i heart heidi klum!

listening to: 'love story'- mariah carey

so it's been ages, but i'm back. sorry, i've been so exhausted from work etc and i just couldn't really form a cohesive, comprehensible sentence let alone a post.

tonight the first episode of project runway (season 5) has just aired here in new zealand. even though i already know who wins - grr e! channel and perez hilton!!!!! - i still find it so frikkin fascinating to watch. it was apparent that this season is going to the the strongest yet: the general standard set even in episode one was crazy high. my favourite from the show? probably victoria hong's lbd, with the big metallic flower. i thought it was super cute and something i would love to wear myself. that gladiator-inspired, flowy charcoal dress was also really gorgeous: i'm a draping addict, i guess! but at least i can admit it, right?

BUT. i can't stress enough how weird i found it that simone was voted off over that crazy hippy dippy chick (aka rain goddess, as someone - maybe christian? - dubbed her). i thought her dress, while poorly executed and not up to standard finishing-wise, was really pretty (that colour combo basically made me swoon and also made me overlook how wrong wrong wrong the jacket was) and showed more potential than that hideous blue thing with the mental train at the back. seriously, what the hell was that?! spew.

can't wait to see the rest!

id fashion week

listening to: 'kashmir' - led zeppelin

so last week was id fashion week - unless you're from new zealand, you probably haven't even heard of it. it's held right here in dunedin (unfortunately i have never been able to go - tickets are a little out of my student price range haha). airnz new zealand fashion week is held in october, for the last 9 years id has followed on from the official new zealand fashion week.

dunedin is known for being a bit artsy, and it has a pretty solid reputation here in new zealand for having pretty sweet bands and other creative shiz. like some very very talented designers: tanya carlson, for one, is from dunedin and has consistently shown a collection. sadly though this was her final year... before moving north to auckland (gag). other designers who hit the runway - thought to be the longest in the world - this year include cherry cotton candy, nom*d, and keucke. plus a ton more, including capsule collections and also some students from otago polytech's fashion design degree. AND the guest designer this year was none other than adrian hailwood, whose label hailwood has branched out from his signature, adored t-shirts to full on womenswear (and menswear too!). the fact that the place-getters in the emerging designers award were from australia, new zealand and the netherlands of all places should show you how reputable this week is slowly becoming.

i'm super annoyed that the official website didn't have photos of the entire collections; only a review with one or two photos attached. POOR EFFORT. from what i've read and seen, online and in reviews in the otago daily times, the trends set at fashion week follow on from what is currently being shown worldwide. some key trends were:

40s-era silhouettes

inky indigo blue/purple hues including aubergine &violet

capes!

fusion between masculinity/femininity

equestrian-chic

plaid

grey, rather than the previously eponymous black (staple part of the dunedin palette)

fur stoles

although still retaining a tie to an avant-garde vibe so often associated with id - for example, sharn blackwell's 'freaks', which saw unexpected 3d silhouettes traipsing down the runway - the majority of it all was very wearable. this year the focus was on the tailoring, which was superb and illustrated how world-class our national fashion scene is becoming. my only criticism would be that now we need to start leading the trends, rather than following them. designers here have well and truly mastered their craft; but i think it's time to inject some innovation into the collections: new zealanders are always proud of the 'kiwi ingenuity' that runs through our veins, so it would be nice to see that reflected in our clothing. i'm not saying that kiwi designers follow trends to the letter: that is far from the truth. as shown at id, they use worldwide trends as a base and reinvent them according to their personal design asthetics. but it's time to up the ante in the innovation stakes.

to have a wee browse of what was on offer, go here. and let me know what you think of the new zealand fashion scene!!

awards season... for milan aw09

listening to: 'nine in the afternoon' - panic! at the disco

sombre. austere. sober. LIES.

in my opinion - and i'm pretty much an expert, so respec' - the adjectives being bandied around re: milan fashion week are so off base. yes, the sepia-toned hues being sent down the runways aren't as electric as colours seen in previous fashion weeks; but i think some people are missing the point. the return to tailoring, to classy autumnal dressing, is just a backlash to the stupid nu-rave that at one point seemed to take over the globe. trust me, if kids in new zealand are dressing like that, then it's a global phenomenon... we seem to pick up on trends long after everybody else.

there seems to be a real return to old school glamour, and it's definitely in response to things like 80s revival, where bold colours ruled the roost. in milan it's all about bright red lipstick and a structured sillohuette. and fur stoles galore... love it, but vintage or synthetic, people!! even shows such as blumarine and pucci, which didn't stray too far from their "signature" palettes, adopted more watercolour-like, washed out tones. i'd never heard of luisa beccaria - should i be embarassed to admit that? i'm not sure - but i loved the icy blue tones that also cropped up in her show.

