Facetasm ... Adeam .. Tokyo Collections Spring 2013

 こんにちは Tokyo .. Facetasm .. Adeam

Fashion week Tokyo is in full swing. If one is so inclined to endure the fashion week that goes on endlessly, then Tokyo is the next logical destination.  Traditionally Tokyo designers have echoed the likes of “Comme, Yohji and Junya” but there seems to be a trend or perhaps it is an evolution that brings Tokyo fashion to a new level.  There are European influences to be seen as well as those of the most favored American designers who have built huge followings in Japan to the point of iconographic status.

Adeam is a collection I am not familiar with but am impressed with its “western” approach to fashion.  The collection is commercial, in a good way without being boring, very wearable in a fashionable way and very pretty but not in a prissy way.  The collection slews on the younger side but with plenty of options for women of any age.  My take away is that the offering for Spring 2013 was far more inventive and creative than may shows that took place during NY collections. 

Facetasm has certainly brought to the light the “western” influence of one or two very high profile American designers and they would be Marc Jacobs and Thom Browne.  Unquestionably their influences are felt here and to some degree quite effectively even though this reviewer is equally flummoxed by the Japanese vision as I am with the orginals!  I am sure that one must dissect this collection in order to wear it in the real word and I do believe that there are pieces of great merit buried within the overly layered turnouts on the runway.  The most evident attribute of the collection is the designer’s sense of humor which goes a long way during the seriousness that occurs during the fashion cycle of seasons.

http://www.facetasm.jp/ 

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/international-style-tokyo-fashion-week-spring-2013-adeam-facetasm

http://www.adeamonline.com/about_e.html

The men of M. de PHOCAS

Fashion is an odd business; it is far easier and more common to sew a dress and start a business than it is to start a fine jewelry business.  In fact, it is even more difficult and rare to establish a business in the tradition of the great jewelers, i.e. Cartier, Tiffany, Verdura or Van Cleef and Arpel.  I refer to M de PHOCAS and the multi-talented Jesus Torres and Alexis Zambrano.

These two young men have begun on a journey that will no doubt take them to great heights of recognition by way of offering objects of great desire for many in the same way the legendary jewelers did in their times.  The focus of their business, at the moment, is men which is again a rarity, especially in the fine jewelry business.  They take much of their inspirations from nature as well as from the art of fine jewelry making.  Whether it is the exquisite diamond and sapphire studs with matching cufflinks, the black coral scallop shell cufflinks or the crab stick pin, the level of artistry is beyond the pale and their appeal is timeless.  These men also display a wonderful sense of humor in their work as you see in the black diamond crow stick pin, the fly on coral stick pin, the squid cufflinks as well as the shoes and bow tie links.

The humor and respect for the art and craft of jewelry making are what set them apart from the contemporary flock of designers.  Their commitment to offering original and exquisitely designed and rendered jewelry is certainly not taken lightly when you consider the plethora of designers who opt for “bridge” collections which are far more commercial rather that stepping all the way up to fine and precious jewelry.  Hands down, it is evident that these two are gentlemen, in every sense of the word, possess a refinement and taste level that is unique amongst their peers. 

Features of the collection are that each style can be offered in 18k white, yellow or rose gold as well as sterling silver. Their choice of “stones” is a bit more particular to their tastes as they use coral, turquoise and agate as well as the usual variety of precious stones.  In the very near future, this design team will be offering a capsule precious leather collection (totes, wallets, belts) and by that I mean… think croco, as well as the more standard varieties of skins.  At the moment all pieces are made to order and in the true tradition of “bespoke,” they can be customized to the buyer’s specifications.  Keep in mind that cuff links are easily converted to earrings so that any woman of discerning taste can partake of M de PHOCAS as well.

