Temperley London

Alice Temperley’s Fall presentation was a smart, sophisticated salute to British style, inspired by classic Norman Parkinson photographs, some of which lined one wall at Milk Studios as an aide-mémoire. The other wall was hung with Adam Whitehead’s portraits of modern beauties—Erin O’Connor, Susie Bick, Liberty Ross, Yasmin LeBon—wearing outfits from the new Temperleycollection. If the photos bridged the decades, the clothes did, too. The designer compiled the most iconic British elements and styles to make her own statement: the striped boarding school blazer retailored, for instance, or the Union Jack reconfigured as a knit dress in faded colors, like a distant memory of punk. The Crown Jewels were referenced in the gems that decorated shoulders and lapels. There was an Art Deco edge to this, in fact, made explicit in a one-shouldered gown in glass chiffon or another gown in white crepe that brought to mind Deco’s Egyptomania. On the other hand, Whitehead’s portrait of Jaquetta Wheeler in Temperley’s chartreuse cardigan made me think of afternoon tea with Diana Cooper. A Parkinson moment, if ever there was one.

Courtesy of Cheil Industries

The key marketing strategy in fashion this year targets middle-aged women who lavishly spend on themselves.

More and more middle-aged women want to defy age and emulate the looks of actresses who are around the same age as them but look much younger, like Lee Mi-sook, Choi Myung-gil and Kim Hee-ae. They therefore spend a great deal of time and money on grooming themselves rather than only looking after their children and husband. For a long time the fashion industry focused on young women, but since 2008 things have changed as spending by women in their 40s and 50s exceeds spending by younger women.

Cheil Industries launched new brand Le Beige in spring 2009 specifically targeting women in their 40s and 50s. The brand posted sales of W12.5 billion (US$1=W1,149) just last year, and a single outlet in the Gangnam branch of Shinsegae Department Store racked up sales of W2.52 billion. In the industry, sales of W3 billion a year are regarded as a success.

The secret was that the brand accurately read the desires of middle-aged women. It decided that if women wanted a sophisticated look in their 20s and 30s, then they would want to look young and sophisticated in middle age too. The brand features a lot of dresses and jackets that make women look slimmer and more refined. Now, high-end designers as well as mid- and low-priced brands are jumping into the market.

According to a report by a brand consultancy firm PFIN based on data from Statistics Korea, 23 percent of women aged between 40 and 49 in 2008 made impulsive purchases if they found clothes they liked. But that had risen to 50 percent just a year later. In 2008, only 24 percent of women in the same age bracket answered they did not consider it a waste to spend money on making themselves look good, but that grew to 45 percent in 2009.

Even brands that normally target women in their 20s and 30s started making clothes in bigger sizes, figuring that middle-aged women may also want the trendy designs they sell.

Lingerie makers have started launching new lines for middle-aged women. A spokesman at Vivien, a leading lingerie maker, said, “Underwear lines exclusively for women in their 40s and 50s were non-existent until 2007, but there has been a steep increase in demand since the end of 2008.”

fluffy earmuffs

Musiphone, ¥2,480. Available from Strapya (www.strapya-world.com), Ranking RanQueen, Amazon Japan and others.

Hijab fashion trend 2010

Hijab fashion trend 2010

Hijab fashion trend 2010

Tip: The shade doesn’t have to be the exact color turqouise, it can be any variation. The key is to put together something that has a blue green feel to it.

WA News/Penny Lane ©

“Ultimately? I want to be Ralph Lauren,” Godbold declares.

“I want to create a whole look in my own aesthetic. Of course I am humble enough to know I am not Ralph Lauren and to get anywhere near that level means a lot of hard work.”

See our interviews with WA’s top designers

Hard work is Perth-born Godbold’s usual mode. It saw him rise through the fashion ranks from Lauren’s shop floor in Old Bond Street, London, to becoming senior designer in his flagship store on New York’s Madison Avenue.

