John Galliano, plays the Incroyable!

John Galliano attended the inauguration of the exhibition "Tyen:30 Years of Creation" at the Palais de Tokyo Museum dressed as a Muscadin(Incroyable).It cannot be more apt that in dressing for an event commemorating Tyen's(the creative director of cosmetics at Dior who also had shot innumerable fashion and beauty campaigns for Dior) work, he went all the way back by 25 years to slip into his first creation, namely Les Incroyables.Maybe he is also drawing parallels between the turbulent times of today and those that existed post French Revolution in 1790s when all forms of ornateness in dressing were scorned at and the Incroyables dressed in a manner reflecting that sentiment! Talk about thoughtful dressing and see who comes to your mind first!

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Seeing is believing!

At least so when it comes to Red Carpet gazing of the fashion folks, whose many times clownish and at times impeccable style requires some serious eye work to be even construed as remotely possible! Any fashion event like the amfAR's Inaugural Milan Fashion Week Event is bound to pique interest because the attendees are mostly fashion people(read models, stylists, critics, designers) dressed in truffles from Milan's runway. The reality might just be that that still ain't enough for the tacky to get tackier!

Its a little sad that Dita Von Teese just thought that any dressed pulled off the runway of Dolce & Gabbana would just suit her fine! And whichever way she may turn the dress still looks like its been borrowed from that fat lady who sells trinkets at the street corner!

Anna Piaggi, the famed fashion writer, "style" icon and muses to designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Manolo Blahnik turned up in her usual, inimitable style, which leaves me wondering how many folks are desperate to do the circus ringmaster act?

Alek Wek as always was the star of the event, dressed in a white shimmering gown that absolutely went with her!


Dsquared2 designers Dean and Dan Caten looked like perfect bunnies in their pink blazer over bleached denims, a look which only they could manage to pull off so well!

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Gucci girl: tough, intelligent and skinny!

Creator:Frida Giannini


Inspiration:Extreme sports, LBD, modern femininity, bag hardware, patterns from Indonesia and Uzbekisthan, recession


Color Palette:Largely monochrome(white, grey and black) with tribal patterns interpreted in combinations of cobalt, fluoro orange and pink or black and white.


Collection's Composition:Body con dresses either slit in a criss-cross way or manipulated with elements from the accessories department: harness straps for shoulders, silken cords in metal piping, intricately knotted through O rings joined together with buckles forming halter necks, silken cords knotted through metal Gucci horse bit for belts, high waisted pants and mini skirts inset with sports meshes, moto cross jackets and crocodile bikers, leather skirt suits with laces corseting the side seams and front of the skirt and a monokini tethered with silver hardware and silken cords.

Pièces de résistance:


Accessories:Shoes and bags in plush leather embellished with silver "bag" hardware, belts and bracelets comprising of Gucci horse bit. The lattice "stocking" boots could be one of the IT shoes of Spring 2010!


Philosophy behind Collection:This collection is strongly reflective of the current times of economic turmoil, the silhouette and the "bag" hardware used heavily throughout the collection are proof enough for this.In emphasising a super skinny silhouette to such an extent resulting in the total elimination of free flowing gowns that were so characteristic of her past collections, Frida stresses that any form of excess right from physical to material is out.Her choice of using hardware from the accessories department should not be construed as her drawing from her past experience of being the head of Gucci accessories (way before she took charge of the ready to wear collections), but rather as a deliberate attempt to send across the message that fashion is more about attitude and creativity than mere opulence.By eliminating jewellery of the usual kind and instead using harness straps, clasps, buckles as substitutes for precious metals and stones, she confirmed that an imaginative mind can turn even the most dull objects into sophisticated pieces of art!

Her injection of optimism into the collection through kilim patterns from Uzbekisthan is commendable for her attention to detail.For example the dress shown below sports Anatolian motifs that symbolise fertility and happiness(the black line in the centre) encased in a symbol that wards off evil eye(the white triangle with orange spikes)! Is Frida wishing the wearers of her dress eternal happiness? Who could have thought that even dresses have a story to tell?

Her jump into extreme sportswear inspired dresses in addition to conveying a dare devil attitude also ushers in a new era heralded by innovation in fabrics concocted in labs by scientists.

