Happiness...

Helmut Lang F/W 2010

Mmmm I love me some Helmut Lang. I've been wearing head to toe Helmut all week so I might be a little bias about this, but if anything was going to cheer me up this week it was this show. The color pallet was sublime; blue greys, dark greens, brown, black, and white. The slouchy rabbit collars are a must on my fall shopping list, along with that green aviator jacket. It reminds me so much of those F/W 2004 Balenciaga jackets, only more chic and more modern, if such a thing is even possible. Helmut Lang 1, Balenciaga 0. The digital prints seemed to echo the celestial theme going around in these first few days. Nicole and Michael Colovos keep me coming back for more each and every season with designs that keep getting better, which is something not many designers can do these days. 

Grieving Part 2...

Scott Schuman managed to say the words that I could not;
I'm rereading what I wrote and what has been written on other sites and blogs. All very nice but I still feel so unsatisfied, so empty, even a little mad. When a bigtime movie star or politician dies someone like Tom Brokaw has always been there to help put it into perspective. If it was a sports star, fans would talk about it for days on talk radio. However, for someone that loves fashion Alexander McQueen is just gone and no one seems to be able to make sense of it. There doesn't seem to be anywhere to turn to make it feel right or understandable. I don't have any answers for you either. All I know is this sucks. 
And Garance Dore took an image that says so much with so little;

While looking through the archives of McQueens work at his namesake and Givenchy, one image really hit hard. Alexander McQueens S/S 2008 collection, inspired by Isabella Blow and modeled by Daul Kim. Isabella killed herself in May 2007, Daul in November 2009, and Lee in February 2010. It is incredibly sad that so many people in the industry feel the need to end their own life. 

I still feel like I am in some weird trance like state. New York fashion week just is not the same. While I would normally be so excited about the new season, I'm left with a feeling of emptiness. A void that cannot be filled. Tim Blanks words seemed to be in disbelief, Cathy Horyn's The Loss , NY Fashion Week, and A Visit To London tried to comprehend what happened, and WWD, the fashion Bible, wrote numerous stories; A Fashion Remembrance , A True Master, and A London Man came close to being the Tom Brokaw of fashion (A True Master the closest), but still we are left without a guiding light. People in the industry have compared this to the death of Princess Diana, but unlike her, so much of the world seems to not care. Here in Minnesota, I only saw one news story on Lee's death; a 10 second clip on Access Hollywood in between talk of Gwen Stefani's label L.A.M.B.. A dozen or so people have said they are sorry for my loss, but their words seem to lack sincerity, or in the case for one person who insists upon calling him Steven, blatantly disrespectful. I along with so many others, have lost a hero, a fashion superman, a person you look up to for so much of what you do. And like Scott says, there is no one to make sense of it. Tonight had the most sincere tribute to McQueen I could imagine at Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief styled by Rachel Zoe; Naomi, Natasha, Daphne, Heidi, Sasha, Angela and Karen all walked in the finale... all in McQueen... all crying... 

RIP Lee Alexander McQueen...

I'm really at a loss for words right now. I would have never thought that Alexander McQueen would be leaving us at such a young age (40), and with so much more left to show us. I woke up this morning ready for fashion week to get started, and now I am left wishing time could freeze at last season. He is one of the most inspiring figures in fashion to me. So often you will hear me talk with distaste about London designers and their tendency to throw in historical references, but never with McQueen. I adored everything that he created. His work was on a level of its own, and it made me think about fashion in ways that I don't often do. Frequently you hear that male designers push an image upon a women's body that is unrealistic. In that case, McQueen was a mans man. The clothes he created were meant for the most intrepid of fashionistas, Daphine Guinness, Isabella Blow, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Lady Gaga to name a few, and could hold their own in a museum setting as works of art. This man poured his heart and his soul into his work, and it clearly showed. Each piece he sent out on the runway was like a jewelry box, filled with the most exquisite details imaginable. This was a man who inspired me more than I can even comprehend, and I cannot explain how saddened I am by his untimely death. 

