CHANEL RESORT COLLECTION 2011 - ST TROPEZ

Opening the collection, models basked in the sun and arrived in mahogany boats to stroll long the port, looking for a table on the terrace. The show began unexpectedly with a quirky edge to it.
With micro-minis, high-waisted dresses and light blouses, Karl Lagerfeld brought the symbols of t CHANEL to meet his idea of Saint-Tropez today. While punctuated with black and white, color  was thrown in for good measure - amber browns, absinthe and mint greens, sky and navy blues, and bright pinks appeared in block-colors as well as in the prints. Light little dresses were presented with many interesting proportions. Some showed knees and others flirted with ankles - a play on seduction appropriate for any time of day......... delicate sequinned ruffles, tweeded gossamer and fringed chiffon reigned supreme in the collection. 

A pastel palette was mixed with brights in cotton silhouettes which featured lightly flared pants and pleated blouses worn with large belts. Jeans remained an essential piece this season for Chanel; whether colored or washed, crystal-studded or fringed, they were worn as a second skin. 

Beachy dresses, frilled bikinis and little sweaters with short sleeves had touches of vichy prints. Tweed jackets and cardigans were worn with chiffon blouses, and the famous CHANEL suit saw yet again another reinterpretation. Embroidered tweed was worn with bare legs teamed with a low heels or gold leather grecian sandals. White or black broderie anglaise was teamed up with openwork leather, and the unsuspecting combination ended up being a perfect match!
Casual-chic looks in suede were decorated with embroideries with diamond-shaped stitching, while knitwear made a statement with black, white, pink and multicolored stripes decorated with trim or mixed with guipure lace. For the beach, cage dresses worn over swimsuits suggested a silhouette that was all about a reserved seduction and quiet sexiness.

Leather sandals in electric colors, bags and totes in patchwork or vichy tweed, and pearl belts brought a sparkling allure to the  balmy nights resort nights of St Tropez!

THINGS I LOVE THIS SEASON!

This season look out for these items which will add to your fashionista sensibility!

Ladies try out the season's scent - Lady Million by Paco Rabanne

Vibrant and sensual, Lady Million is fresh, floral and woody, like a nectar of voluptuous flowers, trailing delicately but still very present. Powerfully seductive, the sparkle of bitter orange with a touch of raspberry reveals the first breath. A burst of neroli follows, smooth and bright. But then the lethal weapon of heady orange blossom slips out of its sheath. Its narcotic sweetness bewitches and grabs all attention. Then, joining with Arabian jasmine underlined by gardenia, the blend soars into something more carnal, yet ever subtle. Now the obsessive pulsing of patchouli enters the fray, pacifying the honey with an addictive and terribly tempting sweetness. Amber spreads to become all enveloping, floating around the beauty, following each movement and offering its most beautiful facets, like a play of light on a diamond.

Get your hands on the De Grisogono INSTRUMENTO N°UNO

Ten years have passed since Instrumento N°Uno made its entrance onto the watchmaking stage. During this time we have seen many variations, from the most understated for him to the most dazzling for her, of a timepiece considered from its beginnings as a luxury watch. White diamonds, pink sapphires, paraiba tourmalines, tsavorites… to celebrate 10 years of the collection, Fawaz Gruosi, founder and chairman of de GRISOGONO, revisits this icon with a daring, resolutely Pop Art approach.

Look out for the new product from  La  Prairie THE CREAM CAVIAR ILLUMINATING SYSTÈME

This cream is meant to prevent future signs of aging with anti-oxidants, including White Truffles, White Wine Extract, and a White Flower Complex
Dark spots and uneven coloring can give your skin an aged look beyond its years.  This potent anti-pigmentation serum interrupts the cycle that creates age spots, stopping discoloration before it begins.

Courtesy of Paris PlanetFashion

FASHION WEEK - TO DO OR NOT TO DO?

We have had tons of requests for tickets to our show at Fashion Week............despite us not showing this season. Many of you have asked why and some avid fashionistas seem astounded to the point that they still gagging over their tepid Evian bottles of water. So to dispel any myths of us staging a coup and launching our own fashion week (the very thought of it sends a shiver down my spine amidst all the Circque du Mode theatrics going on at present) or the fact that I am completely immersed in our events business...........herewith the reason/s!

Firstly, we have just come out of a World Cup and whilst we all enjoyed the great spirit and sense of patriotism on show we all suffered that awful period of having soccer on our mind 24/7. Whilst I can't say that it applied to me personally, what I will venture to say is that it did bring many things to a stand still whether is was simple work productivity, supplier delays or simply the fact that it seemed like Christmas in July. Most of those badly dressed (and often tacky) WAGS hung on to their H&M dresses like a vuvuzela stuck to the lips of those demented South Africa fans who blew it at a drop of a makarapa! So  many of us knew that accessing the so called onslaught of potential foreign clients would be akin to rediscovering the Cullinan diamond. So we decided to work on doing more international marketing and working on our online boutique which is taking far longer then we expected. Technology is frustrating and needs to be tweaked more then a toile for Oprah Winfrey I've learnt!

Be that as it may, being asked to fill in an absurd questionaire 2 months before a fashion week takes place and then still having to wait for a 'selection' committee to agree to you showing is a bit all too much. Why put established designers through all that? Is it necessary? Or is it just a smoke screen for organisers to be appear to be diligent? It's day 2 already of fashion week and the general word out there is that it has not gone as well as anticipated and the collections are looking a bit tired leave alone the ghastly trend interpretations that some designers have conjured up. So much for the selection committee then?

