Get the Ruffles!

Credits of pic: Charlotte De Calypso for Dansk Magazine FW '10 issue in Valentino Couture. Shot by Bojana Tatarska, styled by Morgan Luka.

Reports from Paris: Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Printemps/Été 2011 Preview and backstage!

This is the right ATTITUDE!

The invitation safety-pinned a piece of fishnet to a piece of cardboard. The run of show named outfits after "Anarchy in the U.K." and "London Calling." And that was Sid's "My Way" playing as we walked in. All held the promise that Jean Paul Gaultier would parade punk couture, hardly a new idea for him, and not exactly a thrilling prospect for us, especially given that the designer has been going through a dry spell of late. But something magical happened on Gaultier's catwalk today. A living legend got his mojo back. Maybe the split with Hermès fired him up, maybe his upcoming career retrospective in Montreal got him thinking about his greatest bits. Whatever, it worked.

As far as the punk theme went, there were elaborate Mohawk hairdos (tulle cascaded from the bride's at the finale), the odd dog collar, and some cropped bomber jackets. One of them was crusted with metal pearls. Another, gracing an outfit named "Vicious," was indeed decorated with chains and studs, but it was draped over a black crepe sheath with a flounce of tulle. The ripped 'n' torn aesthetic was in full effect with an ensemble that featured a raggedy beaded top and a silk skirt falling to pieces. (Dégradé is couture's take on punk.) And, at a very glamorous pinch, the perforated black leather jacket and skirt fit the theme, but what his punk starting point really bestowed on this collection was rigor and focus.

Gaultier has always been a brilliant tailor, and here he applied his genius to a pinstripe jumpsuit and matching jacket; a white suit with a corseted torso and ruching rounding out the hips; a gown that used almost straitjacketlike straps to make its sensually tense point; and a tuxlike pantsuit—with frog closing—in an organza covered with passementerie. That last item was the sort of thing you'd only see at a couture show—and probably only this one, to boot.

Something else Gaultier has always been—the most Parisian of designers. A cancan froth of silk tulle ruffles peaked out here and there before finally erupting into a full-on, high-kicking finale, courtesy of Psykko Tico, from the Crazy Horse. Gaultier revisited his favorite alt-Parisienne, the concierge, in a printed mousseline jumpsuit wrapped in a long cardigan in a similar print. And his signature piece—the trench—gained a new length, lost a shoulder, and came up rose-colored. He called this outfit "I Am an Anarchist." But only in a world where ugliness rules.

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Reports from Paris: Valentino Haute Couture Printemps/Été 2011. When Elegance is subversive! ♥

"If fashion is about today, then today it's time to go back to elegance," said Pier Paolo Piccioli, after a collection that put the seal on his and co-designer Maria Grazia Chiuri's creative stewardship of Valentino. "Elegance is subversive," he added. "The real subversion is culture." And, in the duo's eyes, haute couture is a way to flex some cultural muscle.

Piccioli's somewhat opaque words actually helped to explain the paradox of the collection: how something so blatantly pretty, pale, and light could also feel like it had an irresistible germ of, if not subversion, then at least oddness. It wasn't just the penitent hair and makeup, or Freja's opening outfit, in all its vestal virginity. Maria Grazia said there was a secret in the collection, in the way the pleats fell, the way the sheer fabrics seemed about to reveal something while keeping it hidden. That secret was presumably the girl inside the clothes. If she was covered up, she wasn't demure. The models walked with a diffident hauteur, hardly innocent.
Chiuri and Piccioli's signatures may be delicate—lace, bows, flowers, plissé—but underlying that delicacy is an intense emphasis on workmanship. "Researching lightness, subtracting weight," said Piccioli. The process of subtraction applied equally to the openwork on the seams of an ivory crepe dress (daywear in this collection) and the lace insets that made the trailing eveningwear seem barely there.

Put today's show together with the duo's ready-to-wear and the menswear line they launched in Paris last week, and you get the inescapable sense that they have a genuine vision for the Valentino brand—coherent and seductive, every way you look at it.

