Trend Report SS2013: Sorbet Chic

May 22, 2013 by  
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Trends

They´re feminine, flattering and look so sweet you almost want to take a bite out of them. For this year too the international runways were filled with pastel shades. From vanilla and lemon, to blueberry and pistache; sorbet chic is the color way to go. Always part of the sweet tooth team Blugirl and Blumarine, but also Valentino and Chloé went for sheer, ruffled pastel looks. As Fendi (shades of salmon and mustard work so well together), Chalayan and Mulberry opted for a cleaner kind of look. And that´s exactly how we saw these pastel hues back on the streets; less feminine (away with the ruffles and the lace) and more structured (thick fabrics, masculine shapes). Surprising in a way, yet still very natural. Which flavours are you combining this season?

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Trend Report SS2013: Japonism 2.0

May 20, 2013 by  
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Trends

Since a few seasons now designers seem fully focused on the far east. We’ve already seen collections with oriental shapes, techniques, materials and prints, but the Asian hype not over yet. For this season the Japonism is fashion is just taken to the next level with designers being divided into two Asian inspired worlds. The ones Emilio Pucci, Carolina Herrera, Altuzarra who opt for decorative designs, traditional techniques, bold prints and color. And the designers Etro, Stella McCartney, Prada, Marni that focus on shape and structure, introducing trouser suits, shirt dresses and architectural kimono shapes. Now you don’t need to go all the way (Geisha platforms, dragon printed dresses, Obi belts) like these designers to join the Asian celebration. Just invest in a subtle embroidered blouse or a chic kimono jacket. Mixing Japanese influences with your modern wardrobe pieces like they belong together in one look, that’s the trick.

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Trend Report SS2013: Checks Reinvented

May 15, 2013 by  
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Trends

This summer is all about graphics. And besides wide stripes checks have been revised by a large number of designers. It’s gone with the tame housewife checks, the rough lumberjack prints and the folkloristic tartans; this season checks are feminine, young, fun and modern. The chicest sheer examples were probably presented by Dries van Noten, who manged to perfectly blend colors, materials and floral prints in his summer looks. At Louis Vuitton, where even the catwalk was checked, they were the key aspect of the show. Sportmax and Chanel added some sheerness, Marni started mixing, Philip Lim went for fresh checks and floral accents. Then of course there were harlequin, pied-de-poule and tartan examples both on the runway and the streets. Whether it’s a checked suit or a lumberjack blouse tied around your waist; there’s no avoiding this trend. Checks please!

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Trend Report SS2013: Wow in White

May 6, 2013 by  
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Trends

Countless fashion lovers dress head to toe in black every single day. A smart, safe style option you can never go wrong with. Now it seems there’s a pretty good alternative to all that black; fully dressing in white. Big brands like Chloé, Alexander Wang, Comme des Garcons, DKNY, Emilio Pucci, Givenchy, Jil Sander, Lacoste, Marni, Missoni and Rochas all picked up this positive, clean and summer proof trend. With looks ranging from tuxedo to sporty chic, from casual to more party inspired. The strongest SS2013 looks contain not only multiple white fashion pieces, but have different materials too. So mix your light knits with some crispy white sheer parts and add some jersey details along the way. Russian streetstyle sensations Mira Duma and Anya Ziourova have already been sporting this trend for a few seasons and it won’t be long till the rest of the world follows. Once you go completely white it just feels right.

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Jan Boelo Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2013

March 19, 2013 by  
Filed under Amsterdam, Fashion, Featured Items

Silverscreen cult favorite Nikita, Luc Besson’s femme fatale of the 90′s, was Jan Boelo’s inspiration for his fall winter 2013 collection entitled Deserted Eagle. Within Temptation’s singer Sharon ten Adel performed live during the show and that also set the tone for the vibe that surrounded the clothes: rock’n roll. Boelo’s new collection showcased skinny men’s and women’s metallics, tailored blazers and a-symmetrical cut dresses.  There was also oversized outerwear, corduroy suits and ballet-inspired cross-over tops. Fringes, hats and wrapped scarves gave it all a bohemian look and feel.

