Actress Kim Cattrall attends the premiere of “Sex and the City” in NYC. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Hmmmm. The Vivienne Westwood dress that Kim Cattrall wore is an enigma to me. I don’t know if I should like it or not. I mean, it’s not terrible - but it’s not the most stunning thing.
It looks like a strapless dress with random detailing…that double as pockets? I do not know how to describe this thing. That stuff in the front is throwing me off.
I love New York Fashion Week. I love American designers - but when I see pictures from the collections of the various fashion weeks in Europe, I have this visceral response of awe, inspiration and intrigue.
In terms of fashion, Europe and America are in two different spheres that have an appreciative creative vision. We (and in we, I am referring to America) tend to be more functional and we push the envelope just enough to where it isn’t too outrageous. There is a certain amount of risk and ambition that many stateside designers wade in, but they never take the blind plunge.
At the Milan, London and Paris Fashion Weeks, designers tend to drown themselves in risk and ambition, throwing caution to the wind. Many of their designers don’t seem to have second thoughts. They have a vision and they go with it.
For the most part, the pieces at New York Fashion Week come to life with subtle flair that is wearable and stimulates the mind in a way paintings do in a modern art museum. They teeter on the fence between over the top and safe. All the clothing I have seen in New York is very consumer driven - there’s a lot of thought of wearability and what buyers and the more-than-average fashionista would want.
On the other hand, European fashion weeks are walking art installations. To be blunt, it seems like the designers don’t really care what the average consumer wants. Instead, there’s more emphasis of the conceptual fashion voice that they have made for themselves and putting on a visually stimulating art show.
For instance, take a gander at the Fall/Winter 2008 collection of the illustrious Dame Vivienne Westwood:
Photos by: Jacques Brinon/AP
Westwood’s tribal-infused collection was so stunning that you could care less about technique. It’s brilliant madness.
With Jeremy Scott’s burgled collection suitable for Batman’s arch nemesis, The Riddler, it gave whimsical nuances to clothing that maintained my interest:
Photos by: Thibault Camus/AP
Sure, you wouldn’t wear a picture frame on your head on an everyday basis, but the pieces are distinct and it’s like a show I have never seen before. He gives you something different to look at.
Finally, there’s the Dutch duo of Viktor & Rolf. They are known for their off-beat runway shows that showcase their garments in the most peculiar ways (check out their spotlight-strapped show from F/W 2007). With this season’s collection, they have a monochromatic color palette with some wordy dimension:
Photos by: Christophe Ena/AP
The other day, I was talking with one of my friends and she said, “I hate New York Fashion Week, it has gotten so boring.”
I wouldn’t say it has gotten boring. It just has a different point of view than that of those designers across the pond and beyond. I admire both the U.S. and the European fashion camps. They give us different tastes of style. If I want streamlined, grounded and modern fashion that I would want to have in my wardrobe, I turn to our talented stateside designers. If I want a show of epic and dramatic proportions, I know I could always count on Europeans to deliver.
Either way, I know I can’t afford the clothes they send down the runway.
Last night across the pond, this year’s British Fashion Awards were held and some of the most prominent names in the biz (except for me) were there to praise their colleagues - primarily Stella McCartney, who won the evening’s top honors as “Designer of the Year” and the legendary Dame Vivienne Westwood, recipient of the “BFC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion.”
McCartney and Westwood share the spotlight with their fabulous awards! REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico (BRITAIN)
Other winners of the evening included Christopher Bailey for Burberry, who won “Menswear Designer of the Year” and Agyness Deyn for “Model of the Year.” But one designer to keep your eye out for in the near future is Christopher Kane, who was dubbed “New Designer of the Year.”
Agyness Deyn is literally Britain’s TOP MODEL!
And of course, what would a fashion event be without the fabulous Dita Von Teese:
AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Here’s the full list of winners:
Designer of the Year:
Stella McCartney
New Designer of the Year:
Christopher Kane
Best New Retail Concept of the Year:
Marc Jacobs
Model of the Year:
Agyness Deyn
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator of the Year:
Michael Howells
Red Carpet Designer of the Year:
Marchesa
Menswear Designer of the Year:
Christopher Bailey for Burberry
Accessory Designer of the Year:
Tom Binns
Designer Brand of the Year:
Anya Hindmarch
BFC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion:
Dame Vivienne Westwood
The BFC Fashion Enterprise Award, sponsored by Swarovski:
Erdem
First off, R.I.P. to Bill Walsh, Tom Snyder, Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni…and thoughts and prayers to those victim of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis….
Now…for a little bit more lighter fare…
Fall is upon us and so is a bunch of news from the world of fashion and pop culture….
Carolina Soler-Avila, a student at University of Wales, was offered an internship with the legendary fashion designer, Dame Vivienne Westwood. Her first assignment: make a couture gown for Kate Moss using only the skins and bones from a bucket of KFC fried chicken.
Donald’s Trump’s baby girl (his first one) Ivanka Trump poses for Stuff magazine’s fall fashion issue hitting newsstands Aug. 14. Nothing says classy corporate like posing in a skimpy bikini while being hosed down in water.
