PROFILE: The Max Mara woman.....

 

 SS 2011- 'Paired down...'- there was a big change in Max Mara's collection for the SS season. The brand has really embraced the minimal trend- classics have been simplified down to the basics and colours are fresh and clean. Moving towards more of a Celine-feel. Backs were cut out to break up the solidity of fabric. Knits were pure white, but were textural.

AW 2010/11- 'Winter gold'- AW season is when you see Max Mara's signature. Statement pieces were glamourous with a military twist, yet simple enough to be wearable. A classic camel coat is always present in an AW Max Mara collection. The collection's graphic quality e.g. the fair-isle knits gave it a more modern edge, current fashion edge.

AW 2009/10- This collection was a case of the classic Max Mara palette, with elements of boldness in ket pieces e.g. a postbox red trench coat. The styling of the clothes was what most interested me in this collection. The shirt hem and jumper peak out below jacket hems in the same tone, but subtly different textures. Luxurious tailoring fabrics and wool keep Max Mara's tradition of high quality elegance.

PROFILE: The Céline girl......

An insight into the way Phoebe Philo works at Céline (NB: If the content does not show please double click on the video to view from YouTube):

It's not really that hard to realise that another brand I've chosen to profile is Celine. Pheobe Philo's current influence on the brand is doing as much for Celine as she did for Chloe 10 years ago. It's clear from watching interviews with Philo that Celine is, like Chloe, all about the elegant luxury lifestyle. Considering the modern woman's wardrobe is key....

 AW Collections 2006/7 & 2007/8- 'The evolution begins...'- Celine collections are beginning to evolve. Although these collections don't fully resemble today's Celine I was drawn to the knitwear. They show you were the brand's come from...The mohair knits over lining fabric for winter coats was something that I hadn't seen before...

AW 2008/9- 'More structure please..'- a much more structural interpretation of Celine, this collection featured chunky, structured knits and a less simplified silhouette. Colours were more intense, fur was voluminous.

SS 2010- 'Graphic girl...'


It's Phoebe Philo's first collection for Celine. 

'the trend book she left on our seats was nothing if not tantalising: black and white grainy photographs of nude models behind not-quite-closed doors, Marilyn Monroe, Dustin Hoffman, David Bowie, animals, children, supermodels, cigarettes and general nakedness. As inspiration goes, this was quite a show we were about to see.' - Dolly Jones- Vogue.com

PROFILE: the Chloé girl.......

Let's talk about the Chloé girl....

Former artistic directors include Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo, who's now impressing everybody at the new design director at Celine. Currently Chloe is headed up by Hannah MacGibbon.

A snapshot of STADIUMAGAZINE's interpretation of a Chloe collection...

 Chloe advert from the 1970's

Taking a wider look at the Chloé collections from the last 10 years, let alone the progression of the brand from the early 1950's, the brand has changed significantly.

So let's have a look at highlights from the past 5 years- changing design directors, changing styles:

'Out on her own...'- AW 2006/7- After Phoebe Philo's departure this was the first collection from Chloe without a design director. The sense of masculinity is obvious, but the 'Chloe look' is one of effortless elegance. The design inspiration centre's around dressing a young woman for stylish living.....

'A Chloé girl rebellion'- AW 2007/8- Paolo Melim Andersson (prev. at Marni). This collection wasn't a resounding success- but clever constructions and detailing aren't exactly far away from today's Chloe style. Hand painted tweeds and luxury fabrics are really exploited here.

SS 2009- 'Signature style...'- colour and recognisable detail were key to this collection. The scalloped edges were reproduced everywhere after Chloe showed the SS 2009 collection. After a time without a head designer, MacGibbon really started to make her own mark on the brand- an aesthetic that continues today. Chloe clothing becomes far more commercial at this point.

AW 2009/10- 'A quality focus....'- one of the main reason I'm so drawn to Chloe is their consideration of quality- it seems to be a the forefront of their design philosophy. There is a couture quality about Chloe- yet a minimalism that makes it modern. The style is effortless, easy glamour. This collection was specifically inspired by the illustrations on Antonio Lopez:

AW 2010/11- 'Iconic MacGibbon....' The 'Chloe' colour palette has become established. Subtle surface textures, such as melange knits and leather quilting break up the wool textures of the collection. Chloe is definitely a lifestyle brand- luxury is priority, as I said above. Most of the garments are based on masculine pieces, made over-sized for women. There is a definite 70's influence at this point.

