Fall 2013 Review - Part 2 - London & Milan

 London week showed a refreshing sense of humor. They have a quirky vibe that is decidedly London, where when they do retro it's more sassy than when anyone else does it. Designers like Vivienne Westwood are always off center in the best way, and even Tom Ford who I don't think of as quirky by any means got in on the act with a comic inspired collection...



Vivienne Westwood

Tom Ford

 

 

 

Though neither of the above made it into my favorites from London, they are always great fun to see. I didn't have many pins from London as it turns out, here they are:

Temperly London - always chic



Burberry Prorsum: some pretty nifty men's shoes
 

Christopher Kane
 

I generally love L'Wren Scott, she went a bit too literal with her Klimt inspired collection for me here, but this dress stood out on it's own






Milan is always a bit more colorful, they tend to use lots of prints and embellishments which I love.

DSquared

Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli



Aquilano Rimondi



Salvatore Ferragamo - no prints or embellishments here, just clean and modern.

Some Punk influence @ Versace

Luisa Beccaria had a beautiful modern take of a 30's Gatsby-esque collection



One of the best and the stand out was Dolce & Gabanna, who showed my favorite collection of the season. Thus reminding me why they are my all time favorite designer.

Classic Dolce & Gabbana this season, and a perfect representative of Milan Fashion.

Coming up is Part 3 - Paris, which needs it's own post for sure...

Fall 2013 Review - Part 1 - New York

Fall 2013 was a bit disappointing overall. I feel bad saying that because it was clear the designers were trying really hard to impress...but sometimes that's the problem. The runways were flush with designers who were obviously trying to get attention, which can be the point at first but at the end of the day the clothes have to endure. And not many collections were great all the way through, which is why it seemed so disappointing. I found myself pinning one maybe two looks from most designers that I had expected to love, in some cases none at all which broke my heart a little bit, but I'll get over it next season I'm sure.
As usual the different countries tended to have similar themes with some exception, but in general New York felt retro, London was quirky, Milan was...hmmm...undeniably European, and Paris was experimental. I had planned on doing the whole season in one post, but after looking over all the photos I realized that was a bit ambitious. So I broke them into 4 parts, one for each city. This is Part One:

New York

As I said New York was very Retro overall, but more than anything I noticed how much the clothes looked like costume. There are so many wonderful period shows on TV at the moment that must have had an influence on designers. Perhaps they are turning to costume designers for inspiration. Perhaps people would rather live the glamorous and dramatic lives they see on the screen?

1940's @ Carolina Herrera

 

Some 1960's @ Marc by Marc Jacobs

Oscar de la Renta revisits the 1960's



1960's Mad Men looks at Kate Spade. I love these classic Leopard pants BTW



 Also there must have been free tickets to James Bond for designers because there were Bond Girls all over the runways.

 Bond @ Badgley Mischka

Classic Bond seductress at Pamela Rowland

2 Bond Girl looks of many by Kaufmanfranco

 The other major trend was Black, and not just the typical few black pieces, there were many collections that were almost totally in black.
Regardless of color here are some of my favorite looks from the New York Runways:


Hipster + Rock n Roll always cool @ Diesel Black Gold 

The styling here is key, this is a cool girl. @ 3.1 Philip Lim

Zac Posen. A master when it comes to cut. Amazing as always.

 Zac Posen. A master when it comes to cut. Amazing as always.

I'm loving the florals right now, and these Vera Wang outfits are so clever. The masculine suiting with the over sized floral then pairing with the soft gossamer fluid tops. Unexpected and refreshing.

Love the detail in the seaming and the bold choice of the red stripe in the Jill Stuart Dress.

Love the detail in the seaming and the bold choice of the red stripe in the Jill Stuart Dress.



This Diane Von Furstenberg dress is so kittenish and cute

This Diane Von Furstenberg dress is so kittenish and cute



Prabal Gurung did some amazing things with drape and accessories.

Prabal Gurung did some amazing things with drape and accessories.



Clean and Modern without being boring or pretentious. Bravo! Harder to do than it seems...Narciso Rodriguez

I'm a sucker for a fitted suit. This is awesome together and would be equally cool in it's parts. I can't tell if this is foiled fabric or a metallic Jacquard, whatever it is I dig it. J. Mendel

Stunning Slinky number at Naeem Khan

Stunning Slinky number at Naeem Khan

Marc Jacobs...I cannot pass up a sequin dress. Can't. And I love that he cut it so that it just seems like a simple conservative dress, that just happens to be covered in sparkly madness! I would live in this dress.

