A Hello to T

A couple of months ago I was hating on Alexander Wang for his namesake line. I was in Gravity Pope Tailored Goods last week however, and rediscovered the joy that is T by Alexander Wang. In grays, a range of nudes, black and white, T is a sexy, clingy line that maintains a casual feel- if you bought the entire range, you'd be ready for pretty much any occasion.
ESPECIALLY THIS DRESS

This doesn't fit the model that well at the bust, but believe me when I say it is surprisingly flattering, and looks great on most skin colours; I'm the same skin colour as Kate Winslet (sans tanner), and it makes a great contrast.










MMMMMM

MMMM

Sadly this photograph gives off somewhat of a prom photo kind of look, but this dress is amazing! I feel like it draws you in to touch her back- so many men would want to put their palm on the indentation of your lower spine.

An Eye for an Eye

With the options of wearing contacts so easily available, not every visually-impaired person chooses to wear glasses. I mean, I just recently found out that two good friends of mine actually have vision problems and wear lenses every day! This leads me to believe that those who wear glasses are doing so very consciously and are making some sort of statement. I'm surprised that I didn't realise this earlier because I firmly believe that everything we do to our physical self, we do to further promote our desired projection of 'self' to the world. We want to appear edgy/sexy/powerful/innocent and we learn how to convey that- why would glasses be the exception?

What I'm trying to figure out is, what is the message, exactly? It is so much more nuanced than a simple "glasses make you look smarter", because there is so much variety within the eyewear universe. I have a growing theory that people who wear glasses have a bit of a rebel spirit in them. They may not all realise it, but they do. They have the choice to keep their eyes unframed, and they deny the bridge of their nose the luxury of remaining uncluttered. They turn an astigmatism into an additional fashion statement. Whatever that is.

I love my glasses.

A Brief History of Space & Time, part 1.

As I've heard again and again, advertising isn't necessarily about selling you a product, but a lifestyle and a mindset. Apple commercials sell you on the idea that the Mac is the 'cool kid' computer, that it's a style choice that says so much more  about you than that you just prefer a white laptop. Dorito's ads don't just tell you about the new flavour, the new packaging, but it reminds you that it's there, to be bought and enjoyed. Same thing goes for luxe advertising campaigns. They may be larger, glossier and more expensive-looking than most, but similarly, it's all about keeping a firm presence in the mind of the consumer, present and potential. Some campaigns feature models that aren't even wearing the product; the clothing isn't even there on the ads- nudity, for some companies, makes a stronger statement about the brand image than their own clothing does.

So I've been amassing a collection of past ad campaigns (with help from The Style Registry) that have made an impact on me and have really stuck in my mind in the years since they were used. I looked at these ads and fully connected with the themes that they promoted, and I still appreciate them today.

LOUIS VUITTON:
Not only is LV a huge advertising presence in Hong Kong, they just do it well. Luxurious, textured...LV ads look fantastic in both glossy magazines and on huge billboards.

 

Louis Vuitton S/S 2004 (Mert & Marcus)

Louis Vuitton S/S 2006 (Mert & Marcus)

Louis Vuitton S/S 2007 (Mert & Marcus)

Louis Vuitton F/W 2007 (Mert & Marcus)

NARCISCO RODRIGUEZ:
What women out there doesn't want to look like Carmen Kass in this ad? They haven't altered the campaign in years, so they must know how effective it is.

DOLCE & GABBANA, D&G
I don't think anyone does an ensemble photoshoot like the crew behind D&G advertising. There's always a strong historical or cultural narrative, and such creativity! I used to put these ads up on my closet doors before I was even truely interested in fashion.

D&G, S/S 2005, (Steven Meisel)

Dolce & Gabbana, F/W 2006 (Steven Meisel)

Dolce & Gabbana, F/W 2006 (Steven Meisel)

Dolce & Gabbana F/W 2007 (Steven Klein)

Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2006 (Steven Meisel)

Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2004 (Steven Meisel)

 

Thanks to http://community.livejournal.com/styleregistry/ for their work in uploading all of these high quality images.

A No to Lanvin

I'm not going to lineup for the H&M x Lanvin release on November 21st. Too stressful- in Hong Kong, designer collaborations are regarded as serious business, and I know that every H&M in town will be a complete and utter mess. Don't get me wrong, I heart Alber Elbaz...but I'm not sure how keen I am on luxe-mass collections. I think that a lot of the allure of buying luxury brands is in the fact that few others will be wearing it (clearly this theory doesn't stand with regards to leather goods and accessories; every other woman in the CBD carries an LV bag). Expensive, mid-range, cheap, it's always exciting when you're wearing something unique, and for the next 6 months after the release, the Lanvin dresses are going to be EVERYWHERE.

3 years from now? I'd probably wear this stuff. When everyone's forgotten it ever existed.

I guess that makes me an elitist.

A Cutesy Pair

Plushy freaking sneakers! A Reebok x Hello Kitty collaboration. Not available outside of Japan :<

 

I can't even deal with the cute factor.

A Memory of a Dress

In March 2004, Karolina Kurkova attended the Met's Costume Institute Ball wearing Azzedine Alaia

 

This is not a great photo, and you can't even come close to seeing all of the details, but this dress is so lovely. I tried to find photos of Karolina climbing the Met stairs, as that's when the complexities of the bustle and train can best be seen...but the Internet isn't really holding on to photos from 6 years ago!

I'm posting this because I find it fascinating that I would hold on to a romantic attachment to something for years, and I wonder why I haven't really done it with other pieces of clothing. I think it's mainly because owning it is much less possible than perhaps, a silk blouse or a peacoat. I will NEVER have this dress *wails*

A Start on the Chaos that is S/S 11

I always find Fashion Week overwhelming because there are so many shows to see and that is really hard when you can only see them on a computer screen (it TIRES the eyes, yeah). You end up making the decision to look at ones that are the personal faves (Bottega, 3.1, Dries, Vera Wang, Lanvin, Erdem, Celine) and the big names (YSL, Marc Jacobs, D&G etc.).....so when do you take a look at the up and comers? I usually take 3 or 4 weeks to sift through everything and make sure to evaluate collections that I generally don't think about......like Rochas.....Les Copains.......Christopher Kane......others....

At the moment I'm in Capetown and my Internet is not great, but I really felt like making a start on blogging S/S- this post will definitely be limited in scope and aesthetic value......BUT FASHION WEEK WAS PRETTY GRAND THIS SEASON! I'm not sure whether designers tend to take themselves too seriously for their fall/winter collections or whether inspiration for S/S was unusually rampant, and beautiful, and glorious . There were some truely KNOCKOUT collections and a whole bunch of interesting ones.

It pleases me so much to see collections continue their achievements from the most recent Resort collections- as you can remember, I was pretty blown away by them.


Proenza Schouler



Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler

This is the kind of excitement I remember feeling when Proenza first came out as a label- exuberant colour (used appropriately!), intriguing underwear/outerwear, sick styling, bold patterning.....a return to all that was good about the duo's first few seasons. I didn't want to support the hype around this collection but I couldn't not.

Zero + Maria Cornejo

Erdem

Erdem



Erdem

My little Canadian dumpling, you slay me with your ability to create beautiful, ethereal clothing.

Bottega Veneta

  

Bottega Veneta

I think that Tomas Maier dreams in intense colour. I think that his dreams are lush and detailed and vivid. His collections are largely monochromatic but his use of texture, of voids and visible skin in contrast is so strong. I feel he truely investigates what is new and what can be done with materials.