Please visit their website and book your appointment ….  http://www.mdephocas.com/

Special thanks to James Andrew for bringing these gentlemen to my attention

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/international-style-meet-the-designers-of-m-de-phocas

Bill Curry ..Fashion icon & legend

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/international-style-meet-a-legend-fashion-icon-bill-curry

With a resume that spans over 30 years and an ever evolving career, this man’s resume reads like a who’s who of photographers, designers,  brands, modeling  journalism and film.  Here is a sampling of all: GQ, Cosmo. Uomo Vogue, Vogue, Valentino, YSL, Dior, Zaharoff, Burberry, Avedon, Mapplethorpe, DeMarchelier, Meisel,  Elgort, Dances with Wolves , Bonjour, Old Spice, L’Oreal, Kohl’s and over 300 runway shows.  For me there are not many men or women who can boast the ubiquity (look it up)  of this man over decades of work, and so, I want to introduce Bill Curry to those who have never known the name that goes with the face and to those who do know him, he reveals a more private side of this exceptional  and legendary life. 

1-What is the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?

My Italian grandfather’s Borsalino hat

2-What is your most sterling trait?

Loyalty

3-What is your bliss?

My six year old daughter

4-What is your guilty secret?

I crave hand squeezed sour sop juice from  Port Antonio Jamaica.

5-Where is your ideal home?

Taos New Mexico with a view of the Sacred Mountain and the smell of sage after a spring shower

6-If you could not be doing your present job; what would you be doing?

Living in the high country of Northern New Mexico watching the light dance during the day and the plethora of stars shimmering at night

7-What is on your bedside table right now?

A lacquered box from India full of antique glass beads

8-What do you wear to bed?

My sandalwood essence oil

9-What if any, book are you reading now or last read?

LIFE OF PI, SHANTARAM

10-What’s your advice to the “newcomer?”  In modeling?

Use the business to expand your horizons with travel and intellectual exposure, never believe it is the real you in those magazine ads.

11-Who or what is your inspiration/style icon?

The men who were living the rarefied air as world class models when I began living in NYC in 1977. Tony Spinelli, Dennis LaMarsh, Rene White, Rob Yoh, Bob Menna, Ted Dawson, Peter Keating., Joe McDonald. All were gracious enough to teach me that modeling was about the clothes and presenting them with style.

12-Who is your favorite designer or ideal subject? 

Valentino has always been my favorite designer for women, Giorgio Armani for men.

As a photographer my Ideal subject is the one currently in front of my camera

13-In 3 words or less, describe the current state of fashion. 

FOR THE MASSES or FOR THE WEALTHY

14-If you could, would you ever approach one of your peers to employ? Who? Why?

Oh yes! I would hire Ellen Von Unwerth and watch how she creates the magical images that  translate into high SENSUAL art.

15-If you won a $200,000,000 power ball, what is the first thing you would buy or do?

Tell the IRS.

16-If you could invite up to 4 people for dinner, who would they be…dead or alive?

Nicolai Tesla, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Chief Dan George, Christy Turlington

17-What is your favorite movie and/or movie star?

My favorite film would be Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman.

My favorite actors are DANIEL DAY LEWIS and Cate Blanchett

18-What is the one thing you would change about yourself?

My sentimentality

19-Whose opinion do you value most?

My mother

20-What store or which designer do you most like to shop in or wear ?

The Good Will Store in Beverly Hills

21-What’s your take on magazines, books versus the internet?

I enjoy holding A book OR magazine as I turn the pages, always a surprise awaiting.  I like the internet sites because the do not have fragrant strips every other page.

22-Do you have a dream collaborator?

Henri Cartier- Bresson.

23-If you could pick anyone as your client, who would you select and why?

As a model it would be Ralph Lauren

As a photographer it would be an on location assignment with National Geographic

24-What’s your music library like?

Lots of World Beat, Ambiant , BOB Marley and the smooth sounds of  SADE ,Hall and Oates, Spinners, Curtis Mayfield , Barry White, Marvin Gaye and AL GREEN,  and always James Brown to make me move.

25-What and where is your favorite meal ?

Rigatoni puntanesca in Roma.

26-Who is your perfect dinner companion?

