m.i.a.

yes i have been m.i.a. lately. sorry! im in the middle of a upgrade in the laptop dept. but sssstill ..i know, a slap on the wrist. please with me till november.

so fashion week around the world has happened in the past month of sept. stand outs?? i think the people were the stand outs this time around. seeing the outfits and the snaps that caught them. style crushes to be had.

model moment with anja rubik.

rocking the leather shorts and chic sheer top look.

emanuelle strutting the streets in zanotti heels

eclectic and left of centre seemed to be the general trend. neon was on the out and quirkiness as well as embellishment were in. nice to see attention to detail coming back in.

in terms of runway, balmain was one to see. olivier's first collection as head designer of the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll label. there has been a evolution of the hottest label. im interested to see how well the season goes. it was a mix of celines straight, clean lines and balenciagas black lazer cut out leather shapes. the denim was a down fall but the overall collection a fresh breath of air.

in terms of models, arizona muse is still the model of the moment. i had my eye on karlie kloss who popped up in more than a hand full of shows.

the vide was still clean and simple but adventurous in colour and style. nice to see movement in design.

my new trinket

i have a thousand and one new finds so far from my stint in nyc. this one is my favourite so far, courtesy of saturdays nyc.the brass peaks out from under the waxed black cotton.

nyfw starts tomorrow!..pics to come

i rhode the wave

the new collection for lingerie label askanar bae.

shot in rhode island by seasick mama. the halter bra is the lust of the week. ill be keeping my eye on this gorgeous label.

for the full collection follow the link to askanar baes blog below

http://blog.askanarbae.com/

The new arrivals

It's already time for pre-fall again. pre-fall is dropping as we speak and we are seeing the darker, richer tones of precious stones. the slim line pant is in. prints are in and minimalist styles are here to stay for yet another season.

celine pf11

celine pf11

we've seen a full swing to the 60s in celines strong pre-fall line which is a strong shout out to pf not being just a "filler" to them. deep burgundies and denim blues are contrasted with black slim line blazers and trademark cigarette cropped pant.

proenza schouler pf11

proenza has also used deeper tones to only contrast them with brights. they have a heavy use on their detailed prints and 3/4 hem that will make them

stand out from the rest.

a thumbs up to the killer boots

*BAMbi

Meet bambi northwood-blyth the next knock out. 20 years old and from melbourne. she is the brooke shields of right now with a heavy set brow. Last month she held the main spread in harpers australia in cotton tighty whities and tanks. stunning shots.

surprisingly petit and not particularly tall, bambi still knows how to work the lens. winning the girlfriend mag comp at 14 broke her into the industry that has seen her do int'l fashion shows around the world.

she is my new muse of the moment. i will be keeping a close eye on bambi and her brows.

yes, please.

I am after a collection of chic, left of centre heels.

add these to the list.

proenza schouler s/s11

it belongs by my side

it makes me think of walking the streets of nolita.. coffee and vogue in hand.

celine s/s11

all in

spring/ summer 2011 is all in store and even heading towards sale shortly. lets talk favourites. minimalist is making a come back with celine and calvin. tailored leather hasnt died yet and neither has neon apparently. this was brought to my attention by australian fashion week which was buzzing in sydney earlier this month.

to be blunt i wasnt particularly impressed by the designers creations or the attendees to their shows. its been a few years but when did fashion week become filled with bloggers and students? sadly, the sparkle is lost. it had some (even though some would debate me over it) and now its..uneventful. very flat, copies of old season trends that have finally made it to our shores from europe and the u.s.

dion held his own well with chic plastic tear fabrics and aqua and white tailored pieces. goot stayed with the tulip and stepped up to the plate however they were really the only ones up to standard. lover did givenchy. red lace and cream base. trungs designs resembled sheets hung out to dry.

so with those comments lets keep it to a list of favourites for international spring/summer..leather, minimalist, block colours and blocked shapes.

