Lutz Huelle FW16

Welcome to Lutz Huelle’s world, a sartorial wonderland of well-loved pieces and textiles. Much like the beaming designer, Huelle’s FW16 prêt-à-porter collection is inviting and unintimidating.

(Images: Gio Staiano / NOWFASHION)

This warm essence hardly suffocates experimentation however. Huelle recreates old classics, remixing textiles and form: from denim and sequin thigh highs to denim jackets and bombers reimagined.

Huelle recreates old classics, remixing textiles and form.

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I found myself enthralled with his sequin earrings, worn on one ear in a wry reference to textile used for dresses and other detail. Unexpected as they were, they brought a whimsical glamour to his collection.

Lutz Huelle, while obviously invested in glamour, stands apart as a pragmatist in this way — or perhaps his collection of well-loved pieces reborn is simply homage to his own taste. In any case, this collection has a fluidity that allows the wearer to travel as they please: from place to place and from occasion to occasion.

And, I think, the smiley designer wouldn’t have it any other way. As his note to the audience remarks: “… this collection became about everything I have always loved, a sort of concentrate of my favorite obsessions.”

I’m certain the fashion world thanks him for sharing his obsessions in a captivating, yet accessible manner.

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With love,

FWO

Hussein Chalayan FW16

The name Hussein Chalayan may ring a bell if you heard about the dissolving dresses during Prêt-à-Porter Spring 2016. The designer put soluble lab coats over bejeweled dresses and then made it rain, literally, on the models.

 
Spring 2016’s Dissolution
(Skip to :30 or so)

A few interesting facts on the designer: Chalayan has overcome huge technical feats in technology, science, and engineering to produce his art, notably with a dress that became a coffee table in 2000. He designed Björk’s jacket on the album cover for Post (1995), he has made short films, and he has been a Member of the Order of the British Empire since 2006.

He designed a dress that became a coffee table, and Björk’s jacket on Post.

 
Chalayan, who has called himself a storyteller, uses German fairy tales as inspiration in the FW 2016 collection. He showcases characteristically long and ümlauted German words such as “bösewicht” (villain), “verbrannt” (burnt), “Sonntagsröcke” (Sunday skirt), and “heimatlich” (native, at home). The idea behind using words instead of images was to conjure an idea of an image instead of directly depicting one.

 
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(Images: Gio Staiano / NOWFASHION)

Chalayan further unravels the fairy tale motif into numerical sequences, made with crystal and sewn onto patterns of German forests. The motivation for using numbers is twofold: they’re supposed to express the traveling speed of fairy tale characters, and the brainy mathematical nature of numbers is meant to contrast with the brawny romantic nature of crystal.

 
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When I asked Chalayan if decomposition was an important theme to his work, considering the dissolving dress from last season and the linguistic and numerical presence in the current collection, he corrected me, saying his goal is to “decode.” He disassembles codes, and we can try to put them back together.

Chalayan told me his goal is to “decode.”

Many of the looks were right on trend, with not as much re-coding necessary on our part. There’s a feminist message behind many of the looks — androgynous coats and chunky shoes with an air of adventure, cut off ponytails reattached at the ears.

There’s a feminist message behind many of the looks.

These women are strong and fierce, and they’re not afraid of Rumpelstiltskin.

 
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With love,

FWO

EACH x OTHER Paris FW16

(Photo: Skylar Williams)

Central to EACH x OTHER is providing meeting grounds for fashion and art. In fact, designer Ilan DeLouis and artistic director Jenny Mannerheim cite the poem by Robert Montgomery, “Safe and warm here / in the fire of each other,” as the spark behind their initial collaboration in 2012.

This show orbited around a billboard piece by Robert Montgomery declaring, “The Future is an Invisible Playground.” Pamphlets of poetry from both Montgomery and Greta Bellamagina were also handed out.

The Collection

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The current collection, “Love is a Verb,” takes some favorite current trends like a good leather jacket, a puffy fur coat, a heavy trench, and a party turtleneck and makes them just different enough to be their own.

For the record, a “party turtleneck” is a garment of clothing with a high neckline that is unfairly limited to the daytime by many, but works just as well — or even better — for soirée attire. Paired especially well with a party turtleneck would be the denim dress with suspenders.

Since one of the aims of EACH x OTHER is to pair fashion with art, I figure I’d talk a little more about the poetry handed out at the show and the music selection. The poems contained messages against war, against the glorification of celebrities, and, interestingly for a prêt-à-porter fashion show, against consumerism.

