Dsquared² Spring 2015 Menswear : Pop the colour baby.

Firstly, I apologize for the lack of posts as I am currently studying fashion design in Ta.ftc, located in Singapore. It is the cheapest and shortest course I could get in and I am squeezing in tons of knowledge into my mini brain. It is really tough but it is all worth the while. Cut to the chase and talk about the Spring 2015 Menswear collection. I have been looking at quite a few collection and I particularly like Dsquared² due to the vibrant funky colour tone they put up and also, the sleek and casual style.

Dean and Dan Caten named this collection Stud2io. It was their interpretation  of Andy Warhol’s factory. The colour tone resembles the pop art of Warhol’s painting. Warhol was the king of pop. He lit up an image with vibrant colours. I love the concept of it. It is Spring for godsake, lit up your Spring with colours.

I am in love with their camou coats. I love coats. I love seeing men in coats. The Catens went wild and went all out with a pink speedo coming from the runway. They have dedicated their love towards the beauty of a male body. Kudos to their beautiful runway show.

source : style.com

SS Collection 2013/2014 Céline : Vibrant, Graffiti, Céline

Céline, to me, is known to playing with simple cuts with crazy simple oversize scandals and amazing clutch. I love the simplicity that I can see in Céline. As I was looking into the Spring Summer Collection, Céline came up with something different from what I expected. Phoebe Philo is playing with graffiti, block of colors; vibrant bright & simple. Her inspiration were from medium of Brassaï’s photographs. The feeling she portray through this collection were strong and bold. I love the way she played with the calligraphy brush strokes and infused it into the fabric. It doesn’t look like it is all over the place, it feels quite settled. Furthermore, the strokes were in somewhat organic form which it is simple. The colors she used gave a feel of the 80s which feel of something primary, urgent and graphic.

As usual, Phoebe loves to experiment with the cuts of fabric. Her clothes had this three-dimension touch. Woven jacquards and knits dominated over prints and were beautifully done.

As usual, how can I not love the bags? Firsty, I really love the organic shaped bags! Simple and vibrant. With the mixture of fabric ( inner and outer ) and the touch of that gold coated handle, it looks outstanding. She was also playing with laser cuts; adding crafts technique to the bags which is somewhat refreshing.

Her shoes are too die for! I love the simple design of the ankle heel shoes with a twist in terms of the heel tip and the platform. I want that pair of heels! Simple and comfortable; it speaks Céline. 

source : style.com

Alberta Ferretti S2014RTW : Joyful Clothes

I started noticing Alberta Ferretti since last year when a tumblr I followed reblogged one of her runway. She known to be the queen of dreams as most of her garments are dreamy, fantasy and romantic.  And this time, she sidelined her signature dreaminess to something more dynamic. ” Positive energy, the joy of living, “  that is what she emphasized about her concept behind this collection. The models walked in pure white, pared down with ribbons and mulit-colored embroidery. She was inspired by the land of sun, sea and color in South Africa. And every piece of garment walk down that runway looked flawless. It was like seeing angels walking down the runway in the white silhouette with a touch of vibrant colors of life.

There were a variety of collars and sleeves being used, mainly scoop, jewel and deep V necklines. Those garment had a sense of innocence beauty in them. In addition, she was playing the linear line works in silk and with that glossy smooth surface, the colors were hyped up to another level; the way she used the silk, adding with a variety of color, even black seems surprisingly colorful. It is not just the garment you have to look out for, it is the ballet shoes, embroidered with floral prints. I could not keep my eyes of that shoes as they were gorgeous! With the silk material used as ribbons, together with the vibrant joyful color, it was feminine and simple.

The craftsmanship was excellent as every piece of garment were impeccable. There were tiered skirts, the shirtwaister, the little cropped lines. I really like it when she introduced laces and sheer for the black garments and dresses she designed. The overlap of layers were nicely done. Her dresses were elegant and the way the dress moves were like river flowing; smooth and peaceful. The limelight of the show was that elegant bright orange dress that flow down the runway. It was spectacular. It just make you go blind as soon as the model appeared on the catwalk. Bravo!

It will be every girl’s dream to have a piece of that beautiful dress from this collection! This line will make every girl feel like a queen!  

source : style.com, google.com

Alexander Mcqueen S2014RTW : Textile to a Whole New Level

What a brilliant show by Sarah Burton! This was one of the most diverse collection designed by her. Usually, her designs are romantic and very feminine. However, she brought this collection to whole new level. Burton said that she didn’t want to do ” big gowns ” but she wanted energy without froth. When I first had the glanced at the backstage of Mcqueen S2014RTW on my instagram, I was like WOW, that helmet! It feels like the models are dressed up to be fashionable warriors; armlets, golden helmets and harness.

