Style.com, Vogue.com

I have been keenly watching all the videos from this year's CFDA / Vogue Fashion Fund. I love the fact that they've created several episodes where they talk to this year's nominees but also to the judges. It's really interesting to hear both sides.

I don't want to get into my predictions just yet but I will say that, at least for womenswear, Joseph Altuzarra is one of my favourites. I love him at the beginning of the last video (which you can see here) where he escorts Anna up the stairs to his studio. I've thought he's such a talented designer ever since his first collection for FW09.

However, I will play the superficial character and say that the highlight of the video for me was actually Joseph's Schnauzer puppy wearing a custom made anorak inspired from one of this FW11 looks. I loved what he did with anoraks for this season but I must say I like it more on the pup.

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]