Does David Beckham‘s upcoming underwear range for HM represent the nadir of celebrity fashion ranges?
Angela, by email
I’m sorry, did you say “fashion ranges”, Angela? Ce n’est pas un range! C’est une collection – une collection de la mode!
Personally, I’d have thought the story about stylist Rachel “OMG, so three years ago!” Zoe getting a walk-in closet for her baby Skyler – who can’t actually walk yet – would have been the nadir of the week. Well, that and Skyler’s pair of baby driving shoes from Tod’s, when he can’t . . . oh, y’all can finish that sentence for yourselves.
In any event, you must never doubt the capacity of the fashion/celebrity nexus’s toxic centre to plumb ever greater depths (and news that Zoe is, inevitably, now designing a fashion range for babies proves that the descent is accelerating).
To be honest with you, I’d rather a celebrity be honest about the limits of his design ability and knock out some iffy pants than pretend he has actually sketched an entire collection in between making guest appearances on TV singing competitions and taking a helicopter to Glastonbury.
With the exception of Kate Moss’s first collection for Topshop, which was surprisingly good, the only thing a “celebrity fashion range” ever has going for it is the first word in that term, not the second. So, seeing that HM believes there are men out there who will buy something just because the Beckham name and maybe even image appears on it, kudos to them for just going with a pair of pants as opposed to more expensive jeans, a football kit or some other such nonsense. Maybe next season we can get Lindsay Lohan designing a range of scrunchies for American Apparel so you can tie your hair back before puking in the street. Or Angelina Jolie designing a range of beach bags to take to developing countries.
While I’m not generally a subscriber to the popular celebrity belief that “I wear clothes, therefore I’m a designer”, I can at least say with some certainty that Beckham has spent a lot of time in pants. In fact, I find it hard to think of him wearing anything other than just a pair of pants – though that might be because I’m the kind of person who spends more time looking at fashion adverts than football match-game-type thingummybobs. The point is, Beckham has spent a lot of time standing in pants as he shilled for Giorgio Armani, who himself is no stranger to knocking out pairs of pants, slapping his name on them and jacking up the price accordingly. Maybe, come to think of it, that’s where Beckham got the idea from. If so, that only goes to prove the power of advertising.
But this also suggests a problem for designers. With more and more models now getting it into their pretty heads that they can design (Moss aside, Claudia Schiffer has knitted some jumpers or something that I can’t quite face researching too deeply, etc etc), it’s all gone a bit Frankenstein’s monster. They’re aliiiiiive!
If nothing else, at least we now know for certain that the high street will literally pay a past-it (ooh, controversial! Sorta!) celebrity for the privilege of sticking his name on a pair of pants. And people say the 1920s got all the glamour.
I’m obsessed with Rebekah Brooks‘s hair. Would it be too tasteless to don a curly red wig and dress like her for Halloween?
Georgia, by email
It would be a lot less tasteless than donning a beehive and dressing like Amy Winehouse, as I fear many will do. And I strongly suspect that there will be a strong crossover on the Venn diagram illustrating people who dress like Winehouse for Halloween and those who left half-drunk vodka bottles outside her house after she died, a gesture that brought all too poignantly to mind a point made by the late, great Bill Hicks: “A lot of Christians wear crosses round their necks. Do you think when Jesus comes back he’s gonna want to see a fucking cross?”
I hope Amy and Bill are hanging out together. I think they’d have a laugh.
Anyway, no, I think a Rebekah wig would be a fantastic choice, combining those two essential qualities of great Halloween costumes: distinctive physical appearance and national hate figure status. Of course, with the speed news moves at the moment, who knows what will have come out by October. Probably that God Himself was hacked under his tenure and the world will now explode in retribution. In which case, you won’t need to worry about your costume.
Article source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/31/david-beckham-h-m-underwear-celebrity-fashion
Yesterday, Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall, two wealthy British people who are very important and thus worthy of consideration, were married. Princess Duchess Shinylocks Kate attended and dared wear the same coat she wore five years ago.
