LFW: MARY KATRANTZOU

It’s not every day that a runway show makes you shout “Yes! I want to dress like a labyrinthine hedge!” but guess what – Mary Katrantzou’s Fall 2012 collection has done exactly that. Riding in on a tsunami of drah-mah and digital print, Katrantzou displayed her usual attention to form, artfully marrying rigidly structured shoulders and cinched waists with slouchy pants and billowing chiffon skirts. Peplums, corsets, funnel necks and godet skirts were there too, used as the vehicle for this season’s party princess to show off their prints: a veritable kaleidoscope of spoons, typewriters, unicorns, and pencils. The main departure from previous collections was the palette: while maintaining her usual all-inclusive approach, Katrantzou eschewed chromatic chaos for a more refined look, sticking almost to a single spin of the colour-wheel per garment (!). Indeed, some of the collection’s most striking dresses were those delicately rendered in beautifully muted hues of mushroom, ivory and baby blue. Think that will keep me away from the canary yellow pants? Think again.

Z x

All images via Style.com

LFW: HOUNDSTOOTH a’la House Of Holland

London Fashion Week is taking off and Henry Holland is turning up the colour factor with his FW12 collection of clashing, tonally graded, pop-a-licious houndstooth separates and dresses. House of Holland started as a kitsch run of tongue in cheek tees, and Holland has retained the fun, irreverent personality of his early gimmicky gear whilst managing to also show that as a designer, he’s now a bit more grown up.

Holland’s houndstooth is not entirely original – remember Nicholas Ghersquiere’s flirtation with the iconic print for Balienciaga RTW SS11? – but card carrying hipsters all over take his say-so pretty seriously. So, slice it or dice it whichever way you want, looks like colour pop houndstooth is the G.O for this coming chilly season.

Show pics below.

Cx

Balenciaga SS11

Balenciaga SS11

Balenciaga SS11

Balenciaga SS11

Images via Style.com

Designer: SOPHIE BILLE BRAHE

She’s the new kid on the block, having only two collections under her belt, but Sophie Bille Brahe is making waves.

London based, Royal College of Arts graduate, Scandinavian heritage – it’s a recipe for design success. Bille Brahe is formally trained in goldsmithing, and so far has produced sophisticated, imaginative work. Her first collection featured miniature city landscapes formed into rings. The new collection, titled Cassiopeia, references constellations; there is a sense of delicacy and space that reflects the setting of the stars in the night sky. It’s quite beautiful.

Sophie Bille Brahe’s pieces are only available in Europe at present, so online is the way to go for the rest of the world.

Shop at Stylepaste or Colette.

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All images via Sophie Bille Brahe

Designer: CHARLOTTE LINTON

With NYFW done and dusted we’re taking a hop skip and jump across the pond to London where LFW has just kicked off. We’ll be posting all the thrills, spills, and dills from there later this week, but while we’re in town (yes, the UK in my mind…whatever), I thought it worthwhile to let y’all know about Charlotte Linton – creator of handsdown the most amazing prints I’ve seen this year (sorry Suno, that includes you).  Charlotte is a London-based designer whose printed scarves leave us in paroxysms of delight. Her collection is based around the narrative of a fictional muse named Ermentrude, who travels the world in a swathe of colour. Ermantrude’s wanderings  through far-flung locales such as Java and Madagascar provide the reference point for the whimsical and phantasmagorical images that are then printed on silk and wool scarves. You can follow Ermantrude’s travels (and check out Charlotte’s gorgeous illustrations) here. You can also buy pieces from here 2011 collaboration with Anthropologie here.  But really – its all about the scarves, isn’t it? Check them out below (pssstt….are they perfect for turban-ing or what?) and head over to Charlotte’s website to order.

Zxx

All images via http://www.charlottelinton.com

Designer: PROENZA SCHOULER

Proenza Schouler dream-team Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have done it again. Everyone’s going gaga over yesterday’s NYFW show, and fairenoughquiteright. Yet another edgy, original collection of covetable pieces.

