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Showing posts with label crucifying the fashion industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crucifying the fashion industry. Show all posts

GRAMMY STYLE 2009: It may be a busy week, but there's always time to mock self-aggrandizing corporate ceremonies

1:41 AM • , , • 4 cmts

Of course I didn't watch the Grammy awards, a fanciful intersection between target marketing and grotesque pageantry. I did, however, flip through numerous red carpet slideshows to bring you the flickering highlights and bottom-scraping lowlights of 2009 Grammy style. My critiques are solely fashion/overall-look-based...I'm not commenting (or caring, mostly) about these people's entertainment careers.

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(Above Left) Great proportions + chic choice of shoes and necklace + face and body of Marisa Miller = foolproof. (Above Right) Objectively, I would scorn a tux to the Grammys or sunglasses at night, but these two always exhibit a certain sartorial flair. Kanye always wins creativity points with me for his fanciful and self-indulgent dress (I mean that as a compliment).
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(Above Left) The inherently skill-less Audrina actually elevated this Tadashi dress (a brand I only know because they regularly supply the wardrobe for Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune) with a bold bracelet and McQueen clutch. Her hair and makeup was fresh and pretty too, steering clear of The Hills' signature orange tan/boring eyeliner/lip gloss. (Above Right) KardASSian totally brought it. The shoes and the dress look beautiful on her, and it's a more ethereal look for a typically commercial-sexy type of beauty. I wish she'd skipped the bun for softer hair, though. Too ice capades.
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(Above Left) Oh Estelle...we all loved "American Girl" but that is no excuse. These clothes are wearing you so hard, they're going to take you out 'til dawn and sport you home on the train the next day. (Above Right) I don't know who Katie Cassidy is, but for a minute I thought Lindsay Lohan was dressed up as Jesus. Stain on humanity or modern art piece? Cast your vote in the comments.
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(Above Left) Why did Paris pull this bizarre vintage number (which I love) from Versace, but then turn to this season of "Rock of Love Bus" for the tan, hair, and sparkly hoop earrings? Even the phrase "sparkly hoop earrings" makes me want to set myself on fire. (Above Right) Perhaps Paula Abdul's mellow yellow look is the result of one too many Gramm-amine. Canary, meet electric can opener.

Overall, the clothes at this year's Grammy awards were about as inspiring as....a Wednesday. -sigh- Fortunately, I'll cheer up later tonight when I'm out at Enormous Room supporting Michael V and DJ Ken of the pill at the Puma MP3 Beatdown (others participating include our friends Karmaloop, Hearthrob and Night Society)! So many large personalities in an enclosed space...this should get interesting...

xxxTFD

Spring 2009: The A-List

8:48 PM • , , , , , , , • 2 cmts

I find the pace of fashion seasons to be a bit cumbersome, so it always takes me a while to make my way through the shows as the pictures get released. It just feels like constant inundation, you know? It's hard to feel like anything is new when there's a revolving door of garments spinning past your vision. Anyway...

Here are some of my thoughts from a few Spring 2009 shows, which all happen to be from "A"-named designers; more specifically, ready-to-wear by A.F. Vandevorst and Akris, and couture by Alexis Mabille. 

A.F. Vandevorst
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(Above Left) I adore this not-quite-minimalist but definitely futurist look. So smart. (Above Right) Such an interesting dress, both in drape and texture. I'd wear this for day with grey boots, sunglasses, and an enormous mongolian fur gilet.
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(Above Left) You had me at laser cut leggings with Bowie boots. (Above Right) Over the top? I mean, for SOME people maybe. The garters might be a little Rocky Horror for real world consumption but the satin piece over the tights and contrasting underwear has my full approval.

Akris
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(Above Left) This notched neckline reminds me of hyper-pixellated Atari 8-bit games, and I love the sheer skirt. Please ignore the shoes. (Above Right) I recommend a trip to style.com to view larger images of this dress. I want to feel this chunky basket-weave material and see it up close; the heavy silhouette it creates is so modernized by its transparency.

