I know, I know- with the first sprouts of crocuses finally popping their sleepy heads out of the cold ground this week, the last thing you probably want to think about is fall fashion. It usually takes just one or two good sunny day in March to get me feeling that first twitch of spring fever, too!
But before we pack away our sweaters neatly into cedar scented storage (because we all take proper care of our out of season clothes, right?) let’s take a world wind peek ahead to the colors and styles that by August everyone will be talking about.
First stop: Paris, France- where the mood was best described by Style.com as “austere opulence“. Apparently the more turmoil there is going on around the world, the more luxurious fashion gets. The austere- the female silhouette becoming more powerful, closer to the body, opulence- lots of fur, rich jewels and unbelievable accessories! (more…)
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This weekend I was invited to a member’s only night at The Museum of Modern Art, to view the new exhibition ‘Color Chart-Reinventing Color: 1950 to today’.
As a guest of color maven Kim Brown, I was treated to an evening of complimentary wine, a pretty decent DJ, and the best people watching opportunity of the night. And I had an almost private audience with the works in the new Color Chart galleries: I really love these kinds of nights in NYC.
As you enter the space on the 6th floor, a mountain of painted steel beams greets you, adorned in vibrant primary colors. The collection is a belief of the artists involved, that in everyday life – beauty, art, and color are intertwined and accessible. (more…)
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February, the month of love, is a great time to add some color to your life. A burst of a new color to your wardrobe or a fresh coat of paint is a great way to brighten up a gray winter day. Even daydreaming about a new spring gardening scheme can shoo away the winter blues.
So let’s take a peek into my mailbox for a little color inspiration that will have even old man winter craving spring.
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Ladies in red: Katherine Heigl, Anne Hathaway, Miley Cyrus and Heidi Klum
The Colors
A sea of fire red, sparkling white, deep blue and black as midnight dresses dominated this year’s Oscar red carpet. (more…)
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There are still 2 days left of the Fall 2008 New York fashion week and normally I like to wait till the last catwalk closes before I start writing about the color and style trends for the upcoming season.
But the fact is I’ve spied my favorite color on so many runways already that I’m selfishly prepared to jump the gun a little this time around and joyfully exclaim, “All Orange lovers rejoice! Come next Fall, all shades of this energetic hue from citrus to pomegranate to pumpkin to blood orange and all the juicy shades in between are sure to be in style.
Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera
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Valentino, the designer whose name is as synonymous with the color red as it is with fashion, took his final bow from the catwalk this past week in Paris following his Spring Couture show.
His departure comes in the middle of what could be called the “year of Valentino”. A year that has included a 3 day extravagant 45th anniversary celebration in Rome this past summer, followed by a beautiful retrospective of his work featuring over 300 of his designs, the filming of a hip-indie documentary to be released about him this spring, the planning of yet another retrospective in Paris slated for the summer of 2008, and to top it all off being awarded the Grand Medaille de Vermeil de Ville de Paris just this past week (that’s the medal of honorary Paris citizenship to you and me).
Not a bad way to go out for the 75 year old Italian who has spent the last four and a half decades dressing the world’s most famous women- literally from Jackie O. to J.Lo.
His final show, which took place on the grounds of the Rodin Museum, included all the glamour and femininity one has come to expect from the designer who has always been thought of as the epitome of elegance. His swan’s song-a sea of his iconic red, as 30 beautiful models flooded the runway all wearing the same red gown amidst images of red dresses projected onto the sides of the tent covering the star studded audience.
His spectacular departure from fashion this week got me wanting to know more about him. After all, we are sort of known for being interested in color around here, and I realized I knew very little about Valentino or how his fascination with the color red came to be.
I must first mention that Valentino’s rise to uber-fame came in the 1960’s without an ounce of red fabric in sight. In fact, the designer warned the American buyers in the late 60’s with the quote ” I am a non-color man”. His 1968 collection, which was comprised of only shades of white ( ecru, ivory, pale beige ), was a huge hit amongst jet setters and fashion editors alike- establishing him as a force in fashion.
It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that Valentino would first discover his love of the color red, or rosso valentino, as it is now often referred to.
