Milan Fashion Week: Miuccia Prada's clothes speak for themselves

I’ve been told by enough designers that time is luxury. I think thats why people are creating things that take up so much of the damn stuff, because its the only thing that’s really worth anything when previously precious materials have been commonplace, and now just common, and good design is all too frequently taking a back seat to churning out money-making stuff. So I took my time writing this, despite braving the ritualistic hurtling of press backstage to find out as fast as humanly possibly what has made Miuccia Prada’s brain whirr over the past six months. It is a rush like no other because Prada is one of fashion’s great thinkers, and this is the one chance to hear straight from her what she intended us to see. It’s also a rush because Mrs Prada shows at 6pm of a Thursday evening in Milan, so editors fling themselves at their keyboards to make the European newspaper deadlines. No time you see. No luxury.

I enjoy the scrabble. It’s not something I do all that often, at shows - but it’s worth it there. That’s because Miuccia Prada always has exciting, interesting notions, which maybe gel with what you saw in the show, but perhaps jar. I always think a Prada show is a bit like a fashion Rorschach test. It’s more a measure of you than her, to see if you see what you’re supposed to see, and if you like it or not.

However, I also like to make up my own mind about Prada. Her intentions are frequently illuminating and always fascinating, but her work is complex enough to see your own truth and story in it. It’s open for interpretation, rather than the homogeny of eighties, seventies, hippy or goth offered by other designers, superficial references sliding across the surface. Mrs Prada’s ideas are embedded, ingrained in her clothing. Everyone will unpick them differently.

This time, however, Miuccia Prada wasn’t there to see her own show, due to a family bereavement. There are some things bigger than fashion, even when you are one of its defining figures. Mrs Prada left the design studio at midnight the day before the show, and the thronging crowds backstage were met not by she, but by a he: Fabio Zambernardi, design director of both Prada and Miu Miu. He’s generally a behind-the-scenes type - a few members of the press, the same ones who push into Mrs Prada’s face for answers every season, later asked me his surname, which illustrates quite how unknown he is.

Zambernardi did Mrs Prada proud in deciphering the meaning of this show - he talked about subverting classics, about the bubbly transparent organza jackets and skirts being like the memory or idea of a garment, rather than its concrete physicality. Layered over other more substantial garments, they leant them a mirage-like ethereal quality. Chopped-up scraps of millinery veiling were pasted against the models’ necks; the organza stuff felt like veils over the clothes too, blurring hemlines and outlines. It felt a little like a curator explaining the intentions of an artist as we wandered about their gallery opening.

Forget classics, and ghosts of garments, and all those suits - although the return of the latter, in the wake of the Conservative victory and a Right Wing wave across Europe, is a fascinating example of fashion reflecting political upheaval. What’s more conservative than a neatly matching skirt-suit, lines of patchwork straight and narrow?

I never think of Prada’s clothes as straight and narrow - the former especially evident in her menswear’s sly, transgressive sexuality. And no-one’s reach, nor mind, is broader in fashion than Mrs Prada’s. Except, possibly, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, although i feel Kawakubo has distanced herself from the fashion world - and even clothing - in recent seasons. Mrs Prada, by contrast, is at its beating heart.

What are my other takes on these clothes? How about the primacy of line, the idea of the simple, even primitive gesture of marking a horizontal or vertical, which was the foundation of both illustration and language in prehistoric times. The martingales splicing Mrs Prada’s jackets at the back were horizontal, all that patching vertical, her tweeds in prince-of-wales checks, like cross-hatching across the body. Those veils were criss-cross checkers too, come to think of it. The print, on organza coats and skirts, looked like parallel lines of matchsticks. Then the embroidery, the glorious, scribbled flowers in pailettes spilling out of the collection’s predominantly narrow silhouettes. Mrs Prada colouring outside her own lines. They looked luxurious, and like they took a long, long time. They clattered loudly as the models took their turns below curving panes of plastic, like blown up palettes themselves.

There were also absolutely no trousers. So maybe straight and narrow was indeed a key notion - the inherently feminine, archetypes of female fashionability, the fifties hat veiling, the exaggerated earrings, the gilded lips, the industrial heels, like court shoes with their trappings stripped away to expose their innards. Combine that with those ghost garments and there was an idea of looking inward, examining the construction of the feminine ideal, debunking the mystique. It felt not like the volte-face Prada normally explores, but a further extrapolation on the genetically-modified femininity of Prada’s winter collection. That collection was about what women wanted, a notion Mrs Prada told me she was fascinated by. The odd machination of desire, which is the very reason the fashion industry exists, a business devoted to convincing us all we need to buy a new jacket (here, in stripes, with those big fat martingales) when we all already own so many.

