This was probably one of the most anticipated showings in Milan. Sarah Burton’s runway debut for the late Alexander McQueen’s eponymous label was strong and cohesive but lacked somewhat in personality. I felt that the line could have been fit for a Fall showing as well- but hey, these days seasons can be interchangeable.

The period inspired line brought upon images of rich school boys dressing in their father’s clothing and London itself. There was an array of different silhouettes and a play with contradicting ideas-  slim pants paired with loose unfitted jackets and baggy pants paired with razor sharp blazers. It was a great mix of classic and avant garde.

The tapered pants are to die for- and check out the panelling and pockets!

//

Burberry Prorsum

Christopher Bailey has done it again- outerwear, outerwear, outerwear! This line was extremely rock and roll. Of course Bailey sent out a few traditional trenches and knit pants, but the vibe quickly switched over to leather biker jackets (with and without sleeves), skin tight leather bottoms, Birkenstock gladiators and studs galore. There were perforated sweaters reminiscent of this Spring’s Prada knitwear and mesh shirts. It was all done in a very tasteful manner.

It’s all about the details- from the color choice down to the seams, buttons, the extra zippers or straps and perfectly placed studs. Some might say the stud and leather biker trends are over(done) but I say fuck it, keep them coming!

//

Prada

I must say that I was slightly disappointed with this line when I first saw it, with the sunglasses reminiscent of Oakleys and all. But I gotta say, it has really grown on me.  Miuccia Prada, who is known for her gender bending approach to menswear, played it safe for Spring 2011 when considering her past few collections. It felt very modern with an array of slimming suits, cool cuts and futuristic hues. She also played with denim as well. The pocket v neck t-shirts look slightly medical though…

My favorite pieces from the collection are the 3 toned button ups and of course the clunky wingtip and oxford shoes! The soles on the shoes are stacked in different materials- a few different colored rubber soles then a rope sole and finally the actually shoe. It’s an innovative twist on the classic leather lace up.

Thought I’d post this too- it’s a Kanye West cover of “Love Lockdown” by some Janina Gavankar. Apparently she plays the role of Papi on the L Word? Her cover is really interesting and emotionally driven especially when compared to Kanye’s auto tuned voice. She totally makes the song her own.

I’m kidding about Helvetica, by the way. This post was brought upon the sheer ugliness of 98% of advertisements that are displayed in the metro and trains, newspapers and magazines- read on, you’ll understand what I mean. These rules are purely from my own experiences and what I have learned in school, having been taught from a more classical side of design.

This is a registration form I made in my 2nd semester. Even though we were able to use 2 typefaces, I opted for just Univers Condensed and it’s different weights. Different colors will come in handy if you want a lot of variety.

1. KEEP THE NUMBER OF TYPEFACES TO A BARE MINIMUM
We don’t need to see your whole font library on one sheet of paper! Keep in mind that there is sometimes no need for a 2nd typeface: a well made font will be available in a variety of weights which should bring variety to a project. If you must use a 2nd font, make sure they compliment each other. A serif and sans serif combo usually works when treated properly. Of course, use more fonts if needed… you just need an editing eye.

2. ITALICS WE’RE ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR TECHNICAL, MEDICAL TERMS ETC.
I hate italics- I guess it’s alright for some headings though c:

3. CONDENSING OR EXPANDING WORDS MANUALLY DESTROY THE LETTERFORMS’ INTRICACIES
Enough said.

4. DON’T BE AFRAID OF NEGATIVE SPACE
Less is most definitely more! It seems as if companies want to squeeze everything they can get from their pennies so they insist on filling up every square pixel of an advertisement- what’s even worse is that these so-called designers oblige. The viewer needs breathing space when looking at a design. Negative space can bring unity to a design and can even be an element that contributes to the overall look.

5. OPT FOR A LEFT OR RIGHT PARAGRAPH ALIGNMENT
This will create natural rags which refers to the uneven vertical margin formed by sentences being broken up by lines versus a straight vertical margin line formed by a justified alignment. Pay close attention to the rag that the paragraph makes- it should be random and not create distracting negative shapes (downward/upward slopes or curved or rounded lines). Once again, this is a more classical approach to text setting- the sky’s the limit when it comes to paragraphs so feel free to create shapes and have fun with it if that’s the approach you are going for! Also, centering should only be used for headings.

