Straight from the Runway - March 2011
--- Felicia Chen
If you’re a busy college girl like me, then you don’t have the time to constantly follow the fast-paced world of fashion. And not to mention, you’re undoubtedly broke and couldn't have afforded to fly to New York in order to watch the Fall 2011 Fashion Week that took place from February 10 - 17 in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. Luckily, I was able to catch Narcisco Rodriguez’s show live thanks to YouTube’s live broadcast, but for those who couldn’t tune in or who simply haven’t found time to catch up on New York Fashion Week, here are some of the highlights of what went down at the Fall 2011 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
Anna Sui
Anna Sui’s collection is one of my personal favorites. She did not fail in delivering fun, flirty, and colorful pieces that give off a bohemian vibe. Her use of color spans the entire spectrum and patterns dominate the runway. Dresses and shorts were paired with knee-high socks or stockings with lace detailing. Many outfits were accompanied by a long beaded necklace while some models wore a furry cat hood. Given the chance, I would definitely wear some of the tunics and dresses in the collection. It’s easy to see that just wearing Sui’s clothing is enough to make a girl happy!
Jason Wu
First of all, I have to say that I am in love with Jason Wu’s fall collection. “Baroque Meets Sportswear” is how he describes the collection, which is inspired by the restoration of Versailles. Gorgeous evening wear was combined with tailored menswear-inspired pieces. Feathers, lace, and jewels adorned each piece. The entire collection was primarily black and white; however, Wu chose to accent some of his pieces with bright flashes of ruby red, royal blue, and olive green. I really liked how Wu chose to mix really well-tailored pieces with beautifully draped evening gowns. I would love to own any of the pieces in his collection, -sigh-, if only...
Oscar de la Renta
Models seemed to be bundling up for a Russian winter in Oscar de la Renta’s collection for fall 2011. Many were seen walking down the runway in Russian fur hats. It was also obvious that de la Renta took cultural references from the East. The overall show was a collection of feminine and figure-flattering pieces made up of bold patterns, sparkles, and feathers. Fabric textures were mixed were mixed with patterns and colors to create beautiful pieces full of contrast and interest. For me, each look was either a hit or a miss. While the choice of patterns was well-done, I felt that at times, the overall look was rather busy. The patterns used are all very detailed and intricate and rather busy themselves, so when certain patterns were paired together the overall look became kind of distracting.
Marchesa
The Marchesa collection this season was inspired by the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and its character, Miss Havisham, an old, decaying woman waiting on her lost love. The collection does an amazing job of reflecting the kind of dark and gothic decaying romance that embodies Miss Havisham. Lace was heavily used throughout the collection as were jewels. Marchesa has always been characterized by elegance and this season, they added turned that into a tattered elegance. Overall, the collection evokes a sense of deconstructed beauty. While I don’t think I would ever wear any of these looks, it will definitely be interesting to see if some of them turn up on the red carpet for the Oscars!
And if you want to catch up on all the runway shows, you can find videos here on Youtube as well as behind the scenes footage: http://www.youtube.com/user/LiveRunway
Mall Crawl - March 2011
--- Christy Lin
So the March issue of EAL is centered on stress and ways to avoid it, because let’s face it, midterms suck, even in art school. It seems the style gods have taken pity on us then, since as far as trends in fashion this season go, simple is in. I don’t just mean just color, but also in things like cut, fit, and composition. We’re talking nude colors, oversized shirts and two to three piece ensembles. Even the evening wear seems to have taken a turn for the sleek and sexy rather than the past origami and rhinestone embellishments. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good add-on if it makes a piece look interesting, but sometimes you just want to grab whatever it is and throw it together without having to worry about “do the patterns clash?” or “does this color make me look like a traffic light?” Where February may have been about being carefree, March is about being relaxed and looking perfectly classy without a single bell, whistle, or ruffle in sight. So let’s do it!
