FASHION SCENE | It's Fashion Weeks!

On what feels like forever in blogging timeline, I am thrilled and feel obliged to do a post as the big month a.k.a fashion week is approaching. 

September and March are two holy months in fashion industry, for the a la mode capitals of New York, London, Milan, and Paris--in that order, celebrate the upcoming season that seems like a million year later but already so salivating with shows and parties. Not to be seconded, the street style will also undoubtedly be an essential part of the fashion weeks, where the right clothes (that is autumn/winter collection) are worn at the right seasons, and we can cheer upon it.

Hoard of editors and buyers and bloggers--the last one mentioned is still a highly debatable subject (or object?) up until today, in which people and the industry as a whole are weighing their influence and importance for sitting up in the same row as the journalists and what themselves consider as industry insiders, will fly across the world to the cities, fitting all the statement pieces into their trunks (monogram or not) and charging their gadget batteries full all the time so they can take pictures and later instagram them all. Designers and models--used to be the only subjects worth talking about during the weeks, will still rush to get the show done, oftentimes being rewarded with the big headlines and endless mentions after satisfying the hunger of the fashion eyes.

And what is the main point of it all?

Years before (fashion historian can calculate), people like ME--a.k.a. no one, cannot give this kind of elaboration because everything happened in fashion weeks is basically untouched, away from the reach of the mundane. Shows are exclusive, invitations are given to the most influential, clients, buyers, and editors are the only pairs of vision who see. So with all the access we have to whatever happens behind-the-scene and plenty photos that tell stories, how will the fashion week change?

One, everything will get stale so easily. Suzy Menkes has articulated it in T Magazine just right regarding the confusing season of fashion, where the fashion weeks are showing six months in advance and being stocked just for around a month. As everything has been reviewed and seen before, when the season comes, it will no longer be viewed as new, but rather, outdated.

Two, the line between the insiders and outsiders is blurry. We witness it all, we have access to it all; so who to say that we are outsiders? Journalists, for once, get all the invitations. But now, the bloggers, even those who only showcase what they wear each and every day without any insight and commentary pieces can get into the show, taking beautiful photos, and (probably) walking away with goodies. I really appreciate those who really put out great piece of writing accompanied by photos, thus enabling me to understand the collection from different point of view and helping me to reach the exclusivity. But those who perhaps hashtag their post with #ootd each and every time? I still don't get it.

Three, overflowing information. I have once stopped following certain twitter accounts as they constantly update everything happens and somehow it bugs the hell out of me. Call me old-school but that is really what I feel, that people require some time to digest all the updates of fashion week. At least, a thoughtful commentary and decent photo are sufficient to feed us all, rather than constantly updating meaningless low quality photos on everything you see on the runway (which is later uploaded by style.com anyway). And that is just one case, probably in relation with how fast everything turns old is that we see similar outtakes everywhere and cannot help but getting tired of it.

Still, I am excited about fashion weeks and wish to one day join the merciless, fashionably on-time crowd.

What say you?

image: STREETFSN

FASHION SCENE | Do Men Party Harder Than Girls?

It is that time of the year again. No, not Christmas for sure, we have left that and I satisfactorily can announce another happy 11 months without constant jingle and red costumes everywhere. It is the time when all the womenswear labels are busy gearing up for the upcoming fashion week. Which means the slot in between is filled with Adam's attire--something relatively calm called Men Fashion Week.

Without any overbearing highlights and starlets running the streets, being chased by hoard of street photographers, menswear serves its definitive purpose: to showcase the aesthetic, luxury, and lifestyle of dressing for men. I contemplate myself whether womenswear can be treated the same, thus we all can focus on the clothes and forget all the drama and gossips. But, no. This classy take and laid back air can only be found within Men Fashion Week. Girls need the excitement but men party in their own way. Period.

The look that caught me, though, are these two latex trench from Burberry. I cannot credit Christopher Bailey enough for his innovation with respects to Burberry heritage. Without forgetting the protests I will have from my man, these two coats look dapper enough in tackling the rain in style. I want one myself.

