One of the big trends this season is the inspirations drawn from the 60’s. One particular inspiration used over and over is actress Ali McGraw whose personal style defined in the movie “A Love Story”. For his Fall/Winter collection for Pucci, designer Matthew Williamson jumped on the McGraw bandwagon. Both on the show notes and backstage the designer repeated over and over his obsession for styling of McGraw and his crafting of the look from the clothes to the hair and makeup.

In the opening section of the collection Williamson jumped out of the classic Pucci print dresses and into flared bell-bottoms. The standout pant look was the purple bell-bottom pants worn with a matching cashmere turtleneck sweater. Williamson also showed the look in alternative colors, Magenta was the most decadent worn with a matching poncho. Williamson expended his use of trends that we’ve season on the runway season, from the knitwear to the outerwear. A low note in the opening section was the repeat looks from last season, all of the military style overcoats.

In the second section Williamson focused on more outerwear. Two standout looks in this section was first the soft brown overcoat that is pleated at the waist to create a bell shape to the coat. Williamson gave the overcoat a sophisticated twist by adding fur to the collar and cuffs of the coat. The second standout overcoat was the knit cashmere poncho with a stripe design he used on several pieces in the collection. Williamson took the poncho and offered it several looks in a handful of solid colors.

One of the most delicate pieces of the collection was the brown mohair knit dress worn with a satin ribbon around the waist. What is so interesting about this piece is that it really is not a Pucci look or piece. The chance you could actually find something so unique in such collection built off of a strong vision of its history is priceless. Another strong piece is the 60’s Pucci print that is very reminiscent of the Baroque influence

The must have looks of the collection are two cocktail dresses. The first is must have dress was a silk jersey dress. Printed on the dress is a classic Pucci print interpreted in to a new geometric design. The other must have look is a long sleeve black/fuscia/purple printed silk dress with a plunging v-neck. The skirt of the dress is flared with the silk cut into panels with darted panels of black lace from the hem of the skirt. Overall this collection was okay, its very simple and certainly a safe play with classic Pucci styles for Williamson. There certainly were a lot of 60’s looks in the collection, but you can say that about every Pucci collection over the past 30 years. The key pieces of the collection that really stood out were the ponchos and bell-bottoms. I was impressed with Williamson sense of venture out of the normal and expected looks for the Pucci collection. But his exploration did lack a little focus overall.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the last 10 years Miucca Prada has slowly help guide Italian fashion into a very refined and defined lady like look and style. This season she notes that’s all over, its time to bring the Prada woman in a new era of change. Of coarse the opening section was the standard Prada Olive Green and black pallet. The looks in the opening section are very relaxed and lacked the standard Prada tailoring. Some of the strongest pieces in the opening section were all the poncho jackets. First was the olive green taffeta hooded jacket with raccoon fur on the back of the jacket. Another was darker green and both jackets were gathered at the bottom of the coat creating balloon shape to the jacket.

One of the main themes in the opening section is long form in the dresses and jackets. The shape or tailoring is focused around the balloon shape that we are seeing more and more this season. Prada played with several looks this season and she also played with textures. I found the bustier looks a little to constricting to the form she played with in the remainder of the collection. Although one great piece was a oversized wool knit v-neck sweater which was worn with one of the. Another low point to the collection is Prada’s use of animal prints and fur. The animal boustiers prints are repeats from her menswear collection and the abundant use of fur kind of kills the idea of this collection for a woman who is a activist! On a animal note, one of the must have pieces was a pleated leather skirt worn with a collarless fur coat.

The must have pieces from the collection are two sequin looks at the end of the show. First was the sequined strapless top worn with a pair of olive green taffeta pants. Another must have piece was the closing look of a black taffeta skirt with a beaded floral design covering the skirt. The skirt was worn with a black velvet top and black silk taffeta bomber jacket. The first thing one can notice about this collection is how Muccia Prada is starting to loosen up in this collection. Her tailoring is more relaxed and the overall structure of the looks is a little more mixed up. Prada said she wants to move away from the detailed girl who likes stylized pieces and looks.

In short this collection is a sign of what to come. I am here to warn you, your going to start dressing like you really don’t give a damn about what you look like. In Paris the younger generations (15-30) are already taking this look and building off of it. Women in Paris do tend to care about the quality of the pieces they buy and wear, their styles are becoming more and more relaxed and almost borderline “rolling out of bed”. Women in Paris are spending less time on makeup and hair and more time putting together looks that are very monochromatic and functional. The idea that American fashion might have pushed us this route sounds ridiculous, but there may be some truth. Even designers such as Jacobs and Posen are seeing and adopting the trend and jumping right into it feet first. It’s not grunge though; think I am starting to wear my boyfriends clothes more and more. On a negative note, I was a little upset with Miucca’s use of several accessories and looks from her menswear collection last month. Although I was not favorable of that show either.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Season after season luxury brands like Bottega Veneta pride themselves on bowing only to luxury over the creative force and trends that rule the fashion world. This season designer Tomas Maier continues his winning streak of moving the brand into a new chapter. For Fall Maier opted to give his clientele more elegance while catering to there needs. Although trends are never a hot topic at BV, one of its strongest opening looks was a gray cashmere dress with a half-moon ribbing design in the weave place around breast line of the dress.

In the opening section Maiers focus was on creating very sophisticated yet clean looks. Another trend that Maier tried to play with this season was the balloon/bell shape. He managed to create several looks that incorporated this silhouette; one that didn’t work was the gray wool skirt with bell shape waistline. A standout look with this silhouette was a light brown a-line dress which Maier molded the hem of the dress into a ballooned shape. A very simple dress with no embellishments or detailing, the flat seaming down the front of the dress creating a clean silhouette.

For Fall Maier also offered several suit looks for the BV client. The strongest looks were two skirt suits, first was a purple wool skirt suit. The sleeves are ¾ length with a wide cuff and empress high collar. An obvious inspiration is certainly St. Laurent from the late 50’s and early 60’s. Another great suit look was a gray tweed cropped blazer with long sleeves and high standing collar and lapels. The worn with a darker gray wool skirt that flared from the hip. Some might say these looks are to safe but the tailoring and attention detailing with the collars and lapel is evident.

The second section moved away from the conservative side of the brand and into the adventurous side of the brand. There were only two real standout looks in this section. First was all the cotton jersey, which really did not fit into the collection. Then there was all the tartan looks, Maier showed 2 different tartan prints in several color combinations. I was really excited to see my family tartan hit the runway this yet again. The green/black/orange tartan was used on the jacket and pleated skirt with a matching mini-bowler hat. I liked how the plating was gathered at the waist in a fan creating triangle design to the tartan.

The third section of the collection Maier showed several cocktail dresses that were short version of his evening gowns. The standout looks were all the silk chiffon with silk satin detailing. First there was the dark mauve silk chiffon long sleeve dress with a plunging v-neck line and matching silk sating sachet around the waist. Another strong dress was a black satin dress with a simple neckline and ribbing design around the waist. The dress was worn with a skinny gray silk necktie knitted at the bottom of the neckline. This look certainly is a nod to the masculine looks earlier in the collection. Then Maier shifted into a number of silk crepe dresses worn with a simple strand of beads or charm necklaces. I felt this transition really did not fit the collection or the brand.

