And The Other Men I liked?

Given the suggestive title, thoughts might go wild. Just to clarify, by "Men I Liked?" meant menswear that I liked. Not what you goons are thinking. So anyway, yes, we are still at menswear. I've looked up quite a few collections so far and there's more to see. I saw Prada, Versace, Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Dolce and Gabbana and more. But I have to say the only ones that I've seen so more that I liked was Bottega Veneta and Dolce and Gabbana.

Well first off would be Bottega Veneta. It makes me think of V for Vendetta all the time! But still, the show was good. Everything was earthy for them. Like summer in a way. Adventures, hikings, etc. Not so much of the bright happy summer. But in a cooling mood which is best for it. Everything felt light and featherweight. And suprisingly, a lot of scruffy looking models with beard, which was what made the adventurous fell of it. Rough men ready to take on Mother Nature, huh?

Even their suits looked more rough but still crisp. I'm not sure how to explain. It looks dirty but still neat, perhaps? And I love the white parka nylon jacket, I think. Never really sure but the middle look below. Definitely fab!

And then there is Dolce and Gabbana. After a gracious Fall Winter for women, they decided to go for the same take for men. A back to the roots mood. Emphasizing what they were originally at. Sicily. Although it's Italian, some of the looks reminds me of French paper delivery boy with a cap to match. Maybe all Europeans have the same feel. But I felt French there.

Dolce and Gabbana's show this time, makes me feel like it has a couple of different phase. From crisp suits, to smarts and to casual weekends which I love. The suits though don't really look in favour to an Asian like me. One word. SHORT! Three buttons look too long for my body. But I read somewhere three buttons makes a short guy, taller? Is it?

But the smarts and weekends were drop dead gorgeous! The striped shirt, the rolled up khakis, and yet another "Terracotta" jacket were all too fab to give up. Also with the washed denims and sweaters. Yummy!

A lot of the others have very interesting choices. Like Prada doing a collection I like to call, "Uniforms Unite" (sounds like a superhero comic). Everything in the show was showing uniforms around the world. From businessman, nurses, surgeons to constuction workers. Everything was uniform inspired. Not a big fan but was rather interesting. The colors were good. Fit for summer, I'd say. Take a look:

Of surgeons and nurses?

And accessories were good too, especially from Bottega! The sandals and the duffel bag are to die for! Another two items to my obsession list!!!!!

Till next time! Ciao.

PS: Personal update soon! Have to figure out what to write. Mind you, I don't really have anything that interesting about my life.

McQueen's Sequel?

Well, this previous post marks my start in menswear exploration. As I said, I am new in studying and looking deeply into menswear like how I did for womens. So I'm still learning and there'smuch that I don't know about it. So bear with me. This might be a rather short one with lots of visuals.

As this is a learning experience for me, it is for Sarah Burton too. The newly assigned Creative Director of Alexander McQueen's brand finally debuted her first collection for the brand. Everyone had been anticipating her works after our beloved Alexander McQueen passed away. We expect a lot from Sarah Burton as most said she was the one who worked closest with McQueen.

Her debut in the Spring/Summer 2011 Menswear show proved to be more than satisfactory and made me want to see her womenswear more. This collection somehow became a trip down to memory lane. I think it has always been a tradition of the brand to rework past collections. Sarah kept true to the brand's tradition. There's looks that are familiar and new looks too.

The most apparent mood I saw from the show was vampires. Is it a hype because of the Twilight series? Is it just me? But when I see the first few looks, it just says vampire aristocrat. Than again, McQueen's works had always been a sense of mystery and fantasy. Plato's Atlantis (S/S 2010), Highland Rape (F/W 2006), witchcraft/dark age themes in F/W 2007, asylum themed 'Birds' etc.
So this collection is no exception.

And then there's the re-working of looks. The most impressionable was the Plato's Atlantis and the F/W 2010 which I like to call the Fallen Angel. One of the pants' pattern looked similar to Plato's Atlantis show. And the printed jacket and red opium jacket looked like McQueen's last collection in F/W 2010.

Perhaps the piece I loved the most is the zipped shoulder sweater with a round neck crisp white shirt. A sense of rebel but soft in a way. Love to have one of those. I have to put the visual as large to show how much I loved it!

So, what are your thoughts? I think Sarah did a great job for her first collection for McQueen. It was more subtle than McQueen but still good.
Just fabuleux!

Ciao.

Burberry Prorsum S/S 2011 Menswear

Burberry Prorsum S/S 2011 Show

The Spring Summer 2011 Menswear shows just started off on Saturday and I decided that I should cover menswear as well. I only got into Burberry Prorsum for now because there had been things distracting me for a while, recently. I will get to the other menswear soon - promise!
 

So Burberry, how should I put this? Well, it's not a bad collection but not everything appeals to me. This season they decide to go into a mix of military and biker rock chic plus some camels and suedes. Did I mention, studs! Studded shoes, belts, jackets etc.

Things I wouldn't wear.

PS:3rd look, it's the fishnet sweater.

Well, I'm not much of a fan for the studded biker jackets and fishnet/deep V neck knitted sweater things. And also, the leather pants and suede trenches. Too out there for me or some are just plain 'Awkward'. I mean I don't have the looks for it - seriously.

But I do love their navy blue trenches and jackets. The khaki trench was not too bad.

