WTF

I love it when "artists" like Kelis try to be avant garde and gets it the wrong way!
WTF is this get-up?
What a shame that those McQueen Hooves shoes was wasted on THAT!!!

Wooyoungmi- Fall 10

Fuzz. Bow Tie Pinch. Robe Side Tie. Braniacs. Wooyoungmi served it up this season. I can easily see the brand developing more and more. I see them experimenting with different things and subtlety referencing other designers through the process which I think is perfectly natural for them. The minimal take on bow ties were a favorite of mine and the fit of the jackets with the side tie looked like it made sense without being too casual. I liked the braniac hats too. It was a nice touch to add the fuzz fur effect on some pieces. It reminded me a bit of Jamie’s Prada pants…exploding in gray. The only issue I noticed was the fit of some of the pants.

Tim Hamilton- Fall 10

Blue, Black, Gray Done Right. Shiny Pants. It was yet another show in which black and grey really dominated the show. Per usual there were a lot of pieces I could see myself in as it was nicely styled. In two jackets he successfully blended black and grey in a side color block- which I think can be trivial for many designers. I appreciated the blue near the end of the show along with the scoop neck sweater. I do think some of it has been done beforem but his pieces look much more refined. All in all good show, with a few stand out pieces. I would swear that's Malfoy in the last picture!

Gaspard Yurkievich- Fall 10

Shades of Grey. Off Kilter Stripes. New Suit.The collection shown in Paris this season seemed to be part continuation, part exploration of the increased amount of suiting Gaspard has expanded to include. He took the lines of a few of his suits he had shown before and did them again in more shades of grey. Additionally he showed a lot of disconnected stripes and belted blazers (almost a signature in the styling of his shows). I missed some of the accents and graphic touches that I have come to love from the past collections. It seems as if the styling was just a bit melancholy too. Where was the richness? I am a big fan of Gaspard’s aesthetic, but found myself slightly disappointed with some of the recycled looks. Maybe he is just sticking by his design with his suiting. Which I do appreciate he is giving new options. As a whole I did think that it was good- especially the little bits of color I saw and the suiting for reasons already stated!

Quote Du Jour

" . . . so when people complain that those £4,000 Balmain jackets don't suit anybody, they're just missing the point. Those jackets aren't about making anyone look good, they're about making you look like you're wearing Balmain. You see? Different." -- Hadley Freeman (Guardian)

Damir Doma- Fall 10

Black. Layered. Safe. Texture. Damir Doma stayed true to its tradition this season again. The line continued layering in a way that lends itself to possible new shapes while sticking between a gray and black color selection. I can’t help but notice the serious martial art-like influence Damir Doma shows every season. Contrary to last season, as noted I felt like it was missing a flow or sort of ethereal mystery that really attracted me to the line. Then again maybe I am just a bit nostalgic from the beautiful red they employed in their spring summer line shown back in June in Paris. I was missing the risk I guess in a sense. It was layered nicely and did have a concrete perspective. I did enjoy the beautiful leather/shearling jacket and the different incarnations of the pattern used at the end.

Raf Simons- Fall 10

Suit Bars. Double Breasted Buttons. Apron Skirts. Raf stepped out on a limb a bit compared to his last few collections. He really did a great job with a lot of the suiting presented making it wearable, but forward in the oversized plaid prints picked. Additionally some of the suits featured great meticulously placed bars of color on them that made them fun while being well done. One can easily see certain aspects of Jil Sander in it too while noticing the cut of a few coats and a polygon patch here and there. He placed longer, what I like to call Art Apron Skirts on the models, some even with pleats on them. This idea of the man skirt is slowly gaining face time, but I wonder how truly practical it is for most men? Especially long ones that were shown at the show, I can’t help but think design wise how that could become quite a cumbersome piece… Nonetheless I think he did one of the best jobs this season as far as suits are concerned.

Walter Van Beirendonck- Fall 10

Guns. Missles. Man Heels. Walter Warfare. I really liked alot of the pieces from Walter's collection. He did a great job by colorfully playing with military symbols. He definitely evolved from his previous collections, but gave nod to his past design details including W graphics and random pocket placements. I give him kudos for including man heels, making them noticeable, and not aplogizing. I particularly liked the rocket scarf and neon pushlight headphones.

Dries Van Noten- Fall 10

Navy-White-Khaki. Well Patterned. Well Done Nostalgia. Dries did a great job for the show mixing patterns and fabrics that seemed like the epitome of modern classic. Alot of wearable timeless looks on the more conservative corky side- which is exactly how I see Dries.

Dior Homme- Fall 10

Heavy Reliance on Black. High Waters. Stacky Stripes. I didn't particularly enjoy many pieces shown. Too much fabric, too much layering. The look got lost and made some of the models seem too bulky and aesthetically not pleasing. Nothing particularly new. The pants were cut high much like Thom Browne gone black a year or two ago. There were also stripes featured that, dare I might say seemed a bit tacky. All in all there were a few jackets I did like. I couldn't help but wonder where the direction of the line is going? I have relied on some sort of accesory to make the collection young and wearable for me in seasons past, but nothing I saw made me excited.

Neil Barrett- Fall 10

Leather. Black. Dots. Neil Barrett continued on his path exploring leather, black, color blocking and this idea of clean punk. The shearling and leather jacket shown was great. The dots feauted on some of the outfits seemed a bit too crafty at times, but all in all I really enjoyed his collection. He showed some womenswear as Prada did which seemed a bit Alexander Wang to me. I generally liked his collection as usual though.

Adam Kimmel- Fall 10

Face Masks. Vegas. Relaxed. Adam Kimmel employed cartoonish face masks for his runway presentation. I thought the idea was great- definitetly attention grabbing and used this idea of mixing it up. Alot of the clothes went along with Kimmel's relaxed aesthetic and loose fit. It seemed like the collection definitely had an overhwhelming casino influence through the game symbols and interesting color choice that popped up sporadically. Not particularly for me, but some wearable pieces.

Jil Sander-Fall 10

Shapes. Panels. Spaceships. Future done right. Raf Simons did a great job with Jil Sander this Season creating a few must have jackets. While utilizing his design work he chose a basic color system made up of black, grey, and white to ensure an effective translation of his polygonic perspective. Raf always seems to bring severe cuts with an almost futuristic edge to the table creating clean looks perfect for that customer wanting the next best thing that will actually last. It's easy to imagine one of high design power wearing his clothes with his clean design, but understated execution.

Prada- Fall 10

Double Collar. Camo. Porportion. Cut. Prada did it again for me this season. I thought the double collar was great along with the no collar look shown. The wovens had a great fit and played with smaller proportions (i.e. the band on some of the sweaters, fit of cardigans) which I thought was great. Definitely pushed a bit and should serve as a forecast.

Gucci- Fall 10

Clean. Rocker/Boho Chic. Gucci served what it does best a clean rocker look. Color palette was a bit light for what is usual other than that nothing particularly unexpected.Shearling popped up again. Good looks as a whole, found myself wanting something more though.

Moncler Gamme Bleu- Fall 10

Boots. Moon Boots. Tailored Puff. Porportions. Thom Browne took an interesting approach to the winterwear brand. He effectively played with  layering while at the same time infusing his own noticeable look through proportion and color choices that he is known for. The puff shorts and jackets were winners for me.