Milan Fall / Winter 2006 Wrapup IV

Barneys Girl and I have both been so busy preparing for back-to-school recently that our posts have been a bit irregular. As I'm blogging in London right now, Barneys Girl is on a flight for her semester in Paris. Anyways, my little notes on Milan:

Emilio Pucci
- Vibrant with a youthful vibe.- Original Pucci pattern is not only in black & white, but is also in fruity cocktail mixes.
- Cute short dresses which are eye-catching and stylish -looks like there's plenty for socialites to choose from next season!

Dolce & Gabbana
- A lot of rather unpleasant and uncomfortable looking corsets with complimentary skirts or pants. I don't get how the Dominatrix look can be percieved as stylish.
- Absolutely love the black dress and purple flower that Caroline Trentini is wearing, (see look #2 above.) Sexy without looking slutty.
- Seriously weird swimsuits which look more like knights' armours.
- Some PVC or patent leather-made clothes. Wouldn't that be really hot for summer?
- The collection ends with a range of debateable clothing.
- The dress on the left is cute, but the outfit on the right just brings back terrible images from that fashion period when clothes looked like PJs.

Fendi
- Love this collection. Such stylish combinations of colours and shapes, not to mention innovative use of material. Sometimes it's easy to understand why some call Lagerfeld a fashion genius.
- Love the simple colour palette: black, white, shocking pink, navy, cream and silver.
- There is a LOT of super loveable cocktail dresses for all ages.

Back in the Windy City

I will be back in Chicago this weekend! Come join me at Project ALMA. This is a great organization that benefits the association of Latino Men for Action.

This will be a fun event so join me in supporting a great cause.

What The Elle?!

Episode Eleven: What the Elle?

Don't miss my weekly recap of this weeks episode of Project Runway. Click HERE to read all the dish.

Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup III

Gucci
The clothes are composed of strong, bold colours: black, red, orange, purple and white. This collection was all about the sixties: from the short shifts to long, flowy dresses. At first glance, the Gucci girls looked more like 60s dolls than sexy dancing queens, but the extreme mini dresses prove otherwise.
Nevertheless, in the past few years, long Gucci dresses have been staples of many socialites' seasonal wardrobes to events. Such socialites love the obvious sexiness of Gucci dresses. This collection's long dresses are more sensual with a touch of bohemian -basically, they do not flash a lot of skin. Oh dear, what ever will socialites wear next season?

Alessandro Dell'Acqua
I've always thought of Dell'Acqua clothes as dark, like sort of rock'n'roll, goth sort of dark, which is why I always had a thing for this brand. However, I was quite disappointed with the SS07 collection. This collection is as usual, still very party and clubbing-ish. I really didn't like the huge belts as they look very two-dimensional on the clothes.
While I'm usually so-so on leopard-prints, I think the leopard-printed mini dress is really cool, (see look #6, the look on the right). However, there is just way too many animal-printed clothes in this collection.

Etro
I have never really paid much attention to Etro before because I'm not a big fan of bohemian-looking prints, but I do love all the other clothes from the collection. I especially love the short shift dresses with black leggings. The clothes are strong and colourful, making them stylish and youthful. Here are the looks I like::

Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup II

Prada
Prada is usually one of my absolute favourite collections, but to be honest, I was disappointed with the new SS07 collection. I hate those turban-wannabes on the models' heads, (maybe they are actually turbans.) I hate the tribal-looking dresses, which I didn't choose to show in the photos below. And a lot of the colourful tops with geometric shapes just remind me of the Prada collections from many seasons back.
Nevertheless, there are some things I like: The pretty silk tops are so pretty. And I love how the belts are styled on the outfits. Note that virtually all outfits have belts on. Next seasons's big thing -the sack dress, was also seen in the show.

Since Prada is one of the huge trendsetters, note that classic-looking, silk pointy heels were prominent in the show. Could it be almost time to say bye-bye to round, platform shoes and start to buy pointy heels again?
Bottega Veneta
While I am not a big fan of Bottega Veneta's suits, I do love its dresses. Botega has quite a wide range of dresses, from casual to cocktail. But no matter which type of dresses, one thing links them all: natural elegance. What does it mean? The dresses are so elegant without looking forced or too fancy.
Gorgeous daytime dresses.
Versatile cocktail dresses.
And well, no idea when one should wear these dresses, but they're pretty!

Marni
I usually love Marni, but I really, really love this collection. Each look is layered, but seems light and wearable. The whole volume concept is also made realistic with the sack dresses. Like Prada, almost all of Marni's looks have belts to strengthen the shapes and secure the layers. Most noteably, many looks of this collection is quite sporty. Usually I hate sporty clothes, but Marni just makes it so chic. I particularly like look #5 below: Black pants, white top with a long grey cardigan held together with a thick brown belt -stylish and simple.

