The Frieze Art Fair has become as much about what those who attend wear as it is about the art itself- well, that's true if you live in my world where pretty much any happening gets a fashion slant. I spent about 3 hours ensconced in the Frieze vastness on Saturday afternoon and I admit that I probably dedicated just as much energy to looking at what everyone was wearing as I did to the art itself. For men, it was all about a Tod's loafer and a tweed jacket and/or cashmere jumper, very Italian. And of course there were plenty of those enduringly popular brightly coloured trousers, may of them corduroy- I spotted mustard, pink, red, cobalt and bottle green. The ladies, as you may have seen from all the features covering Frieze style, were mostly either going for a bright, patterned vintage look or sharp, tailored conceptual pieces from Balenciaga, Celine, Comme et al. But I found that once you began to look, there was fashion in the art. Not just in the sense that there were photographs and paintings of "fashion" but numerous pieces reminded me of the looks I've been poring over from the SS13 catwalk. So, here they are- my fashion/ art Frieze twins.
1. BURBERRY/ PIETER VERMEERSCH
Colour bleed blues...
2. HERMES/ CAETANO DE ALMEIDA
Colourful digi checks...
3. PREEN/ DOUG AITKEN
Navy and white big stripes and little prints
4. DIOR/ FARHAD MOSHIRI
Red and pink colour clash
5. SOPHIA WEBSTER/ YAYOI KUSAMA
Colourful dots
6. LOUIS VUITTON/ AKRAM ZAATARI
Marc calls them twins, Zaatari says couples but they both mean two by two.
All Frieze images by Fashion Junior at Large, catwalk image from catwalking.com
It might be one of the world's most visited websites but we all know that the Daily Fail's fashion eye is skewed to say the least. Today has been a particularly bad episode with pronouncements that certain celebs look really awful and, gawd forbid, are commiting the dreaded fashion faux pas. What the DM don't realise is that said celebs are actually working SS13 vibes before the shows are even over. What's more, just because they don't have a spray tan and a body con dress doesn't mean it's a "faux pas", duh! We're going out on limb to say these girls are actually looking pretty awesome and fashion forward- get with the programme Daily Fail!
SJP DOES HI-SHINE
DM says: "The actress took her three children to school in Manhattan on Monday sporting a bizarre jacket that looked like it belonged way back in the Eighties"
We say: Errr, have you seen Burberry's latest collection? Full of magpie enticing metallic shininess.
Burberry SS13
CHERYL COLE GOES ZIPPY
DM says: "The 29-year-old singer’s cardigan featured an unusual black buckle that clipped around her neck, with a further buckle over her chest, somewhat reminiscent of a strait jacket"
We say: Actually, if there's one thing you need on your outfit next Summer it's zips. Hardware is getting a good outing, especially on jackets at SS13 shows like Chris Kane, Proenza Schouler.
3.1 Phillip Lim SS13
HEIDI KLUM'S BANG-ON HANGOVER
DM says: "Hangover clothes! Heidi Klum throws on dungarees the day after THAT Emmys gown"
We say: Maybe dungarees have had a bad press as the preserve of pregnant art teachers but they're back for SS13 if Phillip Lim, Margaret Howell and House of Holland are anything to go by.
This week we start you off with a delightful preview of the award winning documentary about Bill Cunningham the original street style photographer; the film has its British premier on February the first. Bill is a living legend.
"Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of everyday life."
Bill Cunningham
Chanel is off to Japan! Lagerfeld and his team have planned three events as a special treat for their Easternmost fans. In March, there will a winter couture show, a pop-up shop and an exhibition entitled 'The Little Black Jacket'. The exhibition, on for seven weeks, coincides with a book of the same name which Lagerfeld is working on with Carine Roitfeld, showing celebrities and other brand favourites, in their Chanel jackets.
Chanel waves the flag for Japan
More bumper business news from across the retail spectrum this week as Burberry, ASOS and Primark all posted recession defying results. At Burberry, there was a 22% increase in sales with particular strength, unsurprisingly, across Asia. It's the brand's stalwart pieces which are performing best- coats and luggage. While it is well-acknowledged that luxury labels aren't suffering as much as might be expected from the global downturn, word on the high street has been somewhat bleaker; Peacocks was the latest store to go into administration this week. However, Primark and ASOS are proof that the fittest survive. Primark announced a 16% leap in profits for the last quarter while ASOS saw an 18% increase in its share price after profits rose 10%, thanks in the most part to its global reach.
