Paris Fashion Week: Spring 2010 Part I

I know this entry is late as paris fashion week has been done for a bit of time now, but this entry is still going to be as good as if i had posted it earlier. paris fashion week seemed to start off slow and got better as it went on. it wasn't my fave fashion week, i prefered milan fashion week and new york fashion week the best i think, but all of the fashion weeks were so entertaining and showcased the true talent of the designers and their staff.
♥ me

isabel marant- marant's rock chick girls turn into "boho pirates" for spring 2010 according to style.com. i liked the slight irreverence of this show, it wasn't overly fashiony or serious and the slouchy boots and flouncy dresses are things i can see a lot of girls wearing.

hussein chalayan- this collection showed off a more wearable, streamlined design from chalayan than i have seen. i am much more used to his abstract, out of this world designs. the closing look, which is the white one shouldered dress to the far right is so cool because it has a white fist closing around the single shoulder strap.

givenchy- the cone hats were super weird and super ugly, but some of the clothes were actually nice. did you love this collection as much as every fashionista seems to?

giles- giles deacon really is a genius. he combined colors and fabrics that i would never think went together and made it all chic. the show was very kitschy with some dresses and other clothes featuring tarantula print. there were a lot of frills, short hemlines and outrageous accessories, but a fashionista with a more classic style sensibility could still find great pieces in this collection.

giambattista valli- i absolutely loved this show. it seemed more pared down from the usual valli shows (and it was), but as the show went on, the glamour, the structure and the beauty of his designs were apparent. featured were confetti like ruffles, feathers, huge ruffles around the neck, beaded embellishment, animal print and sheer bodices.

gareth pugh- woohoo for gareth pugh! although his shows always have a gothic overtone and i am by no means a goth, his clothes are so well made that you can't help but love his collections. these are versatile clothes that you can buy and put in your wardrobe and adapt to your style. that is the genius of gareth pugh.

emanuel ungaro- style.com is so judgmental. just because lindsay lohan's name was attached to the ungaro show it was deemed a failure. first of all, the house of ungaro got rid of it's creative director estaban cortazar and hired estrella archs and had lindsay lohan as an artistic director. for their first hand at a collection for emanuel ungaro, they did a good job. they delivered on great party dresses that a lot of young hollywood could wear. yes, the sequin heart pasties were strange, but they were few. style.com said the harem pants were absolutely atrocious, but honestly...no designer has won me over in the harem pant department, not even the loved givenchy. picking on lindsay lohan, just because she is lindsay lohan is pretty low. kudos to estrella archs and lohan for a good debut collection.

elie saab- elie saab can do no wrong. this season he took some inspiration from balmain and made an edgier collection with a darker color palette and emphasized shoulders and tight dresses. his show still had his signature stamp of class though.

collette dinnigan- lovely. my favorite piece is the aquamarine ombre sequined dress.

christian dior- amazing, as usual! :) this collection was based on 40s film noir and wartime fashion as well as playing around with the look of lingerie that john galliano explored in detail for his recent collection for christian dior.

chanel- this was a fun show that centered aroung all things country and farm based. models had wheat in their hair, walked out of a hay filled stall and walked flirtily around the chanel set with clogs and remixes of the chanel suit. a lot of great, fun, young, stylish clothes were featured that i know celebs will be jostling for. the show featured 72 beautiful looks, and all of the models looked genuinely happy to be there.

celine- phoebe philo does it again. watching this show made me feel clean, happy and bubbly. the design aesthetic was sharp and clean, the color palette for spring was great and i loved the model's clean faces and gently pulled back hair. the clothes were simple, but not boring.

ann demeulemeester- i like it. i like it. long skirts are love, especially when made this well.

andrew gn- andrew gn delivered with more stunning jewel embellishments, bright colors and modern girly cuts of clothing. i am so in love with the second dress from the left. it's purple print is divine and this dress would pair perfectly with my purple gem ring that i have yet to wear.

alexander mcqueen- this show started off with a bunch of out of this world, abstract, weird, unwearable looks and then eased back into wearable pieces with amazing prints. this show was absolutely insane. the work that went into making these prints and these intricate clothes, and the model's makeup and sculpted hair was immense! and the shoes were so high. this collection was based on the sea creatures that humans are supposed to turn into when our polar ice caps melt. >.>

akris- akris's shows are always perfect. they make perfect clothes. perfect lines, perfect fabrics, perfect colors that can benefit any warddrobe. this brand should have long been on my list of favorites, and now that they are there, they will probably be there forever. the color palette consisted of white, cream, powder blue, pale beigey grey, black, pumpkin orange, brick red and chocolate brown. the big, pillowy yet structured white bags they featured were heavenly.

