Tag Archives: London

Detectives from London at SAUNDER

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Upon arrival to the SAUNDER fashion show, it was clear this was going to be interesting. A detective-like character sat at a desk in the middle of the runway—smoking cigarettes, shuffling through papers, looking at rolls of film, kicked his feet back to rest on the desk, etc.—making no acknowledgement of the people taking photos around him. It all tied together once the models started the actual show.

SAUNDER held her Fall/Winter 2014 fashion show at the gorgeous Highline Hotel during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Inspired by the 1980’s miniseries on BBC, “The Singing Detective,” the designer incorporated an overlap of film noir style with a 1980’s London aesthetic. Both the color palette and geometric details reference this decade. Some of the cardigans and cigarette details give a nod to legendary designer, Elsa Schiaparelli. The line was unique and fresh, with a vintage twist. Loved it!

A Vivienne Westwood Influence at ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’

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The entrance of the newest installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was quite the opposite vibe from its neighboring ‘Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity’ exhibit. Booming music, dark lights and punk rock symbols pulled museum-goers into the special exhibit that opened on May 9th— meanwhile, next door consisted of quiet, hushed voices and courteous spectators.   It was a contagious, exciting feeling walking into ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture,’ even if you are not a punk rocker by any means. Although she wasn’t the only designer presented, Vivienne Westwood played a major role in the show.

Moving from mannequin to mannequin, admiring each and every provocative style displayed, viewers “Ooh’ed”, pointed, and snickered at some of the bizarre looks. The most represented designer throughout the show was by far Vivienne Westwood. She stood out as the ring-leader of the ‘Punk Movement.’

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Westwood not only designed clothes, she also branched out into footwear. Super-elevated platforms in patent leather. Bondage boots. Shoes with multiple tongues. Spikes galore. All were just another part of Westwood’s kitschy themed looks. Her extreme designs got the attention of the world, and not just fashion critics. Her brand began to flourish as she took on the London rebellion scene—inspiring Americans to do the same.

Being such a cult-leader in the punk movement, Westwood was given her respects to being the leader of it all at the ‘Punk’ exhibit. It was exciting, inspiring, and the set-up of the entire show was exhilarating. Each corner I turned I wanted to see more. I didn’t know what to expect—especially since this is not a trend I am into. By the end of the show I was disappointed there wasn’t more to offend me visually—and I wanted to run out and tell spectators to check it all out. An amazingly curated exhibit!

 

Put Your Best Foot Forward on Monday with Manolo Blahnik

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A Foot in the Fashion Industry: Manolo Blahnik on Lifestyle and Inspirations

“Young man, do things. Do accessories. Do shoes,” the legendary Diana Vreeland advised a young Manolo Blahnik in 1971.

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 Such advice couldn’t have been greater to a creative artist like Manolo Blahnik. He had been going through a more confused time in his life, unsure of what creative direction to move in—and this advice sealed the deal. Anxiously, he moved forward and pursued the shoe-design field and created an entire fashion empire that did not exist before—adding couturier techniques and detail to ready-to-wear, high fashion footwear. Let’s take a peek into the artist’s views and muses.

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How did Blahnik become a shoe designer? “It was one of those accidents of life. I could just as well have been a milliner or fashion designer,” he said.  Diana Vreeland encouraged him to work on his footwear designs and to make it a reality—which in turn, created a new shoe empire that had never existed before he hit the scene. She told him to dump the costume design path, and to “concentrate on the funny little things on the feet.” And so he did just that.

Techniques behind designing shoes: “I’m not an intellectual,” he confesses, “but I am a voracious observer of people’s movements and attitudes in the past and now. I’m very curious and I belong to that group of people who use what they observe and let it come out through what they do.” Blahnik loves the past, reminiscent and idiosyncratic English style—which is why he claims London as his home base.

His fabulous clientele: “I design for confident women who know what they want.” When creating each individual shoe, Blahnik creates an imaginary scenario of what type of woman would wear the particular shoe. Whether it be a society woman in France that attends charity balls, or a woman that hosts dinner parties for her family on her back porch—he has each scenario dreamed up for the potential buyer.

Fashion mentor: “My aunt acted as a daily fashion mentor. I was so impressed by the way she carried herself.” She taught him how to hold himself as a sophisticated individual, and the ideals of elegance.

Favorite museum: Prado in Madrid

Energy source: Spoons full of sugar, literally. On a mere 4-5 hours of sleep a night on average, Blahnik is not much for food. He’ll open up a bag of sugar and get the energy needed to design such sweet, delicious shoe creations.

Practicality versus whimsicality: “Once in a while I try to design a shoe with an eye to practicality rather than beauty. It is always a failure. Then I do a whimsy, follow my instinct, and make a slipper of silk scraps and crocodile scales—and it sells.”

View of New York City: “I’m always happy in New York because I’m a medieval person and it is a totally medieval city. People live in towers and they come down to fight—for food, for carriages, to sell their wares.”

Well, isn’t that the truth?