Gossip Girl Fashion: 'Raiders of the Lost Art'
JustJared, Style.com

I haven't done a Gossip Girl Fashion post in ages. The show's fashion has been quite bland ever since it came back from its last break so I have just been watching. But since next week's episode is the penultimate of the season I thought I would at least choose the bits and bobs I liked because, let's face it, I am probably going to miss it over the summer.

I would like to thank the GG stylist team for finally injecting the show with some new designers. It was all about the Dries van Noten (FW11) blue tweed coat Blair wore this week. I loved how it looked paired with the patterned tights. I was not as big a fun of the citrus Brian Atwood pumps as part of this look – as much as it's about a POC this season. But I appreciate the fact that B recycled her shoes from earlier in the season.
I was also a fan of her other look – a classic camel coat covering up the (ironic) Hervé Léger dress and nude Sergio Rossi heels she has worn before in hot pink. The POC here was the Louis Vuitton  Monogram Fascination Lockit Bag in mustard.

JustJared

Serena kept things quite simple this week. She spent most of the episode in a simple look – the good part came with her outdoor ensemble. She wore a black coat with a chic pair of Repetto lace-up shoes, a funky Theodora & Callum scarf (worn before by quite a few celebrities) and, my favourite, a Jimmy Choo Lara Woven shoulder bag holding a Marc by Marc Jacobs laptop cover.

Plot-wise things have picked up quite a bit lately – we have found out who Chuck's real mum and dad are (or have we?) and the Gossip Girl username and password has got around. But the biggest shock yet came at the end of this weeks episode, which I won't spoil to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. As the cast of Laguna Beach would say – So. Much. Drama.

Are you still watching?

Style.com, LaCartujadeSevilla.es

I never thought the day would come when I would disagree with Tim Blanks on his reviews. The Spanish references he found on Dries van Noten's latest collections were, to me, a little lost. It is true that there was a clear Balenciaga influence, especially in therms of the shapes of the big coats and peplums. And even more literal Spanish references like the toreador boleros (even a parka!) or the bullfighter's cape turned into a fuchsia skirt. But most of the references were not that obvious.
Hamish Bowles explained on his review how Dries didn't want to work with prints that were intended for fabrics. So he showed us two types –one more traditional and a much more modern one.  The first one, in black and white, was inspired in a Spanish version of early Victorian prints. The Pickman family established then in the south of Spain a company of British china –La Cartuja de Sevilla–, which soon adopted the landscapes and scenes of the folkloric Spanish south.
The second type of prints were very contemporary. Bird's eye views of countries and cities that progressively went from literal prints on t-shirts and flamenco-dacer skirts to abstractions of the images in the shape of crystals that embellished the last part of the collection.
One of the best DVN collections I can remember and possibly one of the cleverest we are going to see from Paris for the SS12 season.

Fade to white

For SS11, the Dries Van Noten woman finds a relaxed elegance through light and colour. The designer was mainly inspired by the work of Belgian painter Jef Verhenyen by and old Chinese ceramics. Verhenyen's unique way of capturing light in his paintings translated onto the clothes in the shape of degradés that made it seem as if colour had ran out halfway through production. Chinese ceramic motifs, a recurrent theme for Van Noten, flooded silk tops, dresses and trousers. Opposite these very feminine effects we saw an almost boyish approach to the tailoring —boyfriend blazers, oversized tuxedo jackets and shirt dresses. The surprise of the show were the few paillete-embelished pieces and the shiny flower-embroidered jacket, which strongly contrasted with the season's dominant white.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

DVN + LV = ME

One of the things I love the most about men's fashion week is that there is no need to endure days and days of random shows spiced up with the odd brilliant up-and-coming designer and they cut straight to the chase. Paris Fashion Week opened the evening of the 23rd, which meant the actual opening was on the 24th. A jam-packed with some of the greatest: Viktor & Rolf, Alexis Mabille, Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dries Van Noten and Johji Yamamoto among others.