a.f. vandevorst- sheer garments paired with thick and skinny leather belts. with this show, it was all about presentation. i wasn't expecting to like this show, but the show had a clear, cohesive message and that always attracts me.

fashion week notes

rochas- i did like this collection, but as with many other good collections, i needed it to be great. women are always on the search for great pieces, not just good.

limi feu- the model's didn't even look good in the clothes and limi yamamoto (the designer) didn't look happy after the presentation...so....why should i be excited about this?

anne valerie hash- i fell in love with one look, a metallic top and skirt combo with a ruffle going down the midline of the skirt but a lot of the other pieces weren't wearable and did not excite me.

rick owens- this collection got interesting at the end with some metallic pieces and cropped jackets with high collars...but by then i had lost interest.

nina ricci- all of the red carpet dresses from this collection were absolutely stunning, but peter copping (the new guy at nina ricci) has taken the house in a way different direction than olivier theyskens did, so it was kind of discombobulating...but i'm sure i'll be in love with this new direction for nina ricci next season.

bruno pieters- didn't excite me.

balmain- the show was good, and interesting, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i liked. i know, i know...it's balmain...but i just couldn't like enough pieces. all of the models looked like glammed up cavewomen or old army vets in model's bodies...and some of the looks were great, and others can only be worn by models.

balenciaga- straight hair, prints, architectural draping, blah, blah, blah....whatever.

azzaro- i loved the cute dresses and jackets azzaro presented, but i was expecting more, especially since i loved their fall 2009 collection so much. the closing dress was absolutely beautiful and simple. i'm sure we'll see it somewhere other than the runway.

maison martin margiela- this wasn't the best show but it wasn't death dealingly horrible as style.com lamented. still...it does seem like margiela has lost a bit of its touch.

issey miyake- dai fujiwara, the head of issey miyake at the moment, tried to cover a bunch of themes in his show and it didn't work to the show's betterment.

undercover- this show was sporty and futuristic, with dark ambient prints, anorak blouses, slim and short trousers, models with slicked back hair and orange lines drawn under their eyes and brown leather detail on some of the clothes.

sophia kokolasaki- the show was good, but i was expecting more. some of the shoes were absolutely fab though.

jean paul gaultier- his inspoiration: madonna's cone bra that he designed, gang girls, cornrows and afro puff ponytails, overalls....he played with very interesting concepts and let pregnant jourdan dunn walk the runway but he still couldn't win me over.

haider ackermann- lots of draping and shiny fabrics, and one model walked the runway holding half of her chest.

commes des garcons- this show had a few coherent looks such as looks 17 and 28. and this was one of the better commes des garcons shows i have seen but it was not collage worthy....sorry :/

kris van assche- nothing special. black, leather, and greased down hair.

dries van noten- lots of ethnic prints and slouchy cuts. this collection was't as fun and inspiring as his past two.

costume national- ennio capasa was looking to make a really intrigueing collection, but it didn't work for me. the models looked great in the super, super short shorts...but who else would? most of the gowns were shapeless and looked half tattered so costume national isn't getting my vote for the spring 2010 season. although i loved the bag karmen pedaru walked out in for the first look.

yves saint laurent- i don't know what's going on with ysl, but this collection was sloppy, random and a bit too on the minimalistic side for me.

vanessa bruno- an improvement from past shows.

tim hamilton- a very severe look of black lips, slicked back hair, monochrome super tailored outfits and nipples exposed through sheer blouses. i liked some of it though...not the nipple exposure part.

chloe- this show was sooo boring. the simplicity didn't look chic at all. what was up with the monogrammed pieces? i wonder how the ad campaign will look for this collection.

wunderkind- this was weird. sheerness, body stockings based off of medical wrapping, arrows....??

hermes- i absolutely loved the sporty clean preppiness of this show. the theme was tennis, and jean paul gaultier made beautiful use of the theme. i fell in love with his tennis infused classic hermes bags the instant i saw them, and i loved that the models' hair look so clean. however the looks weren't standout...they were nice though.

miu miu- i did like this collection, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i absolutely loved. it was a great show though, with cute cat, dog and tree prints, colored shirts and above the knee office skirts and long braided ponytails on the models.