In all, Godbold gained 16 years’ fashion experience with Lauren and a further two at another classic American label, St John, where he hit upon the marvels of knit. It’s the fall, fluidity and feminine grace of knitted jersey in sophisticated rich neutrals that forms the palette of Godbold’s debut design collection.

A Korean, Kim Young-sung, is in charge of purchasing fabric at Chanel, from giving advice on the texture and colors to making the final decision. She comes up with all fabrics used for Chanel’s new collection. “Even if you use the same design sketch to make clothes, once you change the fabric, the final product is completely different. My job is to be creative when looking at fabric, and turn that creative imagination into design,” she says.

Kim Young-sung (right) with Chanel head designer Karl Lagerfeld /Courtesy of Kim Young-sung

Kim joined Chanel in 1998. After graduating from Pusan National University with a degree in French literature, she moved to Paris and worked initially as an interpreter. She entered the fashion industry after belatedly studying arts at Paris American Academy. One fashion styling firm was impressed by her work at the academy’s graduation exhibition and took her on as an intern, and after gaining experience in a number of other companies, she joined Chanel. It was her congeniality and artistic taste that pulled her up from the bottom to the position of fabric director.

“I often sent Karl postcards that I made myself. I’d cut and paste papers, and made concept books using different fabrics I had collected. Out of all the holiday greeting cards he gets, Karl liked mine and used to frame them and hang them on the wall,” she says.

The most important part of her job is coming up with the preliminary picture of products by studying fabrics from all over the world. “I believe that you can’t make great clothes if you don’t choose the fabric with inspiration,” she says. “There are countless black dresses in the world, but there aren’t that many dresses that have a reason for being black. I propose design by explaining why this has to be black. I believe that design for luxury brands should be different from the very start of the design process.”

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Today’s women have embraced traditional costume or hanbok consisting of a long, flaring skirt (chima) and short jacket (jeogori). But instead of chiffon silk throughout the year, silk satin has become the choice for the winter season.

“As people have come to better understand the real taste of tradition, silk satin is gaining popularity as a fabric for winter,” said hanbok designer Lee Young-hee. “Without any decorations such as gold leaf and embroidery, the trend is to seek beauty by attaining harmony through the color combination of the upper and lower garments.”
It is, in other words, a kind of minimalism, with women seeking refinement in simplicity, material texture and color combination.

As the “it” item for this winter, Lee recommends matching a skirt in dark brownish red with a light ivory or green jacket and a brownish red breast-tie. For the jacket, a color that suits the wearer’s complexion is important. People with dark skin are better off wearing upper garments in gray, light green or the color of mung beans, while fair-skinned women may try more flamboyant colors such as pink and red.

Tokyo Girls Collection 2010

TGC is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since TGC was started in 2005 (it is held twice a year), it has become a major fashion event that attracts over 23,000 women between 20 and 34 years old, and more media people than any other fashion show in Japan.

Three things make TGC especially different, it:

• shows regular Shibuya style fashion
• is open to the general public
• allows visitors to immediately purchase items on their mobile phones

The blend of famous magazine models showing off clothes on an enormous stage and displayed on huge screens to more than 23,000 fans with live music performances, is hypnotizing.

The organizers stress the everyday aspect of TGC fashion:

TGC spotlights the latest everyday fashions rather than the ‘clothing as art’ format of conventional catwalk shows. Moreover, the main target audience for TGC shows are not fashion industry professionals such as buyers and journalists, but regular female consumers.

This focus on real fashion, combined with the enormous media attention and the mobile e-commerce tie-in, makes that TGC is increasingly influencing what young Japanese women wear.

This year, TGC aims to multiply this effect by having the clothing appear in retail stores on the same day that it is showcased at TGC. People who can’t make it to the actual show won’t miss out. After they watch it on TV, they can immediately run off to their favorite stores to purchase the items. It is a marketer’s dream.

No wonder that the organizers make the following bold claim:

By this Spring/Summer, we expect this year’s hot seller will come from TGC.