6. NEVER USE RESTAURANT TYPE
Restaurant type refers to a heading where the letters are stacked on top of each other. We’ve all been culprits, heh. If you must have vertical set type, rotate the whole word together so that it reads going up the page.

7. HELVETICA IS BORING
Yes it’s beautiful and can be made into pretty much anything you want it to be but it’s overused. Stand out and use another sans serif like Univers (most beautiful when condensed c;) which happened to be released the same year as Helvetica. There’s also the other greats such as Futura, Gill Sans, Frutiger, Avant Garde and so on.

Last Wednesday I went to a showing of the Adidas Fall 2010 collection with Robyn. I was impressed, to say the least. I always thought of Adidas as regular sportswear brand and never took into account their Originals line and designer collaborations with Jeremy Scott, Stella McCartney, Kazuki Kuraishi and David Beckham. For Jeremy Scott this Spring there were sequined jumpers, beaded military jackets with fringed shoulder pads, studded tanks and of course the signature wings. For Fall you can expect even more crazy in his line: lace bustier dresses, jewels, motorcycle jackets with a tuxedo jacket tail, cutouts and xray prints. There is a very big medieval influence (bejeweled crosses). Whatever you can think of, the line probably has it. It is runway worthy! I have my eyes on a black zip-up that has big rectangle cutouts around the torso- it will be a great layering piece. The lines from Kazuki Kuraishi, David Beckham and Stelle McCartney were a bit less out there but none the less innovative and carried great pieces. A stand out piece from Kazuki’s line was a nylon plaid button up that had faux suspenders hanging from the back. From Beckham’s there were cute and comfy hooded cardigans. Stella McCartney’s sportswear line for woman focused on the details and craftsmanship of the garments- there was mesh, panelling, glow in the dark and burnout techniques applied. Definitely not your average tennis outfits!

This week I went to the Pretty Ballerinas store for the Fall 2010 collection showing and got to visit Denis Gagnon’s studio for Robyn’s zipper dress fitting. I can’t say that ballerina flats are one of my interests but it was a great experience to check out the first North American Pretty Ballerinas store located near the corner of Victoria and Sherbrooke in Westmount. All the flats are handmade in Spain and have been spotted on the feet of Kate Moss among other models and fashion elite. The price range is out of most people’s budgets but it’s definitely a place to visit and just dream. A stand out pair for me was a flat decorated entirely with disco ball mirrors- they’re pretty much unwearable but super cool. After that we headed to Denis Gagnon’s studio to see the zipper dress. I was in shock to be able to see the Fall 2010 collection on hangars right in front of me. I wish I had brought my real camera. The work and details put into the zipper dress is truly outstanding- it is actually a two piece ensemble consisting of a skirt and halter vest. Denis Gagnon is a genius and hopefully his collaboration with Bedo will skyrocket him to international or at least national recognition.

We ended the week with a fabulous dinner at Weinstein & Gavinos with the other intern Elle- the sangria was never ending!

Marc Jacobs and graphic design firm M/M (Paris) have once again collaborated for the menswear Fall 2010 collection. This partnership has already spanned the last few collections. It will most likely continue on! M/M (Paris) consists of Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag. They met as students and later founded M/M in 1992. Over the years they have collaborated with fashion designers such as Nicolas Ghesquiere, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Riccardo Tisci, Stella McCartney and Yohji Yamamoto. M/M (Paris) were art directors and creative consultants for Vogue Paris up until 2003. It is their combination of the strict, intellectual Swiss school ways of design and emotional expression that is so captivating.

For Marc Jacobs Fall 2010, M/M have created hand drawn styled stars and camouflage.

For Spring 2010 there are hand drawn seams and lip stain prints.

For Spring 2009 there were mushroom and American breakfast prints.

Also, check out the Prada Alphabet M/M (Paris) designed this year! I love the hand drawn quality of their designs. In case you didn’t know, the Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2009 advertisements were designed by M/M as well.

I just wish I used more than a single roll, ugh.

I recently started an internship with Montreal fashion blogger Robyn Chalmers (check out her site Fashionista514). In the last week I’ve emailed criminal defense lawyers asking to speak with convicts about life in prison for a prison fashion article, set up an online store, photographed merchandise and tried to help Robyn find a dress for an event! I’m not being paid for this work, but the experience is enough. Dare I say that this work is fun?

This blog will be my outlet for just about anything you can think of- fashion, music, Montreal, typography, life! I’ll keep you all updated on my internship and any new endeavors I encounter.

Thanks for visiting!