So, it had been my intention since I decided to start keeping a blog again to post my favorite looks from fashion week at the end of each city's shows (sort of hence the sub header of my blog being: "fashion from a designer's perspective"), but up until now I had just been incredibly lazy about it. In fact, in the future I'll probably break it up even further and do day-by-day recap posts, but right now you'll just have to deal with slogging through hundreds of lovely pictures at once!
Actually, it won't be so bad, because I'm EXTREMELY picky. I have very specific taste, and very few things make it into my lookbook that I couldn't see myself wearing. The things that DO usually meet two or more of the following criteria:
♥ Interesting construction details. Seam lines, crazy draping, something else crazy and original you hardly ever see, etc.
♥ Interesting finishing details. Embellishments like embroidery, rhinestones, passementerie, feathers, etc. used in unique ways.
♥ Great print/fabric selection. This includes the utilization of multiple textures in one garment. I'm actually a huge fan of this, especially for fall. See: chunky knitwear.
♥ Season cliché defying looks. There are a lot of seasonal standards for both Fall and Spring. Some Fall examples are: dark colors (especially black and brown), plaid, stark minimalism... Obviously if I see something that's out of character for Fall, like brights and/or pastels, crazy prints, etc., it gets me excited to see more.
♥ Showmanship. I'm a sucker for a great production, and an even better story behind whatever the designer is showing. Understandably though, there aren't a lot of designers who can afford huge productions, but a strong theme that comes through on the runway is perfectly acceptable and appreciated.
It actually takes me about 10 seconds to figure out whether or not I'm going to like a designer's collection. For those of you who have never been to Style.com, or any other fashion week recapping website, when you click on the designer's name you are directed to a page with a picture of the first look in the collection and a two-three paragraph review.
- A picture says 1,000 words.
Like a lot of other art-forms, pacing your show is critical, and most designers adhere to (at the very least) this one rule of thumb for putting together a successful show: Start with a bang, end with an explosion. You need to start the show with a strong piece to grab the audience's attention, and then leave them with a lasting impression before they walk out the door. So, that first picture on the review is basically like the plot summary on the back of a book. If I don't like the plot, why the hell would I read the entire book? Now, now... I give everyone a second chance to make an impression on me. If you click over to the "Complete Collection" tab, you get a page of thumbnails for the entire collection!
Maybe it's the Virgo in me, but I can appreciate a cohesive collection that moves seamlessly from group to group, color change to fabric change, etc. So before I decide to navigate my way to the next designer, I check the thumbnails, click on anything that looks like it MIGHT be interesting, and if it still doesn't strike my fancy, I move on. I feel bad for all of the editors that have to sit through every single show until the end :P
With that said, here are some of my fashion pet peeves! And unfortunately the poor folks at Central St. Martins are going to be used as examples of my fashion hate (for the most part.) Sorry, dudes.
- *yawn* Oh, I'm sorry. Were you saying something?
◊ Minimalism. Don't get me wrong, minimalism has its place. But an ENTIRE COLLECTION of garments that are essentially all one color, two pattern pieces per garment?! *SNORE* Fuck, and it would be one thing if whatever designer doing it was the only one and it was like CUTTING EDGE, but it's so common these days that Style.com has a section in their shop for it. "Shop Minimalism!" This is why FIDM was filled with stupid girls who decided "being a fashion designer is easy."
- Dangly bits, sticking-out parts, and loooots of different colors.
◊ Clutter. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some designers who think that fashion means THROWING AS MUCH SHIT ALL OVER A GARMENT AS POSSIBLE, regardless of whether or not it actually looks good. Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that I love RIDICULOUSLY over-the-top avant-garde, victorian-throwback, so-many-details-I-bet-those-seamstresses-bled-pints-of-blood-sewing-that-shit garments, but it comes down to taste at the end of the day.
◊ Ugly prints. I seriously... I just... *facepalm* I DON'T GET IT. If you can afford to have your own fabric printed, fucking hire a print designer that knows what they're doing. This is probably one of my BIGGEST fashion pet peeves being that I do both graphics and fashion. THERE'S REALLY NO EXCUSE. That's why I opted for solid colors for my first runway show. If I can't afford to print my own AMAZING print, I'd rather not have a print at all. Because I'm sorry, but most textile designers on this planet... are probably just obeying orders, BUT THE PEOPLE GIVING THE ORDERS SHOULD BE SHOT. This is actually more of a problem in lower price ranges, as I searched through Fall 2010 prints and I honestly couldn't find one completely heinous example...
- Is that... a bathrobe?!
◊ Trying too hard to be avant-garde. I know, this really just comes down to taste, but I also kind of feel like... you either hit the mark, or you didn't. There's nothing wrong with trying, but if you're just going to design stupid shit no one will wear in a futile attempt at being edgy, then hang up your measuring tape because you're not going to make any money.
Wednesday became my favorite day for a few reasons. First, it was the day that Project Runway was on (before the switch to Lifetime), and LOST (January 2010!!! WOO!), then I got interested in American comic books and it became NEW COMIC BOOK DAY! In general, Wednesday has always been a day that I look forward to, so I decided to start a Neighborhood Stories tradition by blogging about things that I'm IN LOVE WITH on Wednesdays! I might even share my comic purchases with you!
