Eun Jeong Hong

Lately I have been feeling a little more feminine than usual. Cute, above the knee dresses with flared skirts is what I have been craving and then I came across Eun Jeong Hong, winner of the Fashion Fringe contest in London this year, with her collection go by a secret path. (Fashion Fringe is a contest for up and coming designers judged by influentials in the fashion industry and awards the winners with a nice monetary prize to fund their line). Simply "cute" or "feminine" is not what Eun Jeong Hong brought to the competition. Her all white collection is hyper frilly, feminine beauty, like decadent desserts you just want to wrap around yourself. She has layered the pieces with lace, giving them wonderful volume and everything down to the multiple pairs of socks is absolutely adorable. But, not an awww adorable... more like a a shock and awwwwe adorable. (Am I making sense? I think this collection is shocking and aweing my brain so much that I am losing my words). Every now and then there is a collection that really hits the spot and this is mine right now.

Tina Kalivas

Tina Kalivas worked for almost 10 years in London, under designers like Alexander McQueen and making costumes for the film industry. In 2002, she relocated to Australia to work on her own line. These are from her winter 2008 collection where she does her own take on a classic "pretty." Very sweet. The palette is lovely; I love the addition of the belted blue dress.

Rebecca Turbow

Yes, it has been a very long time since my last entry. Since school and a new part time job began, I have taken a little hiatus from the blog, not necessarily consciously, but when one gets home from a long day they tend to spend more time looking at and reading about fashion then they do writing about it themselves... or I do anyways. I am going to try and change this and post more often... err, more than once every 4 months. The reason for a resurgence now? I had been meaning to post for a long while, and then a friend brought it up and THEN I found something I was really interested in posting about! So... enough excuses and explainings...

Rebecca Turbow is a New York designer who spent the last 6 years designing clothes in turquoise before recently switching her palette to gray. Gray is a great neutral colour and is also a nice break from those wardrobes consisting of a lot of black, wardrobes I know a lot about, personally. Turbow's all gray designs are a refreshing idea for the monochrome look and the photos for her SS09 collection are just stunning!








And a cute little video of gray in action.

Stuck a feather in his hat...

As of late I have been pretty interested in the feather aesthetic. It may have started with McQueens most recent spring and fall collections or the raven head-pieces used in the styling of Hannah Marshall's fall collection, but Victor Osborne's handmade headwear is pushing my interest a little further.

Fabricated and sold in Osborne's Brooklyn atelier, you can shop for his creative headpieces, while witnessing the creative process. The fully feathered tops, modeled by the gents, would be great for a brisk autumn day, while the elegant head pieces are the perfect accent for an evening out.

I'm feeling inspired to hot glue some peacock or ostrich feathers to a head band and hit the town.

Lanvin and Acne Realised

I posted before about Elbaz and Lanvin collaborating with Acne Jeans and the pictures have been out for a little while (I have been a wee slow with posting them). My tardiness might be due to, upon first glance, my lack of excitement. I wouldn't say I was disappointed by the collection, which is not in it's entirety yet, but it did not immediately hit me with the oomph I was hoping for.

My first reaction was, "That's a lot of denim." Of course, that was the point of the collection, but expecting jeans and then seeing the models head to toe in blue was a bit of a shock. However, going back now and really looking at the collection, there are a lot of great things going on. The jackets are lovely, particularly, the blazer style. The loose fit and rolled up touch to the jeans and shorts is so relaxed and stylish. The higher hemmed dresses are so lovely that the more I look at them the more it pains me not to have one and their longer hemmed counterparts are incredibly classy... In fact, Lanvin and Acne have done a lot with denim here. It is more than a bunch of blue that immediately hits the eye (or my eye) and after looking at all the separate pieces, my initial underwhelmed reaction is feeling a little red in the face. There is definitely something here to look forward to when it hits stores in November.

And the best the best little Elbaz detail? The denim bow tie.

COS

Those of you on the other side of the pond (the European side, that is) may already know of a little brand COS. What struck me most about COS was not the truly chic casuals or modern, well tailored high fashion looks, but the prices. With a concentration on making high quality, high fashion clothing, the people at COS are also concerned with making their designs affordable. What I love so much about this collection is the simplicity, the colours, and the tiered cocktail dress with sheer tank underneath, oh my. Now I just need to find a way to get some COS in my North American paws.

Un Peu de la Couture

School is done for the summer and I hope to be back much more regularly from now on. The couture shows have started and I must admit I don't usually pay too much attention to the haute designs of the couture world, but there are a number of really beautiful and interesting things trotting down the runways.

I really fell in love with Givenchy after Tisci's most recent fall collection and the designs from the Fall 08 couture collection are turning me into an even bigger fan. I love the "leather chaps" look, à la Rick Owens fall 08. The pairing of South American-esque patterns with intricately layered skirts is eye catching as well as the mix in the colour palette. From earthy browns and pale pinks to monochrome purple and fuscia ensembles, the collection works together in a kind of jolting, but very modern way. Oh yes, the layers of fringe are fantastic.








Some other favourite looks from the recent couture collections were Ann Valerie Hash's feminine/masculine, Galliano's draping, structure, and sheer fabrics, creating some very beautiful and classic-looking ensembles for Christian Dior, and a little pink and a little architecture from Lagerfeld's Chanel designs, and, oh yes, more fringe.












images from style.com