Dover Street Market Sale

It's started. Today is the first of day of the DSM sale, happening in London right now! The theme is 'Museum' and will see reductions of 75%! Ahhhhh to be in London.......

New Designer Crush

MSGM is a relatively new brand, founded in 2008. As said on the website, the designer, Massimo Giorgetti, is a talented DJ using his talent to create 'a Kaleidoscope world made of colours, shapes and lines capable of inexorably catching the public interest and attention and acknowledging MSGM as one the most intriguing brand of the moment'. Available in 280 stores worldwide, including at ASOS and Matches. Below are a some of my favourite looks.

Women Pre-Fall 2012

 

Women Fall Winter 2012

 

Women Cruise Collection 2012

 

Women Spring Summer 2012

The Met Ball

Another year and another Met Ball. Yes is it all about what everyone is wearing - a chance for the fashion elite to don their ball gowns and tuxes, but let's not forget what happens once they ascend the stairs and disappear into the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Last year was a poignant one, celebrating the tragically short but nevertheless incredibly work of Alexander McQueen. I was lucky enough to see the exhibition when I was in New York last summer, it was pretty great and pretty surreal to be in the presence of not only such beautiful and interesting clothes, but also such renowned talent. 

This year the museum decided to show the work of not one but two designers: Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada. The exhibition, entitled Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations, will run up until August 19th - a mere 7 days before a will be in New York - I'm missing it by a week!! For all the details visit the Met's website, which features the 'conversations' between Schiaparelli and Prada directed by Baz Luhrmann.

But back to the red carpet - there were many feathers, a few capes, and a whole lot of metallic. Diane Kruger always is a vision of perfection, and always a favourite of mine. Not only is she just so damn stunning but she never fails to look elegant and stylish. Last night she wore a Prada gown with an ostrich-feather hem in a vibrant shade of purple. 

Brit Marling, center, in Valentino, with designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli

Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren.

Trouser Suits

Trousers suits seem to be everywhere at the moment and I wish I could buy one and actually have somewhere to wear it to. I've always been a fan of the tuxedo look on a woman, sort of classic and powerful without losing any sexiness. Kate Moss recently wore a silver two-piece suit at a charity event, her take on what is shaping up to be a big trend - metallic. 

But it's not just metallic, pastel is also having a moment - I'm particularly liking this one from The Kooples:

Bright colours are also a hot look:

The look originally found fame in the form of Yves Saint Laurent and Le Smoking tuxedo, famously photographed by Helmut Newton - arguably one of my all time favourite fashion photographs. What Le Smoking stands for - minimalism, androgyny, power - was especially poignant at the time. I love the slicked back hair in Newton's photograph and what the symbolism of it, the feeling of liberation for women from the constraints of 'feminine' fashion.

All in all a fascinating outfit in my opinion - I just can't get enough!

Digital Revolution

Textile printing is a longstanding and heavily used technology that has seen dramatic changes. Originally occurring solely by hand, textile printing was mechanised in 1743. A further radical innovation came in 1991 with the introduction digital technology. Although screen-printing is no longer the most recent method it continues to dominate the industry, which poses questions for the relevance of digital textile printing. But what are the benefits of computer-aided design? And how can the process revolutionise the way we print?


Digital textile printing has faced a remarkable amount of negative opinions, criticised for being too 'mechanical' producing 'lifeless' results. However, there is a wave of new designers that are making a name for themselves utilising the new form of textile printing, producing prints unobtainable with screen-printing. Mary Katrantzou is one of many that represent a new kind of designer, one which has fully embraced the digital change and with it all the new possibilities previously unimaginable. Designers are able to upload pictures and manipulate them to form unusual prints, just like Helmut Lang who used a photo taken on his iPhone as a basis for a print:

Although technology demands continue to be fairly high, and digital printers unable to match the speed of screen-printers, the new method does present a number of benefits. Lead times have been reduced to under 24 hours which is extremely important in the fashion-industry which is becoming increasingly fast paced. As well as economic benefits digital textile printing is more environmentally friendly, a trend more and more important to consumers and society. 

This shift from mechanical printing to digital reflects the larger change in our daily life. Technology is everywhere and has had massive implications to all types of industries. Change is good. It opens up more opportunities and can render new innovative results. Innovations in the textile industry are immense from an actual invisibility cloak to solar fabrics. Understandably, tradition is also good and has a place in the industry, however, it's hard to ignore the experimental and creative uses of digital textile printing. 

Another Earth

Another Earth along with Melancholia and Perfect Sense belongs to a currently popular genre of sci-fi mixed with every day happenings: fear, regret, hope. From American writer, producer, director and actor Brit Marling, the film won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. A story about devastating accident that changes everything, bringing two people from two very different lives together, at the same exact moment that an identical Earth is discovered. The idea of there being 'another you' out there begs the question what choices did they make? A beautifully shot film with great performances from Brit and William Mapother.

It's all in the Collar

As of late collars are having a moment. They are everywhere, from shirts to dresses to jackets, the collar is in the spotlight. There is so much that can be said by how you wear your collar. With a tie for the corporate banker, buttoned up to the top for the cool indie kind, under a v-neck jumper for the preppy look, or big and sparkly for evening glamor. One simple white shirt can be worn in numerous ways completely transforming the message conveyed by the outfit. How you wear your collar says a lot. 

Via Glamour

However, it is now not simply the matter of how you wear your collar, but also how you decorate it. From big chunky necklaces, to bow ties, to collar tips, the possibilities are endless. What I love is how a classic staple such as the white shirt, is styled by individuals in entirely different ways. 

Images via various tumblrs including Teen Vogue.