celine and calvin hit it on the head. they started the wave and others are following. the line is 60s and simple. keeping things feminine and chic. i think australian designers could take a leaf or two out of their book.

the king has lost his crown

this week the world has been turned on its head with head balmain designer, christopher decarrin, leaving the throne of the balmain empire. there were rumours of a break down during PFW as he was a no show and we all looked to emanuelle leaving as the last straw. she was his right hand man and who wouldnt need one with the pressure to keep the hottest label in the world on top? you can only imagine the painfully shy designers self created nightmare of leading the most noticed label in the world.

so its gone from 'will aickerman replace chan

el' being the buzz to 'who will replace decarin'?lucky for aickerman- he has been given a breather in the fashion gossip circle.

it looks like an internal candidate olivier rousteing will be named soon enough. his name is the one and only name being thrown around. previously at cavalli for six years and balmain since 2009, rousteing is a prime candidate.

i just wonder though has the balmain bubble burst? the ultrasexy and ultraexpensive label couldnt stay the leading fashion house for too much longer with the amount of attention and popularity it received. so is balmain yesterdays news? are they going to become the neon of the nineties or the mc hammer pant of the eighties? are we going to get over the leader and elect another? celine? klein? minimalism has been in full swing for the past few fashion wks around the globe and balmain is anything but minimal.

itll be interesting to see the SS12 fashion wks in paris and nyc and their direction with its leader gone. keeping both ears out for movement in the balmain household will ultimately determine this.

fingers crossed not all is lost.

les semaines de la mode autour du monde

there seems to be one or two labels that are hitting the nail on the head from each fashion capital; proenza and kors in new york, nicoll and burberry in london and the talented haider ackermann in paris but NYC, LDN, and Paris are putting on display their heavy weights and coming up slightly dry. even some of the more theatrical designers such as lim seemed to be bullied into taking the minimal and very unlike them calvin klein approach. So i look to the

directional ones that lead the pack; in particular haider ackermann.

he has recently turned up everywhere. after karl declared ackermann would be only one able to fill his shoes at chanel the fashion worlds ears pricked up and now i know why.

ackermann stated that his clothes are not easy to wear and it is not uncommon for him to be called in when stylists cant figure out how to dress their clients in one of his garments.

his garments are often kimono inspired pant suits made of silk and layered. where did ackerman come from and what's his story? born in columbia and adopted by a french couple, this designer has moved opposite continents and brought the influences along the way.

ackerman is fast becoming a head of the fashion pack and in the same cluster of mine margiela lives in.

p.s. check the shoes below

the new breed rocking it out

ive recently taken an interest in the blogger breed whos presence in recent years is exceeding the celebrity. from the satorialist to garance dore the new celebrities are coming from around the world with great talent and in full force. my newest favourite is elin kling from sweden.

shes recently snagged her own capsule line with h&m (exculsive to swedish stores). theres no other way to describe her style than just completely chic. pulling off denim on demin, always wearing her fav margelia booties, injecting animal prints into her outfits and the skinny jean as a stable.

the french satorialist, garance dore, interests me not for her photography but for herself. to be honest i dont find her photos very striking but any photo of her working looks like art. with camera in hand, natural and european dress code garance pulls off a stunning photo everytime.

the opposite can be said for the satorialist. his work is more than often striking. there is a definite reason he is 'the' satorialist. he captures a moment and they are always so elegant in their own way. this new breed of celebrity is the quiet achiever type and are the ones to watch.

to be courted by couture

couture was array this week in paris, the europeans showed the world how its done. the embellishments, the fabrics and cuts were the focus. Karl replicated the original coco chanel mirrored steps with sparkling fabrics to match. the baroque inspired collection shone down the runway like a treasure find by indiana jones.

armani took the oriental approach in such a parisian way that it gave the designs an air of delicate french couture. oriental lace, bone white with a splash of colour that gave a delicate origami look to the floor length gowns.

however the colours that givenchy sent down the run way sent a wave of colour that could only excite. feminine cuts, circular silhouettes, gorgeous footwear gave emphasis to the graded colours.

