Vintage as a lifestyle

I'd never really thought about vintage fashion and activities as a lifestyle, until I read Lee Tobin's article in Upstart magazine. It made sense that a generation, like mine, who reap the benefits of technology and live the fastest lives (or so we've been told - "they grow up so quickly" is the oft repeated line), to choose to pursue an interest which defies our consumer focussed society.

‘I think modern society popularised technology that was fast and to the point, but has lost sight of doing things beautifully. The art of calligraphy and letter writing was lost upon the invention of email and texting.'

Then there's the rebelliousness, hidden at first, but perhaps the stereotype of younger generations isn't completely wrong.

‘There is something subversive about wearing a vintage dress,’ Lovasz writes. ‘One feels one is cheating the fashion industry, one-upping it even.’

Below is a selection of garments from Autumn ready to wear collections, in which I see some of the fascination with vintage continuing. The lady-like silhouette has been present for a while now. It's interesting to see how these things morph and change over time.

Louis Vuitton

Dries Von Norton

Dries Von Norton

Christian Dior

Tough shells

These Autumn women have a tough exterior. Leather, earthy tones. Striking colour highlights their shiny outer shells. Leather gloves and boots, like armour, supports their slight frames. I admire the way the leather looks fluid - ruffles, pleating and surface textures suggest to me that Autumn is all about what's on the outside. Protective. Safe. Guarded.

Click for larger view.

Ann Demeulemeester

Christian Dior

Issey Miyake

Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christine Dior

Burberry Prorsum

Burberry Prorsum

I particularly like the fabric of this last outfit. It looks naturally died, but I can't confirm that. I'd like to imagine the large design houses are using natural dying processes, like eco dyes, in their ranges, but I haven't heard anything to confirm this. Would love to find out though.

Christian Dior: Shoes

A salivating selection from the Christian Dior Fall 2010 Ready to Wear collection. Needless to say these have 'want' written all over them. In big glorious leather letters. Mmmm!

McQueen: Legacy 2

The selection below are taken from Alexander McQueen's Fall 2010, Ready to Wear collection. This season was among his most theatrical, glamorous and awe-inspiring.

The great loss of his passing was made all the more evident in the artistry of these garments. I will leave it to others to catalogue his achievements. For now, I'll continue to admire these garments. They say so much about where he could have gone, and importantly, where he had come from.

Westwood says take it easy.

After catching up on the Fall (Autumn) ready-to-wear shows, specifically Vivienne Westwood, I say with confidence and excitement: androgyny, bright leggings, contrasting everything and a laid back approach is what you might see coming (I hope so, at any rate). I'm very glad of this, firstly because we're all too busy to spend hours meticulously putting ourselves together each morning, though admittedly this is what happens. And secondly fashion shouldn't be stressful.

Westwood's gals look as though they've had their blankets, drapes and shawls thrown at them and then been asked to shrug into them before promptly heading down the runway. This isn't a bad thing. I adore the way the silhouette is almost unspeakably sloppy, not the manicured, body conscious skin tight stuff we're used to. There are tight stockings there, and beautifully bright almost garish they are too. But what we see is the figure obscured by layers (and not the layers we're used to either) these layers go beyond a couple of scarves and cardigans (that were our usual Autumn fare)to include large pieces of fabric seemingly thrust on the models, to more curated pieces in which we see contrasting lines, patterns and weights of fabric just hanging out together.

Inspired by the Grimm fairy tales Westwood has chosen shiny, metallics as well as rustic knits which reflect some kind of re-imagining me thinks. The androgynous makeup, certainly, but the blurring of expected male/female dress could have been taken further with a few guys in there for good measure. Where were the be-skirted men this time? I guess it's been done to death. I never get tired of seeing cross dressing become more mainstream especially in runway shows.

HERE'S A SELECTION OF MY FAVOURITES:

Bring on the beehives.

I'm unequivocally in love with Oscar de la Renta at the moment - and I thought I would share some of my highlights from the current Pre Fall collection recently on show in New York.

High waisted pants and ethnic inspired prints/embroidery - this outfit is simple and yet I can see it worn in a work context as well as to formal occasions.

If you're like me and you love a particular ite

m then you will find ways to slip it into your routine. With this outfit I can safely say I am salivating while I imagine wearing this to almost any occasion.

Below right is a striking lipstick coloured ensemble, I've included it as an example of a beautiful hue which I think will be very popular this season (Autumn in Europe/America and Summer in the East).

I hope this colour is picked up over here in Australia, I'm always thrilled to see new colours spicing things up unexpectedly.

The texture of this jacket reminds me if shibori and origami and all things ingenious and Eastern influenced. Kimono. Tokyo. Luscious. Fruits.

Hopefully there will be more to come of my reports from various collections. I intend this to be a trial appetizer to test the waters as it were. If this is interesting and relevant to sartorialists around the internets then I'll keep it up. If not, well I will probably keep reporting my reviews anyway.

Ramblings #2

Browsing some online eye candy via style.com I have been salivating over Givenchy's Fall 09 Couture show. Riccardo Tisci has brought Middle-Eastern influences to the collection and some serious gold it has to be said. What got me so interested was the rich colour, see above. In my opinion these pieces also look very wearable, and comfortable, given that it is couture. The quote below details the designer's inspirations.

This season, ideas about Morocco, Berber tribes people, and equestrianism informed both narratives—not that the collection read in any literal ethnographic way. It began with fiercely tailored, padded-shouldered coats molded into the waist and over the hips in black velvet or patinated strips of leather—the riding element—and then moved on into sarouel-influenced pants, hoods, veiled and draped silhouettes, and gold embroidery with a Middle Eastern influence.

I'm still sold on the comfort element. These garments look to me as though they could weather the fierce winds of the Sahara Desert. Well the top one at least. The collection also included soft veils and leather, as described above, adding a distinct adventurous element. And where would we be if these spectacular couture shows did not transport us to another land?

Ramblings #1

This image is taken from Elie Tahari's 2007 Autumn collection. Originally I had filed this under 'colour', but I kept coming back to it mainly because of the simplicity, and also because it reminded me of my own wardrobe. Tahari appears to have found each garment and put them together in much the same way I do when dressing. Maybe she began with the red gloves and then went to the black/denim/navi colours.

I do this too. You find something you really want to wear and then find the next thing that goes with it. This ensemble look appropriate for work. It's business-like, but its also very chic.

The simplicity of dress, with loose, straight sleeves, is deceiving. The idea that less is more is well and truly established. Audrey Hepburn was a pioneer in this regard. Here we see the slim black tights and ballet flats which she wore. These have become staples in many wardrobes and I love to see details from the past resurfacing. Though not a tights person myself, I would kill for those gloves. ;)