While for the conventional crowd, I want to leave them happily walking in grey outerwear, white pants, and brown shoes. Italian knows best.

all images are from style.com

FASHION SCENE | It's Technological, Baby

New York Fashion Week has ended, with few standout collections, and a little phenomenon I prefer to call technological effect.

First thing: I dropped my jaw (not literally ofc) once I saw the runway images of Proenza Schouler, something I have already been aware of, for their usual brilliance ideas and execution on the majestic runway. The finale that features clothes made with various photos printed and sewn together, creating abstract looking pieces, is apparently inspired by tumblr. One of the most hyped websites that allows the users to post, reblog, and love the pictures, stories, and music they like has been showcased in a non digital way by the designers duo, an utmost compliment for the front-liners in the world wide web.

Meanwhile as I was browsing drowsily before I hit the bed the other day, a video of Diane von Furstenberg's backstage through the Google's latest technology, Glass. I immediately fell for the concept the moment I saw it. The Glass looks minimalist and raw. I predict it will be that hippest, latest fashion accessory that kicks the experience even further. The designer's view, in this case Ms. von Furstenberg's, escalates the enjoyment of fashion week madness. Not to mention that some of the models also wore it on the runway, brings closer the runway coolness to the internet audience. I can only say it is major.

image source: style.com

To insert a comment here, being a tumblr user and an internet avid user in general myself, I love seeing how fashion and technology can go hand in hand. For years the designers have been trying to perfect their design as well as boosting their sales, with the role of internet is comprehensibly essential for their growth. Not to mention plenty of talented names out there enable the use of technology to form unimaginable design and print. I guess I will do further research on this and will let you know if anything goes interesting on my side... :)

FASHION SCENE | Sharpness

So this post has actually been planned ever since I received a sweet surprise (an invitation to the show, it was) from Sapto Djojokartiko, a renown Indonesian designer with distinct sense of culture and immaculate details. This time, though, he presented a ready-to-wear collection, after a series of couture and wedding ones.

A missing camera should be an appropriate excuse that the show's photos I took are from my dear Blackberry. The clothes, though, as expected from someone like him, are sharp. Evoking the feminine yet strong aura of a woman, with a dose of cultural influences, Sapto brings velvet red, jet black, and daring gold alive in the womanly shaped dresses and blazers. The see-through skirts are my favourites, dangling the eyes of the beholder to the peeking skin without overly exposing it.

Dark romanticism it is, the story that captures the heart of the viewer and women who wear it. I guess Sapto carries distinct technique in which his ideas are translated sublimely within his designs. There is least doubt that he will make so far as this RTW collection may be the remark of his persistent stamp in fashion industry.

These closer photos are taken from his blog. Guess you should know more about Sapto Djojokartiko this way! :)

ON RADAR | Colour Swoon from Paris

Reflecting back to two years ago when a silly me spent time around Paris trying to get my hands on everything in the Galleries de Lafayette and Sephora whilst forgetting tons of artistic and romantic architectural buildings of the city, I know now I should have done a better travelling next time. Enough about my babble (though still, I want to chill around vintage stores in Paris), the collections during its fall presentation are lovely and well thought. Here are some (un)expected colours I encountered within the creative glory of Balmain, Givenchy, Maiyet, Haider Ackermann, and one more designer (bonus!) at the end.

DUSTY PINK from Balmain

I know I complain a lot. A LOT. Few days ago when I saw Olivier Rousteing's concept for Balmain, I complained about its monotonous theme. I do not take my complain back, but still, I could care less. The fantastically crafted embellished dresses and jackets that were showcased in the fall fashion show are not something new from Balmain but the crowd out there (including me) still wow-ing over the signature. Then, these dusty pinks are personally the show highlights for me, with that beautiful leather jacket with printed pants (left) and the firmly structured jacket that replenishes similar print situation. Winner.  

OLIVE GREEN from Givenchy

The whole dark, rather chilling aura of Givenchy's fall show brings something else on the table. Tisci still maintains those boots from the pre-fall collection but thankfully he leaves the nose rings. Move on to these rare colours, I haven't really seen much green this season but these one look regal. The silk pants and blouses are shaped in such a simple yet tidy way, complemented perfectly with black pairings. Another key: the quilted (leather?) trousers. It is an amazing far-from-basic-boring staple piece I imagine I can pair with anything else in my closet. ANYTHING.

