HC: ATELIER VERSACE SS14

January 20, 2014October 10, 2018 | Design & Culture by Ed

In few words about Donatella Versace’s ‘fantastic’ creation for SS14’s Couture season. Taking Azzedine Alaia’s biggest hits like the Grace Jones purple gown, and making it more Barbie by putting crystals and diamonds on it is not creativity. It’s copying. I understand young designers like Olivier Rousting orAnthony Vaccarello who are inspired by Alaia- they look for new in old. But Donatella? It’s even not Gianni legacy. The collection was so horribly #rich-bish-champagne-cool… that even Lady Gaga -who took photos with every guest like Abercombie&Fitch boys on the entrance to the store- couldn’t help it. Maybe less glitter puke but more… Real Versace couture?

Maison’s Crystalizing

November 5, 2013November 5, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

At the Maison Martin Margiela X Swarovski collaboration during the MMM couture show, I was shocked how much phisics and science can change fashion. These crystal elements attached to the latex boots and bracelets are not simply sticked with glue- no, on this occasion, Maison Martin Margiela did in fact debut something completely new. They worked with Swarovski and their new Crystalactite technology to create pieces of jewellery that glinted at you on the catwalk as cuffs clasped around shiny riding boots. The new innovation in the fact that it’s the first time Swarovski have fused crystal and white resin together without the use of glue creating a hybrid material that looks like it might have naturally grown that way over time. Margiela was the first ever house invited to such experiment and used inspiration from stalactites formations (hence the hybrid name) grown in caves. NOW AVAILABLE at COLETTE

Pink Blush!

August 28, 2013January 6, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Who said that pink was only for Barbie dolls? For sure not the designers for Autumn-Winter 2013! This season was a pure pink colour explosion. From Miu Miu polka dot coats to Simone Rocha super cute pastel dresses, the runways were flowing with pink. But it wasn’t about just one shade of pink- there was the soft bluch (Dior), candyfloss (Roksanda Ilincic), pastel gingham (Prada), fierce fuchsia (Dries Van Noten) and many more types of pink prints, fabrics and furs. In other words, pink made a suprise appearance throughout the shows. So banich the black and bury the beige in your wardrobe! From now on girls, pink got words to say to the fashion world! (THE PICTURE ABOVE: MIU MIU)

1. ACNE STUDIOS bag, MIU MIU coat on Cara Delevgne in Vogue UK, 2. GILES, 3. DRIES VAN NOTEN, 4. SONIA RYKIEL and DIOR HAUTE COUTURE, 5. ROKSNADA ILINCIC, 6. PRADA and SIMONE ROCHA, 7. LANVIN, 8. JONATHAN SAUNDERS, 9. ACNE STUDIOS and RODARTE and TOPSHOP UNIQUE, 10. TOPSHOP UNIQUE, 11. DIOR and PRADA, 12. JOHN ROCHA and CARVEN and SIMONE ROCHA, 13. CARVEN

The Cabinet of Couture

July 5, 2013July 5, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

“A cabinet of curiosities was an encyclopedic collection in Renaissance Europe of types of objects whose categorial boundaries were yet to be defined. They were also known by various names such as Cabinet of Wonder, and in German Kunstkammer (“art-room”) or Wunderkammer (“wonder-room”). Modern terminology would categorize the objects included as belonging to natural history (sometimes faked), geology, ethnography, archaeology, religious or historical relics, works of art (including cabinet paintings) and antiquities. “The Kunstkammer was regarded as a microcosm or theater of the world, and a memory theater. The Kunstkammer conveyed symbolically the patron’s control of the world through its indoor, microscopic reproduction.”[1] Of Charles I of England’s collection, Peter Thomas has succinctly stated, “The Kunstkabinett itself was a form of propaganda”.[2] Besides the most famous and best documented cabinets of rulers and aristocrats, members of the merchant class and early practitioners of science in Europe also formed collections that were precursors to museums.” Wikipedia about Cabinet of Curiosities…

The Valentino Couture show was a poesy of fashion and art. No more to write, but just to ply your eyes with beauty by Pierpaolo Picciolini and Maria Grazia Chiuri!

Tribal Tendation

July 4, 2013January 5, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Dior Haute Couture by Raf Simons was inspired with ethnic cultures like Masai’s and Aborigines. Latest Givenchy collection for men was all about the face paintings influenced with African tribes. Fashion goes global and celebrates the beauty of various cultural heritages.