To summarise, optimism, prudence, toughness and intelligence are the ingredients in Frida's spring 2010 fashion pie!

Image Source:www.style.com www.wwd.com www.wiki.com www.kilim.com www.bwgrayscale.com

Marc Jacobs marries John Galliano!

Left:John Galliano 2010 Spring Ready-To-Wear (Menswear)

Right:Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear

Need I say more? Anyway now you have an option of wearing t-shirts that match your underwear! Maybe its the next trend waiting around the corner! Never knew that Marc Jacobs is such a huge fan of John Galliano!

P.S: The "marries" in the title refers to the marriage of ideas and not of the fashion gods in question!

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

Front Row Mavericks:Day 4 2010 Spring New York Fashion Week

While Day 3 saw a upsurge in the number of mavericks invading the Front Row, Day 4 was marked by eccentricity of a different kind.It was not the usual DJs, models or the young things in movies that grabbed attention, but the mature and serious crowd of fashion critics who stole the limelight!

Fashion critics Hilary Alexander of the Daily Telegraph (left) and Suzy Menkes of NYTimes sure look like ladies up to some mischief, with a "wait-till-you-see-my-review-tomorrow" kind of look! Its interesting to note that zimbio(from where this photo is sourced) just identified Suzy Menkes as a guest, that just shows that the less eccentric your dress sense is, the more easily you are forgotten!


Micky Boardman, columnist for Paper magazine, while not going over the top in the dress department adds a small dose of eclecticism through his multi colored beaded necklace!

Lynn Yaeger, another accomplished fashion writer who regularly contributes to magazines like NYTimes Style, Travel & Leisure to mention a few firmly establishes that a bit of bold makeup in the form of powdered cheeks can compensate for a nonchalant dress and still manage to grab attention!

So long to writers and their eccentric dress sense, after all what is fashion without their at times acerbic and most times sweet reviews?

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Rihanna does a Goth!

Above:Rihanna attending Fashion's Night Out

If Maison Martin Margiela's mono-lens sunglass was a bit on the edgier side, what would you say to Rihanna's spiked blinders? I agree Fashion's Night Out had the entire New York city brightly lit but was the city this blinding? And whats with those super spiked earrings and that bracelet piercing right through her flesh (see picture below), not to forget the black gloves with extreme black claws? If recession made it tough to afford body guards then maybe its not a very bad strategy! As for those blinders, well Rihanna seems to believe in the adage that appearances can be deceptive and decided to sense fashion and not get deceived by the brightly lit stores and the huge posters trumpeting the event! And with those spiky spikes would anyone dare to touch those blinders?

To muse, would you do an extreme Goth? Well she's a singer and all that, so its understandable that the need to grab attention and stand out could play an important part in her wardrobe choices.Apart from that can you give a thumbs up to this look? Eccentricity for eccentricity's sake or avant garde fashion? Do let me know.

Above:Rihanna attending World of Giuseppe Zanotti on Fashion's Night Out

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Front Row Mavericks:Day 3 2010 Spring New York Fashion Week

After a rather slim picking on Day 2, Day 3 threw in quite an array of eyebrow raising fashion in the form of bright colors and odd accessories at the Front Row.

Writer Patrick Mcdonald grabbed tons of attention at the Academy of Art University fashion show with his never ending eyebrows, little bunny peeping out of his coat pocket, a tie adding a pop of color to his predominantly monochromatic look and finally upped the craziness of his entire look with some odd shoes and striped socks. Any fashion followers for Partick's unique style?

Fern Mallis, the Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion was spotted at the Academy of Art University fashion show wearing a bright jacket in red and black accessorised with a bunch of chunky necklaces seemingly grabbed in a hurry from the jewel box(how else can one explain all those odd shapes of necklaces so harmoniously hanging from the neck?)! Though there was nothing overtly freaky about her appearance still she managed to stand out!

Stylists necessarily have to dress either like they have no style(which helps you appreciate better the work they do on their clients) or like they have a style thats only comprehensible to them! Stylist Derek Warburton made no exception to these rules when he landed up at the Georges Chakra show wearing a lace shirt sans vest, a green pyjama and a flashy purse all of which could have belonged to the shew who serves cold porridge for 5 cents and yells at all her customers!

