Girl talking on Menswear: Fall 2012

I have to accept I'm not all screams and excitement when it comes to menswear runways. Don't know why, I've never appreciated men's clothing until now. Why this sudden change? Well, when your hubby asks you for style advice, as the fashion mogul you are, and you have no clue about menswear THEN you know you need to know. That, and the immaculate Givenchy suit he was wearing the other day with a Calvin Klein black cravat made me snap (I would show you a picture but he might kill me...).

So, I decided I was going to immerse myself in these season's menswear shows as much as I could. So far we've seen Pitti Uomo and the first two days from Milan Fashion Week with two more to go. If I had to tell you, instinctively, about the overall mood of the Fall 2012, I would name it "Menswear Evolution Throughout Time" or "History in Menswear Revisited". Somehow, it seems that every brand has inspired each of their garments in past decades, taking inspiration in communism, English dandys, Futurism and a glimpse of reinterpretation in modern luxury.

The Gentleman, or Mary Poppin's impersonators, as ShowStudio calls them, were the main motif in Christopher's Baileys take on fall's menswear. The 101 on layering and the very core of Brit style result in a collection among perfection. ¿My favorite piece? The double breasted wool coat in grey, though the velvet suits also made it to my top ten.

At first, I thought Dolce & Gabbana's collection was the perfect symbol of menswear luxury attires. Then, it suddenly shifted to wool caps and low crotch pants with baroque ornate in pants, jackets and coats. Then, the appearance of the bow tie, the pajama suits and the velvet suits (that last one is a sure trend) made it just more confusing. Not sure what was the intended mood in this one, but I can tell you I would love a man in one of the first suits, with lapels in black velvet.

When I read in GQ that “Raf Simons must have swallowed the red pill based on the procession of Agent Smith clones at Jil Sander this season" I was laughing out loud. Truth is, it is one of my favorite menswear collections so far. The long leather coats along with the suits of the same nature were a fresh and futurist construal of menswear. And it was about time; women have been ravishing about leather for the last years with leather sweatshirts and tight dresses. Even if we might not get to see anyone pull off the head to toe leather ensemble, any of this pieces are going to be worth watching in the street style round ups of next season.

Last but not least, Prada. I'm starting to believe there is an enchantment in Miuccia's creations, or that the head of Publicity and Public Relations department is a mere god. As if the collection by itself, a reality where Victorian clothing meets Napoleon meets Cold War, wasn't enough, the models had not to be models. At least not all of them. With the Awards season taking place at the same time, it was only a matter of time a designer would choose actors to model. Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Emile Hirsch, Jamie Bell and Jared Hedlund sported long coats with fur and leather lapels, military silhouettes, and round Lennon like sunglasses through the red carpet, ironically. With that cast in those clothes, it was hard not to think about a movie where power and political motives may be the main theme.

Images: GQ & Selectism

Costumes from the Runway

Every time I have to dress up for a costume party, either for Halloween or a thematic one, I fantasize about being dressed in McQueen; maybe like a princess with a red cape from the AW08 collection, or a zombie with horns with a lovely ripped lace dress in white like the one from Widows of Culloden, the AW06 show. Truth is, the narrative Alexander McQueen used to imprint in each and every garment was something special and unique, and incredibly well suited for the costume matters.

Nevertheless there are other designers that have tried to represent some kind of story into their collections. Taking inspiration from the runways for your Halloween costumes might be a great solution to wind up with a pretty interesting disguise for the night of the dead.

Who? Lisbeth Salander by Ann Demeulemeester AW11

Who? Edward Scissorhands by Alexander McQueen SS12

Who? Pierrot by Christian Dior Haute Couture

Who? The French Maid by Louis Vuitton SS12

Who? Morticia Addams by Marchesa SS12

Who? The sexy nurse by Jil Sander SS12

Who? Medusa by Iris Van Herpen AW11 Haute Couture

Who? Marie Antoinette gone mad by Comme Des Garçons SS12

Childhood Fantasies

I have to confess I'd been waiting anxiously for the Louis Vuitton show. Not just because I was sure of the lovely collection  Marc Jacobs would present, but also because along with Chanel, Louis Vuitton is one of the brands to create a whole mise-en-scène, by showing a breathtaking scenery and production. Got to say the autumn/winter show was one of my favorites, the reference of Night Porter, the whole construction of an antique foyer and the sexual connotations of the sheer and plastic outfits were some of the elements that made of this show, in my opinion, one of the bests of the season.