Say what you want about her acting, singing and all that other mumbo jumbo - Jennifer Lopez rocks the hell out of anything she wears. Here she is at the premiere of her new movie, El Cantante:
I bet you she can even rock the hell out of a dress made out of fried chicken skins and bones.
According to a bunch of kill joy doctors, fashion can be bad for your health - skinny jeans, oversized bags and even a thong can threaten your life. I know what they mean -I once saw a person wearing a pair of Crocs fall deathly ill from a rare disease called tackiness.
Not only is Nicole Richiefour month preggers, but she also accomplished one of the hardest tasks for any Hollywood princess. No, I am not talking about her interview with Diane Sawyer - I am referring to her being on the cover of OK! Magazine. Forget Time, Vogue, Newsweek and all those other rags, OK! is the most honored accomplishment for any and all celebs. Lionel must be proud. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t gonna spend time in the slammer for being a naughty girl.
Paris Hilton is selling her home in Hollywood. She is also having a garage sale where you can buy her out-of-season Jimmy Choos, her diginity, her mom, some of her dogs, her soul, copies of some of her movies (no, not that one) and vials of her sweat.
Speaking of BFFs Paris and Nicole, their show, The Simple Life will be ending its run after five seasons. Oh no. What are we going to do now? We are probably going to have to watch something poignant with global issues like MTV’s Real World: Sydney. Damn.
AVON CALLING! The always lovely (and rumored main squeeze of Jake Gyllenhaal) Reese Witherspoon has become the first Avon Global Ambassador. This is very cool and all, but there is no amount of Avon product that will make any woman look as fabulous as Reese.
There is someone who may be using Avon products in the wrong way - check out this new pic of Heath Ledger as the lipstick-crazy Joker threatening the life of Reese’s could-be-sister-in-law Maggie Gyllenhaal in the “Batman Begins” sequel, “The Dark Knight”. You can also check out the trailer here.
After a very scientific process of excruciating decision-making, Whoopi Goldberg has won the coveted forth seat on The View. I can’t wait for her to go head-to-head with that one girl…what’s her name…you know….the pregnant one.
How cool is the poster for Tim Burton’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd? The Edward Scissorhands-esque Johnny Depp is lookin’ fierce!
Among the plastic faces and gossip mills in Hollywood, Vanity Fair has actually plucked a few modest faces out of the “look-at-me! look-at-me!” crowd in their latest issue featuring Hollywood’s Next-Gen Men - and the list is quite impressive. The cream of the crop includes Channing Tatum, Charlie Cox, Steven Strait, Shia Labeouf, Kevin Zegers, Michael Pitt, Henry Cavill, Paul Dano, Ben Foster, Eddie Redmayne and…Link Larkin himself, Zac Efron.
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama proves that he is hip and happenin’ by appearing on the latest issue of Vibe. Yes, we know you’re young and hip - and based on your picture, you can use a little sleep too.
And finally, environmental awareness is so the “in” thing right now. Leo loves it, I’m sure Angelina does her part and Al is the “God of all that is Green.” But when people make little videos like this (featuring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and a host of others), it makes it a easier to digest:
Yesterday, I had the chance to see a pre-screening of the latest Johnny Depp treat, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Ever since the days of “21 Jump Street” I have been a Depp-a-holic. He is truly my idol. If I ever met him, I probably would get arrested for being an obsessive fan a la Kathy Bates in “Misery.”
Needless to say, I am a “Pirates” fan and I was uber excited to see thie 167-minute extravaganza of Depp’s swaggering flamboyance, fantastical ships, multimillion digital effects, the mist of accents from Orlando and Keira, the grotesque charm of Geoffery Rush’s Captain Barbosa and most of all, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the much talked-about “Keith-Richards-as-Jack-Sparrow’s-dad” mumbo jumbo.
Just as I was getting into the movie (about halfway through), the FILM WENT OUT and my LIFE WAS RUINED! Ok, that’s a bit melodramatic, but it was a big bummer that I didn’t get to finish it. The people at the theatre apologized, but it didn’t solve my dangling urge to finish my pirate’s journey. They offered another screening today and Wednesday, but I just figured I’d wait for it in the theatre. Sucks to be me.
All that aside - I was noticing how ornate and intricate these pirate costumes are. Then I thought about cinema’s influence on fashion and vice versa.
(from left)Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp strut their stuff down the pirate runway in some fashionable garb.
As I was watching the film, I couldn’t help but remember the uber-costumey walking-the-plank designs by John Galliano in his Spring 2005 collection. Set to the backdrop of an elaborate shipwrecked stage, some of the grimey, grease-smeared tattered garments shadowed those of the gold-toothed, bumbling Captain Jack Sparrow:
Captain Galliano himself(pictured) always makes his presence known at his own shows.
Long before Galliano set sail and even before Depp got dreads, Vivienne Westwood was traveling to World’s End…really. Her 1981 collection of pirate-inspired garb was dubbed “World’s End.”
