With heavy lashings of denim and leather that evoke the American West, the reactions to the debut of D&G's Spring 2010 collection at Milan Fashion Week have been mixed. At first glance the collection's use of studs and its mixture of dirty and double denims are both a far cry from the European refinement that designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana typically fuse into their work. Look closer, however, and you'll find all the quality and detailing you'd otherwise expect of the duo. More striking though are the collections silhouettes; with the use of corsetry shapes and frills likely to make this collection one of the most influential of the Spring 2010 catwalks.
[ Click to read 'D&G women's Spring 2010 collection; MFW' ]
Airdrie Makim - the talent behind jewellery label Joolz - is always finding new ways to incorporate unique materials into her pieces. From antique playing cards and umbrella silks, to vintage animal toys, the selection of pieces to traverse the runway at High Fashion, High Tea was captivating to say the least. Jewellery was layered up and paired with beautiful vintage dresses from Sydney's Vintage Luggage Company to complete the show's looks.
[ Click to read 'Joolz at High Fashion, High Tea 2009' ]
Seeing the latest offerings from IM is always a great pleasure. European designer lingerie of only the highest quality makes it into IM's boutiques - with Christies, La Perla, Aubade, and Nina Ricci amoung the labels stocked. The selection of intimates to sail down the runway at High Fashion, High Tea was no disappointment either; sets of lingerie were accessorised by dainty eye-masks, roses, and show-girl feathered head pieces for a truly bewitching effect.
[ Click to read 'IM Lingerie at High Fashion, High Tea 2009' ]
Sass & Bide have a trademark style that is always at the core of their appeal; it evolves with the brand but is not so definable that it should ever hold them back, and this is a rare thing indeed. At London Fashion Week to present their Spring/Summer 2010 collection, Sass & Bide fueled our suspicion that, in 2010, the tribal trend will move away from the voodoo-chanting fire-dancing nature woman, and towards the fierce ancient Warrior woman. Built upon a palette of black and white with gold and bronze detailing, the collection calls to mind body armour, breast plates, and in one particular outfit, chain mail.
[ Click to read 'Sass & Bide, Spring/Summer 2010: LFW' ]
There's something about the tough and gritty sports that's appealing to designers this season. Definitely headed for 2010 trend status, feminine interpretations of sportswear were high on Alexander Wang's agenda, as well as appearing in the Spring/Summer 2010 collection of Alexandre Herchcovitch. Herchcovitch's football theme took accentuated shoulders to the extreme; but while the more dramatic costumery makes the collection much less street-ready than Wang's, the elements of sports socks, subtle sheer pieces, and colourful tunics are key winners from Herchcovitch's New York Fashion Week show.
[ Click to read 'Alexandre Herchcovitch Spring/Summer 2010: NYFW' ]
Sheer clothing has been a leading fashion trend for sometime now, and the Spring 2010 catwalks confirm our view that it will indeed be a fashion trend in 2010. Given sheer's popularity coupled with the dominance of nudity in fashion you'd expect that most models would anticipate having to wear very little on next season's catwalks. Not so at Erin Fetherston.
[ Click to read 'Some models won't go see-through at NYFW' ]
Put on one of the pieces from Hussy's Summer 2010 collection, and it's impossible not to feel like a mighty Goddess in command of her own destiny. Aptly titled 'Warrior Princess', the references to ancient dress, including armour, are clear; studs, Grecian draping, heavy beading, and Amazonian feather detailing all featured when Hussy hit the runway for 2009's High Fashion, High Tea.
[ Click to read 'Hussy at High Fashion, High Tea 2009' ]
With the larger Spring 2010 catwalks consuming much of our day, it's quite easy to forget about the more intimate affairs of a fashion week that quite often present the work from equally talented, yet less funded, designers. With Agent Provocateur's Spring 2010 catwalk, however, the word intimate may definitely apply but scant clothing is to be found.
[ Click to read 'Agent Provocateur Spring 2010; NYFW' ]
Antonia Paris is one burgeoning designer that we've been watching for a while now; her ability to inject a wow-factor into pieces that are otherwise made up of clean lines and block colours is a developed skill, and seems to be emerging as her trademark style. Last year it was all about ruffles and asymmetry; at High Fashion, High Tea 2009, we saw a collection of pieces in simple black and white, that rather made their finer detailing the focus - from cutaway shoulders, to unconventional draping, to intricate beading.
[ Click to read 'Antonia Paris at High Fashion, High Tea 2009' ]
There's a very elegant simplicity to Elise Overland's Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Showing on the runway at New York Fashion Week, Overland stuck mostly to block colours in a palette of blacks and nudes. Flowing on from her previous Autumn/Winter 2009/2010 collection, which heavily used leather as its basis, the leather trend reappears in many forms for Spring; from midriff-baring tops, to shorts and dresses.
[ Click to read 'Elise Overland Spring/Summer 2010 at NYFW' ]