Tavi Gevenson, 14 year old internet fashion blogging sensation (image British Vogue).

When I put this piece together, I was watching Law & Order, the one where the Mom of a family of 10 adopted special needs children is murdered and the Dad, the day after, puts the family on a reality show. It ends with a dead locked jury so the suit is thrown out and the reality show host creates a new format with a new judge he has picked to decide on a whole other set of criteria (that the reality show host set forth), which didn’t have much to do with the mom who got murdered in the first place.

Burberry Prosum streamed their collection live as did others. I hope this trend continues.

It’s a seemingly far fetched possibility, yet the lines are getting pretty blurred in most everything, on an everyday basis between truth and fiction. Thank you cyberspace, cable television, Judge Judy and American Idol. The old adage believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see is never more true than this moment in history. With fashion, live streaming a runway collection has brought fashion so close to the masses that the mystique of the shows is gone with some designers making their clothing available, on the spot, straight from the runways. As a consequence how fashion is getting covered during these shows has changed too. It’s big business for the publications and all of them are all over it. Twitter has added a great element to following the shows so you’re never very far out of the loop. The fashion folks have been great about announcing the live streaming collections so if you can make it, you’ve got a front row seat, complete w/ 140 character tweets describing insiderey elements to a designer’s collection. Better than being there, almost.

In the process some fashion bloggers have become the latest internet sensation…deserved or not, it’s the novelty they offer and the demographic they speak to the industry is after (Tavi, above). Nonetheless, they are all the rage. Fashion itself was the least of the news, and in some cases rose to that level only. Where the medium became the sole message.

Balenciaga, left, Vivienne Westwood Red, center, Rodarte, right

That said designers at first blush were all over the place for fall 2010 (of course with the massive amount of coverage, most bad some good, what else is going to be your takeaway?). Taking a closer look myself, I was able to determine there were two significant profiles to emerge, a more feminine, almost girly one vs a more severe serious minimalist female with a third, and oddly enough lesser, one based solely on a creative expression serving to feed the sensationalism that speaks to a visual medium vs the female body.

Haider Ackermann, left, Lanvin, center, Prada, right

Beyond that, you will have lots of fab coats to choose from, fashioned leather to die for, fur (faux and real), velvet, feathers and, ladies, get ready, the waist is back. While the controversy over models on the catwalk being too thin has the industry putting models with slightly more meat on their bodies on the runway this season (thankfully) the designers have created overall collections that are more body conscious. The heavy layers of the past, while still there in some collections, focus more on the fact that women have waists and curves whether a more feminine or severe look. Turns out we’ve all got curves.

Well, you don’t say. And high time designers you figured that out. Of course some managed this obvious reality better than others. John Galliano for instance for Dior is apparently being criticized for an overtly romantic collection yet women love it. And Lanvin, who doesn’t do anything for the sake of sensationalism, turned out a unique body conscious yet easy collection for women. It combined successfully the best of both worlds, tailoring and draping. So you have a professional look that is feminine. He worked at that. Then you have Balenciaga who turned out a tremendously creative collection inspired by artists (and packing materials) but it has nothing to do probably with what women want. No matter, it makes a statement, if that is what you want and will be worth something in the aftermarket collectors have discovered on ebay and in vintage shops. Rodarte falls into this category as does Issey Miyake and Prada.

It’ll be interesting to see what the retailers do with what’s been handed them. Hopefully they’ve learned something from the past few years….worst thing they could do is badly knock off what they’ve seen on the runways using some unknown factory in India. With so much talent unemployed, it’s not necessary to use half measures. I guess we’ll see.

3/09/10 12/:53 p.m. Update:

Raf Simons for Jil Sander, Phoebe Philo for Celine, and Stella McCartney have all turned out highly minimalist collections, which most definitely has strength and I for one love the simplicity and strictness (tends to be more my style of dress); however, I see this as being specific to their design aesthetic vs a strong trend; infact, I will stick by what I’d alluded to above: that there is some nice combo of feminine and minimalist which Lanvin and Haider Ackermann as well as in New York Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and Michael Kors spoke (did not forget you New York). (images to come).

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Alexander Wang…………………….Carolina Herrera………………Prabal Gurung FW 2010

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Could not help but notice:

Effeti Kitchen……………………………Dior Haute Couture 2010

Motivo-Ceaserstone ……………Mickey Rourke Golden Globes 2010

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Alexander McQueen delivered his SS 2010 collection today with evolution as its theme and he picked snakes to get his point across. I don’t have the full inside scoop on that particular detail, but he certainly represented fashion, snakes and the process of evolution flawlessly.

And if that weren’t enough, he really made (air) waves by going direct to the cyberspace fashion collective by tweeting about his video of the collection done in conjunction with fashion photog Nick Knight. Just prior to the runway show, Nick Knight did an up close interview with McQueen sitting at a kitchen table drinking from a very proper cup of tea and truly I felt as if I were right there, sitting with Mr. McQueen himself listening to him explain some of his thinking behind fashion, the internet, and his own visions.

Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous stuff. If you ever wanted to know the definition of engagement (that thing all marketers are looking for when they combine mediums to reach their targets), this would be it.

The only hitch was that they had so many visitors to the site, (Lady Gaga tweeted the event) not everyone got on, and so were left disappointed. No worries…bright minds like that leave it on line for everyone who didn’t get to see it the first time. Check here at ShowStudio Alexander McQueen SS2010 Live.

Today marked a shift in fashion history by Alexander McQueen creating a presentation for the world direct to them, not just for that select group of editors and buyers and celebs. Not only was there an evolution in Mr. McQueen’s work, there was an evolution in how a luxury fashion designer presents his runway collection to market.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens after this.

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During Milan Fashion Week, as a way to boost the sustainable movement in fashion, Princess Charlotte Casiraghi, 23, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, chose the Cittadellarte Fashion: Bio Ethical Sustainable Trend event to fuse fashion and the sustainable movement by featuring eco fashion as the theme of her and her partners first publication for The EVER Manifesto a publication focusing solely on ecology and sustainability and published only when they feel they have something to say or people to support.

From the New York Times: ‘ “It’s only recently that I’ve questioned the way that I’ve been consuming,” said Ms. Casiraghi, who mentioned as her personal inspirations the environmental activism of her uncle, Prince Albert II, as well as her own stint as guest editor at the eco-slanted Above Magazine. But, she added, “I haven’t been as conscious as I should have been.” ‘

Wow. That’s impressive. First of all that she’s admitted it or is even conscious of it, and secondly she admitted it in public. Well, that’s, um, I’m a little speechless. It’s laudable.

God knows the movement needs some support, especially in fashion, and from a grass roots level. If someone like Princess Casiraghi can be a spokesperson for the younger set to become conscious of anything besides twitter, facebook, youtube, Iphones, Ipods, and video games then I’m all for it!

Did her appearance overshadow the event? Who cares? If these posts get put on twitter, if her interest as a royal in sustaining our earth is highlighted and along with it what appeared at the Cittadellarte in eco fashion then it’s a win win for everyone, but most particulary our great green earth.

Let’s see what follows. Meantime, you can view the eco fashions created for the event at the Cittadellarte from September 23, 2009 through February of 2010. What’s really cool about this, is that the Cittadellarte founded by a Mr. Pistoletto, now 76, has labs dedicated to art, education, politics and ecology. He organized this project because he thought fashion needed an eco boost. (from NYT) “It’s about unifying aesthetics with ethics,” he said. “The mission here is what I call ‘The Third Paradise’ — the unification of technology with nature so that both can coexist in harmony.”

Mr. Pistoletto said sustainability had been a guiding principle for activities at Cittadellarte since its founding. But the topic is still relatively unexplored within Italy’s fashion industry. Eleven different designers were brought into the event to create fabrics, dyes, and garments all ethically and sustainably and of course they confronted the issues that come with the territory.

There are more than a few that come up in production….availability of materials is one because the science just isn’t there….and I hear that, frequently. It is, actually, but demand has yet to be built up enough for the supply to happen, for manufacturers to get behind it, and once that happens lots of things can be discovered and pricing can drop.

So, yes, by all means, enter someone as glamourous as Charlotte Casiraghi and things just might start to happen.

Cittadellarte Fashion

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While nothing, nothing, nothing was happening this summer, I wondered where designers were going to get their inspiration from. When things are buzzing and humming along, it’s easy to have the ideas pinging around and coming to you like a submarines honing mechanism when it finds that other sub somewhere beneath.

But with business being so in the dumper, there has not been a lot of development, understandably I suppose, but I liken it more to writer’s block. It’s a dry spell that just leaves one, well, dry, the paper clean and the imagination wanting.

Given that as the backdrop, where were the designers to come up with the fresh inspiration to keep the wheels of progress spinning, especially in retail for Spring 2010? And how to speak to a market noticeably unnerved by the collapse of a world economy with a line of clothing?

Remarkably, several designers, whose collections rarely imitate each other, chose to plum the depths of societies tragedies past and present which culminated in, collectively, drum roll please……raw edges.

Okay, it’s a little literal and yet, pretty clear and given our dire retail scene especially at the luxury end, but also with what has been happening with people’s lives (unraveling much? frayed nerves, shedding), the design statement is honest while at the same time provocative (Prada suggests she was being optimistic for this collection?), emoting the rawness in the moment amidst a decline.

All images Style.com.

Prada (left) looking back and forward at the same time, Raf Simons for Jil Sander (full length and close up) in his quest for freedom.

Ralph Lauren (left) whose collection sought inspiration from Depression Era dressing and Rodarte from the molting of birds.