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Reports from Paris: Armani Privé and Dior Haute Couture Printemps/Été 2011. You can do better!

I do not know, but I think this Couture Parisienne's season has started with a bit difficulty. Giorgio Armani proposed a strange woman, but a "strange at all costs" that poorly suited to his philosophy, philosophy for some years, mainly in couture label, has lost the historical concept of Re Giorgio, referring to the worlds maybe too far from him. A mix of a classic Armani and a sperimentale-futuristic Armani failed badly. Surely some catwalk-outfit proposed is wonderfully appealing, but if you look at the entire collection, all in one breath, you hear a false note.
Tim Blanks says 'bout him "Inspired, he said, by the gleam of gemstones, Armani produced clothes that came from another planet, the same one that Pier Cardin and Thierry Mugler might have touched down on once. (It's already been suggested its name could be Gaga.) The first outfit—jacket, skirt, and leggings—shimmered around the model's body like liquid mercury. Her metallic saucer of a hat—one of many made by Philip Treacy for the collection—beamed in signals from above. The ensemble set the tone for the sci-fi extravaganza that followed. "Tron-y, a bit," said Wilde, who should know."
Thierry Mugler is the Armani's inspiration? That's unusual, but grant to sacred god of fashion to have fun...sometimes.

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Then John Galliano for Christian Dior disappoint us season by season. Ok, we understand that your style-sign is the extravagance and excess, the provocation... but we got to 2011, after fourteen years the overlaps of volumes, skirts with layers and layers of tulle like bar suit, the make-up so excessive as to make the models look like newyorker dragqueens has a little tired us. From a genius of the illussione as Galliano (for a so important maison like Dior) is always expected something more than a constant mention of himself. Obviously that's just my opinion, questionable or not, but you must admit that this collection isn't nothing of new and amazing, only the craftsmanship with which it was created, that isn't a news. Going without fail can be a wise choice these days, but you can be true to yourself without stumbling into the "already seen and reviewed".

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Non so, ma credo che questa stagione della Couture Parisienne sia partita davvero a fatica. Armani propone una donna strana, ma di quello strano a tutti i costi che poco si addice alla sua filosofia, filosofia che già da qualche anno, soprattutto nella couture, ha perso il concept generale di Re Giorgio, rifacendosi a dei mondi forse troppo distanti da lui. Un mix tra un Armani futuristico-sperimentale e un Armani classico poco riuscito. Sicuramente qualche proposta passerella è meravigliosamente invitante, ma se si osserva tutta la collezione, tutto d'un fiato, si avverte una nota stonata. Tim Blanks ha scritto circa questa collezione: "Inspired, he said, by the gleam of gemstones, Armani produced clothes that came from another planet, the same one that Pierre Cardin and Thierry Mugler might have touched down on once. (It's already been suggested its name could be Gaga.) The first outfit—jacket, skirt, and leggings—shimmered around the model's body like liquid mercury. Her metallic saucer of a hat—one of many made by Philip Treacy for the collection—beamed in signals from above. The ensemble set the tone for the sci-fi extravaganza that followed. "Tron-y, a bit," said Wilde, who should know". L'ispirazione di Re Giorgio è Thierry Mugler? Beh questo è davvero inusuale, ma concediamo ad un dio sacro della moda di divertirsi...ogni tanto.

John Galliano per Christian Dior poi, mi delude di stagione in stagione. Ok, abbiamo capito che il tuo segno di stile è la stravaganza e l'eccesso, la provocazione...ma siamo arrivati al 2011, dopo quattordici anni le sovrapposizioni di volumi, le gonne a ruota con strati e strati di tulle stile abito bar, il trucco così eccessivo da far sembrare le modelle delle dragqueens californiane ci ha un po' stancati. Da un genio dell'illussione come Galliano (per una maison così importante come Dior) ci si aspetta sempre qualcosa di più e non una costante citazione di se stesso. Ovviamente è solo una mia opinione, discutibile o meno, ma bisogna ammettere che di nuovo e sconvolgente questa collezione non ha nulla, se non la maestria artigianale con la quale è stata creata, che d'altro canto non è certo una novità. Andare a colpo sicuro può essere una scelta saggia di questi tempi, ma si può essere fedeli a se stessi senza inciampare nel "visto e rivisto".