Even though it's half two in the morning when I'm typing this, the Dries Van Noten website still reads: "This movie will be available the day after the show". Which makes me sad because I usually enjoy his location and music choices as much as the clothes. The SS11 collection showed the designer's reinterpretation of street style described as "80's Brooklyn meets Brussels". I, however, see more of a very chic version of a skin head that wears hand-me-downs from his dad's teddy-boy past. Dries mixed his beautiful tailoring with bleached denim, t-shirts and military boots in such a cool and contemporary way you'd think he spends his spare hanging out in Tribeca.

I don't think I ever fully understood a woman's passion for bags until today when I went through the Louis Vuitton collection. I have never wanted a bag as much as I now want that green LV at the top. And this is not surprising because I am a man and it is a bag but because it is Vuitton. I have never been the biggest fan even though I do own a couple of items but there is something about having the classic LV square pattern in bright nylon that is irresistible. I was also very impressed by the clothes, which I usually don't like at all at LV. I'd like to think Paul Helbers had more to do with this success than Marc himself, as I have odd feelings toward the man. In any case, Vuitton really refocused its game with a collection that feels cool and cosmopolitan and that will appeal to a range of ages.
I'm off.

PS. How cool are the LV tattoos? Is that becoming a trend?

[Pictures: Style.com]

imprinted

The concept of printed clothes is anything but new. Yes, I know. But the SS10 shows provided us with new print options. The concepts were basic: be bold and wear very graphic prints or be arty and opt for blurred, distorted or pixelated prints. There have been two celebrities that, lately, have very much epitomised both looks. On the one hand, beautiful January Jones (whose style sense is rather spotless) has ben seen around LA porting the 'arty' print trend in numbers such as the two below, including one of the jewels from Dries Van Noten's flawless Summer collection. On the other hand, Rihanna. I have been paying a lot of attention to her as of late, specially ever since the two-leopard number (see here). She has a fantastic ability to combine colours and prints. She, however, tends to go for more graphic and bold prints. Bang on trend have also been Kristen Dunst and Victoria Beckham (!) in Miu Miu; possibly the most popular prints of the season.

And, of course, I had to have a look online to see what the biggest e-tailers have on sale in terms of prints. As I said before, Miu Miu and Dries Van Noten, though great, are a little obvious as choices. If you are looking for leopard for the summer, this is your season. There isn't a designer that hasn't created a shirt, skirt, dress or blouse with their own vision of leopard skin. My favourite is Chloé's de-coloured version. But the best brand to go for prints this season Sass & Bide. They have mixed ethnic inspiration with street style and very graphic elements. Giulia and I went to preview their FW10 a while ago (post coming up) and we loved every single piece.

I'm off.

[Pictures: JustJared.buzznet.com, Celebrity-Gossip.net, Zimbio.com, Net-a-Porter.com, Brownsfashion.com]

Collage Sunday, 16.05.10

For this week I am going a little into FW10 trends. Funnily enough, I despised gold and leopard for a long time when I was younger but I've come to understand that they are not genuinely tacky but misunderstood and worn by the wrong people in the wrong way. They're both going go be quite big next season (loving the lamé everywhere) so why not try to be ahead? Carine, Emmanuelle and Mary-Kate are.

Happy Sunday!

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, Jak & Jill, Garance Doré, Net-a-Porter.com, Cartier, JustJared.buzznet.com, Celebrity-Gossip.net]

Friday indulgence

I decided to make this post today not out of laziness but because I must have seen all these videos about ten thousand times in the last week. Sometimes I'm looking for a very precise version of a song or a live one and youtube seems to be the only way to find them (because, let's face it, spotify is a little crap). Also, I love watching old fashion videos for inspiration ad much as I love seeing the current collections in motion. Specially if Phoebe Philo's voice narrates the action.

I have a thing for Opera. I don't know the last thing about it but it completely hypnotises me. I do love "Carmen", very much, but I specially love this version because I know Teresa Berganza since I was very young. She is ever-elegant, ever-glamurous, ever-chic. And NO ONE sings Habanera like her.

Should I even explain myself? Anyone that comes around soVIPzone often enough knows about my obsession with Phoebe Philo and Céline. She is an utter genius as well as ridiculously beautiful and super chic. And Céline FW10 was the top.

