09/05/2014

Kenta Matsushige Wins this Year’s Hyères Festival

An the end of April 2014, the 29th Hyères International Festival of Fashion & Photography was held at Villa Noailles in the south of France. The main focus of the annual festival is to spotlight and honor new talents in the fields of fashion, architecture, design and photography, and this year’s edition was no exception.

The Hyères Festival has a long tradition of awarding up-and-coming designers: former winners and contesters are top designers such as Viktor & Rolf, Matthew Cunnington and Sandra Backlund. This year, the winner of the Première Vision Grand Jury Prize, is the Japanese designer, Kenta Matsushige. After graduating from the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 2012 the young designer is now living and working in Paris. Kenta Matsushige says that the aim of her project was to create a urban and modern collection whilst respecting hinabi – the pastoral beauty – which is in opposition to miyabi – urban beauty. The winning collection was therefore inspired by his home country – the architecture of Japanese museums, the peace and the traditions of the countryside.

Matsushige and nine other talented participants of the Première Vision Grand Jury Prize-competition, showed their work on a catwalk in front of the public and this year’s jury, led by the creative directors of Kenzo, Carol Lim and Huberto Leon, together with actress Chloë Sevigny and the InStyle USA Fashion Director Eric Wilson, who crowned Kenta Matsushige the winner of this year’s top prize, giving him the opportunity to show his upcoming collection at next year’s edition of the festival. A second part of Matsushige´s prize is the opportunity to work with the French artisan organization Ateliers des Métiers d’Art, which will finance the development of five looks created by the young designer. Kenta Matsushige’s future looks to be as bright as that of other former winners of the Hyères Festival and we are looking forward to seeing what he will do next.

Hanna Cronsjö 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
07/05/2014

Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love

“Wearing your heart on your sleeve” – a common expression used to describe someone who doesn’t hide emotions – couldn’t be more fitting, both figuratively and literally, for fashion designer Patrick Kelly. During the 1980s Kelly was, in fact, a beacon of flamboyance and fun of the fashion world mostly dominated by the concept of “shop til you drop”. At that time, the rules of consumption triumphed over creative production – a fashion game Patrick Kelly would take a stand against.

Kelly’s career started as a young teenager growing up in Mississippi, where he worked in boutiques selling high-end designer clothing. Soon after he would move to New York and finally Paris, becoming a highly acclaimed designer and one of the few ‘foreigners’ elected into the Chambre Syndicale. The art of re-design and re-appropriation was something that Kelly learned from his grandmother and which would become his trademark. While working in boutiques he would re-design their high-end clothes selling them on the street under his own trademark. Re-design could be viewed as an ironic comment on what seems to underline all of Kelly’s work: being proud of who you are and making it on your own. Often criticized for using particularly charged imagery, Kelly was unapologetic and believed it was necessary to know one’s history to move forward. From his humble beginnings to the prestigious circles of the fashion world, Kelly developed an aesthetics that mixed his African American and Southern roots and knowledge of fashion and art history with references from the club and gay cultural scenes in New York and Paris.

Kelly understood design as a way of making people happy though the creation of wearable clothes, commenting – at the same time – on some of the most stereotypical assumptions of the then society. Designs like a watermelon hat, a golliwog logo or a colorful minimalistic twirl attire for women of all sizes, were all projects that kept people at the edge of their seat for what he would create.

“Patrick Kelly: A Runway of Love” is an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art celebrating an artist known for his playfulness, rich colors, bold imagery and iconic button-filled patterns, proposing an intriguing intersection of conceptual, cultural and spiritual juxtapositions with fabulous fashion.

Victoria Edman – Images courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
06/05/2014

Style Suggestions: Sneakers

You can put away the heels and still look stylish and feel comfortable. From hidden wedges to athletic runners, sneakers are the must-have shoe that is recurring season after season, so invest in a great pair because this trend is here to stay.

Clockwise: Comme Des Garçons Play, ACNE, Y-3, Balenciaga

Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
05/05/2014

Slippers To Go

It might sound weird to many, but slippers – those type of unflattering shoes mostly used indoors and usually worn with socks by utterly demodé tourists – are currently in vogue. The trend started, more or less one year ago, when Phoebe Philo decided to send a modern interpretation of the classic Birkenstock, fluffier and definitely cooler, on the Céline catwalk.

As usually happens, from that moment on, each respectable fashion brand has offered their own version: Givenchy with dark flowers, Isabel Marant aimed at a basic one, Missoni played a bit with shapes and Marni just kept re-working its typical sandal produced along the years.

Generally speaking, during the last two fashion seasons there has been a notable increase in the use of comfy accessories, especially related to shoes. This is certainly a crucial point that underlines, in some way, a need for a more relaxed approach in the fashion field, even if it’s not the first time Birkenstock family has been singled-out by the fashion world. In fact, during the 90s, everyone who wanted to look easy and cool used to wear them – a black and white photo of a young Kate Moss sporting a perfectly un-classy pair of Birkenstocks is a case in point.

As for every trend, seeing slippers on the catwalk is only a matter of habit: once we start seeing them everywhere and in every possible variation of style, we automatically accept it as a normal and even desirable accessory. At least slippers are comfortable, aren’t they?

Francesca Crippa 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
02/05/2014

Style Suggestions: Summer Festivals

As the Summer season is approaching so are the music festivals. The only rule is there are no rules and you can choose anything that will make you brave the crowds looking and feeling great: from boho floral dresses to T-shirts to denim and head to toe Isabel Marant.

