Haider Ackermann S/S 2011 Paris

I hate to be one of those fashion bloggers that just write "LOVE LOVE LOVE" on a collection without any reason or explanation, but Haider Ackermann S/S 2011 show seriously operates at the tip-top level of fashion so much so that he's not only thrown right into the middle of it, but also he stands so far apart. It's obvious that the man knows how to cut, drape, and synthesize in the most modern of ways, and he knows precisely how to construct this sense of regal that comes through in each of these garments. It's a rollercoaster journey filled with the future, the past, the east, the west, the royal, the street... and it comes out gorgeous.

Mr. Ackermann’s garments are, well, excessively sexy. Slits travel vertically from floor to crotch, and necklines plunge lower than the belly button. However I guess it takes quite an eye to be able to reveal that much skin and never have the results end up on the wrong side of sexy-ness. His styling is always a notch above the rest, and his clothing is sublimely situated between Rick Owen's hard-edged street-wear and Tom Ford's ultra-luxe evening glamour. Using his signature dark-washed leather, this season he counterbalances vibrant-colored pleated silks with a seductive gothic sensibility. Overall, there isn't a piece in the collection that could do today's woman wrong.

Haider Ackermann is the name on everyone's lips recently when it comes to moves, shifts and job role changes in the fashion industry. With his name in many a frame right now, like having his garment on the cover of Vogue US worn by Lady Gaga and open admiration by Karl Lagerfeld, he is undoubtedly one of the best designers fashion has to offer at the moment, and I have a strong feeling that the best is yet to come.

The Best of... Marchesa

Illustration: left to right Marchesa S/S 2009, S/S 2011, and F/W 08.09, Image source: MyVisualPleasures, Rlaneri, blog.beautylish.com

One thing we must understand about Marchesa is that there is no use looking for avant-garde fashion statements in their pieces. There is no signature and dominating silhouette or textiles, along with the fact that many Marchesa pieces look dangerously similar to some other fashion houses. No doubt some fashion purists consider this as a bad thing. Well, it's not about that kind of talent. It's more about execution/creation than concept, creating whimsical yet romantic, stunning - for there really is no other word for it - dresses in voluminous tulle and dizzying amounts of embroidery and intricate handwork.

Sometimes it's difficult to digest a Marchesa collection for me because it's all dresses in one collection and I am definitely not so used to that... it's wow after wow without more street-wearable passages and it gets a bit overwhelming at times. But Marchesa is not about being innovative and radically inventive when it comes to design. They create breathtaking dresses that seem to make stylists gasping for air imagining having them on their editorials, and for those actresses who are trying to create a red carpet moment. It creates a dream, and drama... two things that's still, most surely get a welcome nod.

Lanvin S/S 2011 Paris

With an unshakable reputation for creating ravishing clothes that women dream about wearing, Alber Elbaz was in a less aggressive mood than usual for Lanvin S/S 2011 collection. We are being used to see seductive, almost dominating women at Lanvin with tons of heavy and exuberant accessories and flashy colors. Yet this time, everything was toned down. There weren't much explosions of bright oranges and pinks, no more crazy bracelets and thousands of necklaces around their neck, or even killer heels.

Still, if you look closely, this collection is quite major. Indeed I feel that there's an undeniable discreet refinement here. All the long skirts at the beginning worn with super tight tops, emphasize the ease and movement of the silhouette. Mr. Elbaz also worked a lot on volumes and proportions, through the woman suits, the caged tops, and the trench coats. The trends were all covered: pleating, neon, and nudes – and then a heavy metalwork set took over with origami silk cocktail dresses hung with bold silver and gold – and gladiator sandals are most definitely in for summer evening-wear. This was indeed a serious collection that, as dark as it was, lacking the swoon-worthy romance we usually associate with this label, but it was still unfailingly beautiful, from the man who builds a dress like no other.

Marc by Marc Jacobs S/S 2011 New York

“If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” might well be Marc Jacobs motto for spring/summer 2011. The collection saw Marc revisiting the early-seventies-silhouettes-in-sumptuous-color idea he tackled so successfully several seasons ago. My favorite look was definitely the breezy, beachy multi-color stripe silk dress paired with casual sneaker wedges and cute bonnet-style hats! After all Marc rarely puts a foot wrong when designing an easy, upbeat day-wear that defines his diffusion line.

