Miu Miu SS13: Cropped tops & fur for a femme fatale

There is a reason why Miu Miu is always the last big show of Paris Fashion Week and it was exactly because of it that I decided to watch the streaming online, which I have barely done this season. At first, I was totally taken with the venue chosen. It looked almost like a parliament room made of polished wood, the runway flanked by doric-inspired columns. As soon as the show started it made sense to me – it was a parliament alright, and Miuccia was about to do her personal coup d'état.
It was as surprising as it was interesting that Miu Miu took the 50's as inspiration because so many brands and designers have done it, including Prada, over the last few seasons. But this wasn't a collection to add to the pile. This was a new version of a femme fatale that makes her own rules, like the designer. We saw a lot of unwashed denim as long coats, loose pencil skirts and even as two-pieces suits that seemed to be intended as evening wear. Then came the ultra short cropped tops paired with said skirts and worn under long jackets and coats made of, wait for it, fur! I really do love when people don't play by the rules and it was so fun and refreshing to see fur on the runway, it made me think of that time earlier this summer when Lady Gaga herself was sporting a fur coat un August.

The Miu Miu front row was full of some of my favourite ladies: Amanda Seyfried, who looked amazing in a red Prada resort look; Emma stone, in a Miu Miu black strapless dress and Chloë Sevigny, face of Miu Miu F/W12, wore a full look by the brand proving she knows how to mix her prints.

All images courtesy of Miu Miu

Style.com

Saving the best for last, Style.com has just published the Prada resort 2012 look book. I've quite enjoyed the collections this time around because it's interesting to see how the best designers translate their fashion-forward vision into commercial, sellable pieces.

Miuccia has one again taken inspiration from the 50's —a lot of high-waisted A-line skirts, twin sets, conservative crew necks. But I can also see a bit of the 60's in the mix of bold colours and the use of soft knits in skirts and tops, which makes a more relaxed and fun look. I loved the classic bags trimmed with ostrich skin dyed in different colours.

Going through the collection I couldn't stop imagining January Jones (as Betty Draper) in half of the looks. The new Mad Men season is being delayed, which is really frustrating, and I can't wait to see what Betty will be wearing now that the plot has moved well into the 60's. Perhaps a bit of Prada wouldn't be out of the question?


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Collage Sunday, PFW Edition

Today I decided to blend together Collage Sunday and Paris Fashion Week in the shape of a visual catch up. Some of the biggest names from the French capital showed in the last couple of days and we saw a bit of a change. Balenciaga took on Marni's challenge to create luxurious sportswear. Ghesquière showed us a boyish punk point of view mixed with dug out archive pieces. It was, as Balenciaga always is, rather technically intricate in the most interesting manner. Alber Elbaz's twist on the Lanvin woman was one of the biggest surprises (to me) from Paris. He always addresses his collections from a woman's point of view, which this time resulted in a vast assortment of wardrobe options in a way that redefined modern elegance.

As much as I've always adored John Galliano, I must confess I have often wondered if I was the only one who noticed his themes chez Christian Dior were too recurrent or if I was a mere ignorant. As it turns out, he is capable of making fresh clothes à la Galliano. For SS11 he traveled to Hawaii with his couture collection, which transformed into effortless silk numbers of tropical motifs and hues with a slight 50's air and masculine sailor-inspired parkas. Margiela's collection started following last season's line but soon morphed into an experiment of shape abstraction. Nicole Phelps, from Style.com, said the collection fell flat. I dare to disagree because, even though it is 100% unwearable it pushed the envelope shape-wise. After all, it was MMM who first introduced the pronounced shoulder shapes we came to love.
I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, GaranceDore.fr]

How do you do, Mrs. Draper?

Yesterday was one of those rare summer days in Madrid when the sky gets grey and you can smell the rain coming but it's still quite warm and the only two things you fancy doing are either having a 6-hour brunch in hangover ensembles or stay home and do a TV show marathon. I went for the latter and started on Mad Men season 2. I am already on episode 7 and I can tell you the second season is a whole new world. You have met all the characters on season 1 and now you get to see more of their lives. The writers have this magnificent ability to show 48 minutes of mostly quotidian activities and make them feel absolutely fascinating. Not more fascinating than January Jone's indescribable beauté and Betty Draper's (her alter ego) wardrobe. The costume design seems even more remarkable having in mind the strong (late) 50's trends that will take over come fall. These are some of my favourite Betty Draper moments from season 2 so far.

This is Betty in action:

While I looked for the images I wanted to share with you I came across this 'Mad Men Yourself' tool where you get to choose your hair style, clothes and accessories (including Scotch and cigarettes) to create your 50's persona. This one below is mine (which I believe actually looks quite like me) next to Don Draper, so you also get a feel of the menswear in the show.

I'm off.

[Pictures: imdb.com, amctv.com, Style.com]