In the opening of the BV collection Maier seemed to really be focused on a tailored and sophisticated woman. Unfortunately the evening section moved away from the classic BV style and into a Grecian almost bohemian styling. The must have pieces from the collection this season are not the clothing pieces. Its was the Bottega Veneta accessories, mostly its bags and purses. The must have pieces were the tartan design leather purses and bags. The color combination included purple/green tartan and a red/green tartan. The thatching of the leather creating the tartan is very detailed and the little rivets give it a modern twist. On the bags along I must give Maier a Bravo! But he also deserves one for the Tartan looks as well. Bravo Monsieur Maier!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designer Rifat Ozbek joined Pollini in 2003, and today is still moving looking to take the brand into a new future. The show notes list his inspiration for the Fall line was Edie Sedgwick, Capote, Swans and the Belle of the Ball! The focus is hinting on the 60’s and the opulence of Truman Capotes world of wealth and decadence. For the opening section Ozbek focused on two prints, which he used over and over. The prints looked like chintz and brocade designs; overall Ozbek was reaching to far back to the 60’s. I did not like all the printed jackets and a-line dresses and the all snake skin leather outfits.

Ozbek is a strong designer with strong beliefs and voice. This season he opts to take the Pollini look and keep it true and less trendy. One great piece is all the baggy pants, I love black crepe pant that is so baggy that it almost looks like a floor length gown. I love how Ozbek cuffed the pant by tying leg off ankle, creating a romantic cuff. The second section was full of decadent dresses and outerwear piece. One of the strongest looks in this section was the peacock print beaded dresses and gowns. One of the best peacock print looks is collarless jacket worn with black a-line dress with a shooting star design beaded on the breast line of the dress.

Ozbek has always had an eye in creating or recreating strong and bold prints. This season he hit the make with on really strong print, a gold on gold Moroccan screen print. The print is very simple and bold; he used the print on several looks. One of the strongest looks was a simple a-line dress, although I did not like the matching boots, way to into the 60’s. There was one print that Ozbek should have thrown into the scrap bin, a tiger striping that he add edited into one continuous print.

The must have looks in the collection include the tangerine wool coat. Tailored loosely and very clean looking. The other must have look is one of the Moroccan screen-prints pieces, this look was the last look of the collection. A simple tunic dress but the sleeves on the dress are fuller, they don’t flare, and rather they are just cut very straight. Sadly I felt this collection was too safe for Ozbek, although I am sure his trying to respect the Pollini Group’s wishes. Bottom line, Truman Capote is so passé, I am sick of Capote being on the runway, I am sure it’s the same for Brokeback Mountain.

view collection here

[images via style]

Posted by turlie at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alexander McQueen's footwear line with PUMA is now available to the public. Whether you buy it online or in the store the shoes are still over $200 each.

Posted by turlie at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the big trends at Milan Fashion Week is several designers are moving into a very masculine and clean look for Fall. At Marni, designer Consuelo Castiglioni moved away from the young and playful style the label is known for. This season Consuelo and her design team showed one of the most grown up and sophisticated collection in a long while. For the opening section Castiglioni focused on a straight and clean look combining little pinning detailing here and there. This straight style also opened the collection to a more relaxed and loose form. Consuelo abandoned that tapered leg pants of seasons past and showed several baggy and full legs pants. One the best look was a baggy gray wool pant worn with a dusty rose crepe blouse.

As the opening section progressed the collection slowly moved into some odd directions. One of the sour notes from the collection was the makeup on the models; the look is noted as “no color on the face, ghostlike and delicate”. They models didn’t look ghost like at all, more like they just dropped out of a body bag at a morgue. Another miss for the section was the prints, I didn’t like the leaf prints used on blouses and dress. I also did not like the printed sheer organza dresses.

One of the strongest looks in the opening section was a gray pinstripe collarless wool jacket. The shape of the jacket is very straight with the sleeves fanning out at the cuff, creating an almost balloon shape to the sleeve. On a odd note, the real belt for the jacket was used as a neck scarf, while a white belt was put around the waist of the jacket. For the evening section Consuelo focused on a very flowing modern silhouette, made up of boxy evening gowns. The models looked like they were covered with a sheet and tied with a belt. There is one evening coat that really stood out, a navy blue and ghost white paneled coat on Carmen Kass. The contrast seaming of blue on white creates a 60’s geometric design.

This collection as a whole really presented a lot of outerwear options. The must have outerwear looks included a cropped short sleeve brown wool jacket with a Cardin collar. The jacket was worn with a large polka-dot print blouse detailed with sequins and a pleated loose pant. The other look was a navy blue wool long sleeve overcoat with the fabric laser cut into a lace design from the waist down. The jacket was worn with a pale gray dress underneath.

Outside of all the great outerwear looks, the collection was a little lacking. The only other strong items were the accessories. The must be noted items were the necklaces and bracelets. The show seemed to be hit or miss with other, personally I felt like the collection was put together in a rather odd manner. Some of the looks seem to repeat from section to section. The coloring was not defined in one section rather reused over and over. I did find the collection a very clean and grown up look for Marni. Certainly a change from the 60’s edgy shapes and prints. The small selection of prints was the down point to the collection.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Season after season so many designers have tackled the Jil Sander signature look and this season newcomer designer Raf Simons showed his first women’s collection for the house of Sander. In the opening section alone it is obvious that Simmons abandoned the conventionalism and creativity by respecting the German intellect styling and minimalism that Sander herself built her brand off of in the 80’s and 90’s.

To the untrained eye this collection is just simple and textbook, but you have to look at the details and combinations of piece that Simmons built each look. One of the strongest looks of the collection is the pants suits in the opening section; Simmons added a little length to the loosely tailored jacket. Simmons also lengthened the sleeves. One strong look was black satin pant that was paired with a clean white dress shirt and muted black wool jacket. What is interesting is Simmons slowly added white dress shirts into the collection. A strong look was a white dress shirt worn with a black silk jersey skirt that is cut below the knee.

Simmons only showed a few skirt looks in the opening section. His attention to adding little details is evident in two looks. First was a black silk crepe pencil skirt worn with a sleeveless black crepe blouse. As the model walked you can see hidden pleating in the front and back of the skirt. With each step the pleats would fan out and then disappear. Simmons also played with this season’s big trend of a balloon silhouette. He showed a black crepe bubble skirt that was cut below the knee and worn with a black wool blazer. The length of the skirt is what really makes it a Sander style.

In the second section Simmons add more color by shifting the pallet to white and eggshell, then into grays. The strongest looks in the second section was all the outerwear another trend for Fall. Raf showed several wool overcoats in various lengths, one of the strongest was ¾ length overcoat in dark brown wool. Simmons also showed a handful of leather coats. One of the best leather looks was a white leather coat that was tailored with a lot of straight lines, creating a very modern and sleek jacket.