Brands

1. Another Edition
2. Apuweiser-riche
3. BLESS TOKYO
4. CECIL McBEE
5. ef-de
6. EMODA
7. FREE’S MART
8. HbG
9. JAYRO
10. JOURNAL STANDARD
11. Khaju
12. kitson
13. LIZ LISA
14. MILKFED
15. N. Natural Beauty Basic
16. TOPSHOP
17. 31 Sons de mode
18. Lily&Betty
19. mystic
20. Soareak

Date and Time: Saturday, March 6, 2010
Venue Opens: 1.30 pm
Event Starts: 3.00 pm
Venue: YOKOHAMA ARENA
Address: 3-10, Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama

Tickets
Reserved seats – 7,500 yen (tax incl.) / 1st floor and center area
Non-reserved seats – 5,500 yen (tax incl.) / 2nd floor and center area

Ticket sales started on February 6. We understand that all tickets have already been sold out… But just in case, hereby the sales outlets:

Sales Outlets
Kyodo Tokyo: +81-3-3498-9999
CN Playguide: +81-570-08-9999
TicketPia: +81-570-02-9999 P code: 616-547
LAWSON TICKET: +81-570-08-4003 　L code: 30085
E-plus: http://eplus.jp/tgc/ (PC and Mobile)

By Getty Images

Fashion Week brings every style imaginable, from the fanciful to the down right criminal. Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Whitney Port and Kirsten Dunst are four celebs who fell victim to bad fashion while taking in the festivities this week.

Each of these starlets is guilty of failing to dress in a way which plays up her best features.  Though the Olsen twins, Port and Dunst are all slim, they chose clothing that hung on their bodies, resulting in sloppy looks, overall.  Trading out the bottoms of these outfits with the dreaded “mom jeans” would offer the same ill-fitting appearances.  These young women look older than they are due to fashions which should have remained on the hangers.   Overall, the Olsen twins, Port and Dunst look as though they put little effort into their style — hair and makeup included.

Learn from these Fashion Week victims.  Skip the boxy marabou jackets, herem pants, awkwardly shaped sunglasses, pajama-like jumpsuits, and any bottoms that remind you even a little bit of “mom jeans.”  Some fashions are best left to celebs who are looking for the PR.

There was both sophistication and sweetness in the outfits that borrowed from a more refined time.

On other runways Monday, designers seemed to be going for the gold. And the silver. And bronze. Metallic fabrics shone on the runways ofZac Posen, Carolina Herrera, Rachel Roy, Luca Luca and Diane von Furstenberg, among others.

“Like my mother always said, all girls like a little dazzle,” said designer Tracy Reese.

Fashion Marc Jacobs Fall 2010

MARC JACOBS

Jacobs clearly has turned a new leaf from his more recent party-girl ’80s-influenced collections. Monday’s dresses were mostly an A-line, adding a little volume, although one stunner was a body-hugging sweater covered on the front with shiny beading.

Jacobs also confirmed a longer-length hemline that had been seen as one of the season’s likely trends.

“These were gorgeous, real clothes that were beautifully done,” said Joe Zee, creative director for Elle magazine. “Don’t you walk away feeling elated? Isn’t that the whole point of fashion?”

These lovely ladies wore tweed, suede or boucle coats on a proper date — or perhaps a transparent trench with a hint of sparkle for a special occasion. For day, there were several suits, including a three-piece menswear plaid one and a gray-flannel culotte version — yes, culottes.

DONNA KARAN

When you’ve got the chic eye of Donna Karan, you don’t need a lot of glitz to celebrate fashion. In fact, the collection to mark the 25th anniversary of her label was almost entirely black, spare and highly sculptured.

And it looked great.

There was no better model for the modern, almost stiff, coats that really were the star of this runway than Karan herself, who is probably far more relatable to consumers than the tall, slender catwalkers. She wore it as she took her bow in front of a crowd that included Demi Moore and Brooke Shields.

The coats, which had a hint of origami influence to them, paired as well with a plunging-cowl evening gown as slim trousers. To feel really special, sometimes a separate ruffled collar was added on top — but it would be the wearer’s choice.

