Demonics!

A year before, I was just out of my fashion school, and I landed up taking admission in an MBA college two weeks after. A month later a fashion show was organized for all of us freshers. I was very much excited about a fashion show being conducted that too in a business school, so I participated with a team of 14 people, and had a chance of showcasing the skill that I developed being a fashion graduate. Well all that passion and enthusiasm was well paid off, as apparently I won the show. Here are a few clicks of the show, theme being 'Demonics'.

Candy Floss it is!

Summer has just started and it reminds me of my summer holidays in school when I used to have all fun with my childhood friends, having colas, ice candies, candy flosses etc. I have always had this weird fascination with candy floss. The Fairy Floss, as it is also known, is really something that amazes kids, whether it be its texture like wool, those neon colors, or its voluminous size. I'd always lick my fingers that used to become sticky, sugary and sweet after having a little of a candy floss. The most popular color that it used to come in, fuchsia pink, is like synonymous with the very name of cotton candy.
And this is why when I see the latest collections of accessories in this vibrant color, what comes to mind is a cotton candy. The color is so apt for the summers because of its playful appeal, youthful and peppy feel. Here are some of my favorite pieces for this summer.

fall 2012 Reed Krakoff, fall 2012 Alexander McQueen, fall 2012 Chanel, fall 2012 Christian Louboutin,
fall 2012 Diane von Furstenberg, fall 2012 Kotur

fall 2012 Alexander McQueen, fall 2012 Balenciaga, fall 2012 Christian Dior, fall 2012 Jerome C. Rousseau,
fall 2012 Jerome C. Rousseau, fall 2012 Jimmy Choo, fall 2012 Rupert Sanderson, fall 2012 Versus

Images courtesy: style.com

Crystalline Chanel

I have been a little late in publishing this post on the blog as the collection which I am going to write about was showcased quite few days back. My end term exams and then just after it beginning of my summer internship, all kept me tightly scheduled. But I cant miss writing about Karl Lagerfeld yet again spectacularly putting up the Chanel Ready-to-Wear Fall Winter 2012 Collection on the runway. The collection is all about minerals and crystals, which were exquisitely incorporated into the models' eyebrows, the heels, and even the whole background set out there. Apart from the classic Chanel jacket-and-skirt suit we could see the designer's new favorite from quite some time, the three-piece suit—jacket, skirt, and pants. Abstract color-blocking also gave a feel of cubism to the whole collection.

Images Courtesy: Vogue.com

The theme of the collection, be it Water or Shanghai, and here with the crystalline theme also, the genius designer has played less with the silhouettes but more with the surfaces, and this is what I adore the best about the designer - keeping it simple with the silhouettes so it is wearable yet avant garde that it happens to be all the rage. 'A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous', the house truly stands as of what Coco Chanel used to believe in.

The Burberry Legend

The British luxury fashion house, Burberry Prorsum, has once again enchanted the fashion world with there RTW Fall/Winter 2012 collection, one of the most anticipated shows held in London. I personally like the brand more because of the association of Christopher Bailey with this heritage brand. The iconic trench coat and the tartan pattern will always be their trademark, yet the skillful designer has done great justice in carrying forward the legend. Its astounding how the designer mixed fabrics like herringbone, tweed, corduroy, velvet etc. with design elements like peplum, flap pockets, golden zippers, militaristic jacket lapels, leg-of-mutton sleeves, quilts, embroidered owls; everything was so whimsical. The collection had a lot of details to talk about and too many can be a little risky sometimes, but Bailey put them all together so chicly.
It's not the first time that I'm in love with a Burberry collection, but yet again the skirt with diagonal ruffles, the ankle boots, the bow belts, the draped lapel jackets, and the studded clutches and gloves all stole my heart. One can undeniably see the sartorial elegance that sizzles throughout every show put up by Bailey. How is it that every time Bailey puts up a great show? Needless to say, his design aesthetics, but its also the all time favorite muses of the designer, Cara Delevingne, Arizona Muse, Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls, to name a few, who filled all that warmth on the runway.

With the RTW Spring/Summer 2012 collection also, which was a medley of crochet, beading, weaving, braiding, printing, etc. the African ethnicity was so Burberry-ly displayed. Bailey blended tribalism with his designs keeping it all so British at the same time. And this was the first time that we received something this exotic from Bailey, for instance we obviously related the 2010 collection in knots to the brand despite the fact that it was also something novel, but certainly, the designer made it all look so alive, that an admirer like me would be wanting for those totes, clutches, wedges, belts, the pleated below-the-knee skirts, out there like desperately. 