Are fashion weeks losing  their appeal? I think they have and certainly they seem to have lost focus on the real reason that the industry hosts them. Where's all the business transactions or row of buyers that we should have? Enjoying the tail end of the European summer holidays I think.............

We need to seriously assess where and how we show as designers. Do we show to an audience that is there to socialise or think its hip to be seen at an event like fashion week or do we show to people who are our customers and to new audiences waiting to spend at our stores? The choice seems pretty obvious to those endowed with common sense alas not quite with the powers that be.

I am responsible for the livelihoods of my staff and the loyal people who work in every aspect of my business. Launching or showing a new collection is not a rash decision and not one that I take lightly. We plan extensively for these things and we plan exactly what we aim to sell to either existing clients or new clients that we aim to introduce to our product. Leave alone the PR and marketing activity that goes into making sure that one's work is given the right exposure. Nothing is done with our proper planning and the precise execution of a Samurai warrior!

In any event most people and certainly designers will tell you that collections have a longer life span. We are still delivering repeat orders on our Autumn/Winter 2009 Couture collection and the Spring/Summer 2011 collection we took a risk by launching in early July because we were not sure of when fashion week would be held and whether we would have received an invite to participate. It was the prelude to World Cup and strategically it was the right thing to do! So again its a reason for us not having shown a collection. Another reason is, and one we are brimming with pride over, is the launch of our men's bespoke range. This is about to launch but in doing so we have had to invest time, labour and capital into setting up a different infrastructure to manage the production of this which is separate to our womenswear studio.

Many things must change with our fashion weeks..........it needs strategic direction and a boost in creativity together with ironing out the major snags. We most definately will return to show but for now I am happy working on the growth of our business and preparing for what is still going to be a harder year of trade. A reserved and more cautious approach in the luxury goods industry is called for and the urge to explore new gaps in the market.

Moving forward the question on many people's lips are whether any of the fashion weeks are appropriate for them as platforms to show on? Perhaps working on one's own show yields greater results? We saw this last year by staging our own show off site and being able to invite people we wanted to and to execute our show the way envisaged. Maybe the catwalk is becoming obsolete? This has certainly held true for many designers abroad who have gone out to do exhibitions in different venues and without models? It's a changing world out there and one must have one's ear to  the ground and be exceptionally realistic in making decisions around launching collections or showing at a fashion week for the sake of merely showing. I choose not to show this season at fashion week..........not until things change and it's worth my while and that of my business.

   

VOTE FOR FASHION

 
   

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS......AT THE MOMENT

SUNO

This NYC label for me represents a fashion forward use of textiles that originate from Africa. It serves as a great reference for those labels in South Africa stuck within the confines of using only traditional fabrics in the most trite way. The label integrates interesting embroideries and contemporary fabrication to create a truly modern and hip look. It does a huge amount I think in breaking down stereotypes of things which originate from the African continent..............

FEDERICO ASPESI

This season Federico Aspesi showed the most luxurious denim woven in silk and indigo dyed. It is light and has the most amazing handle. It premiered in Paris at Premiere Vision and is part of their Spring/Summer 2011 offering..............I have just received my sampling and I cannot wait to see what the final garment looks like. By the way it also has a version of it with Lycra added to it.

MIROGLIO (ITALY) & KBC (GERMANY)

Both Miroglio and KBC have tapped into James Cameron's movie 'Avatar'. The large format digital prints and intricate detail inspired by flora and magical plant life are rife in the new collection of prints for Spring/Summer 2011. Microscopic images of plant cell life and surreal 3D imaging play an important role this season. The 3D imaging is what I love the most on fabrics......it adds to creating an illusionary silhouette and often changes body shape.......tricky but amazing to work with.

FASHION HOWL

John C Worsley

I am so bored looking at fashion which is uninspiring.........
I am so bored of the duplicitous standards of magazines who constantly and proudly tout product from every mass producing country.........yet scream patriotism and vow to the new South Africa their fashion allegiance
I am so bored of mediocre reportage on fashion
I am so bored of fashion weeks and their boring offering................leave alone agendas more hidden then a nun's slip
I am so bored of fashion councils and dull dreary disconnected council members.........who would do better as hair splitters and who writhe in ecstasy in seeing their titles printed on paper..........
I am so bored of the government officials who think by adding their meaningless two cents it will some how entitle them to a few seconds of feeling fabulously fashionable.......Lord save us all from their twisted machinations and visions of being Messiahs to the industry........go learn to sew a button on first!
I am so bored of designers who design badly and who believe their own hype............and fondly proclaim the name of Jesus, Swarovski and cheap satin as their saviours.....
I am so bored of editors talking about the shows in Paris or Milan when they stood outside or sat in the rafters to watch a show that they did not even have backstage access to........nor understand the collection or the art of making it..........
I am so bored of watching young minds being taught by frustrated designers........who think its better to sell hope to these souls instead of being honest or at the very least have the decency to show them the way...........
I am bored of fragile egos...........insecure twats and petty gossip mongers..........
I am bored of 'celebs' trying to score dresses yet proclaim to the unsuspecting their great fashion sense..........
Oh and I am bored of fake bags, fake jewels and fake labels...........

Do I simply brush it away and pretend it does not exist...........or do I become a goldfish with memories that last a nanosecond.........

Hell no I think I will write about it or start a riot.....................

PARIS FASHION WEEK FALL 2010 - BACK STAGE

CHRISTIAN DIOR FALL 2010 - BACKSTAGE

Loved the plait and the controlled messiness.........

LANVIN FALL 2010 BACK STAGE

Very Pulp Fiction...........................