MARIA ARISTIDOU COUTURE SPRING SUMMER 2019

You don’t always know what ‘s hidden behind a closed door and even when you think you do, you always wonder if you are right. A closed door is, more often than not, a mystery to all of us. We are humans and curiosity is, whether we like it or not, a human imperfection. And when that door has an arch and a keystone, intertwining to form a coherent symplexis, it becomes a mystical and wondrous gate, behind which imagination can run wild! So, open it. If you dare.

Maria Aristidou’s Spring/Summer 2019 knit couture collection was quite the challenge. Inspiration for the pattern came from a single vintage arched door found during a walk inside the old city walls of Nicosia. The simplicity of the door’s facade, together with the complexity of the engineering behind it, gave rise to a series of design trials that lead to this fine timeless pattern for the fabrics of SS 2019 collection. Hand embroidery embellishments on a colorful palette of luxurious knit fabrics made by the designer, capture the beauty and the essence of a woman. Unexpected cuts on timeless classic designs with modern details are the signature of the designer's Spring/Summer 2019 "Symplexis" collection.

In 2015 Maria Aristidou introduced her first A/W 2015 Limited Knit Scarf Collection, a beginning of a new concept in her designs. The magic of knitwear inspired her to first explore and then create, using luxurious threads and elaborate techniques, various knit patterns. The craftsmanship of detailed hand embroideries adds to the uniqueness of Maria Aristidou's fabric collections for the couture evening and accessories.

The process of fabric production for each collection starts from the very beginning. Yarns such as wool, viscose, lurex, cotton, silk and velvet (depending on the season the designer works on) are ordered from Paris and Italy. Then, a series of patterns, first designed on paper, are passed on to the computer knit programmer to be then processed by the programs set for the knitting machines. What follows is a series of testings to establish which yarn will be used on which machine and for which pattern, how thick or thin the fabric will be, color sampling combinations, hand-embroidery design testing, quality and durability checks etc. The only fabric that is actually bought, and not produced by the designer, is the lining needed for each garment.

Once the desired patterns are developed, and the fabric samples are finalized and tested, the fabric production takes place. That is, cutting and sewing (with finishings done with knit trimming on each piece of the garment) along with hand embroidery. All production takes place in Cyprus.

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Viktor & Rolf SPRING 2019 COUTURE

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren titled this collection Fashion Statements. “To what extent can you say something with clothing, literally,” they said backstage. Their studio had imagined 18 outstanding, outsize dresses constructed entirely in brightly hued tulle: some with puffed sleeves, others with tiered skirts, all very colorful and very voluminous. And, well, each creation spoke for itself.

Who were these ingenues with their Rapunzel hair meant to embody? I am my own muse, said the one in solid green. Is fashion overrated? Less is more, replied the extra-wide one in gradient pink and blue. What is your position on climate change? Give a damn, declared the one in white trimmed in white and fluorescent green. Will you watch the Super Bowl? No, exclaimed the one in striped blue.

Naturally, with their characteristic monotone, the designers said they were not imposing any meaning, inviting us to arrive at our own readings. One impression was that such exaggerated volumes, while familiar territory for Horsting and Snoeren, could be a visual metaphor for the noise of likes in the virtual world, where these language memes live (Snoeren seemed pleased with this idea). What’s more, there was no mistaking these creations for actual slogan T-shirts or variations on the infamous Melania Trump jacket. All the assorted typography and graphic design—the text as well as the eagle head, the skull, the candy hearts, and so forth—resulted from layers of additional tulle. Trite sentiments backed up by technical prowess.

Altogether, the collection showcased Viktor & Rolf in the brand’s finest, sweet-meets-sinister form. As a fashion statement, it was ironic in attitude; historically inspired and Pop in presentation; detail obsessed and sophisticated in execution. The perfect formula, in other words, for the Costume Institute’s forthcoming exhibition on camp. Otherwise, several pieces could prove quite impactful on the red carpet, unwieldy shapes notwithstanding. The obvious choice: No photos, please.

Source: AMY VERNER / VogueRunway

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La Métamorphose HAUTE COUTURE PARIS FASHION WEEK SS19

In the gardens of La Métamorphose, the woman is certainly a flower that opens, but this woman conquers her femininity. Though delicate in her strength, she is a multifaceted woman, muse, but also leader.

Pastels emphasize opened rosebuds, the whites for purity and light. The sharp shapes symbolize determination.

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Interview: DAYO Luxury Loungewear with TLC's Chilli

Meet the stylish women behind luxury loungewear brand DAYO -

DAYO, which means happiness has arrived, is a luxury loungewear brand created for women to look beautiful, while finding harmony between home, functionality, luxury and comfort.

