YSL: Paris in Spring 2011

Fashion Week NY is right around the corner so I thought I'd trump the situation and report Men's Spring/Summer 2011 which showed way back in June 2010.  If you were't thinking about Fall all summer then you may as well bundle up and forget about it, because the Spring 2011 collections are casting as we speak.

Fashion is always desperate for something new & YSL always rises to the occasion to appease the anguished style enthusiasts around the globe.  This collection is a fraction more contained than usual in comparison to the languid silhouettes presented to us in the past few collections.
Jackets cinched & tied with the standard male elegance of a sash feeling of a cumberbun.  Smart and tailored if you're rocking washboard abs & a  30 inch waistline.  This look is definitely on the stunning side and reserved for the gauzy guys who put the skinny in and on the RTW convention.
As usual, Stefano Pilati (Head Designer YSL), is right on the mark with the latest in textile innovation with the unbalanced feeling of an abstract plaid.  It creates a casual mystery of texture and color that adds a quiet subtlety to bold idea.  
The color palette is chic and functional and will prove to have a long wearability factor with the stylings of today's modern man.

Full Frontal: The Crotch Shot

Givenchy

This Season be prepared to do a little more crotch watching than usual.  We've seen the now typical and overdone butt logos on the casual dungarees of many American Brands.  Now they are moved to the full frontal of menswear inducing the shock of actual wearability. 

Givenchy

A trendy military reference blended with a haunting and priest-like draping shapes the armor of a fashionable crusader.

Givenchy

Black on black is an emerging trend in prints and brings a futuristic texture to garments especially in large scale pattern designs.

Givenchy

Several icons of the moment (Lenny Kravitz, Tyson Beckford, Ashton Kutcher, and Zac Efron) have already incorporated the look into their new media image campaigns for the season.

Galiano

John Galiano is no stranger to delivering show-stopping looks, and delivers again (above & below) in this season's collection.  He explores a humorous side of male burlesque and gives men new options of style expression.

Galiano

The NEW COOL

If you are wondering what the Rock Stars' girlfriends are going to be wearing this SPRING 2010, then you better ask  the guy who dresses them.  Christophe Decarnin, (Designer/Balmain) for the past two seasons, has had the world's trend forecast embedded in his DNA. The House of Balmain has mutated and fused subtle textures and over-the-top drama. 
Keeping in stride with his flair for exaggeration ,again, the shoulders are addressed with details that define the focal points of his vision.  Above, the shoulders are strategically exposed by the extensions of corset string...minimal, and so effective.
The Balmain "RockStar/Alien Chic" look has quickly become the generic "go to" for the masses and it is so very obvious why.  Why else would all of the top models (who can fit the drag) be lined up to do his show every season.

The show itself was a runway masterpiece of gorgeous super-model show-stoppers who always deliver: Madgelena Frakowiak, Anja Rubik, Natasha Poly, Isabeli Fontana,  Daria Werbowy (Above) had 3 looks in one show!  When does that happen!?

Fashion @ The French

Venus Williams!  A phenomenal combination of exceptional talent and genetic perfection has propelled this athlete to unheralded heights .  She has been making fashion news while competing for championshps at the highest level in tennis in her own designs.  To speak on her 2009 French Open look (Below), she strolled on to the stage at Roland Garros in one of the season's most talked about trends, the Ikat print. 

A fabric made using an Indonesian decorative technique in which warp or weft threads, or both,  are tie-dyed before weaving.  That makes this kind of fabrication extremely special, and wonderfully mastered as a print.  It is a fantastic stretch forward in activewear campaigns becoming more like RTW apparel.  Venus' clothing line "11" is on the mark for keeping the sport-set in the loop of what is stylish and very "Right Now".

Life-A-Sketch

Is there a more personal life accessory than the lap top? In the mindset of personalization, it makes sense to embellish the tool that creates all of the fabulous designs that keep the world stimulating and fun. This is an extreme example (above) of what is possible in terms of tricking-out your Mac Book. If you are challenged for a direction, be mindful that there is an endless source of inspiration available(even to the artistically impaired) once you commit to your computer having its own daring look.

The i-generation has a very strong passion about making themselves identifiable in this age of mass merchandising and computer cloning. It is all about making your personal items compelling enough that your personality is incarnated within your possessions. As if an exotic car isn't alluring enough, try wrapping it with graphic etchings to give it a tattoo appeal.

Home Designers & Interior Decorators have had a recent rise in requests to add peculiar designs to the upholsteries of fine furnishings. This is a must for clients who want to cater to their more eccentric sides, without compromising the equity of their homes. Roberto Cavalli agrees that eye-grabbing design should be reflected in every form of our lives. He lends his unique brand of prints to Coca Cola Light bottles (below) for the fashion enthusiast who likes a beverage with style.

The Great Americana!

Only Michael Kors could take such campy & general motifs such as stripes, dots, & gingham to make such a fresh runway statement. It's like taking a walk on the waterfront in Cape Cod or having iced summer cocktails at the Kennedy compoundin Hiannisport. A large scale gingham(above) is a winner every Spring.

A bold rugby stripe (above) is a perfect compliment of casual elegance for the on the go look, and will boldly celebrate the winter thaw.

The ever present polka dot is perhaps the most vesatile print known to fashion because of its' ability to be everything for every designer looking to connect with the general consumer. Evening(above) is no exception, the large scale dot works nicely on a formal look in the warmer months.

Throughout the industry, it is often thought that the americana look is strictly for novelty lines and it only appeals to the mass-market aesthetic. MK submits looks (above & below) that are contrary to this belief and make for stunning sportwear combos that work for the entire season.

A Galliano Spring!!!!

While sitting in the audience at John Galliano waiting for the music to queue, one can't help but wonder just how shockingly creative the storyline will be once the lights go down. He has a history of putting on elaborate productions that are inspired by moments in history and infusing influences from this very minute and the future . This season was no exception as he toys with the idea of regal florals on the everyday woman. The mix includes countryside flowers as we would see them on an elegantly woven tapestry or fine linen and a digital array of colorful shapes arranged to look like a fine work of art rendered by Monet himself.