For his evening section Raf Simmons moved back to a all black pallet. He focused on a long and clean look for evening, showing gowns and even evening coat that were all floor length. One strong evening look was a black silk crepe long sleeve gown. Another great evening look was a black wool p-coat worn with a black cashmere turtleneck and black pants. Simmons also showed a couple of black cashmere cardigans for evening, worn with floor-length black gowns

The must have pieces from the collection are both from outerwear looks. First is one of the ¾ length wool coats. This one is in a bold brown color and tailored a little closer along the breast and loose along the hip. The other must have is a cropped wool jacket in eggshell. The jacket has a peter pan collar and the sleeves are loosely tailored like the bodice of the jacket. The jacket almost has a 60’s look to it but it is certainly a classic Sander look. This season Simmons proves his grasped the Sander Styling. Although there is something about the collection that does lend some hope or hint of more! I think Simmons attention to all the little details adds up in each look, from the hem length to the little twists of fabric on dresses and skirt. Bravo Monsieur Simmons!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s always nice to see a show celebrate Christmas during collection week, a very rare moment these days. For Fall the design duo Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana vision a winter wonderland. Obvious inspirations were from the St. Moritz to Madonna wannabe ski Bunny’s. The whole opening section was in all white and all knit. The D&G duo took this seasons big trend of knitwear and showed numerous looks built on a their chunky knitwear. Two jackets that really incorporated the knitwear and outwear combination is the white cashmere cable knit jacket. As well as the cashmere knit lace jacket worn with little brown and white knits shorts.

The knitwear options are endless, I love the chunky cable knit jackets, dresses, cardigan and sweaters. One of the first strong pieces was knit shorts look worn with a cable knit strap suspenders over a embroidered and knit organza sleeveless top. The top is a organza shell over a white satin lining, the organza is embroidered with a flower design. White cashmere ribbed knit is draped on the shoulders and and formed into a turtleneck collar. The detailing of this look has a couture quality, which is odd since their D&G line is their lower end label. This couture quality continues through the collection. Another striking piece is a white organza jacket with panel of cashmere knit floral design around the bottom of the jacket and a matching rib knit along the lapel, pockets, collar and cuffs.

Some of the low points of the collection were all the chunky leather clog and boots. Dolce and Gabbana also added one tartan look to keep with one big trend of the season; unfortunately the tartan blouse was too baggy. Another strong look in the first section was the white organza mini skirt with a snowflake design beaded on the skirt. Worn with a white cashmere cardigan covered in beading and pallet and cable knit strap suspenders. I also loved the white knit sweater top and matching skirt with a organza shell encrusted with a embroidered and beaded diamond design over the knit.

The second section was a little less covered. The duo showed several micro-minis and hot shorts worn with skimpy jacket or shirts. This section seemed to be a cross between a disco queen (with all the silver sequin pieces) and a ski bunny with all the hot shorts and leotard. Overall the second section seemed to be filled with a lot of repeat look from the first section. For the evening section Dolce & Gabbana only showed a handful of looks. Nothing really stood out in this section, the coloring of the looks jumped away from the stark white section but a few looks really popped out at you.

The must have looks for D&G this Fall includes the cocktail dress version of the organza and cashmere knit skirt seen earlier in the collection. The skirt is longer showing the detail of the embroidery and beading design. The look is topped off with white cashmere sleeveless halter turtleneck sweater. The must have look is the white cashmere rib knit body suit worn with a matching knit head scarf. The body combined with the chunky cable knit jacket is very dramatic. Overall I found the collection to be a little lost. I think the design duo tend to think their customer wants that whole rock-n-roll chick look each season and throw in looks or even sections that destroy the overall vision of the collection.

view collection here

[images via style]

Posted by turlie at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designer Graeme Black fall collection for the Ferragamo is homage to styles of the 60’s in a very 70’s color pallet. In the opening of the collection Black showed 4 looks of dark rust colored suede used on a skirt, dress and jacket. He also continued his use of this color on a couple of rust color silk dresses. These monotone looks were decadent in the medium used, but his tailoring is to boxy and lacking in definition. Black moved away from the monotone looks and incorporated some prints that look to be reworks of some classic Ferragamo prints. First was a print of silk jersey, the coloring of the print is what really sets it off. But the strong point of the look is actually the bulky chocolate brown knit cardigan worn with the dress., The cardigan has wooden balls woven into the knit, completely covering piece.

Graeme showed all of the looks with dark hosiery or leggings, which created a completely covered, look on the models. A low point in the opening section was big puffball skirt, a little to far into the 60’s for the woman today! Certainly on trend that Black adopted for Ferragamo this season is knitwear. One of the best pieces is the camel color knit dress with a bubbled hem and the sleeve flare into a balloon silhouette towards the cuff. Another great trend that Black worked with was outerwear. I love the camel wool coat that is lined with magenta colored fur. Worn with an interesting velvet dress with a vertical and horizontal line box design.

The second section moved in more red and purples. Black also incorporated a new logo print, which he used on several dresses, and blouses, which really did not fit the style of the collection. The strong pieces of the second section are the pleated a-line dresses of silk chiffon. Graeme showed these dresses in a array of colors from burgundy, navy and chocolate brown. Graeme also showed more knit looks in this section, a standout look was a purple chunky cable knit sweater worn with a matching cable knit skirt.

For evening Black showed a very small selection of looks. His focus for evening the detail of beading and embroidery paired with a lot of rich fabrics like lame and mixing in delicate fabrics like tulle. The only real standout look in this section was a purple silk satin tube with a sleeveless purple tulle shell. The tulle shell was covered with tiers of frayed tulle and then crystal beads and purple pallets accenting the tiers. This look was the only striking look for evening overall.

The must have pieces from the collection are very different. First was a short sleeve cashmere cardigan with printed silk satin used for the short sleeves and on the front of the pockets. The other piece was a sisal weave wool coat that is reversible, chocolate brown on the outside and pale nude on the inside. What is interesting is how Black managed to mold the 70’s and 60’s into the collection. From adding earthy pallet of browns and reds to simple accessories. Some of the key pieces of the collection were the outerwear pieces. Black made sure that his clients had numerous options for outerwear as well as day wear. Unfortunately the overall look that he was focused on seemed to get lost in keeping the collection in a luxury brand style.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Giorgio Armani’s Fall/Winter collection for 2006 continues with his exploration of bringing his classic Italian tailoring into saga for his namesake label. The open looks included several suit and skirt combinations. The strongest pieces of these look are not the well-tailored jackets and blazers. Rather the pencil skirts that Armani created with flared and ruffled hems. The standout piece was a pale gray silk charmeuse skirt with the tailored to create ruffles. Worn with a simple black blazer. Another striking piece pencil skirt was the purple and black stripe silk jersey worn with a black pinstripe jacket.

The opening section was certainly all about creating a flounce to Armani classic relaxed tailoring. Whether it is a ruffle affect or even the placement of seaming to create new lines. One piece that defines this new introduction of a softer look for the Armani woman is a navy blue wool skirt with a matching jacket. The skirt has a cascade of ruffles down the front of the skirt and down the lapel of the jacket. Another soft but strong look in the collection were two blouses and two jackets that were made up of individual scallops of crepe laid one on top of the other. The blouses were worn under a very loosely tailored jacket and the jackets are shown in soft pink and purple hues.

