Dance of the Dior Man

Dutch-English men's fashion journal, Fantastic Man, and Kris Van Assche for Dior Homme have collaborated for a series of hip-hop and pop-jazz dance videos as part of their campaign for the fashion house's Autumn/Winer 2013 Menswear collection. The series, called "Rotation" is an obvious hit at the younger luxury fashion conscious market, especially with the use of energising EDM music produced by Simon Britton and Cliff Randall.

Another element that contributes to the series' appeal to the younger generation is the titles of each film. They all have one thing in common - they inspire. Titles including "100% Every Day", "Whatever It Takes" and the awe-inspiring "Work Hard, Change History" push the no doubt young gentlemen who watch to achieve their ambitions and dreams, a positive message amongst the negative impression fashion sometimes gives.

Follow this link to watch the films

Images and videos courtesy of the official Christian Dior Youtube Channel

Home Shopping with Margiela

Maison Martin Margiela never ceases to discreetly attack particular elements of contemporary society and culture, and this time around the label has taken a stab at the bleak repetitiveness of home shopping commercials. The film features anonymous white-coated individuals, synonymous with the label, demonstrating the benefits of each item advertised, accompanied by a lifeless voice explaining them.

Rolling hourglass

Cotton Letter Stationary

The film presents various pieces, including a waterproof cotton envelope to carry clothing, a wireless glowing night light, knife rests carved out of antique bottle stoppers and hollowed out chicken eggs containing "fortunes". The objects seem very unnecessary, and the Maison have deepened the meaning of this parody by exposing the overdone marketing for items which are useless.

Travelling Pouch for delicate clothing

Fortune Eggs

Wireless night-light

The only useful object out of all is the Luminious Night-Light, a wireless glow-in-the-dark replica of 1930s' lightbulbs, reflective of the need to save energy in the current state of global weather and movement to reduce the carbon footprints of the mass. Even though the main purpose of the film is to show the ridiculousness of home shopping marketing, another thing is clear throughout the film - Maison Martin Margiela has drawn design inspiration from various eras, and warped these objects specifically for the film, which the Maison also does throughout their fashion collections.

Follow this link to view the film

Images courtesy of Another Magazine and Totokaelo

Tales of the Cold

The bitter cold may be a thing of the past here down under, but as the Spring/Summer 2014 collections are being showcased, simultaneously, gear for the long Winter is filling the shelves of stores in the Northern hemisphere. Fendi's new fashion film, named "Neverwinter Tale", is an injection of calm before the cold hits. The slow-motion cinematography of the film manages to emphasize the cuts, details and materials of the individual pieces of the illustrious label's Autumn/Winter 2013 menswear collection. The colour palette of the collection go hand in hand with the visuals of the film, perfectly reflecting the sallow blues of the colder months. Allow the soothing film fill your mind below...

Images courtesy of HipHopPotHead and Selectism

Video courtesy of Highsnobiety

Eye Beams

All thanks to Humberto Leon and Carol Lim from Opening Ceremony, Kenzo has taken over the fashion scene once again in recent years, particularly with their vibrant retake on the original designer's worldly prints (note: the Kenzo tiger). The revamped Kenzo label has now been dubbed a major rival of Givenchy and Balenciaga, and the Opening Ceremony duo have proved their ability to bring attention to the wondrous history of the Kenzo label with another motif - The Eye.

The label's Fall/Winter 2013 collection features the eye - a symbol of protection, good luck, optimism and the surreal in many Asian cultures, an ode to the Japanese origin on the Paris-based fashion house. Drawing from this, a Bollywood-inspired campaign has been released, featuring 3 models of different nationalities all dressed in Kenzo, set in an urban playground. The quick-paced video campaign truly reflects the vision of the original designer, Kenzo Takada - a world unified by the similarities and differences in world cultures, particularly fashion. Check out the video below...

Images courtesy of Selectism and Kenzo

Video courtesy of Kenzo

Lines of Neoclassicism

The coveted Australian fashion designer label, Dion Lee, has released previews of their collaboration with collage artist, Mason Mulholland, for their diffusion line, Line II. The new collection is called "Neoclassical", and that theme is apparent throughout, especially in the skewed prints that are reminiscent of the exploration of the human form in the Classical period. Classicism is further appropriated in the design of the garments, featuring a more geometric take on the draping that was prevalent in Classical fashion and a colour palette reflective of the Grecian peninsula. Dion Lee has once again demonstrated his ability to creatively influence fashion's future, and this collection will most likely be a hit amongst loyalists and newbies to the label.

