Pre-Fall Inspiration: Mostly for the Embroidery

Hey man, you never know when I'm gonna decide to blog about fashion week. The last time I did it was FW15 and I STAND BY WHAT I SAID ABOUT YEEZY so don't think I'm changing my mind. But this season, I found that the designers I was most drawn to were those that used sheer fabric in their pieces and embroidered over it. I've been loving this look for a while now, and even tried my own hand at embroidering a while back. I have been working on a jacket for like a year now (whoops) but I never get tired of looking at the incredible designs these artists make with some string and fabric. 

Valentino

I mean????? What kind of blessed beings are we that we get to be alive in this era of Valentino. Every season lately is an absolute DREAM. Not to say that previous ones weren't, but you know. The sheer top with the strange almost tarot-y skirt? The sparkly waves???? I am quickly learning that this collection just makes me speechless so I should probably stop trying to write about it.

Alexander McQueen

Admittedly, this collection reminds us a lot of our good friends at Valentino, but that's fine with meeeee! These patterns are a little more dizzying than Valentino's, a little thicker and wilder. I love the cuts on these dresses, as well. They seem so medieval, and that is what kind of solidifies them as still being McQueen. 

Dennis Basso

Alright well, maybe this was just a collection of dresses that would make me feel like a fairytale princess. What can I say about this collection? The darker dresses are for my secret rendez-vous by the light of the moon, sneaking out of the castle walls. The white dresses are for my appearances in court floating across the room making policies to take from the rich and feed the poor. 

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Inspiration: Horst P. Horst

On the hunt for photography inspiration, I came upon the work of Horst P. Horst. I'd seen his images before, and if you open up any issue of Vogue you can see his legacy clearly influencing the artists of today. I was particularly drawn to his lingerie photographs, as well as the beautiful photo of Salvador Dali's costumes for Leonid Massine's ballet Bacchanale. I think another post will have to be made for those costumes--I love when artists design costumes or props and backdrops for the stage. It's like stepping into their worlds. But anyways, the work of Horst P. Horst stands out to me because it is both elegant and strange. I like the way he obscures and shadows his subjects. He presents fashion as surreal and exciting. Very very cool.

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random nyfw favorites

1. Hellessy

OH MY GOD the things I would do to live in this collection. These pieces are so dramatic but so very live-able. I have a unspoken rule about the kind of things I wear: I need to feel like I can kill a man in them. These looks would definitely drag on the ground a bit, but they seem move-able and downright powerful. I suppose the lethal feeling also comes from the fact that the collection was inspired by Dracula. The styling is really what brings the looks to a serious level of badassery. Sleek hair showing off hard metals on the ears and a polished dark lip add to the drama. 

2. Jonathan Simkhai

This presentation was texture-heavy. The sheer and cut-out trends have been popular for a while now, but I feel the surface detail is really what make these pieces more special. I love how veiny it all looks, whether those be human veins on the first or leafy veins on the second look.

3. Tia Cibani

I just spent a good while staring at these trying to figure out why I love them. And then, lo ho ho, I got it: they remind me of the incredible animated film Anastasia. Victorian looks in a weirdly deserted luxury hotel. Yesssss. It's a photographer's deram. Or mine at least. I love the distance the viewer feels from this mysterious but very young girl in velvet. It's almost like she never left this hotel. And also her hair is an amazing bird nest.

4. Kaelen

This one just made me so happy. The stripes remind me of Mary Poppins (are you getting that my fashion choices tend to stem from films?) and the silhouettes are feminine and easy. Everything is extremely well-tailored. Sometimes it is just nice to find well-made pieces that will do the talking for you.

5. Kanye West x Adidas Originals

Whoops I did it. I went and chose Kanye to talk about. I generally don't know what I think about Kanye. I am amused by his ego but I think he actually does have something different to offer to the world. I like his music. I don't understand how he is a father(???). His style (and Kim's) is mostly on point. I am not cool with the wave of shit-talking directed at Beck because of his Grammy rants. I will forever think Beyonce deserves every award, but like Beck is rad, too, Kanye, calm down. I still feel Kanye's point, but he can be pretty brash and disrespectful and it is very off-putting. So I tend to just be neutral towards Kanye and watch him do the thing he clearly loves most: creating. Therefore, enough on the Kanye commentary and on to his collaboration with Adidas. 

There is something so intriguing about this collection. What drew me to it initially were all the tights. Why is everyone enveloped in nylon? It's the thinnest possible protection. But that is what makes all the bodies so alien and uniform. It's like normcore that has gone through an otherworldly war. He cited the military and the London riots as inspiration, hence the eerie presentation and war-torn sweats. I guess when you mix violence with fashion--namely sportswear-- you get this disturbing child army. And this is the strange paradox about Kanye. He has created this unsettling visual piece and then goes off to gift his shoes to Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner. I dunno, man. It's so weird, but I love it.

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Inspiration: The Girl Who Lived in a Tree

I've been sick for the last two weeks. I laid in bed for a long time, lost a lot of motivation and inspiration. I mustered up my energy to drive down LA for an interview for a clothing company internship. I am not sure I want the position. I want to move forward but, to somehow positively(??) use Professor Umbridge's words, "progress for progress's sake must be discouraged." I don't mean I don't want to make progress, but I don't want to trick myself into doing something I don't feel passionate about because I feel like I need to be doing anything at all. I think I want to see what else will come around and get back to what makes me tick and what makes me excited. I got out Love Looks Not with the Eyes, Anne Deniau's book of photographs from backstage at Alexander McQueen's shows. It reminded me of the reason I first considered fashion as an interest and moreso as a career: his Fall 2008 collection entitled "The Girl Who Lived in a Tree". I saw this collection in a Vogue editorial. This feature made me dream far beyond any had made me before. I was instantly in love with Alexander McQueen and the possibilities of fashion and art.

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Inspiration: COUTURE

Fashion week is obviously the most exciting thing and while I always look at the general style.com coverage of it, but I have started spending more time on other sites for more intimate photos of the event. These photos are from models.com from Couture week and a few other fashion weeks that I just adore. I think they are just gorgeous. The thing about fashion shows is that they need to be viewed as a show or an exhibition--like any other art forms, they are best in the moment. So until I can attend these shows myself, I love looking at photos that really capture the energy of each collection.

Iris Van Herpen

Gareth Pugh

Viktor and Rolf

Dior

God what a job this would be, photographing fashion week.

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