by Marko.

OK, so Suzy Menkes noted that knits are undergoing a certain renewal (also see Kim’s entry here on Trendbites), not really a revival, of course. If I’m not mistaken Suzy wrote about knitwear for the current fall/winter season. Anyway, read her article on iht.com and see for yourself. Perhaps we can move on to summer knits, mentioning the likes of Louise Goldin (please see her excellent collection on style.com). First, let’s juxtapose two pictures, one of Jil Sander and the other of Prada. Both display knits under transparent fabrics. I thought this would be an interesting game of fabric superposition for you to contemplate (Lagerfeld did something interesting for Chanel spring 2007: he enveloped denim in tulle, softening and creating shades, as if moulding the body and/or apparel). As for transparency/veiling, it is interesting to juxtapose these three with Dior’s spring 2006, especially considering how light fabrics were treated and in Dior’s case made to look heavy (or wet) by giving the impression that they were dipped or partly dyed in colour. Prada will give you a heavy print, and at Jil Sander the lightness will be pushed to the limit – appreciating the moment of perishing. In fact you can compare those collections, especially particular outfits, and in certain moments you can go down the road of what the Japanese designers did years ago.

……… Prada S/S 08 ……………………. Jil Sander S/S 08

……… Dior S/S 06………………………….. Chanel S/S 07

One more thing you can notice though: one can really see where exactly Raf Simons’s principle of repetition comes to the fore. Notice how he developed the idea of the »twosome« (together with colour blocking), as I like to call it, now infusing it with imaginary light (the idea of light or glow was definitely best displayed in his men’s Spring/Summer show for Jil Sander). This has been present for a couple of seasons now, and you can really trace its development. It can go into Prada’s experimenting with weaving (fabric into fabric) in her fall/winter 2007 collection, juxtaposing two colours, tonalities, gradation, one colour going into the next, also giving the feel of shade, of one colour being softly spray-painted on the other, it can go towards Prada’s vernice sfumato shoes, etc. Louis Vuitton’s fall 2007 men’s collection also had many examples. Forget it, it is everywhere, taking more and more different paths, but in the end it is about juxtaposing and combining of almost everything, especially opposites (from fabrics, layers, colours, proportions, to the mix of all those at once – one look, filled with contrasts on many levels). This does create a very powerful statement and visual delight. They’re playing with your eyes…and fingers.

……………… Prada F/W 07 …………..

………..Raf Simons F/W 07 …………….Louis Vuitton F/W 07

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by Marko.

Since I’m from Slovenia, I might as well share some of our most important industrial (interior) design achievements, especially during the Yugoslavia years. Aynway, I bought one of these chairs in wenge, called the Rex chair, by Niko Kralj (his last name means »king«), a couple of weeks ago. Comfy. The funny thing is that I actually first sat on one of those during my exams at the University. See, our professors are proud people. Anyway, during those years Mr. Niko Kralj, an architect who studied with Eames, supposedly almost didn’t make a single penny, or should I say: dinar, from his folding furniture designs, originating from 1952. Around 2 million were made. The design is inspired by, or a part of, so-called Scandinavian nature-minimalism, so the construction is simple and was first based on solid beech wood with a fluid folding mechanism. His design principle was always innovative simplicity (technically speaking), good form, and availability or social responsibility (»good design for low incomes«). Boy, how the times have changed. The originals can cost up to more than $200 dollars, the new ones are a bit cheaper, around $120. Of course, it all depends on the size, and type of wood. Well, you can get an idea of all the styles possible in the pictures above. Here’s a link to the catalogue in pdf format in case you’re interested:

http://www.impakta.si/Datoteke/Slike_ostalo/REX_folder_07_mali.pdf

The chair is also included in the MOMA design collection.

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by Marko.

With all the (in certain cases justified) babble about the line between the public and private, this seems to be more about intimacy, or in Prada’s case: fantasy, in all its unnerving, seemingly organic form. Not daydreaming but fantasy. Not simply in terms of what is disclosed and what not, more in terms of what resists to be grasped: the secret of him or her is already a secret for her or him. Prada’s girl not being able to reach behind her own back, the back of her devious, creative mind, that is. Beyond control. Not transparent to herself. And she wears her sexual fantasies on her dress (take a closer look) – so it’s all out there, but still, something resists. No secret, simply the fact that you’re not transparent to yourself. We all get the feeling that disclosing everything can even deepen the secret. Of Serge’s secret world. Of her world. Just ask yourself how you would react if somebody told you what you objectively are. »Is this really me?« Feeling completely detached from yourself.

