Face of Fashion

I polled the show-hoppers from Paris Fashion Week this season and there was no contest in declaring Sonia Rykiel as the hands down favorite for "Best Show." In a "grande hommage" to celebrate her 40th Anniversary, several major designers submitted looks using the history of the house as an inspiration. Jean-Charles de Castelbajac actually used Sonia's image and trademark hairstyle, the quintessential cornerstones of the brand, as a sculptural tribute to create one of the many showstopping looks that literally flooded the runway with exuberance. Though a bit dramatic in concept, the garment gathers the kind of iconic attention that has surrounded the house for the past 4 decades. The Prince Prints Report says congratulations & Happy 40th Anniversary to Sonia and Thank you for being an inspiration to us all.

Make It Pop.

Sometimes.... it looks a little adventurous or maybe even a tad bit retro when prints are incorporated into the today's male wardrobe. It is, however, becoming more prevelant for men to show just how masterfully they have harnessed the ability to stylishly accessorize a look to garner fashion points on the style meter. 3.1 Phillip Lim is perhaps the season's runway favorite daredevil to defy convention. The house constantly reinvents the laws of design by overlooking the principles of proportion and creating contemporary formulas that are up-to-the-minute decrees of trend for the new-fashioned man. On this already great suit, we see just how powerful the hint of a pattern tranforms an ordinary look into a quiet statement that calmly whispers, "I have style!" This brand of expression and stylish tailoring is already taking a global and definitive stand and will hopefully govern mens design for years to come.

Inside Out

Above, Alexander Mcqueen, as he does season after season, never disappoints when it comes to being devicefully manipulative of the female silhouette. He took Paris by storm this season by taking the very hip skeletal trend and created a look of machine-like precision that relates beautifully to the human form. The translation takes on an architectural mood that is stunning as it is clever and ingenius. Below, an equally amazing display of this upcoming trend, is the walking lifesize X-ray from Narcisco Rodriguez's collection that seems to expose the subtle power of femininity as it would be seen from the inside of today's most influential women of fashion. These almost radioactive looks were by far the most prolific diplays of positive and negative print engineering to hit the runways in quite some time. Now this is the science of textiles at its best!

Reflections

The Spring 2009 Collection at Vuitton was a departure from the usual stoic French sensiblity of the house and methodically addressed the mass' interest in this luxury brand. The normal approach to achieiving this type of textured luster is to engineer a lurex woven and hope that the garment is always worn in optimal light for the desired luminous effect. Here, Marc Jacobs (Creative Director) prints right on the lame to create the right amount of radiance and sparkle for the fashionista looking for pieces that easily transition from day to night. The fabric is a genius display of technology and looks as though it is made from priceless vintaged coins as they would be worn by mythological dieties, or better yet, a fashion goddess. This is proof positive that gloss will be the new bling beautiful in the season to come.

A Cut Above

Stella McCartney: The best patterns this season are turning out to be the subject matter of the look and not the garment itself. This cut-out trend is being rocked by all the fashionistas around the globe in several silhouettes and forms as a way of creating an "au natural" texture. The organic driven fabric selections of select fashion houses substantiating the "Green" movement are sure to be re-interpreted for years to come.

BOHEMIAN ELEGANCE: STUNNING! The bold attitude and alluring angles dance around the neck and explode into Fall 2008. This cocktail is the toast of the season by starting a warm cozy fire in the front row.

Humanity Through Fashion!*Please donate to funds assisting families across America being displaced by disasters in their communities.

WE ARE A NATION.......Rebuild America!-rahdney reports 07/15/08

The Great Cover-Up

Every Spring we are challenged to find the great cover-ups, even though we already have one. Rocking a printed top layer is a mood elevator of the highest order this season if you are looking dress up the drab. These particular zebra inspired prints are styled to change the direction of flow and add to the bold impression in an ever so chic way....VERY Dior!-rp

"Posen" for a Portrait

ZAC Posen has gone print crazy in his Resort '09 collection!!!! I know I pushed right past Spring & Fall on this one, but I had to bring it to everyone's attention because the collection is loaded with looks. I love the effort to provide his customers with a softer demension to his famous frilly silhouettes. Nice to see an American designer decide to follow the lead of his European couterparts because American women are wanting more contemporary choices.

How badly do you want to stand out in the crowd? It is important this season to make a personal statement by finding prints that truely express the essence of your personality. Anna Sui is no stranger to making the beautifully bold looks that command attention work by using a subdued color palette and black accents. Her typical rock-n-roll inspiration makes for mandatory additions to your closet to spice things up this Spring '08.-rp

Romance Is Not Dead, It's Fashionable.

