Monday, November 30, 2009

GREATEST HITS: PRADA (PART TWO 2000-2009)








for the woman who was so instrumental in giving the nineties its minimalist identity, it is no surprise that it would be that same woman who would once again re-direct the course of fashion for the new millennium.
since her seminal "lady like" collection for spring 2000, prada continued to develop on the ideas of traditional notations of femininity by delving into the past to source inspirations and then finding the prada way to apply it for the times.
whether it be a sex bomb or post-war england's "make do and mend" philosophy, in the early half of the noughties, prada took the practicality of minimalism and slowly introduce new layers to the idea by introducing more and more decorative elements to her designs. a move that one would assume to be the complete antithesis for the woman who was responsible for stripping fashion down to its bare minimum only a decade before, prada somehow managed to utilize such decoration to heighten the potency of her message. a message that always crystalized the general feeling in the air and one that was never frivolous or superficial for the sake of fashion.
towards the latter of half of the decade the prada pendulum was about to take a dramatic shift, and for the fall of 2006 she went back to the utilitarian roots of the house and injected it with her own take on urban savagery that completely abolished any remnants of the "lady like" look she herself pioneered.
this marked the beginning of a more aggressive prada woman. complex, determined, and unapologetic. dressed in parkas, knits, nylon bombers and raincoats, the very clothes that were the backbone of the house in its early years, reinterpreted as armour for the modern woman.
this new confidence was followed with more sexually charged collections where her subversive take on female sexuality and the things that people closely relate to it made her work some of the most provocative collections of the decade.
towards the end of the two thousands and the arrival of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression, prada answered the gloomy global climate by sending out a collection of forties inspired suiting rich with texture in a sombre colour palette that signaled that these aren't times for which to play. it is a time for strength and these are the clothes that you will wear to battle.
for over twenty years miuccia prada's singular perspective has defined eras. from minimalism, to geek cheek, to lady like conservatism and a new form of power dressing, her talent is a testament to an uncompromising, unyielding vision. a vision that sparks movements and changes ideas and challenges institutions.
as the first decade of the new millennium draws to a close it would be useless to assume the direction prada is to head off to next. but when she finally reveals that destination, one can be sure that by next season everyone else is there. and by then she probably would've already moved on leaving the rest of the pack trying desperately to catch up.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

GREATEST HITS: PRADA (PART ONE 1990-2000)








throughout the nineties, prada has been one of the most influential force in fashion. spearheading the minimalist movement that would eventually define the decade.
since launching the house's ready to wear line in 1989 which at that time the world at large was still unfamiliar with miuccia prada's design sensibility, many criticized the collection as being out of step with the general mood of that moment. it wouldn't be until a few years later when prada's innate sensitivity to the needs of the modern woman and an uncanny ability to "predict" the direction fashion is meant to go that made the world finally took notice and realized that she isn't a designer who is out of step with the times, but one who is constantly ahead of it.
as the woman who is responsible for the nylon bag craze of the eighties, one of the hallmarks of the house is in its fabric innovation. utilizing materials not usually associated with luxury goods such as velcro, rubber or plastic and using it in a way that is so obviously practical one wonders why no one has thought of it before. by combining design and an understanding of modern needs and pragmatic solutions, prada steered the fashion world out of the excess of the eighties and into a new sense of modern dressing where women did not have to sacrifice function for beauty.
the irony however with prada's take on beauty is that she also constantly challenged our perception of it. first with her introduction of minimalism after the world was so used to idea of over the top glamour and supermodels, only to radically change it again just as the rest of the world was getting used to it with her "geek chic" collection of spring/summer 1996 where the seventies reference and odd colour palette threw the world a curve ball that surprisingly caused a ripple effect that can still be felt even now, thirteen years later after its debut.
for her first collection in the 2000s, prada managed to take control of the helm yet again and after a few years when everyone in fashion continued to experiment with the idea of good and bad taste, prada unleashed to an unsuspecting world a collection that played on all the traditional notions of femininity with all it's lady like qualities and toyed with the idea of prada's perverse and subversive take on sexuality. it obviously profoundly affected the rest of the fashion world in the beginning of the new millennium, but that is for part two. i'm hella hungry and i needs to eat.


p.s. new layout. i like big pictures so i changed my template but i fucking hate my banner and i pretty much suck at photoshop. if any of you want to make me one i will love you forever.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

michael lau

when one thinks of avant garde fashion, he/she usually tends to associate that specific genre with london or paris, or antwerp. fashion capitals that historically have been the cradle that has nurtured the avant garde idea. paris has given us schiaparelli and gaultier. london, an exhausting list that includes alexander mcqueen and gareth pugh. and antwerp entered the global collective consciousness with the renegade sensibilities of the antwerp six.
while the documented emergence of the avant garde has been traditionally associated with europe and the art movement that found its epicenter in paris in the beginning of the twentieth century, over the next decades its profound influence stretched across the globe.
as the first decade of the twenty first century comes to a close and the arm of fashion has extended its influence, more and more international designers are embracing the avant garde idea.
in hong kong, a capitalist jewel capriciously set in communist china comes michael lau. a fashion designer and artist who presented his work during hong kong fashion week's spring/summer 2010 collections that, like all the great visionaries in fashion, blended concept, art, and clothes into a collection that challenges and provokes our notion of what fashion is and where the lines between fashion and art get blurred.


Friday, November 13, 2009

matthew

first off apologies for not updating recently. i've been hella busy working on a gajillion things and as a result i've come down with a right nasty case of the flu. last tuesday when i thought i was feeling a bit better i helped out a friend with her lookbook. it's a women's line and we shot it at one of those really sketchy motels along the lakshore. it was so sketchy we found a tiny garden snake inside the room, not to mention a cigarette butt behind the bed. we also had a boy model in it just to add a little something extra to the picture. i don't think i'm allowed to actually post any of the actual images just yet since its still in post production. however since the boy was graciously given to us by his agency we promised to devout some time specifically to him and take some shots so that he can use it to build his book since he's very new to the whole modeling thing. his name is matthew, and he's a pretty swell kid. he even picked up the little snake and held it in his hand.







i'll try to post more often but to be honest i'm not finding anything exciting enough for me to talk about. is it just me or is fashion getting pretty fucking dull lately? anyways, i'm about to down some neo-citrin and hopefully pass the fuck out and wake up finally feeling like a human being again. adios.