The ABC of womenswear ss2012, part 3

Next spring will be a lively season, with lots of color, elegance and femininity. Good times are coming! Today part 3 of our ABC.

G is for GIANNI VERSACE

Oh, good old Gianni, we surely do miss his vibrant collections full of prints, color and sexy clothes. But with a collaboration with H&M ahead – and a promise made by Donatella that she will be using some Versace classics in prints – we do expect a revival of the Versace-print. Some designers used the baroque prints and foulard prints in their collections. Just to offer something different than just clean minimalism.

 

H is for HOLIDAY in retro-style

With the Fifties back in style, the glamourous holiday-dressing returns too. This theme shares with us moments of nostalgia and makes us long for times that were innocent and frivolous. Holiday forever in these not just referenced, yet simple literary quoted historic silhouettes.

 

I is for INNOCENT & SWEET

The fashion merry-go-round keeps spinning and brought us sugar SWEET fashion. The word ‘pretty’ was banned from the fashion dictionary for seasons, but made a majestic comeback. Opulence, intricate embellishment and exquisite craftsmanship modernise romance by alternating laser cut silk cellophanes and crafted Broderie Anglaise.

 

To be continued

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Ode To Anna..

She is, without a doubt, the most photographed person at every fashion week. Whether she’s doing a little dance, holding a dog painting, talking to Kanye, wearing Versace for H&M, taking a picture of us or just strutting the streets in another crazy outfit, the vibrant Anna dello Russo keeps on fascinating us (and the rest of the fashion industry).

She changes at least three times during a regular Fashion Week day (oh my, is she traveling heavy), and every single one of her outfits is spot on. She dresses head to toe in designer items and keeps all of her looks in her archives.

No look is ever over-accessorized with Anna and More is More is definitely her ‘thing’.

Anna is completely crazy and great fun. You just gotta love her.

We shot like a zillion pictures of her during the latest fashion weeks. We just can’t get enough of you Anna!

The ABC of womenswear ss2012, part 2

Season ss2012 seems still far away, and there is so much to tell about what’s coming up. So we’re putting everything in an ABC round-up. Today part 2.

D is for DIGITALIZE

Digital prints were all over the collections this season, but why did it take that long and why does it stay that close to the pavement laid out by those great pioneers, Alexander McQueen and Mary Katranzou? Lovely, happy and very exiting though.

 

E is for ETHNIC

Ethnic influences are still visible in fashion. take a look at Burberry’s collection with the rattan and tribal patterns and jewelry, or Donna Karan with her African vibe. Dark earthy colors, ocre, green and red are dominating but there’s also a more tropical and colorful side to this trend with vibrant colors and fantasy patterns.

 

F is for FIFTIES

This trend tells an entertaining tale of pretty dresses, fit and flare, full as well as swirling and swinging skirts and sweet, sorbet-like colors. It brings us back to the Fifties as known in movies and books. Prada, the brave, alternated this prettiness with spiced up romance, moving beyond stereotypes. Then surprisingly well coordinated was the return of Fifties swimwear.

To be continued.

The ABC of womenswear ss2012, part 1

What a great season ss2012 will be. It’s a pity we’ll have to wait until next year, before we can touch, feel and wear those beautiful clothes. There was so much to see and experience the last few weeks, starting with the shows in New York and ending in Paris. Time for a large ABC-round-up.

A is for ARTIFICIAL CHIC

A cool, modern twist to classic and iconic shaping and experimenting with mixed materials, layered patterns and strange color-combinations. Plastic is favorite, as are high sheen sparkling surfaces and innovative finishing.

 

B is for BARE SKIN

Slits and slices showed bare arms and legs, as were transparent fabrics but there was more to see: bare midriffs because of all those bandeau tops. A great contrast while lengths of skirts are dropping. After seasons of revealed bellies the elongated tops seemed so much more luxurious and sophisticated. Yet now we seem to enter a period of hedonism once more, celebrating the body, enjoying fashion and consuming style.