Armani has never really been a big fan of creating prints but from time to time he will adapt a special print into a collection. Two pieces really stood out in this collection, first was a floral print on silk crepe dress with a plunging v-neckline. Another great print was in Gingko print that Giorgio put on a blouse and skirt. The standout piece was a black and white version of the print used on cropped long-sleeve dress jacket. The jacket hem is cut at a bias complimenting the draping lapels that go over the shoulder. The jacket lapels are lined with jet-black velvet, the draping of the lapel showcases the combination of the white background print with the black velvet.

For the second section Armani moved from the day to evening looks very smoothly. In this section he offered more geometric prints and focused more on detailing of lines in each of the looks. I was not a big fan of all the 80’s velvet looks he created in this section. The strongest looks of the collection were certainly in the evening section.

Armani certainly focused on all black evening section with little hints of color in the accessories or beading. One of the strongest looks was a black velvet evening gown with a crystal beaded bodice and a sliced panel of black velvet that is embroidered and embellished with more crystal beads. The velvet ends halfway down the gown and the bottom half is tailored into a balloon silhouette of muted black satin. While Armani’s use of velvet in this look was striking, he did show a flared and ballooned hem version of the same gown without the embroidery and beading. Which was not as dramatic! Another striking evening looks were the closing look of the collection, a plunging v-neck evening gown. The gown was completely encrusted in crystal beads with a soft white floral print around the bottom of the skirt. Although I didn’t like the hounds tooth print chiffon wrap worn with the gown. Overall the evening section consisted of two looks, long crystal beaded gowns that just moved like they were in movie. The major look was a number of velvet gowns, a big trend of the season.

The must have looks from this collection are two evening pieces. First was the black satin spaghetti strap gown that completed covered in multi-color palettes. The structure of the gown is close to the body with a flare at the knee and worn with a shredded silk satin and crepe wrap. The gown looked like it just fluttered with every step. The other must have look was the black silk satin strapless gown with a black tulle shell over the entire dress. The tulle shell is covered with little crystal beads and silk flowers in the collection colors of red and purple. Overall I found the collection very feminine and striking. Armani in the last few seasons has really come to understand that the women today like life and color in the clothes they wear. Bravo Monsieur Armani!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A staple during London Fashion Week, Fashion East showcased designer Marios Schwab’s first collection at the Bluebird restaurant. Schwab’s first section was very simple and very textbook. To embellish the looks Schwab added gold arch pins along the bust line or shoulders of simple long sleeve dresses and gowns. His focus was on a long and clean silhouette. He played with this look, like with the half short and half long dress. Schwab also added a few velvet looks to his collection, making sure he had some trend looks for the season. Sadly the opening section was lacking in vision or any signature look for the designer.

In the second section the designer took the opening section looks and embellished them. This turn in the right direction created some tailored looks that showed his attention to detail. I loved the red jersey top worn with a black stretch skirt with sheer cutouts along the stomach. Another standout piece was the short beaded lace dress with a drape of black chiffon from the waist gown to the ground on one side of the dress. Which is similar to the half and half look that Schwab used earlier in the collection. Overall the options are limited in this collection and overall Schwab was to safe with the use of textbooks shaped and looks throughout the collection.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his first collection, designer Richard Nicoll listed his inspiration for this season was Victorian maids. In the opening section my first impression was not a Victorian maid rather the combination of this seasons Wild West mixed with a Azzadine Aliah form. The opening section was great in concept but the green apple color used on several looks did not compliment the overall concept. Although the gray wool skirts that are draped with a bubble shape are very dramatic and flattering on the models.

In the second section Nicoll kept with the Wild West template with a strict form close to the body. Unfortunately he tried to embellish one several looks, like the bulky velvet pants or black lace overlaid on gray wool skirts and pant. Nicoll also opted to keep with the tapered leg pant. Sadly these ideas really did not compliment the overall look that Nicoll was attempting to achieve. Later in the second section Nicoll moved back to a draped skirt look. I love the gray wool skirts with the fabric draped on the front of the skirt. Another strong look was a draped front gray wool skirt worn with a navy blue velvet biker jacket. Certainly one of the best velvet pieces I have seen so far in London.

Right before the evening section Nicoll showed several sequin looks that added decadence to the collection. First was a navy blue silk crepe pant covered in navy blue sequins, the pant leg is full with tapered cuff at the bottom. If Nicoll had kept the cuff loose like the pant leg, the pant would have been even more dramatic. The other sequin look was a short sleeve navy blue sequin jacket worn with a ballooned sleeve dress shirt and white denim pants. I was not to impress with all the polka-dot looks in this section, a look that was seen a lot last season.

The must have pieces of the collection includes the bias draped gray taffeta skirt with a bustle of the navy blue satin covered with navy blue sequins around the waist. The draping of the skirt is very modern but worn with a matching gray chiffon blouse bring the overlook down to classic look. Another must have look was a gray wool draped skirt with a high waistline and low bust line supported by straps of navy velvet. The low bust line dress was worn with one of Nicoll’s striped collarless dress shirts. I think if this dress is worn with a simple white men’s dress shirt would be stunning look. Of coarse the top three buttons need to be unbuttoned!

The collection as a whole was a little contrived, there were to many themes or looks mixed together. The high point of the collection was when Nicoll let go of the controlling forms and embellishments he used in the early part of the collection. Like the one of the gray wool jackets looks that was covered in lace. Although the first half of the collection was a miss Nicoll was able to bring it back with later half, providing several looks and pieces that are strong looks for the season. Bravo Monsieur Nicoll!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s rare to see a designer really point his inspiration towards an artists work. Some might say its too cliché, while others find that focusing on an artist limits your options. For his Fall/Winter collection Jonathan Saunders looked to iconic art patron Peggy Guggenheim and her collection as a whole. So Saunders options are endless considering she had the largest collection of modern and contemporary artists works from the 20 century. For the opening section Saunders chose to work off of a Richard Floresheim prints. The opening looks consisted of tank dress and sleeveless turtleneck gown with the Floresheim print cascading up from the hem and from the down the neckline.

As the opening section progressed Saunders moved into converting several artist work into the structure of several pieces. I love the black satin dress with the gray and silver organza draped over the breast line around the neck and down the back. As well as the black and mauve striped chiffon skirt. The stripes were actually tiers of the colored chiffon that lies on a white organza shell. As the model walked the dress seemed to float up and down. The down side to some looks was the stretch leotard tops Saunders paired with several looks.

As Saunders moved on with the collection he showed various version of the Floresheim print as well as a geometric line print. He used the geometric line print on a empress waisted chiffon gown. With a black bodice and the crisscross print starting from the hem and moving up to the hip line. Another strong Floresheim print look was a simple strapless chiffon floor length gown with the print cascading down from the breast line to the hem. The coloring of the silk chiffon in the second section of steel blues mixed with gray is amazing. Matched with the long flowing forms of the dresses complimenting the bold Floresheim and Braque prints.