Rosemary Ponzo's dress code for the Front Row is always "anyting in black" right from her dress to the ribbons stuck up her hair and yet there is always something that differentiates each of her looks! Good or bad, she never goes unnoticed!

Well the recession might force people to cut corners in many imaginative ways one of which could be buying yards of fabric and sharing them with your buddies(the more your buy, the bigger the discount), and the other, buying merchandise that rots on the shelf for months and gets discounted to almost a few cents like these boots with toe separators that Tristan Christann is seen wearing at the Academy of Art University fashion show!

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Front Row Mavericks:Day 2 2010 Spring New York Fashion Week

In continuation of our series capturing the Front Row eccentricity at the Fashion Week, day 2 didn't offer many contestants for the prestigious title of "Maverick Dresser".It was won without any competition by Rosemary Ponzo, a reputed stylist and designer.

She came prepared for the rains I believe, and ended up like she's dressed for Halloween!

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Front Row Mavericks:Day 1 2010 Spring New York Fashion Week

Fashion Week grabs as much eyeballs off the ramp as it does on it! Only the Fashion Week attendees know how much thought goes into their wardrobe planning, and this is especially true of the Front Row occupants captured on camera and splashed across continents to be appreciated, judged and critiqued.In this series named "Front Row Mavericks" I would be featuring all those fashionable fashionistas who truly stood out not necessarily for their impeccable fashion sense but for daring to dress differently and making a visual impact on me.In the sea of well dressed fashionistas, see what it takes to stand out.

As readers I want you to think about interesting captions to describe what they are wearing, whether you would dare to wear their outfits and more importantly let me know if you came across anyone who has impressed you with their unconventional dressing at the Fashion Week.Please note that we aren't necessarily talking about well dressed people here but people who got our rods and cones(visual senses) tickled in the most profound way!

Here goes today's picks from the Front Row!

Pictured above is Leigh Lezark of The MisShapes attending Davidelfin's show.She is a DJ-cum-model and its not surprising to find DJs and singers dress crazy(think Lady GaGa, M.I.A) and its recession and we are supposed to make do with what's in our wardrobe most of the times and not reach out for the plastic, get creative, sew our own little somethings and all that but still does that necessarily have to translate to digging out your high school swimwear from your closet's bottom, attaching a pair of sleeves to it and wearing it with a gauzy skirt whose lining had been moth eaten years ago and in the process shock the daylights out of the poor guy sitting next to you? Seriously is this called " wardrobe recycling"? So what exactly is the guy on the right thinking, any ideas?

Model Cory Kennedy too is attending the Davidelfin show wearing an excuse of a top that looks like two shirts fused together.Now you know what to do with your boyfriend's unused shirts!Fashion magazines please stop advising people to recycle their wardrobes, its disastrous effects can be seen here.

How do you like the mavericks of today?

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

A killer that lurks the Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear show!

When Maison Martin Margiela showcased his Spring 2009 Ready-To-Wear sending models "incognito" on the runway, their faces blanked out by stocking scarves little did anyone imagine that that might become the defacto dress code by next Spring! With fashion week commencing in a few days the frenzy is already palpable. The last minute rush to the hair salon, the clipping and polishing of nails, the finalising of the wardrobe and subsequent dry cleaning of the same coupled with the detox diet and the stamina increasing exercises, the list of to dos for anyone right from the designers responsible for the show to the celebrities and fashion editors buzzing around shows held back to back, are unimaginable! And while caught in the midst of this frenzy do we all have the time to think of an additional concern that should lurk somewhere in the minds of all the fashion week attendees, namely the swine flu? What with the Fashion Week attracting folks from all over the world and the many handshakes and the socialising that ensues can we all afford to ignore the flu and be suspended in the euphoria of fashion fantasy accorded by the Fashion Week? A look at the "swine flu map" doesn't make things better, every city where Fashion Week is held falls under the regions already affected by the flu. So how does one stay protected in a time when travel should be made only when absolutely necessary and handshakes reduced to a bare minimum? Maybe sneezing in a hankie and using bacterial wipes can go a long way in containing the infection. Best if we could all get adventurous and mask our faces like the Margiela girls of Spring 2009!