The poems contained messages against the glorification of celebrities …

One of Montgomery’s poems is:

“I close my eyes and think of all the things I
Don’t want and I visualise them rolling by,
Vacuum cleaners, 3-d tvs, new phones and
Cars and hand bags, a neat house in the
Suburbs. I think of how unhappy these things
Would make me and then I am free. If you
Don’t want these things they can never
Truly take you. Then I think of wood and I
Think of my bones as wood, something
Slow and put here a long time ago”

(Cambridge Heath Road, London, 2011)

Show POV

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(Most photos: Skylar Williams)

Reminiscent of the theme of this poem is a sweatshirt’s declaration, “Poetry finally kills ‘celebrity culture.’” Perhaps a jab at the way the fashion industry is paired with Hollywood celebrity increasingly today, EACH x OTHER insists that fashion is best paired with other art.

EACH x OTHER insists that fashion is best paired with other art.

“It turned out this way cos you
Dreamed it this way, cos all you could
Dream is what you saw in magazines,
And this is how it feels to win, and
Have everything, all the luxury and
Power you ever wanted and still feel
Disgusted. Ronald Reagan blues/a
Million-dollar house in L.A./
50 f*cking white anaemic stars my
Darling and all the blood and dust of
The world on your hands”

(Old Street, London, 2012)

Even after acquiring fortune, everything you ever wanted, you might still feel “disgusted.” The music selection for the show, “Hey Now” and “Wasting My Young Years” by London Grammar adds a yet another facet to this mantra of dissatisfaction.

Even after acquiring fortune, you might still feel “disgusted.”

The first song expresses an irrepressible infatuation and an instinctive burning desire, similar to the dreams of luxury in the poem:

“Hey now, letters burning by my bed for you
Hey now, I can feel my instincts here for you, hey now”

(“Hey Now” by London Grammar, from If You Wait, 2013)

The song “Wasting My Young Years” posits that we might be “chasing old ideas” and walking a straight line through life, unquestioning if there might be a better way to live.

This progression — from the chase to acquisition to dissatisfaction — is a framework that can be applied to anything, but EACH x OTHER underscores its application in consumerism, and the thoughtlessness that often accompanies the pursuit of fashion. The designer, in this poetry / fashion collaboration, challenges us to act not as reflections of others, but rather to reflect more and propose our own style.

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With love,

FWO

Paris Style Report

Over the course of the two months I’ve been in Paris, I’ve seen the monochromatic — containing or using only one color — look everywhere. Whether you’re strolling the Champs-Élysées or going out for the night, Parisians keep their looks simple and chic by choosing a singular color such as gray, paired with multiple pieces varying in shades and textures of that color for an interesting and aesthetically pleasing final outfit.

Although in Paris the streets are typically filled with monochromatic outfits of all black or navy, you will occasionally find bystanders in other neutrals like grays, beiges, greens, and soft muted brown tones throughout the hustling and crowded streets.

Monochrome looks are stylish and effective in keeping a look clean and easy: and since you are only using one color throughout the entire outfit, it’s easy to mix fun textures such as fur or velvet with a leather or cotton piece and be able to get away with it!

Monochrome looks help keep a look clean and easy.

The typically Parisian cutting-edge monochrome is effortlessly accomplished with a piece such a little black dress (LBD) and long black trench coat, paired with black heels for sexiness and an added classic feel. All-black looks are popular among Parisians because they exude a feeling of conservativeness mixed with elegance, which reflects their Catholic-based culture.

All-black looks exude a feeling of conservativeness mixed with elegance.

Alternatively popular among Parisians is the androgynous, or masculine approach: pairing a black top and trouser with an oversized blazer or jacket and loafer. On the other hand, monochromatic looks can be feminine and luxurious using blush and pinky tones or creams, or by mixing chunky knit and lush fabrics with fitted contemporary pieces.

Monochromatic looks can be feminine and luxurious using blush and pinky tones or creams.

When styling your next outfit, keep in mind a few things:

One color does not mean boring. Varying shades of a single color add depth and interest to the final result, whether the color is black, beige, or even red. Remember that monochrome is all about simplicity, effortlessness, and sometimes saving room in your closet.

So whether you’re in Paris or some other part of this big world, keep in mind that fashion and trends are constantly evolving into chicer and better versions of themselves. So don’t be afraid to branch out into this new variety of singular styling and have fun with what you wear.

Fashion and trends are constantly evolving into chicer and better versions of themselves.

So now it’s up to you: pick your favorite color and put this new Parisian trend to the test.

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With love,

FWO

Wanda Nylon Fall 2016, Paris Fashion Week

(Images: Gio Staiano / NOWFASHION)

One dives into Wanda Nylon’s FW16 collection feet-first. The stunning vinyl knee-highs draw the eye immediately; a more muted yet still assertive ensemble follows.

Besides turning a cliché on its head, Wanda Nylon’s FW prêt-à-porter packs a punch, taking sophisticated pieces from their basic status to whole new levels. A stunning vinyl coat, see-through overalls, leather scarves, and the knee-highs … always the knee-highs.

