Saturday, February 28, 2009

The good half of Fashion month begins

Classic Jil Sander came back with double-faced cashmere coats over a simple turtleneck dresses. Classic Sander at it's best is simple and relies on only proportions and raised seams. It's the epitome of minimalism. But the second part of the show was much different - Simons delivered his vision of taking the brand forward. And into the future he went! Fabric cascading into spirals, sculptural folds bending around the neckline, monumental volume... Literal Vases. Inspired by mid-century French ceramicist Pol Chambost, some would say he took inspiration much too literally. And many would say that this new Jil Sander is not what the old rooted customer of Jil Sander would want. This technique worked sometimes - other times it failed miserably, because of the lack of attention to the woman's silhouette who would be wearing the garment.

















My favorite part of fashion week Milan so far? The Dolce and Gabbana show. Brocade Lampshade skirts, Structured bustier tops, destructed jeans embellished with crystals, band jackets... In other words, a lot less serious than Jil Sander, and probably targeting to a much younger market than Jil Sander - but don't take that as loss of sophistication. D&G's show was a whirl pool of elegance. The show was extremely operatic and unapologetic. It screamed, "The show must go on!" Opera singer and soprano Maria Callas was cited as inspiration. It was- for lack of better words- decadently Italian.












Friday, February 27, 2009

Veruschka!

Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort (born in East Prussia 1939) was a popular model, artist, and actress. the height to the Verushka obsession occured in the 1960s. You haven't seen models as art until you've seen Veruska. She slyly blends in with colorful backgrounds, disguises herself as animals, and so on. Often she wears nothing but bodypaint; a trend that's been going more mainstream in the modeling world since the '70s - she was the first person to do that. She worked with Salvador Dali once!

"I was always being different types of women. I copied Ursula Andress, Brigitte Bardot, Greta Garbo. Then I got bored so I painted myself as an animal."

The best photos of her (of course, the ones that cannot be uploaded onto a blog or anywhere else... Can be found HERE.




















Thursday, February 26, 2009

Battle of the Shoes

This fashion month, it's still all about who has the sickest, most wicked, HIGHest heel. I really don't know how they do it. While these shoes are amazing to look at, they can't be good for your feet. It's really sad that people actually put down fashion magazine editors for wearing flats every once in a while. What do I want? I want to see Christian Louboutin and Stefano Pilati try to walk in one of their own creations.









This last pair reminds me of the Blue Orchid video.



images: jakandjil

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wild Horses

Wild horses couldn't drag me away. Because, absolutely no one else could pull off red silk pants and python boots better than a member of the Rolling Stones. (see at about 1:00)


Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Zac Posen x Pamela Anderson

Posen's collection appealed to me because of the grandeur of the fabrics; the escalated elegance, despite the recession (that seemed to affect all other fashion shows but his). Black and gray were definitely prominent colors, but they did not make one have the feeling of wanting to say in all day. It was rather the opposite; his clothes make one want to go out ballroom dancing! Something I've noticed about his shows, a good thing, is that he shows a lot of diversity in his models. People from all different places, all different races. It makes the show beautiful. Perhaps the best part of the collection? The Pamela Anderson collaboration. Studded braids adorned the models heads as dainty floral earrings with small or very very large spikes emerging from the bottom swung from the models delicate ears.