Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? (Sincerely dissing the MOD trend of Fall/Winter 2013.2014 fashion weeks and figuring out why this fashion week sucks)

We all appreciate vintage to some extent. Pinterest has an umpteenth number of Audrey Hepburn inspired boards, editorials converge to exploit shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire and the average person enjoys a classic non-modern era movie.

 

Rear Window-- The Kiss scene with Grace Kelly always makes my heart skip a beat

Designers this season seem to have imagined from vox populi  that a mod trend would be a good direction, especially given that The Great Gatsby is set to be released in May of this year. It's a perfect assemblage to envision movie-goers to see such a sure-to-be-hit blockbuster and want to imitate the wardrobe.

Where fashion has gone wrong, however, is that the mod trend is so ubiquitous and so discombobulated that it grows tiresome, especially when nobody knows what era is being covered. What could have been a very sophisticated homage to the roaring 20's or even the 50's (many artistic concepts blend the two together) has turned into a fashion bust. Added to the equation-- many designers had nothing new to put out there so they just did a retrospective of their last (insert number) years.

Designer Jean Paul Gaultier went retro regarding his own brand to stir some attention but when you have seen it already, does it do ANYTHING to surprise you?

Fighting the urge to cut off the mullets and extensions

 

Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2013 collection while TREMENDOUSLY gorgeous may be to blame for causing Fall/Winter's mod trend.

 

 

The Mad Men inspired collection by Banana Republic starring Coco Rocha (criticized by some that say Coco Rocha is "too skiny" to model for a 50's inspired collection-- I don't care about that, the clothes are fugly).

 

Poor lovely Coco

 

One collection from NYFW that I couldn't help but feel embarassed by was Chloë Sevigny for O.C.

Inspired by her time protesting at Occupy Wall Street and the protests of the 60's (I can't even type that without rolling my eyes), the collection juxtaposed the 1% vs. the protestors and of course, mod fashion. I couldn't stand it for the mere fact it was shallow-- for a 20-something to say the protests of the 60's are the same as the protests at Occupy Wall Street (and the overall presentation of using protest signs to write random crap) is pretty discombobulated and comes across as meaningless.

 

 

 

 

Tacky to the nth degree

 

 

Perhaps the worst for last: Milan fashion week had Versace's take on 90's Grunge and some plaid/leather/fur mixtures that were just as confusing as awkward.

 

 

Clueless? Definitely.

 

 

All of the poorly transmuted images of bygone fashion in mind, a major positive is that the designers incorporating innovation and new fabrics have begun to stand out. Check out my Hussein Chalayan post below to see.

 

 

Images from: gettyimages, style.com, princessgracekelly.tumblr.com and Banana Republic











"Rise" Hussein Chalayan F/W 13.14 Paris Prêt-à-Porter

Hussein Chalayan has gained a little criticism for his past few collections not having as much strength as they did once upon a time. The man known for creating THE bubble dress for Lady Gaga (legit bubbles) and the infamous coffee table dress (excuse me but I HAVE to post it, it rocks my world every time I see it).

thefashionlist.com

 

(cont.) was accused of running out of design inspiration. It is understandable that critics expect the same ingenious creativity once a designer has exercised their mojo but Hussein Chalayan made sure we knew he was still inspired with his latest collection.

 

Believe me, you must  see it in motion to appreciate it:

 

 

(the magic happens at 2:37 for those strapped for time)

 

 

More than just a transformation, the model gives a swift tug at the top of her cocktail dress to have the fabric fall like liquid to become a full-length gown. Cameras VISIBLY flashed like mad and I only imagine a few audience members gasped with glee (I sure did and I'm not afraid to admit that once it happened two more times I had teared up).

 

 

^click dat gif

 

 

 

 

The execution was flawless, fierce and simple. For all of it's power, I was reminded of the sublime work of Alexander McQueen and the many times when his visions came alive on the runway. My heart filled with expectation with each dress that came out and I caught myself remembering the real meaning of fashion inspired: it pulls you into a dream.

