London Fashion Love Letters: J. Maskrey

Hi Perm,

Dearest pen pal, thank you for penpalling with me during the Fashion Week. As the last goodbye, I’ll present you a little film showcasing the SS11 collection of J. Maskrey. It might not be sentimental enough to be used in a goodbye context, but hey, sobbing is overrated anyway. Lets just start waiting for the next Fashion Week: hopefully it’ll be as provocative and sparkly as this film.

Here’s a handful of Rita Hayworth’s Hollywood glamour and the hallucinogenic aesthetic of Jimi Hendrix! (No, that wasn’t just random, it was J. Maskrey’s own description for the film)

J. Maskrey SS2011 from SUPERSWEET on Vimeo.

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's Installations (2)

Hi Emmi,

Departing from my beautiful boxers, I walk into Omar Kashoura's SS11 installation. This is quite jazzy with musician-models playing the trumpet and the saxophone--and some less modelesque musicians playing the electone in the background. This SS11 collection features some nicely tailored suits, shoes and accessories.

This guy, or his shoes and bag, is my favourite. It's so nice to be watching a guy when he blows, isn't it? :-9

On my way to Christopher Raeburn's installation I stumble on this.

It is a knitwear collection by Morgan Allen-Oliver, also to be matched with high-waisted shorts. It looks in next summer in London there will be jumpers and jumpers everywhere.

And, perhaps, there will be plenty of Christopher Raeburn's raincoats and macs, too! They are groundbreakingly colourful, with polka dots and some taping effect on the outside.

The installation is, more or less, like you walk into the tailor's workplace, though I'm not sure if at Raeburn's, there will be plenty of these hanging rabbit dolls.

Raeburn also includes some of his women's pieces in this presentation. Smart, eh!? Emmi, I'm sure you can do with one of these in your wardrobe.

That's all I've got to share on the NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's Installations.

Ciao,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bryce Aime

Hi Emmi,

Sorry for late reply. Yesterday morning I went to the Charlie Le Mindu SS11 show. You know, the hair guy who has long been SS sweetheart? The queue was horrendous; I could feel the vibe, the excitement among the queu-ers. The not-so-fab thing was that, unlike most of the shows I attended at this year London Fashion Week, we were made to queue outside, in the cold! You know, my fever--as in medical fever, not fashion fever--was raging and I was about to give up Charlie's show, but seeing Fred Butler in her metallic pastel outfit walking past me and our London's superstar blown-up doll Pandemonia in her 8-inch stilettos strutting into the Victoria House--I know they're not Janice Dickinson, but they got me going!--my intuition told me the Charlie Le Mindu's haute coiffure show must be HOT!!

Before I get deeper into Charlie Le Mindu, I should, first, share my thoughts on the Bryce Aime catwalk show that was on last Saturday. I can tell you, in the last couple of years, Aime makes a very impressive entrance in the fashion scene. Two seasons ago, I predicted his harsh, spikey and heavily structured SS10 collection would attract Lady Gaga. I was wrong. It is Rihanna who wears Bryce Aime's in her music video "Hard" and shows. And so does Beth Ditto in many of her gigs.

This year, Bryce Aime departs from his harsh design aesthetics in favour of a much softer, though still structural, silhouette.

The collection titled "Asiarama" strikes a high oriental note and features a subtle fusion of traditional Japanese theatrical Kabuki costume and Beijing opera. The fabrics, Aime uses, range from jersey, Lycra, to chiffon in rather neutral colours of pale pink, white, green and yellow. His dresses are worn with leggings, some of which are monochromatic, others printed. I must say, I'm a fan of the printed ones. Check out them ones with falling sakura flowers. They make the legs look as if tattooed on! Also, these leggings are much more flattering than Bora Aksu's.

The shoes, too, are also updates of their oriental versions.

Looking at the collection as a whole, I must say many of the pieces do not look particularly expensive, while others border on being a little too theatrical.

And, if you check out the expression on the dude's face (on your right!), I am certain his opinions are not too remotely different from mine.

I will blog about Charlie Le Mindu soon. In the mean time, you can check out my clip from the Bryce Aime SS11 catwalk show.

Ciao,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Fashion Shenzhen

Hi Perm,

I didn’t yet tell you about Fashion Shenzhen, an event that airmailed me from London to China to a city called Shenzhen yesterday.

I had no clue what to expect but collections from China. Entering the exhibition that took place before the actual fashion show, I already felt like I was in another country. Extremely friendly Chinese people welcomed me at the lobby and walked me with a small group of people to the entrance of the exhibition, where another one of them was waiting with a big smile and a tray of champagne. The expo was like a little fashion fair with stands from different brands and designers, all of whom came for Shenzhen. I strolled around with that ”I’m all right thanks, just looking around” face you always put on when shopping, but it didn’t fool the staff: oh no, they were determined to guide me through the collections. I literally got my own translator (that’s how he called himself), who walked with me from stand to stand.

The variety of styles was vast: whereas many brands had a traditional approach to Chinese fashion, others looked very European. After spending a good time at the expo, everyone gathered in a big room. At this point, I noticed how different the event was from the ones I had been to before. First of all, 80 % of the people around had Chinese origins. Some 50% of them didn’t speak English (which sort of explains why the new friend of mine had called himself a translator). However, the most interesting difference was that the whole event was quite formal: it wasn’t just another fashion hullabaloo, but an important milestone to the fashion industry of Shenzhen.