Chloe clothes on the move ( SS 2010 advert):

A vintage wardrobe......

It's like taking a look inside a treasure chest.....

Vintage is something I have a great passion for- I mean recently vintage clothes are the only new (new to me anyway!) things I've bought.

Have a look at some of the photographs I took yesterday of our new vintage collection acquired by Kingston University:

Interestingly the key to successfully using vintage is 'modernity'- choosing the details, construction and so on that you can recreate and still create something that fits in with current design. There's no use in totally recreating a vintage piece as it will always look retro. Nearly every everyone does it...from established fashion companies e.g. Jaeger to Mark Jacobs....

Must keep this is mind for my design projects...

Laura

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Peekaboo: A Japanese fixation......

THE THEME: 'Sakoku (鎖国 literally locked country) was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death...'

Think about the sense of Japanese order, precision and clean lines......

Japanese abstract thinking was the inspiration for Hussein Chalayan's SS 2011 collection. Reading more about the show, he wanted to create the idea of a cultural isolation which textures and colours then penetrated.

It was all about revealing textures from the underneath of solidity. Cutting parts of a garment away to reveal others.

More feminine tulle skirts protruded from underneath heavier, boxy, long coats.

Chalayan said, during an interview, that Japanese thinking is easily represented by their packaging design.....

THEMES: “decentered,” “wrapping in transition,” and “floating body.”

'Floating Body' pieces were not as detached from the body as perhaps Margiela, but took on their own anonymity. The colours became more give the work a fresher, more wearable feel. 

A seemingly simple garment has been transformed by the clever panelling in the side of this dress.

This trapeze-silhouette leads the eye down, from a classic shirt shape to an experimental hem line.


Chalayan, like Gareth Pugh decided to dedicate his creative focus on a film, rather than a catwalk show. He was trying to embody the mood of his concept- something that just cannot be achieved on a live catwalk. At one point, black covered, anonymous 'performers' circles one of the dresses creative movements in the fabric. There is an energy and tension in fashion film that is difficult to translate into any other medium...

See the video below:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjExOTUxMDYw.html

Laura

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Not just for children....surely.......

Whilst having a nose for original backstage photograph I stumbled across a stunning editorial featuring an Antwerp design graduate from 2008. Over the past few weeks, whilst covering the fashion weeks there has been plenty of knitwear, but the shoot for Ann Ecker's graduate collection was too good to skip over.

 The photographs are arresting...that's all I can say really.....

They have a hand-made, childish quality, but the chose of colour palette makes them more sophisticated, design wise, than most childrenswear.

Laura

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TREND: RAW....the return of the artisan......

Paris Fashion Week is drawing to a close and an emerging trend I've noticed seems to follow on from the couture silhouettes that we've seen from Jil Sander. Couture is a dying art, but it seems designers are starting to embrace the artisan and explore these 'hand-made' techniques in a RTW collection.

Again, like Jil Sander, it's couture, but not as we know it. This couture is toned down, minimal and wearable...

CELINE: ' beauty is raw...'

Texture Palette- Raw silk handwovens, raw canvas, quilting, raw fringing... 

Silhouettes from Celine for SS 2011 are beginning to move away from the body- silhouettes are more oversized and flowing- still recognisably Celine for beautiful simplicity of design, but a new sense of freedom...

VERONIQUE LEROY: 'the modern pilgrim....'

THE INSPIRATION: Medieval Pilgrims of Santiago de Composela, Italy. 

Leroy chose to use raw fabrics, such as jute, wide-woven linens and rough tweeds.

Designers are beginning to strip back 'fancy' fabrics, looking at the natural beauty of raw fabrics.

Colours were kept neutral with warm tones of blush pink.  There were sheer layers of black silk, paired with rough tweed skirts. 

Melange knits kept this home-made, basic feel to the collection, but the sheer layers, even of linen managed to break the heavier cloths. 

CHLOE- 'it's all in the detail....'

There was a much younger mood at Chloe this season.

TREND: the sheer look continues- there's no getting away from it- another take on the classic white shirt. By carefully selecting which parts to make sheer, combined with tulle layers over hems, a fresh classic is born.

Detail was key in this collection- embroidered cut-out blooms covered the chest and shoulders of a clean, elegant shirt dress. Just because a garment's white doesn't have to equal boring.

NYFW REVISITED: Alexander Wang ' A blank canvas....'

From looking at my early highlights from NYFW- Wang used white painted raw canvas in his collections in tandem with his idea of a deconstructed jacket.

Laura

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