Alexander McQueen S/S 2010 "Plato's Atlantis"

I started this blog so I could have an outlet to talk about fashion, and his last women's collection had shown a couple months prior. "Plato's Atlantis" was in my opinion, the greatest collection ever made. When making my list of greatest fashion moments of the 00's I wanted so badly to include this, but I decided I would wait a decade. It was the fusion of so many forms of art; Lady Gaga and her debut of the song "Bad Romance", the styling power of Nicolas Formichetti, televised live and produced by the amazing Nick Knight and his team at Show Studio. This show was so hyped up before hand that when it came time for the live stream of the show, the website had crashed. Of course the hype was well deserved.  The runway was flanked on both sides by moving camera cranes, following the models as the walked down the runway in the most spectacular ensembles. The hair and makeup turned the models into some dinosaur/alien hybrid befitting of the shows name. 

The actual fashion in the show was utterly beautiful, reaching into the realms of Haute Couture. We had seen Lee do these shapes before, so they were not foreign to fashion folk, although I'm sure to the everyday person they look rather extreme. The patterns and textures were enough for a visual overload; digital snakeskin, beading with precious stones, fabrics made entirely of little metal disks, and the futuristic shiny bubble fabric (for lack of better words). 

And finally there was the shoes. Oh the shoes. Men and women alike have been in a frenzy for months to get their feet into a pair of the "armadillo shoes"/"hoof heels" (bottom and top left). Even I would kill to spend just a minute in them. Many say fashion is just recycling old ideas, but these shoes seemed entirely new. These shoes caused simultaneous fear and desire. Top models like Sasha Pivovarova refused to walk in the show because of this footwear. The industry needs people like Alexander McQueen to bring us to places we never imagined. While I am crushed by the fact that he has left, I must admit that he left on a bloody good note. 

Bring It On...

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2010
9 AM	MACKAGE  SALON
10 AM	BCBGMAXAZRIA  TENT
11 AM	RICHARD CHAI  PROMENADE
1 PM	DUCKIE BROWN  SALON
2 PM	TONI MATICEVSKI Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street
3 PM	PORTS 1961  PROMENADE
5:30 - 7:30 PM	LA PERLA 540 West 26th Street
6 PM	FARAH ANGSANA  SALON
7 PM	THE HEART TRUTH’S RED DRESS COLLECTION 2010  TENT
8 PM	MIK CIRE by ERIC KIM  Promenade

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2010
9 AM	CYNTHIA STEFFE  SALON
10 AM	PROJECT RUNWAY  TENT
11 AM	YIGAL AZROUËL  PROMENADE
12 PM	MICHAEL ANGEL  SALON
3 PM	CHRISTIAN SIRIANO PROMENADE
6 PM	NICOLE MILLER  SALON
7 PM	FASHION FOR RELIEF™ - HAITI NYC, 2010  TENT
8 PM	CHARLOTTE RONSON  PROMENADE
9 PM	VENEXIANA  SALON

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13, 2010
10 AM	LACOSTE  TENT
11 AM	GEORGES CHAKRA  PROMENADE
1 PM	ANDY & DEBB  SALON
2 PM	ADAM  PROMENADE
3 PM	ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY  TENT
4 PM	PRABAL GURUNG  SALON
6 PM	TWINKLE BY WENLAN  PROMENADE
7 PM	IRINA SHABAYEVA 508 West 37th Street
8 PM	ARISE MAGAZINE AFRICAN COLLECTIVE - PART III  TENT

