Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
Dries van Noten said it with flowers. He sent out a mix of old floral and botanical prints (from muddied and smudged in inky shades tot vivid blossoms) with scans of freshly cut flowers. Those prints appeared on silk robes, shirt-like blazers and fluid pants – which gave the collection an easy feel. To make it not too comfortable Van Noten added a cotton coat or crisp blazer here and there. There was some sportswear too, anoraks, tank tops and surfer shorts.
Louis Vuitton Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
Louis Vuittons menswear-designer Kim Jones dedicated his collection to America, it’s hippies and nerds, its forest rangers and movie-stars. So the clothes moved from preppy blazers in exploded checks tot bush jackets with tie-dye effect an slick evening-wear. There were varsity-jackets, raincoats, surfshorts, blousons and of course black dinner jackets. Blue, brown, mustard and gray were the main colors.
Viktor & Rolf Monsieur Fashion Paris Menswear SS2014
School-uniforms and a bad school-boy where the theme behind the Monsieur-collection of Viktor & Rolf. The result was a streamlined and boyish collection with a new suit shape, pairing a cropped jacket with skinny trousers or shorts. The school-boy theme was also visible in the patches on black jeans, the jersey blazer with blue nylon stripes inspired by college scarves and the bomber-jacket.
3.1 Phillip Lim Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
Phillip Lim presented a ss14 collection inspired by the idea of an accidental tourist, who dresses the way it comes. The result: a relaxed collection, where beach and city met with Neoprene oversized jackets and T-shirts, scuba shorts with kimono-inspired shirt jackets and metallic leather on sleeveless bicker-jackets. Colors were inspired by the see, like ocean-blue and coral-red.
Raf Simons Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
That was an interesting menswear-collection Raf Simons sent out yesterday. It left the audience puzzled. Especially the rompers with low crotches – that sometimes looked like mini-skirts or dresses, but also the screaming oversized shirts. Simons told the press that the collection was a study of consumer society, which is becoming ‘more and more artificial, toxic in a way’, he said. He is looking for a new aestetic. ‘Freedom of expression versus the mechanical repetition of products’. The designer certainly challenged the audience with his rompers in a spongy, synthetic fabric, his oversized polo’s and T-shirts in pink or splashed with screaming advertising slogans. There were also sequined embroideries on knitted sweaters and color blocked shirts.
This collection was certainly food for thought.
Valentino Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
It was obvious that workwear and military uniforms were the guiding themes for Valentino-designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. The show kicked off with a series of suits and outerwear, including shirt jackets and parkas, spliced together from various shades of denim.
The designers gave a twist to aviator-style khaki or beige jackets by adding blanket stripes and a single black leather breast pocket that was bonded so flat, it looked like duct tape.
Satiny pants came in a floral chine design that resembled an abstract camouflage print, while toile de Jouy motifs in muted shades evoked faded World War II-era Hawaiian prints.
Walter van Beirendonck Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear SS2014
‘Home sweet home’ whispered the clothes Walter van Beirendonck presented yesterday. He presented a ss14 collection with highly graphic well-tailored suits, shorts and jackets with color blocking and patterns looking like the interior of a room complete with wall paper. A few looks even displayed a table and flower-filled vase — one literally sprung from a jacket like a children’s pop-up book, in 3-D.
The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 1
March 13, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under womenswear
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
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
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
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
First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Bed Time
March 11, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under womenswear
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
Streetfashion Womenswear Paris FW2013 Day 8
March 7, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under 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.