A stunning vinyl coat, see-through overalls, leather scarves, and the knee-highs.

(Images: Gio Staiano / NOWFASHION via FashionGPS)

What’s mundane is interesting again, as Wanda Nylon plays with material in unexpected ways; ways that have me digging through couch cushions for extra cash.

Or at the very least, I can be inspired by the collection’s determination to take what’s commonplace to catwalk levels.

A rainy day doesn’t have to be so horrid for one’s look after all. I certainly could have used a pair of those boots and perhaps one of the vinyl baseball caps later in the rainy Parisian day, though I can hardly expect much else this time of year.

A rainy day doesn’t have to be so horrid for one’s look after all.

The mouth-obscuring turtlenecks alone are worth their weight in gold for those wind-blasted winter months.

Wanda Nylon just made winter much, much easier and much, much more appealing (if that’s even possible to begin with).

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Learn More

wandanylon.fr

 
With love,

FWO

Nehera Fall 2016, Paris Fashion Week

One of the funny things about the concept of “age” is a certain blindness: a “young person” is not really a young person at all. They’re a person who is young now. An “older person” is actually a young person … traveled to a different part of a timeline. We are never young or old “people”: we are all time travelers.

We are never young or old “people”: we are all time travelers.

Today was the first day of the prêt-à-porter Paris Fashion Week, the first day of March, and the first day of my 23rd year as a human. Nehera kicked off my fashion week at the Richelieu-Louvois Library (where I also had the opportunity to briefly catch up on my fashion reading).

Today was the first day of the prêt-à-porter Paris Fashion Week, and the first day of my 23rd year as a human.

Nehera itself is a brand with a long journey through time. Popular in the 1930s, it was relaunched in 2014. The brand as a whole is in the process of bridging a sizable gap in zeitgeist versus its origins: and now is a perfect time, with a renewed sense of style sweeping the planet with a reborn appreciation for clean lines and pre-1950s touches (and possibly nowhere like menswear).

So it’s only fitting that the current collection would focus on on evolving definitions.

The current collection focuses on on evolving definitions.

Pre-Fall 2016

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Stylistically speaking, the Winter 2016 collection is where comfy-glam meets private-eye chic.

Designer Samuel Drira uses draping silk, velvet, and cotton to create an almost contagious comfort. While the plaid corduroy jackets — a slightly more structured material — held a stronger shape, the cotton kimonos looked more like transportable blankets.

The models in the show were exceptionally diverse — notably diverse in terms of race, but also in age. Please look at this goddess:

A standout was this jacket, capturing comfort and adventure in one.

These still photos don’t do justice to what was in reality a shimmering gold sea. Seriously — take look at our Snapchat (follow us at “fashionwkonline”!).

The capes with crisscross attached fronts inspire the thought of the bottom of a suitcase. Perhaps not an accident was placing the younger models in these capes.

Indeed: time travelers.

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Learn More

nehera.com

 
With love,

FWO

Every Woman’s Collection: Louis Vuitton Pre-Fall 2016

It’s common knowledge to fashionable femmes that the look of a piece changes depending on the wearer. Some brands and styles overshadow their wearers, who fade into the background of a particular piece’s panache.

Such is not the goal of Louis Vuitton, one of France’s — and the world’s — stable producers of luxury style: nor of creative director Nicolas Ghesquière. The Pre-Fall collection is based upon a trinity of concepts that define today’s “modern woman.”

This bold adventuress plays with the blurry lines of gender, weaving in and out of androgyny, yet remaining herself. A feminine frock one day, aggressive leather accents another. Punk-chic tomorrow and prairie goddess this weekend.

Punk-chic tomorrow and prairie goddess this weekend.

Pre-Fall 2016

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The collection hardly bleeds femininity or masculinity, the overall aura being undecided, but comfortably so.

The modern woman is moving, and her wardrobe must reflect that: in terms of functionality, of course. Accents of athletic wear appear in the collection, an affirmation of practicality, as well as aestheticism on Ghesquière’s part. An underlying sophistication, present from the very birth of the label is undoubtedly perched behind such pieces.

With seemingly oxymoronic touches, Vuitton’s Pre-Fall captures the essence of what it is to be a woman today. She is undefinable, yet every bit as sophisticated as the old guard. She is one extreme, but also the other.

Vuitton’s Pre-Fall captures the essence of what it is to be a woman today.

Watching the accompanying video directed by Karim Sadli, one doesn’t wonder why we hardly get a good glimpse at the models and their looks: they hardly have time for us: we the viewers; the voyeurs of the modern woman.

It is up to the wearer to determine how to project meaning onto these pieces. To pick and choose, to decide which goes with what, just as we do when we approach the closet to decide who we are today.

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Learn More

LouisVuitton.com

 
With love,

FWO