7. Maison Martin Margiela
8. Dries Van Noten
9. Prada
10. Junya Watanabe

To read more of my men's wear show coverage at the 212 Dressing Room blog, click here.

60 and up

Models from Yohiji Yamamoto, Etro, and
Ann Demeulemeester

Gray is the new black at the European men's shows.

milan: prada

A look from Prada Spring/Summer 2009
via Frillr
A polo that could easily be a polo dress with matching grandpa socks. Miuccia, you naughty girl you.

milan: versace

Electric relaxation is an apt hybrid of words to describe Versace’s spring 2009 men’s wear collection. A men’s wear collection minus neckties, shirts unbuttoned to the sternum, pants that were the opposite of stovepipes, wispy summer scarves, and an overall lightness in being culminated in a redefinition, or refinement depending on how you want to phrase it, of what we think of when it comes to casual menswear. This Versace man is confident, comfortable, at ease, all qualities that are certainly attractive. Perhaps then it makes sense that Donatella dedicated this collection to “the man of the moment”, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. I’m not sure that I could see Obama sporting a tank with a screen-printed plume of smoke coiling up his abdomen, but the strength in these clothes is what people see in Obama—refreshing, cool, and powerful without waving a big stick.

Over the past few seasons at the women’s and men’s labels, there has been a relatively dramatic aesthetic shift at Versace. The new Versace ideal is someone who wants bold, streamlined clothes that exude a certain kind of purity in their subtleness and sensual tailoring. Trenches with interesting flap details, snappy little Army influenced jackets, and a white button down with a zipper slashed across the arm showed the influence of former Cloak designer and current creative contributor to the men’s wear line, Alexandre Plokhov. His strength as a tailor with a sharp edge was beautifully put to use in one button suits (Who wants to bother with more than one when you look that good?) and slim shawl collared suit jackets paired with shorts. Call it a new Casual Friday uniform, but Versace supplied the goods for men who want to look effortlessly and casually put together.

Donatella is smart enough and respectful enough not to forget the roots of the brand. The creamy color palette and electric sheen on the clothes would be perfect for any true Milanese playboy. For next spring, throw away those ties and maybe every man can have a taste of this good life Donatella promises.

milan: alexander mcqueen

Body by God, clothes by Alexander McQueen was the vibe at his spring 2009 menswear collection. The relationship between man and his body has definitely changed over the last century or so, especially in this crazy new millennium of “metrosexual”, sexual fluidity quickly becoming the norm (Does anybody know what team anybody plays on anymore?), and womenswear influencing menswear more and more (Who wore skinny jeans first?), it would only take a mind like Alexander McQueen’s to shake it up and break it down in a way you’ve never thought of.

The body was supreme focus of the collection, inside and out. Nude was the prominent color, established by the turtleneck and blazer combo at the start of the show. From there on out, real and designed flesh made an appearance on shirts, bodysuits that looked like something Slim Goodbody might wear, and nets of flesh colored fabric that exposed the torso underneath a suit jacket. McQueen also played with screen-printed shirts that looked like blood was dripping down the body but in fact was a sanguine plume of smoke (A new trend he and Donatella are trying to start?). A cloud of smoke looked like a ribcage on a suit jacket. Such innovative ideas are part of McQueen’s bark, but his bite is in the classic tailoring of the sharp jackets and pants in the collection. They may not look like something every man would want to wear, but any man can’t resist good tailoring.

For such a naughty collection, it’s hard to imagine this sort of exposing of the male form will attract a wide male audience. McQueen has never been synonymous with commerciality, but these aren’t clothes intended for the masses, and yet their base concept will more than likely be highly influential. A man who wants clothes from this directional provocateur will recognize that it’s going to be all about the body come next spring.

sweat until my clothes come off

Looks from Roberto Cavalli, Neil Barrett, and Missoni
Spring/Summer 2009
The menswear shows started this week in Milan and it looks like an oversized grandpa sweater is essential for next spring. Chunky sweaters for spring? I guess hell will have officially frozen over by next year.

prada

I love it when you can see a designer working through a single idea for a collection. To some that connote a one dimensionality, but there is nothing simple about Miuccia Prada's fall collection. Lace, S&M, death--it was all there and then some. Prada really thinks about women in context to what clothes project about gender, power, and sexuality. This season there was a slight elegiac tone but it was perverse and no way completely sad or dead on arrival. As the summer turns into fall the leaves change and the air gets colder, and in a way, the world around us dies a little bit. For fall, Prada presented clothes fit for a funeral, minus the somber, bloodless sensation one gets at such an occasion. These clothes have a coy, almost grandma-ish flair, but a strong scent of sex, which is always a pleasure for Prada to put on display.