SOLID BLACK from Maiyet

Honestly I haven't acknowledged much of Maiyet, but this collection is quite something to note. The black pieces sold me. Capes are the new jackets but semi-cape jacket? Brilliant. I love how simple yet twisted the blouse-pants-jackets pairing, and with a rebellious ladylike silhouette (right) shown, I could not ask for better black. If money is not an issue, the Balmain stuffs and these two outfits will go straight away to my closet. They are the investment pieces.

HINTS OF METALLIC from Haider Ackermann

Origami-like cutting and sharp tailoring are parts of magic in Ackermann's presentation from time to time. This time though, what pitches are actually these metallic pants. They are great options for rebel chic look, for the girls and womans who destined to be sharp and pensive. The sharp jackets with cinched black belts are figure helper, I think, especially those who want to hide their hips and show their waist like me. *wink.

BONUS:

GRAPHICAL NEUTRALS from Kenzo

I know the title says "Colour Swoon" but what you see here are graphics. To my surprised I love this collection of Kenzo--it is very unexpected with various options from quirky to ladylike to graphic illusion. These two are the highs, with different prints that are joined by the neutral forces that results in quirky-tomboy mod. Pants are getting interesting this season and Kenzo has just confirmed it. 

FASHION SCENE | The Young and The Restless

The international fashion front runners are currently sipping their cappucino before rushing to Milan Fashion Week's shows but here in Jakarta, we get a parade of our own. Reviewing over the past seasons of Indonesian fashion industry, there is no doubt that this creative class is on the rise. With another fashion week being held just around three months after the yearly other fashion week I wonder what the designers will showcast differently in such short period of time. I am one of the lucky fashion bastards to get the invitation to the Dulux fashion show that involved quite a serious thing in there, all the promising young designers who apparently being "tight" together with the colour concept from Dulux.

The show was started with a serene collection from Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan. Unlike his previous Dichotomy touch where black dominated the stage, now he takes a softer turn, with peach, dusty grey, beige, and some hints of the colour of the year (tangerine orange it is). With constitutionally modern silhouette, Yosafat endeavours to accentuate some plain shirts with sparkles and mix of various fabric that escapes from one dimensional look.

I somehow wish that the clothes weren't so serious, since the sleek hair and pencil skirts kinda remind me of office thingy. Still, Yosafat has articulately developed his signature cut and polished look that makes me able to grasp the continuation and consistency of his design, that without being over the top or highly dramatic, it deserves the attention.

When I take a closer look at these shots, taken from his twitter, I reconfirmed my unskilled eyes to see the orange-y details better. In my honest opinion, I do not fancy those. The additional wings on the side of the skirts are debatable, at some point it is actually refreshing to see unexpected details, but it potentially makes the hips appear wider. On the top of my mind when I see the thin line is again, stewardess uniform, which I think that the pencil skirt can be taken a little bit more sophisticated than just lines. Personally, I guess Yosafat should really focus on his fabric mix and invent something refreshing with it, like the beige leather with organza sleeves shirt. Clever clever design.

Second up on the show is Albert Yanuar, who presented his cocktail gowns in vibrant colours and a wedding dress! This one specific fuschia definitely caught my eyes, where the model also worked it out as if she was up to some kind of award show. What is not entirely new, but I appreciate it for trying, is when the models were surrounding the wedding dress and unattached the layer of it. Such scene obviously has been taken place at McQueen with the surreal dresses play, and if I am not mistaken, Issey Miyake's.

The other girls seemed like bridemaids--with beautifully crafted dresses with little details that entertained the eyes. There were a lot of flower petals involved in making I guess (artificial ones, for sure), that heighten the romantic creme de la creme of the dresses. I was not entirely surprised, however, this wedding dress will definitely come in handy for the brides who want to party hard after their holy ceremonies :p

Bad news after seeing the two young designers presented their collection, my camera died. Luckily though, I carried with me another one, and despite of its poor quality for taking moving pictures, I still have a couple of "usable" pictures to show.

