Joop Reigns Suprematism

I like style.com, I really do, but sometimes their catwalk reviews just seem very off. Take for example, their rather cold reception of Wolfgang Joop's Wunderkind collection for fall 2009. The standout collection, inspired by Suprematism, an early 20th century Russian art movement, and German artist Gregor Törzs, is definitely one of my favourites of the season.

Joop pasted a colourful array of squares all over the body: arms, legs, torso, feet, you name it. I think the mix is very tastefully done; the colours are vibrant but still pared down enough to give off a relaxed casual feel. The tights, of course, are extremely covetable, and I would love to see variations of them in stores. For some strange reason, I don't think this is too much at all! I find it all quite inspiring, since I tend to get very excited when I see artistic elements translated into clothes. Nicole Phelps, on the other hand, doesn't seem to share the love, and claims that "the results are a strong argument that art is often better left on walls." Aww. Common. Don't be such a party pooper.




My second favourite part of the collection (well, actually they are pretty on-par) has to be the animal printed coats and dresses, which Phelps says "detracted from the garments." Are you kidding me? These prints are gorgeous! It's like wearing a lovely set of hazy vintage safari photographs! I especially like how Joop chose grey space in the prints over white space, which would look too contrasty and clichéd. I'm noticing a lot of garments inspired by animals these days that don't incorporate any fur element. Susie Bubble has already mentioned Yuchi's amazing fall collection and Christopher Kane's gorilla prints. I also very much enjoyed Manish Aurora's colorful circus of crazy critters (first alliteration hah!).


photos via style.com

Alena Akhmadullina FW 09

Alena Akhmadullina is a relatively new talent in the Paris fashion scene. The Saint Petersburg designer started her eponymous line in 2001, and debuted on the Paris runways in autumn 2005. I've honestly never heard the name before, but her fancifully illustrated dresses caught my eye this season. I am quite in love with the mythical looking birds, horses and dragons, but my favourite piece has to be the brilliantly sculpted vine dress.

Looking back through past collections on her website, I can tell that much progress has been made in these short few years. The knotted braces layered over floaty fabrics in the spring 09 collection are also particularly eye-catching. The site describes the Akhmadullina wardrobe as "a combination of Russian audacity and Paris sense of style. It is an independently bold but womanly seductive image." Aptly said, in my opinion. The balance of kookiness and beautiful construction in the clothes is just right.




images via lesoir.be

What I Wore Today

So much for spring. It was freezing out today! So I decided to throw on something easy. I'm wearing a thrifted school boy's blazer (wrinkle-proof! yes!), thrifted sweater, Terra Nova jeans from Romania, thrifted belt, and my great uncle's furry boots. I wore my Zara cocoon jacket and a thrifted grey wool scarf on top to venture outside (both items not pictured).

I need to smile more often in pictures. I try, really! But I always think they look dorky. Just pretend I'm frowning because I think I have a dead pixel on my precious Canon. Actually... it isn't pretend. I just found one today in my photos and I'm a little PO'd.

To stash away for those summer days

Saturday night I rummaged through the top shelf of my closet to dig out some summer clothes that I hadn't seen in a while. I was quite excited to see that the weather was warming up, and that we had a few really beautiful sunny days. Then, of course, on Sunday and Monday the sky decided to dump half a foot of snow again. I cursed the snow with chattering teeth on my way to school this afternoon.

Oh well, I guess the pictures below will just have to be filed away for better days ahead. Just thought I'd share, since my recent outfit posts haven't been so interesting.



Once again I'm turning scarves into dresses. Both scarves in this post were purchased second hand, and are paired with a thrifted skirt (currently still being hemmed, you can see the dark stitches oops!) and Aldo shoes. The first one reminds me a tiny bit of those flame prints at Jeremy Laing this season. This is probably the first time I've ever paired black with orange in an outfit. Somehow it bypassed the Halloween look...



Once again, please ignore the strange details on the skirt. I haven't decided whether I want to iron it and keep the pleats, or take them out completely, or just sew them in so the skirt is tighter.