Thankfully, The Daily Mail was there to document her Unforgivable Clothing Sin.
But as she arrived at Canonbury Kirk for Zara Phillips’ wedding this afternoon wearing a dress that has rested in her wardrobe for more than five years, it sent out the clear message that Kate has no desire to act as Royal clothes horse – nor did she wish to turn Zara’s big day into a fashion parade.
But that wasn’t the only time Kate dared reuse clothing!
It is the second time this weekend that Kate has broken out a trusty favourite. At the pre-wedding cocktail party yesterday, Kate chose to wear a green Diane Von Furstenberg dress she had worn previously at a reception during her and William, the Duke of Cambridge’s, tour of Los Angeles earlier this month.
In an attempt to make the outfit look different, Kate teamed it with a pair of black patent heels – in contrast to the nude court shoes she accessorised it with last time.
There are also some helpful side-by-side comparisons exposing just how often the newly minted royal rewears.
Wearing a Dian Von Furstenberg dress only once seems like more of a travesty than wearing the same Diane Von Furstenberg dress every single day of your life, but what do I know? I’m not attuned to the fashion expectations of the British Press, nor do I understand the appeal of only wearing an outfit once. Unless the clothing is made of self-destructing tissue paper, most of it is meant to be laundered, pressed and donned again, perhaps in a different configuration, right?
If this is a concern for the royal family, Kate could easily avoid future rewearings by declaring fashion prima nocta on all clothing that’s to be sold in the UK, but I hope that’s not necessary. There’s no shame in being sensible with fashion! I can only imagine the commentary that I’d get if I had photographers following me around. There’d be pages and pages of me wearing the same jean shorts and red windbreaker. “Doesn’t she have any other clothes?!” the headlines would implore. Yes, but they’re all dirty.
Haven’t we seen that outfit somewhere before? Kate turns up to Zara’s wedding in a coat she last wore in 2006 [Daily Mail]
Article source: http://jezebel.com/5826268/duchess-kate-dares-wear-the-same-thing-more-than-once
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen love fashion and they’re always working on style related projects like creating their own high-end labels and designing exclusive tee shirts for Style Mint. are embarking on a philanthropic project that involves one of their most favorite things: fashion. They are teaming up with TOMS shoes, a brand of footwear that matches every purchase by giving a pair to the less fortunate children in underdeveloped countries around the world.
The project involved Ashley and Mary Kate to design a limited-edition collection of trendy footwear and then delivering shoes to a group of kids in Honduras. They were also joined by volunteers who helped with the shoe fitting process.
Its always nice when celebrities use their efforts and talents to help those in need, and the efforts of the Olsens should certainly be applauded. For most of us, shoes are a fashion statement but for those who aren’t so fortunate enough to have basic necessities, shoes are a luxury. Its heartwarming to see companies and celebrities working together to make life a little more pleasant for others. I wonder what their shoe collection looks like and I wonder when the shoes will be available for purchase? What do you think of their latest fashion design project?
News info from Cambio
About Anna Peel
Anna Peel is a professional freelance writer who lives in Savannah, Georgia. Much of her work can be found on various websites including CheapToday and Wasabi Media Group. She also writes for her own shopping blog Shop In Chic.
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Article source: http://www.bsckids.com/2011/07/mary-kate-and-ashley-olsen-team-up-with-toms-shoes-for-fashion-philanthropy/
It’s six a.m. on an overcast, windy morning in Old Montreal and a team of hair, makeup, wardrobe, and set stylists are busily preparing for what could be a thirteen-hour day shooting fashion retailer Jacob’s fall ad campaign.
The campaign launches this week and is intended to showcase the company’s new “Live Chic” lifestyle concept, along with its new fall fashion lineup.
The weeks and hours of preparation leading up to any fashion shoot are generally long and filled with labour-intensive tasks, and with the exception of the final images, most shoots fall short on glamour — unless you’re working with internationally acclaimed Canadian-born supermodel Coco Rocha, and a large and well-appointed crew.
