Posts for 'Season' Category

Bringing out the wild side of teenagers may be a dangerous thing, but local apparel brand Fresh Gear (dubbed “F’g") is using it as inspiration for its latest line, Wild Stories.

Rebel wear

A few decades ago, it would have been unthinkable for anyone to claim that they were designing a fashion line consisting of cargos, skirts, shirts, shorts, and T-shirts to bring out the “rebellious streak" of 13-to-18-year-olds. But that seems to be F’g’s selling point.

“F’g’s vision is to be a trendsetter in teen's wear by providing popular, innovative, edgy and modern pieces that effectively help the youth find their unique voice," says Fresh Gear brand Manager Jo Anne Jamela.

Fluid art

“Through F’g, we want the youth to be fearless with their fashion choices instead of merely conforming to what is currently selling in the market That’s why we’re veering away from the standard ‘sweet girl’ or ‘boy-next-door’ look and into something more dynamic and expressive," she adds.
Pop culture nature

As such, Wild Stories takes its cue from a concept that is currently taking the international fashion world by storm: nature.  Divided into four main categories, F’g’s collection pays homage to.

The wide spectrum of nature’s colors as well as geometric and abstract designs. Colors of Nature pays homage to the wide spectrum of colors that nature possesses, such as the deep blue of the oceans.

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With the countdown on to July 4, ever-popular, flag-waving nautical looks are sure to be played up as big as Old Glory. And as summer sets in, they’ll be replayed because wearing red, white and blue isn’t just patriotic, it’s also fashionable.
"We are seeing a trend where people are refocusing on the important things in life — family, friends, well-being and health, and I think red, white and blue is an expression of that," says designer Tommy Hilfiger, a fan of American style from preppy to equestrian — and nautical, a classic summer style that he and other designers have loaded with patriotic references. His summer style salute is called West Coast Cool and features lobster and sailboat prints, plaids and stripes that could be sent up a flagpole this weekend.
The nautical look’s popularity, also called "spectator," is a part of the resurgence of faith in America and people craving familiar things that will make them feel good, perhaps a reaction to the economic meltdown. And proudly wearing red, white and blue is something that We The People can count on — a sense of security.
Certainly, the red, white and blue trifecta recalls a common nautical motif that designers, including Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and others, jump on season after season. They offer fresh but familiar looks in knits, cotton and denim, which Hilfiger calls "the DNA of all-American style" in his sixth and latest book, Iconic America: A Roller-Coaster Ride Through the Eye-Popping Panorama of American Pop Culture (Universe Publishing, $60, 350 pp.)

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We're sure most of you are celebrating day two of your long weekend today, but here we are with our next instalment of the fab spring fashion guide, which gives you the rundown of all things stylish and chic for the month of April.

With British summertime now officially having started, there's no better time to have a spring clean around your wardrobe and to adopt new fashion trends for the months ahead.

We've complied a list of all things hot for SS09, made up of trends, people, designers, and a few odd things thrown in here an there, for you to have a bit of a giggle over.

So let's continue our fabulous countdown with the letter J...Jourdan Dunn: Having been crowned Model of the Year last November, Jourdan is fast making a name for herself in the industry and appeared at a record 14 shows during London Fashion Week this season. Phew, exhausting work!

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The manager of Dotti in City Mall, Barrett makes it look easy to take off-the-rack chain-store clothes and put together a creative look that seems to have more to do with individual style than seasonal fashion fads.

Fashion is meant to be fun, she says, so people should play with it."You don't need to spend a lot of money to look great," she says. "Fashion is another form of creative expression so use it to your advantage play, don't be shy, work with your shape, get excited."

Barrett's outfit is almost entirely from Dotti, a label she says has changed a lot in recent years."Dotti has come a long way. It used to be targeted at teenagers, but that has been blown out the door. I think there are pieces in here for all sorts of ages now. But you have got to get things off the rack and onto the body."

Barrett has mixed up Dotti pieces from the main winter season with others that are in store now for an interesting, creative look head to toe. The high-waisted denim pencil skirt is form-fitting and feminine, and perfect with a sheer blouse in turquoise over a lacy, stretchy layering piece. There is little point in wearing high-waisted pieces without having your top tucked in to show it off, she says.

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TALL TALES: Yet another star is turning her hand to bedtime stories. At the Chanel couture show Tuesday, Patricia Arquette disclosed that she's penning a kiddies' book. "It's based on my daughter, Harlow Jane," said the actress. The star, who plays the mother in "Boyhood," a 12-year-long film project by director Richard Linklater, also proved she's got no qualms about aging on screen. "We shoot for a week each year. It's about kids growing up. They age on film and so do I," said Arquette.

