Archive for the ‘fashion’ Category
Louis Vuitton Celebrates 100 Legendary Trunks
From trains and legendary ocean liners, to automobiles and the first aircraft, the Louis Vuitton trunk has crossed time and borders. In 1854, Louis Vuitton, “layetier, trunk-maker, and packer,” offered a modern trunk that combined pragmatism and elegance, perfectly adapted to the current means of transport and changes in the lives his clients led. The House of Vuitton has served explorers and adventurers, princes, dandies, elegant ladies, and artists of all kinds. The Maharaja of Baroda, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Douglas Fairbanks, Ernest Hemingway, Jeanne Lanvin -even Damien Hirst and Sharon Stone have traveled with Vuitton.
The House of Vuitton is now releasing LOUIS VUITTON: 100 LEGENDARY TRUNKS, and it’s officially on my Christmas wish list.
This book, with a preface by Patrick-Louis Vuitton, show-cases the most beautiful creations of the House through more than eight hundred photographs. The trunk-bed, steamer trunk, tea case, toiletry kit, circus trunk, library trunk, and caviar box are just a few of the many incredible pieces featured here, along with the equally incredible stories of their creation. A full technical survey, the bible of the artisanal trunkmaker, reveals the secrets of making a Louis Vuitton trunk. The exclusive edition for Louis Vuitton stores features a silkscreened cover and hard slipcase printed with Monogram canvas, reinterpreted from the 1896 original pattern.
From the first domed trunks to the most modern designs produced in the workshops of Asnières today, the spirit of the House of Louis Vuitton is still driven by the same reputation for excellence and expertise – and a desire to elevate travel to an art.
And, now the reason why Louis fanatics need to book a trip to France: from October 13, 2010 to February 27, 2011, the Parisian luxury house is staging an exhibition at the Carnavalet museum: Voyage En Capitale: Louis Vuitton and Paris.
Book signing: Scott Schuman “The Sartorialist”
LA’s fashionistas congregated in the famed Beverly Center tonight to celebrate the book signing of “The Sartorialist,” a beautiful anthology of favorite shots from fashion blogger Scott Schuman.
Guests were dressed to impress and waited for an hour to reach the famed photog. My favorite part of the night was when Schuman said, “Just keep them coming, we’ll get everybody signed.” His passion for fashion and photography effortlessly translated to passion for his new crop of fans.
Stage style used to predict new mainstream fashion trends
If you went to Coachella this year, you were probably unaware that scouts from Express, Vans, and The Gap were watching. Dozens of trend analysts and their field photographers arrive at musical hubs like Coachella and SXSW with ultra-zoom lenses in hopes of spotting the freshest trends.
Style Sight, a trend forecasting company, showcased a photo compilation of concert go-ers and bands at the Art Center College of Design last week to manifest how their influences are infiltrating mainstream fashion. One of the major focuses of the images was the “emo” movement. Black, white, and red colors synonymous with the “emo” movement emerged from earlier bands like The Cure and have continued to surface in stage style and album artwork from My Chemical Romance, Green Day, and Fall Out Boy.
Bold and distinct, the color trio is now appearing in products from Toms Shoes, Threadless, and even in the big box brand Urban Outfitters pictured above. Other hints of “emofluence” are abstract stripes, subtle play on graphics, and a lower emphasis placed on masculinity.
If too many people catch on, what will the emo movement do next – shift to black, blue, and purple?
Boutique shopping at Francesca’s in Downtown La Jolla
La Jolla, California is home to old and new wealth, the University of California San Diego, high tides, and the finest seafood imaginable. The beach town is where I spent most of my elementary school days and is well known for the elite shopping, import shops, and gourmet restaurants lining Prospect Street. This past weekend I revisited the hot spot in search of the best contemporary boutique that offered trendy pieces at an affordable price.
Aside from the usual brick & mortar boutiques like White House Black Market and Banana Republic, only one store shined through. Francesca’s Collection, located near the center hub of Prospect Street, gives off a boutique vibe and is full of small treasures for beachy fashionistas as well as the passing tourist.
