Rebirth of Spring 2013 and Prada

Imma start this post off with some non-fashion things. 1a. I was so excited to be posting all the time about Fashion Week but I just started a new job and classes started and I haven't been able to post as much as I want. Anyway, expect another post after the conclusion of Paris Fashion Week that will probably be me dying over the beauty that Karl Lagerfeld, Sarah Burton, and Marc Jacobs send down the runways at the conclusion of the best time of the year.
Which brings me to my question. I don't know what I'm doing on this blog (Clearly it's hot mess, party of one right now). For those of you that read this, tweet at me, or post in my tumblr (Links at the bottom of the post), or comment on this post telling me what you'd like to see here. Personal style, shopping picks, more reviews of shows, street style...etc. If you don't tell me I'm gonna do whatever the hell I want to do and this blog is gonna continue being a mess. But a wonderful, fashion-filled mess.

ANYWAYS

Goddamn this season has been so good. I'm really feeling pretty much everything that's been sent down the runways. Most of the shows are falling into one key trend: Black and white. But those shows that don't conform to that still feel fresh and exciting.
Spring 2013 is really about rebirth. Designers are making a clear departure from the direction they were going in. These past couple seasons have felt very antique-y -- Lots of florals and retro-inspired looks and it's all been amazing. The tweeds and tulle and velvet have been a good time. And they'll continue of course, albeit used in completely different ways.
Back to this whole "rebirth" concept. Ever since forever, but more specifically, since Bambi, flowers have been a symbol of the rebirth of spring. This shit is deep. Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking. Except this time it is.
No one can deny Miuccia's clever use of symbols or Prada's unusual power as a symbol itself. Lets take a look at Prada's spring collection as a continuation from her last couple shows.

From right: Fall '11, Spring '12, Fall '12, Spring '13 (All photos from Style.com)

Fall 2011: Lets throw on some sequins to show innocent, glamourous femininity.
Spring 2012: Throw together a shit-ton of patterns and pastels to show feminine sweetness.
Fall 2012: That wasn't enough patterns, we need more, and toss on some jewels too to show the bare pleasure of fashion.
Spring 2013: Strip that all off to show our yearning for innocence and dreams.

I know it sounds like I'm being facetious, but I'm really not. (If you don't know by now that nothing I say should be taken totally seriously, like, I don't know what to tell you), I literally die for Miuccia. Shes a genius.

Each collection has been just additions, add more and more onto these amazing looks. Sequins, fur, snakeskin, patterns, more patterns, jewels. Then came Resort 2013, in which Miuccia brought out 12 looks alongside her menswear show. Usually in a fashion show there is a sense of build to a couple over-the-top finale looks. Not so for resort, there was no build, the show ended with looks very similar to all the other looks in the collection. Miuccia herself said the show was a blank canvas.

A blank canvas for Spring 12. Where she showed looks unbelievably different from what she's been showing recently. And the flower motif (seen on 99% of the looks) is a symbol for this rebirth. Back to Bambi and the flowers: they show this rebirth out of the blank canvas she gave us at Resort. Fashion this spring is not meant to be a direct continuation of fall -- instead it is a time of change.

I declare upon Prada that Spring 2013 is a rebirth of fashion.

Designers have been pushing against the over-the-top fashions of earlier seasons and going minimal. Designers who usually throw on the colors and patterns stuck to white and monochrome prints. The sheer amount of black and white has been insane. This is a rebirth into modernity. Collections have been looking futuristic, but not like a futuristic costume -- more like we've finally made it to the future and these are the clothes we're wearing. Plastics; slick, glossy looks; cutouts; even glow-in-the-dark.
Prada gave us the blank canvas upon which to paint the new generation of clothes.

Obviously I can't list or show all the designers doing this, so heres some of my favorites. Not because they show the best examples but because they're the prettiest. And like, what's the point of a post about fashion if it's not maximizing the potential beauty it can show? Because without beauty, what is fashion?

From right: Marc Jacobs, Emilio Pucci, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci

Marc presented a 60's mod-inspired collection that felt completely modern instead of retro. Most looks were black and white, and featured sequins and tons of stripes (Read my full review here). Pucci, who usually shows colors and patterns galore stuck to white, black, and red in a stunning collection. Oscar de la Renta showed a collection packed full of beauty (Despite all the f-ing drama surrounding it with Cathy Horyn) and this black and white dress with the gold embellishment grabbed my eye. So glamourous. Gucci pushed away from the dark patterns of late and showed a bright collection with minimal patterns including this gorgeous white gown with the red/orange decoration on the neckline.

From Right: Chado Ralph Rucci, Alexander Wang, Roberto Cavalli, Burberry Prorsum

Chado Ralph Rucci brought it this season - showing futuristic perfection - lots of white, cutouts, and pink. Alexander Wang proved that glow-in-the-dark can be chic, it's not just for children's toys with his theatric finale. His collection full of cutouts dazzled. Roberto Cavalli's flawless spring collection started off white, then brought in color and futuristic patterns. This white look killed me. Burberry Prorsum's collection was largely full of color, but all of it was glossy and beyond modern. The modified cuts of traditional trench coats and dresses showed that Christopher Bailey is looking at the past for inspiration for the future.