Things that I love!

Speaking of which, there is something in the studded wears that I do find interesting. It's not much of the typical spiky studs but it's more of a chain mail kind. You know? Like the armors of Terracotta soldiers. Those I really take into liking, the more I look at it. Not too out there but still makes a statement for moi. And the simple biker without too much studs was good (Look 7).

And last but not least the bags! Oh my god! I just went to the bags paradise, died and got back! - so Carrie. But seriously, it was good! I can't find photos of the bag but you can see them in the show. These are the ones. (Ignore the models, and look at the bag, though the outfits are not bad too).

I left it bigger than the photos before it to show more of the bag. I do not have photoshop at the moment because, as some might already know, I formatted my Mac for maintenance reason and have yet to install Photoshop and Microsoft Office in. Bear with me. Would not last long. Thanks for the patience!


Ciao.

Fashion Digest

Today I'm gonna try something new. A fashion digest where I post several fashion news and updates that I find interesting to share with you all. So lets see how it goes, shall we?

As some of you might know Lara Stone, one of the world's most recognized model just tied the knots, a few days ago. Lara had walked shows for most of the top designers, from Louis Vuitton to Chanel, you name it, she did it. So on the faithful day, Lara wore a white Riscardo Tisci dress with gold trimmings (worth 44 grand) and married David Walliams in London's Claridges Hotel. Shortly after the ceremony, from the white with gold embellished dress, she turned to the ever so fashionable model look with yet another Tisci's dress. A gold-sequined mini with belt for the after party.

I think the hype was more for the mini than the dress.The mini looked worthy of the aisle walk. Personally, maybe she should have worn the mini as well when she said "I do". FYI Riscardo Tisci is the designer for Givenchy, which goes to show Tisci is not a bridal designer.

_______________________

On to the next is the resort collection 2011 which is still on going. The ones up for public's eye is Bottega Venetta, Dior and Chanel. This year's Dior resort show was at Huangpu River, Shanghai - a site not too far from Chanel's pre-fall show. Galliano was inspired by the French New Wave era and made a sixties cruise collection.

As French New Wave is all about youth and fresh approach to things, it's no wonder that Dior brought classic, youthful and chic to the main course. Old styles but nevertheless youthful.One of the things is of course the massive hair volume in the show and the hats. There's fishing hats and french boy caps (that's what I call them, I have no idea of the actual names). Then there are the coats and airline skirts plus the stripe shirts and hat. It really remains me of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, a 1964 French film. Lovely movie and definitely describes this collection for me. Definitely french inspired. Even one who does not know what is French New Wave, when you see the outfits, you'd still say old French.

The evenings are perfect. Soft, flowing and sophisticated. Also they showcased some Dior Haute Couture evenings in the show. One of them is the soft blue gown with layers on the left. Fabulous. That's something for a wedding!

(Click below for more)

The Long Wait for Paris

First of all, I am apologies of the 'hiatus' that went for almost a month. Yup, hiatus. That's what I am calling my art of procrastination now. And now comes my usual excuses, I was 'busy'. No, seriously I was. Assignments is piling up for me for the past few weeks and also a sudden addiction to xBox 360 that is not mine - housemates. So yeah, I went on hiatus mode.

Now as I would want to put it after watching a series that shall remain unknown. You (whoever reads my blog) have two choice.
1.) To boo on me and criticize me of my procrastination.
2.) Push all the criticism you have and move on.
I would seriously recommend the latter. Less work and negativity.

Now for the long awaited (if ever) post of Paris Fall/Winter 2010 which was done like ages ago. But since it's still summer at Paris, no harm in covering it anyways. Bite me for out of date coverage.

Back to the main topic, Paris. This season it's about a few things. A return of minimalist, power dressing, and of course FUR. Also, this season, we celebrate the women with curves. Designers decided to go back to bosoms rather than the flat tracks. A sign to fight eating disorders and the skinny.

Victoria's Secret Angels in Louis Vuitton

From left: Adriana, Alessandra, Karolina

One of the designers against the skinny is Marc Jacobs. He called on a list of celebrated models for their voluptuous figures back on the runway. Some of them which happens to be my favourite, Karolina Kurkova, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Adriana Lima known to be the splendid Victoria's Secret Angels and others like Jessica Stam and Rosie Turlington. seriously, what empowers curves and body more than the Angels. Karolina and Alessandra is hot this season landing on the shows, ads and editorials. Kudos to them.

Also like he chose the path of minimalist similar to his own line for Louis Vuitton. Simple and classic. Definitely a slow down after a circus like act of afros for the last season but nevertheless makes a huge statement, especially the bags with fur on. The gowns were mind-blastingly seductive and gorgeous. Coco sure did rock the runway with that amazing floral like print evening dress. Love them all.

Another few who did minimalist this season were Celine and Stella McCartney. There were more but they caught my eyes. Stella McCartney did a series of fabulous day wear and cocktails for evening. A little short of material, if you ask me. not what you have in mind for winter but paired with the right pairing of tights, coat or boots, nothing can go wrong. And controversially, she opened the show with a fake recording of Tiger Woods and his mistress. What was she hinting? Dresses for the mistresses? They would be one fab mistress with Stella's dress. Woods can definitely afford it.

Stella McCartney's Mistress Harem