The one whom I will soon meet in California
 

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/international-style-meet-a-legend-fashion-icon-bill-curry

Mabille, Christiaens, Arora.. Spring 2013 Paris Collections

After having seen what seemed like 100’s of shows, one need to reconsider that there are designers who deserve a second look. By second look, I mean that they may not get the press or the limelight but there are talents there and one day they will receive the attention that they work for. I thought that I would single out 3 designers whose work is either brand new to me or whose body of work keeps my interest season after season and yet I am perplexed by their outpouring of talent.

**Alexis Mabille has been on my radar for a couple of years now and he still piques my interest. This is a man of many talents from menswear to haute couture and that alone sets him apart from the pack besides the fact that he is literally a new generation of designer. I am fascinated by his abilities and while his collections maybe not always strike the note, they nevertheless hold me waiting for the next one. One of my initial attractions to his work was his “bows’ which he usually features in his ready to wear and haute couture collections. The bow to me is a symbol of femininity and a vestige of many of the greatest couture designers of the 20th century. The clothes in general are clothes for the next generation of couture and ready to wear clients although every once in a while, Mr. Mabille sneaks in a few pieces that are most definitely” cross generational.”

 

View slideshow: International style; Paris Fashion Week Spring 2013... "Faire Attention"

**Steffie Christiaens is another designer who will lead the charge in the next generation of designers. She is young, inventive, creative and technologically savvy when it comes to designing clothes for the next generation. Ms. Christiaens needs a few seasons under her belt, so to speak, so that she can refine her craft and artistry and once that happens, she will most certainly be a designer to reckon with. One cannot help but be impressed with her abilities as well as her knowledge and once all of these elements solidify, there will be another first rate designer showing in Paris every season. Please “look beyond” the slides and see what I see … once tamed, the possibilities are endless.

**Manish Arora may not be a household name yet but keep your eyes on this man. He first came onto my radar during his “partnership” with the fabled brand of Paco Rabanne. That association ended this year and now he will unleash his talents with his eponymous label. Mr. Arora is a man who creates for those on the red carpet as well as those who are looking for clothes that cannot be confused with any other designer. He is also a designer who, when he takes on a theme or inspiration, he plays it out to the fullest affect! The evolution of this designer will keep me coming back for more. The clothes are beautiful yet an acquired taste that will eventually become a favorite for this savvy enough to know of him.

*** Please note that all slides are from the Spring 2013 collections*****

Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 Paris Collections

I am not sure if I was ever moved to review the Louis Vuitton collection but, without question, I would be remiss if I overlooked this particular season. Sometime, not long ago, I believe that Suzy Menkes made a comment with words to the effect that fashion is entertainment and she wanted to be entertained when she went to a show and well if that is the case, the Louis Vuitton Spring 2013 production is Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Palme D’Or worthy!

If there ever was a fashion moment, this was indeed a spectacle to rival any and to top it off, the collection was beautiful. Please keep in mind that I am not fan of the house, the brand or Mr. Jacobs other than his PR abilities with the media and Mr. Arnault. That said, this was truly stultifying in scale and theatrics and staging. 2 by 2 they came and 2 by 2 they departed and then en masse to staggering affect!

 

View slideshow: International style; Paris Fashion Week Louis Vuitton Spring 2013

One needs to watch the video of this presentation as it was beyond anything I have ever seen. Now, not only do they have an arsenal of new fabulous handbags which were amazing, they now have apparel that matches in beauty and breadth.

The darling of LVMH .. Marc Jacobs

 

Kudos top Mr. Jacobs, to whoever staged and “realized” this presentation and most of all to LVMH and Monsieur Arnault for bankrolling this extravaganza …. The bar has been raised!

http://www.louisvuitton.eu/front/#/eng_E1/Collections/Women/Ready-to-Wea...

