Hyun Yeu (womenswear) Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

On Friday Hyun Yeu presented his womenswear collection just one day after his menswear show. There were ten looks ranging from a long peach-colored gala gown to a black lace party dress.

The blouses looked very good, especially a transparent black one. They had special shoulders and sleeves. A strong jacket with cut sleeves looked very good.

Like in Hyun Yeu’s menswear collections the womenswear pants looked great. The lace and sequined dresses would be great for a night out, yet they were not very outspoken and could have had more of a Hyun Yeu touch.

Such a pity there were only ten looks, we would have loved to see more…

Catwalktrends SS2010: mini summer dresses

For summer many fashion designers made their clothes more loose-fitting than before. Also, the skirts and dresses were less short than we saw last year.

But ain’t no summer without the mini-dress, so almost every collection had at least one bright-colored mini dress in it.

The mini-dresses represented the perfect summer feeling. They were often strapless (Moschino, D&G, Gianfranco Ferre, Karl Lagerfeld) and had lots of pleats at the bottom (McQueen, Valentino, Ungaro, Dior).

Not all of us ladies will be able to work one of those revealing dresses. But if you have flawless legs for days you really should pull of this summer look. These mini-dresses are perfect for a day off or a night at the club. You’ll feel like summer as soon as you put one on. And, of course, many men will be thankful for you doing that.

Catwalktrends SS2010: harem pants

The looser the better and the more pleats the trendier. Harem pants are the big fashion trend for this spring/summer. They were a big hit in the eighties when MC Hammer wore them and have returned to the fashion world this year in even more extreme versions.

They’re ultra-tight at the bottom and super-loose at the crotch. And since pleats are already in fashion this summer extra pleats make the harem pants look very 2010.

If you wanna try this trend in a safe way, you can start of with a pair of harem pants in black or beige (MaxMara, Badgley Mischka, Moschino). Yet, if you wanna proof you’ve got style you really should wear one of those multi-colored, printed ones we saw at Etro, Givenchy, Kenzo and Karl Noten.

Whatever you wear on top, you should tuck it in your pants. And if you’re wearing a high-waisted version of the harem pants a waist-belt is a great finishing detail.

Together with the jumpsuit, a pair of harem pants are true musthaves this summer. And the great thing about it: they are oh-so comfortable.

Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show FW2010

Kenzo’s invitation was a vacuum plastic ‘bag’ with different sorts of dead leaves in it. Kenzo’s catwalk was decorated with what looked like dead palm trees. Let’s just say Antonio Marras wanted to make clear he was showing his fall collection for the brand.

Bourgeois and bohemian styles came together in this seventies inspired collection. Long, wide, dresses were made out of multiple fabrics. Marras chose the most beautiful floral and graphic prints and let those prints come together in his patchwork designs. The autumn colors (light brown/terracotta, light green, yellow and faded pink) he had picked, looked lovely.

Not only different prints were mixed and matched, diverse fabrics were seen in one look as well. Airy floral dresses were combined with fur and sequined waistcoats. Next to the floral dresses we saw checked versions decorated with bibs of feather creations. They were followed by a few darker, striped designs.

The felt hats looked great. Together with the printed scarves, sunglasses and wegde-soled boots they were the perfect accessories for this boho collection.

We read Marras mixed the styles of iconic women like Maria Schneider, Tina Chow and Farrah Fawcett for this collection. But we’ve never spotted these women in such outstanding designs before. And although we liked the show, it wasn’t something we’d never seen before at Kenzo.

Sonia Rykiel Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Enough of the frizzy red wigs at Sonia Rykiel! This time the models had cute pony tails and large pom-pom headbands. The models were happy about it. At least, they all put on a smile at the catwalk.

Sonia Rykiel herself proved she’s not involved too much anymore by sitting front row, next to Beth Ditto. Her daughter Nathalie had to do it all on her own. And she did a very good job.

She let Dutch model Mirte Maas (we say: excellent choice!) open the show. Mirte wore an XXX-oversized woolen suit and was able to make it work. The cozy knitwear that followed, had soft colors like beige, off-white and different hues of light brown. (What a relief after all the bright Sonia Rykiel for H&M colors we had to look at for months.)