If you live in London or can get down here easily, don't miss Hair. I have seen it three times, which is a little over-the-top but I love the experience. The cast is very good as they come all the way from Broadway, specially the guys playing Berger and Claude. You leave the show with this incredible energy which seems imported right from the 60's.

This video is hilarious. I cannot think of better vintage fashion moments than this one of Azzedine Alaïa and Grace Jones.

Now, this kid blew my mind. Some people have had the unkindness of calling him a new Justin Bieber but they are only similar in the hairstyle. Greyson Chance sings Lady Gaga's Paparazzi with the most incredibly powerful voice, and he makes a hell of a version too. Plus, the faces of amazement of the girls in the crowd at the back are priceless.

And this is my wardrobe in motion. Dries Van Noten's SS10 collection for men is a series of perfect piece after perfect piece that would make my wardrobe complete. The setting is stunning and the music is a pretty brilliant contrast with the clothes.

Which video you can't stop watching?

I'm off.

printemps de mode

I have been looking for an intellectual excuse to go back to Paris for a while. It seems as if strolling down Champs Élysées and stopping for cafés before an hour visit to Colette are not enough for most people. Well, now I have that excuse. A very good one. This Spring the city of lights hosts, among others, three exhibitions about some of my favourite people in fashion —Steven Klein, Yves Saint-Laurent and Dries Van Noten.

In the first, an unpublished video of the enfant terrible of photography portrays a decadent and deteriorated America. The Saint-Laurent retrospective looks back at the designer's work through 307 haute couture and prêt-à-porter pieces that go from his debut in 1958 at Dior to his late work in 2002. At the Van Noten exhibition, images of the Noailles family are projected onto the walls in contrast to those of the world of the Belgian designer —a walk through Dries' inspiration and savoir-fair. I am getting my Eurostar tickets as soon as this bloody volcanic cloud fades and prices come down.

I'm off.

MGMT & DVN

Ben Goldwasser, half of the band MGMT, slips into two of my favourite SS10 Dries Van Noten pieces for BlackBook's May issue. Moments like this give me joy because they prove that sartorial classic pieces with god cuts are the true essence of menswear cool. Now, I need my bank to grant me a few thousand extra pounds to stock up on Dries prints, cropped trousers and patterned shoes.

[Pictures: JustJared, GQ.com]

I'm off.

PS. MGMT just come on Radio 1. Spooky.

15 essentials for SS10

Every season, together with the must-have bags and shoes, lists are made about the key silhouettes, colours, textures and garments that a woman must add to add the required savviness to her wardrobe. We have chosen our soVIP essentials for SS10 with a selection of our all-time favourite designers, the most acclaimed of the season and a couple new additions.

1. David Delfín's hospital green, 2. Marni's head scarves, 3. Chloé's denim patchwork, 4. Céline's structure, 5. Rag & Bone's jersey harems, 6. Isabel Marant's cropped tweed, 7. Prada's palm landscapes, 8. Dries Van Noten's printed wraps, 9. Prada's bejewelled-ness, 10. Stella McCartney's denim, 11. Givenchy's stripes, 12. Altuzarra's suede and lace, 13. Preen's fuzziness, 14. Christopher Kane's gingham, 15. Alexander Wang's leather and jersey.

[Pictures: Style.com]

I'm off.

happy birthday to moi

Every year the world celebrates the date of my birth my marking the 21st of March as the kick-off of the Spring. I'm not sure about other parts of the world but here in London it still feels too grey to get into the SS10 mood (as much as my beige Lanvin's scream to get them out). However, I have been present-hunting for weeks and these are part of the (hundreds?) of the splendid pieces I have found in my touring of my three favourite spots to shop —Browns, Liberty's and Matches.

Left to right and top to bottom: Dries Van Noten linen jacket @ Browns, Burberry Prorsum biker jacket @ Liberty's, 3.1 Phillip Lim plaid jumper @ Matches, Comme des Garçons appliquéd blazer @ Browns, Acne check shirt @ Matches, Christopher Kane atomic tee @ Matches, Liberty of London check shirt, E Tautz striped jumper @ Macthes, Burkman Bros patterned shorts @ Liberty's, Comme des Garçons trousers @ Browns, Linda Farrow for Dries Van Noten sunglasses @ Liberty's, Balenciaga graphic tee @ Matches, Dries Van Noten printed scarf @ Browns, Lanvin straw hat @ Browns, Bottega Veneta suede derby shoes @ Browns.