Cara Delevingne and Eddie Redmayne in their trench macs for the SS12 campaign (image from fashiongonerogue.com)
After much wrangling amongst the organisers of the big four fashion weeks, the clash of dates which looked set to overshadow the SS13 season has been resolved. For attendees, this means that fashion month will kick off earlier than usual with the New York shows beginning on September 6th. Steven Kol, CEO at the CFDA rightfully pointed out that 'there's no value for the cities to compete'. So, there will be no choosing between Katrantzou and Gucci, or Pilotto and Versace for those who skip to all four events.
Piero Tosi with director Luchino Visconti and Dirk Bogarde on the set of Death in Venice in 1971 (image from vogue.it)
Louis Vuitton has teamed up with Rome's Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Italian National Film School) to bring the worlds of fashion and film closer together. Over three years, there will be a number of projects to support Italian film and young filmmakers, such as workshops and scholarships. One of the first schemes to get underway will be a costume workshop focusing on 17th century design, with Italian costume designer Piero Tosi acting as a key participant. Like Tods, which is in the process of taking on responsibility to restore the Colosseum, Vuitton has taken it upon itself to contribute private money to protect another integral part of Italian culture, at a time when the public purse cannot stretch to such limits.
Hatmaking at the film school (imae from WWD.com)
On January 24th, a Prada museum will pop-up in Paris for 24 hours. Conceived by Francesco Vezzoli and the AMO Think Tank it could have the potential to create a bit of a 'moment' as its brings together films and sculptures which represent iconic women including the likes of Lady Gaga. The event will kick off with an exclusive dinner and club night before opening up to the public, who will now doubt rock up early to see the invited guests tumbling out. The three museum spaces, historic, contemporary and forgotten, will provide the backdrop for Prada and Vezzoli's message about femininity now. It may sound a bit obscure, but anything with the Mrs Prada stamp on has got to be fab. Talking of Miuccia, she got herself in hot water this week when she appeared to criticise the Met's new exhibit which will compare her with Elsa Schiaparelli. She told WWD:
“It’s too formal; they are focused on similarities, comparing feather with feather, ethnic with ethnic, but they are not taking into consideration that we are talking about two different eras, and that [Schiaparelli and I] are total opposite,” said the designer before her show on Sunday. “I told them, but they don’t care,” she said with a shrug, resigned rather than upset.
A statement was later released by Prada which claimed her comments were 'taken out of context' and that she was 'honored and proud to be taking part in the exhibition'.
Miuccia Prada on the cover of iD in April 2009, designed by Francesco Vezzoli (image from designscene.net)
After last week's quick dip into the sartorial goings-on in the US Presidential election, FEAL's world news radar turns to the Olympics where a row has broken out among the boxing community. The point of contention is whether female contenders should wear shorts or skirts. And it's not just a question of what is the best performing item, it does actually come down to the 'fashion' element. Skirts were first worn so that spectators could differentiate between the boy and girl boxers. Polish and Romanian coaches say that skirts should be worn because they create 'a more womanly impression' and are 'more elegant'. We're not sure that elegance is the first priority of any sportsperson looking to win a title so we're supporting Elizabeth Plank's petition for boxers to able to choose, just like every other girl can!
The Menswear season is in full-swing, moving to Paris yesterday after Milan earlier in the week. At Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones fused Japanese and Parisian influences; the work of illustrator Antonio Lopez was cited by the designer as a starting point. Further along, the Okujun silk spinning was used to create an ivory suit. The technique is UNESCO protected, and only 20cm of yarn can be produced in one day. The Vuitton show also mirrored a wider trend which began in womenswear to use more Asian models on catwalks.