Here the story gets a little fuzzy… as I found three different scenarios of this “aha” moment. All three have Valentino visiting Barcelona…. the first suggests he was at the circus and spotted the color, the second is that he was at the Opera and was enchanted by a red costumed diva, and the third that it was on this trip that he first meet editor-extraordinaire Diane Vreeland who infected him with her love (and also signature color) of red.
Whatever the events, the color had a strong impact on his aesthetic from there on out.
“Red has guts…. deep, strong, dramatic. A geranium red. A Goya red…. to be used like gold for furnishing a house… for clothes, it is strong, like black and white” he said.
“Women usually prefer to wear black at events because it makes them feel safe, however, if there’s one woman wearing red, she will inevitably be the eye-catcher of the evening. It’s as though the room is suddenly illuminated- simply perfect for a grand-entrance”.
From then on Valentino used red in his collection to symbolize ” the power of femininity”, and in the age of disco and economical distress it all seemed to make sense.
Funny enough as the 80’s rolled in, women wearing red quickly took on another meaning. Remember Nancy Reagan in her red suits, more powerhouse than demure first lady. The culture was changing and women in the workforce took to wearing the color red not so much to symbolize “the power of femininity”, but to shout out “the power of equality” to their male counterparts.
Throughout this Valentino remained steady and never faltered with his visions. His love of a luxurious silhouette survived through the 80’s gender-bending punk trend ( which he basically found beyond distasteful), and as the 90’s were ushered in with the monochromatic pales of Calvin Klein (sound familiar) and the grunge inspired street wear of Marc Jacobs all the rage… his red dress remained.
Now with the return of elegance once again at the height of fashion, Valentino seems to be ending his career very much where he started it, some 45 years earlier.
But does this mark the end of the Valentino “red dress”?
No doubt the label will go on, already Alessandra Facchinetti formally of Gucci, has been named as Valentino’s women’s collection successor.
But will the timeless, elegance forever associated with the label remain?
In a business where constant evolution is seen as good, Valentino always held strong to his simple belief that a women should be dressed elegantly at all times- he was even often heard bashing other designers whose over-the-top designs drew attention, but left the customer with little to wear.
And what about the iconic red dress? The “look” we always knew would show up at some point each season? Will it remain?
Well fashion is a fickle place, and those who drive it are often more interested in creating the next great trend than keeping alive an iconic classic. I suppose we will just have to wait and see… and keep our “rosso valentino” fingertips crossed!
Photo credits:
- Photo of “Valentino Retrospective” Jason Schmidt, New York Times
- Runway photo, getty images
- Vintage Valentino from historyoffashion.com
- Book cover image from amazon.com
- Couture 2008 photo from style.com
- Valentino with red dresses from madeinitaly.com
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While making dinner the other night I caught the tail end of a Project Runway re-run on Bravo. To be exact it was episode #4 from Season 4, and yes I had seen the episode twice before- yet somehow I never tire of this show so I watched it yet again.
If you are equally smitten as I am with this gem of a show, you probably remember it as the “outdated trends” episode.
Jillian diligently working in her overalls- she shouldn’t have felt too ashamed though, as it appears Karl Lagerfeld is on her side of this “one minute your in, the next minute you are out” dilemma.
If you’ve never watched… a quick run down.
Nine designers, each assigned with a popular fashion trend from the last two decades, or so … trends that seem to warrant giggles, snickers and even some personal embarrassment for designer Jillian who discovers she is wearing one of these taboo outdated looks herself- denim overalls.
The designers are asked to divide themselves into teams of three ( each with a team leader) and reconfigure these “dated” once popular fashion trends into a cohesive collection of “looks” fit for a modern-day woman.
The first two times I watched the episode I was too caught up in the drama of the sewing room to really give the trends any thought but the third time around, as the designers were pleading their cases in front of the judges ( which this week included guest judge Donna Karan), I was taken aback by how many of these “dead” trends I had recently spotted while clicking through photos of the Spring 2008 collections on Style.com.
In or Out?
In the minds of the judges, Team Jillian took denim overalls to a whole new level and won the challenge…
…and for Spring 2008 Karl Lagerfeld put the “Chanel” spin on his own version of this “outdated” trend
Team Christan attempted to bring zoot suits and menswear as woman’s wear back…
…and Haider Ackermann seems to have had the same agenda.
