Fashion or art?

I've been so pre-occupied with planning my impending wedding (T minus 15 days) and working stupidly long hours that I've totally neglected my beloved blog. And so with my impending Paris-bound hen do kicking off in a little over 14 hours, i felt the need to post the following to tie me over until Monday where i will officially take control of my life again...one can try anyway.

From runway to red carpet, clearly the only woman brave enough to take Alexander McQueen's 'Armadillo' heels by the sartorial horns would be Daphne Guinness. Presenting at last night's NARS event, Guinness pared the perilously high heels with a runway computerised dress and finished with her trademark theatrical kohl-smudged make up.



I'm not sure how i feel about the end result, or indeed the heels themselves. The shoes are a work of art but who's to say art has to be tasteful or even something that everyone approves of? The colour is a little too similar to her ghost-like legs but perhaps Guinness had McQueen's creature creations in mind and chose to execute her look to the exacting standards of his recent S/S 10 collection.


So while i sit on the fence and mull over whether this art form should have stayed as that, i wonder what your thoughts are?

image courtesy of redcarpet-fashionawards.com

Hair Inspiration

Dazed & Confused Fashion Editor, Katie Shillingford, dips into the ombré trend with her latest hairstyle. Truly inspired.  

Some of her previous hairstyles...

Pictures courtesy of Jak&Jil and thefashionspot

Tribal gathering

One of the hottest trends that’s emerging from New York S/S 10 is Tribal. Pleasing-on-the-eye prints and tactile-to-touch fabrics make this perennially chic tribal trend safari’s edgier older sister. 

With winter’s global nomad making the logical step on, the tribal trend has grown up and is much easier to wear than previous seasons with an abundance of printed maxi dresses and blouses in a multitude of colourful guises. 

Diane von Furstenberg sent her army down the catwalk with elbow-to-wrist stacked bangles, Alice Temperley for Temperley London chose a tattoo-inspired sheer maxi dress and Marc Jacobs firmly cemented this ubiquitous trend with a medley of printed tunics, shirts, shorts and skirts, all printed with oversized spots, etchings and stripes for his by Marc line. 

Taking tribal into a definitively darker mood, Kate and Laura Mulleavy at Rodarte used their signature aesthetic of swathed and shredded chiffon to create elegant armour, dripping with tassles and covered in crocheted cobwebs. It may not be the most commercial collection in their design portfolio, but it’s certainly one of the most beautifully constructed. 

With these initial flavours coming from New York, it'll be interesting to see London's interpretation of this new-season style, particularly from flamboyant designers such as Matthew Williamson, David David and Duro Olowu.

Diane von Furstenberg

Temperley London

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Rodarte

Images courtesy of style.com

RIP Patrick Swayze

Just woke up to the awful news that Patrick Swayze's lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Swayze will always be remembered for sweeping baby off her feet and giving us one of the most memorably one-liners in film history. To me, he provided many an evening spent with my girlfriends re-watching Dirty Dancing over and over again and always met with the same hysteria.

RIP Patrick x

Which bag?

All-time diva and legendary supermodel Naomi Campbell may have just found herself some good karma with the recent news that for the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA), where she's global ambassador, she'll be donating her own personal green crocodile Hermès Birkin bag to auction.

This got me thinking about all the other 'It' bags that models and celebs-alike tote around. 

Here are some of my faves. 

Sienna Miller and her Balenciaga

Ashley Olsen and her Fendi

Nicole Richie and her oversized Chanel

MKO and her Alexander Wang

Lily Allen and her Yves Saint Laurent

Katie Holmes and her Chloé

Kate Moss and one of her many Mulberrys 

Which ones would you bid on?

S/S 10 - Alexander Wang's Sports Chic

With New York Fashion Week in full throttle, I've been researching the collections to see what's likely to be an editorial hit for S/S 10 and what trends I'll be rocking once the impending winter chills. 

One of my favourites so far, not just in terms of wearability but also for his vision, has to be not-so-new boy, Alexander Wang. Looking to the all-American sportsman for inspiration, Wang took basic sportswear silhouettes and shaped them into new-season essentials. With favourites including Natasha Poly and Anna Selezneva storming the floodlit catwalk in ribbed knee-high socks, Wang used a muted colour palette of khaki and grey marl to sku his shapes. 

Taking the standard grey sweatshirt, Wang showed that with a nude mesh corset or with cocoon-shaped shoulders, there's two ways to wear this wardrobe basic (female-friendly Y-fronts optional). In other looks, sports-striped trousers hung louche on the hips and could easily be pared with this season's Chloe wedge boots, while tobacco-brown leather inserts were seen on sweaters and lace-up shorts. And the pièce de résistance? A deflated American football clutch.

I'm a huge fan of Wang's designs and will be looking forward to seeing how his designs are picked up in the online stores such as Net-a-Porter, Matches and Browns, and also how his collection will be interpreted by the high street. No doubt GAP (who he collaborated with this year and who are the high street leaders in sports-chic), will be the one to turn to. 

images courtesy of style.com

Quote of the day

Last Saturday my dear friend B and I went to a press screening of The September Issue. Aside from spending 80+ minutes in total fashion and docu-drama heaven, one of the best quotes I've ever heard was uttered before the trailers for the film even started. "There's always a way to wear fur", mused Anna Wintour. A girl after my own heart.

Out in cinemas nationwide today, what's your favourite quote?