In the later half of the second section Saunders added more color with red and blue splashed into several looks. One look was a silk satin cocktail dress that combined a cascade pale blue and steel gray on silk satin tiered on a bias. The bias layering of the fabrics allowed the dress to move in every direction. For the evening section Saunders showed several full-length gowns. One the strongest look was a floor length tank gown with the silk chiffon dyed in tie-dye print. Cascading from black to gray and to white. Certainly a gown that Peggy Guggenheim would have worn in her earlier years!

The must have pieces of the collection include a cascading dot print on a silk chiffon tank dress, very reminiscent of Pollack. The other must have look is the black strapless silk crepe gown with panels of chiffon draping from the back. A star burst design is printed on the chiffon panels. The focal point of the black column dress with the print flowing out from behind creates a very dramatic affect as the model took each step. So many argue that fashion is not art! This season Saunder has proven that fashion and art are one in the same in terms of creating something amazing with inspiration and vision. Like the Mondrian dress back in the 60’s, this collection is full of inspiration and Jonathan really understood an artists vision. Bravo Monsieur Saunders!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his second women’s wear collection designer Paul Smith noted his inspirations for the collection was the 40’s and female barrier breaker Katherine Hepburn. In the opening section Smith focused on a number of pant looks and versatile masculine looks worn with skirts. One of the first pieces to really pop out was the 50’s bobby sock mohair sweater in off white worn with a knee length skirt. Smith is known for his menswear and tailoring and his focus on tailoring in this collection is not at a extremely level. A large portion of the opening section is very relaxed. He did show a number of tapered leg pants but the best pant for the Smith women was a wide leg pant. Like the Windsor check pants with a shortened pant leg.

Smith was certainly open to playing with color this season and his gold taffeta skirts; blouses and jacket were a big miss for the designer. The opening section was very understated and clean cut; Smith seemed to be light on the experimentation of tailoring. Two looks that were certainly not fitting into the opening section and were great looks was the fur coat and cape that were lined in 60’s geometric print on silk satin. And the blue and gray plaid print pencil skirt in wool worn with a printed silk chiffon blouse.

The second section was all about experimenting with color and mixing several prints. A lot of the prints were a little too busy and were paired properly in several looks. The best looks in this section were a lot of Smith’s signature pieces. First were the chocolate brown cashmere cardigan and a matching wool pencil skirt. Another was a printed silk jersey dress, which Smith showed 3 different versions. This one incorporates a tailored silhouette with and a matching jacket. For the evening section Smith showed several Polk-a-dot dresses and gowns. Sadly the Polk-a-dot was a look from last season.

The must have pieces from the collection include the deep brown leather trench coat. As well as any of the full leg wool pants, short or long but especially this look of Windsor check to the shoe. For the opening section I did feel the Hepburn vibe but then Smith seemed to loose focus and opted to focus on period prints and pieces from the 40’s. Sadly I found the collection to only have a handful of strong looks, the overall bulk of the collection lacked in several areas.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his Fall collection, Deacon had every big name model in the last 10 years on the runway by the middle of the show (Goff, Cole, Kass even Guinevere.) The firs look out was braided top of gold and black; it was horrific and just little scary. Although I did love the full leg pants with this cuff at the bottom. A trend the Giles hole healthy accepted this season. The opening section was a little too 80’s and the dresses and looks had a boxy feel to them. Then all of a sudden the collection moved away from boxy tailoring to more tailor.

The best combination of two trends of the season was the knit dress over the bubble skirt. The print used in the weave of the knit dress was very striking. I also love the black and white stripe taffeta bubble coat worn by Heather Marks with a black round collar. The jacket certainly drew inspiration from a Balenciaga form from the 50’s. The jacket is certainly a classic but the bold print complimented the abstract prints that Deacon was using.

Deacon combine a lot of prints in the second section, one particular piece that played with this idea was a white silk dress with short sleeve, a big miss. One of the stronger prints was a pixelated print on a white silk chiffon top with a rolled neckline. Deacon draped the top with the pattern in one direction and paired the top with a black pant. He topped the look off with a fuzzy disc hat on the models head, between the hat and pants the top just jumps out at your. Deacon continues the pixelated idea onto a white pencil skirt with rhinestone and pallets emulating the pixelated print.

He did however show a handful of knitwear pieces. One of the standout pieces was a long sleeve salt and pepper weave sweater with a loosely rolled neckline. Worn with a baggy black wool pant. Deacon also showed very little outerwear options. The crowning piece was a silk taffeta coat that was tailored straight with a camouflage print in pink and black. Not sure about the silly little pink hat though!

For evening section Deacon went long and dramatic. The must have pieced from the collection are in the evening section. First was the black/gray/pink silk jersey gown. It’s very in tailoring but modern and the color combination draped down the dress is striking. The other must piece was the black and white stripe silk taffeta bell gown. The intersecting of the fabric on the bias created different focal points on this stunning gown. It reminds me of the black and white gown that Audrey Hepburn wore to the races in “My Fair Lady”. Giles Deacon love of color and playing with themes is amazing, although he does manage to create some of the most visually striking and well-liked pieces from London Fashion Week. Bravo Monsieur Deacon!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his first collection right out of Saint Martin’s, Gareth Pugh opted for theatrics and imagination. A lot of hype about this show started in NYC with an editor from Elle UK. The obvious inspiration of the collection was harlequins and mimes with mixture of Grace Jones and Barbara Hutton in there. To open the collection Pugh gave us garbage bag couture, opening with an extremely inflated puff jacket.

A relatively small collection with only 12 looks total. Only three looks were striking and sellable. First was the diamond design blouse made up of black patent leather and black tulle in diamond pattern. Of coarse worn with an enormous Elizabethan accordion collar. The blouse reminded me of blouse worn by Bond Girl “Fatima Blush” wore in the movie “Never Say Never Again”, another outstanding piece was the trench coat version of the blouse made up of the black tulle and patent leather.

I was not too excited by the gold lame and black wool check jacket with the hood. It was a little to Grace Jones! However I did like the black silk jersey hooded coat that one of the male models wore. The coat had strands of black fur lining the hem of the coat. Is this collection wearable, No! Was this collection entertaining, Yes! I would have loved to see more looks from Pugh but it was a treat to see some fun in the world of fashion.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s hard to not overhear conversations when you enter a show, especially other editors when your sitting right behind them. Everyone kept repeating Nadja and Legs. In the show notes it states designers Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton saw a Testino photo of model Nadja Auermann from the early 90’s and fell in love with the image of her long legs being exposed and modern sexy and short look.

To open their collection the design duo jumped right into the long leg look showing a number of shortly tailored looks. The first striking look was the pale mauve satin dress that was pinned and draped closely to the models body. Another dress was short crepe dress in mauve as well. The dress had almost a bondage look to it, with the bodice and hip area tailored tight with the bust line and straps creating a constricting look to the dress. Very sexy! An obvious homage to Azzadine Aliah! The Preen duo repeated these looks through out the collection.

