Fashion Blurbs

GENDER BLENDER PART II

As I continued my gender-wise observation during LFW, gender neutrality became less visible on the catwalk as there were less designers showing men and women collections together than in NY.

I have to kick off with Burberry of course.
Christopher Bailey calls it : “Sep 2016 Collections Men & Women”, not SS17.
He found his inspiration in Virginia Woolf’s book “Orlando”, saying:
“And above all, it feels as tho ugh it speaks to us today with utter clarity in its merging overlapping male and female…”

We saw a lot of Shakespaerian frills, cuffs, dressing gowns, pyjamas and lace for both men and women, as if he was creating a new personality, moving towards the neutral gender.

I quite liked J.W. Anderson’s androgynous sportswear presentation where the puffed, oversized trousers and bomber jackets gave the girls muscular shoulders.
The kaki army, camouflage print, parka-hoodie presented by MM6 Martin Margiela was also a proper example of a unisex garment.

But London being London had already redefined men’s fashion back in the sixties.
A certain Mr Fish loved putting capes, pajama suits and silk pussy-bow blouses on young men’s bodies.
Remember Mick Jagger wearing plush, velours flared trousers and high button collars during his gigs? Or David Bowie wearing Fish’s “man-dress”.

I have to say that Mr Fish is still present in London’s SS17 shows. It’s in the clothes and garments, but it’s also an attitude, a mentality gradually emerging across decades.
Moreover, London has always expressed dandyism and eccentricity amongst men and women. This will only become more developed and expressed given that London’s menswear entrepreneur, Mr David Mason, purchased the rights to Mr Fish’s name and will relaunch the line soon.

“You have to think differently before you can dress differently,” Mr Fish said. Men are more willing to change and experiment with their clothes nowadays. They are no longer afraid to show their feminine side. Women are also willing to change and experiment but I think they have already been doing this for a long time with designers creating more androgyny and sportswear outfits.

Therefore, through fashion, both sexes are brought closer to each other. As if a new gender, a new blurred consciousness of what it is to be man or woman can now emerge

Whether you’re a woman or a man, whether your style is more male or female, more and more designers invite you to choose the garment that suits you fine.

I can only applaud this evolution .

Let’s move on to MFW.

To be continued.

TeDe

I was sad to read that Raf Simons had left Christian Dior.

Maybe the fact that I’m Belgian doesn’t help.
IT was  the ‘ perfect combi’ between a talented designer and one of the heavyweight , well known, traditional French Maisons !
The way he respected the archives and expressed a personal homage through the creations of his collections was unique and unmistakable attractive to everyone.
He put emotions in it, a modern view, an influenced touch of contemporary art , but still the contours of a ‘Modern Look’  dress were visible .

Now that the Fashion Weeks roller coaster is over and knowing that I was on a ‘ girlie trip ‘ during those last 2 weeks , I tried to observe  it ‘ All’ from a distance.

LON  is always creative, inspirational, different , sprinkled with a universal imagination !
And if you say the Big Ben city , it automatically reminds you of the following designers :
Anya Hindmarch just know how to sell her black & white seventies style handbags & accessories .
They have a catwalk of their own  ; those models wear them  but you don’t see them, the bags do their own talk; like the ‘never knowingly undersold’ printed bag.
Burberry choose a lot of dark colours like black lace, shiny beige,brown,some vieux rose, different yellow and green.
The girls looked relaxed, elegant and light in their transparent maxi-dresses and shiny nightgowns.
Erdem  went  for his so recognisable romantic way.
Ruffled  and puffed up sleeves,layered dresses with a thin black bow tie.
Cropped bustiers tops with a long skirt and those feminine maxi dress-maxi coat combi.
Always a joy to watch and wishing you could step into one of his designs straight away.
Gareth Pugh’s models had steary eyes, mask make-up faces and mismatch wigs so they really did not come unnoticed .
But it did not take the attention away from the clothes ; black leather glitter shorts, latex tights, reds and orange, one-shoulder jumpsuits and one sleeve long coats.
He went dancing from  the 70s into the 80s, GP ‘ s disco version and it all went perfectly together.
With Giles, I felt like arriving in a circus  or a cabaret with his Arlequino brown white marble coloured feather wigs and balloon sleeves on those short in the front-long in the back evening dresses.
A modern twist for a very stylish presentation and always nice to see familiar faces like Erin O’ Connor and Karen Elson.
I’m not convinced I will wear Henry Holland’s viewmaster sunglasses next summer but it will definitely match with his reappearing stripes and patchwork , Hawaii prints pyjamas worn with the low or high rise basketball socks.Sporty with a smile and a twist.
Hunter made us completely UK  festival -ready with the stylish plastic raincoats, tye-dye wellies and sophisticared holes jackets.Glastonbury here we come.
Marques ‘ Almeida gives us bits and pieces, shredded parts skirts, cropped jeans jacket  with flared jeans worn by models with blue lips and wrong haircuts.
Jeans is given a new look, more sophisticated in a non-conformist way :
” Dare to wear other jeans “.
Mary Katrantzou, who made it to the top 10 best designers SS 16 at BoF, made frivolous glitter ” paillettes mini dresses ” in purple or orange red , bold fatal colours like gold, silver and a touch of festive blue.It gave a boost of energy.
LFW wouldn’t be complete without Paul Smith.
He showed  us a new type of dungarees ; the ‘ city like salopette ‘ and kimono type blouses and tops .its always a pure, clean line of simple elegance but so recognisable .
And last but not least, I want to mention Simone Rocha , she is so young and so talented.
We received girlie dresses with unique details or a ‘ clin d’oeil ‘ that makes it a dressed up ball gown  with crossed lines”X”  worn with flat shoes that never brings the chique  dresses down.
Thats it for now, folks.
Showtime is over.
Lers move on to Milan.

