Comments(0) Could not help but notice:
Effeti Kitchen……………………………Dior Haute Couture 2010
Motivo-Ceaserstone ……………Mickey Rourke Golden Globes 2010
Comments(0) And you can review it yourself at Prada’s website. or “>here
The set is the most dynamic. Hip indeedy and supported the mood for a 90’s/70’s Ashton Kutcher cum Jude Law look with 3/4 length coats and big buttons, high collars and wide lapels in an edgy beige or black vinyl, pop culture prints, and a beige wool. For a Milanese house though it all had a very British tone mixed with a lot of androgeny.
Kudos on the first live stream. Again, the set was to die for…and at one point, very clear lyrics, in an almost syfy voice, announcing, “time to forget a dead empire and build a living republic, time to forget a dead empire and build a living republic.”
Head’s up fashion industry. Prada speaks.
Comments(0) 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.
Comments(0) Analyzying the Google data on Trendbites dashboard was an interesting exercise this morning. I wanted to know what was on people’s minds not just for the month but for the whole year and then their patterns throughout the year. Of course you have to take different things into consideration but let’s use some lists to cut to the chase.
Top Searched subjects for 2008 on the Trendbites blog:
1) Tattoos
2) Eco friendly water bottles.
3) Sarah Palin’s Wardrobe, designers and where can get it
4) Suzanis
5) Fretwork
Each one of these search terms can be elaborated upon because people used various terms to find info on these subject matters plus I would say that there were related items that fell into a sidebar of those topics, such as in fretwork also came Asian ornamintation….cloisone, champleve, etc., and they searched Benjamin Crutzfeldt’s name or his porcelain which is based on 18th century Chinese porcelain techniques but modernized.
As well several of these were either spiked by the news media, i.e., Palin’s wardrobe and this summer’s newsworthy research on the chemical in plastic water bottles being unsafe for people.
The very interesting one is that the tattoo subject is pretty consistent (throughout the year) as is fretwork, and suzanis…..a more recent though I expect timely for several reasons is the new Spring pattern for Pfaltzgraff’s dinnerware, Fruit Bounty. The Macys/Rwanda Project is also a big search item for December.
The remaining five of the top ten had to do more with star power, i.e., angelina jolie (who had more searches than Brad Pitt, fyi) but most of those searches came when they were getting ready to have their twins.
Then there was Heidi Klum’s red dress by John Galliano for the American Heart Association and Coke Sweepstakes promotion during the Oscars….again news timing.
And lots of searches for different industry color trends, a few in general trends for 2009-2010, BTS/BTC Dorm info searches, and finally named designer searches i.e., Oscar del la Renta, Dior, Moschino, Ralph Lauren and Nau (menswear for 2009 and the color of orange was searched specifically). I had a few for the timourous beasties wall paper and Scott Hill furnishings, the wallpaper or even furnishings from the movie Lucky #Slevin, and a few for the artists Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.
These searches can all be qualified by #1, I write about these items, #2, these are the things on people’s minds either professionally or because the news has spiked interest (TREND), or, and this one is special just because I went through the same thing, #3, very little otherwise is written about them such as Mumenshance the mime troupe from Switzerland. So they are one of the top five consistent trends but I know that that is a very special interest topic, not a trend per se.
Those top five as I listed them above are worth your consideration. My own bottom line is that if I wanted to make this a blog just about color trends and color per se in many industry categories, I would do very well with the blog….but hey all you out there I do write trends about color in depth and that info can be gotten in a much more specific manner, i.e., I use acutal pantone numbers by industry or even can create palettes!
Comments(0) 
My friends at Nau, Inc. have alerted me to their extra special savings for the next week, and since I believe sooooo very much in their company I wanted to alert you. Besides the extra 30% savings between now and December 15th, Nau is boosting their usual 2% charitable giving up to 10% on every purchase you make (you get to choose who from their list).
Non-profits are taking a real hit this season due to the economy. With Nau’s practice of giving a percentage of every purchase to one of the non-profits you choose on Nau’s list, you get to cross off 3 or 4 things on your list of things to do at one time….
#1) Buy sustainable product from an ethical resource
#2) Buy your sister, girlfriend, daughter, son, husband, wife, friend some fantastic activewear from nau as a gift
#3) Give to a favorite charity for the season
#4) Buy responsibly…..get value for your money (save 30% on clothing through Dec. 15th, that will last for a long time!)
