The Beginning of the end for Spring Summer 2011....

The first show of Paris Fashion Week, I have to say is right up my street; Nicolas Andreas Taralis. Taught by Helmut Lang (I feel it would be a relevant point now to put up some of my fave images from their latest collection, seeing as I missed the opportunity in NYFW...bit late I know), he presented a tailored and androgynous collection, including mesh, sheer and a deconstructed feel through rips. This tailored, deconstructed feel was seen at Fashion East's Simone Rocha, except her's was predominantly white. This collection has a completely different feel. Perhaps more chic, more androgynous, more refined.

Interesting interview by Dazed Digitial:

Dazed Digital: What was the starting point for the collection?
Nicolas Andreas Taralis: It was really a continuation from the last collection. I never really change things in a big way each season. I was really thinking about traditional garments. It's always coming from really sartorial attitude especially in structured tailoring - I was always very interested in hand made tailoring. It's this idea of interesting, traditional garments which led me to think of folk.

DD: How did folk play into the collection?
Nicolas Andreas Taralis: Folk is an expression of a certain tribe and then I was thinking of certain tribes, like tribes today and street culture. Then I was trying to mix that with a certain artisanal or couture sensibility. It evolves in a very natural way for me - all these things come together in an unreferential way though I think this collection was probably my most referential to date, especially with the Byzantine looking silhouette.

DD: Tell us a little bit about the fabrics especially when you are only playing with one colour in the collection.
Nicolas Andreas Taralis:

There's a real sporty element, but it still feels really chic and wearable.

And from NYFW...a few highlights of Helmut Lang.

Pictures and interview from Dazed digital, other images style.com

The most difficult thing and most important part for me is simply the fabric choices. I tried this season to use as little as possible so I did different things to the fabrics such as washing, treating them, spraying them or using salt water dyes. In contrast, I used these treated fabrics with something sharp and clean. I like that equilibrium between something sharp and graphic and something a bit off or badly treated. There's a beauty in that tension. It's far more interesting to work on something with delicate codes to play around with rather than the obvious.

A.T.S.H.C. Trend....

As broad as I make it sound, graphic, bold prints came through, in the likes of Etro, Marni and Missoni. Sheer has been inescapable throughout the shows, a trend that has been mixed and intertwined into collections, like Missoni, who has sheer overlayers on graphic knits.

Marni

Etro

Backstage at he Misonni venue.

I haven't quite made my mind up over the Missoni collection. Its fun and crazy and a refreshing break from a lot of the minimal collections that have been seen, but not really that wearable. I love these backstage images, as I think they capture the clothes more naturally than a catwalk image and for some reason I prefer them here than what I saw on style.com. That tent dress is hilarious. I appreciate the way that Missoni stays brand relevant and still manages to come up with something new every season, while still retaining its signatures, such as the chevron knit and bold colours.

All I can say is...can't wait for Paris....

Catwalk images from style.com, backstage images from dazeddigital.

Scuba diving in Milan....Marni

Admittedly, I haven't been covering as much of Milan as London, and regrettably not as much as I would have liked, as some of the collections have really stood out and been my favourites of the season so far. London is good for emerging designers and seeing the new talent, whereas Milan is about the more established design houses. I've been looking forward to Marni's Spring Summer offering and it didn't disappoint. I'm not usually drawn to overtly girlie and feminine design (although there are occasional exceptions)so the sporty silhouette at Marni, and the likes of Bottega appealed to me.

Backstage images by Samantha Casolari for AnOther Magazine.

The hats echoed the feel of bathing caps, and the sporty athletic vibe didn't stop there, with laser cut leather that felt like athletic mesh and tight fitting tops and shorts that had a scuba diving/cycling element to them, but still remained luxurious and fashion forward.The colour palette was, of course, nailed on the head, as Marni tend to do. It didn't just feel sporty though. There was a real wearable and desirable edge to it and everything felt new.

It didn't feel too literal for a sporty translation. The styling worked and the hair even had an aerodynamic quality to it.

There was everything. from stripes, to graphic prints, some beautiful block colour pieces, statement accesories, graphic florals, but it all seemed to work together.