Animating Chanel Cosmetics videopromo! Really Funny!

A jet-propelled robot, a beaming sun god and an impish spider are not the likeliest of characters to embody the ultra-luxurious world of Chanel, but Peter Philips, the innovative mind behind them, has made his name pursuing the unexpected. Chanel’s Global Creative Director of Makeup took a break from conceptualizing cosmetic gold to don the animator’s cap for today’s short, a work inspired by a series of headdresses he crafted from beauty product packaging for a Vogue Paris shoot. Built from a trove of compacts, glosses, brushes and more, Philips’s characters embark on a journey that begins with a lipstick-powered automaton blasting through the clouds and ends on more familiar ground, with a model whose chic ensemble channels Mme Chanel herself. Philips came to the task with the requisite technical skills, having studied graphic design before attending Antwerp's Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. But he did concede on one creative point—the music. “If it were up to me it would have been disco,” he confesses.

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Reports from Paris: Chanel Haute Couture Printemps/Été 2011. Amazing!

Let there be light. No designer is as primed for that kind of heavenly decree as Karl Lagerfeld, and he heeded the call with a Chanel collection that was positively luminous in its delicacy and sparkle. Dresses that looked spun from gossamer ("morning dew on spiderwebs" was his cohort Amanda Harlech's more lyrical metaphor) weren't fabric; they were pieces of embroidery. Ten million beads were used in all. The result was literally a cloth of light.

But light is not only illumination; it's also a lack of heaviness. There was a precise, balletic grace to the shifts, the tops, the fitted jackets, and floating chiffons, all of them built on sequined leggings. And every model walked in a ballet flat. "Just the point of the shoe," Lagerfeld was quick to point out. It was bound to the ankle by transparent straps, and it completely changed the attitude of the show. All those teenage models who look like ball-breaking vixens in their face paint and vertiginous heels when they walk for other designers were suddenly turned back into pretty girls in flat soles and clothes the color of a dawn sky. "I was sick of all those Eiffel Towers, sick of all those violent colors," said Lagerfeld.

He dazzlingly wove his antidote to current fashion orthodoxy into the fabric of the house. Artist Marie Laurencin was his inspiration. In 1923, she designed Les Biches, a ballet commissioned by Diaghilev with a scenario by Cocteau. Chanel was designing Le Train Bleu for the ballet impresario at the same time. She asked Laurencin to paint her. The languor and sweetness of the portrait that came from the sitting weren't pleasing to Chanel, but Lagerfeld seized on those qualities to reinterpret her ethos in a way that was paradoxically provocative and modest. The pink bouclé suit, the drop-waist dress, the sugary, rough-edged tweeds were fragile where Chanel herself was steely.

Lagerfeld himself acknowledged the dichotomy when he paraded Stella Tennant like the Black Queen in a gown of sequined chevrons, but his heart clearly lay with the White Queen Freja, whose coat-dress looked like it had been stitched from ice crystals. Then, at show's end, he massed his models on the steps of a simulacrum of the iconic Rue Cambon salon. He has made Chanel's world his own.

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Get the Knitwear!

Credits of pic: Du Juan for Vogue Paris, August issue 2009.

Vogue Experience II ft. VALENTINO

VOGUE EXPERIENCE II @ Atelier VALENTINO!

Don't miss it and follow the endless elegance of two major realities of fashion world!


More informations on Vogue.it

Fashilosophy's Top 3 from Golden Globe red carpet.

Fashilosophy's Top 3: The celebrities Golden Globe Awards Night's outfits!

First Position: Sandra Bullock in a wonderful "vintage style" pink powder dress with a delicate crystals embroidery. She's looks amazing in this Jenny Packham.

Second Position: Scarlet Johansson in a evergreen of style nude effect dress by Elie Saab. Soft lines, narrow waist and mermaid tail.

Third Position: Leighton Meester, The Gossip Girl's Queen B, in a sleek and fluctuating dress by Burberry Prorsum. Very young and very promising.