What’s interesting about each designer is that they were genuinely coming from a different frame of reference and the looks are each as distinct as the designer him/herself is, but this historically monumentally disruptive time we are in still wore collectively an expression of “raw edges” from some of our more noteworthy designers.

It’s worth mentioning plus I appreciate the nod and I don’t think they, being the creatives they are, could stop themselves.

Christoper Kane, designer of London’s standout collection, also plunged the depths of tragedies past by thinking about spiritual cults and the tradgey of Jonestown. How could something so lovely, almost mythical, as well as innocent arrive out of that? It’s still an expression of the breakdown of innocence from whatever reference:

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Casually Raw.

Elise Overland. Spring 2010. Style.com. Alexander Wang. Spring 2010.

Relaxed. Vs fall when we were all looking for jobs and fighting the good fight, apparently in Spring 2010, according to the designers,
we’re taking a break. One can only surmise why.

Elie Tahari. Spring 2010. Brian Reyes. Spring 2010. Style.com.

Elegant. We can be pretty and wear relaxed at the same time.

Marc Jacobs. Spring 2010. Style.com

Subdued but Sexy. (along with the above). While the parties presumably tell another story, the clothing doesn’t. Grey (and on a personal note, I
love it) as a color reigns supreme. (A creamy beige is runner up….color is used but understated for the most part)

Ohne Titel. Spring 2010. Elie Tahari Spring 2010. Donna Karan. Spring 2010. Images Style.com

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An economy shot to hell, colors on the Paris runways for fall/winter 09 (with exceptions of course…there are always exceptions) reflected the mood and were largely black, black and black…..but with texture.

The fabric of the day? Leather. Not just the supple buttery kind, but leather like you’ve never seen leather before. My guess is that you’ll be buying some variation of black leather sometime this year, but if you want something besides leather in black, well there’s that too.

Prada Waders (Milan, not Paris….still leather)

Hermes

Dries Van Noten:

Honorable Mention for color (beyond leather):

Haider Ackermann

Miu Miu

Disclaimer: I select only some pieces to support my collective theories but these examples are by no means exhaustive. We are fortunate to have such a bevy of talented designers not only in the United States but around the world who had excellent collections despite this bleak economic forecast. Sadly there is genuinely not enough money currently nor appetite to support the abundance of talent that is out there.

The question remains how much of our consumption will come back or how much is on a temporary hiatus or how much will never (hopefully) return, as in maxed out credit cards for $3,000.00 “IT” bags?

Gone. Vanished…..just like the Madoff billions. Which begs another question, how much did the fashion industry benefit by the Madoff Ponzi scheme and its victims, (in addition to Wall Street’s addiction to derivatives) helping to create an economy that was in fact based on a House of Cards?

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My sentiment on the Paris Runway Shows. Now over, it’s all such a blur.

Opinions vary almost as much as the various collections presented themselves on what was good, what was hot, and what was not, with the exception of one….and that would be Alexander McQueen (Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons has critics as well as fans). Rave reviews from all around, McQueen took on the establishment, his peers and himself for being too referential in their collections from season to season. This season, as an almost too easy way to dialogue with the current recession, the eighties came back almost with a Twenties Roar but may crash in the end as a theme for fashion. Perhaps this was just a designer’s way of giving into the recessionary times, too overwhelmed by it to think of much more than the last time this all happened, ahem, the 80’s, Duh. Talk about self defeating.

This awkward 2009 FW season came with all the potential landmines known to the industry given the economic precipice the globe seems to be teetering on, but that did not stop the fashion industry from doing their part in trying to tip the scales in their favor. While the future of many in this industry remains unknown at least to the general public right now, one thing is clear…..there is still a market for creativity and innovation perhaps now more than ever.

Behold Alexander McQueen Women’s FW 09: (for more see Style.com and Eric Wilson’s NYT’s article, McQueen Leaves Fashion in Ruins)

Headpiece by Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen FW 09
Top image, Street Movement Blur, from Righthandbits.

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Comme des Garcon Womens FW 09, the Telegraph.

The Japanese obviously have much to teach us. They appear to have learned something from their hard times, something the American, while resilient, sometimes refuses to do. Time will only tell on that. We have a way of making lemonade out of lemons.

Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garcon and Yohji Yamamoto spoke to this point in history, I thought, in ways I’ve yet to see in Europe. Most of the designers went basic in some way, obviously sensitive to these times, but the Japanese decided to be dark and have some fun with it at the same time.

Junya Watanabe focused on comforter style outwear tres dramatica:

Wigs, designed and made in Japan by Kastsuyo Kamo. Video by Hillary Alexander of the Telegraph.

Yohji Yamamoto worked his magic on the winter coat but became zen master of the evening coat:

images Style.com

And Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcon (top image) has created a midruff jacket, coat, and sweater, among other army issued jackets and coats unlike any other invoking the rationed silk stocking at the same time as (more than) a wink and a nod to understanding hard times:

images Style.com

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