Gareth Pugh x Melissa

A little while back, those of us who wanted to get a hold of a pair of Gareth Pugh shoes without handing over a month's rent had to make our own (which I did).  It's hardly the cheapest alternative or the easiest undertaking, so I was very happy to hear of Pugh's new collaboration with Melissa Shoes. I'm a longtime wearer of the comfortable, inexpensive, recycled plastic shoes, and the company always manage to nab the most forward thinking designers to work with, including Vivienne Westwood and Alexandre Herchcovitch.  The Gareth Pugh capsule collection includes two styles: a two-tone gladiator flat, and a open-toed flat printed with a radiating set of stars.  The gladiators might not be the most practical purchase during the winter months, but I own another pair of Melissa flats and can testify that they are a year-round must have.  The collection is available at Seven, my favorite New York store, which I can thankfully still enjoy from abroad via their webshop.  Now we can all breath a sigh of relief that we will no longer have to go through the trouble of having to make our own pair of Pughs.

-Tiffany

Blossom

Ashish Gupta has never been one to shy away from colors, and one would assume that if he had his way, all women would dress in full array Kodachrome hues.  This season he opted to give his take on a favorite colorful standby: giant floral prints. Of course, the florals were given the signature Ashish sequined treatment, and the result is a shimmering disco Laura Ashley redux, more tongue in cheek than saccharine sweet.  In the show, the oversized sunflower, daisy, and ditzy floral printed garments were paired with untied Docs laced with live flowers, creating a distinctly 90's feel.  You can just imagine Mayim Bialik and Jenna von Oy cartwheeling around in these outfits (for a serious flashback, take a look at the Blossom video below).

-Tiffany

Like It's Your Birthday

All photos by Rob Sheppard 

I found out today that my toddler nephew Charlie has taken to rejecting the outfit choices laid out for him by his Mom, sending back his practical playground attire, and demanding "Happy Birthday clothes." I can only assume he's referring to the more formal outfits he wears for Birthdays.  Who can blame him for wanting to dress like it's his birthday everyday?  If I had to dress like it was my birthday everyday, Belle Sauvage might be a good option. Designers Christian Neuman and Virginia Ferreira consistently present collection of riotous colors and clashing prints, in unconventional silhouettes and shapes.  This season, the collection took a romantic twist, with plenty of cascading digital print florals and rococo elements mixed with tufts of tulle and floor length hemlines.  I think Charlie would approve.

-Tiffany

More and Faster.

London based knitwear designer Mark Fast presented for the first time in New York, showing his  diffusion line, Faster by Mark Fast, as well as his collaboration with ALDO Rise. While the collection displayed Fast's signature skintight, formfitting, and super-revealing clothes, in eye-popping bright colors, the diffusion line obviously lacked a lot of the intricate details.  Instead, the Faster line simulates the sexy stretched out knits that made Fast famous with fishnet dresses and cutout bodystockings and bodysuits. The result are clothes that are only flattering on the absolute fittest of bodies, and even the skinniest model would probably think twice before having a meal in one of those outfits, as the slightest bit of a bump or bulge shows.  Also, you can just forget about wearing any sort of underwear with these clothes, so you have to have superstar confidence to wear these clothes (or a supreme desire to piss off your parents).

With this in mind, the real draw of the show for me was the ALDO Rise collaboration. ALDO has really stepped up their collaboration game, reaching out to young designers across the globe.  The knee-high stocking boots and the two toned heels both had some serious WOW-factor, and you don't even need to have toned calves to wear them.  I just hope that the prices have a similarly WOW inducing effect when the collaboration arrives in stores in spring!

-Tiffany

Hats Off To Stephen Jones

Swing, Stephen Jones, Autumn/Winter 2007

On Tuesday morning, I took a break from the Fashion Week madness and headed uptown to the Bard Graduate Center for a press preview of the new exhibition, Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones.  I must not have read my invitation very well, so I was quite pleasantly surprised when I arrived for a tour of the gallery, and found that the tour was administered by Stephen Jones himself.  The exhibition, which was a collaboration between the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Stephen Jones, is essentially the realization of the book of the same name, providing a sweeping history of the millinery canon. Spanning from a twelfth-century Egyptian Fez hat, to a recent creation by up and coming designer Nasir Mazhar, the exhibition covers all bases, with plenty of relevant Stephen Jones hats interspersed between.

I am an owner of the aforementioned book, and a obsessive hat wearer, so attending the exhibition made me feel like I had died and gone to hat heaven. The show spans three floors, and is divided into sections meant to display the process of creating hats, the way that they are worn, and the clients who are wearing them. One of the greatest highlights is the recreation of Jones's original studio, complete with a small Stephen Jones doll that Philip Treacy made for him after he had finished his apprenticeship.  The exhibition also includes the winner of the Talenthouse contest that I posted about earlier, Aliona Kononova, who made a spectacular dandelion shaped hat out of metal wire and magnets. I asked Jones how he selected the winner out of the five-hundred entrants, and he said that after a very difficult two day process, but Kononova's design was selected because of its hopeful and optimistic feel, and sound looking construction, which he could only judge from the photograph.  I unfortunately could not get a good photo of Kononova's design, so you will have to stop by the show yourself to take a look at it, along with the hundreds of other jaw-dropping hats on display.  The show runs until April 15th of next year.

Stephen giving the tour of the exhibition. 

A doll that Philip Treacy made of Stephen Jones after finishing his apprenticeship with him. 

A recreation of the Stephen Jones millinery studio
 

James Lock & Co. Ltd Conformator and brow hat machines that were used to measure a person's head and create a perfect custom hat pattern to fit their head shape. To the left of the machine are pieces some hat patterns from James Lock's famous customers, including one that belonged to Jackie O.

Myra, Stephen Jones, Autumn/Winter 2003

Olga Shere inspiree par Gruau, Christian Dior Haute Couture by Stephen Jones,  Automn/Winter 2007-2008

Hat with miniature boxes, created for Anna Piaggi when she moved, Student of the Institut Francais de la Mode, 2001

Mickey, Eugenia Kim, Autumn/Winter 1999

Torres Straight hat made by Stephen Jones, Spring/Summer 1996

Pom Pom hat worn by Bjork, Soren Bach, 2007

Bergere hat, France, 1760's, from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Stephen Jones for Undercover

-Tiffany

Stephen Jones Design Contest

Now that hats are making a comeback, it might be time to reconsider any repressed aspirations to become a milliner. What? You don't dream of becoming a fabulous hat maker? I'm an insatiable hat fiend, and I've always harbored a deep desire to return to F.I.T. for a millinery class or two. While I was there studying jewelry design, I never got the chance. Between taking practical courses to advance my career, as well as impractical and useless courses that were a complete waste of time but required by the curriculum, I just didn't have the time.

If you've ever felt similarly, now might be the time to take the plunge. Talenthouse, a website that sponsors creative contests, has just launched a new invite for aspiring milliners, with the first prize being an internship with legendary British hat designer Stephen Jones. The contest will be judged by the designer himself and Dolly Jones of Vogue, and if you're interested in submitting your designs you can enter below. If you need some additional inspiration and motivation, here are some examples of his work, as well as some photos from his studio.

-Tiffany