Viv’s swashbuckling collection
She gave her own twist on the theme of pirates the only way she knew how - with a dash of playful charm and a whole lot of punk. This just proves that Westwood, as always was WAY ahead of her time.
So this poses the question - “Will pirate-mania visit the runway again? Or will it just remain on the screen?” Who knows? My guess is that there will be some pirate nuances this summer. I know that I’ll be sporting an eye patch.
There’s a morbid joy in seeing models fall on the runway (remember Naomi falling in the Vivienne Westwood show a while back?) Call me immature if you want, but seeing a model topple over is, in a word, funny. It’s a good source of comedic humility for such a high-end industry.
This girl doesn’t fall once…but TWICE:
And more recently, did you remember seeing vixen Carmen Electra taking a spill?
And then there’s this:
I know this has nothing to do with modeling, but it has Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child taking a small stumble while doing a runway-esque walk.
I definitely cannot pull off walking in heels on a long runway, but when you see a sexy model fall, it makes them human and you can’t help but giggle - but they still look fabulous after.
So this is a pictoral contuation of my weekend with Dame Westwood (click here for my previous post)
I knew I said there was going to be a quiz, but - eh - I am just too lazy to write one up. Plus, I wasn’t totally serious about that.
Now here are all of those lovely pics that you have been waiting for:
…and please forgive my poor quality photos, I am a journalist, not a photographer.
First…here are some pieces from the de Young…
Here we see the glam factor with this beautiful Westwood evening gown. There seems to be a lovely Old Hollywood charm to this, but in an interesting way, it still has that Westwood edge.
This is quite a risque gown. If you haven’t noticed, there are boobies.
I wonder how much these gi-normous gowns weigh?
One of her latest collections. It’s not as eccentric as her earlier works, but it still gives us the Westwood one-two punch with a modern tint.
One of my favorites is her cheeky Voyage to Cythera collection. I love the Harlequin pattern and those fig leaf tights (on the right) those are just fashionably pornographic. I wouldn’t mind wearing a pair…okay, I am totally joking…or not.
This is my pathetic attempt to be a fancy photographer - but doesn’t Dame W. look so swanky?
Dame Westwood at the Academy of Art University luncheon and honorary degree presentation
Fellow fashion icon, Commander Zandra Rhodes (yes, she is a monarch-appointed Commander) with her pink hair chats it up with the big V before we chowed down at her luncheon.
Executive Director of the AAU School of Fashion, Gladys Perint Palmer presents V.W. with one of her stylishly famous illustrations at the luncheon.
It is clear that Dame Westy was, much like myself, enamored by the infamous chocolate shoe at the luncheon.
Some opera dude sang while Dame Westwood walked down the aisle. Corny or not? You be the judge.
Viv gets her honorary degree…is this an awkward picture or is it just me?
Here’s the Dame looking very surprised! Don’t act so surprised that you’re getting an honorary degree Punky Westwood, your work is, in fact, seen as pure genius by many.
Is Viv getting a little weary? or is she just REALLY interested in the questions from the students?
And finally, here is a short, and kind of lame, clip of Dame Westwood scurrying out of the ceremony…
In March 13’s Dressed column, I will have a more in-depth look on my Weekend with Dame Vivienne Westwood, but for now, I am going to give you a homework assignment - go to the de Young in San Francisco and take a look at the fabulous exhibit - you won’t be disappointed. And tell them Dino-Ray sent you. They’ll treat you like royalty. Okay, not really - but the exhibit is definitely worth the visit!
If you don’t know who Westwood is, just listen to any Gwen Stefani song. She drops her name about 100 times. If that still doesnt help you, just wait and read my column and blog posts on March 13!
Here are some preview pics (amateurly taken by myself) of my weekend with the fashion icon and a taste of what’s being exhibited at the museum:
Remember when my best friend Naomi Campbell toppled during a Vivienne runway show in these shoes from her ‘93-’94 “Anglomania” collection? Ah…those were the days!
An army of ornate Westwood corsets stand at attention on the walls of the de Young’s special exhibit
This champagne gown looks as though it stepped right out of the painting it was inspired by - I believe it’s from her “Portrait” collection circa 1990 - I’ll get back to you on that.
Her collections are like high-end fashion candy - sweet, humorous, witty and unbelievably creative. Draped on these dressforms are pieces from her ‘94-’95 “On Liberty” collection.
On Sunday, I went to a Westwood luncheon at the Academy of the Art University in San Francisco (where I saw fellow fashion writer, Jessica Yadegaran) with the stylish Dame and was treated a chocolate caramel dessert mousse contained in this lovely Valrhona high-heel fashioned out of chocolate. It was good. I ate the whole shoe and I got a tummy ache - but it was worth it. There’s something about eating a shoe that is so disturbing and empowering at the same time.
The Vivienne Westwood exhibit is at the de Young Museum through June 10. Make sure to go visit! There will be a quiz on March 13 when the “Dressed” column runs.
Museum info: $6-$10. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays, and until 8:45 p.m. Fridays. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive.(415) 863-3330, www.thinker.org/deyoung