 

Flawless-in-motionness aside, what about the rest of the collection?

 

 

It does not disappoint.

 



A flawless (and surprising) knitted sweater paired with a full skirt, an avant-garde biker jacket and more than a few pretty a-line skirts made the collection stunning.

 

I'm a massive critic of prints when it comes to most collections-- where normally I would find prints tacky, Hussein Chalayan was eccentrically dynamic and mystifying with his choices. A few were reminiscent of Picasso, then it moved to my personal favorite: long electric lines that were akin to thermal imaging (simply divine, the dark red look with the accentuated/puffy collar may be one of my favorite looks ever). Last, he incorporated some pop-out coral/floral print that reminded me of Christian Lacroix haute couture with a Viktor & Rolf edge. I was pleased and couldn't find a look I disliked.

 

 

 

Who would have ever thought Hussein Chalayan could do denim so well?

 

Fingers crossed that this innovative gorgeousness inspires other designers to be as original and imaginative. Fashion is an art and that has largely been forgotten.

 

Images also from: style.com and tumblr

Dior 13.14 Fall/Winter Paris Ready-To-Wear

Raf Simons' 2013.2014 Fall/Winter Ready-To-Wear collection at Paris fashion week

Raf Simons showed his second ready-to-wear collection for Dior today-- his vision for the house has been very different from the acclaimed John Galliano but it is now picking up quite a following among fashion's elite. All eyes in the fashion world scrutinize Dior collections each season as the house carries so much timeless importance. With Raf the new head designer of Dior, many are quick to compare his shows to John Galliano's exuberant displays of perfection. Where John focused on intricate, more artistic musings in his collections, Raf has turned his focus to simplistic haute couture and carried a heavy reminder of Chanel. His show for Paris fashion week did not quite show anything new but it did pick up a slight offering of a futuristic and indulgent direction he may be headed with a few more seasons at the creative reigns.

Well-suited:

The looks that opened the show were rather elegant. The deep cut of some of the suits added a sweet sexiness that made the heavier fabric look very chic. The suits hinted at the dark color pallete used through this collection-- a large blend of black and white with small hints of color that were slightly more reminiscent of spring. The most important complaint about Raf's past ready-to-wear collection that has shown up again here is that these looks would not look very flattering on the average woman. Raf's tailoring tends to either accentuate the hips or use bulky fabric. The second look above, for instance, with baggy pants and a rather loose fit everywhere, may look a bit unflattering on the average client. A timeless debate in fashion shows: are the clothes only good for models? Time will tell but with so many peplums on the runway, one may not need to worry about the matter until peplums grow tiresome.

A few elegant pops of color were used in the mainly black and white collection. The dress with the high and low hem in blue and white was very chic. Even the black and white dress showing a flowery peplum stood out for a small, careful hint of daring pop (at least for Raf). Where the color pop fell flat was on the dresses that were just too simplistic-- a sheer skirt or a v-neck don't tend to add enough extravagence.

Looks that stood out were black and white with a supreme attention to detail and cut. They may have made for the best looks of the show, especially the black dress with a small white panel at the top of the skirt.

The knitwear pieces were, surprisingly, one of the standout pieces of the show and looked the most pretty. The detail is lovely and helped to carry the elegant, minimalistic collection.

Where the show peaked interest for me was with the slight theatrical element. Hate it or love it, Raf seems to have found a distinct influence from Laurie Anderson and he used it with the show's music (see video above). A few have referred to it as painfully distracting while I call it sweetly mesmerizing. The tone of the show takes a slightly quirky vibe and is reminscent of an Alexander McQueen show-- the large, futuristic, mirrored balls on the runway are both a compelling element and a reason to have hope that Raf will take a step forward into his own element at a later date and give us some Galliano extravagence. For now, I'm quite alright with focus on tailoring and sweet simplicity- it gives us a reason to appreciate Raf and his attention to the modern woman.

Images from: style.com

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Hey guys! :)

I'm super glad to be on Blogger now. My intentions with this blog are to post about fashion and the things I love most: which are fashion... and fashion. :)

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