Romek Gelard Gello
Kazia Jaszkiewicz
Lisa Dengler
Cassy Bhairo
Mikko Puttonen
Crusader is as much of a job descriptor for Vivienne Westwood as fashion designer. And among her agendas, no cause resonates more acutely than her crusade to fight climate change. For Spring '14, the designer sent out models in plastered-and-fractured makeup at Vivienne Westwood Red Label, the effect of which she likened to animals being "trapped" in the headlights. One look, a strapless brocade dress in pale gold and lavender, topped a ratty T-shirt that read "Climate." Here, the message rang loud and clear. Moreover, Westwood gave out pre-addressed postcards to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, instructing editors to write down their own ecological apprehensions.
But Westwood wasn't the only designer who expressed her environmental concerns this season. Christopher Kane showed metallic teardrop cutouts on dresses—"Sterilized petals," he called them. He also offered diagrammatic outlines of botanicals, paired with blocky letters spelling "Petal" and "Flower." His wares appeared to place a conscious emphasis on the synthetic over the natural. At Dior, Raf Simons printed slogans such as "Alice Garden" and "Primrose Path" along brightly colored numbers that seemed to suggest a kind of nuclear summer, mutated wisteria included.
Shifting from terra firma to the big blue sea, Kenzo's Carol Lim and Humberto Leon addressed the problem of overfishing: In addition to a few fun aquatic prints, there was a T-shirt that read "No Fish, No Nothing." "The challenges facing our oceans are a global concern," Leon told Style.com. "The shirt is an effort to help raise awareness through fashion's strong voice." A portion of the garment's proceeds will go to the Blue Marine Foundation, which battles fish-stock depletion worldwide.
Nicholas Kirkwood has never been to Morocco, but for Spring'14, he's in a Marrakech state of mind. High-perched styles include lacy, laser-cut leathers and raffia heels in bright orange with fuchsia details that play with a cool seventies sports feel, while a new line of super-soft moccasins in hot colors seems to point to bright horizons.
But the designer's not headed for sunny climes anytime soon: "The industry doesn't really let you do that anymore—as soon as I'm done with this collection, I'm already late for pre-collection!" That and Kirkwood's newly signed partnership with LVMH ("They're the best partner you could dream of," he said) will keep him plenty busy.
On the agenda: more staff, more shops, and more smart day options, like his first thong sandal and a cork-sole moccasin that picks up on elements of the men's collection. He's also gearing up to "capture fashion in midheight"—to that end, he has just secured the patent to his signature triangular heel. The blowout vacation will just have to wait.
Fetish has long been a favorite fashion influence: Alexander McQueen's Spring '98 metal-spine corset, Louis Vuitton's Fall '11 Night Porter collection, and Azzedine Alaia's iconic eighties bondage dresses come to mind. Considering its prominence over the decades, it's perhaps no surprise that the trend has surfaced again for Spring '14, only this time around, it's a bit more subtle—particularly in the collections that have employed plastic or leather shoulder-length gloves. Thom Browne turned out an haute American Horror Story: Asylum take on the trend, of sorts, in New York, replete with second-skin white latex options. These mitts featured glued-on nails, which lent a synthetic perverseness to the designer's vision. In London, Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff of Meadham Kirchhoff hit their stride in a mashed-up collection of Jacobean flair and East London kook. Here, too, bicep-brushing gloves appeared (in python, no less). Looser than Browne's, MK's proposal suggested something a butcher or welder might don. And in Paris, Jun Takahashi showed a patent black pair at Undercover, which he styled with an anagrammatic top trimmed in a swath of matte black leather. That interplay suggested a charged message: The wearer of these defiant accoutrements is powerful, and entirely uninterested in conformity. Call it sartorial dominance.
For Hollywood's TV elite, this weekend was filled with Emmy Award-related activities, from primping and preening to up-all-night after-parties to the actual awards ceremony. Those of us not lucky enough to attend spent Sunday night glued to our TVs and computers to catch all of the action. While there were many stunning frocks on the red carpet, we spotted several equally chic looks on the pre- and post-party circuit, too. Kiernan Shipka, who has proven her fashion chops at a young age, chose a playful two-toned Delpozo dress with structured pleats for a Friday night pre-Emmy fete. Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, Claire Danes attended Showtime's Emmy Eve soiree in a black strapless fit-and-flare dress with white butterfly appliqués from Lanvin's Fall '13 runway. The Homeland star brought home the trophy for lead actress in a drama series the following night.
Over in China, a handful of stars bypassed the Emmys to support the new Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, which is one Chinese businessman's attempt to create a cinema city that rivals Hollywood. Both Kate Beckinsale and Nicole Kidman donned on-trend black-and-white ensembles to the groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday. Kidman topped a sheer black blouse and sleek black pants with a white blazer, all from Saint Laurent. Beckinsale went with a classic sixties look, choosing a white tweed Oscar de la Renta dress accented with black around the waist. She finished it off with cherry-red heels and a high bouffant updo.
