No sooner said (my last blog post So Nu? referencing menswear for Fall 09, then here comes Karl Lagerfield with his Paris Haute Couture Spring 09 collection. (see style.com for full view.)

And, boy howdy, did he ever display the example for the “Texturize Me” trend I also just blogged about. Beautiful. Lovely. Exquisite detail….words escape me. But, still, ever so Chanel.

Then an Honorable Mention goes to Alexis Mabille. With some very interesting modern and fresh takes on fashion, he’s one to watch. Not every piece was something to shout about, but there’s promise in there.

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Basically it’s back to basics. But we’re just getting started.

If anything many of the designers are reaching out to youth, as if they hadn’t before, now it’s really noticeable.

That said, there were some really fun things readily adaptable at any age. Given the times, why not?

My question to designers is, “what do your think your guy will be doing next fall?” And based upon the collections, I expect a myriad of answers.

More later.

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If Michelle O’s inaugural day dress has anything to do with it, (and I think it does), Texturize Me will be the new watchphrase.

This movement, layers of texture, has been happening for awhile though and Mrs. Obama’s dress just is a stand-out example of the times. Prada used lace in a recent past collection, I’ve shown how lace is being used in home furnishings….these are just a few examples of how texture is giving us dimension, depth, and layers or even representing the very fabric of our lives.

After all, not much in life is one dimensional anymore except the worldwide web, many would have you believe. It’s flat and has served to flatten supposedly our daily heirarchy, but I don’t see that happening much. If anything, it’s veiled heirarchy and that takes us back to texture.

And now too India is jumping into the fray. Talk about layers, of culture and history: witness the Jain Temple at Ranakpur.

The Jains are a Hindu sect known for their non-violence and asceticism, and this temple complex is one of the most important Jain sites in India. Photography by Murray Fredericks. July/August 2008 Vogue Living Austrailia.

Yes, of course, by all means, Texturize Me.

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As soon as I knew the dress was made by Isabel Toledo it had my vote. Seconds before I knew who the designer was though, I was puzzled. Mainly because Michelle Obama has been more contemporary in dress choice for the most part than this silhouette seemed to be, but this was a special day so it called for another kind of statement and fashionista per se wasn’t one, nor was being Jackie O the Second. She set herself apart for sure, from everyone without alienating anyone (unlike the election night red and black dress which created a real uproar both pro and con).

So, mission accomplished. Isabel Toledo understands women and their moments so I wholeheartedly signed on for the choice.
That said, the color, while both a brilliant and unusual choice, is also the kind of color that gives photographers and printers headaches and nightmares.

AP Images notes in their image base that the color of Michelle Obama’s dress seemed to change during the day making it difficult to know what to call the color. After doing searches on the web to see what others were saying, I also understood the variations on how it looked based on how it got printed. I’d say not only did people not know what to call the color but they didn’t know what the color was. This was a good day to snag a swatch to go with the dress.

When I saw the St. Louis Post Dispatch cover, I was impressed. By Doug Mills, I thought the image captured the relationship of President and Mrs. Obama well, their genuine look of happiness, and the essence of Michelle’s dress: sunny, different, and comfortable though chic. She appeared confident which made it all the better. But I don’t know that the dress fared that well under all paper or magazine printings.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

It was a toughie to be sure to reproduce correctly and the color of the gloves and shoes didn’t help. Where to set the dials and for what to begin the print? The greens (of the dress, the shoes and the gloves) were each a different color and not necessarily in the same family. Then there was the lighting and whether or not the shot bleached out the color of the dress or darkened the gloves so much you couldn’t tell what color they were.

And I haven’t even begun to cover what different computers do to color. So, bottom line, it was a color that did her justice…and set her apart. Albeit a printer’s nightmare.

So next time do you pick something that is easier to photograph but still does the same thing, sets one apart, makes a specific mood statement as Isabel Toledo said her choice of color for the dress was meant to do which was to create a sort of sunny attitude…bright and hopeful (our futures?) or not consider the uniformity of color printing and let variations come through that weren’t the real color, thus not the real message being sent out?