The second section of the collection they moved away from muted mauves and grays and flashed us with a candy apple red pallet. Sadly the red pallet seemed to drown the modern lines of the looks. The shock of color was to distracting! A lot of Bregazzi and Thornton’s successful looks were shown in crepe, jersey and wool. Unfortunately the crushed velvet pieces did not fit the collection. Then they swung back to a dark gray and black pallet. The stand out pieces in this section was the two dark gray silk jersey bubble dresses. One dress with a wide shoulder neckline and the other with a halter-top neckline. In the evening section kept to a black pallet in the bulk of the looks. The standout look in the evening section was the black strappy silk crepe dress with a ballooned skirt. The dress was cut open in the middle of the bodice and breast line.

Thea and Justin did focus on one big trend this season. Outerwear is certainly their strong point this season. Two pieces really excited some of the buyers. First was a simple dark gray trench coat which they added more volume to the breast line tailoring and the hip line. They also shortened the sleeves and made them thicker to compliment the thicker bodice of the jacket. Another ravishing jacket was a cropped version the same trench coat. Several designers have shown a similar cropped trench but the dup at Preen focused on wider lapels, which creates a ripple of fabric on the front of the jacket. They paired the jacket with feather skirt of hand-dyed dark gray feathers.

The must have pieces of the collection was the pale mauve cashmere cardigan with wide-open front and matching wrap waist. The other must have piece is the white wool coat with thick cuffs on ¾ length sleeve. At the end of the show I looked back to the inspiration of Nadja and Testino, but I didn’t see the Testino in the collection. Instead I saw Helmut Newton in my head with all the trench coats and the bondage strap dresses. It was a very short and very sexy collection. Bravo Madame Bregazzi and Monsieur Thornton!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designer Erdem Moral’s first collection since leaving the nest of mentor Diane Von Furstenberg has been focused on defining his own creative force. For his Fall/Winter collection Moral paid homage to his mentor while going to great lengths. One first looks to really grab you was the long brown tweed coat worn with Moral’s own printed silk dress, remnant of his DVF days. The printed silk dresses really did not grab me at first; later in the collection found that the dresses were not properly tailored, almost baggy. Creating a great print is obviously not enough to create a great piece.

As the collection moved from the first section to the second, we started see a little of the 80’s coming out on the runway. At first I really did not like the geometric line prints use on the blouses and dresses. What was really bothering me was the color used in contrast to the black lines. In a section of geometric prints all of a sudden Moral showed a soft and Japanese two-tone print of orange blossom branches and one very colorful Koi fish. The print was used on a crepe dress that looked like a wrap dress at first but it just had a tied waist.

Erdem certainly drew inspiration from 30’s shapes. He showed several tapered pants in the collection but did give the option of ordering the pants in full leg version. In the second section Moral showed simple gray tweed skirt but with a wide contrast strip of a darker gray. Worn with a cropped trench in the same fabric with flared sleeves. As the second section progressed Erdem showed more cocktail dresses and then moving into evening. A lot of the dresses were in a black/gray pallet with a touch of chartreuse. The combination was not eye pleasing. Like the black and white dress worn with chartreuse chiffon long sleeve top. Only one dress was a standout, the gray chiffon dress with spaghetti straps and strips of chartreuse chiffon draped in the back.

The must have pieces from the collection include two evening gowns. Eredm’s evening section was relatively small this season. The two standout pieces was the white and gray tickering print taffeta gown with a layering of ruffles around the neckline. The other was Moral’s white satin wedding gown at the close of the collection. The dress was from 40’s, everything covered from the arms to the legs. What the dress so dramatic was the pleating of the skirt and Juliet shoulders. With the evening section the highlight of the collection, its obvious that Moral was a little lost with the first half of the collection. It seemed as though he was paying respect to his mentor but almost taking the DVF look to lengths, the Floor!

view collection here

[images via style]

Posted by turlie at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While lined up for the Graeme Fidler & Michael Herz’s fall collection for Aquacutum, some hinted that they are expecting more modern shapes this season. The runway even had a little modern twist. In the designer notes inspirations seem to be limited to the era of the early 60’s, Pierre Cardin being the operative designer. To open the collection Herz kept the look clean and a lot of straight lines in numerous pieces, like the A-line overcoat and the simple & Fidler tank dress.

Then Herz & Fidler shifted the classic 60’s shapes into a new era, adding more lines and embellishments to transform the pieces into a new vision. Like the white chiffon dress with tiers of black sequins and lace covering the bust line. As well as the gray and white overcoat that cut and paneled in the front and fitted loose to create a modern deconstructed look. In the opening section along it was evident that Herz & Fidler was focusing on playing with modern shapes and mixing them with 60’s shapes and tailoring.

The only downside to the open section was Herz & Fidler’s masculine look, which seems to be taken from Paris designer Hedi Slimane. A skinny black pant worn with a tightly tailored white dress shirt and matching jacket. Of coarse the tapered leg pant is still around, but as usual it needs to disappear. Herz & Fidler played with number big trends of the season, showing a lot of outwear as well as using plaids. Two great plaid pieces include the brown and tan plaid wrap and the brown plaid wool coat. In the second section Herz & Fidler showed several pieces with a red and black plaid. I found this print to be too masculine for women. I was waiting for one of the girls to drag a axe down the runway.

For the second section Michael & Graeme started to soften up the looks for the collection. The first piece that really caught your eye was the dark tweed overcoat with the floral embroidery on the front of the jacket. Another softer look was the pant look, a scooped neck camel cashmere cardigan worn with a chunky belt, minus the tapered pant of coarse. The second section seemed to be focused on a transition to evening as well. A lot of day to night pieces mostly in a gray and black pallet with hints of red and blue.

The must have pieces of the collection are two jackets. First was the full-length taffeta coat with a teal and red geometric design. The jacket is tailored straight with a wide collar. The second piece is the cropped brown tweed trench coat worn with a white crepe skirt and simple blouse. This collection is certainly all about coats and outerwear; they were paraded in mass quantities. Overall the duo was very lost with their direction, the collection seem to be a little chopped up with some section out weighing others. But the collection is filled with a number of strong and sellable pieces. Bravo Monsieur Herz & Fidler!

view collection here

[images via style]

Posted by turlie at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Matthew Williamson is not known for his tailoring although for the opening of his collection, he showed a classic trench coat, which he tailored to floor-length classic styling of Williamson. For fall he opted to keep with the big trend of the season, outwear and knit wear. In the opening section Williamson played with classic cable knit sweater. Showing a tan cashmere sweater with a cable knit section on the bodice and then cut with a simple weave around the waist. Topped with a knit weave between the two sections creating a belt with buttons. Worn with a gold pallet covered puff skirt.

Fall is typically a dark pallet season, this season Williamson keeps to his bold colors signature to his collections. He showed several tie-dye print pieces in several color combinations. I loved the yellow and blue tie-dye on white silk used on a long sleeve dress with a pleated skirt. Worn with a cropped gray tweed jacket with short sleeves. For the evening section Williamson created a baggy form for the dresses and gowns. The evening gowns could be spring or could be fall. The crowning look was a floor-length floral print chiffon strapless gown with a tie-dye yellow silk around the waist.