LONDON FASHION WEEK: SPRING 2010 PART I

hey all!
i was able to get london fashion week in only 1 post! awesome right? so even though it says part I there is only one part and it is not one part among many. i can't wait for milan and paris. i thoroughly enjoyed london fashion week and think this was the best london fashion week ever. it had a lot of substance and great looks and london is proving that it can be a major fashion capital too! slowly but surely they're getting there :)
♥ me

vivienne westwood red label- this collection was all over place, from the model casting to the clothes. however i thoroughy enjoyed it and liked the creative looks that the people working with vivienne westwood put together.

luella- luella never disappoints. this time she pleasantly surprised me with a less cutesy and comical collection for a slightly more sophisticated yet colorful collection that borrowed silhouettes from the sixties and showcased huge, structured hips. i loved all of the structured coats, skirts and cute teadresses. i was thoroughly pleased while viewing the pictures and loved her use of bows. her bags were also very nice, as was the fun eye makeup on the models.

roksanda ilincic- even though the color palette was mostly dark and this is a spring collection, i didn't mind because rokansanda ilincic executed her vision so well. i loved the use of dark, shiny feathers as well as embellishment around the waist which cinched the waist and brought attention to it.

pringle of scotland- clare waight keller (designer of pringle of scotland) managed to make knitwear look reasonable for spring. this is some of the most delicate knitwear i've ever seen. this collection was very tastefully done, and i can tell a lot of thought went into making this special as the presentation was brought back to england from milan to celebrate london fashion week's 25th anniversary since the line is scottish and is part of the UK.

peter pilotto- peter pilotto is one of the few designers that makes me swoon...at least for the moment. i am in love with the buttery, nutty brown suede shoes and the swirling masterpieces of fabric that his dresses are. the deep blue and red dress to the far right just hypnotizes me! i love the colors in it as well as every other dress in the collage.

paul smith women- sir paul smith was inspired by the congolese and his african inspiration showed up clearly in his collection. i loved the bright mustard yellows used throughout the collection as well as the wide variety of prints. some were stripey, some were dotty and some featured small drawings.

nathan jenden- i loved the casting of this show: all black/black hispanic or asian models. awesomeeee. featured was a lot of color, bollywood prints and pigtail braids. braids are awfully popular lately.

mary katrantzou- this collection was breathtaking. the digital prints on the dresses were out of this world and the construction was absolutely beautiful. 5 stars! :)

mark fast- this show was very interesting because all of the pieces were skintight cobwebby VERY revealing knits. the designer also cast 3 plus sized models with curves galore to model some of these pieces...and boy did they have a lot to show. however i think his choice was great and made the show that much more interesting although...definitely not p-g 13.

julien macdonald- the show got better as it went on. the great craftmanship was evident as i stared closer and closer at each piece.

matthew williamson- amazing, as always. there are some great red carpet options in this collection!

josh goot- this collection was chock full of pop prints and bright colors. the excitement and vivacity of the show never ended as each pieces was as bright or brighter than the last and all of the pieces had graphic elements to them. apparently the designer was inspired by scuba gear and surfboards and he made good use of that inspiration.

erdem- perfection. the designer says he was inspired by modern japanese girls that refuse to wear kimono's and have adopted western dress as well as the surreal and detailed japanese art he saw this summer.

jonathan saunders- in this collection jonathan saunders took a liking to minimalism and a very light palette. he made great use of whites and "frosted pastels" as style.com put it as well as the occasional highlighter yellow or green.

jasmine di milo- this collection was so perfect. from the first look i knew it would be impossible to just choose 4 looks...but i managed to do it. jasmine al-fayed worked with prints, color (the brightest being a bold orange used in a one shouldered column dress with a thigh high slit), leather and embellishment and i think she came out with a great collection. i want to try on those taupey/beigey wedge heels and see how they would look on me.

issa- inspiration for these clothes was taken from the tropics and the many ants that live in warm locales with ant prints appearing on tunics and cocktail dresses.

