V&R Couture 2.0

I couldn't be happier when I heard that Viktor & Rolf make their couture comeback! It's been 13 years since they last created a couture collection.
They've been a huge inspiration for me ever since I became interested in fashion and have been following them from the beginning.
I have to say that I think they lost their magic the last few years. Viktor Horsting gives an explanation: 'At one point there was a feeling as if we were trying to communicate two messages in the same show and for us it didn't really work anymore. The last shows were more realistic, more pret-a-porter. But fashion is much more than that, our twenty-year anniversary is a great opportunity to make couture again. We want to see a different side of fashion. Fashion as a laboratory.'
Sounds promising to me :-)

First Couture Collection, SS1998

Atomic Bomb, AW1998

One Woman Show, AW2003

Flowerbomb, SS2005

Bedtime Story, AW2005

Silver, AW2006

The Fashion Show, AW2007

Harlequin, SS2008

NO, AW2008

Credit Edge Couture, SS2010

Viktor & Rolf will present their collection on July 3

Isabel Marant pour H&M

The last designer collection wasn't even in stores or people were already speculating about H&M's next collaboration. Begin this month was confirmed that the new designer is none other than Isabel Marant! This collaboration makes me happy as she always creates a style that is wearable, timeless, progressive, efforrtless and classic at the same time. Isabel Marant also has the ability to create something that women want.
'I aim to create something real, that women want to wear in their everyday lives, with a certain carelessness, which I think is very Parisian. I really tried to do the essence of my style, it's an ideal wardrobe that you can do a lot with.'
(by the way: she's also designing a collection for men, which she has never done before. I'm very curious about that!)

I made a list of Marant's signature pieces that I expect to be in the collection:

SS2012 /SS2010/SS2011
The boho jacket. Tie-dye, embellished or in a denim variation: we've seen it all. 

SS2009/SS2011/SS2012
Isabel Marant is equal to sportswear. 

FW2012/FW2010/SS2011
We were first introduced to the cropped pants at Marant's fall collection of 2010. Many varations followed.

FW2010/SS2013/SS2012
Also typical Marant are printed dresses: for the ultimate bohemian look.

FW2011/FW2012/FW2013
You can never go wrong with a black oversized coat. Easy to combine.

FW2009/FW2012/SS2011
Sexy, flirty or sporty: Marant's take on mini-skirts.

SS2013/SS2011/FW2010
The printed jeans, also spotted in many diffrent variations. Perfect to update your wardrobe.

SS2012/FW2012/SS2013
The peagant blouse is a summer essential.

FW2012/FW2011/SS2012
A white lace dress is a classic piece.

FW2011/SS2012/FW2010
The gilet: oversized, embellished or in a leather version. 

FW2012/FW2013/FW2009
Most of the time a leopard-print is vulgar. Isabel Marant shows us the opposite.

FW2011/SS2011/SS2012
The sweater has proven to be very versatile.

FW2009/FW2010/SS2010
What's more chic than fur? Perfect to create the very Parisian 'je ne sais quoi'-look.

Every shoe Isabel Marant creates immediately becomes the must-have of the season. The sneaker-wedges for example. Available in two variations, the Bekett and Bobby. Seen on Miranda Kerr, Beyonce, Kate Bosworth and many many more.

It's not just the sneakers that sell out when they are in stores, the boots too. The most popular are the Dicker, Blackson, Jenny and Caleen.

'Fashion is all about personality.' - Isabel Marant

Rumor Has It

There are very exciting things going on in the fashion industry. Most of the statements are rumors and are (yet) to be confirmed. 

Marc Jacobs leaving Louis Vuitton?

The near end of his contract provide a lot of fuss. Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton have been a winning team for years. He introduced Vuitton to ready-to-wear collections, collaborated with artists like Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami. Jacobs' also gave one fabulous catwalk show after the other. Is he really leaving after 16 memorable years? 

Nicolas Ghesquière's to take over at LV?

The most likely successor to Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton according to insiders is Nicolas Ghesquière. The designer left late last year at Balenciaga after disagreements with the management. It was expected that Ghesquière would set up a label under his own name, BUT 'a realiable reached out to say that Ghesquière and LVMH are in serious negotiations and the designer is defenietly in talks to succeed Jacobs' as reported by Fashionista. 

Emma Hill quits Mulberry

Mulberry has announced that it's creative director Emma Hill will leave the company. The spring/summer 2014 collection has been finished and Emma's currently working on the LFW show which will be held on September 15. The timing of her departure is under discussion and has yet to be finalised. Hill's six years brought Mulberry in the spotlight with it-bags, campaigns by Tim Walker and a star-studded frow every season. A new successor has not been announced. 

Who could replace Reed Krakoff at Coach?

Wanted: new chief designer for Coach. Now it's known that Reed Krakoff will resign in June 14 to focus on his own label, they're eagerly looking for a successor. With the result that a lot of designers are mentioned as the possible new chief designer. Both Nicolas Ghesquière and Chloé's  creative director Clare Waight Keller as Derek Lam, Philip Lim and Emma Hill are called. Latest addition to the list of potentials is *drums rolls* Marc Jacobs!  

Luella Bartley comeback

Luella Bartley has made her long-awaited return to fashion. Finally! It's been four years since we last saw her designs for her eponymous label, which launched in 1999 but folded in 2009 after facing financial difficulties.  Bartley has been named design director of the Marc by Marc Jacobs women's collections, while accessories designer (and partner-in-crime for 10 years) Katie Hillier takes on the role of creative director. The duo will unveil their first designs for the brand for autumn/winter 2014. 

Jason Wu for Hugo Boss

Jason Wu will also make a career move. He joined Hugo Boss as artistic director of Boss Woman. The young designer will now oversee the overall image and design for ready-to-wear and accessories. His designs for Boss will debut for pre-fall 2014. Next february The First Lady-favorite, who launched his eponymous line in 2007, will show his creations on the runway at New York Fashion Week.

(more impressive news coming up on the blog soon)

Fashion To Die For?

My point of view on the whole Bangladesh situation:

It's time to go to the dark side of fashion: the world of low wages and poor working conditions. Things that we as Western consumers have no view on. 

It's true that if we don't buy any clothes at H&M, Primark, Zara and such that the working conditions are not getting better. But if we want changes in the industry we need a different mindset.

First of all, paying a higher price is necessary. For consumers it's no guarantee. You can still buy a more expensive shirt, by let's say Isabel Marant, that's still being made under bad circumstances. But for producers this choice would be a lot easier because the labor costs are only a fraction (5%) of the price of a garment in stores; as the advertising costs and profits are the largest cost components of clothing.

Secondly there need to be more control and supervision at factories, as this is probably not the first time that, in a low-wage country, a factory has collapsed. Control should be on the fact that there a too many jobs of  'safe' factories are channeled to the smaller, more unsafe factories. The producers have to pay more labor costs per garment and the consumers will then not pay more or less for a garment in stores (as I said earlier).

I also claim for unions for employers and employees to reach agreement on wages, working hours and working conditions. This may sound as an utopia, but I think that this isn't entirely impossible with full cooperation of both parties AND assistance from Western countries.

Further more there need to be more transparency from the clothing brands on their production. A good example of this is Belgian designer Bruno Pieters. Last year, he began Honest by, what claims to be the first fashion company that gives full understanding into the structure of the prices of the garments. Under the head 'price calculation' each garment on the site is decomposed to the smallest detail. 

This gives me hope for revolution in the industry. Though I doubt if it will ever be completely transparant. 

'It's never been the masters who change anything.' - Bruno Pieters