Yesterday I saw the spring/summer show and it left me completely satisfied. Even though it was an extreme change from the roughness of the last season, this was a beautiful blast to the past in all senses. It almost seemed like an ode to an english fantasy childhood. If there's anyone who can shift from such extreme positions and succeed, is Marc Jacobs. From beginning to end, the show was a big bite of cotton candy, starting with the sweetness of the score from a music box and continuing with a big dream-like carrousel with models riding fake horses like in a Gilliam movie. Kate Moss at the end, walking in a big white eyelet dress with feathers was just the cherry on top.

Eyelet lace, pastels, feathers and lamps shapes in dresses and skirts made of this collection a true childhood fantasy. The see through plastic bags and the cap toe metallic pointed shoes were completely charming along with the Vandyke collars in jackets and dresses. I'm amazed by how the perception of a woman from a brand can change so much and still be faithful to the spirit and core values of the design motto. In any other case, the extreme change from fetishist to innocence would have been quite a shock, but here, it was just a marvelous and sweet fantasy. 

 

News, news

Paris Fashion Week is here finally! It's undeniably the most important fashion week and it just started today while we were sleeping... well, in this side of the world at least. So catch up and take a look to Rochas, Dries Van Noten and Gareth Pugh, some of the shows that happened today. 

If you have noticed I haven't post on a regular basis it's thanks to my crappy internet which was just canceled by the phone company... but soon I will catch up with the posts so don't worry, there will be plenty of fashion talk later.

In other news, Mercedes Benz DFashion just started on Monday, which is basically the mexican fashion week. There has been interesting proposals like Ale Quesada, Jorge Duque, Paola Hernandez and Pepa Pombo. Chilango has a quick recap and you can see some runway photos in VogueMX too.

Prada: Donna e Motori

Pleated dresses, boxy coats and jackets, grease lightning 

shoes and shades, cars print, flames, leather, and midriff tops.

Another success for Miuccia.

Burberry's Craftsmanship

Yesterday the Burberry Prorsum show took place in Hyde Park, London. For all of us who were watching the HD stream, before the show, a video with amazing closeups was projected. It was the Craftsmanship film which showed the extraordinary techniques that each piece of the collection needed in order to be created. You can see sketches of the garments, Bailey in action and the detailed textures of this Spring collection which was all about tribal, quite a big trend for next season.

Miu Miu's Cuteness Overdose

Miu Miu Resort 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Dior unlike Dior. Haute Couture.

Dior Haute Couture Fall 2011

 It certainly says Dior, but not Galliano. 

The Haute Couture shows have started. Twice a year we get the chance to see what fashion is capable of, why it is consider art by some, and how far ideas can be materialized into clothes. I have to admit this are my favorite runways; creativity shown at its best. The hard work and the extreme detail that requires to produce a single piece of haute couture is mouth dropping. Today Dior and Margiela were  some of the first ones to present their couture collections. The Maison Martin Margiela haute couture collection was a complete ode to futurism. PVC, sheer fabrics, hard silhouettes, Margiela went for the characteristic eccentric point of view that distinguish the maison so much. On the other hand Dior went for architectural vibes. Strange isn't it? Where lies the beautiful and immaculate representation of old and good times? If we compare it with last Haute Couture collection this seems spiritless, despite of the pastel palette. Cones, spheres and cubes spruce up models hair, while patterns remained consistent with such ornaments. For the first couture collection without Galliano, I felt quite disappointed. It's true, you can't expect a big display of Dior's capabilities after so much trouble the house has been after Galliano's dismissal. Through the entire collection you can see the efforts of Bill Gayten, new Creative Director of Dior, but somehow that just doesn't seem enough. He said "it was time to do something a bit more modern at Dior" (OnTheRunway). Contemporary couture you might call it, but I think most of us will stick with Old, Good, Galliano's Haute Couture times.

 

The Row, Resort 2012

Pure perfection. Mint pieces, striped socks, ballroom shoes, and Italian 1940's white suits with the traditional take on minimalism...