So its question time once again! If you are attending the Fashion Week is swine flu one of your concerns? If you are worried what are the precautions you are taking to combat it?

Image Source:www.style.com www.msnbc.msn.com

Watch your step!

But not to the extent that you make yourself a laughing stock!

Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Serious Monkey Business on the Red Carpet!

Before I blink my eye, the world of red carpet eccentricities adds a new dimension to itself! Ladies who pout and pose, you are so passé for here are the ladies(Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Manuela Velasco) walking the Red Carpet at the 66th International Venice Film Festival, displaying some monkey tricks!

Image source:www.zimbio.com

Carrie Bradshaw returns to peddle her wares...

Seriously, do we all need a Sex and the City 2? After playing the sorry role of a 30 something woman with a 12 year old brain and to some extent physique (minus the wrinkled, shrivelled face of course) do we need another video shopping catalogue masquerading as a movie? Judging by these photos taken during the shooting of the sequel, the grandma has definitely returned with a vengeance abandoning her Manolos for Louboutins and all too eager to display her new sartorial acquisitions trying in a limp way to tempt audience(read females pointlessly lusting after high end merchandise) into buying a thing or two of her wares.

Fashion industry seems to have dreamt of being a permanent fixture in la la land, and when its been thrown out of it rather rudely, its behaving like a little child desperately seeking attention, first it threw the "September Issue" tantrum, followed by a "Fashion's Night Out" and then "Sex and the City 2"!Does it ever think of maybe strengthening its core namely going back into the design rooms and try and do something differently and try and seduce people with genuine creativity rather than relying in the "dumb products good marketing strategy" days of the gilded era when the world was teeming with ibankers and their excesses!

And by the way wasn't Carrie Bradshaw's husband an ibanker, looks like he got to save his job and stash away his millions in a safe place, at least the shoot seems to suggest that, a pointless far from reality stupid video catalogue of a movie!
Image Source:www.zimbio.com

Style this!

We are no strangers to the "mystery man of fashion" Maison Martin Margiela's futuristic, quirky designs expressed through the most unusual of materials ranging from wigs to sealing tapes! That the latest offering from Monsieur Margiela should be mono-lens sunglasses while coming as no surprise, still challenges us to find means of sporting it! The important question is how do you wear this? Like his Spring 2009 collection, should we cover our faces all over with hair(a novel way of protection from the sun) so that this mono-lens could offer an x-ray vision?Is it meant to cover the entire nose as well?

Would you wear this, if so how and which celeb do you think is most likely to sport the mono-lens? Any thoughts? Lady Gaga sure hits me as a likely candidate, anyone else?

Image Source:www.guardian.co.uk www.catwalking.com

Victor & Rolf's influence on designers...

(Left to Right) - Victor & Rolf Spring 2009 Ready-ToWear, Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 Pre-collection,Valentino Fall 2009 Haute Couture,Victor & Rolf Spring 2009 Ready-To-Wear

However much one might argue about the cut and construction of a dress its final redemption lies in its recall factor, after gazing at zillions of clothes on the runway, if one can still nail a dress by its designer off the runway, then I guess the designer has done his job well, maybe thats the reason why identifying which designer's creation a celebrity is wearing is more often a child's play! Most of the high end designers have something unique in each of their collections which gets imprinted in one's memory so much so that however differently a dress might be accessorised and worn it still stands out testifying its creator's work!

Now before I dither off further you might be wondering whats the point of all this rambling! Well I'm just recounting my experience with regard to Victor & Rolf's Spring 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection. Though the collection was slim with just 21 looks still the paucity in variety was compensated in more ways than one by the futuristic designs comprising the collection namely the Swarovski crystal-banded dresses accented with candy-striped rills of organza, and geometric patterned black and white tights. Seems like the collection has impressed not just me but the designer fraternity in general to such an extent that I could find simpler versions of the mentioned dresses in Valentino's Fall 2009 Haute Couture and Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 Pre-Collection!

Now the question is, am I too impressed by Victor & Rolf to conjure a nonexistent connection or do you also feel the influence of Victor & Rolf in Valentino's and McQueen's collections?

Image Source:www.catwalking.com www.alexandermcqueen.com