Feigned Perfection

A note to my readers

2008-04-07T08:58:00.003Z

Viewers, readers and fash people, after receiving emails about my rather long pause of posting I have endeavoured to explain one thing about me. I am one person with a career and many interests offline, so when my first life is very busy, my blog can go rather quiet. I do this in my spare time for fun as a way to express my love of fashion, design and art. While I do this for fun, I do strive to do it well - feedback on ways to improve is always welcome and as such i appreciate your concerns and no Alicia I haven't died I am perfectly OK (if a little stressed from work).

My dilemma dear readers is this; I could easily post shorter posts with much less thought and effort put into it and post more frequently, or I could continue to write my rather long essays (at least in terms of a fashion show) on each show. I am not totally sure that you realise how long it takes to put together one of my posts and as much as I love to do it, writing a post is very time consuming.

My next posts, whenever they may be posted, will be on the Spring 2008 shows that I most liked and once they are over I shall move onto the not so fresh Autumn Winter shows. Hope you guys understand that sometimes real life needs to be sorted out before the frivolities of blogging may continue.

Lots of Love

iStyle

Milan Fashion Week – Alberta Ferretti

2008-02-25T01:04:00.004Z

No need to say it, but then there is not harm in doing so, Alberta Ferretti is the queen of romanticism; so naturally in a season full of it, she created one of the most wearable and stand out collections of simply beautiful clothing. She has no gimmicks this is a woman who loves to dress women in feminine, sexy outfits and in this collection she was inspired by the Greeks (if you’ve been paying attention readers, this is one of the sub-trends of the season). Now if you have ever worn, or been up close and personal with any of Ferretti’s garments you will know the stunningly intricate details that go into each and every piece; the lady knows how to embellish. Now I’ve collected as many detailed shots as I could find but unfortunately the one’s I need to illustrate my points are unavailable, so you will either have to believe what I say or head down to your local Ferretti boutique and have a look yourself.

So I guess it would be important in a collection, which I describe as romantic to define what romanticism is in clothes? Firstly it all depends on the individual designer, in Ferretti’s case I could only describe it as classically formed, ethereal clothes with a mix of couture quality embellishment and clever draping. Whenever I look at any collection I always try and link it with architecture and art, it’s weird but they’re things that I love and I love it even more when fashion is inspired by these things. But enough with this useless chitchat, lets get to what we’re all here to see, the looks.

Last week we showed you Gucci’s big skirts and this week its Alberta’s little ones. Here Alberta has created a marbled effect on chiffon making it seem as if Sasha Pivarova is wearing molten marble. It’s quite a simple look but quite affective. Actually it’s quite interesting how Ferretti goes from uptown to downtown chic quite easily appealing to the Cosmo crowd, and as you’ll see later, the lunching ladies.

Ferretti always has been a wonderful red carpet and cocktail dress creator and this chiffon example with vertical pleats, reminiscent of piped classical columns is certainly one for the downtown crowd, and if orange isn’t your colour

There were lilacs like this beautifully embellished example

Or this lovely olive yellow example

Not sexy enough? How about this Botticelliesque dress, the only part that appears solid is that belt, talk about sheer. Don’t forget that detailing which really makes these dresses so special.

This printed dress seems both mannerist in its ornate print, and classical in the subject of the print; Greek architecture

Now I’ve been stating consistently that the goddess silhouette is the silhouette of the season, now if this is a little difficult for you to pull off or it’s just not becoming on you, Ferretti has created a selection of semi-goddess silhouetted dresses like this rather flirty sand coloured frock

That detailing continues underneath, almost like curtains in a Greek temple, or even a mosaic pattern

This red and orange combo uses such a subtle orange that combined with the bright red becomes almost a nude colour

The colour of the collection was green, in shades ranging from mint to ivy and grey/greens. The draping on this mint dress continues the idea that these dresses are subtle piped columns, now you can’t see it but this dress actually has another layer of draping on the fringe at the top to appear to be like the heads of those aforementioned columns.

Here is another example of one of Alberta’s semi-goddess cut dresses, with that shiny skirt isn’t it so downtown chic?

Or one of Lily Donaldson’s dresses where the draping really does speak for itself, and that embellishment is just stunning, almost like a waterfall or even sunrays.

Or this dark cloudy green with just enough embellishment to make it modern

Whilst this mint look harks utterly back to the Greeks, look at those dazzling folds! If there is a way to do high wasted it is this.

With embellishment like this, who needs jewellery?

The collection’s best parts were the draping details, so the dresses without the embellishment really stood out as show-stoppers, whether its for a night out with your friends in this wine dress (need I mention the cascading?)

Or this gorgeous white number with a centralised pleating, also note how in many of the outfits there have been subtle references to that goddess silhouette, through lopsided amounts of fabric such as on Lily’s left side and down her arm

Red Carpet gowns are certainly one of Alberta’s forte’s although if you are going to a red carpet event don’t colour match with that carpet, maybe this would be better for a gala opening (see I told you ladies who lunch, that there were clothes for you)

And how about this number, obviously it would need to be fitted better, but those pleats and the embellishment make it look like treasure being found in the sea (the pleats being the sea and the embellishment, well I’m pretty sure you get the reference)

Well frankly if you can’t find something you like in this collection I implore you to go down to Alberta Ferretti and at least try on a few dresses, if you aren’t satisfied well at least you had fun in a few expensive frocks.

Milan Fashion Week – Gucci

2008-02-18T01:14:00.003Z

Gucci is one of those famed houses, whether it’s the signature double G monogram, or the whole jet set feel of the brand. Ever since Tom Ford left Gucci (is it even relevant to mention him anymore?) all those seasons ago, Frida Giannini has had her own go at bringing the house in a new direction. No longer is it about “sex on stiletto’s” as one fashion journalist put it, instead Frida’s designs are more feminine and subtly sexy, whilst retaining Gucci’s jet set image. We here at Feigned Perfection enjoy her shows season on season, whether she decides to delve into the archives, or not. This season Gucci hit many of the trends, full 1950’s skirts (even 1950’s cropped leather jackets that could well have come straight out of Grease Lightning (is that a good or a bad thing?)), peep-toed booties, and the goddess off-the shoulder silhouette. The collection wasn’t much appreciated by the fashion press this season and whilst the show might not have been as stellar as it could have been we reckon it had many pieces throughout that were definitely worthy of their inevitably high-price tags.

One of Frida’s strong points throughout all her collections are her use of graphic prints and almost every look contained a print in one form or other. Our favourite looks of the show were the cropped jackets combined with full yet short skirts in multiple colours and materials. From patent black and abstract flowers…

To bright yellow and brought in at the waist with a particularly nice wide belt…

Then there were the bubble gum pinks (a colour I’m not too fond of but combined with the hard edged patent leathers and blacks that old cutesy feeling traditionally felt when seeing anything in this shade of pink disappears)

Actually isn’t this patent pink jacket quite lovely, especially with the contrasting trims and that great skirt that will look great with a whole multitude of items. Worth noting about these jackets is that those arms seem to be ultra thin, maybe when they retail (i.e. now) the arms won’t be so thin.

And then Frida showed us her more masculine side of Gucci, the lady loves fitted shirts; with this check with fitted pencil skirt and high sheen jacket, very biker chick chic.

And then the Frida trousers came out…

Whilst we may not recommend those hot pink versions for everyone, the following black ones are quite becoming and would be equally good for work wear.

Although this top might not be too good for the office it shows the versatility of the look to go from day to evening.

Frida also showed us some very nice day dresses that combined both sculptural and graphic elements as in this strapless number

Or this goddess silhouette with sunflower print (I believe M&S has a much cheaper (and not as well done) version)

The print on this dress reminds us of some of De Kooning’s works, although in practice we feel that the print is a little overwhelming for the rest of the look.

Gucci’s staple eveningwear seemed much heavier then usual but also quite sculptural as in this floor length black dress with suede wide belt.

But our favourite eveningwear gown was Lily Donaldson’s final look. Now we can’t think of too many occasions where this dress would be suitable but it would certainly stand out in quite a subtle way.

If there is one thing you can learn from this collection it’s that if you want to look like you are part of the international jet set, you better head down to Gucci for some staple wardrobe pieces.

Milan Fashion Week – Marni

2008-02-11T01:48:00.001Z

Marni has been a long-term favourite of ours here at Feigned Perfection. The clothes may not be fashion forward, nor are they fashion backward (is that even a term), these are clothes for clever women, thanks to Consuelo Castiglioni's innovative use of hi-tech fabrics. To quote Tim Blanks who sums up the label in this great sound bite “Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch” the hi-touch referring to the houses exquisite couture like construction. This is modern couture (i.e. none of the OTT details that we love from Dior and Chanel instead it is in the technology of the fabrics) with ready to wear prices. The problem of seeing these clothes on a computer screen or in a magazine is that you really can’t get a feel for them, both in the way that they fit and fall on a real body (honestly the pictures off the catwalks make them look like lifeless sacks, but trust me once you put one on it’s a totally different story).

