Two points I will acknowledge in this seemingly quick post.
1) The Case of the Grinning Cat meets today's outfit
Everything is thrifted and vintage except for the rib shirt which is from shopwithasianstereotypes and the socks which are mismatched (deliberately) from H&M.
and 2) I dye my hair blonde tomorrow!!! Well, that's the first part, then I'm going to go pink, blue or fire truck red (with a hint of pink)... my roomate goes to school at Aveda and said she could do the blonde for free, so I was in no shape to pass up the chance.
I'm bringing in this picture from Proenza S/S 2010 because it's just about the same shade I want. The last time I was a blonde I was thirteen and it was nowhere near this white. I'm ecstatic right now but I'll probably get a bit shaky during. I'll post pictures as soon as I cannn
With the arrival of pre-fall collections several months prior and a sneak peak into what we would see during Autumn/Winter 2010, one of the most anticipated for me was whatever Alber Elbaz was concocting in his little studio full of whimsy perfection and whatever else it's like in there (I imagine flowers, rainbows and kittens... even though he's specifically stated before he watches news programs I can't help but imagining him rolling around with a plethora of kittens as he comes up with a concept... I envision it kind of like (well, exactly like) Jonah Hill in this video) I've digressed from my point, whaaat else is new? My point is that there is so much elegant obvious beauty in the clothes he makes for Lanvin each season. For Spring the atmosphere of the runway was similar, a dark greyish air hung over the audience and the models as they trotted down displaying clothes in monochrome then big frilly frock dresses made from loose fabrics of varied colours swimming with form as if this tulle was one with the body. For Fall he took the mood and carried it further, deeper, to the point where the link between Spring and Fall was a blur and all that could be seen was a slight shade of darkness.
There was a juxtaposition he created with the structures tailored and molded against the body. This is an accordance only with his past collection, for Alber's clothes always seem to compliment the female shape (even the thick jackets somewhat oversized in certain proportions). There was a rebellious vibe exuding from both the clothes and the models, with the chain necklaces and metals and rough texture of the black dresses. Adding onto this would be the colour palette; which seemingly lacked any true pop of colour, only in deep reds and browns, as the black coincided with the atmosphere. And yet, with all this so apparent edginess, there was an elegance evident in the way the dresses creased into one side of the hip, the creamy nude gloves, the simplistic overly-feminine shoes, etc. It was good to see the subtlety of paradox in the collection. It was almost like he retained a touch of the Spring collection and didn't entirely translate himself (which, believe it or not, can work to one's advantage sometimes).
In my opinion I'm not really sure if I liked the Spring or Fall collection better, but I'm leaning a bit more towards Fall. I think maybe the Spring weather that's finally creeping up is taking a toll on my taste. My point is (do I ever have a point, really?) that Alber, you did good kid.
Nicholas Ghesquiere, if I ever met you in real life I would have to fist bump you for all of the geometric things you're doing with Balenciaga. I know it is hallmark Ghesquiere, looking forward in time and space to the point where it becomes beyond futuristic (since fashion is all about looking forward by six months, always), most designers outdo their signature (see: Ball Mane) and it starts to become a repetition of the past, but it never, ever happens with Nicholas' work for Balenciaga. The odd fabrics combined with the industrial cutouts of different shapes was clearly looking beyond six months (sixty years I would say) even though it was an extension of the spring collection; most noticeable in the spiderweb pattern on the knit sweater and a few of the geometric dresses. Also, I loved the sweaters with geometric neon squares printed on top of one another so precisely cinched by a belt at the waist - I don't know why but it reminded me of the Stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, mainly because the prints seemed to begin falling into this vertical abyss; the same sense of vertical oblivion seen in the film. (Note: I don't care if you don't see the link because it's awesome and Stanley Kubrick and I are dating so back off k)
The latter of the collection was basically large cutouts of what seemed to be newspapers, but with the large eccentric prints and neon-colours used I felt it was, again, futuristic (Nicholas bb did you travel back to the early 21st century from the future? I won't tell promise). And although some of the concept was maintained and it was a neat idea, I didn't really like the latter of the collection. It was too much of a stray away visually, from the geometric BAM! to the neon word collage 'yeah okay I guess' feeling I got.
But the greatest thing ever was hands down THE SHOES. LOOK AT THEM. I honestly can't even begin to express how awesome these are. I guess I'll have to retract what I said about fist-bumping you and change that into a full blown hug-kiss combination.
Manish Arora:
The colourful sequins! Oh my god I think I died when I saw these. It's like if Columbia from Rocky Horror Picture Show met Rainbow Brite and they designed an outfit together that they would wear whenever they kicked some ass. Overall though I think my love for this collection stayed within the realms of the beginning looks. The colours and patterns blended together so well that I want to break into a dance. Which I did. In figurative sequins and neon wigs.
Issey Miyake:
Although there were several looks I liked from the latter (well, pretty much the last 50 looks) of the collection, I loved what Dai Fujiwara did with the first six or seven looks - how he took geometric tube-like knits and intertwined/layered them within each other. In my opinion I felt he should have integrated them into the collection near the end, instead of bringing the viewer (aka me) such immediate joy which I kind of lost by the end. The colour palette also reminded me of his Flying Saucer collection. Also, S/S 95. But the reminder was only there in colour, not in concept or aesthetic. I mean I like what Fujiwara is doing but in comparison to Issey? Not at alll.
