Tick, tick, tick… the clock turns 10 and the time has come. The first model, covered from head to toe in dazzling body graffiti, dressed in nothing but a pair of showgirl knickers, elaborate headpiece and chains of jewelry, draped from one hand to another reminiscent of Erté’s illustrations. As she paces across the show set to a soundtrack that sways from funeral march to dark cinematic sounds, she passes by echoes from the past. …read more
I relish my position as a fashion observer in front of the computer screen, away from the PR talk, the air-kissing, the posing and the general fashioning around that takes place in and outside the shows. There are times I’d like to jump through my screen to grab hold of garments and physically linking with the materiality …read more
The state of criticism fluctuates according to fashion – one season it’s in, the next season it’s out. In the circles where criticism remains a constant topic of discussion, the ‘death of criticism’ mantra remains a fashionable staple, just like the color black in fashion. Whilst for some industries this might be true, in our clothing obsessed world of pants, skirts and shoes, things are very different. In fashion, the critic ain’t dead …read more
There’s a massive disconnection between what most menswear fashion designers think men want to wear and what men actually want to wear. In comparison to women, us men are really conservative when it comes to dressing up and designing clothing for us, is probably tricky. We go for the tried and tested options and we definitely don’t experiment with dressing up, rather opting for just dressing or even worse …read more
Minimalism is a fashion word that’s aimlessly thrown around to refer to a white garment of some description or anything with a label ‘Jil Sander’ attached. The term is nebulous in meaning and thus problematic to capture. It requires precise discipline, excellent eye for aesthetics and a real sense of balance as an approache to design. Minimalism is incredibly easy to get so terribly wrong. …read more
There is something refreshingly exiting about the way in which the resort collections are being presented in between the major fashion show seasons. There is no grueling 5-week long, never-ending, nonstop, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute show schedule from one city to another. There is no need to travel half way around the world as most of the resort collections are …read more
It was only few years ago that resort, pre-spring, pre-fall, mid-season or what ever you like to call them – collections had only a minor role to play in between more prominent spring summer and autumn winter mainline collections. But as the fashion system is constantly increasing its phase these mid-season collections are becoming more predominant with their own dedicated advertising campaigns, show schedules and …read more
Fashion shows are odd and very complex events that have a specific function in the fashion mechanism. For an outsider, watching a fashion show can be a confusing experience. Some designers are very focused on creating garments that can be bought straight off the runway, nice and straightforward. Other designers present fantastical garments and unwearable-looking creations, spectacles in …read more
Alexander Wang presented his much awaited début collection for the house of Balenciaga during the Paris a/w fashion weeks this March. Given that he only had four months to familiarise himself with the house codes and conventions after he was appointed in late November 2012, one cannot expect him to travel too far from the heavy past of the house. He expectedly returned to the origins of the house, offering his take on recognisable Balenciaga couture propositions and fabrications adding his personal …read more
American philosopher and one of the leading voices in defining art criticism, Noël Caroll divides the task of a critic, in his book On Criticism, into two parts. On the one hand critics describe, classify, contextualize, elucidate, interpret and analyse artworks and objects. All of this suggests that a critic should have an ability to capture the object of criticism and to position it against something bigger: frameworks, contexts, narratives or histories. In order to do this …read more
Last week, the film folk gathered to celebrate the 85th Academy Award ceremonies at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. We, the fashion folk, are always eager to see who is wearing what and, more importantly, which brand on the red carpet. This year, Valentino eagerly spread the word that Anne Hathaway was going to be wearing a dress by the brand but in the end, the actress appeared in powder pink Prada …read more
Every collection starts with a concept. It provides a frame of reference for design generation, a narrative for development and a focus for editing. It is the holy grail of fashion design thinking now. Since tailors and dressmakers became Fashion Designers, on a par with artists, the concept behind a collection has become a paramount component. Each collection just has to have a concept and the more ‘complex’ the concept, the more ‘conceptual’ designers are labeled. …read more