Chanel fixture Ayo, meanwhile, said she's trying her hand at streetwise fashion with a musical twist. "I'm working on a line with the Paris-based designer Negassi," she said. "I've already made a black jacket with a golden tree on the back made from the words of my first album."

Claudia Schiffer, who has just wrapped up shooting the fall Chanel and Ferragamo campaigns, said she's looking forward to her yearly vacation in Majorca. "It's our family villa. I've been going there since I was a child," she said.

For her role as a witch in "Barbarossa," a historic film set in the 12th century, model-turned-actress Kasia Smutniak doesn't have the luxury of stunt doubles. "I'm covered in bruises look," said the actress. "I've been riding horses and fighting." Smutniak, who was flying straight back to Romania for the movie, directed by Renzo Martinelli and also starring Cécile Cassel and Rutger Hauer, was dressed head to toe in Chanel, "except my underwear," she clarified.

L'Oréal owner Liliane Bettencourt swapped notes with friend Bernadette Chirac, and already had picked an outfit preshow. "I'm looking for things I am going to wear. I love that," she said, pointing to an off-white wool ensemble in the press kit left on her seat. Fellow client Danielle Steel, who's just released her novel "Rogue" and signed a new book contract, has bestowed her taste for fashion on daughter Vanessa Traina, who, fresh from graduating, has begun an internship at French Vogue.

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The notion of wardrobe androgyny was the fitting theme of Yves Saint-Laurent's men's collection, the house that kicked off the just-ended Paris men's shows where men's fashion won a feminine touch.

At YSL, designer Stefano Pilati used quotations from Plato to explain why he combined female detailing with a masculine silhouette.

"The original human nature was not like the present ... the sexes were not two as they are now."

Pilati underscored the union of genders with a line for men made in fabrics normally worn by women crepe de chine, organza, shantung and silk voile, all fabrics which float rather than fall.

In an era obsessed with global warming and sustainable development, the 44 spring/summer 2009 collections displayed at the four-day men's fashion shows ending Sunday featured light airy see-through linens, silks and soft feathery cottons.

Bright colours, more often the domain of women's wear, also figured strong.

As Gay Pride marches took place across Europe, pink was popular in Paris.

Louis Vuitton, a house with a predominantly masculine view of the world, chose pink for shorts, pants and waistcoat, and even shoes.

A huge pink sail served as the backdrop for an otherwise frankly male take on fashion from Emmanuel Ungaro designer Franck Boclet, who said fuschia was simply one of the house's signature colours.

"I wanted a gay fresh style," Boclet said of what he told AFP was "a Paris 60s look" of hip-hugging tight-thighed pants, chequered suits, and the odd item in day-glo orange, bright blue or purple.

Making his menswear debut for Givenchy, the house women's designer Ricardo Tisci too went for shocking pink, throwing out a suit with socks, shirt and shoes in pink in a gothic-cum-romantic collection mingling masculine and feminine lace shirts over tattooed skin, kinky leather shorts worn with cropped leggings.

At the house of Lanvin, designer Lucas Ossendrijver won a standing ovation from hundreds of fashionistas in Paris' ethnological museum for light-looking, almost insubstantial suits that seemed crumpled all over.

At Dior, one of the most breathlessly-awaited shows, Belgian designer Kris Van Asche broke with the brand's iconic black, splashing deep gold, cobalt blue, fuschia and day-glo orange, shown on a gravel runway running between a line of tall trees.

His masculine touch saw the return of the leg-hugging straight pants first designed by his style-setting predecessor Hedi Slimane, as well as harsh laser-slashing in shirts and jackets, and minimalist small collars and tiny lapels.

For his own epynomous collection, Kris Van Asche too went for feminine detailing, with suits made in the light cottons normally used for shirts.

Some of the smaller more outlandish designers went further in blurring gender codes in fashion.

A newcomer to the Paris scene, Japanese designer Tatsuro Horikawa and his Julius brand put his very-manly men in biker boots, aviator hats and adventurer-style pants, while adding almost dress-length tunics and see-through shirts.

His models strutted the catwalk with long shawls rolled around shoulders and veil-like shawls draped over their heads. See-through shirts showed a black band around the chest, almost like a women's bra.

Gaspard Yurkievich, a favourite with the trendy Paris set, said he aimed "to reintegrate feminine elements in the male wardrobe." The result was a bouffant tunic worn over trousers and short jackets with lots of trim that resembled that womens-wear classic, the little Chanel suit.

