A Cure For Your Case

 

    Hold yer huff all ye Garfields out there, and rise up from your weekend-end woes; this Monday was a delight. Not only did it see the debut of London Collection's second season of menswear, but delectation aplenty from New York's fashion finest Pre-Fall presentations. So much goodness, the afflictions of a long and brackish day of work are all but forgotten. So be healed and behold some of today's gems... 

    According to Philo, it was "Dressing up in a romantic, traditional way," at CELINE, but I would beg to differ on that last bit. No qualms here though, because in any case it was a dime of a collection. The deliciously easy slack of a wide-legged trouser, the crisply tailored volume play of a pant-suit, the reinvented resurgence of a familiar peplum, and capacious textured coats...worth a thousand Monday wake-up calls. 

 

    Signature exaggerations of proportion and volume were reflections of the cumbersomely padded look of Swedish winter wares at ACNE STUDIOS. Taking inspiration from portraits of renowned Swedish artist August Strindberg, and then (true to Acne form) generally amplifying, the collection saw voluminous A-line silhouettes, the return of the vast bell sleeve, and a rather fantastic Dalmatian type printed ensemble. 

      Finishing up with the boys (because what better way to send you off to your Monday night slumbers), I bestow upon your eyeballs the wonders of MAN's CRAIG GREEN. His carpentry skills may have been a little more, shall we say, haphazard than in his house frame-working days at Saint Martins', but his collection was without a doubt the standout the show. Deriving a utilitarian aesthetic from blue-collar workwear and labour uniforms (see tough-looking fabrics, fraying knits, and boxy silhouettes), Green worked in elements of novelty through hyper-crinkle fabric and glimmer panels on shirt-fronts. Derangements of painted wooden slats shrouded faces and completed the fantastically honed deftness for DIY that the fashion crowd has come to know and love of this up-and-comer. Here's an enthusiastic YEA! for the notion that next season sees a fully eponymous Craig Green showing...

    Alas, I must end here...having your faith in the most hated day of the week restored is tiring business. More and more runway pleasures coming your way and getting you through the rest of the work week though as the Pre-Fall and Fall presentations sashay on.

Happy Monday to you!

Problems With Decomposition

   

     Meet L.A. based artist Sam Falls...

...his work is where photographer meets computer wizard, meets inner potato-print-making bairn...

 

...Sam has recently had a book published with Mörel, 'Problems With Decomposition', in which the trials and tribulations of fruit as objet d'art are explored. When not playing with produce however, he sometimes likes to paint people, and did some rather first-rate Bjork-painting for Dazed's 200th issue which you may see here.

An Old Friend Returns, A New Face Appears

    Some months ago I lauded, or rather obsessed, over the delightful facial qualities of up-and-comer model Kolfinna Kristófersdóttir. Would you know it, the folks over at Another seem to have joined the fanclub too...

    Lensed by Ben Toms, and styled by Robbie Spencer, Mz. K was snapped for the AW 13 issue collections editorial alongside another of my new favorite new faces Kremi Otashliyska...

    ...Her eyebrows are what dreams are made of, and her piercing glare of disinterested detachement makes us wish we were cool enough to be her friend. Here's hoping we shall be seeing a lot more of the both of these funny faces.

     For the full editorial, see here

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...

   

UMA.wang

  

  

I break my prolonged cyber-silence thus, to bring you the wonders of captivating creative Uma Wang...

    Emerging from her tutelage at the China Textile University, Central Saint Martins, and a slew of Chinese design houses, Uma Wang has since launched her eponymous collection (2005) which has engendered international critical acclaim and an impressive array of awards.

    Part Gothic princess, part Victorian oeuvre d'art, Wang's Fall 2012 collection was masterfully and mindfully sculpted for 360 degrees of viewing pleasure; each garment tucked, swathed, and textured in the creation of compositions one can only deem pure art.

    As the first Chinese designer selected by Wintour for the CFDA Exchange Project, Uma will be joining us on this side of the pond come May, trading places with New York darlings Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez. I can't wait to see what bright shiny ideas Ms. Wang will bring along (, and what Shanghai shenanigans the Schouler boys will get into). 

    In general, the whole Exchange initiative is one I'd like to watch. It should be interesting observing the two cultures collide; one rapidly rising market with an emphasis on craft, and the other in the slumps, and pushing the commercial more and more. Observation report to ensue...

But until then, see more Uma here

HAPPY EASTER!

May there be many a fuzzy rabbit and tasty chocolate in your day today.

Sorry for the lapse in blog dedication of late. I promise the diligence shall be reinstated soon!