For The Boys: A Shingle Thing

   

    With the label's recent retail inauguration on London's favorite sartorial street, it was all Savile Row hyper-tailored tradition at McQueen this season. That is, tradition with all of the witty twists one has come to expect from Burton. Crisp button shirts boasted exaggerated collars, ancestral pinstripes were given a new lease with cleverly concocted panelling, and a fantastic stained-glass jacquard almost mocked formalities, lending culture to the creation of a bold statement print. Not to mention the presence of some rather unsettling plastic 'killers' masks'..

    True, the collection may not have been as gasp-inducing as say, J.W. Anderson's audacious micro-mini shifts, but it held true to the Alexander aesthetic: impeccable tailoring with a hint of dextrous darkness. 

    Which brings us to the perfection of the cinematic gothic glamour of the styling. Lensed back stage by Another's Alina Negoita, we get a good ogle of hair maven Guido Palau's neo-shingle and the magnetic noir of this season's maquillage... 

    

       








































...of which, along with the boudoir-to-business layering of suit jacket over house robe, I am hoping, but perhaps not truly anticipating to see adopted on the street in the fall to come.

As We Know It...

    Repent! dear internet friends, for the end is nigh. Or so some doomsday sayers would have us believe...and as my imagination is always grasping for an excuse to run amok, I shall indulge.

    As the fateful date of doom approaches (rather conveniently on a Friday, it so happens), I have found myself in the throes of the inner contemplation that can only occur when one is face to face with imminent destruction. Such profound questions of high philosophical thought as...

    Which designers would I recruit for my survivalist retinue?...
    What terrible fashion choices of the past that I must atone for?...
    What outfit would I wear on the last day for future anthropologists to unearth?
 
  And, most provoking of all ruminations: in the case of the end coming in the form of nuclear holocaust, will Anna Wintour survive us all?

    I have to say, I've had my designer survival colony roster on lock for some time now (it all began back in my zombie apocalypse phase). To name a few: Gareth Pugh for his ability to summon fierce dominatrix-type armies, Meadham Kirchoff for their crafting skills, Sarah Burton for her ability to envision a new future for the group, and finally Karl Lagerfeld, for his mastery of multi-tasking and quotational quips of comedic relief (Choupette can come too).

    It's a tough call when it comes to the Last Outfit, but what I've finally decided upon is Look 09 from Pugh's ss07 collection...just to screw with the scientists and prove myself a nuisance even in death.

    As for my shameful Faux-Pas of yore, I shall be talking those to my early grave. Sorry to disappoint. And your guess is as good as mine when it comes to Vogue's infamous ice queen, although I'm sure that if she does, the New World will be a much more productive and orderly place (for some reason I am envisioning large screens with 'BIG EDITOR IS WATCHING YOU!' and hoards of chanting cardigan-ed interns...).

    Two things I do know for sure if we all pull through and avoid annihilation this Friday: 1) I will be spending my Saturday very hungover watching the weekly Spongebob marathon over a bowl of Fruit Loops, and 2) I will be much more present on my blog. Nothing better to get re-motivated than a near death experience!

    So adieu for now, and much more to ensue in whatever future may come...

   

London Calling

    The rain is pouring, BC parents are rabble-rabbling about report card-snubbed children...and life couldn't be sweeter. New York Fashion Week is a wrap, which means it's time for all of my favorite fashion darlings across the pond to flaunt their wares on the London catwalk. No room for menial everyday tasks or To-Do lists in the day planner, my Moleskine is chock full of Must-Sees and fresh scoutables. 

    In like British manner of hype is the release of Another Magazine's Sp/Su 2012 issue. Starring The Tree of Life's Jessica Chastain on the cover (rocking a most magnificent 40's pomp, I might add),  Another's latest features an intimate conversation between Sarah Burton and Susannah Frankel, which has me in fits of anticipation. Accompanying the piece are stills from She Builds Domes in the Air, a 16mm film exclusive. Directed by Catherine Sullivan, the film has model Kristen McMenamy stalking stunning and spectral in Burton's third collection since taking rein (and divine reign) of the McQueen house... 

       "Although there are elements of this collection that are quite dark, even sinister, there's always a romance to it, a delicacy. Empowerment and protection: working here, you always have to bring it back to Alexander."

     No words can express my impatience with the delay between the England release, and the Canadian delivery dates. Alas, for now I will have to sooth my beleaguered soul with the wondrous offerings of London Fashion Week. Stay tuned for many a fine British find. For now, a song...