To be continued.
TeDe.

As everybody said and as you heard and read it, one of the strongest Fashion Weeks ever in Milan !

Transparent and NO black.

Mr Giorgio Armani had a lustrum to celebrate, 40 years in business .
His all- over presented ‘ red’ collection was sophisticated and sensual , when  you saw those ladylike, blowing-in-the-wind  party dresses and wavy trousers gliding over the catwalk.
Missoni took us to Africa for the cropped top bikinis and their trademark stripes ; horizontal, vertical,wide, narrow and crossing.They were everywhere vut never too much.
it felt light, smily and sunny.
The poster printed dresses of Dolce & Gabana made us dream of going back to those Italian holiday destinations like Sicily, Portofino, Rome and Sardinia.
Its joyfull ” love is in the air ” song provided the ‘ feel good ‘ factor.
Therefore the models’ selfies were the perfect holiday pic souvenir.
Donatella Versace sent a strong message out to the world, especially the women.
Her military inspired khaki dresses, belts and bomber jackets were very powerfull.
She turned a page and entered a new feminist approach .May more come !
Alessandro Michele for Gucci invited us to wear lace transparent 50s style dresses with geeky glasses and granny- returns- handbags.And yet it was sexy in a quiet way.
Which leaves us to finish with our last stop, Paris, the city of light.

To be continued.
TeDe

The headline of PFW was of course the newly appointed designer for Balenciaga : Demna Gvasalia , from Vetements.

The real Nicolas Ghesquire came out for Louis Vuitton SS 16.
He put his finger on it.Lots of leather , strong , a touch of bondage.
it was digital, straight forward, no fuss style.Im noticed and individual ; ‘ take it or leave it’.’
At Valentino, dark transparent dresses and modernist print maxi-dresses popped up.
Chanel Airlines gave us more passengers than stewardesses outfits.” Travelling in style “.
The ” deux pieces ” typical  tailleur how only Maestro Lagerfeld can make them , yet inspired by  the archives with the right attractive modern  up to date twist were covered in delightful colours like white and greys,  black, pastels and jeans blue.So get on that plane.
Sarah Burton ‘s Romaticism for Alexander Mc Queen   in her  creamy  coloured  long dresses  with ruffles and stand-up collars , came from another era; the Huguenots .  They were craftsmen from the silk industry who fled from France to LON /Spitalfields. Her respect for their artisanal know-how  inspired her to make girly, delicate, yet strong French lace and silk taffeta  clothes . She made it very new and brought it into this world.
Sacai was all about prints  : flowers, illustrations. Technically, we had layers and cutouts harmoniously tailered  together. Nice accessories were the scarfs and a new finish was the brocade. Always original stays the message here.
Vetements brought us oversized Items , too long sleeves, hoodies and assymitric shirts.
There was a strong, direct minimalistic sense . Not subtle and overpowering.
We can’t   wait to see what that will mean for Balenciaga ?!
St Laurent goes  gang-clubbing with us in tiny glitter dresses hanging loose over the body and wearing not flowers but a tiara in our hair. Festival gurus are ready for a muddy approach with their dark wellies and classical jeans jacket. Bring on those bands and DJs.
Raf Simons for Dior will make us  wear short jumpers or cropped jackets bolero-style over light transparent fluid dresses , short in the front, long in the back . A cover -up with stripy oversized park as makes me think of the relaxed sport-chic look.
And being Belgian, I’d like to finish with Dries Van Noten.
An exotic and elegant Asian & African melt-pot of textiles and  prints = never a mismatch !
He’s always exquisite and original. He puts his stamp on it.
Like  the tattooed bodycon T-shirt with a bright pink bra on top . Never seen this before and we will never see it again. Every single time we see the new collections , he’s unique and inspiring.