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The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 2

This is the second part of our round up regarding the fall 2013 collections, which focuses on Prints, Fabrics and the designers’ favorite coming season: checks.

CHECK SHOCK

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From left to right: N21, Junya Watanabe, Céline, Jesús Del Pozo, Rag & Bone

A mash up of Scottish tweeds, plaids, checks, Prince of Wales suiting and hounds tooth jacquards. Classic, twisted, cut up, patched or blown up to grandiose proportions. These are definitely all from the now – heritage inspired, college prep, BCBG, archetypal and iconic but reinvigorated – rejuvenating tradition at N21 and Rag & Bone, adding a punk coded sense of rebellion at Junya Watanabe or with artful tailoring at Céline and Jesús Del Pozo. Check marks everywhere!

 

TEXTILE ART

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From left to right: Comme des Garçons, Chanel, Hermès, Fendi, Lanvin

Free floating freedom and fun. Cascading swatches of fabrics, rosettes, bows, thick serpentines and bold biomorphic shapes at Comme des Garçons. Rounded flounced belle Époque bustles are a joyful explosion of extravagance at Chanel. Crafted spontaneity at Hermès, fringed skins at Fendi and butterflies appliquéd at Lanvin. All with techno-barbarian enthousiasm. These are exercises in pure texture.

 

PRINT STORY

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From left to right: Mary Katrantzou, Rodarte, Tom Ford, Peter Pilotto

Welcome to the catwalk circus. Exalted excess in a cultural cross over ranging from glam, to disco, pop to op and manga to Marvel. Fantastical shadowy landscapes in misty monochromes at Mary Katrantzou and cross-cultural multi ethnic Flash! and Bang! at Tom Ford. The very personal folksy mysticism of Rodarte and the cartoonish verve of Peter Pilotto. We are talking maximalism here!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

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The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 1

Nothing as rewarding as summarizing after a grand series of shows. First of all you just note likeness and all similarities. Starting to pick out the headlines it becomes clear that there is always something really exiting to spot! Same procedure for fall 2013. Next to continuous retrospection there was introspection – designers looking inward to find a personal way of expression and re-finding their personal signature. The ones who did, did not dive into trends, the trodden paths of competition, but sourced for their most intimate inspirations. The happy aftereffect is that we met moments of sincere emotion and passion. The most beautiful quote to conclude this was coming from Miuccia Prada: “Who cares about the dress?” she said, this is about “Stories of women and life,”, Phoebe Philo declared backstage after her show for Céline: “It was coming from a place of emotion and intimacy, something instinctive. There was softness and desire, to create something emotionally engaged.”

Some collections might not have had the shock of the new and many showed that swift notion of the mid-century modern. Most interesting it was when a faint whiff of nostalgia was balanced with nowness. A lingering trend we spotted was the eccentric mixture of nostalgic wallpaper florals, art nouveau, Scottish heritage, Art Deco and Liberty blooms. All simmering in romance.

The buzz words where: intimate, feminine, elegance and emotion. Not just the collections played their roll. In some cases the interest in settings and sceneries became predominant. The Vuitton show unrolled like a silent movie. The mood was the 1920s, as the models came through each door on the corridor that was the hotel set. An atmosphere just as cinematic was the Film Noir setting at Prada – a spinning ceiling fan, shadows cast by blinds, a woman silhouetted in a doorway, waiting for…? All by means of an artful back projection. Miuccia launched her exercise in fashion as cinema.

Another hot topic was warmth generated by tactile softness. Cuddly, fluffy and sheltering. The number of soft and brushed looks grew steadily during this catwalk season. Especially coats where cuddly and generous in proportion. For some designers softness was the covering theme. Hernandez for Proenza Schouler stated: “It was all just soft, that’s the one word we were thinking about. Softness of form, softness of color, softness of texture.”

To wrap this up we point out that coats took the lead. Generally and globally this item won when it came to presence and quantity as well as quality of design. So passion, warmth, softness and coats. Setting the stage for an ice age!