 

 

C is for COUTURE

The clear read line through Paris catwalk shows is a couture spirit reminiscent of the fifties and sixties.One designer more then the other found ways to translate this precious era in a contemporary and new look. Materials where traditional and precious, yet some realized that typical sculptural aspect in novel man made yet ever so luxurious fabrics. A, I and egg shaped, reduced and iconic, minimal use of details and executed in mostly black and white.

 

To be continued.

 

 

Highlights London Fashion Week ss2012

Some 104 shows and presentations in London in one weekend. After one week of New York fashion this seemed an unreasonable task, but journalists, buyers and photographers succeeded. And just before Milan takes off, we want to present you the highlights of London ss2012. Erdem, Burberry, Christopher Kane and Paul Smith all delivered beautiful collections which made sense and also fitted in the trends we saw already blossoming in New York.

Burberry Prorsum

Christopher Bailey was paying homage to all things natural. Skirts with high, tight waists  teamed with form-fitting tops of striped crocheted wooden beads. Woven raffia, in stripes of mustard and navy or plum and black, made super slim, high-waisted pencil skirts under cropped, cotton Parkas. There were African inspired prints for draped dresses, jackets and skirts.

 

Erdem

Erdem’s focus was again on florals, which he re-uses season after season. This time round they were  pretty: buds of cornflower-blue, lemon and poppy-red dotted, off-the-shoulder dresses, chiffon skirts and shifts.

 

Christopher Kane

To create his “ghost fabric”, an iridescent metallic floral that crackled with light and movement, Christopher Kane layered four materials including an organza made almost entirely of aluminium. He mixed it up with semi-transparent dresses patched with flower stickers, washed-out pastel satins,  sleeveless cricket jumpers and flat sandals.

 

Pringle of Scotland

This was Alistair Carr’s debut at Pringle’s womenswear.  Knits were the star, from trompe l’oeil intarsia technique that made light work of chunky herringbone. Twinsets were present too, fastened at the back for summer. There were also silk dresses patchworked together with twinset buttons.

 

Paul Smith

Sir Paul and his team know more about tailoring than any other womenswear designers, that’s why is menswear-inspired womenswear-collections always looks so stunning and perfect. And his use of color is unique.

 

Giles Deacon

The collection and show of Giles Deacon seemed a meeting of heaven and hell. The angelic looks of feathers, silver dresses and laser cuts combined with vivid red detailing to offset them. The swan became the overriding theme, featuring as it did as a print on everything from couture-esque gowns to trousers and tunic and in tiara’s. This was drama to the max.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Streetfashion London Womenswear ss2012 Day 3

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Prada-boots, your latest Celine-dress or that vintage Chanel? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: London  Fashion Week.

Streetfashion London Womenswear ss2012 Day 2

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Prada-boots, your latest Celine-dress or that vintage Chanel? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: London  Fashion Week.

Streetfashion London Womenswear ss2012 Day 1

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Prada-boots, your latest Celine-dress or that vintage Chanel? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: London  Fashion Week.

Spijkers en Spijkers Catwalk Fashion Show London ss2012

No doubt that the Roaring Twenties are the favorite era of the Spijkers-sisters. They picked this period – in which women tried to free themselves –  before as a source of inspiration. Spijkers en Spijkers are not alone in this for next summer, in New York there were more designers who were influenced by this stylish period, like Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch.

Spijkers en Spijkers took the silhouette and used their signature geometric play, colors like black and white to form their collection. Dresses dominated the collection, a loose pantsuit here and there and fragile chains as decoration or part of the construction. Fringes added a frivolous detail.

 

Trend Report SS2011: Style & Lace

Graceful, feminine and perfect for summer; lace is a big trend this season. Dolce & Gabbana was all about lace and is one of the most popular collections. Also Chanel and Louis Vuitton showed us they know how to work the lace into your look.

We kind of expected the lace at fashion houses like Alberta Ferretti, Oscar de la Renta and Marchesa. Yet at Issa, Erdem and McQueen it was more of a surprise. Especially since Erdem and Issa were all about color. Not the regular white and black, but purple, green and red lace.

So this season it’s not only underwear that is beautifully embroidered; dresses, pants, skirts and tops may be embellished too. And besides lace clothing fashion accessories like shoes or clutches work really well in this fabric too.

Just take some inspiration from our photo gallery and have fun with this summer trend!

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