“We’ve been planning this photo shoot for two months or longer, with so many steps along the way. We feel that Coco Rocha perfectly embodies the “Live Chic” spirit of our fall clothing line and we love that Coco is Canadian, super successful and also has not been afraid to speak her mind over the years,” says Cristelle Basmaji, Jacob’s Director of Marketing and Communications.
Known for working with designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce Gabbana, Balenciaga, Christian Lacroix, Chanel and Lanvin for high-end editorial and cover shoots, Rocha is perhaps almost as well known for her spirited style both on and off the runway.
Rocha is one of the few models who has spoken out publicly on the somewhat taboo topic of the fashion industry pressure often placed on models to maintain almost anorexic-looking bodies in order to fit size two and smaller sample sizes.
Rocha also breaks new ground with this campaign, by allowing her image to appear without retouching by Jacob, in compliance with the retailer’s official commitment to stop digitally altering the body silhouettes of models for both its Jacob and Jacob Lingerie brands, a policy implemented in September 2010.
“I’m excited to be working in Montreal with Jacob and to be a part of their non-body retouching policy on this campaign. One piece of advice that I’d like to offer young women, is that it’s better to enjoy your life and to be healthy rather than to glamourize being a model and all that may entail,” says Rocha.
“Remember that when you see my photograph and those of other models, they’re usually retouched, and that I have a team of professional makeup artists, hair and wardrobe stylists, lighting experts and other professionals helping me to look my best,” she adds.
Jacob’s fall ad campaign features Rocha in a series of fall fashions shot on the streets of Old Montreal and in a mansion in Outremont, by Montreal native Norman Jean Roy.
Roy, who is currently based in Los Angeles and New York, elected to capture images both digitally and with film, a medium that can deliver a grainier texture to complement the campaign’s final black and white images.
Fall styles from Jacob showcase a stronger emphasis on knits, including draped “duo” cardigans, classic sweater sets, skirts, flowing dresses and unlined boiled wool sweater coats. Key colours include gray, black, papaya, red and tan.
More traditional pieces, such as equestrian-influenced blazers, striped and dotted blouses, striped and floral dresses and pants carry out the tailored look. Must-have accessories are scarves and floppy felt hats, which lend both an air of mystery and playfulness to any outfit.
Article source: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/27/supermodel-coco-rocha-teams-up-with-jacob
Fashion: Olsens put their best feet forward
Those Olsen girls have got some fashion flair: their luxury label The Row
narrowly missed out on an award from the Council of Fashion Designers of
America earlier this year, and now they’ve announced a collaboration with
footwear label Toms. Rendered in the brand’s signature espadrille style,
their line swaps the standard canvas material for soft, sumptuous Italian
leather and snuggly cashmere. But just like any other pair of Toms, each
purchase will be matched by the donation of a pair of shoes to children in
the Third World. Available now, from 110, toms.co.uk
Face to watch: Hannah Arterton
Prepare for a sister act as the younger sibling of Hollywood starlet Gemma
arrives on the thespian scene – just out of Rada, she’s set to make her
professional debut alongside Tracey Ullmann in Stephen Poliakoff’s new play
My City.
Lexpionage: Sigh-on-the-wall, adj.
A genre of television programming in which subjects are lmed continuously
while rendering viewers paralytic with ennui – see Five’s reboot of Big
Brother/most of the BBC3 schedules
Social networking: Match the tweet to the star
David Lynch, Stuart Baggs, Zooey Deschanel, Roseanne Barr
1. I kinda just moved from one chair to another all day.
2. Dear Twitter Friends, I’m going to make 2 gray-violet shapes for long arms
this weekend. What are you all going to do? Have a great weekend.
3. this is the age of insanity and terrorism. G-d help us all! we could have
peace so easily!
4. Reading the top tweets for “Dear Taylor Swift” has caused me to
instantly vomit over my keyboard.