This season at Marni the hi-tech references continued, whether it was the use of plastics as in this skirt and new wave t-shirt

Or these amazing prints, that remind us of rippling water or even those iTunes visualisations that we all secretly love to watch.

Here we even have a slight sheer effect, except i'm guessing that it's the lucid plasticy material rather then thin cotton. Either way it's our favourite look of the show.

Amongst other prints were these, wood grains

and even a floral (who would have guessed in this season!!??)

There was also a recurring triangular motif in various colours of plastic. We love the splattered paint effect of the print mixed with the more graphic plastics

And if you find the plastic element a stretch too far then what about this almost art deco print T-shirt?

There was more then a hint of new wave with these 80’s colours and shapes

And the full skirts of the 1950’s were also referenced in Marni’s distinctively minimalist / maximalist style. One of the things this house is known for are its great separates which will go with plenty of other non-Marni options in your wardrobes, either toning them up or down.

Whilst Prada may have monopolised the Fairy’s of the forest market, Marni had it’s own take on the trend. This shift takes quite a literal perspective on the traditional floral prints; instead we have petals made of an undoubtedly interesting fabric with one of Consuelo’s favourite techno blues.

Yes for Marni this wasn’t too much a step away from the norm, but one must realise that this house has been on the avant-garde of Fashion for many years and has only recently (in the last few years) become mainstream enough to have their designs copied by the High Street. If Consuelo’s formula is as successful as it has been why change now?

Happy Birthday Shoe Goddess

2008-02-07T00:18:00.001Z

Our very good friend's over at the Shoe Goddess have just turned One Year Old! Congratulations guys we wish you many Louboutin's and Blahnik's for this special occasion. So here are a box of lovely Pedro Garcia Dannie Satin Pumps in a very nude pink

And now for a long overdue update. I know that this is no excuse for a blogger but I literally have had no time at all to sit down for an hour and a half writing my little runway reviews thanks to my rather tiring work. Now that doesn't mean I am going to stop however it has taught me a valuable lesson: "don't take too big a bite out of the big fashion apple". Yes the New York Fashion shows have already been hitting out screens (and to those lucky enough to go, sunglasses) so I am way behind in terms of being right on the ball with my reviews. However It is still Winter in the Northern Hemisphere and I figure I'll have plenty of time to write the AW2008 reviews over the summer. So I have vowed to complete my reviews of Milan and Paris but next season I shall focus on the shows that I absolutely loved the most first rather then writing over each fashion week. So I hope you readers aren't too mad at me and I feel pretty bad (not to mention un-professional) writing this sorry statement.

Milan Fashion Week – Fendi

2008-01-15T14:10:00.000Z

I am not going to start off a post about one of Karl Lagerfeld’s innumerable fashion houses with a round off of how great he is; every single fashion person praises him and yes he is one of the greatest designers of the 20^th and 21^st centuries (see I just did it on accident), but the same comments do not need to be heard season upon season, it’s become a joke! So lets get stuck into the show. Fendi was always Lagerfeld’s more grown up brand (despite being creative director of perhaps the oldest fashion institute of our time (yes the one with the double C’s)) a fashion house for more mature, intelligent and freethinking women. This season Lagerfeld showed us clean lined, and modern, 1950’s silhouettes (Donna Karen’s shirtwaist meets the future kind of thing), with a nod to Art Deco in the form of belts and bags and even a touch of Van Gogh. Yes it is the ten-year anniversary of the legendary Fendi baguette, which has been brought back this season in the form of a giant over-sized clutch. A statement to just how much a heavy hitter this brand is, Karl showed the world his power by staging the show, a second time, in the largest man-made structure to be seen from space, The Great Wall of China. Lagerfeld described the show as “space age romanticism” and we think you’ll agree, it’s pretty spacey. But enough of this Zucca print worship was the show any good?

Well yes it was (otherwise we wouldn’t be writing about it). This being a spring collection it was only natural to go for a light colour palette and white was the colour of choice for Lagerfeld. Starting off with this shirtwaist dress (yes as we’ve said before, go off and get one), which has been brought back from the 50’s in a stylishly futuristic white sheer fabric version cinched in with a belt that seems Art Deco, Aztec, and futuristic all at the same time (remember Fendi knows it’s accessories). A perfect look for going away in (although probably not so good on the plane).

As the show evolved, so did the shirtwaist, into this look, a kind of cross between a pant-suit, a shirtwaister and even the collar had a nod to Japanese origami (the previous season’s Dior couture show continues to have effect).

There was an array of long white summery dresses, which flowed down the runway like boat sails. The dress below having a very modern feel, partly thanks to the cut of those sleeves.

Also in the collection were the most fantastic graphic Deco prints, updated for a modern world through sheer fabrics,

Or a clever use of black and white.

Whilst on the runway this look appeared more like a dress, we think that it would be equally useful as a kind of raincoat over anyone of your new collection of full dresses and voluminous skirts.

This dress may not be altogether wearable or even successful but it certainly has an interesting quality thanks to that the veiled layering.

Circular patterns were a big hit on the Fendi runway and these looks would be amazing even for a stroll through Central Park (we do seem to cater for you ladies who lunch now don’t we?)

There was just such an atmosphere of fresh easiness at the show, akin to a summer salad (or some other poetically fresh statement)

Now if you can’t see the link between the next look and Van Gogh’s brushstrokes you must be blind, it was definitely part of that mini “hand of the artist trend” we’ve seen at certain shows throughout the season.

Whilst even this LBD looked fresh and updated with the use of synthetic materials and graphic white, hand-painted circular motifs.

So Fendi was definitely a success this season and for the intellectual woman with a need for some quality dresses that are as crisp and cool as those ice cubes in the vodka on the rocks you may be drinking, Fendi is definitely a shop you’ll be visiting soon. Don’t forget that a lot of these looks are quite versatile and will be equally lovely during the evening as well as daytime, and some of those early white dresses will be worn for many seasons to come.

Milan Fashion Week – Dolce & Gabbana

2008-01-14T11:37:00.000Z

Dolce and Gabbana are back! After several seasons of shows that haven’t shown off the Italian duo’s sense of flamboyance and passion for women and fashion, this season really marked a turning point. Inspired by the Gramercy Park hotel in Manhattan, Dolce and Gabbana injected freehand painting into their dresses, allowing us a glimpse into what life would have been like if Jackson Pollock had become a hotelier and fashion designer (oh and had not drunk himself to death and actually been happy) in 58 extraordinary looks. That original spirit of over the top Italian Romance was infused into one of my favourite sub-trends for this season, art. There was also 1950’s silhouette’s with several stunning old style red carpet gowns with a breath of fresh modern twists in the crazy coloured prints and stunning hand-painted tulle. If you want to really have a scene-stopping dress this year go to Dolce and Gabbana, the price of these dresses will be undoubtedly high but will be paid for in compliments and envious glances alone and if you buy one dress this year make it one of these. Of all the shows this season Dolce and Gabbana have been the hardest to narrow down in terms of looks to show you, but fear not this is perhaps the largest post I’ll be making this season with 25 looks alone!

The Show music and the video’s of artists painting fabric were the biggest clue to how the show would turn out and we all knew from the beginning paint would be involved; we had no idea how well it would turn out though. The first few looks down the catwalk were very demure colourless garments but that first 1950’s full-skirted prom dress gave away that this would be a much freer show then past Dolce and Gabbana shows have been.

As the show continued and more white and colourless looks came down the runway the first trend box was ticked, veiling. We along with every other fashion blog, magazine and person have said this again and again, veiling with sheer fabrics is probably the biggest and most difficult trend to pull off for Spring Summer 2008. However at dolce the veiling used has been quite minimalist and instead created an ethereal quality to many of the looks on the catwalk. The look below wasn’t exactly ethereal, but it did give an interesting layering effect a bit like looking cloudy water from above and being able to see different depths in different places of the dress, very clever and a look that could easily pass through day to evening.

All of a sudden the prints started pounding down the runway, clearly showing their origins of that aforementioned trendy Manhattan hotel. First in this great cinched in suit with billowing trousers (a trend that we predict will come back in a few seasons and probably cause for celebration for those hating the current skinny jeans trend).

Whilst this nude and well structured frock really stood out amongst all the less-structured dresses of the rest of the show, perhaps a little dress to celebrating the architect of the hotel? Either way it’s totally Dolce and shows off the designers minimalist and clever use of veiling (seen in the arms).

And then there was colour! This amazing dress shows how well a thin belt (one of the accessory trends of the season (say goodbye to the wide belt for awhile ladies)) can really bring a look together. Without it the look would seem like it had just been cut out of a Gramercy Park Hotel sofa, with it, it breaks up the design and makes the dress look effortlessly chic, I’m already seeing Carrie Bradshaw running down Park Ave. in this.

Finally we saw what the videos and music had been hinting at throughout the show. The first painted garment was a simple black sheer dress with white paint strewn across in an almost abstract fashion (did Stefano and Dominico visit the Abstract Expressionist wing of the Met perhaps?) the paint acting like a barrier to the underwear behind, showing just enough flesh to be suggestive but not enough to be smutty.