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2010
10 AM	LELA ROSE  SALON
11 AM	LUCA LUCA  PROMENADE
12 PM	MALANDRINO 556 West 22nd Street
1 PM	DKNY 711 Greenwich Street
2 PM	REBECCA TAYLOR  SALON
2 PM	CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION MEN’S 205 West 39th Street, Ground Floor
3 PM	HERVÉ LÉGER by MAX AZRIA  PROMENADE
4 PM	DIANE VON FURSTENBERG  TENT
5 PM	TONYCOHEN  SALON
5 PM	Y-3 643 Park Avenue
8 PM	CUSTO BARCELONA  TENT
9 PM	VASSILIOS KOSTETSOS  SALON

MONDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2010
9 AM	ZAC POSEN Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street
10 AM	CAROLINA HERRERA  TENT
11 AM	CARLOS MIELE  PROMENADE
12 PM	JILL STUART New York Public Library, Astor Hall
1 PM	TRACY REESE  SALON
2 PM	DONNA KARAN COLLECTION 711 Greenwich Street
3 PM	MONIQUE LHUILLIER  PROMENADE
4 PM	YEOHLEE 225 West 35th Street
5 PM	TADASHI SHOJI  SALON
6 PM	ECCO DOMANI FASHION FOUNDATION  TENT
7 PM	PERRY ELLIS  PROMENADE

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2010
9 AM	ELIE TAHARI  SALON
10 AM	BADGLEY MISCHKA  TENT
11 AM	VERA WANG  PROMENADE
12 PM	MÍMKHO 450 West 31st Street
1 PM	PAMELLA ROLAND  SALON
2 PM	MAX AZRIA  TENT
3 PM	DENNIS BASSO  PROMENADE
5 PM	DIESEL BLACK GOLD 115 West 41st Street
6 PM	THUY  SALON
7 PM	TIBI  PROMENADE
8 PM	NARCISO RODRIGUEZ  TENT
9 PM	TONI FRANCESC  SALON

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2010
9 AM	TORY BURCH  SALON
10 AM	MICHAEL KORS  TENT
11 AM	NANETTE LEPORE  PROMENADE
2 PM	3.1 PHILLIP LIM  TENT
3 PM	MILLY by MICHELLE SMITH  PROMENADE
4 PM	REED KRAKOFF 548 West 22nd Street
5 PM	ALEXANDRE HERCHCOVITCH  SALON
6 PM	ANNA SUI  TENT
7 PM	BRIAN REYES  PROMENADE

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2010
10 AM	RALPH LAUREN 275 Hudson Street
11 AM	RALPH LAUREN 275 Hudson Street
12 PM	ISAAC MIZRAHI  TENT
1 PM	TRIAS  PROMENADE
2 PM	DAVIDELFIN  SALON
3 PM	CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION WOMEN’S 205 West 39th Street, Ground Floor
4 PM	CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION WOMEN’S 205 West 39th Street, Ground Floor
4:30 - 6:30 PM	LEIFSDOTTIR 15 East 27th Street
5 PM	J. MENDEL  SALON
6 PM	NAEEM KHAN  PROMENADE
8 PM	TOMMY HILFIGER  TENT

The Quiet Before The Storm...

Is it just me or has the past week been really slow in the fashion world? Or maybe I'm just way to busy with other things? I'll go with a little bit of both. Hopefully you know (or at least now you do), but New York Fashion Week kicks off on Thursday. I can almost hear the rumble of models walking down the runways and the see the flashing lights of the backstage cameras. This can only mean a whirlwind of a month of non stop fashion and... ME + PARIS FASHION WEEK! I could seriously die just typing those words, and to think that all next year I will be living my moneyless fashion design student dreams in the city of lights. It's almost to much to handle. I'm surprised I haven't started planning my outfits for my little 2 week trip in March. If only I had a Burberry trench coat (you would think I would have one by now) and those super fantastical Raf Simons sandals, then I wouldn't need to pack anything else and just live in those for the entire trip. Any who. Another one of my favorite bi-yearly events got its press release today...  THE YSL MANIFESTO!

I can almost see the excitement on your face. While the crazy strawberry print is very YSL, it looked horrible on the runway in the form of that white linen dress, so horrible that I can't even post a picture of it... ok I will.