Answers at the bottom of the page
App watch #29: Biophilia
Ever the state-of-the-art songstress, Bjrk has decided to unveil her new
material via this digital “cosmos”. Songs can be added as they are
released in coming weeks via individual sub-apps, which will incorporate
interactive games, audiovisual displays and academic essays. Free to
download, then 1.49 per sub-app
On the radar: Because some things are still worth getting excited about…
Art: Curtain Call
Go full circle with this new installation by designer/artist Ron Arad at
London’s Roundhouse. A ring of 5,600 silicon rods, it will act as a canvas
for films, music and performance. 9-29 August, roundhouse.org.uk
Music: Girls
A ballad entitled “Vomit”? Such are the off-kilter ideas spewed up
by this Californian psychedelic group, back with a glorious,
gospel-flavoured freakout in advance of their second LP. ind.pn/qWYAcY
Food: Vintage Tea Party
Bring out the bone china for this book from vintage guru Angel Adoree, which
features advice on holding a retro shindig alongside recipes for
old-fashioned fancies including rose-petal sandwiches. 20, Mitchell Beazley
MATCH THE TWEET: 1. ZOOEY DESCHANEL; 2. DAVID LYNCH; 3. ROSEANNE BARR ; 4.
STUART BAGGS
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“Regardless of the recession, one thing that makes every woman feel good is a pair of shoes,” said Sasha Charnin Morrison, fashion director of Us Weekly magazine in New York. “Cars are to men as shoes are to women. It’s about height and power. The high heel literally raises your status, especially if it’s an expensive shoe.”
What’s hot
When it comes to design trends in the industry, Morrison said there is a definite gravitation toward outrageousness.
“The popular shoes have platforms on the front,” she says. “Victoria Beckham wears a 5- or 6-inch heel with a platform front. If you want to try a look of the stars, you can follow somebody like Beckham, who wears heels even when she’s pregnant. You can also follow what Kate Middleton, Blake Lively and Sarah Jessica Parker are wearing.”
Little’s shoe designer of choice is Anne Klein and Coach because, she said, “they tend to match both style and comfort and are well made.”
The shoe designer du jour, or the next “Jimmy Choo,” according to Meghan Cleary, shoe expert and author of “Shoe are You?” is Jerome Rousseau (jeromecrousseau.com).
“He’s got a huge fashionista following, huge celeb following and his footwear designs are truly exciting in that he has seriously reinvented some new footwear silhouettes, which is incredibly difficult to do since basic shoe design has stayed the same for thousands of years,” she said. “Some other designers to watch are Nicholas Kirkwood, Max Kibardin, Chrissie Morris and Nicole Brundage and Beatrix Ong.”
One celebrity who has put her own unique spin on how to wear shoes is Lady Gaga.
From her tiptoe ballet-style high-heeled shoes to the heel-less designs, Lady Gaga always surprises.
But if you’re looking for styles that are more for everyday wear, Morrison said Lady Gaga doesn’t fit that category.
“Gaga is more performance art,” Morrison said. “She’s drama and theater and it’s hard to wear shoes like that, but people love looking at her.”
Custom design
If you would prefer to become your own footwear designer and customize your own shoes, several companies have custom options, including Nike, where you can even design your own sneakers.
Milk and Honey and Eidia Lush are two other companies where you can design your own look.
If you would prefer a replica of your favorite designer shoe for a fraction of the cost, you can customize your own shoes to look like the real thing.
Redo My Shoe customizes high-end pumps, flats, sandals or even boots to look like your favorite designer’s shoe.
There’s also http://shoes.tv, an entire Web channel that offers 24/7 news and entertainment about women’s shoes.
If a pair of Manolo’s aren’t in your budget, Marshall suggests checking out Jessica Simpson’s shoe line.
“If you’re savvy and you have an idea of what you like, the Jessica Simpson line of shoes are amazing and not that expensive.”
Singer Bette Midler once said, “Give a girl the correct footwear and she can conquer the world.”
Whether it’s heels or flats, sandals or boots, designers have a shoe for every taste and budget.
Article source: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110731/LIFE13/107310341/Step-into-your-personality-shoes?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CLife%7Cs
One of the biggest fashion stories this season is prints. As a recent article in the New York Times stated “from high design to main street, there is an explosion of surface decoration, whether it is led by riotous color ..
