Lace & Love ... A Christmas Story... LOYD / FORD

As is the wont of the fashion cycle, we  view and review collections which are shown about 4-6 months ahead of the time that they will appear in stores. For a change of pace and given that we are in full holiday mode, I thought it would be a great time to suggest what you might be wearing in the next few days or maybe introduce you to an explosive newly conceived brand.

The theme of this grouping is the concept of lace and love; it is the modus operandi for the successful brand of LOYD/FORD, formerly known as Uniform Union. As you will see, the clothes are for the world class consumer who doesn’t have any desire to look like everyone else. That would be most evident as she would be shopping at Maxfield in Los Angeles or Montaigne Market in Paris or in a variety of retailers scattered around the globe that specialize in the most revered designer brands catering to the most fashionable and discerning clientele.

Without  further ado and more verbiage. Please take the time to meet, love and embrace the creations of Seven Loyd and Franck Ford…. And look for them this March in Paris for the debut of Fall 2014 (check the website for location)

Instagram... loydfordus

OR

www.facebook.com/pages/Loyd-Ford

OR

http://www.loydford.com

OR

http://vimeo.com/82154088

William Justin William .. director … Zack Helminiak … producer … Apparat … music
****Photography by  Jens Ingvarsson and William Justin Williams *****

Dsquared² PRE FALL 2014

Well, the Catens don’t disappoint… at least when it comes to the visual aspects of their collection for Dsquared². The imagery of the collection is just beautiful; it is the clothes that seem to fall short, pun intended, but that is not exactly a shock...

 

As is their wont, the twins always go for the shock value leaving the salability factor nowhere to be found. The most obvious traits or characteristics of the collection are the very literal references and influences to the 60s and70s and the unmistakable presence of of Cardin, Carnaby Street, Courreges, Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton. You might also want to think Two for the Road and How to Steal a Million!!

 

The ubiquitous “custodian helmet” or Bobby hat might be confused with an equestrian helmet but the image is clearly swinging London. The brevity of the skirts to stratospheric height or lengths as it were is almost obscene if not laughable. One might call the skirts measurement as hair length. The general tone of the collection is more contemporary rather than designer which brings me to it attribution which could be Milly or Lisa Perry. One might guess that the runway presentation in March will be a full on Biba inspired fantasy complete with Beatles music and maybe some retired rocker’s appearance on the runway.

 

On the plus side, the finish of the clothes looks beautiful but again the physical dimensions of the clothes appear to be almost unwearable as jackets and dresses are of almost identical lengths and we are not talking elongated jackets. Colors are appealing and as usual the clothes are accessorized to death but one can never escape the feeling that these boys create a tableau rather  than a collection leaving one with the thoughts of who buys this stuff and why?

 

You might also want to process this … the collection as a whole has a somewhat “cartoonish” quality about it …n’est ce pas?

Rachel Zoe pre-fall 2014

WORD!! Listen Rachel, it  has come to my attention that you just presented another collection … well a new group of supposedly seasonal clothes that represent the newest season .. Pre-Fall 2014. Now, here’s the rub doll… WTF are you thinking?

 

Everybody knows that eventually you would lose a lot of traction if you stuck to your guns and kept producing Zoebot clothes and alas, your future has been cast. When the critics, including myself, dismiss you as tired and hackneyed, well honey, it is time to either find someone new to reference or get yourself a new designer or really .. Just get out of Dodge!

 

Facts are facts and the biggest factor here is that no one needs these yawn worthy clothes and am guessing no one wants them either. If the past is proof, then the future is looking grim unless you call telemarketing your lifelong goal. This all brings to mind that one’s 15 minutes is almost expired and has probably lasted 15 minutes longer than it should have. It’ s ok doll, stay home, make babies., pray you don’t trip over your pants or fall off your passé platforms and keep playing dress up with  your clients but the is part of the fashion  business will be no less without you.

 

It is an inexcusable offense these days to open a collection with an almost identical replica of a Chanel jacket and think it is okay. Even more reprehensible, is believing that this is part of “your look!” No…. it is part of Chanel’s look, not yours and those full legged puddling pants are over no matter what anyone tells you… they remind me of the 70s when everyone’s pants were shredded at the heel from being caught under the heels of their shoes. Enough with the peasant blouses, low slung pants, jumsuits and the second skin leggings, this is old or very Kardashian or very Mob Wives. There’s not an original thought in the lot! Jeez.. forgot to mention jumpers and don't mean sweaters or those willing to commit suicide...

So, missy, one might be wise and finish this part of your so called fashion life and close up shop and move on to Kohl’s and target, if they would have you, or face the ultimate disgrace of having ALL your remaining accounts dump your sorry ass collection rather than mark is down one last time.

Pre-Fall 2014.. Reem Acra .. Monique LHuillier

The 2 designers started in the same place and that was at the altar. Bother were initially known for bridal gowns which eventually morphed to red carpet which eventually morphed into cocktail hour. This is where it all gets sort of blurred as both are superb dressmakers each knows their way around a yard of lace or chiffon but this is also where they hit that fork in the road.

From what can be seen of  Monique LHuillier’s collection, it is safe to say that if “comfort” is her M.O. then she might have overshot the mark here. Again, do not suppose or assume that the collection is unappealing as that is far from the truth but we need to take into account the poor styling and some poor silhouette choices here. While the satin flat is very tasteful, it surely misses the mark with lace gowns, dresses and puddling pants. On the flip side there are fabulously sexy asymmetrical mules and flats that are a 21^st century of what Armani did oh so many years ago.  Back to dresses, there is loose sexy and there is loose matronly and Ms. LHuillier hit both ends of the spectrum, but why was there such a shortage of her beautiful, georgettes, chiffons and jerseys?

Reem Acra has been honing her skills for the past few seasons and surely she has figured out how to design great gowns and cocktail dresses. My question is why on earth do you show a collection on a model who is about 2 steps away from rehab or who forgot to brush her hair that day. Then of course, there is that odd booty which made no sense with the clothes. She has steered the collection to sexy and it may have been even more so if there wasn’t such a huge amount of black lace involved. To her credit, she employed a fabulous color palette and for the most part there are some truly beautiful pieces and like Ms. LHuillier, she hit both ends of the spectrum when it came to chic and not so much.

Pre-fall 2014 Versace

It is quite clear that “Donatellamamamia” has made up her mind who her customer is as well as who she wishes to attract with her latest fashion foray. Let’s say that she is not the classiest although she must have the bucks and she may not be the youngest but she has the body and lastly she surely does not go unnoticed on this earth!

Signora is  in a but of a conundrum as  Mr. Tisci sort of confiscated a few of these looks before and Mr. Slimane might has utilized some of the proportions for the new Saint Laurent BUT what I can say is that Donatella has used some pretty fabulous fabrications. The bright very Versace prints and the amazing black multi-patterned/collaged coat are standouts here. Her de rigeur pastels are once again present and of course the omnipresent black which always serves up some of the best pieces.

What would be so wonderful is that maybe, sometime, maybe soon ... , “Donatellamamamia” will grasp that short, tight bare and brazen are not the only approaches to sexy and maybe, just maybe, the clothes would be a bit more erotic and seductive rather than fetishized and cliché. OOPS!!! I left out referenced!

One has to assume that Russia is on her mind and maybe parts of the middle/far east but it is hard to tell who will be oohing and gooing over these frocks/shoes/furs and accessories!

Pre-Fall 2014 ... Michael Kors

Okay gang, so let’s talk about blurred lines here! Apparently the idea is everywhere... music, fashion, media and even literature but here we speak only of fashion. For many years, there was a differentiation that separated the main designer collection from its diffusion lines but today we can see that the edges are quite blurred which make it exceedingly difficult to tell which is the real McCoy, Subtract the ingredients of fabrication, place of manufacture, price and quality and there is very little here that is visibly definitive. Think about it!

So, we have reefers, chesterfields, polos, and bathrobes which are requisites for almost every Michael Kors Fall Collection. When the main collection skews younger and is presented in a way that is a departure from its roots and looks more like one of the lesser expensive or mass collections, well then, I say we have trouble or possibly an identity crisis afoot.

So, the good thing is that the colors are great and the mood is relaxed but what’s not great is that the slick and chic factors are absent and what you are left with looks like Jenna Lyons’ wardrobe. This is said in its most literal senses whether it applies to the clothes or her lifestyle. To say the least, this is a very unfortunate set of choices for inspiration for a collection like this whether it is intentional or not. Don’t misconstrue the words, there are great pieces within the collection but the overall look is surely sub-par for Michael Kors.

If one had to hope or even guess, Mr. Kors will pull out the stops for the runway presentation come March and if not, well, there is some form of reexamination and redefinition that needs to be done… post haste! Yes, it is a conundrum when you have 3 very successful collections, 2 of which are supposed to be watered down from the eponymous collection. It might be said here that the job falls onto the merchandisers and not the designer but as we all know… the designer has the last word, even if he is now working for a public company.