'Tis The Season To Be Jolly!

The Gareth Pugh Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Let's all celebrate the love shared between friends and family and of course the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ this joyful day! Remember to also keep those who unfortunately cannot spend this day with their loved ones and wish them well for their future.

Image courtesy of TrendsNow

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014

The Dior Greenhouse, the set of the label's Spring/Summer 2014 show

It's time to say goodbye to another busy fashion month, and what a way to do so, with the shocking news that Marc Jacobs will be leaving his position as Creative Director for Louis Vuitton after a 16 year reign of the historical label. Of course, the discreetly artistic show by Chanel, the plastic hat parasols of Chalayan, the surprising turn of aesthetic for Gareth Pugh and Givenchy and the revolutionary, non-conformist sorority style show of Rick Owens topped it off. 

The "runway warriors" at the Rick Owens show

Marc Jacobs at the finale of his last show for Louis Vuitton

Despite the abundance of well-known names and labels showing, there seemed to be an unwelcome bleak streak, which may have been cancelled out by the sudden changes within the fashion industry. Three designers stood out to me, simply because of their abilities to show diversity and renewed skills in design...

Gareth Pugh

I still believe Gareth Pugh's Spring/Summer 2013 collection and show is one of the best I have ever seen produced by a designer - it was a collection born from the scorn and ravages one can experience in life... but this time around it seems the darkness has been averted to a welcome change in aesthetic. A softer silhouette is seen throughout the collection, drawing inspiration from both traditional Asian and Mediterranean attire. The usual harsh colour palette of black, grey and red has now been replaced by one with metallic shades of blue, bright hues of green and even luminous gold. Will Mr. Pugh keep with this new found change in his coming collections? I certainly hope so.

Christian Dior

Raf SImons has well and truly earned his place as the Creative Director of Dior, and there was a feeling that he has decided to show a darker side to the Dior woman. Raf has managed to keep the undoubtedly sophisticated look of Dior, but has tweaked elements to represent his struggle to enmesh into the label - especially the deceivingly friendly florals. The reflective detail is present in every necklace, bangle, pattern or appliqué, being and/or featuring poisonous flora - poison ivy, wisteria or the romantically dangerous rose. The vividness of the collection is undoubtable, but this discreetly dark addition to the garments is what stands out beyond the silhouette, colours and flawless styling.

Givenchy

The ever-rebellious Riccardo Tisci has decided to take a turn of aesthetic for Givenchy. Riccardo Tisci has made himself known via his outlandish injection of youth culture into the historical label, his selection of prints including rottweilers, dobermans, birds of paradise and the cartoon character Bambi, just to name a few, being his signature. But now, he has gone back to the roots of the label and shown his ability to embody and appropriate the distinct aesthetic that gave Givenchy its fame. Of course, he has not done this without twisting the feminine silhouettes with worldly approaches to draping and overlaying in the dresses, a visual story continued from his menswear collection. 

Karl Lagerfeld at the finale of the Chanel Spring/Summer 2014 show

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE COLLECTIONS, HEAD TO FASHIONISING AND NOWFASHION

Images courtesy of Dior, Vancouver Sun, The Business of Fashion and Fashionising

The Power Dressers of Fashion

In lead up to the opening of the famed fashion exhibition, In Fine Style: The Art of Tudors & Stuarts at the Buckingham Palace, a campaign featuring High Fashion Goth designer, Gareth Pugh was released. The campaign is a brief look into the history of fashion's evolution from a luxury to a necessity, how dressing for a political purpose was upheld in the nobility and how that idea still exists in the dark designs of Gareth Pugh and its relation to the designs of Tudors & Stuarts.