This is what I wore Friday to school (but with black socks, which I didn't have on hand for photos...)

Oh Alber...

Warning!!! Here I go on another one of my idealistic rampages (actually, I think I'm very much a practical realist, but no one else I know does too heh).

After reading an interesting interview with Alber Elbaz at fashionologie, I couldn't help but think to myself "so this is what fashion does to people?" Of course, I already knew about the weight pressures facing today's models, editors, and even designers, but somehow, reading about Alber's rather self depreciating attitude, the point really hit home for me. Seeing him in photos always made me assume he was a sweet and joyful individual.

So I have a little message for my dearest Alber, and any others who may be feeling insufficient themselves: It shouldn't be about being skinny! It should be about being healthy. It should be about eating a nutritious diet that keeps you from getting sick! Even the common cold is unnecessary and avoidable! It should be about a diet that gives you lots of energy, and in turn changes your mood too! In my opinion, the focus shouldn't be put on the weight, it should be put on nutrition and creating a body resistant to age and disease! Happy body, happy minds.

What do you think?

FYI, if anyone is interested in learning about how to build strong healthy cells, I highly recommend Never Be Sick Again: Health is a Choice, Learn How to Choose It by Raymond Francis.

Hartmann Dordenholz FW 2009

If there's anything I love to ramble on about it's collections with great patterns. Hartmann Nordenholz's fall collection, entitled Drei, features a very delightful triangle pattern indeed.

Has anyone ever considered spray painting their clothes? Because it looks as if this is what Filip and Agnes did... or at least were trying to imitate. I'm also enjoying the draped and pleated tops, pants, dresses... even pleated details on the shoes! But I think the the item that caught my attention the most is the leather tote. It almost looks like patches made of the hides of some exotic lizards.




images via hartmannnordenholz.com

Runway Trend - Blankets?

After some of the top London shows I was a bit afraid that every fashion week would be showing beautiful dresses paired with bare legs and shoulders. Where were the warm comfy layers? I mean, it is supposed to be for FALL 2009 after all.

Luckily, Paris and Milan seemed to take a more practical route. But I must say I was quite surprised to see so many blankets and gigantic shawls all over the runways. What is the inspiration behind this collective move towards wrapping and cocooning the body in blankets? Is it the thought of a possibly long and cold recession? Maybe some designers have thumbed their noses at global warming and are preparing for the next ice age? Hmm...






Pictures via thefashionspot, catwalking, style.com

Marni's Reflective Shades

images via style.com

Alright, switching the topic back to the lighter side of fashion again, here's another "lookee here!" kind of post. Maybe one day I'll develop a stronger point of view about the direction of fashion, but for now, I'm still absorbing the pure aesthetic details. I'm swaying in a tide of pretty things so to speak.

I couldn't help but notice the reflective shades gracing Marni's fall collection. This is one of those situations where, just as you think something is completely dead to the fashion world, it starts to creep its way back in. Reflective shades remind me of outdoorsy male Vancouverites in their Columbia jackets and plain slightly loose, slightly faded jeans. Fashion forward doesn't really come to mind.

However, Marni's warped frames almost seem to make the lenses feel relevant again. I wonder who we will see sporting such shades first...

About tragedy...

Hooh boy I think I caught myself in the middle of my first "internet argument" over at Jane's post about a Tibetan Nomad. I thought I'd just write about it here instead of dragging it on on someone else's board. It's kind of nice when I have the opportunity to mention something else outside of fashion here once in a while.

So the gist of it is, some people were offended because "blase" comments were being made about the nomad's attire, which isn't a choice of style but rather a necessity imposed on him by his living conditions. Yes, yes I agree.

Then, because sometimes political correctness annoys me (far too knee-jerk), I stupidly barged in saying that "you can choose to see tragedy everywhere or you can choose to see life as a whole. If we're talking tragedy, I think Western culture, with it various substance abuse problems, full bellies but undernourished bodies, and increasing rates of depression, is equally tragic. You never know, underneath that weathered old skin could be a man sublimely happy and accepting of his condition. In that case he's better off then the rest of us miserable fools who can't even be happy living in the lap of luxury."