Nick Wooster: Style Becomes Him

For a man with almost 500,000 followers on Instagram, and whose Wikipedia designation is “street style icon,” Nickelson Wooster is remarkably humble. “I’m just this kid from Kansas who happened to obsess about clothes, and the fact that I can actually make a living based on that is the most gob-smacking thing in life,” he says. “Fran Lebowitz says she’s not afraid of anything except for writing. For me it’s the opposite: I’m afraid of everything, and the only thing I’m fearless about is getting dressed.”

Wooster, an early riser who needs three hours of cigarettes and iced coffee before he can think about leaving home, compares his instinct for style to being left-handed. “I can remember being in pre-kindergarten and having a meltdown about certain clothes that I would and wouldn’t wear,” he recalls. “I would say, ‘I don’t like the sleeve on this T-shirt,’ and my mom would look at me like I had seven heads, like, What the fuck are you talking about? It’s a short-sleeve T-shirt.”

Looking back, Wooster is aware that his passion for fashion also served as a camouflage — for his insecurities about his height, his looks, his sexual orientation. Clothing, he realized, could take care of all of that. As a teenager, he took his cues from his stockbroker grandfather, who wore suits and took him on his first trip to Macy’s in Wichita. It was a revelation. By 16, he was working in a local specialty store, and apart from a slight detour as a journalism and advertising student, fashion has been his métier ever since.

His résumé is a who’s who of major brands, from retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus to designers like John Bartlett and Thom Browne. He is currently curating the Cadillac Capsule Collection, a selection of 15 looks for the fall.

His arrival in New York on January 8, 1983, coincided with a low point for the city’s gay community. “I arrived to stay with my aunt and uncle on a Saturday, and on Sunday morning they were passing out sections of the paper,” he recalls. “The magazine came to me, and the cover story was about AIDS.” The story stopped Wooster in his tracks. “It scared the shit out of me, and I can’t believe I’m here and HIV-negative, because I shouldn’t be,” he says. “I did it all — I would be at Paradise Garage, at Palladium, at Area, at the Anvil, you name it. Getting high was how I dealt with the ’80s.”

Although he laughs off any suggestion that he’s a role model, Wooster, sober now for 20 years, feels a responsibility to show that there is more to life than being high. “I’m amazed now to see how many guys get sober in their 20s, when I was certainly qualified at that point,” he says. “I was just never interested — I couldn’t do it.” He is bashful about his huge social media following, but aware, too, that it helps keep him relevant — and employed.

“Why weren’t they taking pictures of me when I was cute?” he jokes. “Why would a vertically challenged, not fit, 55-year-old person be of interest to anyone?” He laughs. “Whatever it is, I hope it sticks!”

Lady Gaga covers CR Fashion Book

The latest round of September issues has not disappointed, with covers featuring Katy Perry, Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway and Beyoncé. Lady Gaga, who covers CR Fashion Book, is the latest to join this illustrious roster, accompanied by an editorial the glossy says is unretouched.

Jessica Simpson to launch activewear, new fragrance

In an era of here-today-gone-tomorrow celebrity brands, Jessica Simpson's billion-dollar label has proven that it has staying power. Following its acquisition by Sequential Brand Groups in April, the 10-year-old company is getting ready to launch activewear as well as a new fragrance, Jessica Simpson Ten. As reported previously, freestanding brick-and-mortar stores may soon be on the way as well.

Is Melissa McCarthy the new of face of a fashion revolution?

Did you know that Melissa McCarthy first moved to New York to study fashion at FIT, but was diverted by her burgeoning career as a comedienne? Now the Spy star is returning to her fashion roots with the launch of Melissa McCarthy Seven7, a clothing line that caters to women sizes 4 to 28. But can McCarthy lead a fashion revolution that more fully addresses the needs of most American women, the author wonders?

Barneys, CFDA launch Made in New York line

To promote New York City's manufacturing sector, Barneys and the CFDA have partnered to launch a Made in New York capsule collection, featuring pieces from Altuzarra, Thom Browne, The Row, Proenza Schouler, R13, Rag & Bone and Narciso Rodriguez.

Fashion's early Twitter adopters are phasing out

In many ways, the departures of Aliza Licht, formerly DKNY PR Girl, and Erika Bearman, formerly Oscar PR Girl, mark the end of what's come to be known as "Fashion Twitter." Though fashion insiders have yet to completely abandon the platform, Twitter is no longer the forum for lively, fashion-related conversations it once was, argues Lauren Sherman.

