Season's Greetings!

I hope Karl lays some Chanel presents under my tree...

I just wanted to say a very Merry Christmas to everyone who reads my blog, thank you for keeping up with me and I hope you had a wonderful day with family and friends! Remember to count your blessings, you will receive more if you are thankful and be positive in the New Year! Hey, we all survived the end of the world, who wouldn't be happy this Season!

Make sure Karl Lagerfeld doesn't steal your presents! 

Illustrations by Alexsandro Palombo

Image courtesy of A Shaded View Of Fashion

Fashion in Motion

The collaborative brand of Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, Y-3, have celebrated their 10th anniversary with a campaign enhancing the athletic and minimal qualities of their current Spring/Summer 2013 range. The campaign, shot by Pierre Debuschere, captures the futuristic sports fashion labels best pieces from the range in motion, showing the brands ability to combine fashion and function.

Images courtesy of Trendland

Mihara Yasuhiro resurrects Ophelia

Mihara Yasuhiro's appropriation of the famous painting
Image courtesy of WOW

The world-renowned minimalist Japanese fashion designer, Mihara Yasuhiro, has teamed up with the talented  fashion photographer Paolo Roversi and visual effects specialists, WOW, to bring back to life my all-time favourite Pre-Raphaelite painting, Ophelia by John Everett Millais. Whether or not the woman in the painting depicts death, afterlife, freedom, oneness with nature is all based on one's interpretation, and I am inclined to think that the revival of this timeless painting is a representation of the importance of visual arts in the fashion world, and vice versa. The modern appropriation of the painting is presented as a short film, screened at The Tate earlier this month, aptly named "Ophelia has a Dream".

The short film is available to view below

Video courtesy of Hypebeast TV

Authentic Designer Drugs... Not really

Don't be alarmed, I' haven't become a drug dealer, I just stumbled across a series of intriguing, and questionable, artworks by LA-based artist Desire Obtain Cherish. This artwork forces one to ask "I wonder if the luxury market will ever have the need for high-end "designer drugs"?" and also, "What is the point of these?", like what most people say to seemingly useless luxury goods. There is no doubt that this artwork applies to the world today, so caught up in mass consumerism and brand power that these lozenges may fool even the most fashion focused person. I wonder if they're fake or authentic?... oh what they're not real... yet.

Images courtesy of Trendland

Chanel, Tartan, Tweed and a Castle

There may be a heatwave here in Sydney, but the Chanel Métier d’Arts collection (essentially Pre-Fall/Winter 2013) collection has got me wishing there will be a cold front so I can bring out all my tartan! The show was held at the famous Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, to an intimate audience comprising of media and buyers worldwide. Karl Lagerfeld is known to produce elaborate runway shows for Chanel,  but this show proved his ability to hold back without sacrificing the spectacle. The collection comprised of a lot of tartan, tweed and wools, and Karl definitely captured the spirit of Scotland and the classic Chanel style (note: the jackets) in one collection.

Images courtesy of Oyster Magazine

Pre-Fall Fashion Hound

Riccardo Tisci's animal motifs have spanned many a territory, with rottweilers, panthers, sharks and even the mystical Minotaur gracing his collections for the one and only Givenchy, but now it is time for another creature to make its mark upon the high fashion world - the Doberman. Soon, high-end designers will be releasing the look books of their Pre-Fall/Winter 2013 collections in preparation for the upcoming shows early next year, and who better to have shown theirs first. The collection gives ode to the original legendary designer of the house - Hubert De Givenchy, with the initials "HDG" slapped across many of the garments. These initials are a homophone, Riccardo stating that he also wanted the initials to represent "House de Givenchy". Amongst the stripe blocked flannels, the famous silk bombers and the signature Givenchy stars, watch out for the "Pervert" jacket... It's not hard to miss, I can hear the uproar over this loud and clearly.

Images courtesy of Style.com

Revival

Myself before my Harper's Bazaar interview

Shirt by Rick Owens DRKSHDW

It's been a busy two months for me, but now it's time for me to get back into blogging and writing! A lot has happened in the fashion world since I've been away from the blogosphere - Nicolas Ghesquire leaving Balenciaga, Alexander Wang becoming the new Creative Director of Balenciaga, Yoko Ono releasing a line in collaboration with Opening Ceremony, Christopher Kane leaving Versus, The Little Black Jacket exhibition (here in Sydney too), the release of the Maison Martin Margiela x H&M line, the new campaign for Chanel No. 5 featuring Brad Pitt was released, Saskia De Braw cast as the face of menswear for Saint Laurent Paris, Gaspard Ulliel cast as Yves Saint Laurent in an upcoming biopic and Nicola Formichetti announcing that the upcoming issue of Vogue Hommes Japan will be the last... just to name a few haha!

Whilst I've been busy at college, I visited the Little Black Jacket exhibition, which I will blog about later, and finally, I had an interview for a journalism internship for Harper's Bazaar Australia! Unfortunately, I didn't get the internship but Clare (Fashion Features Editor) mentioned that I was one of the last two, which is an incredible achievement. I wish the other candidate all the best! I won't give up :)

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 - Street Style

At Paris Fashion Week, the runway shows are of high standard and the expectations are through the roof, and guess what? So is the style and presentation of those who attended the shows. The Fashion Capital of the world demands no less, so here, I give you the best of Paris Fashion Week street style!

The effervescent Karl Lagerfeld

One of my favourite designs by Dries Van Noten finally on the streets

All images courtesy of High Snob Society, The Sartorialist, Louis Vuitton and The Telegraph

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 - Highlights Part 3

The final part of Paris Fashion Week featured shows from Sacai, Giambattista Valli, Chloe, Valentino, Paco Rabanne, Miu Miu, Elie Saab and the debut of the "rival" of Raf Simons, Hedi Slimane, and his first womenswear collection for the newly named Saint Laurent Paris, formerly Yves Saint Laurent. 

My favourite shows from the last days of Paris Fashion Week include:

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2013

Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen has stayed true to his vision ever since his unfortunate passing, and it is warming to the heart to know that she has done so these past few years. For this season, Sarah designed a series of luxurious garments filled with honeycomb inspired geometric prints and meshing details for the shoes, and fashionable approach to the beekeepers hat, rivaling the visor-wide brim hat hybrid as shown by Hussein Chalayan.

Chanel Spring/Summer 2013

THE Hula Heap Beach Bag, as designed by Karl Lagerfeld, which received mixed reviews by fashion media

Mr. Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel goes eco-chic this season by showcasing a surprisingly minimal and post-modern approach to Chanel's classic tailoring by adding details such as wider shoulders and meshing with elements of Japanese fashion design. The set of the show was a sight to see, the floor resembling solar panels and gigantic windmills lined the runway in the Grand Palais, heightening the exuberance of the collection. On a final note, there was one stand out piece of the whole collection - the Hula Hoop Beach Bag... I wonder if the trend will take off?

 Pedro Lourenco Spring/Summer 2013

The 80s and contemporary minimalism are fused to give an intriguing collection by Pedro Lourenco

Stella McCartney Spring/Summer 2013

Sheer panels and eye popping colours went all throughout Stella McCartney's collection

Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2013

There is a lot of checkered garments slowly coming back into the fashion scene, and Marc Jacobs from Louis Vuitton has elevated that trend by contextualizing the pattern into high fashion, drawing inspiration from the 50s-60s, which will surely take off the mainstream market

Marc Jacobs at the Louis Vuitton finale

All images courtesy of Fashionising

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