Unfortunately me equating spiritual deprivation to material deprivation didn't sit too well with people, and I was called a whiny over-privileged first-world kid (ouch).

Now the funny thing is, spiritual deprivation actually is a serious problem, and it often goes unacknowledged. These days many of us were taught to believe that if the external environment is perfect, life would be perfect. That change can only come from outside of you, brought to you by various political ideologies whether they be communism, conservatism, liberalism, etc. We argue over ideologies because we believe that we can arrange the outside world in a way that could benefit everyone. Well in my opinion, the external world is a reflection of the internal world. All of the corruption and inequality we see in the world sprung out of the internal, our thoughts, our own choices, our own actions. It's a collective disease.

In my opinion, which obviously isn't shared by all but it's still worth an honest consideration, spiritual deprivation is far more tragic than material deprivation. Material over stimulation is far more tragic because it causes so much harm in the world, including causing the deprivation of the freedom and material needs of others.
I wasn't dismissing the fact that this particular Tibetan might have had a hard life, I was trying to get people to think about why this may be so. I'm trying to question why we automatically assume that if other people had the many things we in the west call necessities, they'd be better off. Isn't that a bit ethnocentric too?

Anyways, if there's anything I want to share with you all out of this, it's that to change the world you have to change yourself first. Approach things with compassion and an open mind. Question everything. Don't hate people because they hurt others. Feel compassion for them too. Feel compassion for everyone, even spoiled western kids, because we're all in this together, and we're all a bit lost together.

I very much look forward to hearing your insightful comments as well. Just no knee-jerk hateful comments please.

Feathery Furry Headbands at Rick Owens

Images via thefashionspot via catwalking.

I think my favourite fashion moment of the day was seeing the furred/feathered headbands at Rick Owens. While looking through small thumbnails, I at first thought that someone had given Sasha the coolest haircut on the planet. Like Andy Warhol with his signature mop of hair pulled back... Anyways, I think I love them even more seen from the back with the model's hair neatly pinned in a bun. It's a rather strange accessory but I kind of like it. I vaguely recall seeing strips of faux-fur trim at Dressew that might work themselves into such a headpiece. I can't wait for summer vacation to start. I hope I don't forget all these diy ideas when I finally have time to try them out!

Rain boots again...

The rain boots make another appearance! Blame the weather. Today I wore more of my weekend finds. I quite like wearing shiny big sequins for just going to school. I did get some funny stares though, and it's barely past 10 am. I guess I'll be bringing the party to the exam hall this evening.

I'm in the library at the moment passing the time away by catching up on google reader and checking out the Gareth Pugh show online. Have you seen the video yet? It's part gothic horror, part Parisian black-suited chic. I love the upsurge of fashion related videos these days. Pierre Debusschere does some really nice work over at Dazed Digital. Since I normally just see the collections by way of runway photos, actually seeing them in motion makes the experience much more appealing.

Oops

Sorry the comments have accidentally been turned off for the last post for no apparent reason... Fixed now.

What I Wore Today

Today I wore my new/old grey blazer. I'm not sure whether it's the muddy rain boots or size of the shoulders on the blazer, but something makes this outfit look a little dumpy. Maybe it's both. I think I prefer it worn with heels. But ah, such is the weather. I should have lied and put heels on for the photo! Now I feel a little bit nervous about posting muddy boots on a fashion blog... heh

Francesco Scognamiglio...lioliolio....

Sometimes inspiration comes from more unlikely places. For example, I've never heard of Francesco Scognamiglio before, can't even pronounce his name, but while stumbling upon his fall collection I couldn't help but gape at the beautifully sculpted skirts, dramatic sheer blouses and odd golden... chest cage thing. They are calling out to me. It's too bad that he doesn't even have his profile page ready to go on the website when his collection has just been down the runway...


