Master Stylist, Average Designer?

When I heard celebrity stylist par extraordinaire Rachel Zoe was launching her own collection, I was pretty excited. She really is a great stylist and is responsible for nearly every great look on the red carpet.With her own reality show (I forget the name, Rachel Zoe Project or something), she has become a celebrity in her own right, and a household name in the States. So her own collection seemed like a logical next step , especially in Hollywood,where really being just a celebrity is grounds to have your own line, at least she has some talent in fashion.The only thing that made me slightly skeptical was that she was entering a long line of 'celebrity/reality stars-turned designers', so her legitimacy on being a known authority in fashion might come under fire - she might be termed as another one of those. But that's debatable, and really hasn't affected her fashion or clients in anyway so lets just leave it for now.

Okay these pants are amazing.If they can actually fit like that on non size zeros.

Great dress, but nothing to write home about.

Let's not even go there.

This is real serene and nice.

I feel like I've seen this dress somewhere. Maybe on one of her clients.

With her spring ready to wear collection, I really felt that we were seeing 'looks' put together, but not 'pieces' that she had designed. Like a real-life stylist portfolio. There is absolutely nothing that compelled me to really react strongly to anything that she presented.Most of the time I can barely stop myself from going  woowww, but Rachel Zoe just left me lukewarm. She's a master stylist,has a great eye and a natural knack in putting outfits together.But  as far as designing is concerned, instead of having her own high-end line, she should perhaps do what a lot of luxury designers are doing- teaming up with mass retail chains like Target, or H+M, because her creations were definitely 'trendy',  but they hardly offered more. I just didn't see anything new compared to all what we have seen in the in the fashion weeks.Granted those are luxury labels, and we cant even dream off owning nay of the pieces I have featured on this blog, but we do want some innovation and some story-telling from the designer. So for now it seems like she has great knockoffs, but if she went lower than her average $400 price tag she could really be pressing on to something.

The hottest carousel in the world.

Louis Vuitton had the most magical set for SS2012. Marc Jacobs really went all out this time, perhaps because it might be his last show for the label. It is strongly rumored that he is to be the new Creative Director for Christian Dior, after John Galliano's unfortunate departure.Nothing for sure yet, but the magnificent set really re-fueled those rumors. Kate Moss come back for a second round to walk the catwalk for the label ( usually supermodel royalties like her just sit in the front row), and added that extra oomph to the show.

The clothes were sweet, innocent and very very wearable. Pastel shades and white ruled the catwalk, with over sized eyelets on dresses, shirtcollars and coats. The collection comprised of mostly day wear pieces, that were painstakingly intricate and displayed a dominant sense of soft- fifties influenced  femininity.

So Beautiful

The great thing about Louis Vuitton fashion shows are that they don't leave out their accessories line- which is their biggest seller. I absolutely love, LOVE the shoes with the metallic point. I've always loved pointy shoes, and its seems they are making it a big return at LV.  Also I'm over the moon that I already have something similar to the metallic pointy front.  The bags were interesting too, and they have new shapes which are really really fun. The exotic leather collection is gorgeous, but I'm sure that the price tag on those bags will be just as gorgeous.

Is that a LV flask?

Sarah Burton and SS2012

In my last post about McQueen, I really didn't delve much in to Sarah Burton, and how she is doing as the Creative Director.Maybe cos she did the royal wedding,and there was so much hoopla surrounding it, that I just got put off by it.And then there is the issue of Kate Middleton wearing McQueen- well I'll come back to her at another time.
Okay coming back to Sarah Burton- she's just fabulous.  Its seems  McQueen's design ideology was best understood by Burton. Each collection she has given us after McQueen's untimely death has been a continuation of the same aesthetic sense. They all have been an homage to McQueen through her attention to detail, impeccable tailoring, and the magnificent corsetry. McQueen's pieces were always beautifully structured, and sometimes excessive in their execution which made them such a pleasure to watch. Burton's collection achieves the same effect. The Pastel/ Nude shades paired with chiffon give it this airy lightness, but the extraordinary shapes and silhouettes are awe-inspiring,breath taking and just plain wonderful.

Love the silhouette

Like bleeding roses.

How fun is this?

I love how it just flows.

I love this. I wanna wear it.

I want. So bad.

If that jacket isn't perfection what is?

Too cute. So sexy.Very 60s.

I love the sheernessof the train.

Hoe seamlessly the lace headpiece blends into the dress na?

The shoes, were a whole different story.  See the thing about the label is you really see a though process behind each creation. And that's exactly what each piece in the collection is , a 'creation'. Just like You and I are God's creation, McQueen/ Burton's pieces are all divine creations as well. They speak without words. They say so much.
The shoes are impossibly high, and, and...well you just have to see for yourself. I personally love their sense of humor.

sexy serves it right

I need to own these.

Tres romantique.

Valentino

As you may, or may not, have noticed the blog title has no caption, just the label's name. That is a deliberate effort from my side since nothing I can say about this collection can express how much I feel for it. Its gorgeous beyond belief, but that isn't even the start of it, and definitely not the end of it.Creative directors Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli have given us a poetic, romantic collection that is really,really pretty and very,very wearable.

Yes, Valentino isn't the creative director anymore, and the collection is different from his time in its lack of  pronounced sexiness-that sexiness the was so natural to Valentino's designs.But what it lacks in va-va-voomness it makes up in its soft femininity and delicate,coy sexuality. There is nothing that I would change, and absolutely nothing I wouldn't wear in this collection. 
Vogue's Dolly Jones sums it up really well with the last line in her report :

"It maybe that at some point we want something different to pure, modern romance from the Valentino team – but it’s hard to imagine ever getting bored with this"


Also, this is the first time I'm featuring a bag  (Michelle Tanner's backpack does'nt count) in this blog. I was holding out for something special and this is it.

 Perfection right?