FW08 - Have the shoe designers gone too far?

The biggest let down from the FW08 collections is the shoe design. It looks like everybody has caught the disease "ugly". Just when you think that Prada has been doing ugliness for too long, others followed.


Yes, those are Pradas. Which kind of lettuce is it?
I've seen the short boots in person. They look very futuristic, but they weigh a ton. The big block of stone-like things on the heels are actually made of rubber. Each shoe probably weighs 10lbs. If you have skinny legs and need to built more muscles, get them.Those are Rick Owens. No more comments from me. The picture speaks for itself.
Yves Saint Laurent. I can tell that they are from the Tribute style, but they are not balanced. Clunky is an understatement.

So what do you think? Ugly or avant guard?

I'm back!

I can't believe how long I have not updated my blog! My apologies!

A few updates from me...
First of all, the financial market has not been doing well and that explained my busy work schedule.

...and my husband and I just purchased our condo in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY!

I have not shopped much (if at all) in the past months due to the home purchase. But that doesn't mean I no longer care about fashion. Quite on the contrary, I have just had my custom closet built and started tring different styling with my existing pieces. That's actually a lot of fun.

So I'm back, and I'll keep updating. Stay tuned, my friends!

LA Confidential & Alexander McQueen SS08 Trunk Show

The documentary Lagerfeld Confidential is extremely entertaining even if you know little about the designer. Karl’s brutal honesty is one of a kind and many words of his deserve to be written down and thought over. Without telling you too much about the documentary, let me just give you an extremely strong “must see” recommendation.

Film Forum was temporarily transformed to a fashion club because of the movie. My friend and I saw Lynn Jaeger, one of the very influential fashion journalists in this country. I actually saw Lynn a few times at Barneys New York on Madison Avenue, and I have been impressed by her personal style every time when I saw her.

An even more interesting fashion moment was the Alexander McQueen trunk show held in the meat packing district on the following Sunday.

Alexander McQueen is no doubt one of the best show masters among all designers. His design quality, to be totally honest, is not consistent, yet he never fails to deliver a grand show. When the design and the show are both strong, it will be an extremely gorgeous and touching collection. This SS08 collection is one of them.

The collection was to memorize the late Isabel Blow who discovered both Alexander McQueen (Lee, as a matter of fact) and Philip Treacy, and the clothes didn’t fail to show Isabel’s spirit and lots of Lee’s emotion.

The trunk show invitation is made of a piece of thick cardboard covered with feather prints, one of the motifs used in the collection. When I entered the showroom located in the meatpacking district overlooking the Hudson River, I was immediately energized by the crowd, the sunlight and the mini runway show setting. Aside from bumping into my old friends Alyssa (who used to work at the McQueen boutique) and Sara (who worked at the Balenciaga boutique and now Dior Homme), I noticed designer Philip Lim in his signature camel color wool coat and a navy color scarf, and the crowd was cool enough to leave him alone.

The show started with the original runway soundtrack. I remembered every single outfit from pictures online, yet looking at the clothes in real life was mind blowing. With the return of the shoulders, Lee was able to accentuate his sharp tailoring even further. The contrast between the sculptural shoulders and the tiny waist is fierce. If you remember Martin Margiela’s FW07 collection, you would be amazed by MMM’s vision. MMM is always a few seasons ahead of others, yet Lee is definitely not late in the game.

Based on my limited knowledge about McQueen’s recent collections, Lee doesn’t mess with his fabric like Miucia Prada does. (Thank God! We don’t need more toilet seats!) Lee knows his basic fabrics and he always develop his ideas around the fabric and utilize them well. Each season you would see the same silken light weight wool, wool crepe, Prince of Wales check fabric and tartan prints, although they came in different shapes and mood each season. They offer both a runway line and a commercial line each season which makes great sense. This time around, for instance, I fell in love with the short dress from the runway look, but I opted for the same style with a less dressy grey wool fabric. It’s a short dress, and I want the flexibility to wear it day and night.

The buying office at the McQueen store is very knowledgeable. Max, the business development manager at McQueen commented that they didn’t order dresses in a cotton fabric that were normally offered in spring seasons because they wrinkle. I am sure customers complained, and the team listened.

The colors are rich, the silhouettes are sharp yet the fabrics are soft. Lee depicted the perfect image of a strong yet fragile woman who probably lives in his fantasies secretly. Is it Isabel Blow?

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This is the dress I pre-ordered. I love a piece of garment with an interesting idea. This dress is a backward man’s blazer. The shoulders are padded and the waist is clinched.

The dress coat looks good. Why? Because it is heavily constructed with boning! The entire bodice embraces the body like a corset. It’s too beautiful.

It reminds me one of Isabel Blow’s outfits.

The jacket is SEXY. I see Cate Blanchett in it. It’s an unusual jacket due to the boning on waist and hips. It gives you curves.

The jacket is exquisite. I love the trims in patterned leather. The surprise is the feathers peaking out under the lapel.

One of the feather dresses with a leather cut bodice.

Can you tell that the skirt is made of laser cut leather?

How much clothes does one need?

Okay. I know that I owe a new post about the Alexander McQueen trunk show, but life is really busy this week and I promise to do so this weekend.

