That Dutch Duo

It's been said that one should not call himself an artist unless he 'has something to say.' Viktor&Rolf always have something to say. With waify models struggling to hold up the weight of lights and rigging while they struggled to walk down the catwalk, V&R's Fall 2007 show was (obviously) less about the clothes, than it was a statement about fashion. In their latest theatrical performance, the designers suggest that each of us is a spectacle, parading through life as though in a fashion show.



















Many people in the industry will see this as another instance of designers mistreating their models. But as the backstage photos from style.com intimate, the models seem to be having a laugh at the parody they participate in. Personally, I think the whole thing's hilarious. Even the fashion world could use a healthy dose of humor.

Balmain

Balmain presented in Paris yesterday with hyperhigh hemlines. Balmain's designer, Christopher Decarnin, triumphed last year by dressing the demure and adorable, Audrey Tautou, in a swathed, ivory silk muslin gown for the premiere of The DaVinci Code at Cannes in May 2006.

The good, the bad, and the... oh, be nice!

Okay okay, so I know everyone and their dogs will be covering what the dames of
Hollywood were wearing on the carpet rouge last night, but I can't help but offer my
two cents. I root for the films first, and their leading ladies second - but it's a close race.
(Sorry I'm leaving the menswear out of this, since all the male nominees seemed to be
wearing Armani made-to-measure!). There was a lot that I loved, and here it is:

The Good (Penelope Cruz in Versace, Reese Witherspoon in Olivier Theyskens.)

















(Below: Gwenyth Paltrow in Zac Posen, Kate Blanchett in Armani Privé.)

















The Bad, actually, the worst really:
You'd think that after starring in the fashionista flick, The Devil Wears Prada, there'd be serious pressure to look picture perfect, but Anne Hathaway's odd white Valentino number with a superimposed black tuxedo/gift bow front was, well, odd and unflattering.

Mrs.P strikes again

I tend to love Miuccia Prada's women's collections. The last time I tried on a slew of her gowns at her St.Honoré boutique in Paris, was in November, and I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland - randomly trying on the most scrumptious of colors and being happily surprised at the results. Prada fabrics mix the unexpected and the desired. They are always innovative and, frankly, bizarre, ranging in textures that combine a new silkiness and thin sponginess, to slinky delicate wools. As a lover and collector of fine and colorlicious socks, my favorite off the Prada Fall 07 catwalks, have to be the footless two-tone socks, which Vogue's Sarah Mower desrcibes as "bonkers." If you're willing to wear something a little bonkers, why not go for luxuriously bonkers?

Noir night

(Cate in Vogue shoot 2006)

The Oscars are approaching! I'm guessing that the stunning and statuesque actress,
Cate Blanchett, will be one of the most radiant on the red carpet.



















Whatever Ms.Blanchett graces the carpet with, it's bound to be of the glamorous
and unexpected variety. I would love to see her in an ethereal gown from Danish
eco-activist, Peter Ingwersen's line, Noir. (pictured below by model, Erin O'Connor)

Accessorize the accessory

Cell phones are the kind of hardware that you only have one of and don't replace very often. Cell phone straps are an inexpensive way to individualize and stylize your phone, and according to Wired, they are all the rage in Japan.


I ordered the strap above (featuring Japanese character, Gloomy) which, much to my dismay, weighs as much as my phone and creates a bumpy profile when stuffed into my backpocket. Ironically, cell phones are becoming increasingly lightweight, sleek and aerodynamic, while the gadgets we attach to them are cartoonish and cumbersome!

A shaded view indeed

Today, on the very influential outsider-fashion website, A Shaded View on Fashion, some of the biggest shows in the biz got slammed! About Fendi, a contributer to the weblog wrote, "it was all so boring and repetitive, i almost fell asleep," and in reference to D&G, stated what very well may be on the minds of many too timid to say it aloud, "is this creation? Not at all. (It's) too derivative." Gucci was called, "that soulless stuff that sells like crazy." (D&G left, Gucci right)

















Lauded as a professional cynic of the high-fashion industry, Diane Pernet and her contributers often criticize the institutionalized fashion system. Blogging from the fringes of fashion - that is, outside of having to be held accountable to magazines, and advertisers - allows for a brutally honest take on high commercial fashion. Yes, fashion is a business. But many fashion bloggers come to the world of style from a different angle, and demand more than simply clothes that fit well. They seek and demand concepts, artistry and innovation. Outsider artist Jean Dubuffet once wrote "Art doesn't go to sleep in the bed made for it; it would sooner run away than say its own name: what it likes is to be incognito. Its best moments are when it forgets what its own name is". If that's the case, then many high-fashion designers have a long way to go before their collections are considered 'art.'

wings of desire

Diane Pernet teased us today with an enchanting image of delicate Lily Cole in a gown with enormous, dark silver Boudicca wings, reminding us that the designers' collection is about to show in Paris.