The must have pieces from the collection include the black-white herringbone overcoat or the sleeveless versions. And the floral design hand colored velvet blouse worn with a simple gray wool skirt. This collection most certainly fits with the Williamson mold we see every season. Although Matthew opted to keep the collection very colorful, only showing his outerwear in classic Fall colors of gray, black and brown. Bottom line he opted to keep with a strong collection of colorful and feminine looks. Bravo Monsieur Williamson!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The wrath of sophomore collections is hard to overcome, this season designer Alice Temperley opted to play safe and toned down her creative juices to keep the masses wanting more. In the opening section Temperley opened with some unique looks that she known for, like the tulle blouse with a ribbing design. I loved the white wool skirt with eyelets and a matching top. She also opted to show several floral printed chiffon skirts that were not cut properly. One of the standout looks in the opening section was a white organdy dress with gold beading worn with a cropped black wool jacket.

Temperley played with some of this season big trends, from outerwear to knitwear. One of her strongest looks in this collection is the contrast lace print dress. First with the coral charmeuse dress with the black floral contrast prints along the hem, neckline and sleeves. The dress is cut with plunging v-neck making it versatile for day or evening. Alice also showed a white version of the dress that is off the shoulder and sleeveless. Both are crowning moments for the collection.

For the second section Alice added brocade trim to lavender cape jacket, very feminine but a strong outwear piece. As the second section progressed Temperley seemed to get lose momentum. Showed a white mini dress with shredded fabric around the collar. Then Temperley moved into her evening section, focusing on dramatic draping and embellishing several slip dresses with sequins and beading. A standout look for evening is the white crepe strapless gown with a black cutout shell over the bodice and waist. Minus the chunky black belt worn with the gown, it killed the overall look.

The must have piece from the collection is the black v-neck knit dress with the 60’s psychedelic print in mauve and teal. This is a step backward from Temperley’s freshman collection last season. It’s a safe step backward, the collection did have several embellished signature looks but the overall the collection lacked a fluid vision. I found Temperley to focused on her embellishments and details into single looks and lacking in others. Overall she produced a very sellable collection that continues her traditions and styling.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What is fashion week without celebrities who get the clothes for free and the socialites who actually buy the clothes, in bulk! Socialite turned designers Tory Burch is following in the footsteps of such ladies as Carolyn Rohem and Diane Von Furstenberg. Burch’s style has been the main inspiration from collection to collection. This season she builds her collection off her new logo. The new logo is on everything from t-shirts, to bags and even belts.

The accessory of choice this season is not Burch’s purses or bags, rather her riding boots. In the opening section Burch showed a tailored gray wool jacket with scribble embroidered design in black. This patters was used through out the collection. Another pattern shown was a wave pattern, used on a few blouses; the design really didn’t fit the collection. Burch looked to the Swiss Alps this season for inspiration with little equestrian details here and there.

For the second section Burch went a little crazy with some looks that stuck out like a sore thumb, like the silver lame jacket and the Indian symbol dress. I also did not like the skinny leg jeans or the navy blue collarless cardigan. A lot the dresses for evening were not tailored leaving them with a boxy shape. Overall I found the collection to be very weak. Of coarse Tory’s signature tunics were the highlight of the collection but she lacked any detailed looks that drew your eye away look after look.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lagerfeld Gallery no more! For 2006 designer Karl Lagerfeld moves his menswear and womenswear line previously known as Lagerfeld Gallery to New York City. With the move come a new name – simply “Karl Lagerfeld” Men and Women. This season Lagerfeld and his design team bring edgy French fashion to New York. In the show notes Lagerfeld points his inspirations toward the Nordic north of Europe and the Viking. Also noted tones Epson and Chekoff. Bottom line Lagerfeld revamps his signature modern collection into a morph of very American modern collection with an attention to detail.

The overall feel and look to this collection is HEAVY! There is a lot of layering and with very little form fitting looks. In the opening section Lagerfeld showed an abundance of knit looks, keeping with this seasons trend of knits. I loved the olive green turtleneck with a v-opening at the front of the sweater. Lagerfeld’s use of rich colors along with rich fabrics and knits is very bold and decadent. It was very comforting to see that Karl didn’t abandon all his signature looks, like his long sleeve dress shirts for women with an extra-long sleeve.

Karl has always loved adding details to his pieces, be it small or big. I did not like the wool dresses with large holes and chiffon peaking out of the wholes. I did love the gray knit dress with ribbing along bottom of the dress and cutouts under the arms. For Fall Karl showed a lot of leggings and he abandoned the tapered pants of seasons past and showed a number of gray and black wool pants. The best pant look of the collection is the baggy pant worn with a matching fitted vest. One accessory note, the Pirate boots were a little over the top!

For the closing section of the collection, Lagerfeld opened with one of the some of the most decadent knit pieces of NY fashion week. A full length knit dress with cascading weave of different yarns, from mohair, chenille to cashmere and wool. Worn with a matching sweater that closely fitted around the bodice and the sleeves are flared down to a baggy cuff. Karl also showed a cardigan version of the cascading knit. These pieces incorporate Lagerfeld drive for innovation and keeping true to his philosophy of bringing the environment we live in to the runway.

For his evening section Karl and his design team veered away from knitwear and outerwear and focused on colorful chiffon and crepe cocktail dress. The focus for evening was draping and gathering. Lagerfeld took dusty reds and oranges chiffons and draped them into sheer and bustled cocktail dresses. Sadly Karl only showed 3 evening gowns for the close of the collection.

The must have pieces of the collection are two standout leather pieces from the collection. First was the tulle dress with strips of the leather encircling the skirt of the dress. The other must have look are any of the tight leather pants. Karl’s detailing of seams on the pant is very modern and flattering on the models. Karl Lagerfeld has certainly won the respect of many editors and critics during NY fashion week. So many European designers have tried venturing into American Fashion in the past 20 years. Almost all of them jumped into the World of NY without respecting the roots of American Sportswear. While some may say this collection is no different from his work in Paris, the truth is Lagerfeld has shown us that he respects NY and the industry his entering. This is one of the most innovative and decadent collection Lagerfeld has created since the 90’s. Bravo Monsieur Lagerfeld!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For media mogul Jennifer Lopez, fashion is another outlet to express her creative visions. This season Lopez and her design team looked to the 60’s for inspiration with her recent film journey “El Cantante” with husband Marc Anthony. In the opening section Lopez jumped into some of this seasons big trends. Like the shearling lined coat and the black and white knit dress with a peter pant collar. Both were to simple and too textbook. I did however like the Windsor check wool overcoat.

Lopez and design team had one focus this season that run through the collection. They seemed to like playing with women’s forms, adding bustles, flaring hems and sleeves and incorporating the 60’s A-Line. Some of the standout looks in the second section was the pink velvet dress with a white leather belt that covered the torso. The must have pieces of the collection is the black velvet puff dress at the close of the show. The dress was cut on a front to back bias with gray taffeta along the hem and around the bust line. The other must have look are the tapered denim pants that are cut like ridding pants, with an inside seam running the full length of the pant.