One of the Asian models who walked at Vuitton (image from WWD.com)
Love this high shine parka/anorak, a nod to Japan on the belt (image from WWD.com)
Lanvin is launching its first eyewear collection and has made a video to underline the artisan approach it's taken to the range. Along with De Rigo, Lanvin has applied the same levels of artistry to the glasses as it would to its clothes. While the video may not have the catchiness of the dance of late 2011, it serves to remind us of the level of craft which sets designers like Lanvin apart. The question on everyone's lips, which ones has Alber ordered?
Nope, I'm sorry but Carine Roitfeld, Lisa Marie Fernandez and Anna Wintour (and more I'm sure) have beaten you to it. I know, I know, we thought fast fashion happened in Primark and Zara, not at Burberry and Givenchy. But think again because some of fashion's best connected are already wearing pieces which are probably warm off the models' backs. Are we jealous? Noooooo.
Lisa Marie Fernandez shows off her SS12 Pilotto in Paris (Image from graziadaily.co.uk)
One of my favourite shows of this season was Peter Pilotto and I thought I was safe in the knowledge that I had nine months to find a way to acquire a little piece of it. Swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez had a head start on us all, earning her chance to premiere the prom dress by collaborating on the scuba ensembles which were standouts in the collection.
Peter Pilotto SS12
Anna Wintour arrived at the Louis Vuitton show on Wednesday morning in an African print trench coat from the Burberry SS12 show which she had taken a front row seat a mere two weeks earlier.
Wintour arriving at Vuitton (image from zimbio.com)
On the catwalk... Burberry SS12
But prize for the most astonishingly speedy turnaround goes to Carine Roitfeld who wore a variation on a number of looks from the Givenchy show the day after it took place.
Carine makes it real-life worthy with a silky blouse and shortened tails (Image from telegraph.co.uk)
Over the Summer, we heard that Anna Wintour had given London based designers a brief: your muse must be the Duchess of Cambridge. It has already been shown that, like it or not, our new royal sells clothes in unprecedented numbers. If she wears it, a certain kind of everyday-stylish blow-dry obsessed girl/woman will want it.
The Duchess of Cambridge is under considerable pressure to wear British designers so it makes sense for them to play to her clearly demonstrated taste levels. But they can't explicitly write 'This is for you, Duchess Kate' on their show notes now can they?
The Duchess has already dipped her toe in the water of experimenting the current London line-up by choosing Erdem to wear for stepping off the plane as she embarked on her Canadian tour. This initial promise though failed to materialise as she stuck mostly to old faithfuls Issa, Temperley and McQueen for the remainder of her time away (apart from another Erdem dress for morning prayer on Day 3)
Kate, in Erdem, and William arrive in Canada (image from Daily Mail)
So, how did the London crew approach Wintour's call to arms? It is likely that the idea of using Catherine as their woman might grate, she's hardly on the cutting edge of glamour and modernity in those nude heels and fascinators is she? Well, we noticed a number of references to a kind of deranged housewife figure. The next chapter in a book begun by January Jones' Betty Draper. And actually, at the moment, that is how many people see the Duchess because she is overwhelmingly defined in the public eye by her role as wife. We don't know what she thinks or what she's passionate about. So, in my first attempt at replicating the previous Fashion Junior's Big Head feature, I have scoured images from the past few days to see what we might be seeing HRH in next Summer, and she'll have a lot to dress for what with the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations....
Burberry- Kate and Wills were engaged in Kenya so she might be quite taken with this Kanga print
Clements Ribeiro. Lace is a sure hit with the Duchess
She already likes Erdem, florals and shifts so this is a must-buy
Giles does classic Princess-y shapes
Kate is Issa'a number 1 fan but this would be a change from the slinky wraps she usually chooses from the label
Sara Buys, Harper's Fashion Director and a relation by marriage of Kate's, chose Osman for her outfit to the Royal Wedding so surely on the radar
The most Kate worthy dress from Peter Pilotto's offering
Add heels and a fascinator and ta da, a classic K-Mid wedding outfit from Richard Nicoll
Daytime prettiness from Jonathan Saunders
Perfectly demure for a black tie event, again from Jonathan Saunders.
I don't even need to add a head to this, it has vintage Duchess Kate written ALL over it...
Issa
And what she won't be wearing....
Meadham Kirchhoff weren't bowing to Wintour's memo, and good for them!