One would not know that the store was part of a nationwide clothing chain given its visual merchandising choices. Accessory tables took center stage among walls full of stylish dresses and tops. One table had metallic gladiator sandals mixed with petite clutches, while another was filled with costume jewelry, each equally affordable. The prices for tops fell between an unbeatable $28-$44 and dresses ranged between $34-$48. My favorites were a coral twisted rope top and black sleeveless ruffle top.
Before venturing on to find a tasty lunch, I asked the cashier if any of the pieces were made with organic cotton. She regretfully answered no. So, I’ll stick to online boutiques for now (my favorite is Greenloop) until big-box stores start to supply more eco-chic products. Still with a view of the ocean and fantastic eateries as neighbors, Francesca’s Collections is a gem for any techonista visiting San Diego this spring.
Just in time for Jacko, 80’s fashion is back
It’s almost as if someone wrote a grandiose fairytale last year. Today Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, officially announced that he will be doing his “final curtain call” with a minimum of a 10-show Las Vegas-style “residency” in London. His timing couldn’t be orchestrated any better, for the 80’s, according to the fashion world, are back. Fall 2009 fashions are full of 1980’s fashion including “Dynasty”-esque dresses, exaggerated shoulders, and torn-up jeans.
Like Return of the Jedi, the exaggerated shoulders come back fighting in full force. A myriad of designers, like Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander Wang and Diane von Furstenberg featured the added baggage during their Fall 2009 runway shows.
The look originally came from what was known as the “Power Suit”. The phrase, first coined in the 1980s, refers to the exaggerated shoulder pads and skirt suits worn by American businesswomen to make them more “visible” in the workplace. But such “wardrobe engineering” is centuries old and has been recycled yet again.
Not withstanding the boisterous applause from fashion critics and celebrities, proof that the throwback looks are bankable does not exist. However, the trend does makes us nostalgic about a similar recessionary period that began in 1981.
Undoubtedly, the styles that surfaced this past month are strickingly comparable to those sewn during a time where several key industries were also suffering—including housing, steel manufacturing and automobile production. The icing on the cake is the release date of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. The album was scooped up by millions of fans starting on November 30, 1982, right as the recession was ending.
Could the King of Pop returning to the spotlight be a sign the current recession might end? We won’t know until the completion of his tour, but as it stands his stars are aligned for 2009. Just like a prayer, let us hope Madonna makes an appearance at his show in London, exaggerated shoulder jacket in tow and all.
The Changing Tide of Anna Wintour
A recent article in WSJ (Just Asking: Anna Wintour) profiles a fashion guru’s opinion on the developments of the fashion world today. As she sees it, designers have to mix the high priced items with the low. One of her ludicrous quotes states fashion was “excessive, and there’s a very correct correction going on.” Let’s talk about excess. According to Jerry Oppenheimer’s book Front Row: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue’s Editor In Chief, Anna Wintour perks as recent as 2005 included:
- Salary equating $2 million a year
- A chauffeured Mercedes S-Class (both in New York and abroad)
- A $50,000 shopping allowance
- The Coco Chanel Suite at the Hotel Ritz Paris while attending European fashion shows
- Condé Nast president Si Newhouse also had the company make her an interest-free $1.6 million loan to purchase her townhouse in Greenwich Village
Not only were her perks excessive, but also her magazine was excessive. The September 2004 issue boasted a record 832 pages, the largest issue of a monthly magazine ever published at that time.
Media certainly shapes how consumers shop. Before the downturn hit, Wintour’s publications fueled the excessive price points and designs, thus feeding the need for consumption and gluttonous shopping sprees. Is the downturn directly correlated to her role as an editor? Of course not. Did she direct a trend towards opulence, luxury, excess, greed, a wanting for high fashion through spreads, editors, photographs, and cover articles? Yes.
The WSJ article is like collagen filler – completely futile and temporary. Ultimately, Wintour herself is a trend-follower. Her ebb and flow fashion logic is indicative of her intelligence as a fashion maven. Once on the economic upside, make sure to tune in to the Anna Wintour chronicles. She may just engender another contraction and shift of the rank in file opinion.