I managed to organize my closet this week. I do that twice a year when season changes. To be honest with you, I was a litte surprised by how much clothes I had. I don't buy a lot (3-4 items per months, including socks) and I try to buy quality goods when I can but things add up. I never knew that I had about ten pairs of dress pants which would be in great use for this winter due to our dress code. I thought that I would have a crisis to get an army of suits for work...but apparently it didn't happen. Good news.
So how much does one need? Why do we keep buying? I've had a lot, and I am glad that I took the chance to figure out what I need and what are excessive. Saks just started their pre-sale (God they are bearish...they really expect a recession!?) but my goal is to stick with the basics including sweaters and some Ralph Lauren jackets. Let's see if I stick to my plan.

A few fashion moments this weekend

Sorry, guys...I won't be able to update more until tomorrow or Tuesday. But there were a few moments over the weekend that I want to share with you:

1. I saw the Lagerfeld Confidential documentary.

2. I wore my Balenciaga FW07 jacket out to the Alexander McQueen trunk show. People seemed like my outfit.

3. The trunk show was AMAZING. Lee was at his best. I'll have to tell you more about it later. Not only I saw my old friends Alyssa and Sara, but a few others......I'm not telling you who yet!

Just one little picture to thank you for checking this page out before my update.

Balenciaga FW08 trunk show impression

I arrived 15 minutes late due to a busy work day, and I found the entire crew waiting for me to wrap it up. No, not because I was special but because they didn't get as many requests for the trunk show and hence mine became the last appointment.

So now you know how "un-wearable" the collection is. For the record, the trunk show for FW07 was as crowded as Macy’s on the first day of a thanksgiving sale.

The clothes were breathtaking though. I was able to examine the laser cut radzimir dresses closely. There was a layer of foam material between the lining and the radzimir which gave the clothes a very sculptural look. Somebody on tFS earlier pointed out that the "dimples" on top of the darts looked cheap, but according to the SAs, it was part of the design. The dimples were actually quite difficult to be avoided given the thick foam fabric and the designer didn't even try to deal with it. They actually showed the volume and the thickness of the material well, aside from what Cathy Horyn guessed "reversed nipples".

The new techniques aside, it's a difficult collection to be worn in every day life. Jennifer Connelly wore it really well in a recent function and honestly that would be the only occasion the dresses might work.

Commercial offerings are extremely necessary in a season like this, and how could the Gucci Group forget about it. There were paired down versions of the dresses and tops made with soft and drapy black silk material as well as knee length skirts that had slight puffy hips. A black dress was designed with the signature puffy shoulders and draping on the back, yet the tight hips and the mini length added a bit of sexiness. I pre-ordered that dress. Another strong contender was a black mini dress with the same silhouette and structure as the runway dresses. It looked more like a piece of armor and the concept actually looked stronger in the solid black silk crepe and foam material. I didn't order it but I was curious to see how it would look on me. It had the "statement piece" potential.

The shoes were to die for. The details made them look more like art pieces displayed in a living room rather than stored on a shoe rack. The price was steep though as the cheapest version was approaching $2,000. The SAs didn’t seem worried. Given the fact that those $30,000 dresses from the FW07 collection were being snapped up by the uber rich within days, why would they be worried about the demand for the $50,000 jackets and the $3,000 shoes? The sub-prime crisis apparently has not had any impact on Gucci Group’s bottom line.

The models were the skinniest in the entire industry, but I could tell that they were just undeveloped girls. Many who argued that models were too skinny probably didn't realize that girls were built differently from women with curves……well, more on this topic later.

The trunk show was quite satisfying and so were the mango lobster skewers. I just wish there was a bigger crowed and more energy.

I'm back!

I know, I know. I have not updated my blog for a while. What could be the reason other than my job? (Yes I DO love my job!) Well, I got a new job and I have been learning everyday. I now write a lot as a research analyst and I figured that writing a little more on fashion would do no harm. Besides, when I started the new job and worked in this "business formal" environment, my wardrobe was switched to a office-appropriate mode. The bad news is that no more crazy Junya dresses, but the good news is that buying nicely made jackets is now more than ever justified: that's my armor.
The jackets will deserve their own entries later on, and now let's take care of the Vuitton business first.
The Louis Vuitton show was brilliant. I just visited the Guggenheim yesterday to check out Richard Prince's work including the "nurses". The fashion show made complete sense. When I was in architecture school, my professors always said that we needed to implement a concept all the way even through the final presentation. Jacobs and Prince nailed it. Marc Jacobs has been good at collaborations in the past, but this time he was yet pushing the boundries again. Art appropriation...with three things different. It's a bit silly. It's contemporary art.
The bags are very grown up despite the color palettes, because the jokes on the bags will make any teenager girls who carry them look laughable. (Rich parents, please take note. Also review the prints before you hand in your credit cards.) Yes, I am old enough to buy one. (I'm not sure if I am wealthy enough to buy one though. Did you see the python handles?)
A few more fashion moments in the past weeks: Valentino's last RTW show; Marc Jacobs's broken heels and one-size-too-small-look shoes; Alexander McQueen's strong shoulders and his collaborateion with Philip Treacy; and Balenciaga's flower power.
I'm going to attend Balenciaga's trunk show, and maybe McQueen's trunk show. So more reports will follow.