It hits all the right chords for me…Nau always has. Thanks to Ian Yolles, head of Nau’s marketing, for letting me know about these special savings this week so I could share with you (pass it on). Not to mention isn’t the above dress to die for? It’s the Flourish dress, a cashmere angora blend. Mmmm, doesn’t that just sound and seem all warm and cozy and soothing.
Visit Nau’s website for all the details and all the products…..here. Just put the promotion code GIVE in the order summary page…..that dress above for instance is regularly $248.00….with the 30% off, it’s $178 and 10% of that goes to a charity of your choice from Nau’s partner program list. On orders of over $150.00 you get free shipping. Talk about guilt free shopping!
Nau, nice, in so many ways.
Comments(0) 
There’s no need for me to get into the politics of Russia per se…..besides their recent move into Georgia, the New York Times is reporting that they are also intending to take advantage of businesses in trouble (see “Kremlin Rules
In Hard Times, Russia Moves In to Reclaim Private Industries”).
When Cathy Horyn (New York Times esteemed fashion critic) reported on Karl Lagerfield’s recent Paris/Moscow collection for Chanel in her blog, On the Runway, I thought it fitting. Her regular commenters, whom I contend to be very insightful, felt the collection to be more theatrical than representative of our current times nor very representative of modern Russia.
My own thoughts on the Russian theme and how it will impact fashion is that it will. So while Karl Lagerfield has put his own spin on things, being more literal than not with the theme, the fact is that Russia is doing a lot of sabre rattling these days. Their presence is being felt. There’s a nouveau riche in Russia who is enjoying the fruits of quality designer clothing such as Karl Lagerfield and John Galliano, among others…..
That said I have recently found myself wearing a large, though faux, fur hat and a long coat with black boots (naturally), Cossack style, and loving it.
More to come, I suspect, on the Russian theme. As much as I depise the politics of Russia, Lagerfield has rightly pointed to a critical moment in fashion history….and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s fascinating. The bling is not American style bling. It has a heritage to the embroideries that merits a look see if not a repro, somehow. Mmmmm, a crafter’s delight, or rather a craftsman’s delight.
But for me, really, it’s the fur hats especially right now, and the boots and shearling coats that have me all agog.
Images above borrowed liberally from the On the Runway’s post. But see Chanel’s website for more of Lagerfield’s silhouettes from the collection. And I refer you to Susie Menkes’ article (the International Herald Tribune’s esteemed fashion critic) on the Lagerfield Chanel Paris/Moscow collection, and I quote:
The show that the designer called “couture for those who don’t need fittings” was filled with luscious clothes and accessories - not least the kokoshniks, rich peasant-inspired headdresses, made partially out of the models’ braided hair. Then there was the fur muff with the double Cs nesting in its fur; a bag shaped, Fabergé style, like an egg; and shoes with the Kremlin’s onion domes inverted as heels. These pieces were designed to showcase the talents of the “fournisseurs” - the cobblers, feather suppliers and embroiderers who are supported by the House of Chanel.
“I have done Russia before - for Yves Saint Laurent, for Jean-Louis Scherrer - but Karl is different and so clever in the way he mixed Constructivism with Imperial Russia and folklore,” said François Lesage, whose embroideries included delicate silver stitching on white lambskin.
Comments(0) 
Bottega Veneta Spring 09……………………………………………Dries VanNoten Spring 09
Many of the silhouettes for Menswear Spring 09 in Europe had that Great Gatsby era style to it, but more modern. One designer, Dries VanNoten, said, “I want him to be dapper, not dandy.” Mission accomplished.
Prada Spring 09…………………..Junya Watanabe Spring 09
At the same time, designers played with proportions in the length of the pant, the size of the jacket, additional volume mostly with the pants but also with some jackets, socks are an important accessory and up to the knees (as well as argyle), and then this year designers took a page out of women’s collections and gussied up the shoes to match the jacket, the shirt, or the sweater through all manner of technique.
John Galliano Spring 09
The sum total of it all for me was that men will, though serious as always, be letting their fun side show this spring.
Moschino Spring 09
I don’t know if this means designers are planning for the recession to be over or for men to be needing some other form of self expression because let’s face it, the world-wide economic situation will have taken its mighty toll by Spring 09. Perhaps it’s just that men will finally let their hair down, and wear their pants up, or something like that.