A much more subtle form of veiling can be seen in the look below with another gramercy print, with what reminds us of a smoky cloud surrounding the dress, adding that extra bit of detail that makes it so special.

The same can be said for this painted dress with a smoky black layer over an opaque painted layer, for those that want the painting but have a bit more modesty. The look also ticks off that mini-trend of dressing like fairies or forest imps except this dress is certainly no literal interpretation of the trend (like at Prada).

For those who want something much more alluring and sexy, this LBD will definitely turn heads.

Another trend that Dolce and Gabbana really got down to a T this season was using high, full and short skirts. They made them in all shapes, colours, prints and paints and here is just a collection from, well the collection. This green Gramercy print,

This longer pencil skirt, with a darker gramercy print and veiling, not to mention painted top,

This loose and flowing purple skirt with a great gramercy print strappy top and tope tie belt,

In fact there was a veritable palette of fantastic separates that would all go together and look stunning mixed with some more ordinary off the high street garment.

Of course the other big trend of the season was floral patterns and Dolce and Gabbana’s painted florals were just so much better then any print could ever be.

Pollock anyone?

Finally those gowns that were just so special floated down the runway; up close or a mile away these are the kind of dresses that one can only dream of (yet you can buy them now!). Painted in abstract shapes with varying different colours and dress lengths, these gowns would look amazing at the Oscar’s (if they do go ahead that is) and as I said before will pay for themselves in “compliments and envious glances alone”. We think you’ll agree that these are one of the highlights of the season.

Well we hope you enjoyed this post as much as we did writing it. For shows like this it is a pleasure, and just looking at these looks in pictures is not enough therefore we urge you to go out to your local Dolce and Gabbana boutique and see them in person, think of it like a trip to an art gallery, after all this season they certainly combined fashion with art in a way that nobody else has before, and for this that makes them artists.

Milan Fashion Week - Introduction

2008-01-14T10:56:00.000Z

This season Milan gave out more hit shows than any of the other fashion weeks. Normally this is Paris’s job but almost all of Milan’s shows showed us something fantastically extravagant and beautiful.

There was more then just a touch of the artist in Milan with Dolce and Gabbana literally painting their collection (the soundtrack possibly an ironic joke at the paint getting under their thumb’s).

Over at the Fendi, Gucci and Marni shows we saw each house showing their own takes on graphic modernism harking back to the 1950’s and early 1960’s

Alberta Ferretti, the queen of romanticism, took us to Ancient Rome and warrior dressing whilst sticking to her signature romantic pleating.

Tim Blanks sums up the Prada show fantastically “Everyone wants to look like a refugee from a fairytale”. Miuccia Prada realised that absolute harsh clothing of the previous few seasons aren’t actually what most women want, and that softness is what a woman wants from Prada. So she gave it to us, on paper it could have been sugary sweet but Miuccia injected her need for some kind of negative element with mismatched separates and crazy shoes. Probably one of the most talked about show of the season (come to think about it everyone has something to say about a Prada show regardless of the season!), Prada gave us another one that will be analysed for months.

Bottega Venneta showed us the most amazingly pleated coats and dresses in every shade of tope under the sun. Each look seemed to hark back to the pre-hippy 1960’s with full skirts, dresses and coats, overall a much more grown up and mature approach to romanticism.

Allessandro Dell'Acqua and Jil Sander had their own individual ways of taking on the veiling trend. Jil Sander’s was perhaps the purest form of using sheer fabrics whilst being the most risqué at the same time and Allessandro referenced veiling with Japanese Origami shapes and prints (with Feigned Perfection’s favourite shoes of the season).

Christopher Bailey’s show at Burberry Prorsum was a mixture of the Italian romanticism and traditional British rock and roll, mixed with a bit of jet set styling.

Voluminous floral dresses and Prairie Girl chic were the name of the game at D&G and Roberto Cavalli.

If there was one constant it was Romanticism, the Italians removed almost all signs of sex that they usually infuse into their vamped up collections and instead went for something much, much softer; and if economic forecasts are to be believed and we’re all going to be hit by some massive credit crunch, well designers are going to have to provide something soft for us to nestle in when we do get hit!

Well was Donatello Versace, the queen of sexy dressing, going to fall under the Romantic’s bandwagon? Well just a bit, but Versace is always on it’s own track and only decides to follow trends when it wants to. Thank God! Otherwise we’d be throwing up nothing but floral patterns for the next 6 months. Yes there wasn’t as much body-con as there has been in the past but sex is still on the menu at Versace.

So, to sum up? Romance is back!

London Fashion Week – Paul Smith

2008-01-08T11:03:00.000Z

Paul Smith is best known for his menswear, so it comes as no surprise that season after season we see men's tailoring in every single women collection he does. Now before you view the pictures below it is important to realise that we here at Feigned Perfection would advice not trying to copy one of these looks completely, unless you want to look like an extra on the set of a 1960s British holiday film (resplendent with what we see as awful high-heeled sandals (combined with socks and you have the classic view of a British tourist in Spain!)), however pieces from each look will help to evolve your own day-to-day style, injecting some classically quirky British humour. One of the things we love about Paul Smith is that he appeals to the normal everyday person and you don’t have to be a celebrity to enjoy his style conscience, just someone with a flair for dressing (and more then a Primark shopping budget).

For Spring Summer 2008 Paul Smith travels through David Hockney’s Californian landscapes with a nod to the artist explicit in the colours of the background to the runway. The look below sums up the colour palette succinctly. The blues of a Malibu pool, with matching sheer cotton navy (we’ll guess as symbolic of surf) and a touch of sunny yellow. The polo shirt and parka merely an eccentric British twist.

Parka’s featured in bright, shiny fabrics in this collection, if you want to look fashionable in one, we suggest leaving them. If you have to wear them wear one in a bright colour or even a print, you need to get away from the whole train spotters image that naturally comes to mind with them. On the other hand if you find a perfect parka it can make you look quite cute and stylish (especially when everyone is walking around in trench coats)

Speaking of menswear, what could be more male orientated then a rugby shirt? Well it turns out, Smith has a formula in making something, firmly in the realms of male dressing, into something feminine; add a shine finish and lengthen it until it becomes a dress!

The same approach can be seen in this look; although this is a summer collection and outside of the UK one wonders where a black woollen dress would be appropriate?

Stripes were present in almost all the looks, adding a preppy feel to the collection. In the pink dress below, the designer has twirled a bunch of stripes to form a rose motif, with Paul Smith every feminine touch is a blessing.

Whilst this look appears to be something that a girlfriend of an English dandy has stolen out of his closet, combined with a bright pink blouse and accidentally appeared on a runway during London fashion week (what are the odds?).

As we have been saying throughout today’s post, men's tailoring is Smith’s forte and these blazers are totally on trend, chic and will have (combined with Paul Smith’s quality) a long life once bought. When buying any blazer or jacket always make sure it is fitted well and pulled in at the waist.

So we hoped you enjoyed this final post on London Fashion Week and now we have to start preparing a huge post on the shows we loved in Milan. See you soon.

London Fashion Week – Jonathan Saunders

2007-12-18T20:48:00.000Z

London Fashion Week over the years has been lambasted over the grander Paris, Milan and New York weeks; in the past couple of years there have been many breakout designers choosing to base themselves right here in London. It also pays to remember that Many of Fashion’s greatest designers are English and started showing at London; Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Matthew Williamson, Hussein Chalayan, Christopher Bailey and of course Alexander McQueen. The British designer is behind most of the powerful fashion houses around the world and this makes London a crèche for the future A-list designers. Over the years we have watched in amazement as the styles of Giles, Gareth Pugh, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders have been gradually honed to create certain signatures. So London Fashion Week is now firmly on the fashion calendar, no more to be ignored by the likes of Anna Wintour and co. So it is with great sadness that we must say adieu to Jonathan Saunders, who moves to New York next season. He has been known over the years as a prints man, and his final collection in London (for the foreseeable future) featured sombre lacklustre colours and not a print in sight, a sign of how he feels leaving London?

Colour blocking in a mature manner was the name of the game in this collection with Saunders using diluted blues and yellows to create a very grownup colour palette. Somehow the lightness of the colours created a filmic quality to the blacks, lightening them as well.

Sheer fabrics (yes we know, the fabric of the season) were used in an interestingly new way, rather then veiling (also in the collection but not to the scale as we’ve been seeing in other collections) Jonathan Saunders created dynamically changing blocks of colour, found in the blue sleeves below which change colour as the fabric moves. Not only has Saunders created a new form of veiling, he’s created a new colour blocking method.

In our introduction to London Fashion Week we talked about Matisse and his Papier Collier method of collage, which really does appear to have come into this collection through pockets and blocks of colour, appearing to literally be ‘stuck on’, creating a strangely modern effect, whilst being detailed as a whole it is paradoxically minimalist.