Vivienne Westwood:
Vivienne will always be that designer who always combines clothing with a sense of radical patriotism. There's no denying that she integrates her British roots into each collection, some more obviously than others. But the thing about this is that it always, always works. It's a British rebellion, a radical outlook on things, sometimes punk, sometimes merely not conventional. This blunt influential outlook is Westwood's signature method and in F/W she maintains it through prints, text, styling, color palette, etc. (For some reason I thought the make-up got influence from imagining Galliano as a trans? Do other people see this or is it just because I'm writing this at 3:28am?) But I love loved the styling and how well the colours coincided and everything was just great. For some reason it reminds me of an avant-garde film I saw recently entitled Jubilee (probably because it revolves around Britain in the future). It was weird but pretty good and plus, Tilda Swinton is extremely fond of it and she's on par with Zeus so like that means it's definitely good.
This post is nice and quick so I can separate it from the Paris-so-far post I'm about to put up. I wore this last night to see Alice in Wonderland (which was p. good). Also COMME and TAO today :3 So excited I can't even begin to describe. White lace blazer, vintage. All sequins from H&M. Red frilly dress, mother's closet. Black batman necklace, halloween mask on a chain.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
With the first few looks that had been sent out onto the runway for the Prada A/W 2010 collection, a vision of a scenario from the past came to my mind: a set of pleasant housewives making their way down stairs outside of their titanic home to their pristine vehicles, Lucky Strike in hand, determined to reach the cars before the cold began to bite their skin. In the 50s to 60s, when feminism (like many other controversial political topics) came to it's second crescendo, the modern housewife was almost a caricature of what a wife is; pristine, attentive, orderly, etc. These clothes capture that era of feminist indecision (think: Joan Allen's character in Pleasantville) but with a sultry touch, for as much as one seems to revisit past eras through reinvented designs, the influence of the twenty first century is almost inevitable. By this sense of influence I mean the flash of abdomen, patent leather, pointy bra formation, etc.
The clothes themselves definitely depicted the woman of that era, with wide, almost trapeze skirts and a cinched waist (a product of either small belts or tailoring) The coats of the same effect layered collar of knit over fur, with knit tights of beige neutrals adding to the sombre effect of housewives in the fall. The dresses (all of the pieces, actually) focused entirely on the female silhouette and bodily shape (something feminists typically objected against for sultry silhouette=sex) as a focus on breasts was through lace ruffles on most dresses or the exaggerated pointy bras on some of the coats, as breasts is one of the key pieces in creating the feminine shape of the woman.
Miuccia Prada also brought her somewhat signature knits to the table with skirt and sweater combinations cinched at the waist, as well as nearly all of the tights she pieced together with the dresses. The black coats and dresses emblazoned with pristine embroidery brought a sense of lavish regality to the collection so similar to the meager housewives, like puppies to men aka their husbands (Pleasantville again), juxtaposing the concept with aesthetic. I was very fond of the abstract grid prints, and that although they had somewhat of an artistic demeanor, they brought a sense of feminine simplicity to the clothing, and gave silhouette a bit of a bite.
Again with reference to the 50s and 60s, Miuccia brought it particularly with beauty and accessories. For one, the lack of any make-up whatsoever and the tight, perfectly concocted up-dos brings me back to that era of the cliche stay-at-home wife. Also brought to my attention is similarities to Mad Men (although I've only seen a few episodes) and Pleasantville (the latter focuses more on 50s though so I'd say the first is more prevalent), that sort of fictionalized perfection of a meticulous housewife which exaggerates the notion of what they must be. Stepford Wives (not the Nicole Kidman one) comes to mind as well, but that concerns more notion than time era. The cat-eye glasses also took a twist with the addition of eyebrows, which adds irony and satire to the collection, and to be honest they remain a favourite piece of mine from A/W 2010.
Also SHOES! As much as they fit into this cute, housewife grace again (and that's it's not particularly my cup of tea when it comes to shoe tastes) I particularly wouldn't mind owning a pair.
So what else can I say? I did very much like this collection because it brought back a classical set of clothes with tweedy knits and wide skirts and the rest. A commentary on the feminine role in the 50s/60s is apparent (if this is subconscious or conscious I'm not sure, because I haven't read any articles with her yet other then acknowledging she was going back to the stuff she did in the 90s) and brings back to life an era we thought dead, or in coma at least, considering that this stage in feminism seems to be a figment in comparison to what feminists are focusing on in this decade and the one that just came to pass.
Also MILES DAVIS SOUNDTRACK! At least I think it was a jazz remix of Bitches Brew because the trumpets are the exact same. BB is one of my favourite songs of ever too, so I got extremely happy while watching the livestream :3 I sighed a lot, pretty much, because the clothes were awesome and music was awesome and I was just generally happy. (Also lol at confusing runway, it was literally a maze)