All told, this was a terrifically fun collection, made unintentionally poignant by the sense of ease it conveyed (through the pieces themselves and the way they were put together) – that are sure to have MbMJ fans (including me!) storming the stores.

Miu Miu S/S 2011 Paris

Image source: The Catwalking, V Magazine, Marie Claire USA - March 2011

Miu Miu is one of the most highly anticipated shows each season, and this year the hype was magnified. After a knockout Fall 2010 collection that accentuated the girlish charm for which Miu Miu is known, what Miuccia Prada offered on Spring 2011 show was such a fascinating follow-up.

It definitely takes an incredibly talented designer to meld 1930s heady mix of glamour with silhouettes from the Sixties and Seventies to create a cohesive collection. I keep coming back to look at the pieces, because there's so much going on. Long sleeved satin dresses - belted in tiny leather threads of neon - recalling early Sixties demure shapes, Seventies glam rock referenced by stiff silver and gold jackets embroidered with comic book stars and day-glo details that shone straight out of the Eighties. But the brilliance of Miuccia's work is that none of these are literal references - they're made so modern and new that they're barely references at all and everything is as it never has been before.

The whole theme of sudden stardom, overwhelming success and how she executed it... just perfect. From the shapes to the colors to the materials to the presentation, it all makes sense. Truly inspiring; I could ramble on for hours and hours!

Prada S/S 2011 Milan, Part Two!

Image source: www.prada.com, Streetfsn, Vogue Australia -March 2011

Still can't get enough of those bold bright color, stripes, furs, monkeys, and bananas! I think this is one of the most popular S/S 2011 collections print-wise ever, if not the most popular one, actually. I have seen it on at least twenty magazine covers! Check out my previous Prada S/S 2011 illustration here.

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2011 London

Image source: The Catwalking

Mary Katrantzou has really proved herself to be in London's top tier. Recently awarded with 100,000 euro from Swiss Textile Award for her brilliant S/S 2011 collection; I couldn't think of anyone more deserving. The collection itself was so opulent, but it was wonderfully counter-balanced by something I can't quite place my finger on; the silhouette, the styling, the venue itself? I don't exactly know. I've been waiting for a collection like this for what has felt like forever, and Mary has finally delivered. It's hilarious and witty, a technical masterpiece and, most of all, extremely pleasing.

The play on the everyday, domestic object written into a garment was so uncanny. Everything in the collection looks so familiar, yet so unfamiliar at the same time! I find it quite humorous really; people live in houses but here the houses live on the people. The prints are so intense and exciting yet at the same time cold, almost melancholy in their sharpness. I enjoyed how Mary offset it with humorous detailing that blended into the dresses as both a part of the picture and luxurious embellishments, bringing the trompe l'oeil forth into a 3D space. It will definitely fall into this season's '90s redux trend, with the once-in-a-glitzy-frame-now-in-a-thrift-store fantasy interior prints that once picked up by Balenciaga last season. I don't say that Ghesquiere necessarily borrowed ideas from Mary, but that those lines of influence might have occurred tells us how good she really is.

Balmain S/S 2011 Paris

Image source: The Catwalking

Over the past seasons, I always have respect for Christophe DeCarnin's work for Balmain and how strong his aesthetic is. He pulls off the rock chic look so effortlessly and the models always look so confident and forceful on the runway. I admit, there's not a whole lot of variation from season to season, but what do you expect to see from Balmain? Flowery chiffon dresses? I don't think so.

Although I do agree that Balmain sells far more from what it's worth, completely simple minded from an aesthetic standpoint, and also ultimately pretty overrated, I can honestly say that the clothes have never actually looked cheap to me. Tacky, yes. Vulgar, kind of. Obnoxious, mostly. But while I've never felt that the clothes matched their price tags, they still looked like luxurious designer-level pieces for the most detail parts.

However I can't say that about this S/S2011 collection. It is actually a little bit of a let down for me where I see it as a bit of an aftermath collection. That is, it seems almost like the Balmain aesthetic has peaked (last season with its heavy embellishment and Baroque influences, etc), and it appears that Mr. DeCarnin now has nowhere to go, resulting in a collection that repeating the exact type of clothes and mood from previous collections, this time in a double doze. Of course, sticking to what you do best isn't a problem, and I do like some of the individual pieces like the jackets, as usual, but the studs and safety pins all over are just a little bit so...overdone. More than anything I just find this collection a little lazy, although what do I know? The way some people talk you'd think they've never seen a safety pin before in their life. And after all you have to appreciate the man in how he can get away with selling filthy looking tees for thousands of dollars.