Whilst Jonathan may be moving to New York, clearly a bit of that ‘New York state of mind’ has already entered Jonathan’s, with this very New York strapless dress which could have gone down a De La Renta runway just as much as Jonathan’s.

Whilst another interesting sub-trend were the long sleeved dresses, which we also saw at Proenza Schouler. These dresses are a little more difficult to pull off but if done well, they can create an interestingly gothy feel to them, making them perhaps targets for the younger women. Difficult to pull off, but when they work they’re cute and quirky.

The designs continued to have the same airy quality to them (mostly without the use of any see-thru fabrics) thanks to the use of the languid colour palette; colour blocking in the look below made it go from a simple silhouette to something much more refined.

Yet it was certainly not just about colour, with the designer experimenting with interesting new shapes to classic silhouettes, through fluctuating volumes. Such as in this T-shirt dress, broken up by colour blocking and made three dimensional through the cloud-like detailing; just enough not to be overwhelming whilst still keeping the look individual and stylish.

Saunders even experimented with corseting in the collection, with this strapless number. Pay attention to the flat squares in the bust and the uneven diagonal cut of the lower part of the dress.

This season has been all about the simple dress, and one silhouette in particular really came through, the goddess dress. Jonathan naturally had a few in this collection and the one below seems to tick off all the main themes of the show, colour blocking (tick), playful volumes (tick) and water colour palette (tick)

Yet perhaps the most exportable part of Saunders’s line is his eveningwear pieces like this goddess dress with gradient detailing and edged with black

Or this look with that looks like one of Clifford Still’s tears of black

After seeing this collection it isn’t hard to see why the designer is moving to New York as he certainly has a grip of the sportswear mentality. Several of these dresses could have been shown on a New York runway very easily (by this we mean they could have been bought not only by a single fashion tribe (the ladies who lunch), but also by the more experimental US tribes), so what the designer is doing is very clever. His collection is slowly Americanizing yet keeping to Jonathan’s principles and signatures and with some of that quirky off-the-wall English humour through experimentation. It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out over time. Next we’ll be looking at Paul Smith’s quirky British collection.

London Fashion Week - Introduction

2007-12-16T20:38:00.000Z

First and foremost, we here at Feigned Perfection must apologise for this rather long gap between posts; to cut a long story short our system (a lowly Apple iBook) had to go back to Apple for repairs and so we have been without it for a while. But the good news is that we have it back and can continue on our reports for the Spring Summer 2007 collections. Secondly we’d like to apologise for the rather rushed nature of the last post and shall endeavour to try and keep our future posts a little bit more readable and grammatically correct.

So we have our system back and we’ve been busy writing up reports on London Fashion week. Of the shows that we saw only two really caught our imaginations, Jonathan Saunders fantastically progressive collection and Paul Smith’s quirky women's show. Of these two shows there was a definite arty feel to both.

At the Jonathan Saunders show, there was a languid watercolour palette, with colour blocking done in an interesting new way, reminding us of Matisse and his Papier Collier (or collage) effect.

Paul Smith happily acknowledged his influence of the British artist, David Hockney for the colour palette. Everything else was classic Smith, creating feminine, quirky and altogether British clothing that is wearable whether you are Helen Mirren or just Helen who lives down the street.

So we hope these little titbits of fashion will keep you hungry for our reports on these respective designers over the following week. Hopefully the Winter ‘08 Couture shows won’t roll around the corner before we finish our reports on Paris and Milan.

New York Fashion Week – Space Age Modernity (which one can wear!)

2007-11-29T12:58:00.000Z

When one thinks of modernism, futurism, etc. What does one think of first? Balenciaga’s robot trousers? Hussein Chalayan and his wonderful moving clothes? Well how about Narciso Rodriguez or even Proenza Schouler? Yes? No? Maybe? Whilst Hussein and Nicholas’s vision of modernism (or is it futurism?) is highly stylised and obvious, Proenza’s vision for next season was an almost dystopian future whilst Narciso’s was clearly more minimalist. Of all these collections which would be the most likely to become reality anytime soon? Of course, both American design houses have created much more wearable attire than their European counterparts (as we've been going on about the whole sportswear versus the more couture ready to wear of Europe, arguement).

Over the past few years, various New York designers have been given new leases of life thanks to fresh investment and both Proenza Schouler and Narciso Rodriguez have benefited recently. What a difference this money has made can be seen in the new details that Narciso has been able to include in his collection this season. Still there, in each look, was the signature tailoring that the designer is known for; yet the fresh details adds an entirely new level to the collection. Below are two looks that are fairly similar. The red frock is reminiscent of Narciso pre-investment whilst the white dress with the purple, almost translucent detailing, is much more post-investment. They are both undeniably Narciso Rodriguez, through their similar architecturally constructed designs, yet that extra bit of detail just gives the dress a little more emotion and fun.

The colour palette was utterly modern for this collection, contrasting purples and oranges with black and white. The colour of this look is perfect for a piece that can be both fresh during the day and turn into something more eveningwear as the sun sets.

The added details throughout the collection gave the clothes a playful and younger attitude, without the black flowers this dress would be just an orange dress with Narciso construction. The added details just make it seem more playful, we love how it reminds us of those great graphic design patterns with repeating organic shapes. Yet even with these small details the look is still minimalist and contemporary.

As I have said in the past, Spring Summer 2008 is all about veiling and Narciso included a bit in this collection. The veiling with drop details looks like a window on a rainy spring day, in keeping with the architectural sub-theme of the collection.

Yet perhaps the detail that stood out the most was the way in which the designer created gradients and intermingled colours. Rather then the colour blocking of old, colours mix and mingle to create a ‘painted on’ effect. Utterly chic and modern, these dresses transcend the fickle trend system and will look good whether it is spring 2008 or summer 2010.

Moving on to Proenza Schouler, they saw an entirely different kind of investment from Valentino Corp. Yet their vision remains unchanged, they’ll do what they want and because what they do is already intellectual and cool, nobody cares!

A masculine versus feminine interaction permeated the collection with neither being overtly present. Perhaps the one constant throughout was the cinched in waist with a belt creating a very deliberate silhouette. Tribal patterns created that sense of dystopian society.

Here the off-the-shoulder dress using leather helps to emphasise a kind of primitive and again tribal society.

The Materials played a big role in continuing the theme of primitivism. The models of the show came out on force like a tribe of savage women killing animals and wearing their skins. Only these are not animal skins they are in fact artificial fabrics (what fabrics? Don’t ask), creating this play between the natural and the synthetic.

If Valentino’s influence could be seen in one look this gold number would be it, with its typical Valentinoesque silhouette with Proenza’s innovative use of materials.

If you want to be one step in front of the crowd yet don’t want to look like one of Nicholas Ghesquire’s robots, come to Proenza, or for a more classical approach how about Narciso. We hope that we have wet your appetites we’ll be away for awhile as our system goes in for maintenance. However when we return, as this is the last post on New York Spring Summer 2008, we’ll be visiting the catwalks of London, Paris and Milan.

New York Fashion Week – Rodarte

2007-11-14T12:44:00.000Z

Of all the shows during NYFW, Rodarte was THE most conceptual and arty. Again we saw several different ways to use sheer fabric, some successful, some not, the majority being very difficult to wear. Rodarte has managed to carve out a very select group of niche customers who shop for fantasy clothing made for reality. Rodarte is very clever as it changes our perception of wearability, most people will take one look at these clothes and say WOW, then move on. However their niche customers are on the cusp of something new, they are willing to buy experimental clothing from Rodarte as their love of fashion is translated brilliantly into their collections.

Spring Summer 2008 was influenced by Japanese anime comics (another sub-theme for next season appears to be Japan and the orient) yet not in an obvious way. Instead they capture the curious fusion between extremely ethereal femininity (the use of sheer fabrics (that almost seem like films their so light))

And a sinister dark atmosphere (do I really need to talk about the shoes when practically everyone else already has?)

Whilst keeping within a strangely comic book style, as if the flowing clothes of anime cartoons have jumped onto a catwalk.

If you felt that the above looks were just too outlandish Rodarte does seem to be influenced a lot by the Chanel tweed suits (who isn’t?) which could be worn with more conservative clothing (a blouse instead of the see-thru top seen bellow) and still work with the same effect.

There was thiss great silver party frock, with a kind of Marc Jacobs grungy silhouette whilst still staying within the collections anime theme (the graphic jagged mountains).

Yet our most favourite look was this spring dress and coat. The coat has a kind of informal quality thanks to its construction, whilst the colours could help it to stay in your wardrobes till autumn!

If there is one thing that we would ever preach it is to have fun with what you wear, don’t take it too seriously and don’t be afraid to experiment. If one of these looks appears too daunting just try a certain aspect. A word to the wise, don’t get wicked shoes like those above, this whole evil heels trend will eventually wear off and even if you wear them now, you will look like you’ve stepped out of a biker chick bar and not in a good way. However for the runway, the evil shoe worked out balancing out the “fru fru and frill” of the sheer fabrics with the evil spikes of the shoes. For our final post in our New York Fashion Week roundup, we’ll be taking a look at the different idea’s of modernity from Proenza Schouler on one side and Narciso Rodriguez on the other.