fashion fringe- fashion fringe is a fashion competition inspired by the competition of american idol. fashion fringe has produced such stars as erdem and basso & brooke. i'm loving these four pieces that i saw in this year's fashion fringe show.

fashion east- i'm not quite sure what fashion east is. if you know exactly what it is, please tell me. i'm guessing it is similar to fashion fringe? here are some of the amazing pieces displayed at the fashion east spring 2010 show.

duro olowu- i'm so happy. i thoroughly enjoyed duro's presentation. it was amazing. it is so great when a designer can use an abundance of color and print and still make it look as elegant and wearable as basic black and white. and did you check out those shoes? so cute.

burberry prorsum- could christopher bailey make me fall more in love with this collection? no. i am so in love. love love love! i loved the pastel colors, the draping and the awesome burberry-ness. i really need that baby pink trench that is second from the left, and i wouldn't mind that beautiful lilac ensemble third from the left.

basso&brooke- sigh...too good to be true <3 this was a really fun show to click through :)

antonio berardi- perfect!

london fashion week notes

unique by topshop- managed to make all of the models look like they just rolled out of a trashcan. this collection was not appealing in the least.

richard nicoll- the show was decent but it had a rocky start. it only drew me in at the end.

nicole farhi- this collection had a very sporty american feel to it, spruced up with a colorful square print.

louise gray- the pure creativity expressed in this collection is enough to win you over. these are truly one of a kind pieces and i love them! however some looks were a bit out there so the feel of this collection needed to be honed a bit more.

louise goldin- i loved the sweet pastel color palette. there was no shortage of easter bunny candy yellow, pale lilac, powder blue, off whites and creams. there was heavy use of pleating, ruffles, quilting and exposed bra cups.

graeme black- it wasn't working for me.

twenty8twelve- it was fun and young, but nothing new.

todd lynn- this was more like a fall collection rather than a spring collection. it was very futuristic and very tailored. a good collection, but not exactly one for spring.

meadham kirchhoff- i could see where they were going with this...and i didn't want to travel there. it wasn't working for me. if it had been better executed, maybe i would have liked it more. it needed a bit more...something.

marios schwab- marios schwab played around with layering, deconstruction, pleating and sheerness. some pieces were hits, but most were misses.

jaeger london- this collection did have some good looks...but for a spring collection there was way too much heavy knitwear. there shouldn't be any heavy knitwear at all really...even though in spring sometimes it is still cold, but we can look to fall collections for all the knitwear we want really. as style.com said, the show was all over the place. i loved the sunglasses though.

house of holland- style.com agrees with me again: this collection was so disgustingly tacky (interesting shoes though, that i definitely would consider wearing). even though the show was so so tacky it made you want to gag, it was still fun to watch. very amusing.

christopher kane- kane made great use of gingham and really...he made gingham so interesting and different by using pleating and sheer panels along with it as well as heavy rose shaped beaded embellishments on some of the pieces. i wanted to make a collage for this, but i couldn't fall in love with enough of the pieces.

sykes- all of the clothes looked so badly made...

ppq- this collection wasn't the bomb or anything, but i was so tempted to make a collage for it because the cast was pretty much all black models, and that's always something new and different to see. also, these clothes have good wearability...however i can't do it, it would be biased, and this collection still needed a lot more work and thought put into it. i loved the show but at the same time, it wasn't the best it could be! :/

osman- an all white collection that left me bored.

lp.bg- a very cute show with only 8 looks. hopefully next time they'll have more looks, but all the pieces had excellent tailoring so hurrah for that.

kinder aggugini- an overload of bright colors and reptile prints as well as polka dots. i really liked the structure and realtive normalcy of the black and white gown with some bandage detail (look 34) that was presented though.

danielle scutt- this show proved to be tres tres confusing.

charles anastase- the models all looked cute in this collection's voluminous and quite out there creations. i don't know it'd look on the streets though.

peter jensen- this presentation was really weird and blindingly bright but i cannont deny that there were some great pieces in it. however there were a lot of confusing pieces as well.

clements ribeiro- a collection with a palette of mostly black and white with some brown, blue and pink thrown in. the collection featured super tall platform strappy heels, cat and ginseng leaf prints as well as leopard prints and dark, bold eyebrows and makeup.