I was excited to see what Imelda Kartini will bring to the table this time. I turned up at her show in the previous Jakarta Fashion Week, and quite entertained with the drama she narrated. This time, though, she utilized earth tones to form a tough-slash-mysterious look wit plenty drapery, braided masks, and complicated cutting. It was quite notable that Imelda strives to push her boundaries further, aside from giving a structured, delicate composition like her couture design, she steps it up with military look.

Casual classic Nikicio design that is so simple and minimal, sometimes with accelerated cutting and boyish vibe, is presented on the show. Though I expect her to experiment more rather than some basic coloured jacket, blazer, and shirts, I would say that her customers will still fancy her clothes. It is just so easy to absorb, easy to throw on, and easy to mix, that I do think Nikicio has created a caste of her own. I somehow wish the designer would elevate her structured specialty and androgynous dream to deliver original, breakthrough urban look.

Lastly, Jeffry Tan pours candy colours to menswear. Ummm.. I am not so sure about those pink pants, they are not the most flattering, and paired with yellow, I think this collection is risky. I have once seen a piece of Jeffry's in an fashion-art exhibition and expected more of him. With his notable womenswear on the rise, there are still some works to do in the menswear field seeing these questionable neon on his catwalk.

I rest my case. Pictures are taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

LOVE-WORTHY: An Ode to Winehouse

With deep vocal, clever lyrics, and jazzy blues melody, Amy Winehouse is one of my all time favourites who sadly, left too soon. Her song has accompanied me through the hardships of life and her powerful message behind her songs has brought me calm soul. When the extraordinnaire, Jean Paul Gaultier decided to base his entire 2012 couture collection on Winehouse's take on fashion, I couldn't help but wonder. How would he interpret the sassy, sometimes wacky style of the jazz singer into something authentic and detailed like haute couture?

It was nevertheless far from disappointing. I admire how Gaultier manifests the beehives, tiny waist, and rebellious avant garde style of Amy to something peculiarly beautiful. The tuxedo combined with sequined corset and those white polo dress pay a respectful tribute to the singer, and to fashion.

"There was also a dishabille edge, with necklines draping asymmetrically, jacket slipping off shoulders, and bosom bursting ripely forth," Tim Blanks described. I am kinda excited to see a lot of black on the runway, especially when it is treated this way. Intriguingly perfect.

images are from style.com

Went all crazy about little details, can't really imagine how Amy would wear these. She will rock it all for sure!

Fashion Scene: Black is for Yosafat

Pouring monochromatic colour palette in his showcase in Jakarta Fashion Week 2012, Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan feasts the fashionista with black dominating the stage. He partners with Nokia this year, mentioned that he was inspired by the simple yet innovative design of Nokia N9 (this is NOT a sponsored post, really—although I checked out the phone by myself and found some interesting sleek design in it J ).

The Dichotomy theme which means separation of two distinguished featured elements is translated in richness of texture he uses. The dominancy of black does neither bore the eyes nor look stiff on the models. From pencil skirts to pants, see-through tops to see-through peplum, the designer attempts to bring out edged sophistication. 

Please excuse my lousy blurry picts, here are the best I could shoot with my bloody compact cam. Crossing fingers to grab better cam though.

From tulle, velvet, jersey, and leather, each fabric shares equal spotlight. The surprise for me are this knitted top that looks sexy and comfy, and the see through pocket that reminds me of Alexander Wang SS2012. The whole collection is neatly prepared, I have to say although there are some pieces I am not really into...

The jacket on the first and third picture feel a little bit too costume-y for me, don't they remind you of flight attendant-slash-marching band girls? And the jacket in the middle reminds me of vampire, which means it will be worn only on Halloween (sorry!). Nevertheless, the whole collection signals me that Yosafat is one young designer to be anticipated for--I'm really looking forward for his next move and I wish him all the best!