Alexis Mabille (Couture)
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(Above Left, Right) These two dresses, simple as they may appear, perfectly illustrate what couture craftsmanship can do for a basic shape. I am SO beyond pleased that this black v-neck column (Above Left) was not accessorized with a necklace for the show. The billowy, sparkling one-shoulder (Above Right) has a hint of Studio 54 and yet could be worn to a formal fundraiser as well...versatility that might be particularly appreciated at this price point.
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...Now, if you thought I was going to let this designer off without pointing out some of the other sheer fuckery that flew down the runway during his 54-look couture show (in this global economy!), you're wrong. After the perfectly executed shapes of the black gowns, it pained me to see looks verging on Bebe-designed Nutcracker ballet costumes. I reserve no kind words for cuffed tan capris worn with black pointy-toed pumps (Above Right), ever. And that burnt umber velvet hat (Above Left) takes an already cheeky outfit straight into slapstick territory. Fortunately for male models, getting laid so easily helps take the sting off tangible indignities like this one. JUST SAYING.

See you at Circus tonight!

xxx
The FD

They're Here: Pre-Fall 2009 Collections

6:17 PM • , , , , , • 0 cmts

I can't help but feel decidedly...undecided about fashion right now, and I could smell the recession-fear in the Pre-Fall 2009 Collections. The designers' varied reactions to the times made for an interesting collage of concepts, one which I felt made it difficult for the observer to deduce what exactly now is. Major magazines' vapid celebrity parade and vulgar, out-of-touch "cheap chic" articles have already shown me that the fashion and fashion marketing industry are grasping at straws; when you force-feed people enough homogeny, eventually they will stop knowing what they want, and you in turn will wonder what to give them. I see a lot of confused pandering that I hope corrects itself before the fall presentations.

My plan was a Pre-Fall 2009 overview post, but my opinions on the collections are so varied that I am going to break everything down into a few posts. In spite of my distaste for the "business" of clothes, I love clothes themselves and I will start off with my picks from two of my immediate favorite designers. Geniuses.  I'm also very pleased to see the return of the clean face- I've been ditching my mascara during the day and sticking to Smith's Rosebud Salve on the lips, cheeks and eyelids. It soothes and protects from the currently arctic winds of Allston.


Pre-Fall 2009: Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang's collection for Pre-Fall feels more cerebral than his previous work. These clothes are so simultaneously young and grown-up- see the playful proportions of lingerie fabrics paired with an avuncular jacket and short below left- that it's kind of perverted. I love it. It's hot! Wang's model, Charlotte Hoyer, has a prepubescent Vlada-meets-Toni-Garrn quality and was a great choice for this presentation. 

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(Above Left) The perfect layering keeps the individual pieces (mesh bike shorts? a midriff-baring brassiere?) from looking ridiculous. Ensembles like this are proof you can wear anything, if you do it right. (Above Right) The young minimalist done properly, and I love the sleeves at hem-length. 

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(Above Left) This shape is effortless daytime sexy, and the neckline is an ideally shaped deep-V. (Above Right) So awkward! Again, the styling reels odd individual elements into exceptional smart-sloppy. Bonus points for showing midriff (in multiple looks!) without a hint of sluttiness.


Pre-Fall 2009: Balenciaga

Nicolas Ghesquiere (Balenciaga designer) never misses. I really do revere him; I wonder sometimes if I would dare to criticize his work, but fortunately he never forces me to make a decision. He is brilliant, always. Learn him, know him, and love him. The first picture (Below Left) is impeccable. The colors, the details, the proportions, the glasses, the shoes- this is runway and street style, and I tip my hat to the house of Balenciaga once again.

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(Above Left) Flawless. (Above Right) I know the controversial drop-crotch trouser begs the "pantload?" question; I find that males particularly abhor this shape, along with the high-waist, pleated mom trousers of winter. I like when "ugly" shapes look smart (Demeulemeester also does a brilliant job with that).

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(Above Left) The proportions of this look are very fresh, and the excessive volume of the fur gloves works. For the street, I'd ditch the glasses and wear an equally joke-oversized dark scarf. (Above Right) I would rarely look twice at a party dress that had this moderately-mini hemline and so much covered on top, but the placing of the delicate lace is stunning, and it carries the tougher boots and gloves.

There are more sharp looks to come, as well as some gross miscalculations of style...stay tuned over the next several days for the Pre-Fall 2009 Collections, Continued......

xx The Fashist Dictator


Photos: style.com