Baby, you can drive my car

Céline is one of my favourite brands of the last few seasons. Ever since Phoebe Philo stepped in as creative director I find it intensely alluring. For fw11 minimalism acquires a certain 70's air. Philo says she was inspired by cars interiors (I love the wood prints) and you can see it in the precise but dynamic straight lines that she has used in her tailoring. Two of the most stand-out pieces of the collection have got to be the bright orange coat, which had a certain rawness to it, and the tri-colour fur coat —one of the best fur proposals from the season. I liked the sort of sportswear air to the more rigid pieces like the tailored trousers or the shirts and I found the colour palette very interesting, as some of the colours didn't appear more than once or twice. Is this the birth of aerodynamic chic?

And Phoebe is just so... Céline. She's so chic and minimal and, well, British. What else can I say?

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

London's strongest new-comer

On Tuesday night I was one of the lucky few to attend the Thomas Tait fw11 show. And I mean lucky not only because I was invited but because I got to see closely a great designer in the making and his creations. In a charming hidden away venue in the heart of London the Canadian designer, who recently finished his MA at Central Saint Martins was won this year's Dorchester Prize, showed a collection that was as minimalist in cut as it was intricate in cut. It is said of Tait that he doesn't use shortcuts to make real his vision. Instead, he spends long periods of time focusing on impeccable pattern cutting. This showed in the architectural shapes of skirts, which combined folded wool and pleated silk, and the coats that filled the attendee's mouths after the show. I was also particularly taken away by the backless night gowns, which revealed a pleated trail so dynamic it seemed to have life of its own, and the shoes —suede slippers and ankle boots and minimal leather stilettos cuffed at the ankle.

I couldn't help but to think of Napoleonic clothing. Tait seemed to have taken 18th century France as inspiration and approached it from an avant-garde tailoring point of view. The colour palette reminded me of Céline's hit FW11 collection, as Tait restricted himself to black, navy blue, ivory and white.
Have a look at my video of the finale below. The clothes are even more stunning in movement. (And, for a spot of fun, have a look at the pictures on Style.com, I am in the background on the left!)

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com]

Moon & Earth

I first heard of Hakaan last season when the web swarmed with news of the Roitfelds flying to London only to watch his show. I was curious to see what was so especial about the Turkish designer whose line I had never yet Carine and Julia couldn't miss. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Which is why I was disappointed to learn that he wasn't showing in London this season but excited to see what he had created for SS11. This collection was overall less body-con than FW10. He still sent a few mini dresses with his signature pelmets but the silhouettes were slightly more relaxed. There were plenty of tailored trousers and jumpsuits, which varied from the baggy to the skin-tight. Cut-outs, always in triangular shapes, revealing or suggesting necklines and hips in the sexiest manner. But the inspiration seemed to be otherworldly this time. White's supremacy evoked an alien world of modern minimalism as did the odd light grey pieces and the few black ones that were a perfect fit for Morticia Addams.

Rochas SS11 put a smile on my face. I was happy to see a new and fresh take on the overused countryside inspiration. Marco Zanini said he simply amalgamated all his favourite things for the collection, and these things show. There was true sentiment, almost romanticism, in the clothes. As it turns out, the Swedish countryside, where half of his heart lies. And so he commissioned Slotts Barbro's  Swedish pictorial work for Rochas' prints. One of the most charming collections we have seen so far.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Vogue.fr, Style.com]

Bold colours & wet hair

Yesterday was one of those fashion week days in which the names on the schedule only create excitement for true fashionistas. Jil Sander was one of those names. Or I had better say Raf Simons. His SS11 collection was tightly connected to what we saw at Pitti for men and yet he added an extra twist to the über bold colours and sleek minimalism we're used to see form him. Tim Blanks explains it perfectly when he says " [a] maximalism, which led him instantly to haute couture". We saw that in the shape of gown skirts and dresses that were paired up with more casual pieces like t-shirts and sheer tops. In addition to his signature block hues we saw horizontal and vertical stripes and flowers prints that, while secondary, made the collection even more contemporary.

Bottega Veneta has been growing on me incessantly over the past few seasons. I admire established fashion houses who refrain from being stuck in the past and take risks hiring designers that wouldn't necessarily completely understand their vision. That was the risk (or safe bet as we can refer to it now) when Tomas Maier was hired. The focus was put on the construction and the tailoring which turned fabrics in to easy-to-wear light-weight garments. In fact, the ease of the collection is its most appealing aspect. In line with Acquascutum's "just out of bed" girl from last season, Maier gets the girl right out of the shower and onto flats because she is so confident she only needs perfectly made clothes to feel sexy.

I have to admit that the best part of watching the Pucci SS11 show online was the fact that Mademoiselle Agnès was in charge of walking around interviewing guests with her flawed but chic command of the English language. If any conclusion was to be drawn from what everyone said to her that should be that the Pucci woman is, above all, sexy. And she is sexy because Pucci is ageless (at least in the industry where older women dare to bare their legs), it is sensual rather than slutty and it has that boho chic air every woman loves. Peter Dunda's brought back the Ibiza of the 70's for SS11 in the shape of clothes people like Anna dello Russo would wear to the beach. Gauzy skirts short at the front and flowy at the bottom, backless long-sleeved mini dresses, pompoms and lots and lots of ruffles.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, TheSartorialist.blogspot.com]

Introducing: Kimberly Taylor NYC

If you didn't know about my Michelle Williams fixation my post from a few days ago probably did the job. Well, if a couple of killer red carpet looks weren't enough she looked ridiculously pretty today walking around Cannes. She was only wearing a simple navy top and striped body-con skirt but she knows it's the cut and colour that count. The outfit made me think of Kimberly Taylor, a young American brand that recently contacted me. I am not the biggest fan of taking post requests but I was instantly drawn to the clothes. Kimberly Taylor is a new York-based, NYU-graduate designer that debuted her first line only last year. She makes beautifully minimalistic pieces for that kind of sexy girl that likes looking great and believes in chic simplicity.

I think the shorts and skirts are super clever pieces for the summer. They look very comfortable they are versatile, as you can wear them for a chilled lunch during the day or to go out at night. My favourite feature about the whole line, though, are all the see-through bits on tops and dresses. They are a really cool way of making well-made basics more interesting.

*The people at Kimberly Taylor have been so nice as to offer soVIPzone readers a 10% discount on their online store so you can be the first to get your hands on a bunch of her clothes. The discount is valid until the 31st of May and all you have to do is go to the website and enter the code "VIP" at checkout.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Celebrity-Gossip.com, KimberlyTaylor.com]