Fashion Scene: Splash of Jakarta Fashion Week 2012

(WARNING: LONG TEXT POST)

Jakarta Fashion Week is a yearly event where Indonesian designers, both the "established" and upcoming ones showcase their newest collections to buyers, editors, socialites, celebrities, and "commoners." As I have mentioned in some posts earlier, I happen to take part in this yearly event as part of Oscar Lawalata x Justin Smith's team, assisting most of the marketing and PR materials needed. Running from backstage to press conference to fashion tent was tiring albeit the experience shows the side of fashion I have never seen before. The downside and "unglorious" tasks are part of the obligation, yet I am pretty much excited handling such big event.

I have been meaning to take lots of pictures to share the "inside" part of JFW yet my camera wouldn't allow me. It may sound like I'm whining, but the reality really hurts. I took tons of pictures of the runways and NONE turns out post-worthy :( So I decided to grab some pictures from the Jakarta Fashion Week 2012 gallery, and found some minimalism and pastels that stood out from the overly-embellished dresses and night gowns. 

Alekeunike, Hien Le, Jill by Gloria Agatha

From my super quick browsing I found that these three white-pastels combination are what I love the most. Alekeunike and Jill by Gloria Agatha are two brands that are still new to my ears, I swore I tried to google them and looked for these two in the schedule list but couldn't find any :( Am I that tired or is the information so limited? Hien Le, on the other hand, is a designer from Berlin who came to Jakarta along with other "Berlin Fashion Week" designers to showcase their collections, I am not quite sure how JFW Committee or Goethe Institut as the organizer pick those designers nor did I watch Hien Le's show. I simply post it because I like it ;)

*just edited two backstage photo ;)

Oscar and the team :) *not full team unfortunately..

The humble-extraordinaire milliner, Justin Smith and his assistant, Hanu at backstage. He is definitely a nice and super talented person!

This is the best picture I took despite the blur :( it is the finale of Boessert-Schorn collection, another Berlin designer that I have talked about. As soon as I have time (and ultra willingness) I would try my best to compile other looks, sadly though the JFW website does not provide complete pictures of each designer's collection, which makes it hard for me to gain complete professional pictures for reviewing purpose. I do not really understand the policy so I assume that the pictures are actually aimed for commercial purpose? (that the media will purchase it from them?) *if any of the committees reads this, they will perhaps be offended (sorry!) yet I find it rather disappointing that even the international fashion world has limited access to the photographs. Even to backstage (perhaps they do not want some perverts take pictures of the models while they are changing the clothes), but I really hope that there are more coverage of this yearly event besides the social media bombs that spread words and snapshots of the collections. Thoughts?

Fashion Scene-Versace x H&M : how bold will you go

One of the highly anticipated collection of Fall 2011, the collaboration between Versace and H&M is now out! H&M really has a good marketing strategy, I have to say, by collaborating with high-end designers to create more affordable clothing, from Sonia Rykiel to Lanvin, and now Versace (omigosh). I have to say, it’s between love, like, and not entirely sure.. Not because the clothes aren’t great, but between the pops of colour, prints, and studs, I would rather one piece to stand out and let others being simplistic. But Versace proves it differently..

These two are from the campaign by Mert and Marcus, check out the complete campaign pictures here. Both are my absolute favourite of the whole campaign, I mean, just check out how fabulous the print is! The colours are just right, each piece really stands out and complements each other, and both ladies really wear the clothes, not vice versa. Superb!

Here is some photos from the collection, photographed by Kacper Kasprzyk. I'm really into the prints--the scarf, the tube top, the legging although I find it a little bit "weather inappropriate" because usually fall is all about dark and pale colours. The black studded dresses (esp the leather one) are rather costume-y and not really wearable except I am a regular performer or something (sorry). The black cut-out dress is my other favourite and since yellow is the new black, I will support this studded one (heheheh). The accessories are very versace-y (excuse me for using such adjective) albeit that little black pouch comes rather unpractical.

And apparently they have the collection for man too (I really have just known it >.<) but then again, I am not sure how those men will react to this. The leather jacket with Versace's logo all over it looks just fine but the zebra suit? The pink suit? And prints on the jacket's sleeves? What I know is my man will not wear them. Period. The clothes are crafted well but implicitly show some old, vintage, flamboyant style which isn't men's universal language. What do you think?


Images courtesy of H&M