After toasting and listening to speeches, it was finally time to start the show. It definitely satisfied everybody hungry for Asian fashion, as we saw not one but two different collections. The first one was from a designer called Haiping Xie. He had combined the traditional Chinese design nicely with materials that scuplted the Eastern appeal into innovative silhouettes.

The second collection from a brand called Ground Show was very different from the first one: whereas that one was elegant, Ground Show was snug. The designs almost screamed wanting to be worn on lazy Sundays. Not sure how well the fashion crowd would swallow this one, but for sure it’ll please the ones who go for cute and comfy.

How was the rest of your Fashion Week weekend?

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Jayne Pierson

Hey Emmi,

I am sorting out the photos of Bryce Aime's SS11 collection that has just been shown at London Fashion Week and I have realised I am yet to share my thoughts on the Jayne Pierson catwalk show I attended last night.

Pierson's catwalk show was preceded by a brief film screening "Twin Parallel" by Justin Anderson. Highly conceptual, the short film starts with the break of dawn, light, a cuckoo clock, fruit, a dead goose and models adorned in Pierson's clothing. The models soon become doubles of one another, carrying edible items in one by one. The press release says, "Pierson expertly observes observes the existence of gravitational time dilation and engages with the notion that one could change the past to re-create a different future." I'm all over the fence about this. The film, overall, just reminds me of some 17th century Dutch painting of everyday life. That's it. It has its own significance but I'm unsure how it could be translated into clothes.

Pushing the concept aside, the collection is quite eye-catching. Pierson is noted for structured silhouette and in this Spring Summer 11 collection she shows her admirable skills of leather drapery. The collection arrives in printed taffetas, in sky blue, black and gold, the colour of dawn.

"Regal," I think, is the term that perfectly describes Pierson's collection. To me, I see, in Pierson's women, the mixture of princely consorts in ancient South East Asia and European noblewomen. It is not to everybody's liking but it is still a very strong collection. You can't deny that her leather pieces isn't stunning, and this innovative take on a biker's jacket is cool, too!

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bernard Chandran

Hello Emmi,

This morning I managed to get up, get dressed, get lost--despite the catwalk's being just a 10 min walk from my flat--get a taxi and get to the Bernard Chandran SS11 catwalk show in time!!

I don't think I'm that bad with direction and totally blamed Chandran for this. He opted for a more unconventional but also more unrecognisable venue, The Old (Royal Mail) Sorting Office, to showcase his blinding bright collection. The show titled "A Modern Romance" started almost on time, at 9.30am, the time which, I believe, is considered very early for fashion folks.

BUT once the first model strutted down the catwalk with the golden rays of (spot)light trailing behind her. WHAM!! We all understand the implication of the 9.30am: the sun rises at Bernard Chandran.

The collection is exuberantly HOT! With his inspiration, too, taken from the nature, Chandran transforms tropical plant roots and plant fibre into linear prints using the Malay technique called Kerawang. This "Modern Romance," certainly, looks toward the East, the Malaysian tropical forest, the bejewelled sea and the sun that never fades away.

As you can see, Chandran mostly uses silk in different colours--gold, silver, jade, ice blue and midnight black--adorned with metallic beads. The silhouette fuses softness and fluidity with a clean-cut, angular structure. You can expect not only lots of organza and volumes but also gargantuan shoulders and heightened skirts. The twist is that these contrasts, with the Chandran magic, seem to become a match made in heaven.

Chandran's pieces are feathery light, luxurious and the collection highly commercially viable. I also think, unlike Bora Aksu's ant-y collection, Chandran's garments are perfect for women of all sizes.

By the way, I had a photograph catastrophe because the clothes are too bright, so I've got you a video clip instead. Check it out ;)

Enjoy your shows today!

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bora Aksu

OMFGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!

Emmi, your photos are stunning. I agree that Ashley Ishman's collection looks too tailored for streetwalkers like us. Fingers crossed, some of them--I love the mermaid dress--will end up at Oscar or Cannes. They are the place for Ishman's collection, really.

That said, I feel many of the designers this year take their inspiration from nature. I forgot to mention, Bora Aksu, too, says he developed ideas for this Spring Summer 2011 collection while he was observing ants in one summer's afternoon. How bizarre!?

In Aksu's defence, his collection is far from being gross. Some of the dissected-ants-lookalikes pieces are grotesquely alluring! Thanks to Aksu's craftsmanship, he masters the techniques of ruffling, draping, piping and padding to create ones of the most complex and avant-garde pieces I have seen at LFW this year. You know, he pays so much attention to detail; he even had his models' hair adorned with knitted ants!

Aksu uses silk, cotton, chiffon and other fabrics, which blend miraculously with his choice of black, red and silvery grey. Many of them are dresses. Occasionally, you find some perfectly tailored trousers but still with a soft silhouette.

I find Aksu's collection very naughty and sexy, putting you off but turning you on at the same time. The show was quite high-octane with punk rock music edging up our experience, as if Aksu decides to step up his game and says no to the sweet 'n sultry collections he had previously shown.

If I had to be critical with Aksu's collection, I might have to give him a thumb-down to those tights. They somehow make them models' skinny legs look rather chunky.

Anyway, I think I should head for bed now as I have a Bernard Chandran catwalk to catch tomorrow morning. Promise I'll share my thoughts on the Jayne Pierson show I saw this evening very soon.

And did you go to any after show party?

Night,

Perm

PS Toilet trauma noted and I just filled my bag with lots of (loo) rolls.