S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: D&G

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: D&G
Designers: Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana
Season: Spring/Summer 2011

 
 
 
 

Having just opened an exhibition celebrating twenty years of menswear, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce may be thinking of a mini vacation, or at the very least a few hours at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills. They are so hardworking they probably won’t, though their Spring collection for their secondary line, D&G, suggested their customer might. Green, red and black check collared shirts, shorts and sweaters were everywhere, followed by floral print shorts. A Hawaiian print and tanks paired with loose fitting khakis followed with the same easy, breezy feeling. A part of the show favored lighter and darker blues, in solid colors or in a print that looked as though it had been found underwater. As for the suits, they were loose or double-breasted in light blues, green, pink, and cream. A few of the looks featured sweaters draped around the neck, and perhaps this look could sum up the luxe message of the show. If the D&G label is representative of the good life, then it was on full display here.

 

About these ads
Filed Under: Events, Menswear Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Marni

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Marni
Designer: Consuelo Castiglioni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

Consuelo Castiglioni’s menswear collection for Marni felt youthful and very New York. Clearly, these were clothes for downtown. Cuffed denim and a backpack made us want to be sixteen again, but let us move into adulthood, as this collection did. “It had a sort of rigorousness that is new to Marni in sense,” said Marni stylist Lucinda Chambers of the Fall womenswear collection, but these words would be entirely appropriate here too. A cropped sweater or a long, loose collared shirt could be layered under hooded cropped jackets. Cropped pants were everywhere. The signature Marni graphics could be found in skinny ties, shorts and long shirts that were layered. Indeed, it was about layering in an extreme way, but there were as many ideas about the art of layering as there were layers in the looks.

Filed Under: Menswear Tagged With: , , , , ,

S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Prada

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Prada
Designer: Miuccia Prada
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 
 

Gentlemen, gentlemen, quiet please! Let’s be serious for a moment. Oh, alright, let’s have a bit of fun. Perhaps Miuccia Prada was thinking this at the spring show in Milan that could be considered an exercise in discipline. Narrow black suits and cardigans suggested a serious side to the Prada man, at times with visible white stitching but were followed with intense blues in the form of a narrow three button jacket with baggy pants and cobalt blue shorts, pants and shirts. These had a sporty feel, made more so by the drawstring bags that hung from waists. The main attraction was undoubtedly the vibrant shirts in yellows, reds, greens and blues that had the look of a nurse’s uniform.

 

 

Did we remember to take our vitamins today? Who needs to when you saw the elongated, loose black sweaters with wide neck holes that were interesting and effective in their simplicity, worn with baggy white shorts that almost had the look of kilts. Intense color made also made an appearance, later on, in wide stripes on baggy white shirts and ribbed sweaters towards the end. This move towards intense color has been making the rounds in Milan. If designers are feeling extreme with color, let them, as they celebrate simple silhouettes and seem to be a sure hit with editors and buyers. Thick-soled shoes gave the clothes the quintessential Prada touch. It felt less rebellious than usual, and perhaps Miuccia Prada is hinting to us it’s time to grow up, for now.

Filed Under: Menswear Tagged With: , , , ,

S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Bottega Veneta

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Bottega Veneta
Designer: Tomas Maier
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

The man who was partly responsible for putting the words “power dressing” on editors’ lips last season, Tomas Maier, has decided to feel a bit relaxed. It’s spring, after all, but luckily for the Bottega Veneta man there will still be plenty of men’s suiting to choose from for spring.

It began with patchwork suits in camel and beige, and double breasted suits in white or cement grey that had an ease and modernity that is addictive. It’s “something you can think about but you can’t get to”, Maier said in reference to fishnet bodysuit last season. Is he proposing it for men this time around? No, It was sophisticated but very youthful, as were the shirts in the same green or brown as the shorts they were paired with, with asymmetrical closures that unbuttoned to the shoulder. Much of the collection was baggy or crumpled, but there were instances of an athletic element, with mesh-like inserts. Indeed, the nylon, cotton, suede and leathers provided a sumptuous diversity, as did the incredibly diverse looks of the models, who were both very young and older. If the womenswear runways are crying out for diversity and less ageism, why can’t the men? Well, the cardigans in the blue or rich red hues that accompanied the baggy pants certainly did suggest being comfortable in one’s skin. Easy, loose fitting suits finished the show and while the show may not have given us great insights into the mind of Maier, it left us thinking on our way to the dressing area. No, we wouldn’t dare!

 

Filed Under: Menswear Tagged With: , , , , , ,

S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Missoni

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Missoni
Designer: Angela Missoni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

It seems it takes someone who cares a great deal or someone who doesn’t care very much and wants ease and comfort and easy clothes, wearing the elongated, loose and hallucination inducing colorful sweaters at Missoni.

A touch of psychedelia is nothing new to Missoni, as the house’s signature zig zag pattern has always suggested a kind of chic and luxe freedom, but it’s clear that Angela Missoni has plans to take the label elsewhere, but where exactly has yet to be decided. That’s okay, as she works out where to take her brand. Oranges, blues, reds, really every color, danced together on plaids, stripes and zig zags on sweater vests, jackets and oversized shirts.

