Collage Sunday, 20.02.11: Phillip Lim 3.1

It's so hard to keep up to speed with posting about fashion week while one has a day job and attempts to make the most of the shows in London, which is why I am using this Collage Sunday to finish on the NYFW posts (for the moment anyway) and to be able to focus on London from tomorrow. I've been a big fan of Phillip Lim for years and I always love his simple approach to silhouettes and cuts. His FW11 collection was, as I see it, one of his best ever and most definitely the best from the last couple of seasons. The mixture of textures —wools, silks, leathers, furs, knits, PVC, you name it— and of colours —muted greys, beiges and navy contrasting with apple green, mustard and azure— added the edge minimalist cuts.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

Ralph travels to the Orient

Ralph Lauren is one of those fashion designers, together with Michael Kors and, possibly, Donna Karan, who always follows a straight line in terms of style. Many could argue that his collections are predictable but I like to make a marked difference between that and creating classic styles. Ralph does the latter and he does it really well. Not one, apart from the other aforementioned designers, epitomise the East-coast look as well as him. We have seen more or less strong nods to the far West, horse racing and colonialism in the past but none as evident and formidable as this one. For FW11 Ralph has travelled to the Orient of the 20's. Instead of the usual tweeds and sandy colours we saw mostly black in jacquard, wool, velvet and sequins. The flapper inspiration was mixed with the oriental motifs of necklaces and earrings, which also introduces the intense reds and jade greens that brought most of the colour to the collection. Alongside this, there was a minor art deco influence made evident mostly on belts and brooches.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

A collection for monkeys

Since I kind of got myself in a position to talk about style icons that become designers it seemed only fair to mention Rachel Zoe's collection, which she debuted during this New York Fashion Week. After creating several lines for QVC it must've come as a no-brainer for Zoe to step into the high fashion world, in which she's living for years. Her FW11 took a lot of inspiration from Rachel Zoe's personal style. We saw a lot of flare trousers and jeans and loose YSL-inspired dresses as well as her signature fur gillets and her giddy platform suede boots and ankle boots. There is definitely a lot of retro classics from the big names of fashion, especially from YSL and Gucci with a hint of Marc Jacobs. This is just Zoe's first collection so she's just gathering forces and expect a The Row/Victoria Beckham hit collection very soon.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, Zimbio.com]

The best Row

As I edited the pictures for this post I thought about Mary-Kate and Ashley's trajectory from teenage Tv superstars to style icons to fashion creative directors. They are, together with Victoria Beckham, the first celebrities to ever create collections that not only qualifies as high fashion but that reaches luxury standards. Just as Victoria's collection did two days ago, the Olsens' new line establishes them as rightful creative directors of young yet respected brands. It never ceases to amaze me how MK and Ashley manage to include their aesthetic in a way that becomes a language that whichever of their collections speaks fluently while allowing the clothes to bring something new to the season. For FW11 they have given into fur indulgence with over-the-top fox fur hats, jackets, gillets and estoles that contrast with the strong lines black tailoring and leather and with the ethereal laces and silk gauzes.

Also for FW11 The Row introduced their new collection of bags. All of them could easily fit into the twin's wardrobe easily as they clearly draw inspiration from their vintage pieces such as the Kellys, the 20's clutches and the velvet satchels. My other favourite are the black velvet and leopard printed loafers, which I hope they have included on the men's line.
I'm off.

PS. GG Fashion post coming later today.

[Pictures: Style.com]

Victoria Beckham FW11: pushing the envelope

It's incredible what Victoria has managed to do in just a few seasons. From a well-received collection of body-con classic dresses she has quickly created a respected brand celebrities and any woman wants to wear. For FW11 she created very minimalistic dresses in bright hues. I loved how she reused the colours and materials and simply changed the cuts to show how there is nothing else but good taste and skills that you need to create stunning pieces. For next season she also introduced coats of pure lines very much in line with the first part of the collection. Alongside these, we saw other more relaxed looks in greys, beiges and khakis as Victoria's interpretations of the safari trend, one we rarely see in the winter. All of it accompanied by slick chic black turbans and knee-length suede boots. It's a matter of time before we see Vicky herself wearing these. Just wait for it.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

Collage Sunday, 13.02.11: Anoraks and fluffy heels

That time that comes every six months that makes Giulia and I so happy is here again. Fashion Month kicked off last Wednesday in New York and we've already seen quite a lot of the usual NY blandness but also some of the genius names that show in the big apple. My favourites so far have been rather unexpected —Lyn Devon, Jenni Kayne, Jeremy Laing and Suno all amazed me in different ways, something which I rarely experience with NY shows. Rag & Bone keeps walking in a straight but really creative line and making collections full of hit. Alexander Wang and Joseph Altuzarra, two of my absolute favourites from NY, showed yesterday and I was happy to find many parallelisms between their collections.

Anoraks had been denied entrance to the fashion world for years until Remo Ruffini took control of Moncler and made Thom Browne creative director. The latter reinvented the idea of luxe sportswear and centred his collections for the French brand around anoraks cut in shapes and produced in fabrics that were previously only related to tailoring. The success of Moncler in changing its perception made everyone change their mind about anoraks, which has designers turn their efforts towards this garment and made it protagonist of several FW11 collections. Wang and Altuzarra have interpreted the anorak both in its traditional coat shape but also as parkas and capes or ponchos. Wang even went as far as making a tuxedo blazer out of it. The other common element on both collections, which will also become a trend if it hasn't already, are the furry heels we saw at both shows. I wonder if they are warm even though they're pretty much sandals. Although, if Prada's chandelier sandals were a hit, why not these?
I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]