Read more from the original source:
Summer 2011 Trend: Fit to Print | FashionWindows Blog
Welcome to My Wardrobe, a peek into the closets of Edmontonians known for their style savvy. Every other week, we’ll ask one of the city’s best-dressed to show us around and tell us what their closets say about them.
For an archive of the series and an interactive online tour of each closet spotlighting select items, log on to edmontonjournal.com/life.
Mona Ismaeil’s wardrobe is filled with fiery hues, bold animal prints, luxurious fabrics and high heels. Ismaeil has a weakness for heels.
“I’m a typical girl,” says the 25-year-old, and she has a typical closet – just filled out, perhaps, by a few more scarves and turtlenecks.
Ismaeil, a Grade 5 teacher at the Edmonton Islamic Academy, is a devout Muslim who adheres to her religion’s requirement to dress modestly. Everyday, Ismaeil dons a hijab that covers her hair. Rarely does she expose more than her feet, hands and face.
“Realistically, hijab is just a scarf that you wrap around your hair. But being a girl who wears hijab, it is a way of life,” says Ismaeil, who was born and raised in Jasper. At 18, she moved to Edmonton, where she eventually earned a bachelor’s degree at Concordia University College.
Ismaeil sees her hijab as a giant “Ask Me” sign for Islam, which she says is much more diverse than most people think it is.
“I wear it as an outward expression of my faith,” she says. “I want people to ask me about it – about the hijab, about Islam, about fasting, about everything about our religion.”
Today, Ismaeil tells Style about her struggles with the hijab, how she balances faith with fashion, and what it means to be a modern Muslim woman.
How long have you been wearing hijab? It’s only been 2-1/2 years.
I’d always been fairly modest. I mostly wore short sleeves – T-shirts – but never spaghetti straps or really short shorts. My skirts and shorts always went to my knees – still fairly modest, so it wasn’t a hard transition for me. The only difference was going from short sleeves to long sleeves.
I didn’t buy brand new clothes. I just wore what I wore before and just adapted it. For example, I’m just wearing a long sleeve turtleneck underneath (my vest), that’s it.
Do you have a lot of turtlenecks then? You only need a few basic ones – black, white and grey – and I just wear those pretty much all the time.
Does it ever get frustrating to have to layer all the time and wear clothing differently than how it was intended?
Sometimes it’s frustrating when I want to wear something, but it ruins it when I wear it. It’ll look really cute on somebody else and then when I put something underneath it, it looks stupid. The other option is you can wear a jacket overtop or a cardigan overtop. It’s more like how it’s supposed to be worn, but I prefer to wear something underneath.
Is there a certain type of clothing that you’re drawn to?
I like a lot of these tops – flowy, sheer, fancy-type things. These actually work really well with stuff underneath it.
You still get the shapelessness that we’re supposed to (have) to keep it modest. When it floats away, you don’t see a tight figure. (Tunics) actually work really well for us (too.) Lots of them are long, so most girls will wear it as a dress . and I just wear skinny jeans, so (the tunic) still covers my behind.
Article source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Faith+fashion/5183381/story.html
Long before he was Hollywood’s favorite shoe designer, the then-25-year-old Brian Atwood received his first indication that his fortune would be tied to footwear. “Somewhere I have a cassette tape of a psychic telling me that I was going to be famous for something to do with feet,” he says, laughing. “I was still modeling at the time, so she said, ‘Maybe you’re going to get the Nike campaign.’ My reaction was, ‘Yeah, right, honey.’”