Yolanda White, former Coca-Cola marketing executive and CEO of DAYO , has made it her mission to deliver functional style that inspires women to be their most confident and beautiful self when they arrive home after a long day.

While rooted in fashion, DAYO is more about elevating a conversation about the role of women at home and getting to the root of self-love.

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Amiri FALL 2019 MENSWEAR

Sometimes the interplay of Malibu-level luxury—tie-dyed cashmere “hand-airbrushed in L.A.”—and demonstrative backwoods roughness à la “mud-dyed shirting” struck a discordant note at this Amiri show. Yet if you let the music take you, this was a generally beguiling cover version of an acoustic California troubadour masculine standard, presented alongside its womenswear equivalent.

Unusually, the opening movement seemed more evening, unless you are the kind of guy who wears his tight leather pants over pointed black suede stack-heeled Chelsea boots under a black bomber jacket etched in lines of music sketched in Swarovski by day. All black, it played Vibram soled suede bikers alongside tucked-in cashmere combat pants under retro-military tailoring and tailcoats, sometimes frogged. Many of the jackets featured shadow-embroidered guitar straps running above the shoulder and across the body, also in Swarovski.

Movement two incorporated first olive and then checks—and python-print chiffon dresses in red and gray for the women. The silhouettes stayed the same, albeit with an additional exhale to long, apparently roughly knit cashmere cardigan coats, tailored cashmere overcoats, and underlayer shearlings. What looked at first like narrow cords of climbing ropes used as belts were in fact chunkily jacked amp cords strung through belt loops alongside dyed coyote tails. There was a shearling-face guitar case—there were a lot of handsome guitar and mandolin cases—teamed with a shearling-face blouson. Jeans patched with panels of fabric used in the outerwear looked good.

Toward the end, Amiri faded to very near white. A long beige overcoat was worn with a cream leather shoulder-holster harness attached to two envelope-size leather pockets that rested alongside each pectoral. A contemporary fusion of ingredients you could pitch as Bruno Cucinelli–meets–John Varvatos by way of old-school Roberto Cavalli, Amiri’s fresh-feel arrangements made mostly sweet music.

Source: Luke Leitch/VogueRunway

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Acne Studios FALL 2019 MENSWEAR

When it comes to his part in the fashion playground, Jonny Johansson said this afternoon that he always feels like a double outsider: “Because we’re from Stockholm, which is from way outside [the fashion world], plus I’m from the very north of Sweden, which is way outside even Stockholm.” For this Acne Studios collection, Johansson harnessed the advantage that provenance from the periphery affords: fresh perspective.

Here, he worked to mash together many disparate elements into a newly coalesced menswear proposition. Farming has been a pretty rare reference at the shows, but it was present today in tractor-soled, half-length rubber work boots reimagined in leather; a flecked pale work jacket with a strapped satin utility pouch; and cow-print trenchcoats. He touched on late-mid-century bohemia and counterculture in the psychedelic swirl vests; superlong snoods with even longer fringing; and the colored snake-effect trenches, shirt-jackets, and moto pants. Shirts worn above high-waisted leather pants with carpenter’s pockets were semi-sheer and patterned with distressed chevrons in Lurex that Johansson had drawn from vintage soccer jerseys; these sometimes resembled Arsenal’s immortal “bruised banana” stripe of the 1990s.

There was stretch suiting in textured jersey, some nice long coats in soft velvet in hard colors (the pale, pale pistachio looked especially strong), fitted pants and tightly darted shorts in top-to-toe finely lined brown with lavender topstitching, and super-oversize work shirting. Pants featured vibrantly lined pockets that could be worn open on the hip, as they were in this show, but were also built to function when fastened at one side by hook and eye to the waistband. Accessories included rugged fanny packs and necklaces hanging with hollowed silver globes, partially sliced, whose insides were colored to complement the garments they were worn with. Whatever he says, Johansson these days is as inside as it gets in fashion; that outsider eye, however, remains.

Source: Luke Leitch/VogueRunway

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OFF-WHITE + MR PORTER TEAM UP FOR "MODERN OFFICE" CAPSULE COLLECTION

Fresh from dropping its latest Nike Air Max 90 collaboration, Off-White™ has partnered with MR PORTER for an exclusive new collection. Titled “Modern Office,” the 44-piece collection is inspired by a new generation of workers, with influence coming from both traditional and modern sportswear.

The collection features ready-to-wear pieces, accessories and footwear with textures including wool, felt, cotton and heavy canvas. Graphics in the collection include a “Modern Office” logo and a “Class of 2013” graphic. Elsewhere, the collection will also include new low-top 3.0 leather sneakers, heavy canvas jackets and a logo-print camp-collar shirt. Take a look at the first preview of the collection in the gallery above. The full exclusive release will be priced between $60 USD and $1,440 USD, and is set to drop on January 21.

Source: Hypebeast

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