I really love the checkers and the materials that Burton used. It feels like recycled plastic and it looked stunningly beautiful. Some of the garments has that ancient chinese inspiration with the high-necked collar with strips circulating around the neck and increasing its length. The hand cuffs feels like an armor on the model’s arm and it really look good with the flow from the start to the end. There is a lot of textile details going on for this collection and Burton did a great job in putting materials in good use like the zippers on the end of the jacket and outlines on the neck collar.

There were a lot of layering on the garments and it reminds me of paper folding. Probably due to the laser-cuts on the garment with folding going on. The patterns were amazing and with the laser cuts, it brought the garment to another level as it gives a very light and feminine touch to the garment.

I must say : Mcqueen’s shoes are too die for! Almost every collection, I always look out for their shoes. The shoes are always over the top, out of the ordinary and brilliantly well done! This time was about the heel leg, front platform and the skin of the shoe! The heel leg was amazing as it fits the theme very well. Amazing material used! It feels like acrylic with limestone on the platform and the design of it is smart! Love the skin for the shoe!

Checkers were introduced in the early stage, laser cuts are seen on clothes, checks configured in beads and lastly, feathers. It has a female tribalism touch to the garments. Really love the techniques she used and the craftsmanship in this collection! Brilliant Work!

source : style.com

Valentino S2014RTW : Patterns Embroidery

When I saw Valentino Spring 2014 Ready-To-Wear, I want every piece of garment on the runway. Every piece on the runway is stunningly beautiful. The opening of the show was a micro minidress with beaded lace collar, which was accompanied by an over-sized fringe cape embroidered with turquoise, coral and red patterns. It feels like Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have their inspiration from Egypt or North Africa or Greece but wherever their inspiration are from, the design they showcased were beautiful.

Valentino’s collection is quite dark and dull but those embroidery embellished on those pieces bring the dull garments to life. The patterns are amazing on the dresses. Did you see the details they put on the dress? It is brilliant. The colors they used really comes well together. I want those scandals! I love the gold ornament on the scandals. There were a lot of dresses in these collection, with sheer and lace going on. It really elevates the dress into a haute couture show as they brought in embroideries element on the dress.

 

 

I love the long cape and fringes! Bohemian style was the first thing that came to my mind from this collection. I want those clutches! It has the gold ornaments and fringes which looks so good! Well done on the workmanship! The collection was well-balanced. Kudos to Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli!

source : style.com

Balenciaga Spring RTW : A little more of Wang, A little less of Balenciaga

After his debut in February, it was merely a prologue. He felt that it was important to begin correctly, by paying tribute. For this collection, he got his feet wet. I saw some comments on the debate of Balenciaga Spring RTW. Some feels that minis were not a good representation of Balenciaga, some commented that they were sick of the 60s or 70s inspiration. Some hated, Some loved, Some just appreciate the effort by Wang. This collection was about ease. Wang’s concept was about the idea of softness and deflation that you find in Balenciaga. A volume that softens and falls. He did portray his concept well through his pieces.

This collection of S2014RTW by Balenciaga has a sense of Wang’s style in it. Especially the opening pieces – muscle tees, tank and perfecto jackets. They are voices of Wang. Wang took the suit had the ovoid silhouette that is Balenciaga’s signature. It was made from silvery leather twine with wisps of color inserted so that it looked like tweed. I want those suits badly! The silhouettes are clean and neat. I really love the embroidery on the shorts and tops. It was well-designed.

 

I do enjoy looking at the pieces Wang put up for this collection. Wang was experimenting with cuts on the pants which was amazing; high-waist with a tulip-shaped peplum that curved over the hips. I was like WOW.  And also, those prints/patterns tops with prints/pattern bottom look perfect. There is a fashion rule that we should not mixed patterns with patterns but what the heck! Wang did an amazing job to let the patterns match together. It was chic, probably because of the black & white color theme. I really love black & white. You can never go wrong with that! 

 

There were trio of dresses that has ruffles suspended from the corset of the bodies.  There were T-shirt dress with sheer layer at the end of it. It looked clean with the whole white theme. I really like Wang’s minimization. He didn’t have much going on for this collection, only by playing with cuts, experimenting on different fabrics. The flow from mini skirt to midi skirt to high-waist shorts, to tulip high waist pants to ruffles dresses to T-shirt dress. He really tried to blend both worlds into one! Well done, Wang!

source : style.com, theguardian.com