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Category: collections

SS11 Detail: Humble Chloe

Posted by Qing on October 6, 2010 | No comments

There were no heels or precisely no high-heels through out the entire Chloe SS11 catwalk show. They were mainly in flats. Missionary sandals is getting a bit futurist by teaming with plastic and leather.

A more classic style of missionary sandal, a continue-success from SS10.

…summer ankle boots are turning into an essential…

leather ballerina socks/flats still keeps the dress floating and dress down the elegance high-level to a more humble level…

All images are from Stylesight.com and are edited by Qing for Fadeto#C5C5C5

Tags: Chloe

Your Taste…or NOT?

Posted by Qing on October 6, 2010 | One comment

collections • fashion weeks

I’ve been wanting to say something about Rick Owen’s collection for Jil Sander since I’ve seen it 2 weeks ago. It’s a collection with silhouette brings my memories back to mid 90s. I remember of reading the article about Isaac Mizrahi, the title was ‘like statue, like goddess’. I think I was too young then to understand the subtleness and understatement Mizrahi tried to portrait. But 15 years ago, here I am again…with Jil Sander SS2011 collection in front my eyes, I finally realized my passion to these straight sculpted long silhouettes.

People always say T-shirt with ball-gown skirt is such an American thing. With belief of ‘less is more’, I could also recall how much I used to love the outfits of Claire Danes from 97th Oscar for ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

Rick Owen was not just limited to T-shirt and peplum and long line tulips…he also strikes lots of colours out. All seemingly-fighting brights are very well considered on proportion and percentage without looking cartoonish. I’m not sure whether this collection is up for everyone’s taste, but certainly we could all take notes from those colour combinations for next summer!

Tags: Claire Danes, jil sander, Rick Owen

SS11 Detail: A Debate to Prada

Posted by Qing on October 2, 2010 | No comments

collections • fashion weeks • inspiration

So when Prada’s collection came out, a big stir is created not only among the big high-up editors, but also in our own little office. My colleague Em and I had a heated debate on emails and I found it’s probably the best way to describe the show.

E: Is it just me or is the Prada collection a bit of a disappointment? Style.com must be run by Miuccia’s mum cos as per usual they love it…

Q: Sorry guys, I actually really really really love Prada!!! It’s very revolutionary. Nobody has ever done stripes without being look Nautical!

E: If you put that collection down a graduate fashion week catwalk you’d never get a job.

Q: The problem is ‘ that was not a graduate project’, it’s by Prada, she’s a communist and too thoughtful, she got the balls! She can foresee other people’s vision before people…. I think it’s a super break-through…tho it’s not up to normal standard of ‘beauty’. I felt the needs to adjust my own point of view of beauty. Whether next season high-street will follow or not, it is just a timing problem as it could take about more than 2 seasons for this vision to get around to a bigger audience base.

E: But if you take away the plush toy accessories and the monkeys and bananas you’ve got a bunch of Armani-esque unflatteringly cut suits and bold stripes that look a bit M&S swimwear. Love the stripy clutch bags though!

Q: The point is though ‘she has the monkey print and bananas’ and ‘she has the more daring colour-combo stripes than Armani’, but after all she is Prada, not Armani… There is no ‘if’….the monkey really does the tricks…

E: If this collection was Henry Holland I doubt you’d say the same. Also something being good because it’s ‘prada’ is a bit emporers new clothes. I doubt style.com would have been so flattering if they were missing that very expensive Prada ad on every page

Q: Ahahaha….E, there’s no IF. And IF Henry Holland really has this brain to do this, then I will salute him! I get the point of Prada Ad money injection though.

Tags: prada

SS11 Detail: Salute Gucci Craftsmen

Posted by Qing on September 26, 2010 | No comments

collections • design • fashion weeks

To surprise the audience, all you need to do is to break the normal rules you’ve been setting up and have a break through. That’s exactly what Frida Giannini has done for Gucci SS11. Without a single print, with which Gucci had huge success on previous a few SS collections, this collection is set out to have the bold colours and … amazing craftsmanship. Here we present you a string of closed-up detail shots.

a vest formed by fringing and weaved fine leather strips

lacing up details

this one is particularly clever, weaved with eye-lets, metal rings, waxed cords and leather strips…

weave-through technique continues on a bigger scale by concentrating on the waist…

fine chains, beads and tassel fringings…

You can not have these ideas came out by just sitting in a nice and clean design studios. They are from the amazing experience of craftsman technique which are collected, inherited and passed-on through generations!