I’d have the designer working directly with Michelle Obama instead of through this shop Ikram Goldram in Chicago because I think designers know a thing or two about what they are doing and they know how to work with a subject especially the kind of designers Michelle Obama is using. They may not have had household recognition until now, but they are certainly capable and talented designers who if they had a visit directly with Michelle, may have been better able to anticipate some of the issues that come up in the process of wearing clothing for certain events.

Disclaimer: the above top Associated Press Image is by Jae Hong, which was closest to the Doug Mills image I found on the St. Louis Dispatch cover edition…..the St. Louis Post Dispatch is selling packages of their covers so the image is not available to me for reproducing.

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People’s minds and eyes are on the inauguration and the transition. Who am I to buck the tide?

To that end, the music of the day was one of my favorite highlights:

‘Air and Simple Gifts.’ composed by John Williams and performed by Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano and Anthony McGill on clarinet.

What a lovely way to begin a new administration.

(P.S. After the fact: the muscians explain how they lip synched so to speak to avoid messing up their instruments. Doesn’t really bother me, so here on Trendbites it will remain a footnote to the events of the day.)

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1902 Auguste Rodin, The Thinker.

If you weren’t a little ADD from this past presidential election cycle then by the time the year was up and $700 billion of tax money seemingly disappeared with no result, surely you felt you’d left a little of your brains on a sidewalk somewhere.

And if not then, perhaps the stock markets daily hissy fits have set you atwirl and your mind into its own kind of hissy fit….

Then came the holidays which for all their wonderfulness tend to test the nerves of even the best of us at moments.

Well then, I’ve got some recommendations for creating the focus we will all need to address the new year, this new year– 2009, be at one with ourselves again at the very least and come up with some of our own brilliant solutions at best.

Read on McDuff here…..(and it’s a list too!)….from EcoSalon, 24 Simple Effective Ways to Quiet Your Mind in 24 Hours or Less.

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On Christmas Day I wrote a blog post on 2modern’s design blog about Typography, ’cause, if you haven’t already noticed, it’s (typography) design’s new darling…..

Then Voila! there’s December’s British Vogue titled Fantastic Fashion Fantasy with all kinds of my favorite things all wrapped up in one issue. “Through the generations there are visionaries who conjure fabulous creations that go beyond the boundaries of the imagination.” And this is an understatement. It was, in my estimation, British Vogue’s Christmas present to me. All for a mere $10.99.

And if per chance you didn’t catch the issue, call them to get a copy (I know for my British friends, this is last year’s news and more than a few of you didn’t care for Kate Moss on the cover, again, but my love of this issue has to do with the typography as well as pulling some of the decade’s most creative fashions together in a crazy wonderful photo montage among other things). Besides creating these incredibly creative, and imaginative pages ( Unbelieveable Fashion, photographed by Nick Knight, above, Where the Wild Things Are photographed by Patrick Demarchelier, below), you can catch Nick Knight’s video of his shoot, Fantasia, at Showtimestudio.com. From the credits it looks as if Epilogue Imaging did the digital artwork for the magazine issue, which I take means that oh so cool typography.

There’s more in there, much more….it was all just so delish I couldn’t help but give the issue some space on my blog. For someone like me who craves visual creativity, this has been my double chocolate mousse cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust and white chocolate and whipped creme on top (in case you are wondering, I had that too during my holidays….my holidays were great by the way, how were yours?).

I loved the editor’s letter too: “Forget the It-bag, the serviceable coat, the investment buy; this is all about how extraordinary things can be–a celebration of the unusual.” Given the times, Ms. Alexander Shulman (British Vogue’s editor), this seems like a wise course of action.

As a final note, as if all of the above weren’t enough, Karl Lagerfield chimed in with Karl Lagerfield’s Secret Ball (above). I did not have to be at a glam mystery ball to get the best of what this might be about, Lagerfield’s paintings were enough for me!

I think this one’s a keeper. What do you think?

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