Paris is the hub. 40% celebs, 50% press (and 10%...other?) know it. I have to say that it was nice to seethat the old traditional couture is still alive even if it is for the rich and semi- famous.

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a lesson worth noten down

i have new favourites. meet lanvin and dries van noten. one's from paris, the other antwerp. dark and elegant but unrelated. the names are thrown around but i noticed not many people know more than that.

dries is elegant and classic european in its style. rich forest greens, eastern european greys, that intriguing mustard yellow and hints of gold make the slightly conservative styles food for your eyes. the models aren't blank canvas's or made to look like albino giraffes. the longer hemlines and large use of tailoring is screaming to the client to bring back the skilled designers not the t-shirt printing christopher kane's.

Lanvin is in the same realm. it's a darker sister of this genre of design. there's still skill, tailoring and draping but its more experimental haute couture. its just such wearable art. it's for grown ups only in its style as the design is not risky or overtly sexy and unappealing to the reality tv stars trapsing hollywood boulevard. its the quiet achiever of the fashion world. the lanvin campaigns confirm this. they always look like a side from a hollywood film, action in the photo sets the mood. Head designer, Alber Elbaz, deserves an encore applause for the direction he's taken with the french fashion house. here's to the new wave of the polished look. out with the 'effortlessly chic', oversized t-shirts and in with..fashion!

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when even a little is too much

This month saw vancouver's finest in fashion strut their stuff. they once again showed the world why they arent a fashion capital. boring, highly conservative cuts were met with a slew of prints that made the models look like they were attacked by a box of origami paper.the designers took the trend of printed fabrics to an extreme when they shouldve only used a hint for a maximum effect.

the hem line of choice was mid thigh, darker shades of green were the favourite and interestingly leather was the repeated material of choice.

surprisingly, amongst the not particularly attractive cuts and colours were a few shining gems. Laura Siegel that recently graduated from parsons shone very brightly as

she showed her talent for draping by manipulating the volumious shapes to give line and shape. She chose a deep earth colour palate for the beautifully unusual garments. there was a definite african influence in her line. natural fibres were used in shades of cream and brown. layering the fine knits created the bulk and were complimented with accessories such as fingerless knit gloves and head scarves.

Carolyn Massey from the UK took a new direction for the british mens style. key notes were layering, tailoring and soft nautical colours such as sea blues and beige. the preppy was met with modern street style of denim, short pant suits and classic sunglasses to polish.

after sorting through the mountain of designers showing at vancouver a hand full were inspirational and a breath of fresh air. the long list included many foreign designers confusingly as i was under the impression that being canada's official fashion week they might proudly show canadian talent??..however my two favourites above werent canadian so perhaps it is a good idea to keep vancouvers fashion week open to one and all especially if we have another origami explosion again next year.

painting my toes

sitting on my steps today i thought about the email i received from a good friend about her success at showing for latvian fashion week. the neutral tones, sheer blouses paired with tailored military pieces. i was surprised at how great it looked. hmm, who knew latvia had a fashion week and on such a big scale? but then again who knew any city outside of the list of paris, milan, new york and london had a fashion week thanks to the press? all i mean to do is point out what goes on with some while we go about our usual business of say painting our toes.

we all move at such different rates. we all leave school. some marry, some dont, some have kids by accident, some reach for the stars and some sit watching the world. i think i fit in the last category. there's something so enriching from observation.

Sarmite's show was a success with interest from leading latvian boutiques and magazines. there were structured dresses with capped sleeves, epaulets used across the body and in multiples to give a feminine look or twist on the traditional. hem lines were high and tailoring the new structure. garments were tailored for the feminie with a tough side. paired with flat boots and high uniform socks the show was strong, clean and showed potential.

the common trends with the designers were clean lines, modern, neutral palettes. just when you thought you felt a yawn coming on a few designers pulled out the bold. the play with shapes was amazing at times and uh..interesting? at others. the colour palette needed a little work for all designer's lines. the designs were great but would've popped a lot better with the impact colour has. neutrals were the favourite for everyone although it would've been great to see more colour somewhere.. oh well, maybe next week?

où appartiens-je ?

