I am woman hear me roar. Hear me issue stock-purchase orders from the Wall Street trading floor. I am woman; I am not girl. I do not emulate the pop-burlesque fashion stylings of Ke$ha or Katy Perry. I do not aspire to passé morning-after chic, with bird's-nest hair and shredded leather leggings. No. Of Lana Turner and Barbara Stanwyck-and-Lena Horne I sing.
(Have you felt the smooth, snug tug of fine leather gloves being pulled on? Have you considered the rebellion, the nonconformity, inherent today in a Mamie Eisenhower knit suit? Have you worn a crioline lately?)
Reader, if you're older than fourteen, fashion for fall 2010 offers more wearable options than it has in eons. Skirts fall below mid-thigh. Designers are giving us dead-cool-but-still-practical Streetwear uniforms for work and school. Black-with-black is totally back.
Can we get an "Amen" up in here?
I have never been more excited for Fall fashions! In the past few years we have seen some of the most creative collections to date, full of loud and colorful pieces to release our pure creativity. But as we move along through our recession, fashion has had to find its way back to being not only chic but affordable and versatile. As much as we all love tons of sequins and feathers how exactly are we going to wear that to work?
Cue fall fashion season 2010. While Vogue's Mark Holgate points out that this season draws a lot of inspriation from Artist/Designer Helmut Lang who revolutionized how to look great with pieces that are re-wearable, he also points out that "none of the designers...have literally referenced Helmut Lang for fall; quite a few of them were in business when he was and they all have their own solutions for how to dress for urban life. There's a consensus that the qualities that made Lang's look so relevant - athleticism, functionality, minimalism - are due for a revival."
His simple child hood in Vienna, Austria helped Lang to realize that great things don't have to be extravagant, thus some of his best fall collections (including '93 - '95 and '97) have introduced some of the greatest elements known to the industry. His major contributions include (but are not limited to) the introduction of slit and slashed sleeves, nylon veil dresses, airbrushed silks and slash geometric patterns on candy-colored fabric, reflective fabrics and nude as a staple color, as well as the use of silks, wools, and cashmeres in basic items. But, if one were to look up a timeline of his work and compare the descriptions to Fall 2010 looks, the similarities would be quite obvious. A key player in this transition is Phoebe Philo, the creative director for Celine. Her designs do an excellent job of emphasizing something that hasn't been seen on the runway for the past few years now - comfort. Comfortable fabrics, designs, and patterns.
Their minimal features leave open an opportunity to be creative to your own personal style by dressing them up with accessories or down with nothing at all. Designers are now letting us take style into our hands and just giving us the foundation pieces - allowing fashion to be more welcoming.
This concept is the vision behind Celine's entire Fall 2010 line. For three years Philo took a hiatus to do everything but be involved with fashion. "For the first year I just vegged out," she told the New York Times, "and the weeks just kind of went past without me having to do anything. I got back to basics...I really stepped out of fashion. I didn't look at collections, didn't read magazines, didn't buy much."Which (once again) is also quite similar to how Lang found his inspiration in functionality. In 2008 when she came on to Celine as creative director, the fashion world held its breath to see what she would come up with. To keep everyone guessing further, she decided to completely start over establish a new foundation for the brand. "It made all the more relevant to design pieces I thought I'd really like in my wardrobe. Fundamentals, I guess, to wear. And it was refreshing to do that because it made it quite a sober foundation." The end result reflects the needs of the average woman - one who is often too busy to worry about what she is wearing and needs something practical.
Finally, fashion will go back to reflecting the actual needs of the average consumer and not what they think the average consumer should be. Soon the days of following the extreme will take a step back so that our closets can breathe a sigh of relief. The madness is coming to an end.
xoxo Miss Honeybun
Original article: "Inedible Ink" by Mark Holgate. July Vogue 2010. pg. 105
Helmut Lang Fashion Timeline
Phoebe Philo NY Times interview
Phoebe Philo Vogue Oct. 2009 interview
Celine Fall 2010 RTW
Celine Pre-Fall 2010
Cue fall fashion season 2010. While Vogue's Mark Holgate points out that this season draws a lot of inspriation from Artist/Designer Helmut Lang who revolutionized how to look great with pieces that are re-wearable, he also points out that "none of the designers...have literally referenced Helmut Lang for fall; quite a few of them were in business when he was and they all have their own solutions for how to dress for urban life. There's a consensus that the qualities that made Lang's look so relevant - athleticism, functionality, minimalism - are due for a revival."
His simple child hood in Vienna, Austria helped Lang to realize that great things don't have to be extravagant, thus some of his best fall collections (including '93 - '95 and '97) have introduced some of the greatest elements known to the industry. His major contributions include (but are not limited to) the introduction of slit and slashed sleeves, nylon veil dresses, airbrushed silks and slash geometric patterns on candy-colored fabric, reflective fabrics and nude as a staple color, as well as the use of silks, wools, and cashmeres in basic items. But, if one were to look up a timeline of his work and compare the descriptions to Fall 2010 looks, the similarities would be quite obvious. A key player in this transition is Phoebe Philo, the creative director for Celine. Her designs do an excellent job of emphasizing something that hasn't been seen on the runway for the past few years now - comfort. Comfortable fabrics, designs, and patterns.
Their minimal features leave open an opportunity to be creative to your own personal style by dressing them up with accessories or down with nothing at all. Designers are now letting us take style into our hands and just giving us the foundation pieces - allowing fashion to be more welcoming.
This concept is the vision behind Celine's entire Fall 2010 line. For three years Philo took a hiatus to do everything but be involved with fashion. "For the first year I just vegged out," she told the New York Times, "and the weeks just kind of went past without me having to do anything. I got back to basics...I really stepped out of fashion. I didn't look at collections, didn't read magazines, didn't buy much."Which (once again) is also quite similar to how Lang found his inspiration in functionality. In 2008 when she came on to Celine as creative director, the fashion world held its breath to see what she would come up with. To keep everyone guessing further, she decided to completely start over establish a new foundation for the brand. "It made all the more relevant to design pieces I thought I'd really like in my wardrobe. Fundamentals, I guess, to wear. And it was refreshing to do that because it made it quite a sober foundation." The end result reflects the needs of the average woman - one who is often too busy to worry about what she is wearing and needs something practical.
Finally, fashion will go back to reflecting the actual needs of the average consumer and not what they think the average consumer should be. Soon the days of following the extreme will take a step back so that our closets can breathe a sigh of relief. The madness is coming to an end.
xoxo Miss Honeybun
Original article: "Inedible Ink" by Mark Holgate. July Vogue 2010. pg. 105
Helmut Lang Fashion Timeline
Phoebe Philo NY Times interview
Phoebe Philo Vogue Oct. 2009 interview
Celine Fall 2010 RTW
Celine Pre-Fall 2010
