Month: February 2008

!(imgcenter)http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3188/2295619909_d64a690e07_m.jpg(Thenew Female magazine)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannie/2295619909/

Local fashion rags generally don’t appeal to me because I find them dull, uninspiring and always repeating the same things ad nauseum. To me, magazines have their own personalities: Her World is faux sophistication wrapped in scandalous, sensational headlines that don’t appeal to me. On the other hand, Female has always seemed more avant garde, creativity-driven and daring to push the envelop. Needless to say, Female is the one that I pick up whenever the urge to flip through glossy pages of ads and colourful pictures strike.

!(imgleft)http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/2296412714_e39b661876_t.jpg(Fashion spread)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannie/2296412714/ So now that Female has undergone a drastic makeover (to ensure it does not compete directly with Her World, I reckon), how does it fare?

Unsurprisingly, I love it! The masthead has a 1940s feel to it and the fashion spreads are innovative, colourful and very attention-seeking. I like how they play with the colours and employ the use of interesting locations (Books Actually being one of them). Plus, it no longer has those silly feature stories that I flip right through, which means more indulgent fashion spreads for me to devour.

Yums. Go check it out!

!(imgcenter)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2270541539_e9ef9fa0b4_m.jpg(Click for bigger image)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannisms/2270541539/sizes/o/

The first time I got to know of Luella Bartley was when her partnership with Target (under its GO International capsule) was announced back in 2006. I fell in love with her designs then: the cute cherry iPod case that I almost purchased for my beloved fruity gadget, the puffy, tulip-hemmed dresses and feminine blouses with ruffles.

This time, for London Fashion Week, she sent models down the runway in witchery-inspired outfits. Ignore the scary goth makeup and big hair (if you can) and look at the collection with an admiring eye. Somehow, she has managed to come up with pieces that are funky, nonchalant, girly, punk and outrageous all at the same time. Overall, the clothes look well-tailored, have clean lines and are worn with quirky accessories.

I especially love the cute little prom frock with a frou frou (for lack of a better word; I love frou frou!) skirt paired with coloured, opaque tights or worn over a striped tee-shirt, and the gingham print dresses. I’m currently mad about gingham but am resisting because I would probably end up looking like an outdated cowgirl (yee har!).

And to that Straights Thames fashion reporter who said that coloured tights are out, yawn to you. I trust Luella’s taste (orange tights!) more than yours, so there.

(PS: Milan is just over but I think I am going to skip it for Paris!)

!(imgcenter)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2045/2270586189_73631e8919_m.jpg(Click for bigger image)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannisms/2270586189/sizes/o/

The perks of having a cousin who owns a boutique is that I’m frequently exposed to fashion brands previously unheard of. That, and the low prices I pay when I take a fancy to something (that’s another story for another day).

Anyway, my fingers had been running through some of her new items involuntarily when suddenly, they stopped at a black satin dress. It was an Eley Kishimoto piece. She punched out the cost of the dress on a calculator for me and upon seeing the figure, I fell into a swoon. Needless to say, the dress didn’t go home with me that night.

But hey, just because I can’t bear to splurge on an Eley K dress doesn’t mean I can’t admire it from afar (a 14-hour plane ride away, to be exact). This season, the husband-and-wife team had put out a whimsical, perky collection named, aptly enough, “Bounce Bonnie Bunny Bounce”.

It had everything to make me jump about in jubilation: splashy, punchy colours! girly prints! retro-esque mini and trapeze dresses! harlequin tights and dresses! colour blocks! mary janes! weird shoes!

Frankly, I’m now on the verge of clicking the “buy” button for an order of colourful harlequin tights since I’ve been eyeing them for a long time now. Given how my bright blue tights always gets the eye from passers-by, I think these would probably send them into cardiac arrest.

But oh, they look so good paired with the mini dresses! I’ve been steadily building up a collection of black dresses (don’t ask me why – I think I am in a black phase) and they would look perfect with my collection.

My worship for Eley K has reached unhealthy heights. Excuse me while I go ponder over my need for harlequin tights. Blue or pink?

In some ways, I enjoy the pieces shown at London Fashion Week far more than those at its New York counterpart. Yes, New York may have more glamorous names but LFW seems more edgy and experimental. In fact, with strange outfits from Gareth Pugh (whom I honestly don’t care much for) and Giles Deacon, it seems as if the weird and the wonderful were out in full force.

!(imgcenter)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2260/2270519467_e26a1e557e_m.jpg(Click for larger size)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannisms/2270519467/sizes/o/

Enter Christopher Kane. More wonderful than weird, his current collection is a brilliant mix of paillettes (huge sequins, basically), soft fabrics and loose, gentle silhouette. The details are amazing: the silky architecture, the elaborate patterns. There are no striking palettes here but loads of pretty neutrals. I have never been a fan of neutrals, preferring bold hues but hey, I really like Kane’s pieces. I’ve always lusted after paillettes but never bought any for fear of being mistaken for a getai singer. Having seen this collection, I am all in favour of getting a sequin-y dress (in particular, this dress).

The most amazing thing about Christopher Kane is that he is merely 25 years old. Heck, when I was 25, I was struggling to decide what I wanted to do for a living and this man is designing a collection that is oh-so-beautiful.

Now, if only I could find the dough to splash out on his collection for Topshop.

!(imgcenter)http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/2245418333_9063c9b007.jpg(Ivy)!:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannie/2245418333/

Of all the designers out there in the world, one of my ultimate favourites has to be Marc Jacobs. Not quite the enfant terrible like John Galliano or Alexander McQueen, he’s singlehandedly revived the ageing house of Louis Vuitton since taking control of the design reins more than 10 years ago. In addition, his own Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs labels are both lauded and applauded everywhere. His designs are quirky (I heart his Little Miss Marc totes), kitschy (the cherry charm watch/necklace), flow beautifully and have a clever mix of prints and fabric.

Well, since I can’t own a piece of his creative genius, the closest I can get is to have a bottle of his perfume, Ivy. It’s part of a trio of scents that MJ markets as the second “Splash” collection, the others being Violet and Amber. The muskiness put me off initially, despite me being a huge fan of the darkly sensuous CK Euphoria. But I dabbed it onto my wrist and, five minutes later, was won over by the aromatic mysteriousness.

So there you have it. I am now the proud owner of the whopping 300ml bottle of Ivy, without forking a single (s)cent. I love the vintage-looking bottle, the minimalist feel, the simple Marc Jacobs font. Yippee!