Though he didn’t know it then, Atwood’s psychic friend was right on the money. Soon after he launched his eponymous collection in 2001, Debra Messing wore a pair of his saucy gladiator sandals to the Screen Actors Guild Awards—“I know she liked them because she bought them herself, at Neiman Marcus,” Atwood says—and name-checked him on the red carpet. The next day, stylists started calling, all clamoring for Messing’s shoe. Atwood soon found himself in the enviable position of being the footwear designer every actress turned to when she wanted to ratchet up the erotic appeal of anything from a sundress to a couture gown. If Manolo Blahnik is the grand statesman of the limousine heel and Christian Louboutin its Gallic provocateur, Atwood is its Tom Ford, a handsome, gay, dark-haired 6-footer who makes women go weak in the knees. It’s a reaction that’s due partly to his good looks but mostly to the way his shoes make their wearer feel: sexy and empowered. Since his initial success, Atwood has gone from hit to hit. (His longtime BFF, Rachel Zoe, whose clients include Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, and Demi Moore, is just one significant supporter.) His latest is the deceptively simple Maniac, a platform pump inspired by the shoes Jennifer Beals wore in the poster for Flashdance, which is endowed with almost mythical leg-lengthening qualities. For the starlets who buy their Maniacs in every glossy candy color he makes, Atwood’s designs represent the very pinnacle of the cobbler’s art—his fans simply wouldn’t walk the red carpet without him.
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With the debut this fall of B Brian Atwood, a lower-priced companion line to his signature collection that he’s currently launching with Jones New York, Atwood is about to expand his fan base beyond the elite $700-shoe club. Though not exactly in the Payless category—core prices for B will run from $200 to $400, spiking to $600 for boots—the new line will bring his signature sexy but refined aesthetic into the realm of possibility for the legions of women who’ve coveted his designs but have been unable to afford them (handbags and jewelry are also in the works, ladies). And the last time we checked, Payless didn’t offer anything nearly as satisfying as Atwood’s patchwork leopard-print ponyskin knee-high boots—“When all the colors come together, they actually become a neutral you can wear with anything,” he promises—or silver Lurex pumps with an ankle-flattering, heart-shape vamp and a sweetly seductive disco vibe.
Atwood’s attention to details, like the curve of a toe box and the shape of a last, remains as sharp as ever for B, but his references have shifted slightly to encompass a hipper, more downtown customer. “The Brian Atwood girl loves to be looked at,” he says. “She’s all about glamour. The B girl is cooler and edgier, a bit of a tomboy. She’s more Sartorialist than the red carpet. She wears a high heel, but she likes a boot she can run around town in, too.”
Atwood has had definite ideas about what women want from their footwear since he was growing up in Chicago with a single mother and a houseful of three sisters. “I’ve been sketching shoes since I was a kid—always high heels. And I loved to see my mother in high heels. What that says about me, I don’t know!” he jokes.
But despite his early fascination with stilettos and the psychic’s attempted intervention, Atwood didn’t jump straight into shoe design. After studying fashion design at FIT and modeling for a few years, he applied for a job at Versace in 1996. He handwrote his résumé while he was in Milan on a modeling assignment and dropped it off at the label’s Via Manzoni offices. “They called me back that day,” he says. “It was meant to be.”
Atwood’s hiring was momentous for both parties—he was the first American to work at Versace, and though he worked as a women’s wear designer at Versus, he was quickly singled out by Gianni Versace, who Italianized his name to “Brianino” and suggested he try his hand at footwear, eventually putting him in charge of the main collection’s shoes and accessories. Atwood launched his eponymous line with Donatella Versace’s approval, staying on at the fashion house for a few more years while he built up his name, before departing in 2005. He signed on as the creative director at Bally in 2007, revamping both ready-to-wear and accessories for the 160-year-old Swiss brand while continuing to design his eponymous collection. When Atwood left Bally last year, he knew he wanted to return his focus to footwear.
“I had this feeling of ‘This is it—it’s time to really do what I love,’ ” he says. “I wanted to concentrate on shoes in a bigger way.” His agent suggested he do a more mass brand and proposed teaming up with Jones, which over the past few years has glamorized its once staid reputation via partnerships with Jessica Simpson and Rachel Roy and by buying a stake in Stuart Weitzman. Within the course of just a few meetings, Atwood was drawing the shoes that would make up B’s inaugural collection. “Good deals always come together fast,” he says. “It was the perfect opportunity at the perfect time.”