There were dresses with knitted sleeves and woolen cardigans, worn with big belts. A long bright red coat with a huge safety pin looked very comfy. We saw pant suits, fur coats and military jackets. On a lot of the pants a diagonal shoulder strap was attached. It didn’t really hold up the pants, it was just a nice detail. In some designs the shape of the breasts was accentuated by the fabric. Yet it made the models’ tiny breasts look even smaller, but maybe that was the intention.

Halfway the show a pair of cycling pants, left behind from the summer collection, was shown. It was worn over a pair of white tights. Soon after that some colors were introduced. Three outfits had collared stripes all over them and a few other designs came in kobalt blue matched with black. Luckily the collection then turned back to neutral shades. Skirts, dresses and jumpsuits came by in satin, chiffon and a transparent sort of knitwear.

So according to Sonia Rykiel the trends for next winter are: natural colors, oversized suits, suitpants, large woolen dresses or cardigans and ladylike details. We can hardly wait!

The finale was, as always with Sonie Rykiel, a big party. All models came up in light-shaded marabou coats and dresses. They were smiling, clapping and dancing and seemed to have the time of their lives. And Nathalie Rykiel…, she just partied along.

Calvin Klein Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2010

For the Calvin Klein fashion show young and old models were united. Doutzen Kroes was in the audience and watched topmodels from the 80’s/90’s, Kirsten McMenamy (1966) and Stella Tennant (1970), strolling down the runway. They walked in the show right next to beginning models such as Karlie Kloss (1992) and Dutch model Gwen Loos (1993).

All girls had the androgynous look (which made McMenamy and Tennant so famous) going on: their hair was combed backwards and their clothes were kind of stiff.

It was clear Francisco Costa let his clothes speak for themselves. He didn’t send anything on the runway that could distract you from that. So, no accessories, no bags, no special make-up, no crazy poses, just Calvin Klein fashion like we know it.

The designer came up with a few non-waisted woollen coats. Their shoulders were rounded and the sleeves were wide. Those coats were shown in black, brown and white. And apart from a blue and a lilac colored dress all designs came in those neutral shades.

Costa’s streamlined shift dresses and coats all ended just above the knee. Besides, his clothes were all pretty loose fitting so the collection did lack some sex appeal. The designer did use some shiny black and white (almost silver) silk for his pants, blouses and dresses. He also added a few sparkles on the last designs of his collection but it didn’t make a lot of difference.

Two good things about the clothes are (1) in a room full of people they won’t attract all the attention towards you and (2) you are never showing too much skin when you’re wearing them. Yet you’d have to have a strong, expressive personality to make some of the looks work.

Michael Kors Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2010

Michael Kors’ fashion show started about twenty minutes late, which in the world of fashion is almost too early. For celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe it actually was. She came in late and had to watch the show from the standing room. And although she and mister Kors seemed such good friends on the Rachel Zoe Project the designer didn’t think she was worth waiting for. We wonder if she still was still mumbling her famous ‘I die’ sentence from the standing room…

Luckily other important guests like Donald Trump and Michael Douglas found their front row seats in time to watch the full show.

For next winter Michael Kors didn’t show any of his typical, sleeveless, Michelle Obama-appropriate dresses. Yet the first lady might have approved some of the caramel skirts he designed.

Most clothes, such as cashmere sweaters, woollen pants, thick collars and some -larger than life – fur coats, looked very winter proof. Yet those cosy winter clothes did contrast a bit with items like a see-through turtle neck and some sweaters with an extremely low V-neck. But hey, we’ll just wear an extra basic underneath these items and they’ll be just as wearable as the rest of this fall/winter collection.

The male models resembled the ideal boyfriends in their matching shades of grey, camel and beige. Their V-necks were just as low and their collars were just as big as those of the girls. Yet for his menswear Michael Kors was a little more subtle with the fur.

Our favourite items of the show were some sweaters with the large woollen collars and a few loose fitting pants. We also loved how the leather belts and boots perfectly finished off every look. The long evening gowns were very pretty as well. Although we’re not sure if the shiny gold one will look good on a lot of people.