Special Mention: Angelina Jolie, always gorgeous in a Versace Atelier's long-sleeved green dress. The lines of '30s make her look like a modern Marlene Dietrich.

The Snatch! Postmodernism in Fashion.

One Shot #5

Craft must have clothes but Truth loves to go naked.

Vivienne Westwood, 1974.

Do we really know what a revolution is? We do not fight things anymore, yet we do not accept things. Being hazardous and daring sounds quite legendary in times like these, when leaving our mark on society is a necessary snatch to make to let our statements not be forgotten.

With reference to snatches and marks, this is how 430 King's Road, London looked like in 1974.

It all started back in 1971, when Let It Rock opened its doors for the world to see. 50's memorabilia, vinyl records, magazine AND clothing were sold here. Malcolm mcLaren gives birth to this small sanctuary of the Revolutionary Epoque, the 70's. He and his friends collect clothes, objects, manufactured products from all over the world: his task is to submit a bigger, more complete photograph of what style is in their époque.

Not that this is just a shop. From 1971 to 1983 and still being ran nowadays as Anglomania (sounds familiar?), the shop is an iconic travel through history, social issues, threats, fashion, censorship, freedom of speech, freedom of expression. Freedom. And truth.

"We can only take democracy for granted if we insist on our liberty". Do you recognize these words?

Vivienne Westwood's words. Honoured Dame of the British Empire in 1992, she's the one who invented punk, studded decorations, asymmetry and basically the one who introduced revolution in fashion. From Let It Rock (1971-73) to Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die (1973), from SEX (1974-1976) to Seditionaries (Clothes for Heroes) (1976-1979) and the final World's End (1979-1983), McLaren and Westwood concentrated their efforts in providing the perfect clothing soundtrack to the musical aggressiveness to Sex Pistols rising success. If you wanted to provide the world with a statement to be remembered you had to wear Vivienne's asymmetrical cuts and equivocal stuff.

The famous Tits T-shirt here worn by Sex Pistols is still a relevant affirmation of uniqueness.

Do not forget about the swastika issue: Malcolm McLaren, Jewish on his mother's side, introduced the swastika into the Sex Pistol iconography. What he wanted to state was: if your civilisation produces Nazis then your civilisation is rubbish. They were not Nazis. They condemned everything condemning freedom and equality on its turn.

This is when Postmodernism in fashion is born, when the American Dream is looking lost and weak, when the future is looked at as disrupted and not pleasant anymore. Just like Dada did with the deconstruction of things and concepts to reveal the hidden content, punk anticapitalist statement wanted to reveal subversion and rebellion, and mark it as the new Bible.

Let's not forget Alexander McQueen Postmodernist odyssey.

Vivienne keeps on representing British attitude, attention to detail and uniqueness in the best possible way.

"Fashion is about eventually being naked".

Spread the word!

"L'Artificio indossa abiti ma la Verità adora andarsene svestita"

Vivienne Westwood, 1974

Essere rivoluzionari. Sappiamo davvero cosa vuol dire?

Non combattiamo come un tempo, questo è certo. Eppure combattiamo. Azzardo. Sfida. Suonano come parole di un'altra epoca, in questi tempi in cui lasciare un segno nella società è un atto necessario. Un taglio dovuto, per non permettere di essere dimenticati.

A proposito di segni, tagli, ecco il 430 di King's Road, Londra, nel 1974.

Tutto è iniziato nel 1971, quando Let It Rock ha aperto i battenti al mondo. Memorabilia anni '50, vinili, giornali e abbigliamento era ciò che potevi trovare. Malcolm McLaren diede vita al piccolo santuario dell'Età delle Rivoluzioni, gli anni '70. Lui e i suoi amici collezionano oggetti, abiti, prodotti manufatti da ogni parte del mondo. L'obbiettivo è fornire una grande, completa fotografia di tutto ciò che è stile, comunicazione in quel tempo.

Non che si possa definire un semplice negozio. Dal 1971 al 1983 e aperto ancora oggi con il nome di Anglomania (vi dice qualcosa?), Let It Rock è un viaggio, un'icona della libertà senza tempo, minata dalle minacce, dalla censura. Let It Rock nasce come una sfida in nome della Libertà.