..it has been brought to my attention that "this too will pass". sometimes we frame our thoughts and forget that nothing is the be all and end all. i look back and see the difficulties i've experienced and know i could've shaved off a few years of wandering but then again it's not in my nature to regret my actions. i never doubt my decisions and think that the word regret is a silly word.

i often wonder when it was that i lost my confidence. was it at age four when my skin was bandaged to cover the weeping? was it when i was seven and bernice told me courtney was close to being better? or maybe it was much later..when i went back to school and wasn't the brightest kid anymore. sad thoughts used to consume me. the laughing stopped for a long time.

i've always felt that i don't belong here. there's a separation like oil and water that rubs me up the wrong way. but then i wonder where do i belong? where is place that makes me smile and amuses my intellect?

for the time being i think the smaller things in life will have to suffice for my happiness. appreciating the blue sky, being kissed, summer afternoons, having him smile, my curiosity and dreaming of what is to come.

to notice the cobbled streets

On the streets of the campus there are so many students in their own world. You see it in their friends, fashion and smile, or lack there of. There is a slight air of stress and unhappiness like in the"real world" where real people havereal jobs that make them "really happy" (smerk).

So what is it about being on holiday that we stop

and breathe? We cock our heads and look

at the cobbled streets,noticethe coloured shutters. All of a sudden the weather becomes relevant, the people we are walking by catch our attention.

So, why does that feeling slip through our fingers so easily when we return to the norm?

Have you ever noticed no matter how suppressed our happiness and self are you can't help but express yourself often unconsciously? You see it in people being drawn into strange hobbies like dragon boat racing, wearing colours that shouldn't be put together with a print that allows us to imagine the wearer just turned into a large leopard or withdrawing altogether into a book for escape.

How people react to real life is immensely interesting. How people fight the urge to do what they really want is just perplexing.

I wonder.. what would make us stop and throw in the towel? Why do we separate ourselves from our dreams? J'ai deteste being told i can't do something or reach for a far away dream.

It's my dream.

It's my light

It's what makes my life "real".

We should dream more.

Some of my favourite moments happen when I'm pondering.

Whether it's about the new Wang shoes, what I wa

nt from today or how the stranger beside me on the tra

in feels. I think I get something out of inner reflection and love doing it in my spare time. Hmm, did i just realise my strange

hobby that belongs in the same category as dragon boat racing?

when in rome..

Arrivederci a tempo, and ciao ciao to Italia. Sun, wine and fashion fills the streets from north to the most south of Italy. It's not so much fashion but lifestyle that influences their style.

First was Roma. The street lined with the coveted was Via del Corso. Stone buildings as old as time have been transformed into Zara, KiKi and the high end of Ferragamo. All on trend according to Vogue this month. The city attracts the rest of world annually and shows off what the world started as and how far it has come by its youth.

Looking past Rome we were trained to Firenze in the North. Peaceful, clean, with a scent of money in the streets. The streets at night glowed with warm street lights and the young. The mix of europeans are still present here which brings a culture with it. Nike sneakers are big here as they are in Napoli with the punks and the youth. Paired with jeans and a Diesel tee and you're in. Not my kind of...pizza? but a definite style in Florence.

As we moved south the Australian and American accents lessened and the pace people moved at was like time was a fad that had passed. The style was older and more conserved in a blazing bella Italiana. The beauty of Positano and Amalfi could be compared to the mouth gape David gives you from his well detailed...so Sicily on Saint Maria's public holiday is a local culture feast. Thousands of people. Loud western disco (the smaller the car, the louder the music apparently) and old people taking their time makes you stop like ur breathing it all in on the island of Capri.

Making our way down the country gave an insight into the culture change and trends kept and dropped. Blown away and yet more at home with it. Go figure. ciao for now x