[Pictures: BrownsFashion.com, LibertyofLondon.co.uk, MatchesFashion.com]

Feel free to drop me an email asking for my address. No one will blame you for wanting to thank me for my amazing contribution to fashion by means of a piece of designer-wear. ...I jest, of course, or do I?

I'm off.

Oscars 2010

It is the first time I have stayed up to watch the Oscars and I am elated. I feel part of a very cool club. But it does comes as a shock that I am making myself blog at half two in the morning. I have to admit I was part of the group of people who were not expecting much from this year's red carpet. Thankfully, my expectations were completely overwhelmed from the very moment I saw Diane Kruger. My favourite numbers, though, were Zoe Saldana's dream of a Givenchy, Sarah Jessica Parker's Chanel (that Karl made only for her), and the first Dries Van Noten (and FW10!) on the carpet worn by Maggie Gyllenhaal. But my favourite part of the gala was dapper Robert Downey Jr. in the most amazing combo to ever walk the runway —by Lanvin, of course.

[Pictures: zimbio.com]

Check out our Oscars live coverage on twitter. Now I will resume my watching of the show and the short night sleep that will follow.

I'm off.

Dries

Yesterday, as I got back from a lovely walk in St. James' park and checked twitter, I went mental. Anyone from Giovanna Battaglia to the Vogue Paris team to Fashionista were crazily tweeting about Dries Van Noten's outstanding location and collection. I desperately tried to find the pictures but, of course, no one had uploaded them yet. The closest thing I found were three shots from Hilary Alexander's review. Eventually, Vogue.fr did it! I anxiously clicked next, next, next. As I looked at the clothes I realised the whole show had many things in common with these three postcards that I bought at the MoMa in San Francisco and that stick to my wall just above my laptop. Funnily enough, they cover the period from which Dries took inspiration. Great minds think alike.

Clockwise: 1948 Balenciaga, 1956 Dior, 1947 Dior. All by Richard Avedon.

The collection deserved every bit of praise. It was a magnificent compilation of formal/informal garments that are simply the essentials any woman wishes to have in her wardrobe. Plenty of the FW10 trendy khaki and leopard as well as the most beautiful colour-water prints in silk. Eclectic in the chicest of ways.

[Pictures: vogue.fr]

I'm off.

now is then

I was determined to post the Paris Fashion Week menswear highlights tonight but alas my stomach's state of emptiness prevents me from refocusing my attention from food and onto blogging. Instead, you will find this shorter post about one of the aspects that I found more fascinating about the FW10 Dries Van Noten show. I couldn't get the FW07 Balenciaga collection out of my head while looking at these pictures. Coming from Dries, however, I took this obvious reference as a genius twist on Nicolas Ghesquière's FW07 collection rather than as plagiarism —a generosity gesture so men can wear DVN and feel like wearing vintage Balenciaga. All at once. Behold.

[Picture credit: Style.com & GQ.com]

I'm off.

midsummer night's dream

Jak & Jill triggered it, we followed, and then this. W magazine's January issue presents us with a girl's dream wardrobe in the soft colours and fabrics of the season. THANK YOU.

'Run of Show'

W magazine, January 2010

Photos by Craig McDean

xo Giuls

now and then

Just like I did with the celebrity style moments of the decade, I have looked back at the last ten years to remember what some fashion houses were like then and how they're now. Since I couldn't possibly pick every single designer and brand I selected soVIPzone's favourites and the industry's loved children —added Thakoon to the cocktail just in case Anna stops by. I also included my all-time favourite Balenciaga collections and Luella's greatest hit as well as their last collection that never went into production. I believe I have covered the essentials (Valentino during and post Garavani himself), the birth of Rodarte and YSL's change of hands from Tom to Stefano.
[Credit: Style.com]

I'm off.