What happens when a girl from a gang collides with an American Indian? You get a fierce look from Rodarte’s Spring 2010 collection.

Case in point:

From the intricate weaving to the complicated draping to the clever use of scraps of material, the Mulleavy sisters’ ability to create couture-like pieces have once again left me in awe.  The collection, inspired by big, black vultures that faced extinction in the late 80s, was filled with elaborate pieces made with materials such as burnt plaid, cheesecloth, feathers and sandpapered silk.  The looks were dark with lots of blood red and burnt black.  The gross colour of the smoke-filled runway accompanied by the goth-inspired makeup and body art just added to the beauty of this collection.

For more of Rodarte’s Spring 2010 collection, click here.

Image Source: Style.com

It boggles me as to how Marc Jacobs just manages to nail it season after season – especially with the things he tries to pull off.

For the Spring 2010 season, he imagined ballerinas on the way home from a performance or showgirls going to Raido City for their rehearsal.  The resulting look had his models in pulled up stockings, tightly pulled back hair, geisha inspired makeup paired with everyday things – like fanny packs!

Marc Jacobs is truly an amazing stylist.  He is able to combine the romance of frills with the rigidity of sharp edges.  He is the master of playing with clothes and proportions to create a desired shape.  Linda Fargo, Senior Vice-President of the fashion office at Bergdorf Goodman said it extremely well, “He (Marc) has that way of always turning our world inside out – the corsetry on top of a little touch of men’s suiting but the men’s suiting was very feminine with the ruffles.”

Only you Marc, only you.

For more of Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2010 RTW, click here.

Image Source: Style.com

On Saturday evening, I went to the open discussion at the School of Visual Arts where Cathy Horyn tried to pick the brains of photographer, Juergen Teller.  Many of you may know him as the man who convinced Posh Spice to get into a shopping bag for a Marc Jacobs ad campaign; others know him as the daring photographer who is witty and to the point with his portraits.

Teller talked a little about his past and how he started in photography, his initial work with doing record covers and press shoots for bands before moving into fashion photography, his work with i-D and The Face, and collaborating with people like Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood.  He gave some insight as to how he works and his preference to work as a small operation.  He prefers to work alone with his subjects.  When Cathy moved on to talk about the technology involved in his photography, it was interesting to hear that Teller is quite “anti-digital”.  Blaming his lack of computer knowledge and being stuck in his old ways, he explains that the digital, technological, fast ways that we are so used to now takes away from the time and magic involved in photography.

The discussion went on with Teller touching on working with different characters, designers and campaigns.  There is a lot of trust involved in working with people.  Coming up with successful campaigns takes a lot of brainstorming and planning.  When he knows what he wants, he executes it.  And then of course, there are times when the pieces just fall into place.  “When I’m shooting, sometimes things just happen”, he confidently said.  He gave the example of the Marc Jacobs’ Fall 2009 ad below.  Yes, you saw it right, pardon the model while she jumps out of the window…for a bag.

It was nice to see that Teller has a sense of humour about work and life.  When asked why he liked to take pictures, he explained that taking pictures gives him an excuse for adventures and to really look at things.  His opinions on fashion is that it has a strong influence on culture and is used to make a comment on it.  It shouldn’t be taken too seriously…fashion should be enjoyable.  His pictures say exactly that.

Image Source: Elle.com, MarcJacobs.com

I spent one of my last days in Paris just roaming the streets, enjoying the city.  As I walked down the ancient sidewalks of Rue Saint Honore, I noticed how creative some of the store windows were.  Here are some pics of the innovative Parisian visual merchandising.

I finally had some time to catch up on the first few episodes of Season 6 of Project Runway, the long awaited season that made its debut on Lifetime.  I dozed up on all four episodes at once! I was a bit apprehensive about the switch in stations at first (Lifetime is a bit blah compared to Bravo)…but alas the changes are definitely well worth it! Yes, the Bluefly accessories wall is now the Macy’s accessories wall, but hey, Macy’s is finally getting some real help.  If prominent designers banning together for an ad campaign and sponsoring guest performances on Dancing with the Stars hasn’t helped, Lord knows Project Runway will give the department store a little boost!

The spread in Elle magazine is now the spread in Marie Claire (with Nina Garcia’s departure from Elle, are you really that surprised?) And of course, the car that the winner gets is now a trip to Paris.  Hmm, car or Paris, car or Paris…I think it’s pretty safe to say, P-A-R-I-S!!!