Images via style.com

Go Away!

Argh! Some moron has spammed my comments board. I'll try to fix it now. Sorry guys!

Shoe Lust! Prada Fall 2009

Say what you will about some of the caveman outfits parading down the runway, but you can't deny that Miuccia delivered again with these shoes alone. I also kind of liked the wellies. But they would have been better had they been made of rubber instead of leather. I could actually use a pair of high-heeled rubber boots here in Vancouver!


Images via style.com

Thrifting Day!

Today I finally ventures out to Value Village to spend a couple of hours scanning the racks. It's been so long since I've last been thifting that by the end of it I thought I could buy out the whole store! I'm still sad about a few pieces I had to let go. Here is what I wore today:


Vintage hat, thrifted blazer, Jacob sweater, H&M tee, Zara jeans, Aldo shoes.

And here is what I purchased:



Giant sequins! I love the way this sweater fits. It doesn't look like it came from a thrift store at all! Do you think that maybe Christopher Kane's famous sequined collection was inspired by something he found in a thrift store?



Just a cozy sweater. Can't get enough of them since it's still barely warming up here. I like the panels of different yarn.



This is quite honestly the best blazer I've ever scored second hand. It even has leather detailing!





Another great blazer. The green threads woven into have a slight sheen that I'm finding very appealing.



And lastly, a poofy purple dress that fits like a glove. It fits almost too well. So well that it's hard to move my arms... I tried to style it away from looking too much like an 80s prom dress. Success?

I hope I'll have more out in the daylight photos come April/May when the semester finishes. I'm getting bored of taking photos in the crappy lighting of my room.

Blue Tuxedo

Lately I've noticed one particular colour begin to creep into my wardrobe... and my surroundings in general. It all started with painting my room a light grey-blue many months ago. Since then I've acquired quite a few items in a similar shade. It's probably the only colour that I can wear head to knees (still lacking tights and shoes). It's not quite a blue tuxedo, since I'm not pairing it with a denim bottom, but it feels like it's in the same vein.

Below I'm wearing a thrifted denim jacket, Joe Fresh Style tee, and inside-out thrifted skirt (I had the length shortened a bit). I quite like the slightly deconstructed look caused by the zipper poking out. Notice that I'm covering the labels with my hand. I haven't taken them off yet. Where is that seam ripper?





I've also finally made a Twitter account. I'm currently trying to figure out how to link it to my phone. In case you're wondering what's on my mind at other times of the day, you can check it out here.

Ruffle Drama

D&G via Fincher at tfs.com/AP Photos.
Gianfranco Ferre via Nils at tfs.com/Getty

I'm loving the neck ruffles appearing on a few runways in Milan. It's a look that I secretly try on in my room but never dare wear outside. Well, at least not on campus. I like dressing randomly if I'm out downtown though.

On another note, I've tried experimenting with shoulder pads in my sweaters but I can't get that sleek sharp look (see above) I've been seeing everywhere lately. I just end up with a frumpy lumpy mess. Any ideas?

Melt Away, Winter Cold

Last night I tried to style an outfit around this pretty floral jacket I thrifted at Value Village a couple of months ago and then never wore. I had fun following my boyfriend's silly posing orders. The one shown here was a result of "pretend you're a melting clock!" Probably inspired by the Dali print in the background. Even though it isn't The Persistence of Memory... That ironing board is a hideous relic from the 90s, but Kevin insisted I take photos with it. Oh well, the 90s are having a comeback right?




The weather has decided to be especially cruel last night and this morning, with a short bout of snow and cold winds after what has been a relatively nice couple of weeks. That means that, for the meantime at least, my hopes of breaking out some lighter fabrics have been dashed again. Today I went off to school wearing my Topshop jodhpurs and two layers of sweaters. I did try to brighten things up by mixing lime green and lemon yellow though! I haven't really been posting many of my school outfits on the blog since, to be honest, they're dreadfully boring and super casual.

I'm ready for summer to come now. Please?