Splash

I was glancing at Black Book Magazine's website and stumbled upon these photos by Art Director Alex Sum. I quite like them. 

Temperley London, Resort 2009

My fast approaching semester in London might be leading me down a winding road of anglophila... Alice Temperley's collection as a whole is a bit... chaotic - something to file in "favorite outfits" not "favorite collections." Still, despite lacking a strong cohesive fibre, these resort looks are undeniably beautiful.

Transitory Art and Fashion in Motion: The Physical Emotion of Rodin and Balmain

Auguste Rodin, perhaps the most prolific modern French sculptor, was a master of emotional form. He had an unmatched ability  to convey anguish, sensuality, and the tire of existence with chipped and scathed stone and cast metals. Rodin understood the weight of our bones, the tension of our muscles, and the movement of our bodies to be the most powerful expression of our love and our pain. 

Taking influence from painters before him, Rodin used texture and figure, replacing the Impressionists' color and shadow, to sculpt the transitory nature of ourselves. Man Walking is a momentary study of motion and gravity; of the shifting of weight; of the progression of ourselves as our bodies inhabitant.

It is without hesitation that we can look at fashion as exploring the transitory nature of ourselves and our bodes as well. (Which isn't to automatically conclude that fashion designers and Rodin have similar intent, vision, or understanding.) 

The Fall 2009 Balmain collection has given to us an undeniable contrast of structure and fluidity. Much like the texture and form of Man Walking, the heavy, rigid shoulder and ever-moving silhouette below the waist seen on the Balmain runways at fashion week imply the transitional, unresting nature of our bodies as we move through time and space. In both, it's difficult, if not impossible, to separate the passage of the physical and the evolution of the emotional. 

Rodin and Balmain force us to consider -- where does muscle tension end and stress begin? Is there a difference between feeling down and feeling the pull of gravity? How can we distinguish the weight of ourselves from the weight of our emotions? And perhaps most importantly, does it matter?

Chanel No. 5 with Audrey Tautou. Directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet

This is beautiful and brilliant and perfect. Again, Chanel has crafted something of innate grace and class that is, without question, unmatched. Coco would be so proud. 

Hot Child in the City: Summer Shoes

"No one knows who she is or what her name is." But they will know she's "running 'round and looking pretty." And wearing a fabulous pair of shoes. Hot Child in the City.

Christian Dior. Miss Dior Mesh Sandal. 

Louis Vuitton. Platform Sandal. 

 

Giambattista Valli. Leather Cutout Peep-Toe Platform with Black Piping. 

Marni. Leather Sandal.

Marni: The Modern Day Diary of Princess Margarita Theresa of Spain?

Perhaps it is because I was studying into the wee hours of the morning for my Art History exam during Fashion Week, or perhaps it is because my brain tends to organize fashion and art in the same pile of creative cultural records in my head, but I cannot help but notice the uncanny, yet delightful, similarities between the Fall 2009 Marni collection, and the elaborate wardrobe of Princess Margarita Theresa of Spain. 

Our visual record of Princess Margarita is almost entirely through Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velazquez's work. In the mid-1620s, Spain's King Philip IV named Velazquez the official court painter. Princess Margarita, Philip's favorite daughter, quickly became the focus of Velazquez's efforts. When she was born, the Princess was promised to her cousin, a member of the Austrian royal family. In a grand romantic gesture of arranged marriage, King Philip arranged for Margarita's portrait to be painted as gifts for her young Austrian fiancé.

The Baroque period in Spain was a time of drama and ornate details -- the fabrics heavy, the colors rich. The Spanish Empire was almost unbelievably powerful. Pockets were deep and elaborate clothing was becoming increasingly more accessible. Dresses made of metallic thread, heavy tapestry-like cloth, and jeweled details were the prize of royal closets. 

It is without question that pieces from the Marni collection are strikingly similar to some of Velazquez's most famous portraits of Princess Margarita Theresa. I'm not yet sure what the similarity means, if anything at all, but I do know that there's something antique, something lavish, and something opulent about it all. 

Infanta Margarita Theresa in a pink dress, Velaquez. 1654.

Marni Fall 2009

Queen Margarita on horseback, Velazquez. 1634-35.