 
It was the quintessential picture of layering, but really seeing every layer, thanks to Missoni’s eye for detail, which helped every color and pattern stand out on its own. It made us want to be at a Woodstock of the future, hanging out in a tent and being cool and young. With the house of Missoni, there is always a sort of elegant mystery, but Missoni has opened the door a little bit with its offerings for spring. We would love to run in and stay awhile. Oh, and we take our tea with just milk.
 
 

 

Filed Under: Menswear Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fashion 101: Seasons of Fashion

June 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

By Edingston Alexander

In my effort to educate the benighted and clarify for the perplexed; I’ve decided to discuss the fashion calendar. The fashion world operates a year in advance due to the shift in majority of manufacturing of garments to overseas. Just as we are starting to soak up the rays of Summer 2010, stores are already prepping for the first deliveries of Fall clothing come July and the Spring 2011 cycle is starting with the Men’s shows in Milan.

 

Designers are being pulled and exhausted more in this new age of the fashion calendar and no other than the manufacturers and the media we have to thank for this new drastic change. These two who are the most important elements in the fashion industry have very extensive lead time and therefore the need for designers to be designing more to meet these new deliveries! Long gone are the days when Designers were the ever powerful in the industry , now they are dictated by deliveries, production managers, buyers and editors.

 

The fashion calendar has always been historically divided into two major seasons: Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. This is when the tents are set up in Bryant park (Now to be relocated to Damorsch park lincoln Center 09/10) for the media and buyers to view. In today’s market these major season still reign supreme but within them we have deliveries that fall within these seasons. Supplemental collections are becoming more customary due to this new tide of retail and media consumerism. For now the new calendar looks something like this:

 

Haute Couture
Resort Collection or Cruise Collection
Spring/Summer
Pre-fall
Fall/Winter

 

Over the next few weeks i’ll be discussing each of the season and deliveries listed above. Exploring when they are shown, when they are in stores and when printed in magazines. We’ll chat later!!
 
Definitions:
lead time: A lead time is the period of time between the initiation of any process of production and the completion of that process. 
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Super-Skinny!…Do You Make the Cut?

June 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Kat Kersey

Mirror, Mirror…
On the wall…
Who is the HOTTEST of them all? 

Well, according to world-renowned British mannequin firm Rootstein, a young male teenager now has a 35in chest and a 27in waist! I can hear Heidi Klum, in that German accent asking right now “Are you IN or OUT?” Flipping the coin: Heads, you make the cut. Tails, you’re not even close? Whatever side of the coin you fall on your going to have a problem, well at least with eating disorder advocates. The major concern is that these “barely there” mannequins will influence men to starve themselves for that pubescent look that these new male mannequins have. 

Sounds crazy? Not so much. There are people that tend to think just because you are a man, that you are not vulnerable to asking the question “Honey…do you think I look fat in this?” Tell the truth, you know you’ve asked your best friend, boyfriend and even yourself sometime ago. Even if you did, that doesn’t mean that you have a serious eating disorder. However, one never knows to what extent someone will take in order to be accepted into the fashion world. Skinny has always been in and the fashion elite has never made any apologies for that.

Kevin Arpino, Creative Director at Rootstein, who designed these mannequins, strongly disagrees that this can ignite an eating disorder amongst young men. In his opinion, “It is a collection dictated to current fashion trends for skinny jeans and very tight tailoring” Arpino, also said, It’s a trend which you can see in celebrities and rock stars.” So there you have it people, at the end of the day, it’s all in the name of fashion. Sounds innocent enough…right?

Hopefully, at this point, you’re still not standing in front of your mirror waiting for that darn answer. By the way, please don’t let these mannequins be your judge and jury. And, while the mirror is out rendering it’s decision, go to Youtube and pop on a B.Scott vid. He’s got you covered. No one preaches self-acceptance like he does to his looooove muffins! Once you’ve done that, then go back to the mirror and ask, “Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who is the HOTTEST of them all? “Well, you are of course!” it says, “This is your mirror, isn’t it?

Filed Under: Menswear Tagged With: , , ,

Fashion 101: Pronounciation

May 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

By Edingston Alexander

I’ve encountered many who want to break into the fashion industry but after explaining all the work and sacrifices, they usually walk away perplexed. Many are stunned when I mention that learning how to speak fashion is a must. Don’t get me wrong, speaking fashion doesn’t mean you must adapt a ‘Europa’ accent but rather being knowledgeable of the lingos, terms and yes, the names of designers. Take notes because learning to be eloquent and pronouncing names right will make you a little more verse in the industry. Plus their is an acquired sophistication that shines through when you seem smarter and it is quite handy when you are networking in the fashion industry.

Way back when I was trying to get into the fashion industry, many times I was embarrassed when I pronounced designer names wrongly and got that snooty face from the fashionably educated. Everyone got to start somewhere and I made sure to educate myself quickly to avoid those looks but now I want to share some of that knowledge.