ZAC POSEN

It’s the real world and now Zac Posen is living in it. The first model on his runway Monday morning wore a fully wearable, thoroughly sophisticated, portrait-neck cape in camel-colored felt, smart trousers and a creamy silk blouse.

In fact, the former flashy showman, who has recently chronicled in the press his struggles to lead a viable business, turned out a mostly understated, chic collection. It might not be full of head-turners, but the clothes aren’t as polarizing as, say, his tornado-inspired gowns a few seasons ago.

As wild as it got here were some copper metallics, pink-dot prints and magenta-colored fur — a refreshing break from the largely neutral palette that has been dominating this round of previews for stylists, editors and retailers.

Posen partnered with violinist Miri Ben-Ari to provide a live, serene soundtrack. He also seemed to stick to a recent commitment to seek out older models — by industry standards that means 18, maybe 16 — to avoid those who are too thin. And he seemed to stick by it, hiring veterans Alek Wek, Hana Soukupova, Sessilee Lopez and Coco Rocha.

CAROLINA HERRERA

For a while, it seemed Carolina Herrera was trying to court a hipster customer, but she showed Monday that she is firmly committed to the rarified world in which she lives.

There was luxury like a Prussian-blue, mosaic-print jacket with fur lining and a mink collar, worn with camel-colored suede pants, and a sky-and-steel blue gown with beaded leaves and a swath of tulle around the neck.

There was a hint of a Russian influence to the overall look of the show, in her color choices, fur and style of embroidery. The daywear models also wore full-brim hats.

The Herrera lady — “woman” doesn’t sound quite right — is a day-and-night dresser, not a day-to-night one. Look for her in a deep red wool sheath with asymmetrical vertical pleats for day, and a distinctly different black-and-metallic embossed organza gown with a hint of red framing the face in the evening.

RACHEL ROY

Rachel Roy’s outfits that demanded the most attention featured slightly tarnished metallics, including a gold, crochet-style dress and jacket, a black sheath decorated with gold, almost-serpentine beads, and a high-shine patchwork gold skirt worn with a gold-lace tank.

But daywear is the base of her collection that has steadily gained a following in recent seasons, spawning a secondary, more affordable line with Macy’s.

Stylish professional clothes included an open, pleated cashmere cardigan and cropped trousers (and a sheer jersey bodysuit for extra attention), a slouchy brick-red, wrap coat, and a delicate black lace blouse with high-waisted navy wool trousers. You’d need a blazer — of which there were several — on top of that last outfit for the office.

TRACY REESE

Tracy Reese is showing an edge she hasn’t shown before, with a taste for black lacquered fabrics and studding down the sides of pants. Even the pretty dresses and ladylike coats she’s known for have gotten the distressed treatment for next season.

Fashion went through a “cleaning house” period during the worst point of the economic downturn and turned out some toned-down styles, but it’s starting to get its groove back with more inventive and interesting looks, Reese said in an interview Monday just before models stepped onto the runway at New York Fashion Week.

Still, there is a lingering lesson from the recession, she said: Create more “items” than outfits. “I have a lot of layered sportswear in this collection, which is versatile. It’s how people shop. They are looking for wardrobe-updating pieces.”

Her go-to items would be the cozy sweaters paired with contrasting stretch-suede skinny pants.

MONIQUE LHUILLIER

Monique Lhuillier found herself seduced by China as she was developing the fall collection she debuted on the runway Monday, interpreting warrior and military suits, traditional dragon motifs and, of course, Shanghai red.

The opening look at her New York Fashion Week show was a striking gown with gold-encrusted cuffs that incorporated all the above.

Other noteworthy looks included a navy chiffon halter gown with a braided belt in black-lacquered leather wrapped multiple times around the bodice and one-shouldered tulle gown covered in not-so-perfect roses. The finale red-satin gown draped tightly from the neckline to hips and exploding into big fabric flowers on the skirt also was a headline-grabber.