"Possiamo dare la democrazia per scontata se lottiamo per la nostra libertà". Riconoscete queste parole?

E' Vivienne Westwood a parlare. Nominata Honoured Dame of the British Empire nel 1992, è stata lei a inventare il punk, i fiumi di borchie, l'asimmetria. E' stata lei a introdurre la rivoluzione nel fascino world. Da Let It Rock (1971-73) a Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die (1973), da SEX (1974-76) a Seditionaries (Clothes For Heroes) (1976-1979), e l'ultimo World's End (1979-83), McLaren e Westwood hanno creato la perfetta colonna sonora visiva alle eroiche gesta dei Sex Pistols e alla loro carica aggressiva. Per essere ricordati era necessario indossare Vivenne Westwood, le tue frasi sarebbero state scolpite nella roccia. Tagli asimmetrici, look da macello, trucco pesante.

Una guerra di musica, vestiti, un'idea. Vera.

La celebre Tits T-shirt dei Sex Pistol rivela ancora oggi la sua forza sovversiva nella ricerca tormentata di un'unicità.

Non dimentichiamo la scottante questione "svastica": Malcolm McLaren, di madre ebrea, ha introdotto la svastica nell'iconografia del gruppo. Il suo statement era: "se il tuo mondo genera il nazismo allora il tuo mondo fa schifo".

Non erano nazisti, condannavano tutto ciò che a sua volta condannava la libertà e l'uguaglianza.

Ecco quando è nato il postmodernismo nella moda, ecco quando l'American Dream era freddo e malato agli occhi del mondo, ecco quando il futuro era una condanna, non più la soluzione. Proprio come Dada cercava nella decostruzione di oggetti e concetti una fonte di Verità, il Senso compiuto, gli statement anticapitalismo del punk sceglievano la Rivoluzione, la Ribellione. Una nuova Bibbia.

Non dimentichiamo l'odissea postmdernista di Alexander McQueen.

"Fashion is about eventually being naked".

Ditelo in giro!

Tommaso Pollo's "One Shot" for Fashilosophy!

Look of the Weekend #12

FASHILOSOPHY's suggestion about style and weekender outfit!

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Ok dear fashilosophers. Christmas is over, New Year's Eve and the holidays too. We started seriously with our lives, soonoer or later but that's it. This is the first post-holiday weekend, so abandoning the sentimentality, we return to our usual determination. This weekend, a tough outfit. Strong and determined, like the women who follow this blog. The black is always a safe choice for the evening, the party nights and generally for the movida...then if we combine this one with a touch of leather, studs and a few jellow edgy accessories, we have bingo! So, take inspiration from Fashilosophy's weekly suggestions and enjoy a return to the nightlife. Go Rock!

Dior Homme video-presentation. The time I had some time alone.

A few days before the Menswear Fashion weeks, enjoy this fascinating promo video for Dior Homme's SS by Kris Van Asche.
Victor Nylander shot by photographer Willy Vanderperre.

FIRENZE4EVER 2nd Edition! 3, 2, 1...Go!

Luisa Via Roma's FIRENZE4EVER 2nd Edition. The next vision of blogging!

The Sartorialist movie.

Scott Schumann talks about his movie project, directed by Tyler Manson.

Faces, fashion, people, suggestions, cultures and everything of his visual life, immortalized by his camera.

Get the Smoking!

Credits of Pic: One of Kind by Hercules Mag. Styled by Miguel Arnau. Hairstyle by Gabriele Trezzi and MakeUp by Jessica Nedza.

Shopping Tips

I love my new Zara's man boots! Just for € 70.00!

Rocks!

Style Icon of the month #6

Style Icon of the month: Rie Rasmussen.

She's a danish polyhedral visual artist. Actress/filmdirector/writer/photographer/model.
She was launched onto the fashion scene by Brian De Palma's film Femme Fatale and Angel-A of Luc Besson signed er success as actress.

