Charcoal Interpretations

Carolina Herrera

Marc Jacobs

Fashion illustrators are a wonderful sight to see at fashion shows - their concentration, their rapid-moving hands... But what's more so is seeing the finished product of their rightly timed drawing skills. Tobie Giddio, resident fashion illustrator of the home of fashion film - Show Studio, has chosen her best illustrations of the Spring/Summer 2014 collections shown in the recent fashion month. It seems as though Tobie has combined all the elements of the show and collection and depicted it in one collective illustration, capturing the energy from the music, stand-out characteristics from pieces within the collection and the overall silhouette of the garments. Tobie's illustrations are available for purchase on the Show Studio website.

Rodarte

Y-3

Oscar de la Renta

Follow this link to view the complete collection of illustrations and purchasing options

Images courtesy of ShowStudio

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 The usual harsh colour palette of black, grey and red has now been replaced by one with metallic shades of blue, bright hues of green and even luminous gold.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 Toons at New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week is nearly over but there's no stopping our favourite '90s cartoon characters making an appearance! Swagger New York and fashion designer, Michele Moricci, have collaborated to bring our much-loved toons to the fashion scene, and all in renowned fashion labels. Daria wears Prabal Gurung, reflecting her statement nonchalance, Beavis & Butthead don the outrageous Jeremy Scott, Captain Planet channels the sports-luxe trend in Hood by Air, Lisa Simpson looks daintily sexy in Marc Jacobs and Sailor Moon backs up her iconic cuteness in the classically sophisticated Rodarte. There's no doubt these characters could definitely stand out on the streets of New York!

Images courtesy of Swagger New York

Vroom Vroom!

Girls with guns always love shoes and cars... according to Harper's Bazaar USA's March editorial, "V Room". At first it may be hard to decipher the link between automotive design and fashion design, but there are similarities, believe it or not. The mechanics, production, and skill in the design of these polar opposites and their interrelation were made clear with the "Car Shoe", designed by Gianni Mostile in 1963.

The Car Shoe were shoes designed to enhance adherence to car pedals and to be worn when driving, especially luxury sports cars. More recently, designers have caught onto the automative influence on footwear, such as Prada in their S/S12 collection and the checkerboard clad Louis Vuitton S/S13 collection by Marc Jacobs. Whether this editorial by Dan Forbes is a homage to the Car Shoe is up to you, but this is an editorial that caters to fashion and vintage car lovers alike, particularly those who have a knack for Mercedes-Benz.

Images courtesy of Trendland

Brea Souders' Fashion Collages

Prada shoes

Dolce & Gabbana bag

The appeal of Brea Souders' minimalist photography is largely due to her immense skill is the manipulation of light, which is key in bringing attention to specific objects within an image whilst allowing the surroundings to complement the main subject of the photograph. Her editorial shoot for L'Officiel Art features the most unique pieces from the Spring/Summer 2013/14 collections of high profile designer labels such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Burberry Prorsum, juxtaposed against thematic artworks and prints in a collage-style editorial.

Louis Vuitton shoes

Chanel bag

Burberry Prorsum clutch

The editorial effectively presents the connection between art, fashion and photography. The collages may seem like something that can be produced swiftly, but the careful consideration to colour complementation, composition and lighting is undeniable.

To view Brea Souders' photography portfolio, visit www.breasouders.com

Images courtesy of Brea Souders

A$AP ROCKY ROCKS IT FOR MR. PORTER

A$AP ROCKY wears Burberry Prorsum coat, Ann Demeulemeester t-shirt, Oliver Peoples sunglasses and Pierre Hardy sneakers

A$AP wears Matthew Miller sweatshirt, Valentino shirt, Givenchy shorts and Ann Demeulemeester boots

A$AP ROCKY wears Neil Barrett blazer, Valentino shirt and Bottega Veneta beanie

A$AP ROCKY wears APC bomber jacket, J.Crew cashmere beanie and Kolor sweatshirt

A$AP ROCKY wears Rick Owens coat

A$AP ROCKY wears Marc by Marc Jacobs jumper, Maison Martin Margiela cotton shirt and Illesteva sunglasses

Kanye West is fast becoming old news because the New God of Rap, A$AP ROCKY, has taken over. The mysterious rapper is the subject of high fashion online retailer, Mr. Porter, allowing A$AP to don his favourite labels, including Maison Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and Givenchy, which he, more often than not, makes allusions to in his music - note: "Fashion Killa". The man's controversial "Comme Des Fuckdown" beanies and shirts may have been a tease at Japanese high fashion label, Comme Des Garcons, but this proved more beneficial to his rise in the music and fashion industry than detrimental, and what a way to show his support for high quality fashion than an editorial catering to the tastes of the "high fashion hip hop" market.

Shop the looks on Mr. Porter HERE

Images courtesy of Oyster Magazine

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