Marni Fall 2009

Les Hommes: Menswear Fall 2009

Men's fashion doesn't normally catch my serious interest because, all jokes aside, I'm captivated by skirts and shawls because I can dream of prancing around them. But, I'd hate to leave out the other half of the fashion world. Just as in the women's collections, menswear was dominated by black, especially paired with other dark neutrals. The range of styles was wide, with utilitarian zippers and heavy boots at Helmut Lang, to elegant vests and eggplant trousers at Robert Geller. Despite the diversity, the seriousness on all of the mens runways is consistent. Not foreboding, but certainly serious. Some of my favorites, below. 

Helmut Lang

Dunhill

Robert Geller

Viktor & Rolf

Infatuated: Miu Miu, Fall 2009 RTW

I don't have anything terribly insightful to say, other than I love Miu Miu's use of print this season. Very youthful - a splash of indie rock, a pinch of 50s housewife neckline and a boheme aftertaste. Love love love!

NYC in the Springtime: A Retrospective II (This is where fashion lives.)

My hotel was less than a block away from Bryant Park. And my trip to New York was less than a month too late. Fashion week had come and gone. 

Still, there's a spirit of beauty that grows in the trees of Bryant Park, growing tall over the empty spots where the tents sat. Even the pigeons walk proud - heads up, shoulders back, wings wishing for sequins and silks. I wonder about the initials carved into the weathered chairs and scribed into the wet cement. Whose painted eyes have read them, whose heeled shoes have grazed them?

The clothes we wear were born here. Every sweater, every skirt, every pair of perfectly fitted trousers - it's the art we live our lives in. 

Infatuated: Jil Sander Coat

I always have and forever will respect the Jil Sander label. Raf Simons has again shown us a beautiful collection that is classically Sander. I rarely find Jil Sander to align with my personal style, but I absolutely cannot get enough of this coat. Everything about it is perfect. The silhouette is graceful without losing the strength of shape - the splash of red at the collar is edgy, but softened with the curve of the cut. Essentially, I am infatuated.  

Some Thoughts on Fall 2009 Ready to Wear

Much to my dismay, school and work and this fickle little life have kept me from slipping into my biannual, obsession induced, Fashion Week la la land. I'm catching up, but I'm still working out my big "this is what's coming up" fashion mantra for this season. In the meantime, here are some things that have struck me - the new, the beautiful, the breathtaking...

I absolutely cannot get enough of Abaete. French brazilian designer Laura Poretzky has crafted the absolutely perfect blend of girly details with just-masculine-enough structure. Black seems to be one of colors a la moment this season, (Black is the new black?), and Poretzky has found a way to keep it from seeming too foreboding.

The RTW collections also seem to be drawing from a kind of urban street-wear-of-the-metropolis: Narrow pants, strong jackets, emphasis on the shoulders, utilitarian details, and a weighty shoe. An interesting and unexpected change for some of the fashion elite. (Read: the normally feminine, albeit never frou-frou, Proenza Schouler.) It's hard to know the root of this budding trend, but it seems fitting in this volatile economic climate. These clothes aren't for the weary, but the strong willed. Our appearance will be tough, our skin tougher.

Proenza Schouler:

Boy by Band of Outsiders:

This creamy grey silhouette with black sandals is perfection, Derek Lam:

And with a tiny bit of traditional British frill, Mulberry:

As I continue to absorb the stories from the tents, I'm certain I'll ending writing a bit more about what's to come for Fall. (I haven't even touched the couture shows yet!) But for now, happy fashion smashion.

Failing Markets & Falling Hemlines

The intersection of fashion and economy is not an unfamiliar one - even the most die hard fashionistas must scale their shopping habits to ensure they have a roof under which to keep their favorite shift dresses and stilettos. Carrie Bradshaw wasn't immune to her Manolo-induced financial crisis when dealing with a recently co-oped apartment, and neither are we. As supply and demand would have it, retailers must follow suit -- even if it's tailored perfectly. The 'affordable' off shoot branding of high-end designers is by no means a recent addition to the fashion world, but its visibility is ever-increasing as the economy breeds the need for more affordable fashion. (Read: Marc for Marc Jacobs; Moschino Chap & Chic; "Designed By..." collections and H&M and Target, etc.)

With the onset of the American economic crisis, it's only logical that spending on fashion and luxuxy will slow as the cost necessities increases and jobs dwindle. (Unless of course you're an automotive CEO...) Conservative spending will rule from the top down.

What's less obvious is the change in fashion itself. Will conservative spending mean conservative dressing? As our wallets shy coyly to the bottom of our handbags, will we fall coy beneath more conservative, serious trends? Will failing markets mean falling hemlines?

It seems the answer is yes. Bill Cunningham of the NYT explains with a collection of photos, here.