Ladies, they’ve been saying for months, but now is the time to really hit this trend hard. Nude and neutral colors. If you’re like me, then the color we know as “nude” just does not work. It washes out our skin-tone and looks…yeah…it’s bad. Luckily, there are plenty of cream, black, and tan pieces out on the market that suit this season just fine. A great way to take advantage of the relaxed feel I mentioned is to invest in at least one oversized shirt. J. Crew is calling them “painters shirts” so I don’t know, maybe us art kids are finally gettin’ on the scene…just kidding. But yes, large shirts, think of the boyfriend shirt trend around summer two years ago, only instead of just button-ups, you can also do t-shirts, hooded t-shirts, tunics, and ponchos/capes. It sounds kind of sloppy in word form, but believe me, get an oversized top, a pair of leggings or the Gap’s new super thin denim jeans, and flats and you’ll be walkin’ away as one casually hot momma *wink*. If you need something a little more classy, then there are a lot of nice, floral and polka-dotted patterns coming out as well. It almost has a vintage feel to it, like hippies and Hair (the musical). No tye-dye and peace signs please, but definitely get in touch with your earthy side. One more thing; I know you have a pair somewhere that you’ve been dying to get back out since the onset of skinny jeans and jeggings (yes I said jeggings). Bell bottoms. Or rather, flare cut jeans. A lot of stores are marketing them as “wide-leg” or “trouser cut” but don’t be fooled, we’re going back to the 70s, so if you’ve got’em, you’re good, if not, go find a pair, cuz they are out and about and it’s about time to get this party started.
Gentlemen, I know you’re probably thinking, March, St. Patrick’s Day, Beer, Green. Exactly in that order too, unless you’re in New Orleans then you can add Mardi Gras and boobs to the list. You would be partially right. Of course wear green on the 17th if you don’t want to get pinched (or don’t if you do), but for the rest of the month, think blue. Blue plaid, blue stripes, dark blue, light blue, just blue, it’s literally everywhere, so you can’t miss it. There’s also a trend in pants where things are coming out shorter than before. Shorts are now landing above the knee, cropped pants are in, and if you have a pair of hiking-like boots, roll those cuffs up a little bit and stuff them in so you can show those shoes off! I can’t tell you why it works or how it started, all I know is that everyone who is anyone is doing it and it looks good. Lastly, keep an eye out for windbreakers. Not those really cheesy ones your dad buys from Wal-Mart, but legit, designer brand windbreakers. They just look so comfortable, they’re lightweight, and they add a casual twist to any classy or semi-formal outfit (not to mention it’s one of those things that she’ll love stealing from you so you can get it back *hint*).
One thing I think everyone should be aware of, exercise is an excellent way to relieve stress and there has never been a better time to bulk up your workout wardrobe. I’m seeing it everywhere, it’s pre-beach season, so people are scrambling to try and perfect that body before the sun is fully into our hemisphere. Stores know this, that’s why everyone from Victoria’s Secret to Forever 21 now has some sort of active wear line. My personal favorite is Gap, they have these women’s workout pants and capris that are to die for, but just keep in mind your budget because prices on workout clothes definitely vary, and you should be buying things that you can sweat in (working out does require work you know).
Alright folks, that’s all I got for this month. Now leave me to my studying and stress induced crabbiness (wow, am I a hypocrite or what?).
Red Carpet Surfing Part 2
--- Christy Lin
Ok, I have a confession to make…I didn’t actually watch either of these shows, that is, the Grammys or the Oscars. I know that they’re the big ones with the biggest celebrities and the most highly anticipated awards, but I live with three guys, and there’s always some sort of sport taking place at the same time which is apparently more vital in our household. I have to say though, from what I’m hearing from friends and online, I didn’t exactly miss much. Everyone knows the best part of any award show nowadays is the red carpet, however, so I did make sure to watch as many live streams and photoblogs as I could find. Therefore, this show can and will go on!