New York Fashion Week – Costumes for the everyday

2007-11-04T16:10:00.000Z

One of the problems with fashion nowadays is keeping designs interesting, innovative and fresh. A way in which designer’s can distance themselves from the High Street, whilst keeping their designs original, is through themes that the designer explores as its ‘muse’. The main problem with this is that designs can become far too literal and turn into costumes rather then clothing. This can be especially hard for those who have learnt costume-making skills (Alexander McQueen and Zac Posen spring to mind). The more commercial fashion week that is New York, is probably the best place to look for what we call “costumes for the everyday” (not the most snappy name, we know) and this season there has been the entire range from the truly fantasy clothing of Rodarte, the Grecian and Rome inspired collection at Vera Wang and the Quaker inspired Zac Posen collection.

Vera Wang’s collection has been inspired by the HBO TV drama Rome. The colour pallet is indisputably Grecian and Mediterranean whilst the shapes use contemporary techniques to modernise togas and simple dresses. In fact this has been a small sub-trend for Spring Summer 2008, which has been picked up at Alberta Ferretti as well.

Each piece of the collection has Rome down to it’s core whether is this incredibly wearable ensemble. At first glance this is nothing but an un-shapely look, however the olive green and mustard yellow individual pieces can be worn as separates, this is an important fact to recognise whilst looking at catwalk collections; not all of the looks will work in real life on real women instead of (as Lisa Armstrong of the times puts it) “teenage giraffes”. Even as separates, the shape of the full skirt and t-shirt continue to look Grecian and this is key to keeping themes from going into costumes.

This blue, green high sheen coat is light enough to be worn in spring and can go over eveningwear and daywear. The way the fabric has been treated and printed means that the blue really pops out as it came down the catwalk. The photo also highlights the problems of fashion journalism; unless you see this coat in person, it will look unfitted and therefore un-special. Yet any fool can see that there is something quite magical about the way it has been printed and that it will stand out amongst a sea of black, beige, grey and white trenches.

Naturally it was the formalwear that really stood out as the highlights to Vera’s collection.

Toga’s in all colours

and shapes popped out from behind the screen and it really highlighted just how much the Ancient civilisations continue to influence fashion today (Lanvin, Versace and many more big name designers use very similar silhouettes). This brings to question whether doing a Roman collection is ‘costumey’ or just everyday for a past millennia? After all, classical artists, architects and even politicians and philosophers continue to sway their modern counterparts.

One of the highlights of the collection was how Vera brought the laurel wreath from a simple piece of headwear (and not one to be worn in the 21^st century) to the dress.

This final look was our most favourite of the collection ticking off all the right trend boxes (veiling and the classical roman theme), whilst being light, airy, ethereal and most importantly wearable. This dress will flow and is not to be taken lightly.

Zac Posen’s odd choice for a collection theme, that of the Shakers and early America turned out to be the best show of the week. Although the overall theme was the Shakers this allowed Zac to explore several more sub-themes of rural American history. But lets start off with the Shakers and how Zac turned dowdy into sexy by shortening the silhouette and using sheer fabrics. (We recommend not wearing the headwear though or you’ll look like a Shaker prostitute)

The Shakers were the basis for a subtle but powerful colour pallet of black and white with highlights and blocks of various shades of yellow, olive green and neutrals. Zac also evolved his signature suit with this collection. Of all the new (if you can call Zac Posen new this is something like his eighth year doing New York Fashion week!) Zac Posen is someone who is already iconic and loved by many of the red carpet. He knows his client very well and understands that although there is a comparatively small amount of celebrity clients, his main client is the urban woman looking for a new way of dressing and finding it at Zac Posen. This means that Zac’s separates are just as interesting as his eveningwear pieces (although eveningwear is perhaps his forte).

Although Zac evolved his signature suit, dresses (as with every collection this season) were the main event, and it was here that Zac chose to explore other sub-themes. His most successful one was the idea that an entire rolling field can be fitted onto a single dress. These frilly garments at first glance look simple and a bit too girly, but on closer inspection they have an underlying architecture that makes them stand out whilst evoking those aforementioned sloping fields. Short…

And full length dresses were totally fantastic. Pulling the look off in real life could be difficult; Zac described everything before his cloud pieces as commercial (we’ll get to that later) yet I can’t see the look bellow working for the average woman. This look has crossed over into the costume world yet it doesn’t hurt to look at and that’s the thing, fashion is a kind of art form and here Zac Posen has just managed to fit an entire field of hay (bales and all) onto a single dress, bravo!

Whilst the dress above may not have been completely wearable this dress is much more red carpet and still retains the ‘wheaty sub-theme’. A field in winter perhaps?

Whilst these field dresses are much more difficult to pull off, Zac did create shorter versions without the entire field becoming involved, instead a few strands of fabric wheat were used to continue the rural theme, whilst still being in Zac’s signature skimpy (yet not smutty) look.

Coming back to the original Shakers theme, Zac created this look as if a Shaker woman has just moved to the big city and wants to shake off her old dowdiness but keep her roots on her sleeve (pardon those awful puns).

Finally we get to Zac’s abovementioned cloud pieces, which are where I think the collection goes wrong, yes they do have the sense of clouds in their volumes and floatiness, but the colours are where the cloud themes stop. Yes they’re predominantly blue, but there is something about theme, which I can’t put my finger on that stops them from working for me. However it is nice to see at a New York fashion show that not everything has to be commercial.

Well that brings us to a sad end to our report and don’t worry Rodarte will be mentioned separately in the next post, we thought two designers was enough to handle in this already oversized post. This leaves us to mention that we believe that you should have fun in your dressing, don’t be afraid to experiment but realise at what point that dress you’ve been eyeing up at Bergdorf’s becomes a costume.

New York Fashion Week – 1950s meets 2007 at Donna Karen

2007-10-25T06:28:00.000Z

Donna Karen’s Spring Summer collection brought back memories of breezy 1950’s America with the ultimate American dress, the shirtwaister. Perfect for hotter months or climes, these simple and stylish dresses evoke hot Havana nights and dancing 1950s diners. If its on Donna Karen’s catwalk then it will be on the chicest New Yorkers come spring summer next year. If you are the right body shape, it doesn’t matter what age you are, you will be able to pull this look off.

Hillary Alexander of the Telegraph puts it perfectly “if you’re going to have longer length’s, it’s very important that you emphasise the waist” and Donna Karen does this with ease with her wide belts. Bring the look together with an urban trilby and you can’t go wrong. Chic and stylish and who doesn’t want to look like a New Yorker?

If you can’t handle a full shirtwaister then Donna Karen has separates that come together and pop with colour as this red number does on one of our favourite models Coco Rocha.

In fact it seems that all of Donna’s frocks have a wide mid section, so even without a wide belt these dresses can be worn with ease. Another factor that makes the shirtdress so appealing is their wearability, this is New York and therefore you don’t have to be a model to feel comfortable in these clothes.

Another little note that the designer has throughout the collection, are the subtle colours, occasionally mixed with bright bursting colours as seen with the red blouse on Coco Rocha. Although the accessories shown with the clothes have a similar colour palette, these dresses will work just as well with bright and hot colours.

The look below shows just how nicely short shorts look with a mid length trench, buttoned up it will look like your only wearing a trench, whilst open will make you look a little more sophisticated. Note of warning, if you don’t have long legs, or at the very least high heels, DO NOT WEAR SHORT SKIRTS OR SHORTS.

Another trend we’ve been seeing this season is veiling and the use of sheer (i.e. semi-transparent fabric). Jil Sander’s show looked great on the catwalk but the idea of wearing any of it in real life seemed unimaginable. Leave it to Donna Karen to make the sheer fabrics wearable as seen on this shirtdress. Clearly the whole thing is not using sheer fabric, but there is enough to keep the dress both modern and alluring.

Lily Donaldson certainly was given many great looks and this was an example of an easy, breezy dress that was not a shirtdress yet still fit in with the feel of the collection. It must be the whole, just bellow the knee length that keeps the dresses looking like they’re from the 50’s whilst the cut keeps them up to date and modern.

Donna Karen has always had a knack at making daywear dresses that work equally well during the evening, this dress keeps with the 50’s theme but the subdued colours and print help to keep it as modern as the dress above. This is a key idea in the collection, if you’re evoking the past, make sure you bring it back up to date and never take things to literally “sportswear done with a modern twist” as the designer put it.

And finishing on eveningwear, Donna Karen’s full length yet light as a feather (and according to Raquel Zimmerman, “soft and silky”) and you don’t need to be wearing it to see that is true. The gowns really did flow down the catwalk (just wait until the Lanvin report is posted!).

Overall this collection was simple and chic and not to be taken lightly. If you want to look stylish and comfortably cool buy yourself a shirtwaister for the coming spring/summer. Next up, Feigned Perfection will be feeding you with our delicious report on the wearable costumes from Zac Posen and Vera Wang.