I’m not sure how I feel about the show moving to LA (we’ll see how that helps the season progress) and of course, the show not being at Parsons and filmed at the Atlas just means my chances of running into Tim Gunn again are well…slim to none.  I was also pretty surprised by the young age of most of the desingers.  The last thing I wanted was for one of the few shows I consider to be “good reality tv” turn into a fashion nightmare (remember that sad excuse of a show about working in the fashion industry that Tyra’s network produced???) Watching the first four episodes however definitely proved that there is an immense amount of talent on the show this season and most of it came from the younger designers.  I am already a fan of a few of them and secretly hoping for a woman to win the season!

My favourite part of the show so far has definitely been some of the prestigious names on the judging panel (okay, I’ll excuse Lindsay Lohan and I’m still wondering why Michael Kors has gone AWOL) – Rachel Bilson, Max Azria, Monique Lhuillier and Marc Bouwer, are only a few of the wonderful people who have given their opinions on the designers’ looks.  Eva Longoria is set to be a guest judge this season as well! So far, I’ve agreed with the people the show has let go but only time will tell if that continues to be the case because as we all know that in fashion, “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out”.

Here are the winning looks from the first four episodes…Auf Wiedersehen!

Episode 1 - Challenge: Create a look for a red carpet event that represents your point of view as a designer; Winning Designer: Christopher, Model: Katie Sticksel

Episode 2 – Challenge: Design a pregnancy chic look for Rebecca Romijn; Winning Designer: Shirin, Model: Matar Cohen

Episode 3 – Challenge: Create a fun and fashionable surf wear look (Additional Challenge: Create a second avante garde design that corresponds to the surf wear look); Designer: Ra’mon, Model: Vanessa Fitzgerald

Episode 4 – Challenge: Create an eye-catching look for models to wear at an industry event; Winning Designer: Althea, Model: Tanisha

Image Source: MyLifetime.com

It’s here, it’s September!!! And in my book, that officially marks the start of Fall!

The first thing on my wish list, these Grace leggings from Wolford are to die for.  What a great way to add some spice to this trend!

Image Source: Wolford-Partnerboutique-W1-London.com

I watched The Ugly Truth a while ago and I can’t seem to get Abby Richter’s (Katherine Heigl’s character) outfits out of my head.  The RomCom started off with one or two typical outfits that an executive would wear but the fashion took a turn about 15 minutes into the movie.  Take a look at some of Abby Richter’s key looks and how to create them for yourself.

This sexy and curve-hugging little black dress by Armani was the hit of the movie.

For a similar look, try…

Wrap dresses suited Abby as an executive producer.  It was professional enough for work, easy enough to be on-the-go yet still sexy enough for a date.

For a similar look, try…

Though it looked simple, this beige bandage dress was probably my favourite.  The zipper on the back gave the dress a little edge.

For a similar look, try…

The vest here adds some variety to a plain T-shirt over jeans.

I absolutely adore this locket Richter had on with almost every look.  It opens up as a watch; not surprising for the super in-control, organized exec that she is.

For something similar, try…

Image source: Ew.com, TheTruthIsntPretty.com

As the world mourned the King of Pop today, many remember him as an icon that played a crucial role in music and dance.  Growing up watching Michael Jackson reinvent his style for every album, he not only became a fashion icon of my generation but for the generations that have followed.  During his lengthy career, MJ ushered in an array of trends that still show up on runways today.

The Military Look

Bad Boy Jackson

And finally, The Moonwalk.  You seriously have to be in your own bubble if you didn’t recognize these legendary white socks paired with black loafers!

The King of Pop will stay with us forever, through his music, his dance and most definitely through his unique style.

On Sunday night, 60 Minutes’ Morley Safer chatted it up with fashion’s most powerful woman, Anna Wintour.  In the rare interview sans sunglasses, Anna gave some insight to fashion in the current state of our economy, her role as Editor-in-Chief for US Vogue and the perks that come along with it.  Yes ladies, daily hair and make up and a 6-digit clothing allowance was mentioned…but then again, she is pretty much God, so why not? Queen Anna also addressed the most lingering question of all…what’s with the shades???

To read more about this interview, click here.

Want to look like a celebrity but have too skinny of a wallet? Take a look at Fashion Under $100 and you’ll be blown away by how fabulous you can look with a $100 budget.  The site will definitely have you rethinking the last pair of Joe’s jeans you coughed out money for!