What did I say? Even though it was very YSL, some things are better left in the archives far away from the magical designing hands of Stefano Pilati. He redeemed himself though when he stuck the strawberries on a much more appropriate place, the S/S 2010 YSL Manifesto tote bag. After it passed through the digitalize filter in photoshop mind you. If you know about the amazing manifesto, you know that it gets handed out to 2,000 people for free outside select YSL stores each season. This means next year at the start of every season, you will find me sleeping on the door step of the Paris YSL store. Free limited edition YSL tote bag? Don't mind if I do. This one hits the NYC store next Tuesday, just in time for the end of NY Fashion Week. 

Habillées pour l'été 2010...

Mostly this post is here so I can get at the video quicker. If you have time to watch all 6 parts you should (the extras are really good too), Mademoiselle Agnès and Loïc Prigent did an amazing job with this documentary. Not only did they take on the topic of Paris being a hostile environment for young designers, but they did it in a comical and lighthearted way. 

p.s. If anyone knows how I can move over the margin of the page so the whole video can fit, can you please tell me? kthanxs. 

Insight From Cindy Ferrara...

The always insightful Cathy Horyn posted an article of a conversation between her and Cindy Ferrara; Behind the Scenes: The Product Specialist. I cannot recommend reading this enough, it goes in depth about the growing conflict that is happening in New York's garment district. Perhaps what I find most interesting is how over the years is that the focus on quality and fit has drastically decreased over the years. Unfortunately I was not alive in the 50's and 60's to see the great couturiers at work; to see the meticulous attention to detail that went into making clothes. Slowly Haute Couture is dying off; people do not want to pay for a couture ensemble, nor do they have the time to invest in it in a world of ready-to-wear. This recent couture season in particular proved to be a sorrowing one, and I think everyone can agree that the last true couturier has fallen to the economy. Christian Lacroix, with his colorful, whimsical, and masterful design, announced last season that he had lost financial backing, and his company never regained the backing that they needed. Haute Couture is truly fashion at its most refined. Whenever I show my little sister Hannah pictures of Haute Couture gowns, I stress to her the importance of the clothes. It really makes me sad though, because I know she does not really understand how much goes into making these works of art; the hours spent not only constructing the clothes, but also in producing the materials to make them with. People these days who want to get into fashion look to start their own line, to just make clothes. You need to only open the newest issue of People Magazine to see which latest celebrity is dipping their feet in the fashion market. What is it that makes them qualified to do so? I'm constantly frustrated with people who show no interest in the history of fashion, to understand what to do next, you need to know what came before you. I realize this industry requires a certain amount of passion and determination, and I really feel like it is lacking. There is a reason why I aspire to work at a house such as Balenciaga or Givenchy; it is because those are houses who really care. They care about what goes into clothes. People not familiar with the fashion world seem to be shocked about some of the prices that they see, but there is a reason a pair of Balenciaga shoes retail in the $5,000 range. Not only is the design miles ahead of the competition (yes, I am aware of the occasional copy, but what designer doesn't appropriate from time to time?), but there is an unsurpassed amount of quality in materials and craftsmanship that goes into them. I feel like I might be getting repetitive with this, but I really can't stress the quality of a good enough. I aspire to work at one of those established Haute Couture brands one day so I can learn the trade, to try and keep Haute Couture alive, and one day teach what I have learned to others in hope that they will do the same. It really is a sad position we are in, to watch a craft that is so steeped in history slowly fade into oblivion. I always associate Haute Couture to Linguistics. In January, the last native speaker of the Aka-Bo language died. I can only imagine how devastating this is to people who are passionate about preserving languages. Like fashion, you can only sit back and watch as the number of people dwindle down, and others frantically try to make records of what little remains. Fashion critics have their own doomsday clock, one which midnight represents the end of Haute Couture, and I can only hope to do my part in keeping that clock from advancing to the next day.