Although this season Lopez opted for a smaller collection, she seemed to focus to one look this season. I find the problem with celebrity labels today, is they don’t have one defining look to the designer’s craft or in this case the celebrity. What happened is you have a collection of looks in which some pieces are designed by one person and then paired with another designers pieces. Like the denim look I have shown, the pants are very similar to the pants in the rest of the collection. The tops look to be designed by another person. This top is seen several times in the collection and one can figure there has to be at least 5 designers in the Sweetface pot, and the Editor of the looks is Lopez herself. So in the end – you have a collection that caters to the label horrors in the world, rather tan the client who wants quality. I will certainly give credit to Mrs. Lopez and her design team for putting together a fluid collection that stayed on target.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designer Wolfgang Joop survived the 90’s and in the new millennium continues to go strong. With his new brand Wunderkind, Joop ventures into the world of tailoring and providing a signature collection far from his denim clad days. In the liner notes Joop listed his inspiration for his Fall collection was first World War. Joop opened the collection showing outerwear in chunky fabrics with soft feminine pieces and looks. In the opening of the collection he showed a light brown tweed trench coat that was tailored loose with wide lapels and worn with gray silk shirt and shirts. The first section certainly had a soft side and made the collection very wearable.

Some of the great looks of the opening section include the gray wool pencil skirt with a matching jacket. I love the high waist of the skirt and the darts Joop added to the back of the jacket. Joop played with a lot of tweeds as well as leather in the opening section. For second section Joop added several animals prints and furs into the looks. I didn’t like the cheetah prints dresses and jackets, the prints were to decadent, and the chinchilla lined overcoat did not fit into the overall look of the collection. But slowly Joop moved back into the thick fabrics and forms. Starting with a brown A-line dress with bronze beading down the front and a single layer of ruffles on the shoulder. Its small details like the ruffles that Joop was able to make masculine looks softer.

The second section moved away from the feminine details and then in the third section Joop moved back to details, like the black wool pinstripe dress with matching jacket with caped sleeves. Or the green tweed skirt with the wide spaced pleats, a big change from the tight pleating we have seen this season. Although the collection is very masculine, Joop showed a large number of dresses and skirts. He did show a handful of pants; unfortunately he opted to keep the pant tapered this season.

The must have pieces of the collection are from the evening section. Starting with the black skirt with a yellow Japanese Oak leave print with a white petticoat, minus the matching yellow arm warmers. For the evening section, Joop showed several bell shaped skirts and gowns in various print fabrics. I was not a fan of the animal print gowns and dress. But the other must have look of the collection is the black silk gown with the fabric tiered, using the Japanese Oak print in black and yellow. Overall the collection is very wearable and certainly an endeavor into the future for the label. Bravo Monsieur Joop!

view collection here

[images via style]

Posted by turlie at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the show notes designer Vera Wang notes inspiration such as Talented Mr. Ripley and the world of ex-patriots. In further inspection of the notes the number of looks being presented was 56 total. I was hunkering down for a long show! Opening the collection Wang showed two cropped shearling coats that were too loosely tailored. Then she showed a black satin dress with white chiffon panels down front, very modern but very slinky sexy. The dress was worn with a cropped knit cardigan that gives the overlook a modern twist. Another amazing look was the Windsor check bubble skirt worn with a matching shirt and short-sleeve overcoat.

Another strong look in the opening section was knee length satin puff skirt with black lace appliqué worn with a sleeveless long knit cardigan. Wang is certainly leaning away from the standard sportswear inspiration sunonimous with NY. Her obvious vision and personal inspiration lies with her roots in many Asian designers from Hong Kong to Tokyo. Clean modern and de-constructed.

Vera Wang’s form for this collection is very loose. The dresses and outerwear is draped and loosely cut with little pinning here and there to create modern lines. In the second section Wang showed a handful of striking looks, like the black taffeta coat with short sleeves. Or the white chiffon and crepe gown with a gathered waist. But she did show a couple of looks that were just a little off, like the wool check print bubble dress with a thick strap across the bust line creating a bustle over the breast.

As the collection progressed, the 56 looks started to become repetitive, duplicate pieces used in different looks. As I looked back at the notes for the inspirations of the collection I was a little confused since I could see a number of contradicting styles. Personally I saw a mix of 60’s Hepburn with 50’s Dior along with Prairie dresses and 20’s flapper dresses.

The must have pieces from the collection is the purple satin and black crepe paneled dress worn with a black wool jacket. The must have jacket of the collection is the camel color shearling coat that cropped above the waist. Wang collection keeps with dark tones of black, grays and purples. Then all of a sudden there is light; at the close of the show the designer opts to show a deep rusty orange organdy dress with fabric layered like a candle around the shoulder. Overall Vera Wang’s ready to wear collection for Fall is filled with numerous of options and unique looks. Bravo Madame Wang!

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his sophomore collection designer Brian Reyes moved away from his freshman inspiration of the “Women Who Lunch” towards a more clean modern silhouette with romantic accents. For the opening section it evident that Reyes used an abundant number of delicate couture fabrics, from tulle, crepe and organdy. The standout look in the opening section was white organdy dress with a puff skirt, very reminiscent of St. Laurent. The details of the looks varied from lace overlaid on chiffon to tulle hemming or lining dress skirts.

In the second section Reyes added some day looks. From dress jackets with matching skirts and pants. Sadly Reyes did not give to the new trend of a full pant leg for women, all the pants had tapered legs. Halfway through the show I noticed that several models seemed to be struggling in shoe that did not fit them. Either to small or too large, no matter the models put their best smile on. Until model Atong came out and lost one shoe and proceeded to kick off the other, walking the runway barefoot.

There were only a handful of strong looks in the second section. First was the black crepe pencil skirt with tiers of palettes around the base of skirt. The collection seemed to swing back and forth between the sexy romantic women to the clean modern workingwoman. This dizzying swing back and forth was a little nauseating. Reyes played only a few trends of the season. His first attempt was this season’s trench coats; unfortunately Reyes opted to keep his trench coat loosely tailored, which did not fit with the clean modern pieces he created.

The must have pieces of the collection include the moss green satin puff skirt. Without the tulle tank covered in beading. The other must have piece if the teal taffeta skirt. Reyes showed a small evening section this season, with only two evening gowns. The closing section swung far left away from the modern looks with numerous pieces showed with feathers and lace appliqués. This season Brian seemed to be lost in his vision for this collection. Although sheer may have been inspiration of this collection, the over sexiness and the delicate fabrics sent too many mixed messages.

view collection here

[images via style.com]

Posted by turlie at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My second place finisher for best dressed was Diane Kruger

( I would like to note that only a handful of American actresses actually went for glamour while practically all the international actresses attending the Oscars were dolled up head to toe) Hint!

Posted by turlie at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

BEST DRESSED LADY AT THE OSCARS

Posted by turlie at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)