Should we mourn American Apparel's imminent closure?

We all have watched American Apparel's gradual demise due to slumping sales and ongoing legal imbroglios. But should we really grieve its departure from the retail scene? Booth Moore think so. She argues that American Apparel was one of the first to tout ethical labor practices and put Los Angeles on the map as a center of fashion design and manufacturing.

Journelle to launch its first complete private label collection

After debuting a small capsule of robes, nighties and pajamas last year, lingerie retailer Journelle is set to launch its first full private label collection on Sept. 8. The line is made up of eight bra silhouettes that cater to different needs in a woman's wardrobe (a t-shirt bra, a deep-V plunge and a racer back, for example) as well as two bottoms to go along with each, for a debut collection of 25 items in total. Prices will fall under $100 for each piece, and the range will introduce new items in upcoming seasons.

Resource: http://fashionista.com/

Justin Bieber Ups His Fashion Cred With “Interview” Cover

First he scored a Calvin Klein campaign. Then he appeared at Kanye West’s Adidas Originals Fall 2015 show. Most recently he walked the red carpet at the Met Gala in a Balmain outfit accompanied by designer Olivier Rousteing. And now he’s on the cover of Interview’s August 2015 issue. Like it or not, Justin Bieber is transforming into a bona fide fashion-world celebrity.

In the glossy, Bieber chats with Martha Stewart—don’t forget she participated in his Comedy Central roast earlier this year—about his tech investments, working on his new album, and his favorite form of transportation. (It’s private planes, FYI.) Stewart and Bieber also touch on the subject of fashion, albeit briefly, to discuss the singer’s first appearance at the Met Gala. Fashion comes center stage, however, in the accompanying editorial, shot by Steven Klein and styled by Karl Templer, where the musician poses shirtless, showing off his many tattoos. His admirers will like the pictures for their revealing nature, but the images will also persuade the fashion world to come ’round to him, too.

Resource: http://www.style.com

How To Pack For All Of Your Vacations This Summer

Figuring out what to bring with you on vacation can be overwhelming, so we partnered with the new Cupcakes and Cashmere line, available at Nordstrom, to help solve your jet-setting packing troubles.

You've booked your airfare and put in your PTO at work; all that's left for you to do now is fill up that empty carry-on. Not sure what to put in it? Well, if you're headed to a warm tropical beach, a bustling city, or even a desert oasis this Summer, we put together must-have packing lists using items from blogger Emily Schuman's new Cupcakes and Cashmere collection that will make planning a breeze.

The dry heat and gusty winds are calling. Keep your separates lightweight, but bring a heavier jacket for evenings — temperatures tend to dip in the desert at night.

Here's Some Styles About Hot-Weather Dressing In LA

Since moving to Los Angeles a few months ago, I have often felt as though I was melting, especially here in my apartment with its mostly broken air-conditioning. California has been suffering a drought for years now: temperatures are rising, water is running out, and the Los Angeles river is the most pitiful body of water I have ever seen, a trembling little creek at the bottom of a concrete ditch. Unsurprisingly, then, all of the city’s inhabitants have an idea of how to dress under the baking sun. And now with the UK experiencing a heatwave of its own, here are 10 ways to dress like a Californian.

Dressing ‘young’

There are more Spanish speakers in the United States than in Spain these days; it’s a hugely influential culture and this look in the vein of Larry Clark’s idea of Dressing young – billowing bright white T-shirts like sails, massively baggy shorts, pulled-up white socks and sneakers – is fairly ubiquitous among teenagers on my street. It’s a sharp outfit that reflects away sunshine like Wimbledon whites, also a very airy one, and is considered quite a tough one, too; although the shorts are so preposterously oversized that in the United Kingdom, they might well be mistaken for a maxi skirt or sarong.

The golfer

Another popular and athletic look – especially among the dapper, middle-aged men who populate Koreatown where I live – is that of the golfer. Basically, this is what my Japanese grandfather wears, and it keeps you cool in the sun: smart shoes, pressed check trousers, a crisp polo shirt, tan shades and a visor. For a more traditional feel, swap out the visor for a straw boater or similar; there’s never a better time to wear an unusual hat than at the height of summer.

The hiker

One of the best things about living in LA is all the hiking. So much hiking. Or at least I’m told (obviously I am far too busy working to head to the Hollywood Hills when temperatures hit 32 degrees). Still, a cursory wander shows that the look - sandals and general practical stuff – is also permitted on the street. Who knew?