She was immediately chosen as the face of Gucci under director Tom Ford. On the catwalk, she likes to portray a character, saying it is very much like acting. She worked with all the bigger maisons and she enjoyed the few artists that remained in the industry. She worked with the most exclusive houses including Donna Karan, Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana and Victoria's Secret to name a few. While traveling she continued to write many scripts, short stories and directed smaller surf-skate videos. There was no lack of muses around, most of her sketches and photos published in her recent book Grafiske Historier are from her time travelling the world with her friends, or shooting magazines. Even while focusing on film she still very much enjoys the freedom fashion shoots give in the way of one day artistic imagery, as opposed to the long term commitment of writing and directing, which can last up to two years. As her work on Human Zoo did.

She snorts when people describe her as a Victoria’s Secret model. “The only time I worked for Victoria’s Secret was because I, like everybody else, wanted to fuck a supermodel. And I did! And that was enough, for that one specific reason.” She is currently on the cover of Italian Vogue's haute couture edition shot by star lensmen and director Steven Klein.

Visionaire 58 Spirits, a Tribute to Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen was doubtless one of the most creative visionaries in the history of contemporary fashion, loved and revered for his extraordinary madness that marked his own success. Almost a year after his tragic death, a large number of his friends and supporters took part in the tribute book dedicated to his extraordinary work: Visionaire 58 Spirits, a Tribute to Alexander McQueen, it's a beautiful collection of photographs that tells his world through McQueen' unique aesthetic vision and his natural inclination to "strange"and a bit' dark side of fashion.

To pay tribute to his genius appear such names as Steven Klein, Mario Testino, Nick Night and Lady Gaga, electropop fashion icon who McQueen helped to consecrate herself into firmament of music.
The cleverness of this volume, in addition to the talent of those who participated, is the idea of making the pages something of a "real" and "alive". The special paper on which the photographs were printed containing seeds of wild flowers, in fact, if planted, watered and exposed to sunlight will flourish.

Are you think that this is an adequate eccentric idea worthy of a genius like McQueen?! We think yes! YES!
The book, printed in limited edition (1500 numbered pieces) and bound in silk with gilt-bronze details, will sell for $ 295, a price that is affordable in spite of an almost impossible to have one.

Alexander McQueen è stato senza dubbio uno dei creativi più visionari della storia della moda contemporanea, amato e venerato per le sue straordinarie follie che ne hanno segnato il successo. A quasi un anno dalla sua tragica morte, una serie di suo grandi amici e sostenitori ha partecipato al libro tributo dedicato alla sua straordinaria opera. Visionaire 58 Spirits, a Tribute to Alexander McQueen, infatti è una bellissima raccolta fotografica che racconta il mondo McQueen attraverso la sua particolare estetica e la sua naturale inclinazione alla lato "strano" e un po' oscuro della moda. A rendere omaggio al suo genio compaiono nomi quali Steven Klein, Mario Testino, Nick Night e Lady Gaga, icona fashion dell'elettropop che McQueen ha aiutato a consacrare nel firmamento della musica.
La genialità di questo volume, oltre al talento di coloro che vi hanno partecipato, consiste nell'idea di rendere le pagine un qualcosa di "vero", di "vivo". La particolare carta, contenente semi di fiori selvatici, su cui le fotografie sono state stampate, infatti, se piantata, innaffiata ed esposta alla luce del sole fiorirà.

Non la trovate un'idea sufficientemente stravagante, degna di un genio come McQueen? Noi Si. SI!
Il libro, stampato in tiratura limitata (1500 pezzi numerati) e rilegato in seta con finiture di bronzo dorato, sarà venduto a 295 dollari, un prezzo assolutamente abbordabile nonostante sarà un'impresa quasi impossibile riuscire ad averne uno.

Get the Tartan!

Credits of Pic: Valentin B. for MenStyle Singapore.

Tom Ford's Spring Eyewear Camapign.

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Represented by next models ny, Abbey Lee Kershaw stars in the SS11 tom ford eyewear campaign shot by ford himself. Seen in platinum blonde looking lavishly chic, kershaw stuns us as a fashion audience this season.