First Look: David Koma’s Patchwork Peplums and Holly Fulton’s Deco Skyscrapers

LONDON–It was back to the BFC tents this morning, where David Koma and Holly Fulton showed off their Spring 2011 offerings.

First up was Koma, whose pale pink, yellow and gold peplums continued on with the mood of the week. And he showed wedges–another big trend, I’ve realized. According to The Daily, London Fashion Week’s newspaper, editors already hate kitten heels and are retreating back to wedges, which are “more comfortable.” I think the lower you are to the ground the easier it is to walk, but I’m also a girl who’s usually in flats.

But I digress. If Koma’s looks were totally on track with London’s current fashion feeling, then Holly Fulton’s where on track with her own feelings. The designer–whose gorgeous, graphic, art deco jewelry is as integral to her collection as the clothes–did go ‘70s, but it was still distinctly her. Fulton, who worked under Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, was sponsored by Swarovski this season, and theirs is a sensible partnership. Fulton’s flat rhinestone bib necklaces, which often match the pattern on her pastel, late 60s-style trousers and shit dresses, are certainly her best sellers, and with reason.

Michael van der Ham’s Mixed Media

You can’t consider Michael van der Ham without considering Rodarte. The Los Angeles-based sisters’ influence on the Netherlands-born designer is undeniable when you look at his Spring 2011 collection, shown today at the Topshop space in Waterloo Station.

But van der Ham does something with his clothes that the Rodarte sisters have difficulty pulling off: Despite the mismatched prints and odd seam placement, his collection always looks clean, polished and pretty. I was particularly fond of the summer velvet Pollini shoes he used in the show, as well as the very unique colored crystals he incorporated into his looks. (As a Swarovski sponsored designer, van der Ham had access to the company’s vast crystal archive. However, not all of his peers utilize this privilege in such an impressive way.)

Would You Rather…? The Givenchy Haute Couture Edition

Who wears their Givenchy couture better, Vogue Paris EIC Carine Roitfeld or blogger extraordinaire Bryanboy? Either way it’s a win for leopards everywhere.

The Major Leagues: Vivienne Westwood Red Label and Matthew Williamson Spring 2011

Most of the shows in London are super, super cool–Hannah Marshall‘s Rankin video, anyone?–but not slickly produced. I personally think this is a good thing–I always love intimate shows where the audience gets an up close and personal view of the garments.

However, the better-known a designer is, the more pressure there is to put on a grand spectacle. Yesterday, two of London’s most well-known designers, Vivienne Westwood and Matthew Williamson, staged major shows. With very different results.

Vivienne Westwood is a legend, and with good reason. So many of her dress and suit silhouettes, as well as her shoes, are nearly as classic as a pair of Chanel ballet flats or a YSL Le Smoking. But the difference between Westwood and the aforementioned designers is that they kept evolving, for better or worse. To me, Westwood’s look, as evident on today’s Red Label catwalk, never really changes. The clothes looked good–I really, really liked many of them–but could I discern this collection from a 2002 or 2005 runway? Maybe not, save for the model’s hairstyles.

Williamson, whose career is still young when compared with Westwood’s, also continues to design for a very specific “girl.” She’s young, tan, and holidays in Ibiza (in a secluded home, of course, as to avoid the chavs). But unlike Westwood, he changes it up a bit each season, keeping in mind what the store buyer really wants. This spring, that included a macrame dress, washed satin blazers, and yes, a few colorful prints on long, flowing frocks. Altogether, it was an intelligent collection. It looked anything but staid, while staying true to Williamson’s overall brand and vision.

I Need, I Want, I Have to Have: Richard Nicoll Spring 2011

LONDON–You know that a show’s good when you begin trying to work out in your mind how you’re going to fit at least one piece, if not two, into your budget next year. That’s how I felt when I was watching Richard Nicoll‘s Spring 2011 show. I haven’t yet decided which piece I want to splurge on, but I have narrowed it down to ten:

1. Black dress with sheer t-shirt. I love the juxtaposition of the sheer tee underneath the Amish-y dress.

2.Sheer pin dot button down shirt over a black and white accordion pleated skirt. I’m loving the accordion pleat trend, and this is a a great interpretation of it.

3. White dress, sheer black tee, slight peplum waist. I mean, it’s perfect? Also, Lindsey Wixson‘s Swarovski-covered sunnies were kind of incredible.

4.Asymmetrical dress with sheer skirt and leather bodice. So yeah. I’d wear leather in the heat of summer if it was in the form of this dress.