Fall/Winter 2012 sees the Proenza Schouler girl donning oversized tops, asymmetrical origami mini skirts and jackets, and dresses and jackets with silk bird motifs.  In keeping with their reputation for getting creative with textiles, the PS team avoided using cashmere or wool at all (quite a big task considering the season), instead experimenting with woven leather, stiff cotton, and quilted silk.

McCollough and Hernandez looked to the East for inspiration, referencing protective wear as their starting point. Kind of like ‘Asian Fashion Assassin’ girl? Or, ‘You Can Look But Only At My Wrapping’ girl? Whatever, the quilted bird motifed jacket that Hanne Gaby Odiele wore is MINE in my head, I’ve imagined myself wearing it 5 different ways so far.

Gettaload of this (below).

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Images via Style.com and WhoWhatWear 

Trend: MARC JACOBS MASH UP

Bag lady chic takes on a 21st century sheen with Marc Jacobs’ FW12 mangled ode to style icon Anna Piaggi. Eye-popping brocades, fur of all colours in enormous volume, sparkly shoes, and chunky knits. The silhouette is bulky, made up of structured jackets and padded hips – the effect is that of a seven year old playing dress ups with mum’s wardrobe. The colours are all over the shop, the prints clashing and vibrant, with traditional overtones.

As is often the case with Marc Jacobs’ runway shows, the focus is on theme, not so much wearability (key looks will be re-worked for retail). Translate this trend to everyday wear by making light of dressing.

Matching? Bah, what of it? Look out for key winter pieces:

• bulky, coloured outerwear
• a few printed pieces to work back with coloured knits, e.g. heavily patterned shirt, a printed pant and a skirt that sits below the knee
• chunky (and I mean CHUNKY) knits in bold colours, particularly ones that can be wrapped around or layered up
• an ironic piece that Grandma made … felting, appliqué, shoe clips … so long as it’s bold (we’re not going for “festival-vintage-hipster” here)

Basically, throw Coco Chanel’s ‘take one thing off before you leave the house’ rule to the dogs. More is more. Ms Piaggi as Muse.

x C

All images via Style.com and The Sartorialist

Designer: JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

New York Fashion Week is in full swing! I don’t usually get so giddy at this stage of the fashion week gambit, as the NY line up tends to be too over-structured and preppy for my liking (Alexander Wang excepted). But HOLD THAT, Joseph Altuzarra is having a moment – a big, fat, hip-o-meter dinger of a moment.

Lilting luvvie Lana Del Rey loves Altuzarra so much she’s accompanying him as his date to fashion’s biggest event, the Met Gala. Oracle of cool, Apples Ryan (denim designer and trend forecaster at Ksubi) named him as her one to watch for 2012. Vanity Fair picked Altuzarra’s FW2012 outing as one of the top 3 shows of the week. Convinced already?

Velvet, Morrocan prints and killer furs featured heavily in his seminal FW12 collection.  My favourites – patterned velvet pants, cream knitted jacket-dress with embroidery and fur trimming, green velvet jacket, a black and white coat which I have dubbed the Cruella De Vil, and the jaw-dropping thigh high tasselled boots. Early adopters, take note:

All images via style.com

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Designer: FAB COLLAB – MARY KATRANTZOU FOR TOPSHOP

Roses are red, violets are blue; when you don’t have a beau, V-Day is poo. But whoreallycares when you can shower yourself in petals with the AMAZING new Mary Katranzou x Topshop collection, set to hit stores in just three days! Poppy Delevigne was spotted at the Elle Style Awards last night sporting the Phoenix dream dress, and we have fallen head over heels for the structured shifts, skirts, and cigarette pants in Mary’s signature bursting-with-colour prints.  Follow Topshop on Twitter for all the latest updates on when the collection drops at a Topshop near you. Guaranteed to sell out of any wearable size in seconds.

Z xx

Images via Topshop and Mary Katrantzou

Shop: THE SALE – MYCHAMELEON.COM.AU

To be honest, I have no idea why MyChameleon is called MyChameleon. I think a more appropriate name would be MySartorialHeaven or MyCreditCard’sWorstNightmare or whatMyDreamsAreMadeOf, something like that. But what’s in a name? That which we call MyChameleon, by any other name would smell as chic. Perfectly curated, and consistently stocked with luxe favourites, and everything you covet but didn’t even realise it yet. More to the point, much of it is now ON SALE, and has been working its way, one express post package at a time, into MyIncreasinglyAmazingWardrobe for quite some time now (stay tuned for the kazillion outfit posts we have planned, now that we have solved the anonymity problem).  Here are my picks of what remains – get it while it’s hot (SO hot) here.

