Trend: BROW ART AT CHANEL FW12

I’ve long been a fan of fanciful face decoration. Not make up, face decoration. What’s the diff? Face decoration says “LOOK AT ME,” it’s costume-ish, like the blue scalloped colouring-in I did around my eyes for Day of the Dead, or the gold leaf from eyelid to above my brows when I went as a goddess to a Religion party.

Thanks to King Karl, now I’ve got a new trick to try – eyebrow art. For the showing of his latest crystal-inspired collection for Chanel, Lagerfeld dreamed up crystal encrusted eyebrows to tie in with his geometric, glistening clothing creations. It’s a new take on another strong trend that peaked a few seasons ago; strong, coloured-in brows.

How to appropriate this look without looking like the Wicked Witch of the West:

• The brows are the main feature. Keep lips and eyeshadow to a minimum.
• Whereas previously it was about strong, natural brows, now it’s about glitter and colour. If colour is pushing the envelope for you, try colouring your brows in with a metallic or sparkle flecked eyeliner, and dress like a vampire. MAC does a good metallic pencil. If feeling brave, wear violet or blue mascara and also run it through your brows, leaving lips entirely nude.
• Walk with a swagger.

Take a closer look at the Chanel dollies for inspiration:

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all images via Style.com and High Snobette

Muse: KARLIE KLOSS

Anyone can be a model with a small ‘m’, as Flight Of The Conchords attest in their song about the “most beautiful girl in the whole wide room”. I modelled 3 outfits for a charity show last year and now my boyfriend tells people he dates a model; some girls featured on The Awkward Lean tell their own boyfriends they’re dating a model. But capital ‘M’ Models are special. They’ve got to have a walk, an attitude. They’ve got to be so beautiful it makes people gawk, but ideally also approachable enough that people want to interview and take photos of them for editorial work. They’ve got to be able to embody the spirit of a designer’s collection, to act their way through a shoot or down the catwalk. And they’ve got to either have really good legs or a mole.

Karlie Kloss: check, check, check, check, check, check, check (legs, not mole).

Readers of this blog will know we have a bit of a thing for KK. She’s darn cute and goofy, an all American girl (Chigago and St Louis to be exact) with a killer body that she attributes to an athletic lifestyle and her ballet training growing up. Aside from having walked in stacks of shows and fronting a gazillion campaigns, KK is now at such a level of celebrity that her appearance at recent fashion week shows overshadowed the very shows she appeared in, with her name taking headline spot in the news next to those of designers. Since she amped it up with a very grown up spread for Italian Vogue, her presence online has exploded (largely due to NSFW viewing I suspect).  Aside from her startlingly taught physique, KK’s calling card is the walk that Vogue.com describes as “coltish” and  ”swaying,” kind of  like ‘aren’t I lovely, but don’t forget I’m in control and I might bite your head off after sex’. Also she’s 3rd in the top 50 on models.com. But enough, I know you just want to look at her ….

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Images via Style.com, Models.com and NYMag.com

Designer: OLIVIER ROUSTEING AT BALMAIN

It’s been a while since I’ve LOVED a Balmain show, but Olivier Rousteing’s FW12 collection, shown in Paris last week, grabbed me. Rousteing is quoted as saying that Fabergé eggs were the inspiration behind the heavy embellishment on velvet pants, leather jackets, stretchy dresses, and pretty much everything else. I also have a love affair with velvet, stemming from my acquisition, at the age of twelve, of a black velvet jacket with matching bootleg pants. I was so sad to grow out of them (don’t you miss the days you grew up instead of out?). Well in this collection the velvet is in abundance – quilted jacketing, slinky pants, flowy pants, embellished pants, you name it, it comes in velvet. The Karlie Kloss outfit is easy-cool (which every fashion-head looks to Balmain for) and I’ve got tickets on Aymeline Valade’s teal green leather shirt, gold belt and matching velvet pants.

Aren’t the eggs exquisite? I’m thinking, I want an engagement egg instead of an engagement ring. Or maybe an engagement egg and an engagement quilted green Balmain jacket? I reckon that’s fair. I’ll ask for the ring for Christmas.

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Images via Daily Art Fix and Style.com

Designer: ANTHONY VACCARELLO

Désolé! Désolé! We two have been tardy on the posting front and for my part, I blame it on French. The language, not the cuisine (nothing could come between moi and a buttery croissant). Mais oui, I am learning! Such a thrilling language to roll off the tongue, though ’tis mostly getting stuck in my throat these first few weeks.

And so, while  Z will have to proffer her own excuse (kidnapping? food poisoning?) I hope we can put my absence behind us and focus on more important things like world peace fashun.

Let us decamp to Paris then, for Paris Fashion Week! We shall begin with a POP QUIZ:

Q: How do you spell “sex”?

A:  A.N.T.H.O.N.Y  V.A.C.C.A.R.E.L.L.O

Q: Anthony who?

A: Vaccarello. He’s Belgian and has shown a total of four international shows ev-ah. His woman is sex, she is strength, she’s a fox and she knows it.

Q: Who gives?

A: Everyone who counts. Style.com says “ Vaccarello is on his way to building himself a brand.” Vogue.com says his SS12 show was “sensational,” but this latest turn shows “a new level of maturity.” KK (aka Karlie Kloss, aka Legs-That-Go-Forever) chose Vaccarello as her first major international show to walk in this season. Write this down!

Q: Fall 2012 collection need to know points?

A: 90′s glamour sheaths, military jackets and trenches with skintight pants in deep blue satin, and 1950′s lingerie inspired cut out detailing. Hems so high they’re a bit a’hem. Made for Glamazons with no spare body fat (Put the chocolate peanuts down. Now step away. Well done.)  Shoe collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti causing a kamikaze catwalk moment.

Tough gig choosing the best looks. Here’s my edit – mainly just leaving out the ones where the hem was so short I was temporarily blinded.

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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.

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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: 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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Trend: PRINTED PYJAMA SUIT

I prefer to wear no clothes at all (have offended many a housemate traipsing around zee house in underwear) but if I must wear something, let it be pyjamas. Lucky me, fashion designers are having a collective pyjama party!

The first slew of suiting cropped up in the Spring 2012 shows, but the pyjama look really took priority in the recent Pre-Fall Collections.

This Matthew Williamson delight is all I want to wear right now!

Matthew Williamson Pre-Fall 2012 via style.com

Meanwhile, fashion-foward Euro-babes are taking pyjama dressing to the streets. It’s like Where’s Wally? but Wally is hot and a girl.  This trend is for the boys too, as Ryan Gosling aptly demonstrated at Cannes (below), though he pared his version back by taking the pyjama cue but losing the print.

Seen: image by Tommy Ton via style.com

Seen on Caroline Sieber via glamourmagazine.co.uk

Seen on Viviana Volpicella via fayfriscolife.blogspot.com

Seen on Ryan Gosling via discothequeconfusion.blogspot.com.au

While the runway look is head-to-toe print, this trend can be taken as inspirational rather than literal. The key elements are:

SILHOUETTE (slouchy, wide leg and sleeves, button through top with collar);

PRINT;

and PYJAMA MOTIF DETAILING.

If an entire suit of printed paisley is overkill for you, pick one element and build your outfit around it. Below are some of my favourite runway inspirations, plus some neat shoes that would update any old standard skinny leg jean combo.

Get styling!

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Stella McCartney SS12 via fashioneditoratlarge.blogspot.com.au

JW Anderson SS12 via anothermag.com

Peter Som Pre-Fall 2012 via vogue.com

Del Toro X Man Repeller slipper shoes via deltoroshoes.com