The hipster

Times are hard for the hipsters of Silver Lake and Echo Park. Skinny jeans are now totally unacceptable; not only are their chimney forms out of fashion and unsuited to the furnace-like heat, but also, as you’ve probably heard, they might cause you to lose your legs. However you can still stay cool under a floppy cowboy hat, with your shirt open very wide, a look which is inexplicably finding feet in certain parts of the city. When it’s so hot that you feel as though you’re riding through the desert on a horse with no name, dressing like a cowboy is often a good idea.

The fashion designer

Also, you can just wear less clothes. When I interviewed fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm, who moved his studio away from Paris and into a Hollywood house, he was wearing short shorts and a skimpy vest. “Of course the body is more important here,” he told me, “because you show more of the body.” While there is certainly a cult of the body in Los Angeles, as the LA uniform of vest and shorts proves, I never see anybody walking around topless, apart from my spaced-out neighbour who is usually tripping on who-knows-what; I’m told that in London lots of men are walking around topless in the street, which is completely uncalled-for.

Paris: City Of Light, Fashion, Food...And Startups?

Back in 1914, when IBM was a startup, and founder Thomas Watson Sr. decided to expand internationally, he chose Paris as his European headquarters. Today, French business leaders are keen to attract more such ambitious entrepreneurs and are putting the muscle of the American Chamber of Commerce in France (and its 120 years of experience) behind the effort.

Style software gives fashion tips after judging what you wear

To teach the software about fashion, Urtasun's team showed it thousands of pictures from Chictopia, a popular style website. The more positive votes left by other users, the more "fashionable" the software perceived the look to be.

How Plus-Size Women Can Wear This Summer’s Fashions

With the right style or fit, this season’s fashion trends can work well on any body type. “If they’re cut right, all the trends will translate over perfectly,” says plus-size model Candice Huffine.

This season, Ms. Huffine, who confesses to being a big fashion lover, particularly loves the black-and-white trend in clothing. “I know I will look sleek and polished in simple black-and-white pairings,” says Ms. Huffine. She particularly likes to wear black-and-white-stripes, which she thinks looks “beautiful on curves.”

Regardless of whether you’re doing the look in stripes or a pattern, “the shape is going to be key.” Something simple like a fitted black dress with some white, vertical detailing on the side “creates a nice silhouette,” says Ms. Huffine, who has been featured in ad campaigns for retailers including Bloomingdale’s, Lane Bryant and H&M.

Jumpsuits are an easy item for curvy figures, Ms. Huffine says. “I like wide-legged jumpsuits. There are so many available right now, for all occasions,” she says. And “sheer, kind of flowy silhouettes,” such as harem pants and blousier tops, “are really easy” as well.

“I love a really flowy, lightweight silk top with a slimmer-cut pant or a skinny jean or shorts and if I’m doing a harem pant, I would wear a more form-fitted shirt on top,” says Ms. Huffine. “There’s a common misperception that curvy women just want things that are completely square so they don’t show anything at all.”

Local Instagram It girl back on the fashion scene

The local Instagram It girl is back.

Style blogger Velda Tan - better known as a co-founder of successful fashion blogshop Love, Bonito - is set to make her return to the fashion world.

She will be debuting new clothing line Collate The Label at Singapore Fashion Week (SFW) 2015 in the coming weekend.

Her Pre-Fall 2015 collection will grace the runway alongside the creations of her "idol since childhood", Victoria Beckham.

The married Madam Tan calls the upcoming show "one of the biggest milestones" of her life.

The 27-year-old tells The New Paper on Sunday: "I am deeply grateful for this opportunity."

Her first foray into the fashion world took place about a decade ago, when she sold second-hand clothing online on her blogshop, BonitoChico.

Beauty - Some Wrinkle Creams Really Work

Retinoids (compounds related to vitamin A) are a rare thing in beauty – anti-ageing ingredients that we know help reduce wrinkles and other visible signs of ageing. Historically, it’s been argued that only prescription-strength retinol products are concentrated enough to cause change, but the clinical evidence no longer concurs.

Beauty tips and tricks: You can’t beat honey for better skin and hair

My top beauty tip is honey, raw and unadulterated.

I’ve always had problem skin but started using honey to remove my make-up and to wash my face a few months ago. While my skin is not perfect, it’s certainly the best it’s ever been.

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Trends Fashion - Women Clothing

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