kimberly ovitz

Reality is a funny concept, especially for people in fashion, who so often seem to occupy that little space outside that avoids the very idea. The fashion bubble, as it is known by some. Not in the case of L.A. native Kimberly Ovitz, whose latest collection (and one of the very first for the spring/summer 12 collections) was inspired by the idea of "disaster versus relief and man versus nature". Or, more simply, the tragedy that followed from the earthquakes in Japan in March. Her show was made up of 19 looks in a palette of white and red (to reference the Japanese flag?) as well as black and wafts of earthy ombre shades. I've seen pieces from her past collections in a Désordre in Darlinghurst, and the slightly cobwebbed knits and asymmetric silhouettes are definitely something I would wear.

It's not groundbreaking fashion - unlike, say, an earthquake - but that is precisely the point. Easy, wearable pieces for girls who like their clothes with a slight, but ever so sexy, edge. 

via: style.com

summertime dreaming

Now that Sydney is moving deeper and deeper into winter (well, as close as Sydney can get to any kind of winter) I am finding myself dreaming of tropical days away. Now matter how much I am relishing my crisp morning runs every weekend along the coast from Bondi to Coogee, I can't help looking at the latest o/s fashion spreads with the slightest pangs of envy. The upside to all of this? I can start planning my wardrobe for the warm weather, with inspiration coming from the latest spring/summer collections at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. Despite my usual penchant for a monochromal palette or a mixture of neutrals and khakis (especially, the khakis) I will definitely be trying out some of the zingy combos I've spied at shows like Bianca Spender, Shakuhachi and Ginger & Smart. Number one on my hit list? Rusty, earthen orange and bright, bold blue. On second thought, maybe that's best left to the sunrise on my morning Bondi runs. That's the plus side of this kind of dressing being on the other side of winter - I've still got six months to warm up to the idea.

Daria Werbowy by Cass Bird for T Magazine Travel, summer 2011.

Natasha Poly for H&M, spring/summer 2011.

Erin Wasson by Alexi Lubomirski for Vogue Spain, June 2011.

Iselin, Daria, Natasha, Kasia and Ginta by Jean-Baptise Mondino for Elle France, May 2011.

Ashley Smith by Miles Aldrige for Vogue Italia, May 2011.

Natasha Poly, Chanel Cruise 2012.

Christine Centenera in Celine, RAFW.

Dion Lee, S/S 11, RAFW.

via: tFS, OhJamie, FGR.

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And so it begins...

The first week of one of the two craziest months of the year has finally kicked off. For fashion people, that is. New York Fashion Week, and the start of the autumn/winter 2011 season. The meteoric rise continues for Alexander Wang, who almost jokingly cited his latest collection as 'ironic luxury'. Coming from any other designer, this would sound like your typical pretentious fashion babble, but for the GQ/CDFA menswear award winner, no truer words could have been spoken. With a touch of almost unfamiliar luxury (soft angora knits fading into silken satin) the pieces still retained the cool-girl factor the brand has become synonymous with. I'm not quite sure what the cool downtowners (and many wishful bloggers others) would be wearing (or wanting to) if it wasn't for the relaxed luxe of this designer. Very big fan of the cleverly combined textures - knits, sheers and silks all in the one piece, and all with minimal fuss. And another (one of many) show highlights? Natasha Poly taking her rightful place centre stage - closing the show for the infallible Mr. Wang with her newly reacquainted blonde locks. 

Speaking of infallible, it seems another young New Yorker is too walking down that very path. Joseph Altuzarra, previous Marc Jacobs design intern, is another name who will surely appear come the round up of season trends. Loving that the utilitarian look of seasons past is appearing yet again. Mixed textures (sheers, satins and knits), voluminous outerwear, delicate dresses and again, funnily enough, furry shoes, were all central features of his latest outing. Fuzzy footwear aside, I wonder if any of his sky-high leather lace-ups will be gracing the feet of editors come next season of Tommy Ton-lensed street snaps. Time will tell.

via: style.com

The Emmanuelle Effect

Skinny cigarette pants. Pointy-toed heels. Loose tees. Tailored (often Balmain) blazers or long-line coats. Always finished off with the most perfect dishevelled hair. Wonder how many interpretations of "The Emmanuelle" we'll see this fashion month? Can't wait! 

Geraldine Saglio. Fashion Assistant. French Vogue.

Melanie Huynh. Fashion Assistant. French Vogue.