Images courtesy of Dion Lee

The Armani Handbag

Being an avid fan of the Armani house, mostly due to my mother's love of the Italian fashion house, having the chance to witness the careful construction and craftsmanship behind a beautiful Giorgio Armani handbag just further propelled my fanaticism. Watch the video as the artisans show off their skills in the various steps in the creation of a luxury handbag. But wait, there is more, to watch the handbag's completion, CLICK HERE.
Video courtesy of the official Armani Youtube channel
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Rockin' 'n' Runnin'

Sneaker freakers all over the world travel to find the best and rare sneakers to add to their collection, and I have a feeling that the minimalistic charm of Valentino Rockrunners are going to be on their wishlist. I myself am an avid sneaker fan, owning more than the average person should have, but there's no going past the comfort and versatility of such footwear. Valentino Rockrunners, from pure observation, are stylish, comfortable and functional. The sneakers possess the right amount of hits of colour throughout the range, cleated soles and a discreet rubber stud detail at the heel, making the shoe is suitable for all sneaker freakers no matter what their taste.
Video courtesy of the official Valentino Youtube channel
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Valentino and Tattoos go well together

The hype over Valentino's new campaign has been no surprise. The ethos of Valentino does not include those who choose to decorate their skin with ink rather than fine jewellery, but there's a first for everything. The famous tattoo-clad fashion photographer, Terry Richardson, has lent his hand in modelling for Valentino... literally. It's humbling to see that the campaign has kept the raw style of photography Terry is known to execute with no flaws, whilst showing off the surprisingly Punk-ish designs of Valentino, so I guess it goes, excuse the pun again, hand in hand. 

To shop Valentino's latest collection, head to www.valentino.com 

To view Terry Richardson's photography, head to Terry's Diary or WWW.TERRYRICHARDSON.COM

Images courtesy of The Telegraph and The Fashion Spot

The First Screen Test

A collaboration between the punk Versace diffusion line, Versus, and renowned British fashion designer, J.W. Anderson, has been tightly wrapped for a while now. The diffusion line has been inactive for a quite a long time, and it's been interesting to think such an eccentric label such as Versus by Versace would be revived by a strictly minimal designer. But at last, the first "screen test" has been released, giving us a preview of the clothes in the collab collection and a look at the models who are going to be the faces of the collection. 

Just from the preview, hints of Donatella's influence over the design of the clothing is already noticed - the wild, hypnotic black & white print being the standout so far. The rawness of this Andy Warhol x Calvin Klein Jeans style ad is the type of advertising that is missing in the fashion industry nowadays. This type of ad allows us to relate to the people who are representing the collection and look at the clothes - without all the flash and extravagance. Here, take a look for yourself:

THE COLLECTION AND WEBSITE IS DUE FOR RELEASE ON THE 15.05.13
http://www.versusversace.com/

For a closer look at the collection, CLICK HERE
Images and videos courtesy of Models.com and Dazed Digital

Flowers for Men

A quaint visual representation of a designer's ability to create pieces that are light and airy for a season that demands heavy, warming pieces is all that Duckie Brown needs to convey their interpretation of a peculiarly bright Winter. Duckie Brown's Fall/Winter 2013 campaign brings a more romantic view of Winter fashion, away from the usual gloomy dark colour palettes that both collections and editorials have during the colder months, with baby pink, mint green and misty grey complementing the beautiful floral menswear.

Images courtesy of Trendland

Photography by Matin Zad

Lady Dior

 

Dior's repertoire has certainly risen since Raf Simons' inception into the label, and the new Lady Dior campaign is proof of this. The beautifully demure French actress, Marion Cotillard poses as the Dior woman - striking and mysterious with an air of sophistication about her. The modernistic Dior aesthetic of Raf's ensemble are juxtaposed against the dainty and colourful Lady Dior bags, but complete the signature Dior look. Shot by the wonderful Jean-Baptiste Mondino, this understated campaign is an eye-catching blip in the rapidly changing fashion industry.

Model - Marion Cotillard, French actress

Photography - Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Images courtesy of the official Dior Facebook page

To view the complete campaign in Dior magazine, CLICK HERE

Daft Punk go High Fashion

First, Hedi Slimane, Creative Director of Saint Laurent Paris photographed a series of grunge music icons from the '90s, and now, he's shot the powerhouse electro masters - Daft Punk. The contrast between the more raw, intense images of Courtney Love, Marilyn Manson and Ariel Pink and the mechanical, clinical images of Daft Punk in Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent Music Project are applaudable, paying homage to two music styles which became prominent in the 1990s and more popular throughout the first decade of the millenium. For this specific campaign, Daft Punk donned a redesigned version of the revolutionary gender-bending "Le Smoking Jacket", fitting to the duo's ability to revolutionise a music genre. A bionic campaign, perfect in lead up to the duo's much anticipated album, Random Access Memories. To view the complete campaign, CLICK HERE

The revolutionary gender-bending "Le Smoking Jacket" was redesigned as stagewear for Daft Punk 

Images courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent

To view the campaign, CLICK HERE

Prada's Spring Fantasy

Prada's Real Fantasies campaign has definitely been an intriguing campaign, that has been ongoing for 3 years. This seasonal campaign is a collaboration between various famous and understated creative forces, producing a surreal but simple campaign for the world-renowned label. The label's last campaign (Autumn/Winter 2012) was a space-aged, somewhat terrifying look at the future, but the Spring/Summer 2013 campaign (pictured, fashion film below) is a much more relatable and calming look at the "Asianisation" of the world (ready-to-wear) and forwardness of the Minimalist fashion stream (menswear). The label states that Prada has addressed these two changes in the world and how it has influenced fashion with the runway shows, but this campaign brings both collections together, formulating a holistic insight into her inspirations behind the collections. The cinematography by AMO and music by 3o enhance the simplicity and calmness of the campaign, lookbook and ultimately, the garments, whilst also highlighting the undeniable hints of mundaneness.

Images courtesy of Prada

To view the lookbook, designers' statement and watch the fashion film, please go to the official Prada website