Whatever the case may be, it’s cool, man, real cool.
Bottega Veneta Spring 09…………Versace Spring 09
Denis Semachev Spring 09 
all images Style.com except Denis Semachev, International Herald Tribute.
Comments(1) 
I confess I am not a huge fan of Louis Vuitton, nor do I like a monotone style of an electric color for an outfit, but somehow this all together just works (including that 3 legged chair the model is leaning on). I wonder what he would look like walking down the streets of New York….hmmmmm, in my visualization it doesn’t work as well.
How about the streets of Sao Paulo Brazil? That works. Probably works in Europe too, but I’d like to see it with either a white blazer or a grey one? You think?
The great touch on this? the blue sandals.
But my final word, it explains the blue hair Marc Jacobs was donning for awhile.
Image from Surface Magazine’s “Getting Mono” by photographer Paul Cruz, styling by Bernardo Siaotong.
Chair is molded aluminum tripod by Poul Kjaerholm; part of a limited edition of 25 in blue for R20th Century and Sean Kelly Gallery.
Comments(0) I’ve gone on and on about Nau over the last six months, thinking it was the best thing to come along since sliced bread. It’s my opinion their “webfronts,” Nau’s trademark term for stores where you can purchase their product at an internet kiosk instead of bring it home from the store, getting an extra 10% to do so and helping to reduce a brand’s overall carbon footprint, were or are the cutting edge of retailing.
It’s where many retailers need to take their next step, and do so responsibly. As I’ve commented before, Nau’s business model is one for the text books, so I just don’t think this is Nau’s final curtain, or maybe I’m just in denial. Maybe I have more in common with Hillary Clinton than I think. Hang in there till the bitter, bitter end.
Ian Yolles, Nau’s vp of communications, says they were not immune to this nasty economic environment and investors became jittery; that just says to me they have the wrong investors; they need some Seventh Avenue guys used to eating nails at breakfast and concrete for lunch.
You don’t go down until the fat lady sings and in Nau’s instance, we’ve only just taken our seats before we were told the theatre was going dark. How is this happening that one of the greatest ideas to hit retailing in years is shuttering its doors and windows as we speak. So Wal-Mart can have a run on recycled t-shirts? Pull-ease.
I’ll refer you to TreeHugger’s obituary for Nau, they wax much more poetic about it than I and manage to give them their proper due at the same time.
Comments(0) After grappling with how to say Happy New Year to Everyone, this is what I decided on: a sneak peek to my 2009-2010 top trends, as I see it, and as a way to help wrap up 08 depending on where you are in your buying, your product launches, your presentations, or your strategy planning.
1. 
Color Cornucopia: Eye Candy for the Color Maven’s Soul. Image from John Galliano for Dior Haute Couture Spring 08 Collection. Seattlepi.com.
2. 
Mother Earth Beats Her Chest: Science Popular.
“An armada of robot submarines and marine sensors are to be deployed across the Atlantic, from Florida to the Canary Islands, to provide early warning that the Gulf Stream might be failing, an event that would trigger cataclysmic freezing in Britain for decades.” Meric Srokosz of the Southampton Oceanographic Centre, explaining the purpose of the $31 million Rapid Watch system he is heading up, does just that, citing the plotline of “The Day After Tomorrow” - specifically the collapse of the Gulf Stream - as a potential occurrence that warrants further investigation. From Treehugger.com and The Observer.
3. 
Finishing Touches Birth Special Effects. Photo Yohji Yamamoto, Mens FW 08, Style.com.
4. 
High Tech High Touch in Living Breathing Action. Image from Nau.com’s trademark “webfronts,” which is their idea of recognizing how the internet has changed consumer’s buying behavior.
5. 
Cross Marketing/Collaborations in Unlikely Places/Partners Creating Phenomenal Hybrids. From Designspotter and Globus by Michiel Van der Kley.
These are but a few of the macro trends I allude to during my strategy sessions or across the year in trend newsletters, reports and product development/programming strategy sessions.
Let me know if you have questions about how the above references might effect your planning for 08-2010, any initiatives that Trendbites publisher, the kimbro agency, may help you support in ‘08 and/or if you’d like to subscribe to any number of Trendbites’ sister, Trendcites (rhymes with bites!), publications.
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You can reach me by email at kim@trendcites.com.