Gareth Pugh Autumn/Winter 2013

Gareth Pugh Autumn/Winter 2013

Tudors & Stuarts were a medieval dynasty that included King Henry VIII, and were known to start the "trickle-down" effect in fashion, where the style of the higher and noble classes are mimicked by those of the middle and poorer classes. Gareth Pugh, and even Alexander McQueen in respect, were/are influenced by this period, hence their outrageous yet regal designs. Gareth Pugh is much darker in his aesthetic, and his influence is seen everywhere - the trend of monochromatic leathers, powerful and structured jackets and skin tight leather pants as every day wear an example of this, being donned by fashionistas all over the world. For a closer look at his designs and what influences the designer, watch the video below:





In Fine Style: The Art of Tudors & Stuarts is now on in the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, England. The exhibition closes on 06.10.13.
For more information, head to the Royal Collection website

Images and video courtesy of Dazed Digital

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 - Highlights Part 1

Fashion Month for this year ends with the Fashion Capital itself - Paris. As this week is the most anticipated week of the calendar for the fashion industry, expectations are always high, but in such a transitional phase of fashion, in regards to the change of designers and creative directors in both Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent and a wonderful opportunity for devotees of Nicola Formichetti and the first ever luxury bag collection released by Mugler in conjunction with their womenswear collection, there was a sense of both tension and excitement in the air.

The first 3 days of Paris Fashion Week included shows from prolific designers such as Guy Laroche, Alexis Mabille, Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga, Carven, Nina Ricci, Lanvin, Balmain and Ann Demeulemeester.

First of all, I must mention the opportunity that the wacky and wonderful Nicola Formichetti presented to loyal followers of the brand, where 5 followers of Nicola Formichetti on Tumblr got the chance to come into the Mugler showroom and preview the collection personally! What a humble way to bring customers closer to the designs at the heart of the time when none of their latest designs have been previewed by media.

Anyway, my favourite collections from the first 3 days are as follows:

Cedric Charlier Spring/Summer 2013

Meshing, minimalism and the intense hits of orange run throughout Cedric Charlier's latest collection

 Damir Doma Spring/Summer 2013

Damir Doma's design aesthetic has significantly evolved since its earlier days, transforming from a dark and brooding choice of aesthetic to one that is futuristic and sophisticated, letting go of its former architectural stiffness and embracing a more functional choice of fabrics. The latest collection from Damir Doma references the chic trends of the late 90s, with halter tops and leather capris making an appearance amongst its signature intimidating sunglass designs and contemporary minimal outfits. 

Felipe Oliveira Baptista Spring/Summer 2013

Felipe Oliveira Baptista effectively combines juxtaposing elements of maximalism and minimalism together, by splashing minimalist architectural garments with a variety of maximalist prints

 Gareth Pugh Spring/Summer 2013

Gareth Pugh is known as the Dark Prince of Fashion, but in his latest collection he takes off that persona and reveals a much more emotional side to himself and his designs. To me, this collection and runway show is one of the most emotionally charged I have ever seen - the show featured models walking ever so slowly to an eerily beautiful, heartbreaking melody, which complemented the make up of the models, who had fake tears running from bloodshot eyes, further adding to the atmosphere of the show and collection. Gareth always uses feminine flowing fabrics and have made very rigid garments conveying strength, but in this collection, he does not alter the material but place it on the woman's body to let the natural flow be seen when in movement, a sign of his diversity and immense skill. The appearance of blindingly beautiful red in this collection is indicative of a deep pain, in my opinion at least, which effectively brings people closer to the designs, as opposed to the past when Gareth's garments were more standoffish. 

Moon Young He Spring/Summer 2013

Moon Young He's panelled leather dresses may set to be a trend for this coming Spring/Summer season

Nicolas Andreas Taralis Spring/Summer 2013

Androgyny is certainly a trend of the times, with Nicolas Andreas Taralis presenting functional unisex garments that can even be used throughout the colder months of the year

 Rick Owens Spring/Summer 2013

It seems that Gareth Pugh is not the only designer of the darker streams of fashion to show his diversity in fashion design, and I'm referring to Rick Owens. The mysteriously humble designer is much the same as Gareth Pugh, often opting for a monochromatic colour palette and hard edged designs, but Rick's garments are unisex, androgynous, functional and futuristic. Rick has abandoned this aesthetic for this coming Spring/Summer season, with a womenswear collection that does not show any signs of ability for use by the opposite sex, as all of his collections always do - it is odd to think that such a pioneer of the androgynous, minimalist style has seemed to designed a collection exclusively for one gender. The collection featured lightweight tunics and off the shoulder dresses, some drawing inspiration from avant-garde depictions of angels and some reflecting those in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Rick's ability to capture history and twist it into the future is undeniable, again showing his diversity in fashion design.

All images courtesy of Fashionising

All runway shows can be viewed on FashionTV and FataleFashionII's Youtube Channel