Starting with the Grammys. Pretty much the stars here can be split into two groups: Glee kids (who are most definitely not kids, but still), and those trying to out-Gaga Lady Gaga. On the Gaga front, please stop trying to out-do her! She came in a fucking egg this year, so your funky feather outfit and angel wings, unless they actually give you the ability to fly into the Staples Center Icarus style, are and always will be subject to ultimate pwnage by the Haus of Gaga. Phew, now that we’ve got that out of the way…
I have to hand it to the Glee kids, they really know how to keep it classy, most of them at least. Dianna Agron has pretty much planted herself in that category of Red Carpet favorites, always with a sort of a traditional, classic Hollywood style. For the Grammys she wore a black Vivienne Westwood Gold Label which not only looked amazing on her, but paired with her make-up gave her this sultry, formal look that I expect for an event like this. Lea Michele, on the other hand, is kind of missing the mark. I’m not sure why, but she’s seems to be trying very hard to be this fashion icon who wears difficult dresses that unfortunately, don’t come together. First was her salmon pink Oscar de la Renta at the Golden Globes which was a very nice dress, it was just too much on her. Her black Emilio Pucci for the Grammys had a similar problem. It was nice, but it just didn’t seem to fit her as well as something else probably would. Now the Glee guys I’m just in love with, especially newcomers Chord Overstreet and Darren Criss, both totally rockin’ the grey suit trend. They looked hot, sophisticated, smart, sharp, and did I mention hot? Yeah, Glee may be vastly over-popularized, but they have some really good looking men on their team.
As I said, the rest of the Grammy line-up just seemed to take on the Red Carpet as an opportunity to prove themselves more wild and crazy than Lady Gaga, which of course, is impossible. It’s also slightly disappointing because before Gaga, I always thought the Grammys were like the Oscars in that it was a formal event, not some costume design throwdown. There are two in particular that I have a beef with.
First was Rihanna in a white (for the most part) Jean Paul Gaultier. Second was Nicki Minaj in her Givenchy ode to leopard print. I’m all for breaking social norms, I’m in fashion school, so it’s what we’re taught, but even I know it’s wrong to wear something made entirely out of feather trim. It was meant to be an accent for the simple fact that it does not have the material ability to cover anything, as you can tell from Rihanna’s, uhh, dress. Seriously, she must have had sticky spots on her important parts to keep those rings from going anywhere. Either that or her movement had to have been extremely restricted for fear of a Janet Jackson-esque nip slip.
Ok, enough of that, it’s Oscar time! The winning trend for this year’s Academy Awards red carpet was the Valentino style red dress. Anne Hathaway leads the trend with a Valentino piece in fact (did I mention that Valentino the designer was also there?) followed by Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang and a more simplistic take by Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein. There were also those who took a lighter route, namely Halle Berry and Hailee Steinfeld, both in Marchesa, both looking absolutely brilliant in a sort of creamy, faint pink and both showing off a sort of wispy style. The one questionable trend I have on Oscar night was the all lace look. Again, lace is supposed to be an accent, not a material in and of itself. If you’re wondering I’m mainly talking about Scarlett Johansen’s purple Dolce and Gabanna and Melissa Leo’s white Marc Bouwer. Seriously no, just, no.
For men, my picks for the definite winners of the night, besides the always dashing Colin Firth, were Robert Downey Jr., Zachary Levi, and Josh Hutcherson. I love how RDJ went for the white tie on a white shirt under his tuxedo vs. the more contemporary classic black on black on black, as worn by Christian Bale. Speaking of Mr. Bale, have you seen his beard?! Anyway, Zachary Levi I just think is good looking, especially in a tux, and Josh Hutcherson, well all I can say is wow. How old is this kid? Cuz damn man, he’s lookin’ good. But I digress.
Alright, for fear of being too long-winded, which it’s possible this was, I am ending this here and now. That’s all for my first annual Red Carpet Review! I hope you had as much fun on this journey as I did, because I really do enjoy writing these, and I will see you next year, same time, same place. It’s a date!
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