Prada Spring 08

The key to handling the secret behind the curtain is ambiguity. First there is ambiguity that transforms itself into, is nothing but a play of opposites. There is certainly something that connects Prada and Balenciaga, not just a play of opposites (although Prada is moving away from that, hopefully). It is in fact the setting of their shows. On the one hand a seemingly Gainsbourg inspired nook and on the other the wildly imaginative room at Prada. They both share two things: a certain inwardness or move towards intimacy in terms of shelter or shade. But there is no secret in this place, no secrecy to it also. It is just an empty space »for thyself«, nothing less, just a blank canvas one can fill with fantasy. Draw on the walls, breathe. So, if fantasy is needed now, it is because something collapsed or is in the process of collapsing, like an old approach. Fantasy teaches you to desire (anew, something else) or to put it more succinctly: what to desire, also, in a way, how to fantasize. And from this perspective, one can see that designers like Prada are indeed trying to move forward, Prada herself talking about »new creativity« (we could say: playfulness), reaching for art nouveau because of its special resonance, namely in the new, in the break.

Prada Spring 08

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where the reader is warmly invited to wildly, and most definitely indiscreetly, speculate about the the latest Balenciaga collection
by Marko.

Serge Gainsbourg’s home in Paris; Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2008
(courtesy of Vanity Fair) La Flor de mi secreto

Is there a connection, I ask? Going through the November issue of Vanity Fair, and focusing on the story about Serge Gainsbourg’s home, or his secret world, as they aptly called it, became truly interesting after seeing one picture. The interior of Gainsbourg’s home (which will supposedly be turned into a museum soon), basically that of a discreetly lit hallway with black walls and a highly decorative carpet, was somehow too close to the feeling one got upon noticing the setting of this particular Balenciaga collection. Some critics’ initial reactions were more in the line of »cheap decoration of local hotels«. Funny. Now, it is not my place to speculate about the well known friendship between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nicolas Ghesquière, and if it had any part in this….No, sorry, it is, but only as a possible springboard for thinking about the collection. Maybe it’s all too good to be true. And maybe, just maybe, this could be a different take or perspective on the collection, namely through the way Gainsbourg is described by his daughter. As pudique. Read the article. Who’d a thunk it? Serge, of all people, as Venus Pudica?! Well, we shouldn’t be hasty, and she’s not »pudica« but ambiguous. To gently cover is also to entice. I’m not suggesting that we extremitize this the other way and go down the way of propriety. What next? Chastity belts?

A lot of people think of armor when they see these clothes. I’m thinking more in terms of uniform, also implied in »buying a look«. This is how Jennifer Connelly looked to me in one of those dresses, one really felt the distance between her and the dress, more like a shell, really. She just put it on, nothing to it. And how liberating it can be from the pressure of constant personalizing and the stale emphasis on individuality. »Make it your own! Made especially for you! Be yourself!« Like those secret pockets only the wearer knows about.

Designers know how to tickle you the right way. Should we crack Jennifer’s shell open? No, there’s nothing behind it anyway, no eternal secret, as Jacobs, and especially Prada, nicely showed us. Perhaps the only true »secret« to be explained is hiding in the question: ‘How come there is a secret?’ or ‘When does the hint of secret emerge?’ When do we start talking that there is something lurking behind, ready to be unearthed, forcing us to slowly unveil, go down that dark hallway, that just screams of a riddle, and probably towards a door that needs to be opened. The emphasis on (un)veiling, transparency, layers….all linked to women, and Serge.

P.S.: See the video on vogue.fr featuring Carine Roitfeld and get a better look at the dark setting of the show.

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Now infamous for his sometimes controversial comments on Cathy Horyn’s New York Times blog, On the Runway, Marko has agreed to be a guest blogger here on Trendbites. I’ve long appreciated Marko’s perspective on fashion and thought that while I am continuing to nurse my cold with Puffs (see below entry), Marko could help me keep things running and interesting.

He does not disappoint. I’ll be back in about a week. Enjoy!

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