With those words, we’ve come to a end of more than 140 shows spread over 4 cities .
What’s the conclusion ?
Realising the consumer has become very global, flexible and always reachable .
Repeated notes were  technical, futuristic, eclectic, digital, positive, voluminous.
All sizes, forms and lengths were on the radar.
Characteristics are the maxi dress and coat , glitter and bright materials; disco style.
Trousers underneath   dresses combi , cropped, ruffled and puffed, fringes. Bohemian, dreamy hippie-chic.  Strong, outspoken back to the 80s shoulders.  Lots of transparent lace  and wavy  , frivole trousers.
It’s a lot to deal with , but in a way it all feels very natural and optimistic to  prepare for these collections next SS 2016.

To be continued.
TeDe.

After a long summer away, back in NY and straight into future SS/16 collections observation.
May the long ( Indian ) summer last !
It was a hot day very much noticeable in the street style snapshots and selfies.
Therefore my pop up refreshment in Union Kitchen with Garance Dore -Aurelie Bidermann’s  ‘ chat sympa’ was very welcoming !
Shame we couldn’t have open-air catwalk shows, would have been cooler for everyone, especially the models, designers and entourage and not in the least the Fashion Observing connoisseurs !
BCBG made sure we were well covered in colourfull printed patchwork hats. This also came back in  their dresses,  trousers and jackets. Very frivole !
Bersy Johnson invited us to a fancy dress disco colours party.We all joined in with our tule ballerina skirts ; where’s the birthday girl ?
I could  see myself wearing the  Ohne Titel bouncy fringed sandals with the see through dress and half open hanging shoulders sleaves .
Also Supima went for attention to the   shoulders ; one shoulder  elegant evening dress with a big noeud, in brilliant bright colours . Very festive ! In a relaxed dress up way.

These dresses would go well with the strong, structured bolero-style jackets from Carlos Polite to cover us for that late night breeze  we sometimes encounter in early spring.

This nice selection could be  accessorised with the #meetmyboyfriend Chanel watch out this week and available to try on in their pop up shop on 14 th West Street
Its always good to think ahead of what will come next ?!

To be continued.
TeDe

I hereby continue with the following ( previous ) days of a very full on catwalks schedule in the Big  Apple.

Though allow me to start where we ended, Fri 09/11 with Ricardo Tisci’s first appearance with Givenchy on Pier 26 in NYFW.It was a ‘ celebration of live’ and he provided a mega live screen for all of us , nobody was left out.

Up and down the models went wooden steps meanwhile spherical music was provided by a strong female voice and a virtuoso violist .

Dressed in black and white long dresses or maxi skirts made from lace and crocodile skin, the faces were covered in face jewellery masks all the way down the neck.
it was an eponymous strong, show that only could take your breath away.

And so we started the weekend, followed by Monday and Tuesday’s  presentations going in to the week.
A variety was upon us, but also reappearing themes like lace, see through , stripes and patterns, fringe, glitter, tropic bright colours , soft candy pastels, fluffy, pop art and almost always maxi -lengt dresses .

Let’s have a walk through :
Zimmerman gave us big wide belly belts worn over see through blouses with a lace col roule.

Ulla Johnson gave us dreamy  seventies boho and western style cowboy  dresses.

Isa Arfen went for a rather tropics and stripes bright colours as did Haute Inhabit with natural materials like rotan and African tribes prints.You could feel the heat.

New to a SS collection I thought were the comfy bathrobe coats and the fluffy slip ons from Ryan Roche ny.
i also could be convinced by Adam Lippes ‘s  quiet sophisticated fishnet slip dress and Rebeccaminkoff is trying to seduce us  for her long leggy leather holes  sandals next summer.

Let’s also keep an eye on the the Laura ( box) bag by Mark Cross & Bag Snob.Very cute.

Monday had a elegant kick off with the House of Herrera  in the Frick ( mansion) Museum.

No better calm, chique venue for the all shades of pink light textured ballroom inspired dresses,
with a highlight of the pink straw dress, where’ s the barn ?

You only wanted to go back on holiday after seeing Tommy Hilfiger’s island-based splashing pool-esque presentation of different palettes. One thing for sure : the crochet bikini is IN.

Formentera, Mustique, Costa Rica, Jamaica et all ,here we come.

Technical sophisticated patterns style was very recognisable Thakoon.

Prabal Gurung brought us after a enchanting meditative opening song a combination of bright, shiny materials and soft textiles.

3.1.Philip Lim, another designer 10 years in the business, choose a simple landscape with pyramid shaped sand dunes as his decor as it represents his favourite themes : Romanticism-Athletics-Reality.And indeed,we saw simple , clean silhouettes wearing sports and culottes, cropped bandeau tops  in a new green and earthy colours .

Alexander Wang, he can wear it off.
Men and women, out and about in elegant, sophisticated streetwear.Black and white , petrol blue, military green, always there.Some stripy details this time but urban , rough, fitness forward collection is the word.He keeps a sexy, functional balance that is unique.