New York Fashion Week – The Ladies who lunch

2007-10-23T15:26:00.000Z

New York will always be the fashion week that fills the closets of the Upper Eastside woman, but you don’t have to be a member of this select “club”. This season the highlights of this style came from the usual suspects, Carolina Herrera and, of course, Oscar de la Renta. Within this genre of clothing, the two designers sought to reference various cultures, places or feelings as they do each season. For daywear, Herrera injected her collection with the essence of her South American roots.

One of the main trends throughout this season have been floral patterns done in a fresh new way and at Carolina Herrera they evoked different flowers around the South American continent. The designer described the collection as an “explosion of colour” and one just has to look below at all the reds on greys and neutrals to see this.

These three dresses all have a graphic feel to the prints. Coco Rocha’s dress is reminiscent of those exotic south pacific floral prints.

Whilst Herrera has actually cut individual flower patterns to create a textured three-dimensional effect where black petalled flowers float upon a placid pond of beige fabric.

Herrera said that she was greatly influenced by the watercolorist Jeremiah Goodman, and throughout this season designers have been collaborating with or inspired by various artists and it appears to have become a sub-trend in it’s own. Then again what season doesn’t have a designer influenced by an artist of some kind or other.

Carolina Herrera knows her customer through years of experience of designing for them and understands that the Caroline Herrera woman needs work wear as well as “lunch-wear”

However the Upper Eastside princesses don’t just lunch and work, they attend fabulous charity gala events and Herrera showed a very strong eveningwear collection with her distinct yet subtle Latin notes.

One of the main things praising her collection was the designer’s ability to layer sheer black fabric over stunning prints to create a shimmering and ethereal effect whilst still focusing the eyes on what is underneath.

Oscar de la Renta’s shows always leaves one breathless due to their stunningly simple designs and classic cuts and exotic prints. On the print side it seems that the customers who wear these designs like to show colourful and tropical motifs in their dresses whilst still being classic and conservative in the shape. Yet what appears as conservative is actually 100% Oscar. The daywear throughout the collection subtly evolved from simple tunic dresses to more exotic bubble dresses. The looks this season evoked the Caribbean islands

African motifs and patterns

Venetian decoration

and even cloudscapes

On the plain end of the show dresses were classic

Whilst Oscar provided wearable and chic separates as well. Full flowing almost skirt like trousers are another trend for the season as opposed to last summers skinny jeans trend and Oscar’s interpretation looks like something out of San Tropez.

Whilst fruit colours were used to carry on the exotic theme of the prints in a delicately simple mode whilst providing bursts of colour to the more subdued colours of the prints.

On the eveningwear front, exotica continued its reign whether it was in the details of this LBD

or the feathers of this full-length formal gown.

Some people may call the fashion above boring, un-innovative, even dowdy and commercial. The simple truth is this is American sportswear at its chicest. Yes it doesn’t cross the boundaries of reality like John Galliano or the couture of Chanel and its sex appeal varies greatly from one look to the next. Yet often, less is more and it is difficult enough for modern women to get out of their jeans and into summer dresses without having to go through too much high fashion “nonsense”, a modern woman today needs her clothes to work as hard as she does and not against her. One thing that springs to mind when seeing the collections above is more then anything else, classic ageless beauty. Next post we’ll be taking a look at Donna Karen’s 1950’s meets 2008 collection wear the shirtwaister makes a huge comeback.

New York Fashion Week – Introduction

2007-10-12T15:33:00.000Z

Hi there, sorry for the long pause between posts but the office has been busy digesting this seasons shows so that we can show you the best and leave the rest. Well Paris finished not too long ago and what a season it has been, almost all the designers showcased stellar collections and if you aren’t on a fashion high like me, what the hell’s wrong with you? It seems like a million years ago since New York Fashion Week but there were several collections and mini-themes and seemed to stand out. Of all the fashion weeks, New York is the most commercial. Don’t let that get your spirits down as this fashion week managed to combine innovation and high fashion with a lot of wearability, which is good, not everyone can pull off a super sexy Dolce & Gabbana S&M dress or one of Balenciaga’s wasp-waisted jackets.

Originally we were going to post one massive round-up of each week but after going through our favourite shows that would mean a 66 look post for New York alone so instead we’re grinding it up into easily digestible chunks of fashion goodness. For New York, a themed approach seemed best and here are a few previews for the upcoming posts.

Lunch at Jo Jo with the ladies who lunch

Yes yes in every season there are two designers who always cater for the Upper East Side woman and this season there was an air of the tropics.

Space Age Modernity – which one can wear!

Futurism and modernity has been a theme for many seasons, leave it to New York to create clothes that women will not only be able to, but also actually want to wear.

Costumes for the everyday

When a designer picks a theme it is difficult for he or she to keep out of looking like theatrical costume and thus keep it wearable, and this season two designers succeeded in keeping it real.

1950’s New York women, today

Mid-length dresses make a comeback at the sportswear queen of the world.

Chanel Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2007

2007-09-25T19:34:00.000Z

Despite its status at the top of the fashion hierarchy, Chanel still manages to astound and adapt in an ever-changing world. The Winter Couture collection was all about what Lagerfeld described as “high profile”, what this meant was focusing on the areas where the seams should be, and embellishing them. This ‘high profile’ that Lagerfeld created was totally flat at the front and as Karl mentioned “its all side effects.” The finished pieces seemed to create incredibly elongated silhouettes on already tall models. This elongation can be attributed solely to this ‘high profile’ line, a bit like a Paul Newman ‘zip’ motif where a viewers eye will zip up and down the vertical lines the same can be said for these pieces of couture.

There was also a strange mixture of almost medieval embellishment whilst still being incredibly futuristic in the accessories like the sunglasses below.

The medieval theme can be seen in the traditional Chanel suit below which looks like it is made from chain mail whilst again looking very futuristic thanks to the metallic finish. The piece still keeps within the high profile theme of the collection due to the more emphasized zips on the side.

On the other hand the high profile theme was not successful in creating shapely pieces as Lagerfeld admits “the front is flat” and the dress below has lost any sex appeal it might have had with a bit of fitting. However it still has the same elongated look as other high profile pieces.

The look below shows the preppy side of the collection. Blazers a big story for this Autumn Winter and for the ladies who lunch Chanel has a more refined piece then say Balenciaga.

Of course there were still the more commercial couture pieces (if there is such a thing) like this classic Chanel jacket.

And what Chanel collection is complete without an array of LBD’s? This time they were done in high profile with different types of embellishment marking out the ankle to shoulder lines. From bows…

To feathers…

Whilst this stunning jersey LBD, with it’s strap picked out with red and black bows and further red embellishment coming from the sequins at the top is a classic example of Chanel embellishment versus Dior embellishment. Where Chanel is much more subtle, Dior goes for the ‘lets dip the models in glitter’ effect. I wonder which one is the more wearable?

Perhaps one of the most disturbing part of the show were seeing these beautiful pieces of couture getting covered in muddy water due to the constant downpour throughout the show. It was a strange nod to how unpractical these pieces actually are and how, in reality anyone who had paid this tens of thousands of dollars for a piece of couture would strive to keep them as clean as possible. The piece below continues the subtle medieval theme of the collection.

But perhaps the most obvious theme was that of the 1930’s and the flappers. The strange hoods were one indication of this theme but the dress below has come straight from the archives of Chanel with the same shape as a 1930’s flapper dress. Perhaps this was an acknowledgment to a time where Haute Couture was flourishing and there were many more couturiers in Paris, as opposed to the handful there currently are.

This dress continued with the high profile trends of before whilst Lagerfeld also inserted a sense of sportswear with the straps. This was also an example of the ‘high profile’ theme actually creating shape to a dress as the black ruffles to the sides actually emphasise the woman’s shape whilst still creating the elongated silhouette that the rest of the collection has seen.

From start to finish we saw how Karl Lagerfeld evolved the “high profile” look from a flat sexless yet elongated shape to a much more refined dress as seen in the look above. The collection can be praised for Lagerfeld’s continued sense of innovation and change, this high profile look will undoubtedly continue to evolve as seasons continue. What Lagerfeld is doing is imprinting his own profile into the Chanel signature look and rather then just using Chanel’s signature profile, lines and colours in different trends, Lagerfeld is in fact creating a new signature for Chanel and it will be very interesting to see how he continues to evolve it next season.

Next time, Feigned Perfection will be looking at the best of New York Fashion week.

Brogue Update

2007-09-12T21:17:00.000Z

After posting Shoes for Autumn/Winter '07 I've been on the look out for high street versions of the Oxford Brogue heel and for the girl who wants the look for less I've found a pair. Topshop's Lace up trouser shoe is available for only £65. Get it now whilst it's still available.

Christian Dior Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2007

2007-09-11T19:22:00.000Z

For the 60^th anniversary, Christian Dior staged the largest and most extravagant haute couture show ever. Yet the monumentality of the longest fashion runway and the Versailles Orangerie did not detract from the splendour of the clothes. Dior first made world fashion headlines in 1947 with the ‘new look’ which changed the way women dressed ever since. John Galliano reunited some of the most famous supermodels for the occasion and kitted them out in a highly embellished fashion eulogy to the houses namesake, whilst also cementing Galliano into Dior’s history through the referencing of his home-country, Spain.