Tags: Gucci

Burberry Prorsum – Spring/Summer 2011

Posted by Qing on September 23, 2010 | No comments

collections • fashion weeks

Seconds before Burberry Prosum’s Spring/Summer 2011 show streamed live online, my phone started ringing. It was Awais, my partner in crime. – “I know, I know…Burberry, yes, live!” I was screaming like a drama queen.

The thing about designers like Christopher Bailey is that when you can reinvent the same old things into something new again and again without fail, then we know you have become some kind of master. Mr. Bailey is exactly a master of this one kind and that’s why we always get very hyper whenever he’s about to reveal yet another one of his masterpieces. Last season he relaunched shearling pilot jackets and brought back an item which is without doubt the hottest item of this season. We were both twisting our thumbs with excitement about what tricks he would have up his sleeve this time.

This time he reinvented the classic trench. Burberry is a brand which has become synonymous with trench coats, it is also synonymous with great British design, heritage and craftsmanship. The trench coats for SS11 are decorated with black tape, padding, studs and vibrant animal buckle brands. Bailey has also incorporated something else which is essentially British into the collection – London’s punk heritage in form of the biker jackets and studded details. The collection had the jackets in every shape, size and variation, as short cropped jackets, as long leather trench coats. Thinking back at style.com’s review of Alexander Wang’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection, brought back a comment to my mind – ‘If anyone does a biker jacket, it doesn’t feel new any more’. Oh, if they had only known how wrong they would be. In matter of short eight days, Bailey proved them wrong. I was joking to Awais, that you could peal off any scruffy punk’s studded biker and oil it to a high-shine level and put it on Burberry’s catwalk. Indeed, with or without studs, short, crop or long with belt, everyone seems to be able to pick one from this collection. And Bailey has teamed all the biker jackets with his best-selling super-short cocktail dresses. At the first glance, the dresses could be mistaken to be a Lipsy creation. At a closer look, the black tape detail and cut-out back details reflect the punk and biker elements and make it more edgy.

Tags: Burberry Prosum

Clements Ribeiro – Spring/Summer 2011

Posted by Qing on September 22, 2010 | 2 comments

collections • fashion weeks

I have always loved Clements Ribeiro and this season this feeling has reached a top. A collection full of fun, youth, edginess and sexual appeals. Multi-layering and print-on-stripe seem to have borrowed complex-styling tips from Sussie Bubble and Tavi. Citric yellow and black and white make the full shouting of summer’s hype. This is actually another most-favourite collection of mine for SS11. I could happily dress myself next summer with casual stylings in Wang-esque and colourful fun/casual-going-out stylings with all Clements Ríbeiro. I never do full-pretty-dress-night-out-look if you know me well…always casual all the way. So this collection actually means a lot to me, as it is quite relaxed, but with a tiny bit of dressy feel with those vibrant print and little helps of black sequins.

Tags: Clements Ribeiro

Marc by Marc Jacobs – SS2011

Posted by Qing on September 20, 2010 | 2 comments

collections • fashion weeks

I might get beaten up if I say that I don’t like Marc by Marc Jacobs. Well, I don’t normally, because it’s not really my THING. I liked the brand…say…about 3-4 years ago when I was REALLY into the edgy girlie stuff just like MBMJ. Now a few years passed on, my taste has been changed. (yeah, y’all know me yelling about Wang…hehe) But after seeing this season’s MBMJ collection, I have to say, I seriously like the whole show, especially all the colour combos, brownish tones with a dirty pink especially. No one could play colours so well as Marc. He somehow could make those bright colours…mmm…very grungy. There’s definitely a mood and a little grumpy attitude there which is actually very very cool.

Tags: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs

Unique Detail

Posted by Qing on September 20, 2010 | One comment

collections • design • fashion weeks

Topshop has transformed old Eurostar Terminal at London Waterloo Station to a magic crystal box. With rays of sunlights on Saturday, the details from Topshop Unique looks even more dramatic and mysterious.