Danielle: Balmain presented a lazy collection this season. When I say lazy, I mean that they created nothing new — and are starting to bore me. Trendy Spring color updates to leather jackets and pants were made, but nothing innovative. Classically, the looks resembled “alternative” streetwalkers, and the famous $1,500 shredded knit tee got safety pins added to it. Their shredded leather shorts were safety pinned as well, and might demand a DIY project in my near future.

Harry: When the first look came out, I thought to myself “haven’t we seen this look on Daria before?” It is true that designers have to have their own signature style to keep the customers coming back to them. Christophe Decarnin undoubtedly has an eye for what young women want. Balmain is very Serena van der Woodsen, Rihanna, and all those cool girls. However, I wish there is a more distinct theme for every season—because it is supposed to be a show. Christophe’s theme has been rock ‘n’ roll for years now. It’s even hard to tell the season. Here’s a food for thought: next time you want to get that Balmain look, grab a basic T shirt from Old Navy, cut it, rip it, and then put the pieces back together with safety pins. Then, put on a pair leather leggings (the shinier, the Balmainer) and a jacket.

Danielle: Next time I want to step out onto the street and not have to see or deal with the world, I will turn to Chalayan’s scarf look. Also, I would be more than happy to have a team of three assistants following me; picking up my dress train to make the fabric seem as if it were floating.

Harry: Hussein Chalayan always challenges our mind to distinguish the line between avant-garde and insanity. This season, he toned it down a little bit. Gone are the days of coffee tables that transform into a wooden skirts or dresses that undress themselves, his Spring 2011 collection, as he mentioned, is “an abstract take on Japan.” The first four looks had the model’s face covered with a piece of fabric. Is he perhaps trying to address the women role in Japanese society? I admire Chalayan for sending down different materials, colors, textures and prints, but still able to make the collection looked cohesive.

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Marni

Danielle: This season, Marni took their geometric aesthetic to an aquatic level. The collection was obviously inspired by wetsuits, swimwear, and large duck feet. The mix of ‘70s inspired textiles made my heartbeat rise, but I would never wear a shoe that made my foot look that wide. Or flat.

Harry: Marni stands for all the things I like: rich colors, art, eclectic bohemian, ’60s prints, demurity and quirkiness. This season, Marni girls are ready to be involved in sports. All models walked with leather caps and sandals. My favorite looks were all the laser-cut leather pieces. Since the theme is beach/sports, the poor models had to strut in sandals—which made them looked even quirkier. The orange lips were definitely something that I’ve loved for a while now. It’s just so fresh. If I were a rich Italian twenty-something woman, I would only wear Marni everyday — and the orange lips too.

Missoni

Danielle: Missoni shocked me this season by producing a bold, youthful, very “Danielle” collection. Inspiration was drawn from epic textile centers of the world including Africa, Mexico, and South Eastern Asia. If you know me at all, you can only assume how quickly I fell in love with this collection. Honestly, I would wear almost every piece of it. I am especially loving the large square hats, typographic letters in the knits, and trend focused sunglasses.

Harry: Like Marni, Missoni is one of the other fashion houses that apply the principles of design that I like. Missoni girls are going on a trip. Judging from the prints, I would say it’s somewhere Africa or Indonesia. Angela Missoni found a new method of knitting the famous Missoni classics and making them able to hold pleats and light enough to be transparent. The youthful vibe is more noticeable, perhaps because Angela’s daughter Margherita has folded into the family biz.

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FSD bloggers Harry Go and Danielle Wallis put their two cents in about some of the collections at London Fashion week…

Mary Katrantzou

Harry: I must admit I haven’t been following this designer. Judging from her Spring 2011 collection, I could feel a little bit of Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen here and there. But it’s perfectly fine because fashion always pulls inspiration from somewhere else. Mary Katrantzou was inspired by highly stylized photography from Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin. I remember visiting the School of Interior Architecture & Design and seeing some projects hanging on the wall, giving you the illusion that you’re seeing into a window little houses. That’s the same feeling I got from the prints on the dresses: serene, whimsical and colorful.

Danielle: Have you ever thought about going out to dinner in Los Angeles with an image of the skyline printed on your mini dress? Then, you should take a look at Mary Katrantzou’s Spring 2011 collection. The designer juxtaposed hard, architecture-inspired lines with soft, flowing layers and mini-trains. I’m shameless when I state how unique and fantastic I think these textiles are. Images of window panes, elegant interior spaces, and flower bouquets seemed to be mixed up and re-assembled onto unique separates and dresses. I would love to wear one of the structured lamp shade – shaped skirts (complete with tassel lining).

Mark Fast

Harry: Mark Fast does body-conscious dresses. Last year he let a plus size model to open his show (who looked a bit uncomfortable in that revealing dress). Mark Fast’s Spring 2011 was a reminiscent of his Spring 2010, but executed more commercially. He also mixed his webby style with something more geometric and current. The fringe wasn’t a new thing for Mark, but it really helped the whole collection feel more current. The show was opened with black dresses, transitioned to some of the most beautiful spring colors, and closed with white dresses. I thought that was a pretty fun color journey.

Danielle: Mark Fast’s refreshing Spring collection has nothing but “spotlight stealer” written all over it. (Just imagine stopping traffic in one of these dresses!) Fast showed his classic knits in variation of mini to maxi, open stitched to sheer coverage, separates to one pieces, and black and white to vivid colors. He took body contouring to the next level, which I think his young customer base will adore. If nothing else, I definitely think we will see traces of his design details in fast fashion stores next spring.