The first look on the runway was carried off by the extremely professional Gisele Bünchen and provided the mood for the rest of the show. The black suit harked back to the ‘new look’ heyday whilst the tri-corn hat resembled that of a Spanish bullfighter. The makeup also resembled the same cosmetic artistry of the late 1940’s.

One point of continuity that John Galliano repeats every single season is that his shoe’s although fantastical are totally un-wearable, professionally trained models in his show’s barely are able to walk in them and it is hard to imagine one of Dior’s couture clients actually walking around in them and below are the shoes of the show. One can only hope that this awful fad of platforms will leave.

This look seemed to reference Spain of classical Roman occupation and the graffiti on the walls of buildings seemed to be the base of the face on the bust, whilst the harp seemed to come straight out of a scene from a classical vase with satyr’s and pan-pipers. It seemed that Galliano was not only celebrating the first ‘new look’ of 1947 but also trying to say that classical civilisation itself was celebrating Dior’s anniversary.

The first glimpse of colour appeared in the third look with this simple white dress with a swirling pink rose detail. So where could Galliano be referencing this time? Well if the previous looks have given any clues all the head wear of the show seem to give the answers to this. This simple pink swirl is supposed to be reminiscent of heavy oil paint. If nobody else noticed that the logo’d paintbrush was a simple metaphor for Dior (and Galliano) being an artist.

As the show continued more and more elaborately embellished dresses appeared. It was as if Galliano was designing specifically for catholic, churchgoing Spanish women (who could afford Dior couture!). Only rather then any actual spiritual referencing it appeared more like these ‘churchgoers’ were not worshipping at the foot of Santa Maria but at the church of Christian Dior.

the needlework of the photograph below seem almost like bunting in the 60^th anniversary celebration.

Sasha Pivarova looked like she had stepped out of My Fair Lady, or even the church of Dior.

Whilst this looked like a Spanish bullring had been painted pink and turned into a dress.

This detailed shot shows more ‘bunting’ embellishment only this time with diamante.

Whilst this black and blood red frock looks like the bullfighter had been transformed into a woman complete with matching hat.

Naomi Campbell’s dress looked like it had been designed specifically for her as the “African Princess”; even allowing a dash of leopard to the dress. The look showed just how versatile the original ‘new look’ was, as despite the emphasised hips and waist this dress still flows and this might be the first incidence (in my history at least) that a leopard print has actually improved a look dramatically (maybe Dolce and Gabbana should take a leaf out of Galliano’s book and stay away from the leopard print).

Coco Rocha’s dramatic ‘new look’ look continued referencing the bullfighters and even the landscape of Spain (in the flat, rolling hills of the hat and arms).

This stunning high-sheen dress was embellished in such a way as if the purple flowers had organically grown there.

The dress below looks almost like a 17^th century ball-gown with the flowing blue goldfish tail and the intricate embellishment.

This chandelier-like gown’s duchesse satin artfully twists around the dress like a seashell on one of Galliano’s Spanish beaches (Clearly no hat to help me out this time but the look seemed so good that I could not, not include it).

Lily Cole’s gown had a glass like quality to it through it’s high sheen matieral that has been died in a way that creates a gradient. Whilst Galliano has ‘sculpted’ it into a sharp, multi-faceted gown. The star-fish in Lily’s hair looks like it had washed up from the waters of the blue gown, thus providing another interpretation to this stunning piece of haute couture.

This final look came out of a Dior masked-ball and there really is nothing to say other then “look at that most amazing craftsmanship”.

John Galliano’s Spanish referencing in this collection was more then inspiration, it was a statement. Galliano has been at Dior for over a decade now and through infusing his history and life into the house on this special 60^th anniversary he is branding Christian Dior as the house of John Galliano without words or press releases. On the other hand the big Parisian fashion houses no longer have their namesakes designing for them, whether it is Chanel, YSL or Lanvin. Therefore in this world where someone else designs a houses signature looks, is this really Dior? Or is it forgery? Undeniably this is an amazing collection but is it really right for a house to continue designing when the designer has been long gone? We’ll let you figure that out on your own, the results however speak for themselves. Galliano would never have gotten as far as he has without designing for Christian Dior, and how much does a houses designer design anyway? Gucci has been a revolving door of designers, not just the main ‘creative directors’ like Ford and Gianni but lesser known designers who help with the main line clothing and head designers for accessories etc. Maybe at the end of the next Dior fashion show we should be seeing the entire design team. Yes Galliano is an artist but he has his helpers, and I’m sure that he would be the first to admit that without them he would not be able to pull of 6 shows a year.

Next post will be on the ‘big daddy of couture’ Chanel.

Newsflash :Alessandra Facchinetti for Valentino

2007-09-05T18:22:00.000Z

When I woke up this morning I had no idea about how eventful this day would be in the fashion world. The Times reported that one of Feigned Perfections favourite designers, Monsieur Valentino, was stepping down. This came as no surprise especially after Valentino’s huge 45^th anniversary celebrations earlier this year. What did come as a surprise was how soon this happened. Valentino was the first designer to have a show that we fell in love with and that actually gave us the first buzz that you get after a real amazing show (wow who would have thought a fashion show was like heroin!) and I read with great sadness about how upcoming final shows.

We just checked the Vogue.com website to see that Alessandra Facchinetti will be taking over the reigns from Valentino himself, just as we were thinking about who would be Val’s successor. Facchinetti has done two collections for Gucci before being replaced by Frida Giannini due to a “management dispute” (whatever that means). In the mean time the world will be waiting with baited breath over the final Haute Couture and Ready to wear shows that Valentino himself will be designing. As a small tribute to the great designer, we have put together a small collection of some of his best pieces from the last few seasons.

Valentino ready to wear Autumn/Winter 2007

Valentino Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2007

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2007

Valentino Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2006

Valentino ready to wear Autumn/Winter 2006

Valentino ready to wear Autumn/Winter 2006

Christian Lacroix Couture Autumn/Winter 2007

2007-09-03T03:57:00.000Z

Couture sits at the top of the fashion pyramid. Everything else comes bellow it and (in any couturier’s house at least) is influenced by it; whether it is prêt-a-porter or perfume. Alas the world of couture is no longer like it used to be; the buyers are a dieing breed (considering a Chanel couture suit costs in the tens of thousands of dollars) and Celebrities (or people that celebrate themselves) continue to wear it to red carpet events ONLY. The actual non-celebrity couture customer belongs to a small club of a couple hundred women. Here at the Feigned Perfection office we have a favourite couturier, Monsieur Lacroix. Chanel is great for the women of the couture club who wear it 24 hours a day 7 days a week as it is the most wearable form, Christian Dior on the other hand can only be worn on special occasions due to the fact that the collections almost always consist of nothing but intricately detailed gowns perfect only for the red carpet and other gala events. So today couture despite its grandeur and glitz is almost redundant, at least that is how it may seem economically. On the other hand each and every season designs continue to have the fashion world fainting. Couture may have always been an art-form, although now this is how 99.999% of the world sees it. Where does Feigned Perfection’s couturier of choice come? Well we’re going to show you.

Lacroix is always poetic and creative citing references from every time period but also any artist that pleases him (thanks in particular to the designers training in history of art at Montpellier University). This collection floated down the catwalk like a collection of beautiful tapestries, brought together to create stunning coats and dresses.

Admire the detailing of the second look

And here is the dress from afar. Colours, textures and materials, that on paper should not work together end up making a truly fantastic piece of couture. Through this fusion, the dress becomes more then just a dress but a statement (not like an obvious not to mention cliché and unoriginal “save the rave” t-shirt), if colours and textures like these manage to mix so effortlessly and into such a stunning piece then why can’t the rest of the world?

Lily Cole wore this dazzling green on black coat, which looks like a wall hanging in a 17^th century East Indies merchant’s townhouse. The swathes of green birds have imprinted themselves upon the black coat just as any memories of the tropics would have upon the merchant that bought the hanging.

This dress continues the tropical motif with the orchid detailing. The black piece of fabric almost looks like a parrot from the previous coat, has flown out of it, and perched upon this dress.

During the renaissance the most expensive form of artwork was tapestry due to its incredibly difficult workmanship it seems only fitting that the same kind of detail be found in couture, further blurring the line between art and apparel.

Underneath these unbelievable coats were stunningly created dresses like this nude sequined flapperesque look. Over at Dior dresses were created without any hand break, sequins and details galore were the name of the game. Unlike Galliano, Lacroix has that mental hand break and knows when and where to stop creating the same majestic effect whilst still remaining much more understated.

This frock had just enough working to look understated and not overblown whilst the architecture really made it stand out. Lets hope to see this at the Oscars next year.

The look below shows how Lacroix is also able to create the much more wearable separates, whilst still in keeping with his artistic signature.