Remember to tweet (@fashstylefab) or post on my tumblr (fashionstylefabulous.tumblr.com), or comment below what you'd like to see more of here! Otherwise this shit show will continue.

Marc Jacobs Spring 13

Mod Is The New Black

This is why I love Marc Jacobs so much. He literally always gives us exactly what we don't expect. After the extravagant, absurdist, fur-hat-filled experience that was his Fall collection, he pulled a complete 180 and brought out a collection that "minimal" can't properly describe. "Brutal in its simplicity" is how he characterized it. I think that is a much better label for the collection.
These overly-simple looks had so many details that they all remained beyond interesting. The variations on stripes, (which towards the beginning of the show were just variations on size evolved into changing the spacing, placement, repetition, and even shape of them) brought so much energy and cohesiveness to the collection. See-through pieces, midriff, and almost body-con-tight dresses brought some overt sex appeal to this harsh collection.

Look after look of muted dresses, tops, and skirts came down the runway full of thick, bold prison stripes, very pointy shoes, calf-length skirts, a couple peeks of leopard, and plenty of midriff. His resort collection was inspired by Cindy Sherman's clown series, and it seems he is still thinking about that. There were a few circus influences towards the middle of the show: the scalloped minidress on the right above alludes to a circus tent, and the looks with excessively-large collars (one shown on the left below) hint at the clown influence. (Who knew? Clowns in fashion? I'm still puzzled by Marc Jacobs Resort...Clearly I'm the one that's still thinking about it)

Sidenote: Mickey Mouse crop-top? I'm dead. So good.

Marc Jacobs designs by deconstructing vintage clothes and studying their construction and design, and then sees how he can modernize them. This unique design process has never been more evident. The 60s influence is everywhere here -- yet it all feels incredibly modern. The cuts and variations on materials (Sequined striped gowns - on the right below - closing the show killed me) brought those 60's fashion ideas into 2013.
Marc's shows are always good indicators of some of the coming season's trends. What I noticed here was a mix of 60's (mod) and 90's (midriff) influence, tons and tons of black and white (Which I've seen at pretty much all the shows so far), sheer fabrics, and this sense of intense minimalism. The finale, when the models walked out from behind revolving mirrors and filled the triangle-shaped stage - almost storming the audience - really nailed in the brutality of it all.

So it looks like Mod is the new black, at least for this season until Marc completely pulls the rug out from under everyone yet again.

New York Fashion Week So Far

So far, I've been blown away by most of the Spring shows. Like, I cannot with how stunningly beautiful some of the collections have been. Here are my favorite collections (So far of course).

Zac Posen

(All Photos from Style.com)

How can you not love Zac? Unbelievably sexy body con dresses, constantly using different patterns and materials, every show like an explosion of color, not to mention how handsome and dapper Zac himself is. His spring collection was no different, he played to his strengths - gowns and dressed dripping in sex appeal, gorgeous jackets on top of pencil and floor length skirts - extreme femininity. The gowns ranged from heavier materials to the most delicate tulle adorning one of his enormous-skirted finale dresses. I'm obsessed with the peplum-like hem of the top in the second look above, as well as the gentle floral at the bottom of the wedding dress on the right above. In short - this collection is just amazing.


Chado Ralph Rucci

I was honestly so taken aback by this collection. I was not expecting such an obscenely modern (I use that term in the best possible way) show. Ralph Rucci's clothes are always very modern and almost futuristic, but he really nailed that look this season. The colors! The cutouts! The cuts! The everything! Sidenote: who knew pink was so futuristic? The whole collection reminded me of The Jetsons - a 1950s/60s vision of the future. The jumpsuit-like quality of a lot of the jackets and dresses and the adapted A-line skirts encapsulate this. The future has never looked so good.


Jason Wu

Oh my god so sexy. Jason Wu served up S&M realness for spring, and it worked so damn well. When one of the first looks of a show is a transparent belted blazer (The first look on the right) you know it's going to be an amazing collection. He continued this see-through theme throughout the collection, including the shoes. Borrowing the mesh from the above-the-elbow gloves (as well as from the Versace fall boots) he created mesh pumps with crystals adorning the heel. And even though the collection was full of S&M and menswear references (Suspenders, blazers...) every look remained delightfully feminine.


Monique Lhuillier

I'm honestly at a loss for what to say about Monique Lhullier's spring collection. 'Etherial beauty' just doesn't cut it. Taking the aquatic theme present largely in last year's spring shows and putting an almost royal spin on it brought out some of the most stunning gowns of the season so far. Each look looks as if it floated down the runway, the materials were so light. Many of the floor-length gowns were transparent, giving a glimpse of the gorgeous strappy heels. The Monique Lhullier girl this season is a mermaid princess, stepping (or swimming) out in all manner of gold and seashells.