everybody has been raving about miuccia prada's collection, and i'm going to jump on the bandwagon. AMAZING. the detailing is absolutely stunning, and a true example of just how beautiful fashion can be. i love the black lace paired with sprinklings of both ice blue and beige. despite being so detailed and potentially fussy, the look works because of the wearability of it all. those palettes are just so beautiful yet at the same time interesting - each would lighten up an otherwise uniteresting outfit. winter can just be such a drag - outfits have a tendancy to be bland. even if you absolutely adore fashion, sometimes when you're freezing cold and cranky it's just easier to put on an outfit as dull as the weather around you.

the detailing award: no surprise here... prada wins hands down. i'm not sure if that lace is handmade or machine made - either way, it's sheer intricacy can't be beat.

favourite print award: just cavalli's mini shift dress. the flamingo print wasn't only on the dress, but also extended to the sheer tights! i can see swarms of stylish girls pairing those tights with anything and everything.

colour palette award: missoni. oooh, i bet you all thought i was going to pick prada. sorry guys; missoni's mixes of mustard, beige, teal, grey, white, black, sage and charcoal are making me drool right now.

coat of the week award: the most amazing coat i have ever seen would have to be one from missoni. featuring the print that was reoccurent in their entire collection, it reminds me of one of those faux kimono's really tacky chainsmoking housewives with bleached blonde hair would have worn in the 70s. (runners up include a navy coat from alberta feretti and a large-collared soft grey one from pucci)

best layering award: it's a tie between alberta ferreti's rouched bronze & navy dress, paired with tights; and a chunky coat over a drapey dress, worn with tights and a scarf knotted just so at burberry prosum.

best fur award: fendi, for the cutest 3/4 length sleeved jacket, cinched at the waist of course.

daytime outfit award: another tie - an ice blue, cream, grey and white concotion by luisa beccaria; and a very innocent schoolgirl outfit consisting of cardigan, white shirt, skinny belt, and beige skirt from blumarine.

nightime outfit award: the slinkiest navy knee-length dress i've ever seen, by maurizio pecaroro.

favourite sillohuette: a a black top paired with a gorgeous olive tulip skirt by max mara.

overall collection award: missoni! i just loved it... top notch!!

designer collections for chain stores: selling out?

listening to: 'oughta be in love' - dave dobbyn

i'm going to take a little break from posting my favourite inspirational outfits, because i read this blog yesterday and it really got me thinking. so many designers have collaborated with chain stores (ie topshop, target) for awhile now - is this selling their previously elitist, exclusivist soul?

i have to disagree with mer in the city. yes, the heart of truly beautiful fashion is the things like the superior tailoring and the top-quality fabrics used. designers revered by their peers and consumers alike, the world over, achieved the status they hold because they have proved themselves time & again to understand "the basic beauty and art" that fashion is. but i think that designer collaborations, where fashion is brought to the masses, definitely have a market. so haute couture is supposed to be unaffordable? of course it is. haute couture ALWAYS WILL BE unaffordable. but what's wrong with bringing just a smidgen of fashion to a wider audience?

i say smidgen because obviously there have to be compromises. fabrics, especially. the fact is that there are so many people who would love to wear designer clothes - myself included - but can't justify such expenditure. the pricetag of fashion is for so many unattainable. so by collaborating with chain stores the designers can offer consumers a slice of their beautiful visions - not as close to perfection as their own lines, but replications that can make the less fortunate feel as beautiful as the lucky ones do in their designer threads. not everybody who has a passion for clothing and fashion itself can spend thousands of dollars on designer clothing. not everybody has wealthy parents with a limitless credit card. if a wider audience learns to appreciate clothes that are even remotely similar to those a designer produces for the runways (and elitist snobs who may wear certain clothes only because of the status symbol it affords them) then i fail to see that as a bad thing.

yes, designer and chain store collaborations are not the real thing - the differences are certainly vast. yes, in many cases these collaborations are probably undertaken only to garner even more profit. but the result is a larger number of people dressing in better (granted, not the BEST) clothes. it affords them just a tiny taste of the fashion industry, a taste that they would otherwise never get to experience.

i can't wait until my stella mccartney for target trench arrives. at the moment, it's as close as i am going to get to high fashion, and i'm not going to apologise for that.