Category: Style

Style blog posts.

Horizons: Perry Ellis Spring / Summer 2012 Review

Wisps of guitar strings filled the runway in a stark white Lincoln Center room. As the bass drum, heavy folk music suddenly boomed, so did the runway floor, and in turn, the audience.

Every other designer has at one time or another been influenced by some desert or other (the Sahara, anyone?) and Perry Ellis 2012 Spring/Summer is no exception, climbing aboard the American spirit with an ode to California desert-land with a sprinkle of prep.

Horizontal Lines at Perry Ellis Spring Summer 2012
Horizontal Lines at Perry Ellis Spring / Summer 2012

If one thing could give hint to his inspiration, it would be horizontal lines. Whether tangible on cardigans or implied in the structure of the garment, they evoke new opportunity like the gold rush in the 1920s. Bandanas were slung around models’ necks à la cowboys, as if Ellis were the king of draping alongside the royal Donna Karan.

Perry Ellis Spring Summer 2012
Perry Ellis Spring Summer 2012 Look

Patterns appeared like heat maps or the red mountains of Nevada, and the other spectacular natural geography of the West.

Bottoms were casual, capri-length, and shorts for breezy, easy living. No socks for pastel-hued shoes, though, which shows the preppy, modern twist Perry Ellis puts on Americana.

Jonathan Cheban, friend of Kim Kardashian and owner of Command PR, bobbed his head along to the beat while not far off sat True Blood hunk, Joe Manganiello, whom those on the sidelines refered to as “the hot werewolf guy.” He could have easily been a closet-case hipster with his green plaid shirt, blue-grey skinnies, and semi-clunky boots. Seated next to a cute blonde, he embodied the laid-back attitude of the Perry Ellis 2012 Spring/Summer collection.

Fashions Night In?

Today, international fashion runway “knockoff” retailer, Zara, will begin selling its clothes online to US customers. With free standard shipping to all 50 states, the option to pick-up ordered clothes at a nearby Zara store, as well as free exchanges and returns, Zara will push one step ahead of other budget-friendly fashion darlings like Forever 21 and H&M.

Ironically, the site launches one day before the Lollapalooza of fashion retail events across the world: Fashions Night Out.

Fashions Night Out
Fashions Night Out : "An unprecedented global initiative created in 2009...to...restore consumer confidence, boost the industry's economy, and put the fun back in shopping."

Beginning in New York City, Fashions Night Out is now an international event where stores of all price points and ambiances get the chance to incorporate selling tactics that high-end retailers most commonly utilize. Pumping attendees full of free champagne and hors d’oeuvers is the first way, while bringing brand, fashion-world or media-related celebrities into the store is another. Both are used in hopes that customers will actually purchase something — which almost never happens — and is more of a popularity contest, if anything. What’s more important than being popular in America? Nothing. (See reality show megastars Kim Kardashian, Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, etc.)

Although Fashions Night Out is a strong attempt to revive brick and mortar businesses to their glory days, I believe the effects of this event, as years go by, will lead to an eventual change of how stores function in the future.

Fashion Stress

Azzedine Alai Fall 2011
Azzedine Alai Fall 2011

Azzedine Alai casually mentioned that the pace of the fashion industry is running designers to the ground as he declined the offer from Dior to replace John Galliano. The fashion designer made most famous in the 90’s doesn’t seek to justify Galliano’s anti-semetic rant caught on tape, but the fact that Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH which owns Dior, dumped 6 new projects on the ex-head designer before Dior’s fall from grace, may have something to do with it. What one creative mind could design four collections for him, four collections for the house, four for men, and four for women, all in one year?

Stores that provide haute couture look-a-likes to the masses may be fueling this ouroboros of consumption in two senses. For one, stores like Zara take existing clothes, de-construct them and manufacture them in a way that sometimes suit the public better. With the economy as it is, even the most discerning shopper does a double take past the windows and picks a piece, for a relatively low price, that they won’t use extensively. Commitment and originality thrown out through the same storefront window.

Karl Lagerfeld for Macys 2011
Karl Lagerfeld for Macys 2011

Another fuel to the fire are discount lines. Soon, Karl Lagerfeld, hated by Azzedine Alai, will be releasing a discount line to Macy’s — the harbor of such humble lines as Rachel by Rachel Roy, and the Material Girl line from Madonna & Co. These add another expectation that may load onto the already overflowing plate of designers. Lagerfeld, who handles Chanel and Fendi, in addition to his own line and his past-time of photography, is the perfect example of the ideal multi-talent. Does his role re-establish the standards for designers: expecting them to be both artists and machines?

The opportunity to begin slowing down the industry, and salvaging the sanity of designers, has passed with the most recent recession. Not to say that it is over, but things have not been as damaging. It was the perfect time to slow down, since spending had decreased and store sales have dwindeld. It could have created a new culture. Instead,  it spawned a discount line to scrounge for pennies and drain creative juices.

And so the cogs keep turning.

Credits:

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/06/azzedine_alaia_turned_down_the.html

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/06/azzedine_alaia_turned_down_the.html

Chanel Sunglasses

Chanel – simply the brand’s name causes hysteria. Now, imagine passerbys turning their heads to admire your gaze — clad in Chanel’s signature CC logo’d sunglasses!

If you want to buy Chanel sunglasses, the investment truly reflects the initial expenditure, especially when purchasing a Chanel encrusted pair of sunglasses such as the one below…

Chanel Sunglasses
Chanel Sunglasses

Not only were these Chanel Sunglasses featured on the runway, but they also epitomized the brand with playfully placed CC logos embedded in Swarovski Crystal. The jewel pattern remains elegant on both sides, never over-the-top or gaudy. Meanwhile, the front features rounded eyeglass frames infused with a cool factor akin to the aura of Karl Lagerfeld, the mastermind behind the Chanel brand for over 23 years. In fact, since rumors are fluttering around about Lagerfeld’s retirement, there seem to be a larger demand and rush to snatch pieces pioneered by the Chanel icon.

Chanel Sunglasses

These rounded downtown-chic lenses lend a hint of mystique; they’re just transparent enough to give onlookers a glimpse at what’s behind them. You could even pose like a rock star and wear these Chanel sunglasses at night!

Chanel Sunglasses

Don these truly versatile Chanel Sunglasses with skinny jeans and a t-shirt for downtown weekend coffee dates in SoHo or take them uptown in a chic sundress and the accessories of your choice. Buy these Chanel Sunglasses just in time for sunny Spring days and watch them transition into a staple for your Summer outfits.

Check out these and other Chanel Sunglasses Here!