We picked the frozen cherries for you, straight off the international catwalks in New York, Milan and Paris.

FEMINITY REVEALED

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From left to right: Rodarte, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Chloé and Prada

From pure exposure to more subtle revelations – intimacy exposed at Saint Laurent, emerging womanhood at Chloé, modern romance at Rodarte and passionate nostalgia at Vuitton and Prada. Sensuality and emotions unraveled in cinematic atmospheres showed femininity ‘under cover’ – soft lace hidden under long tweed coats, fluffy sweaters came with a slip of a skirt and velvet dresses had a swoop of neckline.

CALM ELEGANCE

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From left to right: Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas, Ports 1961

A true timeless elegance flooded the catwalks at Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas and Ports 1961. Much more serene, feminine and sensual then the calm sobriety we faced seasons before. All soft and rounded. The skirts flaring just below the knee, showing true elegance in New Look proportions. Jackets elongated and slightly suppressed at the waist and coats – mannish and reassuringly oversize. All breathed calmness with lasting value in an esprit ranging from ‘Bon Chic Bon Genre’ to Film Noir allure. Slow, calm, quiet and with lasting value.

GREY MOOD

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From left to right: Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Céline, J.W. Anderson, Lacoste

Concrete caught by the fuzz. Grayed-out and foggy marls were key for fall 2013. Brushed mohair, heathery and airy fleeces, compact felts and tarmac shaded double-face and bonded materials. This all added up to strange and sculptural beautiful cloths. Asphalt fleece and mohair knits are paved with iridescence at Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney wrapped her models in pinstripes, where Céline knotted hers in felt touch woolens. Monastic tunics at J.W. Anderson and fossil florals at Ports 1961.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

 

 

 

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First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Bed Time

Cosy is not the usual aspect spotted on a Paris catwalk. But nevertheless we met a snug bedtime spirit in Paris with models flaunting out of hotel rooms in silky, lush pyjamas, lace-edged-negligees and flowery dressing gowns. Roomy, soft robes that showed the generous proportions of menswear. Sensual and intimate voluptuous bathrobes lined in marabou. Fabulous, sheltering cashmere wrap-coats in baby blue, pink, camel and blush in smooth, winter-weight woolens and brushed plaids. And thick silk pyjamas printed with English tweed patterns or tender China florals.

Softness and desire seemed a re-found aspect, in touchable styles that established an intimate dialogue between the masculine and the feminine.

Carven is rounding out with oversize coats in teddy bear textures. Cinematic sceneries at Vuitton, in a film noir esprit, showing various states of dress and undress in a midcentury inspired atmosphere. Stella McCartney goes square, though softened, in snugly, velvet touch robe coats.

We noted a refreshing sense of ease, slightly quirky and off beat and an inspiring invitation to cuddle up.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

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Streetfashion Womenswear Paris FW2013 Day 8

March 7, 2013 by  
Filed under Featured Items, Paris, People, Snapshots, Streetwear

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Celine-shoes, your latest Raf Simons-sweater or that vintage Gucci? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Last stop: Paris Fashion Week fall/winter 2013.

 

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Miu Miu Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2013

March 6, 2013 by  
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Paris, womenswear

After working so hard at her Prada collection, the designer Miucca Prada wanted something visual and sporty for her Miu Miu-collection. But also something that was a bit frivolous and romantic at the end. But why she did what she did the designer could not explain. It was just instinct she told the press.

The silhouette she presented was new for-Miu Miu with the long coats and sweaters worn over longer skirts that revealed the ankle. The look seemed rooted in conservative, early 1900s nostalgia. One ensemble — a fitted black jacket with big round buttons and orange astrakhan collar, worn over a polka-dot skirt with an orange ostrich carpet bag and silver Mary Janes — brought to mind Mary Poppins.

There were sporty jackets and belted bodices cut out of quilted navy-blue nylon with pronounced zippers, big pockets and ribbed knit cuffs and hems. The clownish motifs that were used sparingly as styling effects at first, escalated to full looks by the finale of chic cut coats in pink, yellow and baby blue.

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