Some highlights from the collection. The laser cut, what looked like enlarged holes in athletic mesh was a real treat and felt really modern. The turquoise and the coral worked well together and felt really brand appropriate.

Images from style.com and AnOther magazine,

Sketches by Lauren Sanins

A continuation....

Not to repeat myself too much, but in kind of a continuation from my last post, brights, block colours are coming through more. My favourite collection so far from the season (and apparently some editors share this opinion) has to be Jil Sander. It was modern, new, the colour combos were brilliant, silhouettes were fashion forward and wearable. I'm a bit of a t-shirt fan and I think the whole plain white t-shirt with fabulous skirt/coutute led silhouette/wearable thing really worked. As Tim Blanks put it much more clearly 'major skirt and minor tops.' As with other collections this season (Peter Pilotto etc) YSL was an inspiration, where he had a fascination with operagoers throwing on a raincoat over their ballgowns and this idea of the mundane with the extravagant definetely came through in a beautiful way. I'll just let the images do the talking here.

Pictures from style.com and sketches by Lauren Sanins

Milan...the futures bright...

While I have been uploading my backlog of images from London Fashion Week, Milan has been in full swing and brights are coming through after seeing a relatively neutral palette, mainly white at the New York shows, and more of the same at London (with the exception of Kane, Mark Fast etc). It is Spring/Summer after all!

This Etro number stood out for its brightness and simplicity. I think the bright colour blocking works through simple silhouette here.

Maybe this should have been an orange trend forecast!! Love the navy blue paint splatters against the more electric blue of the dress and the orange.

Prada's collection has been a definite stand out so far. It was bold and had a fun spirit to it, with its monkey cartoons and banana prints, mixed in with seventeenth century cherubs. Some elements were slightly overdesigned for my liking and weren't to my particular taste, but there were other looks that I loved.

The banana and monkey print felt refreshing and new, while still feeling brand appropriate.

Maybe I should be writing as fruit as the next trend?? Love the banana clutch and watermelon headpiece. It seems random, but why shouldn't fashion be fun? It may only be the thrid day of Milan, and there may have been a lot of white shown already this season, but I am hoping to see more interesting bright colour combos...and more fruit!!

Seeing these fruit references made me think about when I found this knitted maxi dress in a designer discount store when in New York by Stella McCartney. Loving the intarsia pineapple.

Images from style.com and elle.com. Streetstyle taken by Tommy Ton for style.com. Other photos by Lauren Sanins

Watch your back...

I don't think people pay enough attention to the backs of garments these days....

Photos by Lauren Sanins

The genius of Fashion East

This has to be another show that I have been looking forward to this London Fashion Week, based again on my flat mate's enthusiasm (she hasn't shut up about it!!) as she saw it last season. Michael Van der Ham showed within Fashion East last season and is now doing some fantastic things on his own. Ran by Lulu Kennedy, 10 years ago now actually, Fashion East is a non-profit initiative that offers a small amount of designers each season the opportunity to show at London Fashion Week. Designers receive a bursary, mentoring, free catwalk and team; basically its a dream come true for designers wanting to kickstart their own label. I have witnessed a lot of talent and amazing (and some not so great) things at London Fashion Week this season, but I have to say Fashion East has been my favourite. It wasn't the fact that there were 3 collections for the price of one, as if I had been to each of the designer's shows individually, I would have held the same opinion. Each collection was different and had its own strengths and moods.

Heikki Salonen

Opening the show, Heikki Salonen presented a glam grunge collection that was based on black and white photographs of Native Americans, wrapped in blankets with long dark hair and 90's skaters. The pieces have been named after skaters, such as the Alva jacket and the Mullen shirt coat, which in all honesty means nothing to me but I like the idea of being able to wear anything you want and hanging out with friends and generally having a good time.

Each piece has been designed 'part by part' according to the press release and described as 'actual pieces-real clothing that's supposed to be worn.' As much as I admire and appreciate conceptual design and beautiful clothing, for example, Michael Van der Ham's collection, I am loving this wearability each piece has. The silhouette changes from piece to piece but it still feels like a tight collection. There is a real grungey feel, but I can imagine wearing the clothes and still feeling cool and confident. They are the type of pieces you could wear anywhere and do anything in, as it says in the press release, 'You could wear these to climb a mountain.' Really??!!

