Wild about witchcraft

The new cover of the much anticipated V 50 dropped today on models.com. the issue stars Raquel Zimmerman on the cover as well as in a 50 page edit within the issue. The main theme of the cover and story is witchcraft. it is shot by David Sims and looks incredibly promising. and great for Raquel! I've noticed the trend towards witchcraft in the past couple of months following Alexander McQueen's critically panned witchcraft themed fall 2007 collection.
It is amazing how everyone can "hate" the show so much yet somehow find it so inspiring. There have already been 6 or more witch themed editorials in the magazines this fall, below are two of my favorites:Yana K from in this month's I-D.

The amazing Lily Donaldson in September's French Vogue.

Abra-Cadabara!

Celebrity Style... Craving Cate Blanchett

In General, i am not a fan of celebrity style, but when i have to think about it, Cate Blanchett is in a league of her own. I don't think there are any other celebrities who even come close to her level of perfection when it comes to style expect maybe the Olsen twins and Victoria Beckham. Cate is never afraid of risks and wears everything that she chooses with the confidence that makes you believe it. It is people like her who make the fashion world go round. Here of some of my favorite of Cate's looks:

Givenchy Couture
Armani Privé
Alexander Mcqueen
Missoni
Ralph Lauren

Cate has always had incredible style but it is in recent times that she has taken it above and beyond. Way to go Cate! Keep inspiring us all!

Forgot about fall...

with all the talk of what is to come for spring 2008, i thought i'd like to focus on what is right now! here are my favorite things from fall 2007...

Oversize coat, Yves St Laurent

Statement Coat, Givenchy

Bow Clutch, Prada

Ethreal Dress, Rodarte

Gigantic Scarf, Giles

Sleek Cape, Jil Sander

School Bag, MiuMiu

Hat, Marc Jacobs

The shoes you'll be wanting for spring

Marni

Derek Lam

Yves St Laurent

Pierre Hardy

Jil Sander

Marc Jacobs

Hermes

Proenza Schouler

The shoe that lost its soul

Around six months ago, when watching the fall 2007 Prada shoe i was enamoured by the amazing footwear i was seeing, the details the HIGH, curved heel and the satin. i instantly put them on my must-have lists for the season. but when they got to the stores, these amazing shoes were not to be seen in the Prada collection, all that could be found was the sad, low, pump pictured below.
Where are the amazing shoes that Anabela almost broke her tiny legs in?

Sheer Genius

Giles

Marc Jacobs

Prada

Jil Sander

Rodarte

Milan has just begun, paris is a week away, all we have seen is a lack luster new york city and 2 good shows in london. It is amazing that there is a trend this early in as prevalent as this one. Sheer is everywhere, sheer pants, dresses, coats and blouses are on every runway from Marc jacobs to Prada. Think it is unwearable? With a trend this hot, you'll find a way.

Giles leaves us all smiles

The pressure on London this season was crazy. With such a boring and redundant week in New York last week, all eyes were on London to show us something different. Christopher Kane did that exactly, shying away form his usual body hugging dresses to something inspired by his babysitter. But the real delight was, as expected, Giles Deacon. Giles showed some of the most wonderful clothes i have seen in a long time. His inspiration is unclear, but the clothes were so undeniably esthetically please one could help but smile for Giles.The show included some pretty interesting fabric innovation and wild prints. The fur on the coat above is not fur per say, but elastic bands meticulously sewn. A print of a blurred Kate moss was seen frequently as well as a print of Bambi with his head partially cut off and blood squirting form the wound. What is amazing about Giles Deacon is that he is able to make us question what we are wearing and opens our minds to new things.
Everything from the colors to the hats to the fishtail braids seen on all of the models heads was so thought out and fit so perfectly that i can do nothing but praise this show. Giles Deacon is without a doubt the future of fashion!

London, You're On!

With a more lack-luster than usual week in new york city, the stage is most definitely set for London to show us something different and directional. In recent times, London has never been one to disappoint creatively but it is three designers ideas that are really getting the world buzzing. Gareth Pugh, Christopher Kane and Giles Deacon have given fashion folk reason to spend that extra 500$ and visit the city's fashion week. All eyes are on these three during the next 5 days, including mine.