London up next in Part 2...

New Diamond Jewelry Collection from Designer Shannon Koszyk

One of our featured designers at enexile.com, Shannon Koszyk has a brand new collection of Fine Jewelry. Some of her most popular pieces are now available embellished with glittering pave Diamonds.  We are so impressed that we just had to post the new items here. Naturally everything is available for purchase at the website! 

Solitaire Guatemalan Cross Earrings

Signature Ring, In the Name of the Father Ring and Joan of Arc Ring

Sterling Coptic Cross Bracelet on Chain and on Leather

Signature Necklace and Sterling Dagger Necklace



Solitare Daimond Patris Necklace, Pave Diamond Patris Necklace on Chain and on Black Leather.

Pre Fall 2013 Highlights

Here are our picks of the Pre Fall 2013 Shows!

We'll present everything from Day to Evening because it just makes sense to do so. There were lots of trends, as usual - of course. One in particular is leather pants. Leather pants were everywhere in the day looks and evenings too. The men's shows were ripe with them as well. I'm seeing it as a natural transition from the colored leathers we saw last season that manifested in the form of everything from skirts to shirts to dresses, you name it. It was a leather bonanza! Now it would seem leather has been de classified from something only the hip or the daring would wear into something that can been seen as more of an essential. I'm sure most designers would tell you to have one great leather piece at least - and for the first time they aren't talking outerwear or accessories.

Day:

Belstaff

 These are a great example of leather pants that aren't just tight or moto inspired - they are a thoughtful design that could be worn comfortably and feature a cool detail in the snaps (?) at the hem. Love the subtle, chic contrast of the leather insert in the jacket as well.

Skirt. Suit. Dress. These are clothes that make you cool - no effort. Done.

 

 

 Celine

Fall always has tons of outerwear - these designs from Celine stood out. The first coat is extra long for drama and and the A-line silhouette is so classic, a timeless investment piece. The other two looks both have this lovely drape at the front that  balances beautifully with the narrow waist by dropping the shoulder a few inches. The tailoring is so amazing.

Rochas

You don't often see pullover sweaters in Pre Fall as these are generally smaller collections - so I think it's in part that these were not typical that they stood out for me. But they look so effortless in that "I'm a cool french girl who just threw this on and didn't mean to look stylish" kind of way. The styling of the casual sweater with the heavy wool skirts just looks so wearable. I love to see items dressed down and these all worked so well.

 



Trousers

I was thrilled to see the return of the men's cut trouser this season. Flat front - slightly tapered or stovepipe they are an excellent addition to any wardrobe. They always look smart and can easily be dressed up or down. Here are 3 great variations on this timeless piece.

3.1 Phillip Lim, Derek Lam and Barbra Bui (Love the snake shoes here too!)

 

Trend

Time to revisit my youth with a little bit of goth and a little bit of grunge, two trends that will never die. I love to see them revamped for the runways over and over, these are some shining examples.

 

 

Louis Vuitton. Goth. The look on the left is my favorite. Striped tights will always be in my heart!



Grunge - the little house dress. So easy to wear - girly and charming. These are from Bottega Veneta and Moschino : Cheap and Chic.

Temperly London

 

This dress is actually from the Alice by Temperly London collection. I just love the color and the pleating. So wearable.

Love the print on the skirt - there were a lot of designers using this type of large screened print. This was one of the best.

 

 

Florals

English garden inspired floral prints were another trend that was prominent on the runways. These two examples are my favorites.

 

Carolina Herrera and Erdem
Love the gown and the suit and I love the totally different ways they used the prints.

 

Retro

These designers took a nod from the past.

Donna Karan

The silhouettes here are a knockout. I could see these as fashion illustrations from the 1950's, yet they still look totally modern.



Rachel Zoe

I could see Bainca Jagger in this at studio 54.

 

Gucci

I could have put the whole collection in here it was that good. One of the best overall. These were the standouts.

 

 



This dress is classic

This whole collection made me feel like I was at a Christmas cocktail party at Bing Crosby's house. In a good way.

Emilio Pucci

Just really chic little cocktail dresses. 

 

Nina Ricci

I always love Nina Ricci's deconstructed style. Somehow always elegant. She never lets me down. 

 

 

 

Formal

Who can resist the evening gowns? These formal beaded gowns are the kind of decadent glamorous Oscars only kind of dresses that make fashion a delightful spectator sport. 

Monique Lhuillier and Naeem Khan