5.Sheer pin dot blouse and black leather pants. I’m definitely wearing my leather leggings tomorrow. Also, I love pin dot.

6.Sparkly cardigan. This cardi sparkled in a way that Natalie Portman’s cardigan sparkled on Charlie Rose about ten years ago. I remember this cardigan so clearly because it made me even more jealous of Natalie, who at the time was the most perfect girl in the world.

7. Black deep v dress. I’d wear this with Church’s brogues. I love dressing like a nun. Seriously.

8. Leather mermaid skirt. The hem on this skirt is just incredible.

9. Sheer pin dot cardigan. White wide leg pants. That cardigan may be the must-have.

10. Pale pink baseball jacket piped in dusty rose. I used to have a baseball jacket from the Gap. This made me wish I still did.

Fashion News Roundup: Bedbugs Hit Fifth Ave, Taylor Momsen Is In Her Underwear (Again) and On Fire, and Giles Deacon to NYFW

Bedbugs Swoosh: The bed bugs are back (were they every really gone?). Their latest victim? The 95,000 square-foot Nike store on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. While Nike has released a press release addressing the bedbug problem, none of the signs outside let passersby know that the store has been infested with bedbugs. Sneaky. {The Cut}

Taylor Momsen Is on Fire, Literally: Taylor Momsen and her band The Pretty Reckless have released their new video for ‘Makes Me Wanna Die.’ In it, Momsen strips down to her underwear while walking through bits of burning debris and leaping flames. Shocking. {Huffington Post}

Giles Comes To NYFW: Maybe. Following the steps of other UK designers such as Preen and William Tempest, Giles Deacon wants to show his eponymous label in New York next season rather than London. {Fashionologie}

No More LV For You: According to Madison Avenue Spy, Louis Vuitton’s classic handbags are nearly extinct. Sorta–they’re just almost sold out of their classic Monogram canvas bags. According to a sales associate, the shortage has been going on world wide for almost a month now. Perhaps their pulling a Chanel and creating a shortage to boost holiday sales? {Madison Avenue Spy}

Models Read Racked went behind the scenes at NYFW to investigate what models are reading back stage. Every time they came across a model holding a book, they snapped a shot. Some books spotted were The Great Gatsby, Under The Dome, and Lord Of The Flies. {Racked}

Repetto x Opening Ceremony: Repetto for Opening Ceremony has hit floors. OC has also installed a Repetto shop in shop at both their LA and NY stores featuring the entire Repetto collection as well as the special edition collaborations. {Opening Ceremony}

Shop London Fashion Week’s Estethica Designers For the First Time on YOOX

Seven years ago, The British Fashion Council set out on a mission to make fashion just a little bit more ecofriendly. In order to do so, they established Estethica–an exhibition of innovative designers committed to working sustainably.

After seven years of success at London Fashion Week, Estethica and the BFC have decided to make the eco sustainable design exhibition available to consumers world wide through a collaboration with ecommerce site YOOX.com. To coincide with this week’s London Fashion Week, YOOX created an online retail space specifically for a selection of Estethica designers called Yooxygen.

While the name “Yooxygen” leaves something to be desired, it is an exciting opportunity for fashionistas who care about where their clothes come from. The clothes on Yooxygen are made sustainably but don’t look it. Instead of the predictable earth tones and rough fabrics made out of hemp and bamboo that other “green” fashion lines usually produce, these designers actually put out fresh innovative designs that we’d want to wear.

DIY Video: P.S. I Made This…Denim Messenger Bag

Erica Domesek is the craftiest girl we know. And we’re not talking crafty as in macaroni necklaces and potholders here. She’s glamor with a glue gun, taking runway trends and recreating them DIY-style with materials from the party supplies aisles and hardware stores, breaking each project down on her site, P.S. I Made This. And now all of Domesek’s best P.S. I Made This projects are bound in print: Her new book, P.S. I Made This, is out this week.

A few weeks ago out in Montauk, Domesek walked Lauren and me through repurposing an old pair of jean shorts by turning them into adorable messenger bags with chain link straps. We’re not quite as crafty as Erica, but she made it easy, and it’s easy to follow along in this video. It’s the first of three in a DIY series we’re working on with Erica, and the next project is Alexander Wang-inspired so stay tuned.

Now grab your ratty old jean shorts (it’s finally cool enough to be retiring them anyway), get inspired and repeat Domesek’s mantra: “I see it, I like it, I make it.”

Trendspotting: Turbans

There were turbans aplenty during NYFW, both on and off the runways. Some version were more paired down, others were big and wrapped and over the top. Would you, could you, wear a turban?

