Amanda Wakeley

Leather and vinyl seem to rule London's runways this week, which I find irksome on multiple levels. My main problem is that I don't find either of those materials aesthetically pleasing, especially when they're cut and draped to look feminine. They are not feminine materials and dressing them up as such is ugly, not edgy.

I will concede that some girls pull off the leather skirt/t-shirt look quite well, and some can even achieve success with the increasingly ubiquitous leather shorts. Which brings me to my second gripe about London this week. The leather dresses and skirts that are being shown are old news! Designers seem to be piggy-backing on a trend rather than blazing their own trails. Fashion bloggers and retail outfits like Forever 21 and H & M have done us a great service by democratizing fashion, but perhaps at too great a cost. Fashion outsiders have become front-row insiders, pushing runway shows to gear towards commercial viability rather than towards innovation.

That's why one of my favorite shows this week has been Amanda Wakeley. The flawless cut of every garment she presented makes the collection impossible to replicate with cheap knockoffs. She even showed some femininely draped leather that came across as beautiful and timeless rather than ugly and trendy. When asked about her inspiration for this collection, she had this to say for London's fashion week website:

Capturing the visual impact of the works of J.W Waterhouse and the use of richly coloured and seductive canvases….a palette of charcoals to pebbles, contrasted with rich pansy, ruby, kimono, powder, nude and midnight. Luxurious layers, weights and textures of grey marl play with silhouette and proportion….contrasting structured looser shapes with draped layers and contoured, seamed structure.

Yup, that about sums it up. Well done.

via London Fashion Week

NY F/W 2010 faves

Metallic/Glamour

erin featherston, alice and olivia, anna sui, l'wren scott

Girly/Ethereal

rodarte, zach posen, marchesa

all images via style.com

The Style You Haven't Done Yet

Did you see the latest episode of 'Ugly Betty,' where Amanda tries her hand at designing but Marc doesn't think she'll cut the mustard...BUT THEN tragedy strikes, Amanda come through in the clutch, and earns her stripes as a stylist? No, I doubt you saw that one, and thanks to you, 'Ugly Betty' has been canceled.

But don't worry, I'm not here to admonish you. I'm simply reminding you how important styling is. If it weren't, every magazine would simply publish photos from runway shows in lieu of fashion editorials, and the world would be an empty, empty place indeed. Think, for example, if we didn't have Lula Magazine's superior take on Moschino's S/S '08 jumpsuit...Ok, ok, both takes are lovely, but they say two different things...which is why it's so crucial NOT to take ready-to-wear collections literally as they come down the catwalk. While many shows are beautifully styled, it's important to translate these looks into something that is our own. Then, penny-pinchers that we all must be, we can zero in on one crucial element of a look and say to ourselves, "gosh, self, if I spurge on that one key piece, I can put together a million different looks with stuff I already have and BLOW that runway look OUT OF THE WATER!"

Conversely, some looks that come down the runway are exactly what we want but know we can't afford. Then we can say, "gosh, self, I can put that look together with stuff I ALREADY have in my closet!" Take this highlight from Alexander Wang's F/W 2010 show...

I love it! But most of us already have a long, structured work skirt that we can hike way up, layer over some lacy top or lingerie, pair with wool AA thigh-highs, and VOILA! A perfect look for the...I don't know...club? Office? Brothel?

Of course many of Mr. Wang's looks just can't be replicated, as is the case with much of what the runway produced in New York this past week. Stay tuned for some of these highlights and the much anticipated follow-up on terroir.

images via Lula Magazine & style.com, inspiration via KRS One

dior couture

christian dior jump started 2009 couture in paris this week. couture designers may have spent as much time defending their trade as they did executing it for these shows, due to the current economic climate, blah blah blah. whatever! couture has never, in my world, been something that people buy and wear. it's more like art and escapism, which people need in "times like these." dior's line was a perfect silver lining to the recession cloud. everything looked like cakes and old fancy wallpaper or fine china. it's like eating macaroons, drinking tea, and reading baudelaire in your rich aunt's upper east side apartment. scroll back up!