Gareth Pugh Fall 2007
The first of the three designers is the eccentric Gareth Pugh. Gareth is known for his incredibly innovative and entirely unwearable clothes. His theatrical shows include mile high heels on a billowing fabric runway and models who are only able to see and breathe through their latex hoods out of three strategically placed pinholes. Gareth has been quoted in saying that all he desires is to "break even and show what i like". His nightclub inspired looks have great potential to be toned down and incredibly chic and that is what buyers and editors alike are hoping to see for spring 2008.

Christopher Kane Spring 2007
The youngest of the three and my personal favorite is Central St. Martins graduate Christopher Kane. With only two collections under his belt and a cult following including Victoria Beckham, Mr. Kane is destined for great things. His reinvention of the Bandage dresses so popular in the eighties has caught the eye of Donatella Versace who has invested in his brand new company. Less then a week ago, Christopher's entire collection was stolen from his London studio, Chris has said he will resew all 23 looks before his show date tomorrow. Good luck Chris, we'll be watching!
Giles Fall 2007
The Grand daddy of my three English gentlemen is Giles Deacon. Giles is the designer who single handedly rebooted the worlds interest in English fashion. He has been called the next McQueen and is the only designer other than McQueen himself that the late Isabella Blow wore within the 7 years before her death. Giles' ability to combine the theatrics and undeniable creativity with wearable, beautiful clothes is what has made him such a star. On his runways he has shown fur hoods, feather dresses and scarves basically drowning the models wearing them, but underneath it all, the man sure knows how to cut a great dress. All eyes are watching Giles this season at both his signature line and the line he created in collaboration with Daks. and as cliche as it sounds, all we can expect form this genius is the unexpected!

Marc goes mad!

Two hours past the scheduled time, fashion editors and celebrities alike were shocked when a overly eager Marc Jacobs took a sprint down the runway before showing any clothes. If only they knew how significant this to the clothes that would follow.

Marc decided to pull a "Victor and Rolf" and show his collection backwards, explaining his initial run out to the runway. His interpretation of this upside down world was much different then the dutch duo and truly remarkable. From the trompe l'oeil underwear dress on Coco Rocha to the pumps with the heel protruding from the ball of the foot these clothes make you really take a second, third or 10th glance.Marc never ceases to amaze in his accessories, whether at Louis or in his own line. In this show, he showed not only those truly crazy shoes, he showed a bevvy of what i am calling the "parasite" bag, which looked like a smaller, better bag was slowly feeding off of the square, bland totes the models were carrying. Hats are proving to be quite significant this season and the ones at Marc were nothing short of exceptional.
The clothes were layered in Marc's signature sense but the deconstruction seemed to be something new for him. It worked really, i must say i am thoroughly impressed and pleasantly surprised.
did he dissapoint? buyer yes, fashion editors no, me? DEFINATELY NOT!

and always happy to see simona doing the big shows!

Proenza's Tribal Chant Echoes through NY

Proenza Schouler has proven themselves time after time by making the tents in NYC interesting again.

This season they went tribal.

It seems that they have grown up, Moving away from their signature bustiers and moving more towards figure hugging dresses and a new, nipped waist silhouette.

This collection seemed closer to The designers own personal style then we usually see on their runway. Socialites will definitely be stampeding to get their hands on these clothes.

Valentino buying 45% of their shares sure helped too, leaving Jack and Lazaro literally draping their models in gold. (Liya wore a gold leaf sleeveless coat dress.)

I must say i am not disappointed with the show. more impressed, even the casting of the models was impeccable. Hot young girls like Irina, Anabela, and Kasia walked the show alongside veterans like Raquel and Erin Wasson.

I think that the boys of Proenza Schouler will be the saviors of american fashion... and you gotta love those hats!

Someone took a bite out of the big apple

I Must say, New york is fading away...

The excitement is gone and now there is only a few shows that are even worth sitting through the endless clicking on style.com.

Proenza, Calvin, Vera, Marc and Marc again are the only shows in NYC that do anything different.

HOW MUCH SPORTSWEAR CAN WE POSSIBLY SEE!
Yes Americans at one point in time revolutionized the fashion industry, but lately the only revolution in the tents is that within the bored fashion editors stomachs.

Rodarte Spring/Summer 208

New designers give us hope however, with the mulleavy sisters of Rodarte and Doo.Ri doing their best to make a dent in the gargantuan industry that is fashion.

I think now is the time, more then ever, for American designers to go out on a limb and try something different.