Zx

All images via MyChameleon.com.au

Pastel perfection. I don’t care that it’s summer, stand in the fridge if you have to. THURSDAY, SUNDAY Bamboo Knit Sweater, was $420.00, now $252.00.

Printed pins. DRESS UP Square Pocket Begonia Trouser, were $374.00, now $187.00.

Loafer Luxe. These shoes will change your life, ’nuff said. DIEPPA RESTREPO Rose Gold Metallic Dandy Loafer, were $239.00, now $191.20.

Pillow fight! Strutting out in sleepwear is so hot right now. SOPHOMORE Drawstring Stripe Pants – were $139.00, now $69.50.

Pale and interesting. Tough-girl biker jackets in washed out tones are the epitome of downtown cool. THERESE RAWSTHORNE Biker Trench Jacket, was $795.00, now $318.00.

Jungle fever! Shed the excess baggage and keep accessories chic and sleek: TL-180 KIEF SNAKE PRINT FOLD LEATHER CLUTCH, was $260.00, now $182.00.

Complex geometries. Offset sunkissed wrists with nude and powder blue. LAUREN MANOOGIAN Triangle Cuff, was $120.00, now $96.00

Shop: ONLINE BARGAINS! yes!

If we’re going to talk about the most embarrassing things our parents do (and we are), I’m going to win hands-down. My Dad, to this day, asks retailers in broad daylight “is that your best price?”. He’ll ask for a deal, every time. He’ll try to pay cash for a discount at department stores. We went to Bali once and he bartered so hard the hawkers paid him to go away.

I’d like to say I’ve bucked the trend, but in truth the apple has fallen not so very far from the tree. There is nothing that fills me with glee the way a “70% OFF” sign does, except for “70% OFF ALL SALE PRICES”. Yep, even better. I love it, you love it, we all love it!

Repeat after me:

What do we want?

BARGAINS!!

When do we want them?

YESTERDAY!!

Well then, if you say so.

Here are my current favourite go-to sites for savvy shopping ›

Strawberry Net

Cosmetics cuh-razy. Free shipping! Loyalty discounts! And the prices are pretty darn low to start with. They’ve got all the usual department store brands plus more, in makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrances. My Dior mascara is 30% cheaper on StrawberryNet, and I get it delivered to my door. Yessssssss.

KISS and MAKEUP 

This site is a Mecca for Nars products. Australian customers will be especially thrilled as this is one of the only international site that ships Nars to our shores. Also stocked are Laura Mercier, Kiehl’s and Smashbox, and many of the products are quite a bit cheaper than you can get them in bricks and mortar stores.

The Outnet

Get your fash-on! Mostly designer goods, mostly 50%-70% off all the time. Sign up for the email out because The Outnet runs stealth flash sales where you can score pieces by Alexander Wang, Missoni, Erdem, Vanessa Bruno, etc etc. The site also displays selections in trend groups (e.g.: ‘printed pants’ or ‘summer skirts’) or occasion themes, so it’s easy to shop for a particular look. Hint – if you do finger exercises during the week you’ll be able to click “add to basket” faster.

Gilt

Similar to The Outnet, but also dealing in home wares and a good selection of mens clothing. Seriously, you can even buy high-end coffee machines, designer rugs, and luxury bedding at the same time as snapping up a Derek Lam knit or a Marni bangle. It’s like Harvey Nich’s but all stupidly cheap!

Missy Confidential

This one’s for the Aussie pack mainly. Not a shopping site per se, Missy acts as a notice board for sample/end of season sales on the ground (Shona Joy, Pandora, Trelise Cooper and so on) as well as linking to online sales. It’s basically a hit list for discounted Australian designer goods. Search by your city or your favourite designer.

Please comment if you have another bargain beauty up your sleeve that we all need to know about!

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