The collection is more about details, if you ask me. What do we immediately think of when we think of black lace: a veil for a funeral, Victoria's Secret, or something that tickles the feverish fetishist in all of us? That was all true to some degree in the inherent transparency of the lacy collection, which was sexy in theory, but the just below knee length that most of the coats and dresses came in, that is typically for older women, didn't come across as a Victoria's Secret commercial. Black, nude, baby blue, and shades of orange were dominate throughout, with the nude and baby blue showing through the lace. These are colors that I think of as being wistful and plain. There was nothing plain about the severe hair and thick eyebrows on the models that made them look as tough as those hard looking boots and cuff bracelets. The shoes had a slight melancholy tone as bits of leather seem to fall away from the shoe, as if to imply that everything dies, even designer heels. The perversity in the shoes existed in stacked collars, lots of buttons, and see through dickies paired over button down blouses. The caged in feeling was present in her menswear collection in January, but at the time she said she was punishing men for the hoops women have to jump through to dress themselves, thus giving the buttons in the back of their shirts and cummerbunds that dipped into pants giving the illusion of a thong protruding. The covered up look for women seemed to be less about punishment than about being a woman in mourning choosing not to show everything, with a slight desire for something lustful to return after the passing of her love.

For a $6 billion business you would think Prada would be concerned about wearability, but it seems more and more that the presentation of her clothes is an open space for the ideas that brew around in her mind. If things progress in this clean, sexy direction, she can keep thinking out loud as much as she wants.

bottega veneta

A less is more approach doesn't always signify "minimalism." Tomas Maier has been slowly but surely building the once accessories brand, Bottega Veneta, into a design house that has more to offer than leather goods. His aesthetic has been loyal to those who were fans of the bags years ago, grown-up women with strong taste and a need for something simple and luxurious. That subtle touch reverberated in every look in his fall collection that was all about monochromatic and a long, feminine silhouette.

The first couple of looks promised some unique accouterments on the outerwear. Folds of fabric were constructed to create a coat with texture and a density that resembled those shaggy rugs found in most dorm rooms, but it was chic when belted and paired with matching blueberry boots and purple bag. The muted jewel tones are refreshing in contrast to last season's beige parade that appeared lifeless and would wash out most. The color continued in cocktail dresses in shades of grass, tomato, and grape, each with matching hosiery and accessories. I always thought black and gray were the only colors one could do an entire monochromatic look and not look like a big crayon, but the use of color was so effortless in this collection. Most of the dresses were unadorned and looked as if the soft fabrics had been poured around the body. A leather trench and wool peacoat stood out in all of the after five cocktail dresses. I wouldn't go as far to say they looked like ladies of the night, but the mussed hair and bourgeois beauty of those clothes implied something mysterious beneath those coats. With that in mind it may be odd to say that there is something for every woman in this collection. Its accessibility is its strength, but thankfully the simplicity is not its weakness. How much sexier can Isabeli Fontana get in a form fitting amethyst evening gown that very lightly falls off her shoulders and clings to her curves? Now that's worth cutting through the embellishment.

jil sander

Milanese fashion and minimalism may not seem like an appropriate pairing, but Raf Simons season after season redefinition of what minimalism construes at Jil Sander has shown that in a town of full on fashion, the bare necessities can be just as provocative and chic. There is something so sensual about removing embellishments and things that distract to reveal a blankness. This blankness should not be confused with nothingness because Simons' eye for detail and silhouette entails an infinite range and makes you find all sorts of surprises and interesting things that can drawn you into his designs. For fall it was a minimal palette--black and gray--but there some great pieces along the way that resonate and prove that Simons is successfully evolving Jil Sander.