These 2 looks were a particular highlight...I want all the jackets!!

Felicity Brown

Felicity Brown's collection of voluminous ruffled dresses certainly had the strongest colour palette, ranging from turquoise, jade and tangerine. Garments were like pieces of artwork, with up to sixty layers of ruffles going into the construction of the dresses. Inspiration was taken from artwork, such as paintings by Marlene Duma and 1930's films, 'to translate the concept of a woman in a painting into fabric.' This was the most dramatic collection of the three and had quite a theatrical element to it. Each piece had a beautiful depth to it, created using batik silk layers on an organza base.

The tone of the yellow dress was breathtaking and the colour combos of the pieces were these pieces were by far the strongest of the show. The turquoise and pink look broke up the drama of the ruffled pieces. I would have liked to see a few more looks like this.

Simone Rocha

As much as I loved the other 2 collections, Simone Rocha's was probably my favourite of the three. Androgynous, tailored pieces were deconstructed in white, the colour of Chinese mourning, with a palette of texture made out of washed cottons, silks, linen and leather. There were cutaway panels and tulle windows in blazers, with a flash of pink in a piece in the collection. Tulle was used inventively, contrasting a masculine idea with a feminine notion. The aluminium collar accessories were a real treat also, complimenting the stark white and masculinity.

 The use of sheer was clever and felt new through the silhouette and the contrast with the androgynous shapes.

Probably my favourite piece of the collection. Love the hints of nudity, through the deconstruction of the shirt, although it still feels refined and polished.

The pink tulle blazer was technically brilliant and considered with sheer windows and a pinky haze.

All images and video by Lauren Sanins. For videos of the other collections in the show, search laurensanins in youtube.com

In the nude....

Spotted these two girls on Day 4; love the nude tone of the centre panel of the dress and of the shirt, for its effortless feel. Neutrals are still going to be a trend for the next season.

Photos by Lauren Sanins

LFW...Mark Fast

The Mark Fast show was probably the one I've been looking the most forward to, being a knitwear designer. And he didn't disappoint. The collection was based on disintegration and restoration and as indicated by the invitation, was based on a bizarre story about an exotic land full of alligators, birds and butterflies. What Mark did cleverly was integrate his unique style of knitwear into/from the story. It stated in the press release that an acid rain destroys this utopia washing away the pigment, turning everything white.

There were the white pieces that seem to be in most collections this season. Fast's signature body con, open knit was obviously still there, except this time, there were swaths of fringing at hems that gave the pieces a whole new movement, which was breathtaking. I'm not a huge crystal fan, but the Swarovski elements used were stunning intertwined in the knit, adding another dimension to the otherwise restricting body-con silhouette.

(Apologies for the poor picture quality on my own shots here; combination of poor lighting, my camera being temperamental and trying to strain over people to get shots after being crammed into the aisle!!)

The monochrome pieces worked out of their movement and simplicity, but I think the pieces involving the more exotic colours are what stood out and was refreshing after seeing a lot of neutral palettes.

Every piece had an allure to it, whether it was the vibrant fringing swinging, the crystals shimmering or the geommetry of the openness of the knit. I think demonstrating the movement is important because it was such a spectacular feature of the collection.

The finale dress was the most breathtaking of all. Not sure why I filmed it in this angle, but you get the gist!! I want to say that this is one of my favourite collections I have seen so far; the knit, the colours, the idea behind it, although slightly odd!! The final dress was out of this world, but I feel Peter Pilotto's collection had wearability, the idea behind it and the beauty. Nonetheless, Mark Fast will remain one of my favurite knit designers.

After the show, with knitwear on the brain, I spotted this guy. Love the combination of textures, from the open knit of the body and the dramatic sheep like quality around the neck.

Pictures and video by Lauren Sanins, catwalk images from style.com

For the full video of the Mark Fast show, type laurensanins into youtube.com