Alexander McQueen, Spring 2013 Paris Collections

What does one say when one looks brilliance in the eye? How does one verbalize when one sees excruciatingly and palpable beauty? How many Queen Bees can there be … quite literally? So it is Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, who without question, answers the rallying cry of how does a house/brand perpetuate the original vision of its namesake designer? The only answers I can come up with are Sarah Burton and for a brief moment in time, Bill Gaytten.

The visual overload that Ms. Burton creates with this collection is an amazing feat of both technique and design abilities which are rarely seen on any runway or in any country. Yes, one might draw comparisons to Mugler, Krizia, Gaultier and maybe a little Charles James thrown in for even more drama but who cares when the end result is this!

 

View slideshow: International style; Paris Fashion Week Alexander McQueen Spring 2013

The honeycomb is the overriding pattern of choice here and tortoise is the backup accessory of choice. The only thing that came to mind is that there is a Queen bee in this hive and her name is Sarah Burton. If the raison d’etre for all presentations this season has been house codes, vocabulary and DNA, there is no one who has quite so skillfully “spoken” and “cloned” them. Do not think for one second that Ms. Burton has not played it forward as she has most certainly expanded upon the vision of Alexander McQueen in ways which one might find inconceivable.

The Queen Bee @ Alexander McQueen ... Sarah Burton

There are no details overlooked, not a misstep in the lineup and it is all unmistakably McQueen. What does one say when one is witness to fashion history?

CHANEL SPRING 2013 PARIS COLLECTIONS

As promised by Monsieur Lagerfeld at a press preview yesterday, there would be “no smoking” or more appropriately no smokings! True to his word, the collection that Mr. Lagerfeld presented today was all about the house codes or the brand’s DNA. The were pearls, mountainous necklaces and cuffs of them, jackets of every conceivable length, mostly abbreviated and tweed, which were actually tweeds or tweed that was embroidered and embellished to look like tweed and then there were the classic Chanel silhouettes that built this brand into a household name without ever losing its reputation for fashion and style.

View slideshow: International style; Paris Fashion Week Chanel Spring 2013 Part 1

From the very first exit, you knew there would be black and lots of it and there would be leather but just how much was kept a secret. Then there were the jumble pearl necklaces and then the pearl cuffs which appeared with almost every single passage. You could not help but notice the box bags and clutches as well as the ginormous crescent quilted piece which appeared with the solo swimwear style in the collection. What about the ginormous lazy susan sized plexi boaters? Lastly, there were the shoes which again were limited to a few styles and paraded out in abundance. I am still a fan of the classically grounded cap toe pumps which was shown in the last segment of evening wear.

Another point of interest here is the return of the shoulder which has been showing up on runways for weeks now and no doubt will make a formal return for Fall 2013. The bell sleeves and skirts or possibly the shaped skirts were present and accounted for here as were the skinny pants cum leggings which popped up at intervals during the presentation. Mr. Lagerfeld took a seasonal stab at denim again as he had for Resort but expanded his affection for the color blue which appeared frequently during the show. Can we talk how Mr. Lagerfeld felt compelled to show some of his evening pieces with hose which delights me no end and they looked pretty damned great.

Evening presented itself with probably the least challenges as the silhouettes remained quite simple and repetitive. There was the raised waist or possibly empire look and then simple classic columns and shapes that are emblematic of the house. Evening was mostly black which was no surprise but the exquisitely embellished white floral columns were spectacular in their simplicity as was the one long sleeved all white crepe column with dropped waist.

View slideshow: International style; Paris Fashion Week Chanel Spring 2013 Part 2

A few standouts were, as mentioned, the white gown, the dark and multi “eyelash” detailed pieces, the fabulous grey cotton shirt with flowers, the tweeds of varying construction and they was that Lagerfeld used his color after starting in that no color theme of the season. He judiciously used leather here and there without it ever becoming a major point and it is quite apparent that, no matter what, the classic Chanel customer is never ignored and that is commendable in this day and age when brand think their customers will switch to whatever look they are promoting that particular season.

Mr. Lagerfeld has indeed shaken the money tree one more time for Chanel!