Lacroix’s collection had a lot of volume as seen in almost all the looks but in particular the dress below. Except Lacroix’ volume is very top-heavy through the fur on the shoulders. The look below in addition showcases the jewel colours of the collection, unlike last season’s jewel colours at the Dior show, the colours have been amalgamated rather then seperated in a harmonised way without encroaching on another colour.

This was one of the most memorable dresses. Again three very different colours were used, and again in harmony. However this time the flowing, ethereal quality to the main dress look like billowing clouds of ink in water. Lacroix in the past has always liked bringing period dressing into his collections and whilst the high-waisted trend has been around for awhile, this looks unlike anything before it, the only modern detailing being the purple fur.

Once more another Victorian look came out onto the runway, looking incredibly romantic and right out of Jane Austin (thanks in part to the billowing cloak).

Well what can be said to finish off this post, nothing, instead we’ll let the clothes speak for themselves. Although, we’re sure that you’ll agree, they don’t speak, but sing.

Despite the slightly anti-Dior ring to this post the latest couture collection was astounding and if you haven’t seen it already, well your mad, but that’s the next post. Till next time.

Ports 1961 Autumn/Winter 2007

2007-08-29T18:36:00.000Z

‘Jet Set’ is a term tossed around by designers and critics all the time. Yes most people living what could be called a jet set lifestyle wear designer clothes and yes Gucci, Chanel, Oscar De La Renta, etc are typical brands that these people wear. However the design houses themselves often take the idea and inspiration from the jet set life a little too literally.

Whether it is the coral prints of the latest Gucci resort collection (which actually works)

Or the travesty of the Givenchy Maori collection where Maori patterns cover everything.

The much smaller house of Ports 1961 describes itself as a jet set brand and it’s latest collection, inspired by the cold landscape of Iceland, actually successfully and more importantly cleverly manages to incorporate the soul of an international population. Feigned Perfection’s idea of the jet set is a population who travel regularly for pleasure but are not constrained by national boundaries. These people are not just rich American’s in San Tropez but include all nationalities mixing to become the international jet set.

Ports’ collection takes inspiration from around the world but not in the Givenchy literal way, but in a way, which still say’s global whilst being totally wearable and subtle. A key trend this winter will be over sized separates. The cardigan below certainly is over-sized and evokes the Icelandic winter months where it is too cold to leave the house. If you’re young enough you could also team it with a belt and tights (or socks as picking up on the sock trend) and leave the house.

And if you are jetting off today to some exotic destination Ports has the perfect plane-wear for you. Comfortable, minimalist and chic, this grey and silver ensemble would be perfect to wear together or as separates. The colour combinations illicit crisp wintry mornings across Scandinavia whilst the wooden accessories are typical of the modern pine furniture found all over the Scandic countries.

The dress below made of leather and silk ticks of the trend box of multiple textures whilst still looking almost Viking with the rustic leather.

The most memorable thing about the collection was the large wooden clutches. Now, normally when one thinks of a wooden accessory one thinks of arts and crafts, yet Ports designer Tia Cibani has made these look like organic pebbles of wood as if they’ve been down a river and naturally worn away to have this shape. One of the reasons why wood is used so much in Scandinavian design is that it’s a warm material. As innovative as these pieces are, Feigned Perfection realises that they probably are not the most practical of purses but its fashion, who cares?

As said earlier Ports 1961 always makes great separates that can be paired with many other things this jacket/top would work with many other dresses or simply worn by itself. The beige colour looks warm and is certainly a new take on old autumn/winter colours of the past few seasons (notably brown, black and green). Whilst the collection has a lot of dark colours there was always an airy quality to it whether it is in the colours (as seen below).

Or the materials; the velvet used in this coat works spectacularly and lightens up the darkest of colours.

The silver dress below not only reminds Feigned Perfection of a cold grey landscape, but also the voluptuous sleeves look almost like part of an aircraft, or even the exo-skeleton of a building (architecture is stated to be another of the inspirations of the collection)

Chanel has it’s little black dress (LBD) but ports has it’s own take; here the see-thru sleeves give the dress a floating ethereal quality.

This dress provided a shock of colour to otherwise subdued collection and is a perfect example of how well black and yellow go together. Relating back to the Icelandic theme in the collection, this was a lantern amongst the snow, and dark nights of the other colours.

Perhaps the best piece of the collection was this silk coat, which is feminine, light, and versatile enough to go with most other garments and is smart/casual enough to wear to work or even on a cold night out.

Of course the most striking thing about this collection, and any other Ports 1961 show, is that almost everything is totally wearable right off the catwalk which make these pieces great investment clothes. Despite their inherent wear-ability the clothes all speak of the original Icelandic theme without being over-literal.

Next week Feigned Perfection will be writing on the Haute Couture collections from the houses of Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Christian Lacroix.

Boots for Autumn/Winter '07

2007-08-10T08:48:00.000Z

Autumn is approaching and whilst this may mean an end to not the greatest summer (weather-wise), it signals the beginning of many new and exciting times. Fashion weeks from Paris to New York will kick off soon allowing our favourite designers to wow us with another great season for Spring Summer 2008. Although we aren’t there quite yet, we can at least prepare to go out (in a few months) into the crisp autumn air. Last week Feigned Perfection showcased the best of this seasons top shoe, the English brogue and as promised boots are the topic of this weeks post.

Chanel had a distinctively urban tribal feel to their collection and this was not lost in the shoe department. One of the major themes for the upcoming season is that of the tribe and these ankle boots have a very Peruvian/South American feel to them whilst still keeping in the Chanel vocabulary of both quilting and tweed.

And if your after something a bit longer, a boot perhaps Chanel has another tribal look that comes in both a black, white and red chequered variety.

and a red tweed. Worth noting is how exceedingly comfortable they will feel on your feet in the colder winter months thanks to their warm material, and their low heel.

Karl Lagerfeld’s designs for Chanel did not stop at the tribal look. These ankle boots look like they could have come right out of 1960’s/70’s Downtown New York. Come to think about it so could the two pairs of boots above.

Vera Wang’s collection had a proletariat chic theme and these boots are pretty urban chic too. The chunky heel gives them that same 1970’s grunginess whilst in keeping with the 1917 ‘workers of the world unite’ idea.

Paolo Melim Andersson, the new designer at Chloé had a very tough new image for the Chloé girl and the boots of the collection look like they are straight from the movie “Escape from New York” or another grim cinematic future.

Whilst these Chloé wedges look almost like a sleek extraterrestrial body part, last season may have been about futurism, this season (for Chloé at least) its futurism gone horribly wrong.

Donna Karen and Louis Vuitton both used exotic skins in their ankle boots this season and the results speak for themselves.

Louis Vuitton’s Vermeer inspired collection can almost be seen in the boots bellow

Donna Karen’s purple ankle boots

Showing up at Marni these boots look like part of a scuba divers kit looking almost like a foot wrapped with scuba fabric with a heel attached.

And at Versace, Donatello showed us that this could be done with ankle boots which seemed more foot than shoe.

And with Versace we wrap up this weeks post on autumn shoe trends. This season has a big question over it as to whether or not people above the age of 30 can actually wear these shoes, but Feigned Perfection believes that Vera Wang, Donna Karen and Louis Vuitton’s offerings are a little more grown up and more importantly wearable. Whilst we are wondering just how someone is going to be able to pull off Chloé’s look (without looking like someone who has just come out of a Sex Pistol’s concert), we expect the Japanese to pull it off, somehow. Next week Feigned Perfection will be looking at this winter’s Ports 1961 collection.

Shoes for Autumn/Winter '07

2007-08-02T08:34:00.000Z

In the heat of the summer (at least here in Hong Kong), it is hard to imagine how a thick heavy winter coat or knit is going to be in the colder winter months ahead. However now is the time to shop for your winter wardrobe and the easiest way to shop (not to mention the most fun way) is to get your winter heels now. http://www.style.com/ is reporting that oxford brogues, in either a masculine no-heel variety or feminine high heel are what we should be buying and here are a few of my favourites.

Paul Smith's pink and brown sued oxford's were both highly feminine whilst still providing a quirky masculine/British touch.

Whilst Burberry's high gloss patent leather variety is versatile enough to be paired with pretty much anything

John Galliano showed variations of the classic oxford brogue in red and beige leather reminiscent of some kind of witches shoe! Note the innovative shape of the heel.

He also designed a slightly more wearable suede variety with a thicker heel. Again notice the interesting 'hoof-like' heel design.

Marni's wedge/peep-toe

and Marc Jacob's, both have drastically original designs which will stand out amongst others in the know, and their brogues.

The final pseudo-brogue on my list is Miu Miu's two tone no-lace variety not only shows a new way to create an oxford brogue in high-heel form but also the seasons "high socks" trend (which can also be seen in Galliano's collection).

Following the thick long socks trend, Vera Wang and Missoni showed sandals with socks! It was like a poor Scandinavian girl only being able to afford her summer sandals and not any boots.

Vera Wang

Missoni

Next week: the best winter boots for 2007