Images Courtesy: Vogue.com

With this African Safari I just want to share a beautiful African Proverb, which I came across in my Operations Management text (I hate the subject, but quotes like these, I really preserve):
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.

When Red is the color of the season...

It is hard to deny in this day and age, that almost everyone awaits for the V-day and paints the town red with great passion and affection for their beloved. Romantic dinners, cards, chocolates, red roses, gift boxes wrapped in red satin and hearts, is all what every lover expects to receive from their partners on the very day of 14th February. Spending time with your special someone on this day to instigate that romance requires every girl to dress in a special way and glow out there. Well I am thinking about going all red. Of course, it will be flashy and vibrant but then for seasons we have been mixing and matching colors, so this time why not go for a back to basics look decking up top to bottom in the color of love, red. I encourage all the fashion savvy damsels out there to don one of the following looks.

Prada paillettes scale clutch, Kotur clutch, Marchesa clutch,
The Pari - Baldass ring 

spring 2012 Arfango, spring 2012 Reece Hudson, spring 2012 Roger Vivier,
spring 2012 Oscar de la Renta

pre-fall 2012 Zac Posen, spring 2012 ready-to-wear Oscar de la Renta,
spring 2012 couture Christian Dior

spring 2012 ready-to-wear Andrew Gn, spring 2012 couture Jean Paul Gaultier,
spring 2012 ready-to-wear Antonio Marras, chanel-pre-fall-2012 

spring 2012 ready-to-wear Antonio Berardi, ElieSaab Red Dress Resort,
spring 2012 ready-to-wear Valentino, spring 2012 ready-to-wear Zac Posen

spring 2012 ready-to-wear Badgley Mischka, spring 2012 ready-to-wear Christian Dior,
spring 2012 ready-to-wear Miu Miu, spring 2012 ready-to-wear Emanuel Ungaro 

spring 2012 Burak Uyan, spring 2012 Nicholas Kirkwood, spring 2012 Alejandro Ingelmo,
Charlotte Olampia, zara tufted platform court

Every year I celebrate this day not just as the V-day, but also because my Mom & Dad celebrate their wedding anniversary on this day. Certainly, its the most cherishing day of the year for me, I wish you Mom & Dad, a very Happy Wedding Anniversary, love you both so much.
I also wish every one and especially my dearest a very Happy Valentine's Day. You'll be missed excessively.

St.Gallen Embroidery

While in 2009, when I was in Switzerland for my Summer Exchange Program at Swiss Textile College, I happened to visit this eminent textile museum in St. Gallen, where we can see beautiful exhibition of historical laces, embroideries & cloth-pieces. Since the Embroidery has been made by machinery, the work has died out as a trade manufacture. Nowadays, only a small textile industry had been able to survive in St. Gallen because of high specialization and the production of powerful embroidery machines. The St. Galler Spitzen (as the embroidery is also called) are still very popular as a raw material for expensive haute couture creations in Paris and count among the most famous textiles in the world. Michelle Obama wore a St. Gallen embroidery dress at the inauguration ceremony of her husband on January 20, 2009.  Prominent designers such as Akris, Pierre Cardin, Chanel, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, Emanuel Ungaro Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Nina Ricci, Hemant and Yves Saint Laurent have used the embroidery from St. Gallen in their collections.

Slipknot !!

When we talk about the American heavy metal band Slipknot, what comes to our minds are their identical jump suits, unique masks, attention-grabbing image, aggressive music style, and energetic and chaotic live shows. The band's deadly exotic style has acclaimed them to become one of the most popular bands of the late 90s. Their album 'All Hope is Gone' received the top position on the Billboard.

And I believe we can quite relate the band's image to Thom Browne's Mens Fall-Winter 2012 collection. The theme tries to denote a situation wherein 'Punks face off against Jocks'. With low-slung pants, skirts, jackets with spikes, huge shoulders, grotesquely exaggerated musculature, spiked leather masks, the show was quite an entertainment to the audience. And if we talk about the mid-reef baring in menswear then I guess its not something new and designers have been doing that since quite long. The look was sartorial yet raw. Also, the animal print on the pants and jackets kept the sophomore image of the wearers.