The other day walking downtown I heard someone mispronouncing Sass & Bide wrongly and prompted me to compile designer names that I usually hear pronounced wrongly. I hope by providing this information, less of us will not endure the name shame when we go to purchase our first Maison Margiela piece.

Abaeté: Ah-bye-ah-tay

Anna Sui: Anna Swee

Alessandro Dell’Acqua: Ala-SAND-roe del-LA-kwa

Ann Demeulemeester:  Ann DEH-moo-lah-MEE-ster

Azzedine Alaia: Azz-eh-DEEN Ah-ly-ah

Badgley Mischka: Badge-lee Meesh-ka

Balenciaga: Bah-len-see-AH-gah

Bottega Veneta: Bo-tay-ga  Ve-ne-tah

Bulgari: Ball-gah-ree

Burberry Prorsum: Bur-bur-ree  Proar-some 

Chloe: KLO-ee

Christian Dior: KREE-styaan DEE-yor

Christian Louboutin: KREE-styaan Lu-bu-THAN

Comme Des Garcons: KOM -Deh- Gar-SOHNgentle ‘on’ sound on the end

Cristobal Balenciaga: Kriz-taw-bahl Bah-len-see-AH-gah

Cacharel: Cash-er-el

Cesare Paciotti: Che-sah-ray Pah-cho-tee

Chaiken: Chay-ken

Chanel: Shuh-nel

Dolce & Gabbana: Dol-chay and Gab-BON-a

Dries Van Noten: Drees Van Know-ten

Dior Homme: Dee-yor OM

DSquared: DEE squared

Ermenegildo Zegna:  Er-men-a-geel-do  Zen-ya

Etro: Eh-tro

Fendi: Fend-ee

Gareth Pugh: Gareth Pew

Giles Deacon: Jy-els Dee-kon

Givenchy: Jhee-von-shee

Giambattista Valli: Gee-ahm-battista Vally

Giorgio Armani: Jor-ji-o Ar-ma-nee

Gianfranco Ferre: Jee-an-fran-ko Ferr-ay

Gucci: Goo-chee

Guy Laroche: Ghee La-roash

Ghesquire: Guess-koo-are (As Nicolas Ghesquire: Head Designer of Balenciaga)

Haute couture:  Oate- ku- tour (Not a designer name but something you shall know!)

Hedi Slimane:  Eddy Sli-mahn

Hermès: Air-mez 

Hervé Léger: Air-vay Lay-jay

Hussein Chalayan: Who-sane Sha-lion

Isaac Mizrahi: Eye-zak Miz-ra-hee

Issey Miyake: Ee-SAy Me-Yah-Kee

Jean Paul Gaultier: Sjohn- Paul Goat-ee-ay

Junya Watanabe: Joon-ya Wah-tah-nah-bay

Jean Lanvin:  Sjohn Lon-ven (with an almost non-existent n in “ven”)

Jil Sander: Jil Sunder

John Galliano: John Gall-lee-a-no

Lacroix: La-kwah

Louis Vuitton: Loo-wee  Voo-ee-ton 

Manolo Blahnik: Muh-no-low  Blo-nick (like the “blo” in blonde)

Martin Margiela: Maar-TEEN  Maar-GEE-lah

Miu Miu: Myoo Myo0 

Madame Gres: Madame Gray 

Marchesa: Mar-kay-sa 

Mainbocher: Maynbo-shay 

Missoni:  Miss-own-ee

Moschino:  Mo-ski-no 

Monique Lhullier:  Mo-neek  Loo-lee-ay

Narciso Rodriguez:  Nar-siss-so  Ro-dree-gez 

Nicolas Ghesquière:  Ni-co-la  Guess-ki-air ( Head Designer of Balenciaga)

Olivier Theyskens:  Oli-vier  Tay-skins

Pierre Cardin: Pee-air Car-dain 

Proenza Schouler: Pro-enza Skool-er not Schoo-ler

Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren (as in Lauren the girl’s name, not Sophia Loren)

Raf Simons: Rough Simons

Roberto Cavalli: RO-ber-to Ka-VA-lee

Rochas: Rosha

6267: Six-two-six-seven (not Sixty-two-sixty-seven) 

Sonia Rykiel: Sonia Ree-kee-eel 

Salvatore Ferragamo: Sal-va-tor Ferr-A-ga-mo

Swarovski: swore-off-ski

Thakoon: Ta-koon

Thierry Mugler: Tee-air-ree Moog-lay 

Tibi: Tbi (not Tee-bee)

Tocca: Toe-ka 

Versace: Ver-saw-chee or Ver-sawch-eh with a soft ‘eh’ 

Vionnet: Vee-oh-nay 

Yves Saint Laurent: Eve-san-Laur-ahnt

Yigal Azrouel: Yee-gal As-roo-elle 

Yohji Yamamoto: Yo-jee  Ya-ma-mo-to

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,