aquascutum- nice, but a bit boring. lots of long trenches in olive, taupe, black and grey.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK: SPRING 2010 PART III

here is the third and final part of my coverage of nyfw spring 2010. i enjoyed viewing all the images and hopefully one day i can actually view a show in person, wouldn't that be fab?
♥ me

3.1. phillip lim- this show reminded me a lot of chloe and later on in the show a more easily understandable version of rodarte. all of these pieces were so well made. philip lim hasn't lost his touch!

anna sui- the collection was young, fun and exuberant. doesn't chanel iman (far right) look so brilliant in blue? she makes me want to get bangs!

calvin klein- if i had to define this collection in only two words i would describe it as rumpled elegance. all of the clothes were slightly wrinkled and thrown around looking and there were some pieces that i didn't like at all and then there were pieces with more detail that i instantly fell in love with. i'm especially enamored with the first dress from the left and the third dress from the left. i love the charcoal grey color and the beautiful twisting of the grey dress that is third from the left.

doo.ri- this collection was perfect. it's like it was made for me. one of my fave of spring 2010 fashion week. she made great use of grey and didn't make it boring but knew when to inject color. it was really all about the clothes and not the models. i can not get over the bright melony tangeriny hue of the dress to the far right and all of the beautiful embellishment and twisting on the other dresses. they are so perfect for summer and all unique in design.

isaac mizrahi- you know what happens everytime that i see a mizrahi show? i start out being confused, annoyed and vowing that i would like the collection, because i feel that in his show isaac plays around with so many different themes. then halfway into the show i fall in love and can't choose just four looks i want to feature. happens everytime!

marchesa- this show NEVER disappoints me. they did fail to deliver on elegant designs and class. my favorite dresses are the ones to the far left and far right. romantic, soft, and oh so red carpet worthy.

naeem khan- this time naeem khan featured a lot less gowns and some pants, and more short dresses and short skirts. lots of prints were heavily featured and of course the trademark heavy handed dose of sequins on each of the creations was present. even though busy prints were used none of the clothes looked tacky and i loved that the looks were paired with such interesting and girly shoes like chunky gold platformed peeptoes and strappy bright pink and black stunners. i absolutely love the color combo on the drapy floral beaded dress to the far left. i wonder what famous body we'll see that on?

oscar de la renta- i was expecting something more from this collection but the trademark stamp of sophistication that you get with every de la renta show was still there. it definitely had a more youthful and less serious vibe as oscar played around with texture and styling of the looks. i think i'm going to try out that braided bun hairstyle that all the models were rocking...it'll probably not look as great on me but i'll try my best to look half decent with it! :)

phi- i enjoyed watching this. i would describe it as a fusion of balmain, preen and calvin klein. lots of structure but also lots of play with sheerness. bondage inspired looks are still hot as evidence by the bandage dress, tops and skirts galore at phi.

ralph lauren- ralph lauren was inspired by great american resilience in view of a recession and tough times with the american government. he expressed this message very elegantly through this colletion. ralph does it again! i loved his heavy use of denim, he was able to make it look so expensive. and i absolutely love the evening gown that looks like light wash denim as well as the cutness of the overall evening dress that isn't featured in this collage.

tommy hilfiger- this collection was entitled 'beachside romp', inspired by the sophisticated beach dudes and dudettes who know how to soak up the sun and still exude sophistication. i'm loving those peeptoe laceup ankle boots!

stephen burrows- this collection surprised me with its' expert tailoring and great styling.

koi suwannagate- great use of floral appliques and color.

tory burch- sparkle + classic american shapes + good styling.

fashion notes:

l'wren scott- the collection was decent but i felt like i was just seeing any other collection that she puts out every season. most of the pieces were pencil dresses and featured prints she has used already.

threeasfour- this collection was really good and required a great deal of skill to make, but it featured so much sheerness. most of the models seemed to be walking the runway nude.

alexandre herchcovitch- i didn't like this collection, and it didn't help that the designer walked out looking depressed at the end of the shoe.

michael kors- he put out a good spring 2010 collection which i am sure a lot of people love, but i didn't like as many piece as i thought i would.

milly- michelle smith of milly said she centered the collection on black, but she actually used a lot of color and i still managed to be bored by it.

peter som- still needs some time to get his spark back.

proenza schouler- the collection was inspired by skating and surfing and featured lots of prints and green mirrored sunglasses.

thanks for reading and look forward for updates about london fashion week!