Style Bubble

Givenchy's Growth

I’ve always been a little bit confused as to why the editor big wigs like to rain down on Riccardo Tisci’s parade since his appointment at Givenchy.  It borders on victimisation especially in opposition to the way that Nicholas Ghesquiere consistently gets showered with praise.  Criticism such as ‘overly-gimmicky’ or ‘trying too hard’ are the usual crows.

However, the crowing seems to have stopped after the AW08-9 collection was revealed and some have called the collection his best yet and that he has grown up and got his vision all under control.  Perhaps his design sensibilities have always captured what I love which is, and excuse me if this sounds like a throwaway phrase, an alternative vision of beauty, subverted romance.  In this 2007 interview with Riccard Tisci, written by Cathy Horyn, she notes the difference between the reactions from the 'young women' and the editors, how the former have taken to Tisci's designs more so than the latter.  Perhaps I'm just one of the 'young women' who isn't analysing Tisci's work with considerations of whether he is fulfilling the duties of a creative director at an old French fashion house and whether he is attaining perfection.  His experiments and expressions through the seasons seem to always capitvate me in some way even if I don't like the entirity of the collections.

Fortunately, the AW08-9 collection full of Spanish matador influences, Elizabetha high necks and plisse excess is singing to me but not because I feel he has finally come 'out of the "promising" category into a place where he deserves to be seen as a designer who has come of age' (to quote Sarah Mower), but because he has fully explored and pushed a vision that I have seen before in his work. 

Hopefully, I'll get to gush and congratulate him in person as he is the president of this year's Hyeres festival!

It's all on your head

I kid you not when I say that on the ONE day that I was at London Fashion Week, I spotted no less than three people wearing ribbondry of some sort in their hair and on the same day on Oxford Street, of all the generic places, RED satin ribbons in the hair tied into a neat bow were seen on two individual girls.  Diehard Kristen Dunst fans or Miu Miu addicts?  I haven't a clue, but they worked the ribbons in different ways so it could be that the Miu Miu SS08 ad hasn't a jot to do with their ribboned head.  In general, I'm noticing a bigger inclination towards head decoration that just wasn't about a few months ago when everyone was in beanies and berets.

I can't even attribute it to Blair Waldorf (Gossip 'X-O-X-O' Girl)'s addiction to her prim/girly bit of headgear. seeing as the show hasn't started to air yet in the UK, though a small percentage including myself has been guiltily watching it on the internet (the hammy acting and the hilarious 'I'm-evil' looks from Blair and Chuck are both joys to watch...),  Ms. Waldorf favours Jennifer Ouellette, who supplied me with my pheasant feathered headband, so their various arrays of mid-priced headbands are a good option. 

My own obsession with adorning the hair tends to be less neat/cute and more Natasha Khan from Bat for Lashes/Rambo.  If only I had Miss Couturable's array of pretty/chic hairbands to get the barnet under control and also trick people into thinking that I was some sort of a high-achiever in school (which Miss C certainly is!).  Interesting how I don't really use my hairbands to necessarily neaten up the coiff.  If anything, I end up creating a mushroom poofy static effect, especially after a night out prancing around in a sweaty club.    

I wonder if VV Rouleaux has been seeing an increase in sales in correlation with my witnessing a lot more ribbondry on the head.  Anyhow, this has all been a mixture of random musings on ribbons creeping onto people's heads.  This would have had more point to it had I been able to give advice on head decoration.... advice being of course something I'm crap at so you'll just have to stick to the random musings.   

More Love for Louise

First, I mess up the blog on Typepad and now I give you blurry pics. Just call me Calamity Blogging Jane.  Despite my own poor images and the relative flatness of catwalk images (full video here...), I do want to convince people that Louise Amstrup's AW08-9 collection, the first she showed at ON|OFF this season, is darn right beautiful.

At the buying appointment for Brittique at Cube PR, though Ms. Amstrup was there herself to talk me through everything and though she explained that she influenced by David Lynch's female characters, which I found fascinating... the bottom line is that I loved, loved loved practically every piece in the collection.  I don't want to name favourites but I didn't expect to find my staple items within the collection but there you go - a heavy, fabric-laden leather edged wool coat and a semi-hexagonal shaped bag made of strategic panels of patent, light grey and dark grey leather.  I expected to find many instant-love items - i.e. things that I don't really need but that isn't the point.  But not the important weighty things so for just those two items, I could gush about Louise Amstrup.

But then the instant-love items translates into the wonderful details shown by dresses like the ones below.  Rope embellishment, leather straps, satin that has been colour stripped using dye stripper (I'm sorry Louise but I may need to borrow this idea off you....)...   

The intriguing prints were inspired by Man Ray's solarisation/Rayography photographic techniques and they play out on these beautifully draped shirts.   

This one in particular is a beaut as it has this chiffon detailing that drapes down the front and attaches at the back with poppers but you can release it and wear the chiffon as a scarf or whatever way you want...

The colours are also all very 'Susie' and being a die-hard navy fan means this coat combined with leather geometric panels comes a close second to the sweeping one above.  Louise said that the coat can also be worn belted up if the loose bubble look isn't for you.  I also love the double collar detailing that Louise employs frequently.   

I couldn't love the collection properly if it didn't have this array of skirts that it did...  a flared skirt that needs to be lifted up and kicked about to reveal a beautiful orange and ivory satin lining // a side ruffle skirt // that leather panelling is repeated in this skirt.   

I don't think I've said before how I am re-discooering my love for bodies (shock horror!).  But hey... the 80s'-90s' got it right... they do give a very clean line to the bod.  Plus these bodies here are a little more on the interesting side.  Louise says she likes to have a few in every collection.   

Oh, and I'm wearing a Louise Amstrup dress today, a dress that I've worn loose but can be belted in, a feature that Amstrup likes to maintain in her designs.  Actually, there is a general feeling of adaptability and ease of movement in her work, particularly in this collection that is what makes me express the triple L (that's..er.. love by the way....) for Louise Amstrup.  Ease of wear crossed over with complexity, a contrast that is not easy to achieve.