Jil Sander S/S 2011 Milan

Image source: The Catwalking, Bergdorf Goodman

There's a sense in current fashion in which minimalism holds the center stage right now. It's all about a lack of fussy couture-ish embellishment, about the purity of line, about garment as an art-form, about a sense of ease and classic simplicity modernized. Whether one designer decides to follow, react against, or even redefine it, it's at the center of engagement, which defines the current language of fashion.

Along with the precise tailoring work, Jil Sander as a fashion house had always been characterized by a certain pragmatism, practicability and modesty in design. But for its S/S 2011 presentation, Raf Simons delivers a collection which shapes are definitely work against any of those values, with a strong couture reference; such a departure from the usual pure, sleek Jil Sander look.

On first impression, I think this is a collection that is likely to continue to grow on me - there is intrinsic beauty and integrity of fashion with the superb tailoring work in the pieces shown here. Some might not favor this for its lack of figure-flattering proportions, but the form and line which retain to essential simplicity, and the combination of minimalism and the voluminous silhouette which brilliantly combine couture fashion with outfits that customers can easily envision being worn definitely feels like a very fresh and smart way to channel a reinterpretation of minimalism reference.

But the biggest feat here is probably the interesting bold color palette. To repeat a palette of purity and nature (white, sand, beige, and flesh - as seen on S/S 2010 at Celine or Calvin Klein) would have been dull and repetitive and seen minimalism failing to develop and to retain interest. The interesting question is whether you can have quite this much bold bright color and still 'says' minimalism. I guess Raf achieves that here. Neon as the new natural; a minimalism that can carry a bright color, a stripe, even a print here and there. Yes, it can work. I think. A new level of minimalist fashion can be accomplished only in the hands of a designer who really gets how to deliver minimalist forms; it might take a little bit of adjusting too, but I think in the end of the day we will find Raf's collection feels increasingly 'now' and surprisingly 'right'.

Prada S/S 2011 Milan

Image source: www.style.com, www.jakandjil.com/blog

For every season, Prada has always been like this for me. After a first look, I'd ask, "Why Miuccia? Why design a collection like that?" But then, subsequently, when I looked at it again, and see it on real people, or on editorials few months later, I will understand why Miuccia decided on these. And that's why I think she's a maestro, one of the true designers out there. She definitely doesn't just design clothes for the obvious.

But this S/S 2011 collection for me was mind blowing in endless ways; it was love at the first sight. The collection was so full of references and I think what makes it so interesting is the juxtaposition of these very references.

There was a Spanish flavor and a colorful approach to fashion, mixed in with a sort of trendy business-woman who wears her sneakers to work and changes into heels for the evening. And on top of that the collection had some kind of flapper-esque vibe in the shapes of the dresses, and the carrying of furs, and the hairstyles - all of this ending in restraint in a strong assemblage of a simple, classic Prada shift dresses.

And don't even get me started on the shoes! Absolute genius. The menswear-inspired sneakers were an interesting take on casual luxury. I like how steady and powerful they made the girls walk. It is infinitely refreshing to see a model to actually being able stride down the catwalk with force and purpose, in a pair of shoes, no?

Marc Jacobs S/S 2007-2011 New York

Marc Jacobs has always been one of my favorite designer, so I've been wanting to make an illustration of his outfit since like, forever. But somehow I never manage to do it because simply I couldn't choose which collection should I sketch! Then one day I came up with the idea of sketching one outfit that I like most from his spring collection from four years back until the recent spring 2011 collection, and what an idea it was; I certainly had a lot of fun drawing it. (:

Among all the collections, S/S 2008 would be my favorite Marc Jacobs' collection, ever. I never ever get tired of this very wearable interpretations-of-the-surrealist outfits and these misplaced pumps are just adorable, and remember the bag-on-bag bags? Well they just counts as another layer of adorableness, which makes this collection....hang on a second while I make some quick calculations...mmhmm...carry the three...ah yes, double adorable.