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Resident blogger Harry Go and fashion merchandising student, Danielle Wallis give a he said/she said take on some of the collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Rodarte

Harry: Kate and Laura Mulleavy are California girls (in case you didn’t know). Northern California inspired their Spring 2011 collection. The collection presented different shades of brown wrapped together in Rodarte silhouettes. The presentation was embodied the California girl: the hair, the gold but not many models could pull off this makeup. Rasa Zukauskaite and Madisyn Ritland looked very comical. That goes to show: not everyone can be one of Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”!

Danielle: Each season, I highly anticipate viewing Rodarte’s collection. Not only am I a fan of their heels, knitwear, and textile mixing, but I too grew up in the coastal and forested Northern California — and therefore feel a connection toward the designers. I am loving their stiff skirts, woodland textiles, oceanic blue florals, and sheer white socks. I was excited to see their signature shoulder and stomach cut outs included in the collection, yet I’m missing their overly busy, textured layers.

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It is not a secret that I adore Marc Jacobs. Since  my very first post on Fashion School Daily, I have been showing my love for him.  That is why I am writing a follow up to my post about reading with a post about Marc Jacobs’s new store Bookmarc.

Despite the literary name, Bookmarc actually sells lots of non-literary items, such as key chains and journals with cheeky phrases like “Moby’s Dick (LOL)” and “Breakfast at Bleecker” printed on the covers. In addition, Marc has his own sharpies, pencil colors, lipstick pens, postcards, socks, boxer briefs, condoms and more “special” items.

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A Monday morning tweet from Fashionologie.com told me that Anna Wintour owns an iPad. I was flummoxed because fashion and technology do not always go together. The best interpretation of this relationship is when Samantha Jones handed her iPhone to Carrie Bradshaw in which she replies “I don’t know how to work this,” on her wedding day in Sex and The City the movie.

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The September issue of fashion magazines is the biggest selling issue all year — so it plays a big role in fashion. In RJ Cutler’s documentary, The September Issue Candy Pratts Price confirms that “September is the January in fashion,” confirmed by Candy Pratts Price. That is why when it comes to September cover, most publications play it safe by putting a blonde celebrity (or a model with celebrity status) in a pretty dress.

Let’s analyze last year’s September issues: Vogue put Charlize Theron, W put Kate Moss, Elle put Jennifer Aniston, Glamour put Jessica Simpson, Marie Claire put Ashley Olsen (or her twin—I still can’t tell them apart), and Allure had Amanda Seyfried. It was an all-blonde September — and Dodai Stewart from Jezebel was furious about it.

This year, some magazines still play it safe(ish). Harper’s Bazaar put Jennifer Aniston (she’s quite a popular choice, isn’t she?), Elle nabbed Julia Roberts, InStyle picked Hilary Swank. However, some tried to push the envelope delicately. Teen Vogue put Justin Bieber on the cover—which was genius because all these prepubescent girls will definitely buy a copy or two. Vanity Fair featured Lady Gaga who is blonde, but edgier than Jennifer Aniston or Jessica Simpson. American Vogue put Halle Berry in Anna Wintour’s cropped hairdo circa early ‘90s. (BTW, Halle is the second African American woman to appear on Vogue’s September cover. The first was Naomi Campbell in 1989.)

Perhaps my favorite is Stefano Tonchi’s W. It features up-and-coming actresses Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and the upcoming Thor), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Yaya DaCosta (The Kids Are All Right), Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Emma Roberts, and Zoe Kravitz. I love the pyramidal composition of the cover girls. The cover will be triple-page foldout and will have W’s new logo, which is an italicized “W”. The font choice is also much better than Vogue’s Futura.

Follow the jump for covers from more September issues.

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As a cat person, I sometimes envy dog people who are able to dress their pooches with cute dresses. I am aware that the dogs sometimes look uncomfortable wearing clothes, but aren’t some of the best pieces of fashion uncomfortable (i.e. high heels)?

Cats are en vogue. Miuccia Prada celebrated the felines in Miu Miu Spring 2010 collection and it is about time for cats to gain some more recognition in the fashion world. Cats are begging for their place in fashion. After all, it’s called the catwalk not the dog walk.

Well, it seems that the people at Opening Ceremony (in case you forgot, owners Humberto and Carol were our guests in May) and United Bamboo heard the demands of cat-lovers. United Bamboo launched limited edition 2010 calendars featuring cute kitties wearing their clothes earlier this year. Now, for $500, you’ll be able to dress your cats in United Bamboo. There are two designs to choose from.

Now we can all match our cats:

Perhaps our school should offer Animalwear Design class next semester. Would you sign up?

Written by: Harry Go

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When I think of Versace, I think of a long, blonde woman with a radiant solid colored dress.

That is how Donatella Versace has shaped the brand. Perhaps Donatella has a youth obsession and she wants everyone to look like her—but younger. The models on the Versace catwalk somehow look like a better presentation of Donatella herself. Take a look at this image below from Versace Spring 2010 collection.

See what I mean?
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Say hello to Cailin Hill. She joins the ranks of the many, many models who blog (like Dorothea Barth-Jörgensen.

Unfortunately, Cailin, whose face may look like Lydia Hearst’s from some angles, has not gained enough exposure yet — at least not in American fashion scene. Cailin is based in Paris, where she claimed “all the cool people in Paris are actually from Germany“. Her blog is actually great! It is called Model.Burnbook.

From the look of it, one might guess it’s a blog of a graphic designer or some creative guy. I love the background and the typography. And the images! She also produces quite witty quotes such as, “Today I Facebook lurked all my exes out of boredom and discovered none of them have gotten any richer or any better-looking.” I will definitely be checking her blog for inspirations.

Cailin also tweets. Don’t we just love a geeky model?

Cailin Hill is my newest favorite model.

P.S. I think she has an obsession Lindsay Lohan — she has excessive posts about her.

Written by: Harry Go

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