Barbara Martelo. Freelance Stylist. Spanish Vogue, French Vogue.

via: jak&jil, tFS, stockholmstreetstyle

Haute Noorda

Spring '11 couture season kicked off in Paris yesterday, and it's good to see couture isn't the only thing making a comeback. Last fall's couture shows prompted those in the know, possibly after attending Givenchy's 11-look showcase, to herald it as having returned to its intimate (yet still extravagant) roots. And it seems Amsterdam-born model Kim Noorda has experienced a similar sort of transition. While 2010 was a quiet one in terms of runway appearances, if the start of couture week is anything to go by (Noorda has already walked for both Christian Dior and Armani Privé) 2011 is shaping up to be quite different. Here's hoping she'll be a mainstay as we round the bend into fashion month, kicking off in New York in less than three weeks. Three weeks!

  

via:tFS

Orange Olivia

Olivia Palermo. One of the very few reality TV stars/ socialites who has gone the distance and still has some sort of relevance in the world in which their interest lies. While peers of hers ( i.e. the collective joke that was Speidi), this girl shows she has some talent away from the screen. No mater how bitchy she may have seemed as Whitney Ports's nemesis on The City, this girl sure knows a thing or two about style. She reminds me of pop-princess-turned-serious-designer Vicky B. At the start of their fashion 'careers', I'm sure there were many inside the fashion industry (remember Olivia's snotty attitude at Elle? And Posh's days as a full-time plasticised WAG?) who would most definitely have written them off. After numerous campaigns for Hogan, ASOS and spanish giant Mango, as well as a collaboration with jewellery designer Roberta Freymann, it seems as Olivia has achieved a seemingly unattainable kind of staying power. A regular fixture on the international fashion circuit, her citrus and plaid combination at the Ermenegildo Zegna men's show in Milan is further proof that Olivia's batting at the top of her fashion game. Props for that amazing Hermés crocodile skin clutch and her forever sleek tresses. And for the ever so slightly, I'm-too-cool-for-you popped collar. And, just because, here's a close up of those incredible McQueen shoes...

Bright skirts and white shirts

Raf Simons for Jil Sander spring 2011. Minimalism's inverse. Maximalism. Couture Giganticism. Terms all considered by Simons himself when it came to describing the inspiration behind his latest collection in which no colour was spared. Fuchsia. Bright orange. Blue, green red. And in every combination imaginable. After the bright and ballooning skirts, whose tailored volume was played down with plain white tees, came the colour-blocking. A pink button-down tucked into orange flares finished with a royal purple coat. A cropped coral blazer over a magenta shirt with a burnt orange peplum. Purple over red and then pink cigarette pants, hidden beneath a green coat; red tucked into blue layers, and a splash of yellow for good measure. Colours that might otherwise be overwhelming were pulled off in the surprisingly simplest of ways. The tailoring was nothing but clean, and the cleverness was found, aside from the tricky colour combinations, in a fitted tee tucked into a puffball skirt, stiff collars with silken oxford shirting, and of course the voluminous lengths of it all. I'm not usually one for excess, but when maximalism becomes minimal - stripped back to the very basics of colour and shape and line - I'm all for it. 

via Style.com

The march of the fashion editor

Fashion editors. No longer are they just an elusive name featured in the masthead of your favourite magazine.  Thanks mainly due to this decade's blogging phenomenon, the obsession with fashion editors has grown to the extent they've become celebrities in their own right. Anna Dello Russo herself even cited fashion blogs as the main reason for her style-icon status. Although you'll always have those few in the industry who are quick to dismiss the relevance or credibility of now-famous bloggers such as BryanBoy, Tavi et. al, (maybe with resent for their overnight success as opposed to the old-school coffee mule cum assistant route) there's no doubt the personal style of ADR & Co. would be as noted/copied/loved if it weren't for (certain) bloggers. Without turning this into a bloggers vs editors argument (as an aside- I'll be taking the coffee-mule route), what I'm trying to say is that I'm more than thankful the focus of celebrity has shifted from the talentless Paris Hiltons of the world to people who have worked hard (and stylishly so) for their success. If nothing else, their rise to cult status (in the fashion world at least) provides all of us envious hangers-on (guilty) with some very worthy eye candy. And it probably doesn't hurt sales when their staff are seen practicing what they preach outside their glossy pages. 

The above picture was snapped as I was skulking around outside Gareth Pugh in Paris towards the end of the spring-summer 2011 season. Representing US Marie Claire we have Style and Accessories Director Taylor Tomasi Hill,  Senior Fashion Editor Zanna Roberts Rassi and Market Director Nina Sterghiou. I love the line formation they've got going on-  if you look a little closer you'll find they're all glued to their Blackberries- perusing the latest blogs, I'm sure. 

 all pictures my own

Anna Dello Russo.