Jeremy Scott ‘s style was also very recognisable : colours and colours.Even the sunnies and the backstage pop-art cupcakes were at their brightest.
This  combined with cartoon fashion, the girls walked on and off the catwalk with bouncy, voluminous barbie hairdos wearing curtain cover bikini dresses .Mods, Star Trek, the sixties and seventies comes to mind. All jolly good.

Another lively, lovely , frviole show was given to us by the one and and only DVF who’s inspiration was Fortuna, the goddess of luck.We all will be on the go in flowery ,light, moving tea dresses and jumpsuits , barefoot in the sand feeling free in our own spiritual individuality.

Staying  in sunny destinations , Peter Copping’s Spanish inspired collection for Oscar de la Renta gave us very dressed up , elegant, taffeta ball gown dresses in warm colours , drama red and lavender lilac with a black ribbon matador style detail.He has an eye for it.

I liked Tory burch’s fringed theme accompanied by princess glittery sandals, oversized jewellery with ladylike Arabian kaftans.
From  a very different angle came Rodarte with their ‘ bewitched’ lace inspired collection.

Sophisticated dresses with a rough touch worn with sexy boudoir stockings in high disco inspired T-bar sandals .This all against neon lights . Attractive, edgy, modern witches if you ask me.

Another theatre on the catwalk show was presented by Thom Browne , it came right out a fairytale.
The A-list dresses worn with a hair-high-in-the-sky Stephen Jones boater hat , a fishy handbag ,a mini  lipstick kiss and Boy George eye make-up made the models  look like delicate porcelain dolls standing in a shop window.Beautifull  to watch, difficult to touch.
These were  days full of talent and energy,to say the least.Very enjoyable.

To be continued.
TeDe.

whats it with Miami South beach?!I love going there,being there.Whatever time of the year,especially when snowstorms ht NY (and al flights to the Big Apple are cancelled).Im attracted to that while’ see me/meet me at the beach approach’.Its a melt pot of a fluo Lycra open-air gym and hotel pool disco in ini-mini bikinis and camp classic speedos,beautiful and healthy TT people ( toned tattooed)on rollerblades and ET bikes ,bling,kitch,flirtation Latino-French style,variety of yummy global cuisine restos,stylish shopping malls,hidden tiny organic boutique gems off Collins Ave and Lincoln’s high streets.All of this staged in a film set of overwhelming pastel coloured Art Deco buildings along Ocean Drive and other parts of the area.Its like candy you can’t resist tasting…And when the night falls,you really want to be part(y) of the scene!Bronzed groomed men in linen white shirts and golden jackets accompanied by toned women in tube dresses on Louboutins.The mega designed outdoor bars in those groovy,funky,trendy hotels reflect the flowing,smiling faces sipping mojitos.They’re all on a’tonight is the night’ mission,which reflects a sexy,relaxing atmosphere.You just wanna be there!Lets all join in ! Whether you’re there for the good air and some retail therapy or party animal behaviour ,everybody can and find his/her bit.Because all is possible.And that’s why I’m attracted to South Beach.You just can be yourself. Just do your thing,yeah.Go and enjoy!

To be continued.
TeDe.

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I saw my first emotional loaded fashion exhibition. As aV&A member,I could enter the museum before opening times. So I made a lovely awakening morning walk from Fulham to S-Ken with my always needed soy latte. The museum was still half a sleep when I entered the staff gate and strolled quietly,a bit disorientated towards THE exhibition of the year:”Savage Beauty”by Alexander Mc Queen. I felt like sneezing into a forbidden room. And forbidden it felt…It was soo overwhelming,gobsmacking,simply beautiful,tailor technical uber strong,dark with an enlightening  touch,depressing realistic human,sexual(over)loaded,intriguing ,critical society observation,global,tribal,traditional with a contemporary remark,gothic feminine, nature sensitivity and above all timeless! How he can bring the hardness and softness of (daily)life back in his collections is unique!He’s a true genius! Thats why I think he can attract anybody with his creations.we all,if we’re pure to our true self,recognise smth which reflects disappointing experiences in our lives.

I have to say I was nicely surprised to see such a colourful variety of visitors:the groovy(fashion)student and professional,yummy middle aged city women,older eccentric couples in their eighties,and lots of different nationalities.The world is present to honour Lee.Because we all recognise a part of ourselves (if we’re honest),whether it’s an obvious or dark hidden side of our inner being wandering through the exhibition.He had that extra(third)eye where he discovered ,noticed,observed,recognised and realised the not always so beautiful facts of life.Again and again we are reminded of that in every single collection.Because he knew.He accepted.
All I can add is, go and explore it (for) yourself.He feeds you.He’s soo wurth  it.

His ‘ adieu’ came way too early.

To be continued
TeDe