For his menswear collections, Simons has more so experimented with patterns and varying textures. For this season the looks for women finally had a newness in terms of their texture that is typically found in his menswear. Simons' fluid take on sexuality and his attitude towards androgynous dressing is just as much apart of his menswear tradition as it is for women and it was great to see him use some of his menswear ideas for women. The dresses and coats were so simple and flattering in their shape that almost any woman could wear them. Each look appeared to be something familiar, but each bore the impression of a designer consciously thinking and honing the execution of that familiarity. If he's giving us black and gray, it comes in the form of superb tweeds that look like the silent snow on a television screen. Soft and feminine shift dresses, collars that bloomed around the neckline, and a dark, lithe leg evoke a mute Monica Vitti wafting in her own ennui in some Antonioni film, but there was a slight futuristic austerity in those coats and tucked gowns that reminded me something David Bowie might have worn in "The Man Who Fell to Earth." Simons' thought process is what separates him from most designers. The references are not as obvious as the ones I just named because his genius is his ability to look at color, silhouette, and tailoring that results in something powerful and boldly sexy.

pinot noir, possibly?

Clockwise: Looks from Jil Sander, Versace,
Burberry Prorsum, and Veronique Branquinho

I wonder what would be the Pantone number for that shade of a purple-red that's not quite oxblood nor full on deep cabernet. Plum, fig, merlot, whatever you want to call it, I like it. I like a lot. However, I think it's a little tricky to wear with my skin tone without making me look like some spilled a glass of red wine on me. It's a color you don't see people wear often, but I'm glad it made its presence known at the menswear collections in Milan and Paris.

bonnie & clyde 08

Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles
at the Empirio Armani Fall/Winter 08 show

3 things about this picture:
1. Why is Jay biting my shades-of-gray-in-one look routine? Granted, he's doing it really well, so I'll let it slide this time. Extra points for three different types of textures.
2. B is looking somewhat more subdued than usual. Wouldn't it be great if she were the face of the Balenciaga spring ads that are causing such a furor on the blogs?
3. Doesn't this make you long for this flavor of Beyonce and the same of Jay-Z?

waisted

Why this look from the Prada Fall/Winter 08 does not work:
1. Flesh toned body stocking posing as a top. And it looks possibly ribbed. Yuck.
2. Collared dickie. Yuck.
3. Cummerbund masked as a protruding thong strap. Yuck.
4. Full pant with foot long, low slung crotch in cobalt. Yuck.
5. Said full pant tucked into laquered brick red rainboots. Yuck and more yuck.

Is this really supposed to be fashion forward? Sadly this is a misstep for Miuccia and her wild mixbag of ideas and ill-subverted references. Chin up Miuccia, there's always next season.

milan fashion week: outerwear

Five painfully bad coats from the Milan menswear collections:

Versace
Alexander McQueen
Burberry Prorsum
Jil Sander
Dolce & Gabbana

versace

I'll let the clothes and the way the women move in them to speak for themselves on this collection. Those are clothes made for sexy motherfuckers.

prada

Love it or hate it, for the past few season Miuccia Prada continues to tackle big themes in what results in presentations that are singular in their voice but abstruse in their aesthetic choices. Last spring it was a 40s pin-up and for fall this year it was hombre dyed burlap sacks and drab colors. There were pieces here and there that were strong in each collection but as a cohesive whole they don't appeal to a mass audience, which is interesting because Prada is a major global brand. Is Prada too prescient for this world or is she simply exposing the absurdity of what it is pretty, flattering, and expected from fashion intended for the masses? Whatever it is, one thing that you can't take away from Prada is her powerful conviction and thinking woman's attitude. There's always a curiosity in her clothes and it spoke once again for spring 2008. Turning to Art Nouveau, London in the late 60s and early 70s, and all things curvilinear and in bloom for inspiration, Prada concocted a show that was brimming with ideas and concepts about what it means to be a smart, powerful, and modern woman, much like herself. The full skirts and gingham prints called to mind a more traditional woman but her coyness is equally sexy in clingy body suits and the flash of skin on the neckline that seemed more revealing than what her Milanese contemporaries blurted out on the runway (See: DSquared). The clash of prints and colors that don't presumably go together creates a graphic and absurd take on our age-old and arbitrary ideas about color matching. The models eyes were rimmed with a sooty and extreme smoky eye look that was another traditional idea of what sexy is but it had a great tension when you looked at the kooky chiffon dresses that were decorated with fairies and nymphs, implying another friction between something more natural as opposed to something so manufactured and established by man. It all seemed a bit fantastical but similar to the Marc Jacobs show, you feel like you're in the mind of Prada and with a collection like this, it's a mind that is attuned to exploration and innovation. This show was a bold proposition on traditionalism, but as she has shown from time and time again, maybe that's Prada not biting the hand that feeds her but offering another extension of traditions and values.