Team Ricky was given the trends neon colors, cut-outs and underwear as outerwear- three trends I’ve just recently been writing about…
…in fact, I think Anna Sui could have been the fourth designer on their team.
And poor Chris March, his team was on the bottom this particular week and his personal attempt at breathing life back into the trend of larger than life “shoulder pad” sent him home…
…ironically Nicolas Ghesquiere’s vision of bringing fashion focus back on “shoulders” for Balenciaga has got to be the most talked about silhouette of the season.
So the questions is– “Who’s to say if a trend is in or out?” Are there any trends that you wish would stay “out” rather than come back “in”?
Resources:
Project Runway gallery photos from Bravo.com
All Spring 2008 collection photos from Style.com
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Baby it’s cold outside… but my mailbox is a hot bed of color talk, color trends and color advice… as another colorful, exciting year begins!
So cozy up with me by taking a quick, colorful peek into a few of my favorites issues….
“Soft hues of Gray and Beige are making a comeback this season”…notice how Harper’s Bazaar used these “new neutrals” for their cover shoot of Uma.
Lucky has a really great spread about mixing “rich, bright colors into your winter wardrobe”…”a peek of baby pink sweetens the vibrant tomato red of this jacket; gray pants an a cream turtleneck make everything that much more refined.” I absolutely love tomato red… I never would have thought about combining it with a soft pink… I will definitely be trying this!
Wouldn’t Elsa Schraparelli be proud “They Went Magenta-Way”. According to InStyle all you lilting-lilac girls, antique-rose sweeties, blush babies and cotton candy cuties get-outta-da-way because here comes a powerhouse pink that takes on all comers when it’s a match and takes no prisoners when it’s not. You’re either meant for magenta or your not.
House Beautiful asked top designers: Which paint color do you always come back to?…Keith Irvine listed Benjamin Moore’s Dark Royal Blue 2065-20 “I’m mad about this dark inky blue, as it gives great vibrancy and depth to a wall- especially if you put a topcoat of good varnish over it. That’s what we did in Rex Harrison’s Manhattan apartment in this fabulous little dining alcove.” Read more….
In a really fun issue O at Home showcases talented readers/decorators… “Winter White…It may be cold outside, but the design climate right now is warmer than ever-welcoming a slew of styles, from modern to rustic to downright baroque. So how to tie last year’s woodland craze into this season’s rococo revivial? A unifying dose of the ultimate neutral.”
Hmm, Elle Decor was on a similar wave-length… “Winter White…As crisp as a fresh snowfall, the color of the moment strikes an elegant pose, from an alabaster lamp to plush fabrics to a wintry ensemble.”
The “Color you need to now” according to Southern Accents… “peacock blue... One of those old-school colors that makes you think of grand hotels and beautifully appointed dining cars, peacock blue covers the wall of libraries, butler’s pantries and other spaces where intimacy and a little intensity seem appropriate.”
Metropolitan Home looks to brighter side with a “colorways” report on “Unmellow Yellow…. The color forecast this winter calls for a bright sunshine with a twist of lemon” I love those little stoneware hot/cold drinking cups!… they would brighten up my daily teatime, for sure.
Home’s latest is chock full of great color knowledge and ideas… This was a spread on a East Hampton house by designer Jamie Drake. I love Jamie Drake so much that whatever color advice he’s giving… I’m listening! “Drakes recipe: first choose a main color you love, then add a complementary shade, and finish with two dollops of an accent color. Voila!
New kid on the block, Vogue Living’s winter issue, featured these cool colorful rugs by Miami designer Gene Meyer. “I’ve been able to lose myself in color,” enthuses Meyer, : I’ve always loved it. I am a child of the sixties. Color then wasn’t the exotic thing it has become today.”
The cover of Martha Stewart Living features cool, sunshine yellow kitchen accents, but it was this article about houseplants that caught my eye… “The upright, linear effect of the snake plant, is emphasized by tall windows, while planters echo their verdigris colors.” I love what a color statement a common house plants can make in the right planter.
Coastal Living’s “Island Hopping… to chase away the winter chill, head somewhere tropical. Dress the part with accessories in warm tones of faux tortoiseshell and shades of golden sunshine.”… good idea, let’s pack our bags right now!!!
Read any fun color advice or discovered a new color trend you love this month?…. Let me know!
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