There exists a compelling tension in Boudicca garments, explored through life's simple dichotomies: death/life, anger/joy, depression/ecstasy. For Boudicca's designers, Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby, the relationship between a wearer and its garments provides a psychoanalysis of expression that they describe as 'social documentation' that uses clothing to externalize an individual's emotions. The most playful of these subconscious manifestations are the clothes which appear to be one thing from the front, and yet, are something completely different from behind - a clean Aline reveals a Japanese obi from behind, while a seemingly mid-thigh skirt surprises us without having a rear to it.

Boudicca Fall/Winter 06

















Boudicca suggest that the idea of façade really is about the face - at once a mirror and a reflection of all that looks at it, and at the same time, an unpredictable and (if we're lucky!), delightfully bewildering interpretation or (mis)representation of the world we live in.

Armor Amour

I enthusiastically wore one of my favorite accessories - a gold crocheted necklace - at least twice a week, until its up-and-coming Montréal designer, Arielle de Pinto, asked to borrow it back for use as a prototype model. Begrudgingly... I gave it to her, and my collarbone has been missing the weight of this unique and versatile piece ever since!

Wearing one of these pieces feels like modern day decorative armor. A perfect fusion of durable functionality and style, dePinto's hand-crocheted chain necklace (comes in gold-plate and nickel) provides flexible armor for the neckline, and because of the tightly-crocheted chain, moves on the skin as if it were a knit fabric. The chain lends itself to durability because of its weave, and therefore doesn't require finicky or delicate clasps. As recently mentioned in refinery29 de Pinto's design's are available at No. 6 in New York.

What to wear in -30 degrees?

Montréal is freezing! When winds are gusting at 60km, and everyone's vision is obscured by flying
frozen speckles anyway, I say protect thine body as though you were at war. My parka is like the
tarp that combatants serve beneath in the trenches. Don the common parka, and cover your fingers
with the woolliest of mittens - better to be a fashion victim, than a frozen fashionista!

A suit for jumping

My favourite thing about the jumpsuit is its completeness. Like a dress, this one-piece
can be rocked solo - thrown on without worrying about separates. I love layering as
much as the next lady, but the simple functionality of a jumpsuit is a welcomed reprieve.
I adore these two breezy, wide-legged jumpsuits presented at NYFW from Bruce (above
left), and Ruffian (above right).

She bangs

The Sartorialist recently featured the photo of a lithe woman with
jet-black bangs on her mobile phone. Her overall kit is impressive,
but it was her crown that's haunted me most. It is equal parts precision,
and intimidation - a look that few can master so stylishly. Her look, I
thought, had to be unique, until I saw her doppelganger pop up twice
on the catwalk of Vera Wang's ready to wear show last week... unless
of course, it's the same woman.

Rodarte - roses, ghosts & sea dreams

Nature will always be in some way, the epitome of all beauty which we try to recreate and emulate in human form. Following that instinct, we saw California-based sister duo, Rodarte, create an entire line which took inspiration from English rose gardens for Spring ‘07. The centre model looks like she's sitting inside the folds of a rose's petals.

For Fall 07, the duo dubbed ‘avant-garde,’ shift their attention in detail from the natural plant world to something more supernatural, creating gowns with a ghostliness that reminds me of heavenly goddesses. Translucent colors, textures, and soft ephemeral volume, in the designers’ words, “achieve a type of ghostly effect."




















This gold gown from their most recent collection made me think of ethereal life undersea: its skirt looks like rippling gold waves, and the model herself a gleaming fish with perfectly patterned scales.

Hmm... wonder if Bjork knows about Rodarte yet?

Spring Sneak Peak

This week, I had the pleasure of playing with Spring clothes as a stylist
for the Spring/Summer 2007 lookbook shoot for Montréal designer,
Jennifer Ann Gilpin. The featured photos show off Gilpin's
olive-gold silk top and dress, and high-waisted shorts worn with her
über-versatile obi belt. The sassy shorts are reason enough to wish
that Spring would deliver us soon!
(click on each photo for high resolution versions).

The Great Gatsby Aesthetic

Marc Jacobs F/W 2007














Marc Jacobs, the American darling of wearable and trendy clothes, showed buyers,
editors and fashionistas alike, his rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s idolized glamour
lady, Daisy – as she marched down the catwalk in wide brimmed hats, cocktail
gloves and a mood reminiscent of the Jazz Age in America.


Mia Farrow as the enigmatic Daisy in Coppola's film version of Gatsby: