Showing posts with label london collections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label london collections. Show all posts

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Simone Rocha fall 2022

Here’s the deal... NO! I don’t get it ... ever... each season I shake my head and wonder who and why anyone would want to look like this and yet I know she has a cult like following. What also struck me this season is that the clothes used to stand out from all others as being the exception but these days it’s more the norm as far as what’s presented by so many.

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It's very 19th century mixed with Miss Kitty, a few of the Japanese mixed with Von Beirendonck and Jeremy Scott. Where is anyone going in these clothes since the days of horse drawn carriages are long gone. Imagine getting into a Mini Cooper in one of these get ups ... you’d suffocate!

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I mean these clothes are like caricatures... I honestly don’t know what else to say here but it’s certainly not often that I can’t express myself ... in a positive or negative way.

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I leave it you then

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

SPRING 2022... Lessons learned

After 4 major fashion capitals paraded their designers’ newest creations, I thought I’d share what I learned after a seemingly more arduous and lengthier season of the fashion cycle:


·       Designers should not speak as their words rarely make sense with the work they present and if that isn’t bad enough, they get lost in their own pseudo intellectual jibber jabber. The best idea would be to shut up and just let the clothes do the talking!

·       Apparently, most designers seem to think or make believe that this pandemic is over and things shall return as they were ... of course that would be a gross inaccuracy as this pandemic state, while not as severe as it was, is still with us and things will NOT go back to life as we once knew it. Hence showing clothes as if it was just another spring season doesn’t cut it unless one is in complete denial.

·       Reviewers should be forced to offer an opinion and not speak of venues, front rows, inspirations and influencers.  What ever happened to wearability, salability, fit, merchantability and appeal?

·       Heritage brands only exist in name (for the majority) these days as so many designers seem to think they use the archive but if that’s the case how come the clothes, they design have no recognizable signature linked to that brand?

·       Then we come to the definition or how does one design sexy without the obvious nudity, sheerness, second skin dresses, tits and ass?  Apparently, it is defined only at its most base level by the vast majority of designers the world over.

·       Make no mistake there must have been a memo sent to each designer that it would be in their best interest to show bare midriffs, bra tops or bandeaus and my question when, if ever, did you see or will you see women who can afford these collections baring those particular areas of their body during daytime hours or for that matter in the evening and we are not talking at the beach?

·       Since politically correct and politics have entered into the fashion world, I would like to know what is attractive about squeezing a token size 14-16 or 18 into a size 10 dress so that she looks like a sausage in a weenie skin? Are we supposed to think that this is fashionable or that larger women have no mirrors in their homes and lastly how many of these collections ever cut above a size 12 for production?

·       Models have become wind up robots who walk a straight line and exit ... no emotion, no extra bodily movement and absolutely never a smile... in fact they look miserable in the clothes they are wearing. While on the subject, what has happened to perfectly groomed models with make-up and perfect hair as that too has fallen by the wayside. Last aspect is staging which is haphazard at best... day clothes with evening clothes with clothes of no discernible reason.

·       The last issue I will address is shoes... so many look at though they are wearing boxes or books on their feet and if not, then skyscraper stilettos that hurt just looking at them.

I could keep going but think I will end it here and you can add to the list if you are so inclined...feel free!

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Victoria Beckham fall 2019


I find it incredible that it wasn’t that long ago she appeared on the scene knocking off Roland Mouret dresses and then with the help of her famous husband’s name and fame, she was anointed a designer of record.
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What fascinates me more is how many iterations this collection has been through and people are still saying she is a designer when most of us know she has a team that designs and she just takes the bow.
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What is further fascinating is that once so called reviewers can barely recall the last season let alone collections of decades ago and that they praise a collection that looks like an updated/restyled Dana Buchman or possibly Ellen Tracy. 
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Imagine those collections morphed 30 years into the future…. Well you don’t have to imagine.. Here it is !!

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Gareth Pugh spring 2019



I see this young man as I saw McQueen; he is a chameleon. He is a brilliant technician/designer while he explores and expands the vocabulary of fashion with each new collection; there is excitement and there is awe.
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The collections are not continuations of one another but instead totally different and almost outrageous in their content, sometimes, the clothes are frightening, they almost hit you with a sledge hammer and yet within these extreme catwalk shows there is Gareth Pugh the technician front and center, the designer, the one who shoves, not pushes, the envelope over the edge and yet he mutli talented enough to show a collection that is as slick as the late YSL or as insane as any other London designer.
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By no means is this a commercial collection but by no means should this collection be cast aside or dismissed as just another wet dream design school project  of some no talent, 2 bit designer. He is visionary, he is limitless and he sees fashion in a way that is beyond most of our levels of comprehension and yet it all makes sense. He chases no trends, he has no it bag, he has no scent but he has the creative spirit and intelligence to send a message to his audience and shows us fashion is not always within our comfort zone. 
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He is one of the few that I  follow who most will think is sheer insanity on my part but sometimes it’s just not about who wears what and where; there is a genius  in his work that few have ever possessed or come close to. For me he is the future of fashion in its purest sense.
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If fashion has become a source of entertainment then Gareth Pugh is an award winner.

Monday, February 19, 2018

Delpozo fall 2018



While this may not be my favorite collection that Josep Font has designed, what absolutely cannot be ignored or go unnoticed is the astoundingly impeccable execution of these clothes, the fabrications and in general the innovation that he employs season after season.
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This man is most definitely a designer’s designer… just look at the drape of the clothes and the fact that no matter if the fabrication is chiffon or plush; there is this incredible lightness that these clothes exude. For me the clothes are a tad too artsy this season but again when 
 I looked at the color blocking and its execution, the three plush pieces which look as if they could float, I am convinced that there is so much more to fashion beyond the obvious.
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The clothes this season appear to be softer, not as rigid, Cardin-esque or constructed as usual but again this man understands the power of color and subtlety. No, I am not a fan of the floral inspired belts but I can look past them to see what they encircle…. exquisite jackets and dresses that raise the bar about as high as it can go. These are no design school projects gone awry but these are Font’s vision, his expression or if you will his artistry for the brand.
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As has been said here before, these are not clothes for everyone but they are clothes to be worn and owned only by those who can appreciate the labors that are inherent in each piece. The clothes are wildly feminine and in some strange way very gamine.

PS..ATTENTION FAUX FLOTUS.....  those belts will crush your uniboob

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Chalayan... Fall 2018 LFW



Here is yet another example of the evolution of a designer and his oeuvre. You knew from the start that this man was on a different plane than his peers; he saw fashion as partly performance art and partly as an almost mechanical expression and over time he remains the technician, the constructionist, a master cutter,  but now it has taken the form of particularly beautifully made clothes that do not fit into the me too moment of fashion. 
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This collection is again, a display of his abilities but as  the collections progress they increasingly have bragging rights to some outstanding and beautifully made clothes. One more time, no they are not trendy, they are not color of the moment, shape of the moment, and they are uniquely Chalayan and each in its own way quite amazing. There are perfect dresses, unique necklines and drapings, exquisite jackets and coats and even evening wear for women who have the confidence to stand out in a crowd without screaming look at me.  
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The clothes are tastefully chic, if that still exits,  and in an odd way low key despite their complications but nevertheless they need to be stared at and appreciated as being true fashion. Innovative, masterfully designed and perfectly rendered…. How many designers can make that statement?
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