I'm finding it very difficult to focus on Spring when the Fall preview is saturated with so many sultry and romantic references. The cascading floral embellishment is a dramatic yet necessary element in achieving this look of ages. No longer are the days of a "missy" cabbage rose isolated to flannel bathrobes draped over gandma's rocking chair. This going to be the cocktail stunner of the season because it is loaded with the things that make for a jaw-dropping entrance, not to mention Giambattista Valli's excellent use of texture & color.

A Gun for Every Woman to Tote

I speak to about 100 designers a week on average & it is the general consensus in the market place, that the idea of a gun is too violent of an image to be used as a conversational element. Here, on a NY consumer, it is garnered in a fun playful manner that is not offensive or threatining in any manner. In fact, it injects some humor into a topic that we take all too seriously in terms of imaging.

After an entire year of the world being skull crazed and being enthrawled by the macabre, what's the next jeopardous look? I think we found it!

Brush Strokes

How can something so simplistic be so coveted? The process of printing on fabric is an exact science & such compositions are almost impossible to render in textiles. A screen has to be created for every color & the pattern has to repeat in a manner that allows every garment to be identical. While we're still waiting for digital printing to ease in to mass production the wholesale value of such items is always going to be in the high stratosphere.

Chloe's paint splatters are an example of this house's sophisticated style techniques and how no expense is spared to garner the mood of the season. I think this will be the most duplicated look in the mass market by far.

Art+Photography+Design=FASHION

New, fresh, and lovely....When you consider the collaborative genius that went in to this particular line, there is no wonder why this was the most talked about show of the season. Marc Jacobs, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince were the forces that shaped this collection's attitude and appeal. I love how the usage of sequins emulates an ikat right off the Athena's loom and creates a bohemian effect that is all-around chic & stylish.

Channeling Versace

A look ahead to Versace Fall 2008 is an inspirational push provided by dutch artist Tim Roeloffs. A photoreal monatage of Versace-esque textiles and references printed on a colorful backdrop evokes a strong mental image that is functional & flirty. The bonus is that this pattern is impeccably engineered to provide an intersting visual that is modern & sophisticated. This print is an homage to the great style and expert tailoring of Gianni Versace and can be re-worked to achieve several silhouettes for seasons to come.

"transculturalism"

The global surge to become "green" and raise environmental awarness is not only the hottest political topic, but also the mission statement of the world's foremost design houses.

Identifying with patterns and textures from the most remote regions of the planet will be deployed in Spring 2009. Abstract variations of familiar textiles and icons seen around the world will create distinct looks on the racks.

The color story for the season is one that honors the rainbow of cultures with hues of personality and will bring the natural simplicity of this season's fabric direction.

The New Order

1. Peter Piletto introduces a print that is loaded with texture interpret the abstract & ikat trend that has dominated the runways this season.
2. Talbot Runhof utilizes a flirty floral to make an ultra feminine statement. I love how the floral motif creates a scenic of blooms that is not so typical and gives the garment's character some life.

I am a full blooded, pure-bred Fashionisto and have to respect the legendary houses that have laid the foundation for the future of fashion prints, but, there is something very intriguing about the collections that are rising in the ranks. This season was saturated with print masterpieces across the board that addressed form, color, mood and history. However, I was most impressed with the new-comers who utilized patterns to show that their collections have the depth necessary to attract the eye of today's discerning consumer. BRAVO!

I Wish I Was Home

"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto." These days when you venture into the home textile editorials you have to wonder who the target viewer is. The "Do-It-Yourselfers" seem to hav e taken over the reigns from the high brow interior specialists to make a stand in the market place. The reality TV craze has infiltrated virtually every audience base now and is strongly influencing consumers to seek bolder patterns & more vibrant colors. And, we must agree that, nowhere is the personality more vividly expressed than in the home.

I think it is fantastic that we are being given many more options in the marketplace to execute uncoventional ideas in creating personalized living spaces. The modern home maker wants looks that are outside the scope of traditional home palettes and seek options in furnishings that immulate the motifs and moods found on the fashion runways.

Him, Her, She, He........

Sometimes it is rather obvious that a print is either male of female simply based on the elemets used to render the overall layout. For example, butterflies & flowers tend to tell a feminine story while sports themes & stripes have a masculine appeal. However, the abstract side of things seems to be a prevalent look for the past couple of seasons and is steadily gaining momentum. Several brands have indoctrinated the policy of runnnig prints that have only one distinction of gender, the colorway.
This brand of merchandising is seen mostly in the European market where basic prints are brought to life by a sophisticated color palette that adds a twist to the typical metropolitan silhouette. Patterns are surfacing in the most precarious ways lately as designers are focused on giving the customer more options to express style and personality.