Article source: http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/Brian-Atwood-B
By
Mimi Spencer
Last updated at 8:00 PM on 30th July 2011
Pretty in prints: Yasmin Le Bon
Pick of the bunch: Prada
Hello ladies. Pull up a sangria! Pop on your wacky shades! It’s high summer, which means it’s high time to dive into a top trend that has, for a while now, been floating around in the pool of style like a giant inflatable armchair, waiting for us all to leap aboard. Now that the kids are out of school, the barbecue’s smouldering and that office suit you’ve been wearing for months can go hang, it’s fine to embrace the silly season. Honeys, prepare yourselves for an idiotic riot of prints.
I’m not talking subtle, low-key prints, you understand. You need to let rip here. Imagine the towels of St Tropez, in all their blisteringly bright glory, tacked together (with the emphasis on ‘tack’). Wear them all. Imagine a tropical fruit salad, with kumquats and physalises, chunks of pineapple and slices of kiwi. Pile it on. Imagine you’ve been invited to one of those 1970s terrace parties where everyone gets smashed on martinis and falls into the swimming pool. Got it? That’s how you need to dress for high summer: lots of print, lots of colour, and 100-watt super-bright accessories – acid-green shoes that you can locate even in a darkened room, neon-yellow clutch bags (get yours from Christopher Kane) and, most importantly, to really tap the trend, a ridiculous pair of patterned trews.
Print trousers have an unerring ability to make one’s legs look upholstered, like two great draught excluders
Ah. Have I lost you now? Thought as much. Print trousers are the trickiest trouser to pull off. Or pull on. They have an unerring ability to make one’s legs look upholstered, like two great draught excluders, or a couple of rolls of curtain fabric knocked down in the sale. There is very little of elegance here, as I might have mentioned to my friend Fantasia, who’s been wearing patterned cotton trousers ever since the snows melted. ‘I’m not convinced,’ I sniffed as she walked into the room, sporting a flamboyant-print tee (pink roses against a lavish bed of foliage), a kimono jacket (early Ming style) and star-print bottoms. ‘You look like the sale rail at TK Maxx.’
The point, it transpires, is precisely this: to mismatch your prints in a knowing fashion, so that the eye performs a jazzy dance and doesn’t quite know where to focus. You could, perhaps, top your emerald-green statement pants from Topshop with (gulp) a milkshake-swirl jacket from Banana Republic. You could go tribal-print tunic over (steel yourself) leopard-print pegs from River Island. You could do stars and stripes. Or paisley and fair isle. Or apples and pears (thanks to Miuccia Prada, fruit cocktails are very now). In fact, you can do anything as long as it makes a fantastic noise. The effect is kitsch, electric, dizzy, cheesy and about as sophisticated as a poke in the eye with a lit sparkler. Connoisseurs call it ‘print-blocking’, though I call it summer madness. Still, it will certainly get you noticed at the bar.
Personally, I’d wear print pants with a plain white tee (very plain, very white). Plus easy-going hair. Bare feet. A straw shopper. That way, this trend might just find its way into my holiday suitcase. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
VICTORIA’S HOT 100
It is six seasons since Victoria Beckham won over the fashion world with her eponymous label of figure-flattering frocks. Her autumn collection, which debuts coats, celebrates her 100th dress design. Chosen to reflect everything VB set out to achieve with her range, Dress 100, fashioned in double crepe, hit the catwalk in saffron yellow (pictured) but will also be available in black and dark sand.
£1,395, from net-a-porter.com
PONY EXPRESS
Uber session stylist Luke Hersheson is the brains behind Hershesons Blow Dry Bars – an offshoot of his father Daniel’s salon empire. His latest venture, Hershesons Pony Club, has just launched as a pop-up hair bar in Topshop’s Oxford Circus store in London. Open until the end of August, it offers five different ponytail and plait hairpieces to transform your look.
Hairpieces cost £60, including hair wash and fitting. To book call 020 7927 7888
They’re darling!
BUSTIER, £86, and BRIEFS, £65, both Stella McCartney, from foxandrose.com
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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2019042/Fashion-life-I-predict-riot---of.html