Isabel Marant, Chloé, Vanessa Bruno, Vintage Levi’s, Pamela Love, Stella Jean, The Row by Linda Farrow, Kiehl’s

Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
30/04/2014

Workwear: From Factories To Catwalks

You’ve probably heard it a thousand times, but you’ll unlikely find a more truthful statement than the one stating that fashion always looks back to move forward. Undoubtedly, this is also the case of workwear, a specific type of clothing originally created for the industry – building sites, factories, highways and production lines – and lately picked-up by the fashion world.

Looking at the work apparel, one can find numerous examples of excellent brands that were originally developed for working sites and eventually evolved into high-street brands, one of which is certainly Carhartt. Smart enough to keep producing their original manufacturing line of clothes for workers, Carhartt has also been creating a second line of fashionable street wear clothes for hip-young people, Carhartt WIP.

But while workwear is part of Carhartt’s heritage, what has made other high fashion brand connect to this type of production? As often happens, subcultures like skaters, surfers and sport-minded, fashion-oriented groups, needed something cool and comfortable enough to wear. Through the years, these trends were brought from street to catwalk, making these simple garments become the ultimate fashionable pieces.

On the catwalk we have seen many adaptations of the trend: the upcoming Italian designer Fabio Quaranta, for example, made the unisex jumpsuit his statement piece, while the elite brand Hermès opted for something similar during its last show in Paris. An increasing interest has been manifested in womenswear, too. While DKNY’s adaptation of workwear may not come as a surprise, that of the historical maison Louis Vuitton is certainly a bold and groundbreaking statement. For his very last collection, Marc Jacobs has, in fact, created comfy turned-up jeans paired with black boots. While in the past workwear might not have been considered a stylish-enough attire, in 2014 people definitely consider it a synonym of durability, quality and craftsmanship.

Francesca Crippa 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
16/04/2014

Style Suggestions: Metallics

Whether they come in the form of cool silvers or rich golds – we can’t get enough of these metallic colored must-haves. From flirty, feminine frocks and shimmering pencil skirts to iridescent pastel coats and brocade jackets, every fashion option has had a metallic make-over for Spring/Summer 2014.

Swarovski by Christopher Kane, Vintage Chanel, Stella McCartney, Saint Laurent, Roy Roger’s, Frends, Ray-Ban

Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
15/04/2014

Fashion loves design: Nathalie Du Pasquier for AA

The relationship between fashion and design is often a difficult and tormented one. It is probably the usual love-hate romance that you’d advise your best friend to stay out of: a type of relationship where one is desperately in love and the other keeps changing their mind. And yet, there is something painfully irresistible and lovely about it, transforming even the worst experiences into well cherished memories.

It should not come as a surprise then, than one of the most unconditionally adored, yet often cringeworthy, contemporary brands, American Apparel, has recently teamed up with a protagonist of post-modern design scene, Nathalie Du Pasquier. Nathalie Du Pasquier was one of the original members of Memphis group back in the Eighties, where she designed numerous ‘decorated surfaces’ – textiles, carpets, plastic laminates, together with some furniture and objects. Even though she is often associated only with the Memphis experience, Du Pasquier gave a sharp cut to her ‘designer’ past in 1987, dedicating herself entirely to painting.

Nevertheless, when American Apparel approached her, she eagerly returned to the type of work she hadn’t engaged with in more than twenty years. The collection presents a series of colourful, iconic patterns designed for a series of American Apparel’s new womenswear and menswear silhouettes, as well as accessories. Reminiscent of the classic Memphis-style graphics, these patterns give a fresh and ironic twist to the brand’s basic, often single-colour staples, that we have somehow learned to love through time.

Rujana Rebernjak 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
11/04/2014

Style Suggestions: Weekend Getaway

With summer approaching, an abundance of weekend getaways are on the horizon and packing wisely for them is a must. Whether you’re preparing for a girls’ weekend away or visiting family and friends, there are a few key pieces that should always hold a place in your suitcase.

Nicholas Kirkwood, See by Chloé, Raoul, Roy Rogers, Burberry, Stella McCartney, Aesop

Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
10/04/2014

The Glamour of Italian Fashion at the V&A

The history of Italian fashion might sum up the history of the fashion world: its crafts-based approach, impeccable choice of materials, sleek tailoring, soft lines, flawless taste and irresistible flair have left a profound mark on the way we perceive clothes and the fashion industry itself. From the classic glamour and opulence of post-war years, up until the present, Italian fashion designers have dictated the rules of international style, while the quality of their production became a trademark in its own right: “Made in Italy”. A new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London celebrates the ‘Italian way’ of interpreting fashion, in an exhibition that traces nearly 70 years of its history.

Titled “The Glamour of Italian Fashion. 1945-2014”, the exhibition focusses both on womenswear and menswear collections, revealing those individuals, organizations, approaches and trends that have left a permanent mark on the world fashion map. Starting right after the war, where a return to luxury and apparent opulence symbolized “a hunger for glamour after years of wartime deprivation”, examining the relationship between Hollywood and stars of the international cinema and Italian tailoring during the Sixties, revealing the successes of “Made in Italy” throughout the Seventies, and ending with the rising figures of fashion designers as international stars, this exhibition gives a comprehensive overview not only of trends and styles, but also of the depth of research, the use of materials, production techniques and the influence of socio-political context on Italian fashion design.

Around 100 ensembles and accessories by leading Italian fashion houses including Simonetta, Pucci, Sorelle Fontana, Valentino, Gucci, Missoni, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Marni, Fendi, Prada and Versace, through to the next generation of fashion talent, are on display at the V&A, re-affirming the incredible role of Italian design in the history of fashion.

“The Glamour of Italian Fashion. 1945-2014” will run until the 27th of July 2014 at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Francesca Crippa – Images courtesy of the V&A Museum 
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
Next Page » « Previous Page