Adventures In Copyright: Urban Outfitters VS. Proenza Schouler

Urban Outfitters, who is no stranger to our Adventures In Copyright series, is back at it again. This time around the victim is Proenza Schouler. Reader Tina pointed out that the Urban Outfitters’ ‘Realitee Tye Dye Sweatshirt’ looks remarkably similar to a top from Proenza Schouler’s Spring 2010 collection. And we wholeheartedly agree. This is a flagrant knock-off.

The only difference? The Urban Outfitters sweater is made of cotton and costs $48, while the Proenza sweater is made of silk, runs for about $1333, and might be a little harder to get your hands on.

A Message to Modcloth Regarding The “Blog Writer Dress”

Gently priced, self-described “indie” clothing site Modcloth is selling a dress called the “blog writer dress.” It is an off white star-print baby-doll dress with a pinafore-type smock that retails for $131.99. There’s a stereotype about bloggers

that they are slovenly and perma-pajama-ed and stuck in the middle of a macbook-and-couch sandwich. Feeding into that stereotype, Modcloth’s “blog writer dress” looks like a nightgown. For an eight-year-old.

I blog and I edit a blog and I don’t dress like this. Nor do any of my friends who edit and write online. The Gloss took an informal poll of some lady bloggers only to find out that they, too, did not wear, as Triangle Music‘s Valerie Marino calls it, “hipster muumuus,” to work.

But wait, there’s more. Modcloth’s lengthy description of the “blog writer dress”:
“As a full-time blog writer, you know that there’s no reason to sacrifice ease in the name of style when you’re swanning around for hours with your laptop in tow. This loose-fitting babydoll dress makes a perfect match of both with its functional button front, cuffed short sleeves, and dark grey trim. A star-like pattern adds to its charm, as do its useful pockets. Transition from typing at home to meeting up with your readers for cupcakes by adding a fitted blazer, grey tights and a high, sturdy pair of heels, and you’ll be feeling both comfortable and confident as you chat the night away.”

Modcloth copywriter, come to work with me for a day. I go into an office. I don’t “swan” around, and I occasionally I like to wear body conscious dresses instead of hiding my frame in a burlap sack, er, dress. Also? I don’t meet up with my readers for cupcakes.

Not to pigeonhole blog writers, Modcloth also sells a “blog editor” dress. So maybe this description will sum me up better?

“When you’re in the office tracking down deadlines from your writers, you need a dress that’s absolutely comfortable, commanding, and as chic as the styles you feature on your website. The black color of this frock and the structure of its subtley padded shoulders show that you mean business, while the unexpected cutouts on the back of this otherwise simple and sleek, little black dress, along with the fitted cut, portray an expertise in executing a totally on-trend ensemble that will demand respect. And when hunting down a lost article keeps you at your computer well past regular business hours, you’ll appreciate the super soft, flexible composition. Piece it together with black zip-up ankle boots and a few choice accessories for a look as well-composed as the copy you publish in your posts!”

Wrong again. I don’t think anyone should wear a dress that short to work, even if your place of work is a website. A dress with cutouts usually is usually meant for business conducted on the street, not behind a computer screen on wordpress.

But this is all in good fun. Modcloth’s descriptions are actually pretty impressive, and beg the question: Does this mean Modcloth is the new J.Peterman catalogue for hipster millenials? Paging Elaine Benes.

Tying Up Loose Threads from NYFW: Marc by Marc, Phillip Lim and Anna Sui Do What They Do, But They Do It So Well

You sort of know what to expect from Marc by Marc (cheerful, fun, girly), Phillip Lim (sleek, tailored, the clothes I want to wear), and Anna Sui (’70s inspired, kooky, playful), but that is not to say that these designers don’t put out great collections season after season. There’s something comforting, too, in knowing that when you go to see any of these designers, you know you’re in for a good show. And Spring/Summer 2011 was no exception. We’ve also included our final menswear review of George McCracken’s show in this, our final review roundup from New York Fashion Week.

Mark Fast Spring 2011: Fringe Fest

Fringe has played a big role at the London shows, and knitwear king Mark Fast got in on the fun for Spring 2011.

The Canadian born designer, whose body-con spider web dresses have made quite the impression on the fashion industry, only tweaked his signature look slightly for spring, adding in some extravagant fringe–made from horsehair?–more than a few crystals–provided by Swarovski, natch–and a bit of patent leather thrown in for good measure.

Was it revolutionary? Certainly not. But Fast is establishing a signature look. For a young designer, sometimes that’s more important than shocking the audience each season.