Jay McCarroll Show

Bryant Park Shows: Jay's Debut!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting this but I have been in MOVING HELL!!! I am moving my entire Los Feliz Studio to a hot new Downtown Los Angeles Studio/Showroom. It took a record-breaking 14 hours for the movers. Not pretty!!! But I digress.
When I was in New York City for the Project Runway Finale Fashion Show a couple of weeks back, I was also invited by Jay McCarroll and his fabulous PR Diva, Nancy Kane, from People's Revolution to Jay's show at the "Atelier" tent of Bryant Park.
I was seated Front Row!! (not Third , like at the PR Finale) and my "date" was my Season 2 alumni, Daniel Vosovic. In typical "Jay-esque" manner, the rest of the front-row roster was quite quirky, including among others, gay porn star, Michael Lucas (I am not kidding!!). Don't ask me how I know this, by the way. My partner, David, was seated next to him , which actually made me a bit nervous to say the least.
The show began and immediately I almost wanted to jump out of my seat, when the strains of Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" pounded loudly through the speakers. Needless to say, I think I was singing so loudly that Daniel began kicking me under the chair.
Dominican Supermodel, Omahyra, opened the show and from that moment it was ALL JAY for 12 minutes!! Even 80's Jean-Paul Gaultier muse, Eve, made a rare appearance. I loved it! His Spring 2007 collection was fun, fresh, sexy and very forward with a nod to the Sixties Mod Era. Jay paired each outfit with great accessories including oversized sunglasses a la Mary-Kate Olsen and Nicole Ritchie, divine "Spage-Age " helmets and over-the-top wigs that would have made the late Divine blush. The colors, the prints, they were all Jay McCarroll. There were a pair of men's "Hot Air Balloon" -print denim jeans that I would love to own--Are you reading this Jay?? Speaking of men: one of the models was none other than my "other" boyfriend, Project Runway producer extraordinaire, Michael Rucker (check out his blogs on BravoTV.com). I had no idea that he was modeling for Jay and when I recognized him, I just about acted like a little girl at a Clay Aiken concert. He looked hot! Congrats Jay on a wonderfully entertaining show, and for showing great wearable clothes as well!!! And thanks for the Front Row Invitation and thanks for paving the road for all Project Runway designers who come after Season One.

PR 2 DVD Signing

Come Join Andrae, Santino and Myself and get your DVD signed. The event will be this Thursday in West Hollywood, CA.

Milan Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup I

Pringle of Scotland
I always thought Pringles was a sweater brand for guys. Hence I was surprised and delighted to find their SS07 runway for women, so casual, feminine and airy.

The pieces were bright and refreshing. And the balance between looking casual cool and feminine was just perfect.

In addition, there were also more structured and boxy pieces like these that just looks awesome. I especially like the poofy sleeves white shirt with the grey shorts.

Evening wear that is casual, cool and youthful.

Giorgio Armani
For once one can use words other than sleek and elegant to describe Giorgio Armani. This season, he experimented with form and combined his signature sleek and elegant style with the casual cool that has been so popular on the runway this season. But I feel that Giorgio is trying too hard to be different from his usual designs and following the current trend, because while some looks that were more typically Armani were gorgeous, some of the more different ones were just wrong. The collection was also repetitive. I wish he'd just done a few remarkable pieces instead of a lot of unremarkable ones.

He combined sleek assymetrical blazers (which are absolutely gorgeous btw), with stylish loose pants, strucking a balance that is just genius. This worked.

Restraining scarves tied around the shoulders was also very prominent on the runway. Frankly, it takes away from the perfectly nice outfits underneath the scarves, but maybe Giorgio was just thinking of a way to work scarves into the runway for marketing purposes.

These two outfits looks frumpy. The multiple layers and proportions are all wrong. This definitely didn't work for me.

Evening wear wise, these two were just too much and the proportions were again all wrong and frumpy.

Thank god for these absolutely divine dresses to remind us that the true essence of Armani.

Burberry Prorsum
Chris Bailey continues to astound us with his gorgeous gorgeous designs. This season, inspired by Cecil Beaton's photographs from the 20's, he amped up his collection with more volume and shape. The effect is whimsical, feminine and oh-so-pretty!

The ways Bailey manage to reinterpret the trench coat never ceases to amaze me. Last season, he had fur and this season, he has these wide collars and princess-like sleeves. I want one of these!

Bailey also did some casual chic looks using volume and layers. The way it is put together is just genius.

Casual chic dresses. I adore the simple white dress with the slightly flared sleeves. Its so easy to wear and yet still so stylish.

For the evening, Bailey offers these shiny variations of the trench coat. I just adore the shape and the structure of these two looks.

Then there are these very very cute dresses that shine and sparkle. A stunning collection.