While in Paris recently I was lucky enough to catch (several) glimpses of the infinitely amazing Anna Dello Russo. For those who have been living under a rock, she is the fashion director-at-large at Vogue Nippon, and famous for owning not one, but two apartments in Milan- one for her and her adorable chihuahua Cucciolina, and the other (climate-controlled, of course) to house her ever-expanding collection of designer clothes and shoes. You too would need a second house if you owned over 4000 pairs of shoes. (And for those who are currently rolling their eyes at the excess of it all- her plan is to eventually have her collection archived so that it can be studied by fashion students, historians and enthusiasts alike.)

She is even more gorgeous in person than in photos, and I'm not just referring to her glamorous style (or those legs). She was all too happy to flash her 400-watt smile every which way, pose for street-style bloggers and crazy paps and repeat with loving detail what (or who) exactly she was wearing. Whilst other high-profile editors slinked away silently through the crowd gathered outside of Le Grand Hotel, Anna seemed genuinely delighted to stand there and share her love for fashion with all. I doubt that there is anyone in the world who loves fashion more that ADR, and it is refreshing to see someone who is as proud in their passion as she. 

Above (outside Balmain)

Dress: Balmain

Shoes: Pierre Hardy

Jewellery: "My own"- ADR

Below (outside Gareth Pugh)

Brocade Jumpsuit: Rochas

Shoes: Valentino

Leopard clutch: Fendi

Spring Fever hits Bryant Park

The buzz surrounding the month of September isn't just from the bees outside. It's been a busy month in the fashion world of late, with the major fashion capitals hosting their latest round of fashion weeks. Mother of all fashion festivals- Mercedes Benz Fashion Week- kicked fashion season into gear in New York two weeks ago, and ever since there’s been a non-stop fashionable whirlwind of runway shows and exhibitions.

New Yorkers proved why they've kept their "fashion capital of the world" tag, where the designers weren't the only ones showing off their fashion credentials. The fash-pack was out in force, with actors, socialites, on- and off-duty models, fashion-kids, stylists and, of course, The Anna Wintours of the world arriving at the Bryant Park tents in droves for their favourite week of the year. If the dresses didn't wow, the front row more than made up for it.


Celebrity Stylist Rachel Zoe with Elle's Joe Zee and model/actress Milla Jovovich

French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld

Aussie actress Rose Byrne was spotted front row at Calvin Klein, with a neat little posse of fellow screen stars including Kerry Washington, Eva Mendes and Thandie Newton. Even tennis player Serena Williams took time out from abusing officials to catch a few shows with model slash wannabe Oprah, Tyra "Bankable" Banks. Gossip Girls Blake, Vanessa and Taylor were also spotted sitting front row at Dianne Von Furstenburg, Rag & Bone and Erin Wasson x RVCA. With the designers madly congregating their celebrity clientele it seems to make it in this industry all one needs is an A-list front row. Good clothes can't hurt either.



Front Row at Calvin Klein

Gossip Girl's Blake Lively at DvF

Familiar faces were seen strutting their stuff on the catwalk too, with local favourites Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss on high rotation after wrapping up the European fashion season. Other in-demand girls to walk for the likes of All-American (all stars?) Zac Posen, Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors were Natasha Poly, Sasha Pivovarova, Lily Donaldson and Aussie model of the moment Abbey Lee Kershaw.


Natasha Poly for Michael Kors

Abbey Lee for Isaac Mizrahi

In terms of trends, New York did what it does best; forecast. There was definite carry-through from the power-loving fall ‘09 season, especially with draped jersey, cut-outs and bondage style straps done Rodarte-esque. Tommy Hilfiger kept true to his famed All-American style with his Beachside Romp collection retaining its classic simplicity, but injected with youthful glamour and modernism. This was achieved through sharp tailoring offset by more slouchy, free flowing pieces, (nautically) knotted up with a crisp colour palette. This sure was a running trend for the week, with similar casual yet sexy tailoring at Rag & Bone and Christian Siriano (one of the rare gems unearthed by Heidi Klum’s Project Runway).


Casual cool at Tommy Hilfiger

Other refreshing shows were Isaac Mizrahi, were we saw the mixing of deconstructed masculine silhouettes with understated fifties glamour. The eighties revival is still going strong, with an almost harlot-like rock chick theme at Jill Stuart, featuring mesh filled cut-outs, hardware embellishments and the obligatory of-the-minute spandex body con. Balenciaga-inspired draped dresses were also a standout at Rachel Roy, while the draping and strong ‘80s power suit was reinvented at Donna Karen. Tribal warrior met hippie lover at print- and accessory-heavy DvF, with the adventurous designer proving, like many others, although the economy might still be lagging, fashion definitely is not.

Pictures from Zimbio