Most ultra-daring were Romain Kremer with men in long transparent dresses in fluorescent shades, and Bernhard Willhelm with an unwearable medieval-style collection featuring long-haired men in tiaras and multi-coloured bloomers.

John Galliano, in typically provocative vein, offered kilts worn over bright leggings, another staple of the Paris shows.

Paris men's fashion saw fewer adolescent, waif-like androgynous types strutting the catwalks, with big names such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier opting for models who looked like grown men of at least 20.

And taking a stand against society's anti-ageism streak, Japan's Yohji Yamamoto and Belgium's Ann Demeulemeester chose to show men could grow old gracefully, throwing well over 60-somethings on the catwalks.

A trio of newcomers breathed new life into Paris menswear on Friday, with displays that ran the gamut from sober minimalism to Gothic excess.

Riccardo Tisci, who has been heading the women's division at Givenchy since 2005, presented his first men's collection for the French label.

Spanish designer Rosemary Rodriguez made her entry into menswear at Thierry Mugler, while Cerruti gambled on Belgium's Jean-Paul Knott to revive its flagging fortunes.

Countless designers have tried and failed to resurrect Cerruti, which has struggled financially since its sale by Italian founder Nino Cerruti in 2000. The label now belongs to private equity firm MatlinPatterson, which intends to revitalize the brand.

Knott wisely stuck to what he does best: flawless tailoring. Stripping his palette to basic black, white and gray, he showed crisp suits with concealed buttons that were paired with slightly translucent raincoats and simple gray espadrilles.

It made for a pleasant palate cleanser amid the glut of exotica that has invaded the men's spring-summer collections.

"I thought it was perfect," Julian Cerruti, the son of the founder, told The Associated Press. "He has really managed to respect the essence of what Cerruti was and to bring the novelty of his own personality to it."

Tisci took more risks with his Givenchy collection, sending out models in leather shorts worn with cropped leggings and zip-up boots festooned with gladiator-style straps.

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The 18th annual Kittatinny Regional High School Fashion Show was held in June with 60 students modeling more than 70 of their personal creations for an audience of parents, family and friends.

All levels of students are encouraged to participate in this culminating activity, which is organized and executed entirely by students in Clothing Arts 3, who are responsible for printing, promoting, video production, photography, writing scripts, scenery, set and lighting, sound and music.

It all starts with selecting a theme and this year students chose “Going Green” and saving the planet by conserving energy (reducing, recycling, and reusing). In keeping with the theme, students donated a pear tree to Kittatinny which was planted in the Memorial Garden.

According to teacher/advisor Danielle Tooker, students who are enrolled in Clothing Arts start with basic sewing classes and can advance their skills three levels.

She said, “My students actually design and construct their garments from sketch pad to the fashion runway. Some students create their own patterns with computer-aided programs.” Fashion Merchandising class focuses on fashion styles, designs, history, textiles, retailing, merchandising and promotion. .

“FASHION needs to generate dreams,” Roberto Cavalli said before his show here on Sunday. Figuring in the dreams of the always optimistic Mr. Cavalli this season, according to his show notes, was an “extravagant man who explores, a hippie, a nomad who wears his memories from safari on himself.”

The designer then went on to further list his inspirations: “Africa’s savage and sublime atmosphere, Magnificent colors of Morocco, Paul Bowles’ Berber fascination in ‘The Sheltering Sky,’ Devendra Banhart’s neo-hippy bohemian attitude.”

Fashion, in one’s experience of it lately, generates many things, but dreams ... not so much. Certainly it is a reliable source of amusement, particularly when you consider the gap between what is going on in designers’ minds and how that translates to what men wear. Pajamas, for instance, were seen all over the runways in the collections for spring and summer 2009, shown here through Wednesday.

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Fashion was so much easier in the 1950s. Suits, white shirts and ties for the gents. Skirt suits, stockings with girdles and closed-toe pumps for the ladies.

Now we're "business casual," and what that means isn't clear. Throw in summer heat, and things get even more confusing. Are capri pants OK? What about ties with short-sleeved shirts? Can men wear sandals to work?

"It's a tough time of year," says Bobbie Thomas, co-host of Style Network's "Fashion Police." "You are trying to balance comfort with being professional."

While dress codes vary from place to place, some general guidelines can keep you cool and professional in the office:

SHORTS

In a more casual office environment, knee-length polished and tailored shorts are fine for women, says Thomas.

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