As life in New York continued post-fashion week, the Metropolitan Opera opened its season on Monday with Eugene Onegin. Hollywood stars such as Heather Graham and Diane Kruger wore stunning gowns on opening night; the latter chose a color-blocked dress made of silk duchesse satin from Prabal Gurung's Resort '14 collection. With sportswear influencing many of Spring '14′s collections, this floor-grazing number with clean, athletic lines was a home run.
Francesco Russo left Sergio Rossi in February, but he hasn't spent the six months between then and now kicking back. Today, he unveiled the new shoe label that bears not only his name, but also the address of his new Paris shop, 8 rue de Valois, across the street from the Palais Royal. "I want to do beautiful shoes, above the sense of time, above the sense of fashion," Russo told Style.com. "It's like Manolo. Manolo did the stiletto from the eighties until today. There was the time of the platform, he didn't do platforms. He just did whatever he feels. I try to have that luxury. And the fact that I have my own name now, I can have that luxury." True to his word, there are no platforms among the 25 styles in his Spring debut. Russo has done flat gladiator sandals and a 25-millimeter leopard print not-quite-kitten-heel pump; for the most part, though, he's a stiletto man. His anti-trend stance means the palette and materials are quite restrained. Black, brown, shades of nude, and metallic silver encompass the color range, and the materials include leather, pony hair, and crocodile. Classic doesn't mean conventional, however. Many of the shoes incorporate extraordinary work, a pump stitched together from small arches of crocodile being a prime example. As for the shop, it 's housed in what is said to be the city's first restaurant, which went by the rather fitting name Boeuf de la Mode in the 18th century. The boutique will open for business during the couture shows in January. This week it's acting as a showroom for appointments with big department stores.
Rainbows have long been a source of optimistic marvel, and their distinct ROYGBIV color wheel often makes its way into fashion (remember Alexander McQueen's multi-tonal butterfly-print maxi worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City 2?), though perhaps not as frequently as we've witnessed thus far on the Spring '14 runways.
Mara Hoffman worked a conic iteration onto a white sheer caftan in New York. Its vividness was nicely balanced by the piece's black lines, rendered in similar triangular shapes. In London, Ashish Gupta employed his de facto trademark—sequins—on shredded denim in an eye-catching ombr— application that went from violet to sun-kissed gold. Arcing south to Milan, Peter Dundas showed another sequined option for the rainbow warrior at Pucci: a body-con, long-sleeve mini. It radiated with indigo at the collar and hem, and scarlet at its torso. And then, of course, there's Prada, which employed a Crayola-dyed rainbow along the trim of a fur coat—such a literal take on the motif could only be finessed by Ms. Miuccia herself.
Following months of rumors, reports this morning suggest that Marc Jacobs—who has served as Louis Vuitton's creative director since 1997—may not renew his contract with the storied French house. French publication Challenges asserted that Jacobs' departure had already been approved internally. Furthermore, an anonymous source hinted to Reuters that Nicolas Ghesquiere was being considered as Jacobs' replacement. Another source, however, stated that "nothing has been decided yet." Vuitton and Jacobs—who is set to show his Spring '14 collection for the house on Wednesday, October 2—have yet to comment on the potential shake-up.
There's no shortage of deejays on the fashion scene, with your Misshapes and your Harleys and your Alexas and what have you. But Mimi Xu—who goes by the name of Misty Rabbit when she's on the decks—has a particularly impressive knack for blending unexpected musical genres (think Berlin's ambient electro mixed with classical jazz fading into a cool spin of disco-funk) into cohesive and oh-so-catchy sets. She's an eager bunny, and knows just how to get the party going for the likes of Miu Miu, Prada, Fendi, Acne Studios, and too many others to name. This season, the Shanghai- and Copenhagen-raised but London-based sound designer is as busy as ever. She mixed the soundtracks for Yigal Azrouël, Catherine Malandrino, Tome, and Ostwald Helgason in New York, developed runway music for Topshop, Julien Macdonald, and Emilia Wickstead in London, and dropped a special Fall/Winter mix for Mytheresa.com just last week. Next up? A hotly anticipated party for Moncler's Pharrell Williams collaboration in Paris this evening, and a personal design project, which will undoubtedly become the requisite accessory for music-loving cool girls come holiday season. Here, Xu talks to Style.com about her Mytheresa.com mix, the difference between playing parties and runways, and her favorite new artists.
The Spring ’14 collections are under way in Paris, and before their new clothes hit the runway, we’ve asked some of the most anticipated names to offer a sneak peek. Per usual, it’s a busy time for all—designers and fashion followers alike—so we’re continuing our split-second previews: tweet-length previews at 140 characters or less. Our entire selection of Spring ’14 previews is available here.
Everyone knows their Marcs from their Calvins. But as fashion month kicks into gear, we'll be spotlighting the up-and-coming designers and indie brands whose names you'll want to remember.
