Bright star

stills from here

I think it's excessively clear to you all that i am a real romantic. Like poetry-reading, Jane Austen following, couture-loving romantic. Beautiful things, wild feelings, heart-beating life... I love emotions, i love really feeling things, if that makes sense. There's a great quote that i used to write all over notebooks and school notes by that great romantic (oh, how he did love) lord byron, 'the great art of life is sensation, to feel that we exist'. I truly believe that, sometimes you can muddle through life lurking somewhere in the middle, but its at the spectrum's ends that you really feel your existence, whether it tugs at your heartstrings or leaps you into the air.

I haven't done a poetry post in quite a while, and i sort feel like doing one now. I saw Bright Star the other day, a special preview screening with a great friend of mine, and i have to tell you, it was truly marvelous. I know i am completely biased towards the film for the following reasons 1. Ben Whishaw is my future husband (one of many, i know, but he is rather gorgeous). 2. i actually know Abbie Cornish, so i'm always predisposed to like her films. 3. I am obsessed, like really obsessed with those romantic poets, of whom Keats was the exemplar and 4. anything that even slightly involves accents, period films, beautiful costumes and the hint of a tears will capture my heart forever. For the same reason that Becoming Jane is one of my favourite films even though it wasn't really considered any good by critics. I sobbed my heart out in that film. And i will continue to do so as long as I have eyes to cry.

Anyway, Bright Star is the story of John Keats and Fanny Brawne, star-crossed lovers if ever i saw a pair. Opposites from the beginning (she thought his poetry and literature impotent and he thought her high-fashion efforts and studies were humorous) they learn to love each other (as all star-crossed lovers do). I don't want to give too much away to those who want to see the movie, and i really recommend that you do, especially if you are even one iota of the romantic that i am. The story is incredible, Keats and Fanny are skilfully realised by these two competent actor and actresses as well as amazing cinematography and Jane Campion's ability to translate the kind of raw, vivid, pulsating frenzy that Keats purported in his poems. Keats was one of the greatest poets of not only his time, but all of history. Reviewers likened him to the first Rock star, that the way he spoke about emotions, experiences, love, life - legitimised discourse within society on those topics and catapulted him to bright stardom (see what i did there? heh) in the same way that rock stars and their heartfelt lyrics find themselves surrounded by hopeful groupies.





Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art---
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
No---yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever---or else swoon in death.

John Keats






Their love is one of quiet passion, if ever that could be possible. The constraints of their society and of personal situations keep them apart, and the most climactic, overpowering scene in the film (I was sobbing at this point hysterically) is one where the two lovers lie on a bed together, looking, touching chastely, but not actually doing anything. Not because they don't want to, but because they can't. This film is PG, and yet i found it more passionate and overwhelming than any of the movies featuring explicit sex scenes and overt sexualisation. There is something to be said for that kind of passion that you find in love letters, in hands brushing briefly as you walk down flights of stairs, of averted gazes and the tucking of curls away from faces with a tender caress, where the clothes are high-necked and long sleeved and the glimpse of flesh at the wrists or the sternum could be overpowering (ridiculed constantly, i know, but tightly laced societies have to have their release somehow)...

Keats is the kind of poet that i always pictured Marianne Dashwood reading. He is not hot-blooded in the way that Byron was, not rafish or playboy in any sense of the word. But he is full, quite brimming actually, with feeling. This sonnet of his is supposedly written for Fanny, reminiscing on times past, on love lost. I love how the poem flows so well, how you want to read it all in one breath, how you don't want it to end, how when you read it aloud it all just sort of moves seamlessly ever onward. So many poems have this stilted, truncated feel to the sentences, but never Keats.

And how marvelous is the repetition of that 'still' in the last couplet? It's almost as if the second 'still' is meant to be whispered, a quiet exclamation of joy, disbelief, ecstasy, overwhelming happiness. The kind of feelings that seeing your lover lying on the pillow sleeping next to you can elicit in you.

The ending is what i love best about this poem. Throughout the sonnet you get all this star imagery as Keats explores the idea of the Bright Star, ever steadfast. Watching over the world, constant forever. The ending seems to show a romantic sensibility but also realism in regards to love and death - Keats wants love to power his life forever, but he sees that even if he does die he will do so filled with passion and sensuality - 'swoon in death' is a lovely turn of phrase, don't you think? - which he sees as an acceptable fate. Should he die, perhaps he will become the bright star, constant and steadfast, watching the world with eyes eternally open.

And i think that's enough romance for today... who am i kidding, i'm off to watch atonement. love, all!

X

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i want you, i need you, oh baby, oh baby.

I don't feel bad saying this because I'm sure I'm not alone - when a package comes from my (hot) mailman I get so excited I could power a small country town. It's something about the little child in me that still gets excited on christmas day, that still loves the thrill of opening presents and seeing what's inside. And even though i usually know what's coming, unless some lovely person has sent me a present, it's still incredibly exhilarating to rip open that plastic packaging and reveal what lovely prize is within, be it topshop clothing, amazon.com books, vintage jewelry scammed off ebay or a present from a friend halfway around the world.

As you can tell my christopher kane for topshop package arrived yesterday, and after having worked my a** off all day, arriving home in an exhausted stupor i went into my room and found it on my bed. I screamed out loud and started jumping up and down maniacly. Mum was laughing as i ripped open the paper to pull out my studded sweatshirt in all its glory. I love the way that they feel all new and untouched. I even love that slightly plastic-y warehouse smell that topshop clothes have when they first arrive. But then, i did work in a warehouse packaging things for 5 months, so i do get a little attached to the smell that way. I've paired it with my beloved checked skirt and stripy crop top (from topshop, incidentally) and know this will go from day to night as i meet friends for drinks later this evening, although i'm going to add some heels. I'm mulling over a shoe purchase even though i'm supposed to be saving money. lace up wedge heels? i think yes... but my head says no, save save save. hmph.

Why is it that things sent by the mail carry so much excitement with them? I'm not convinced that it's just the fact that it's something you bought on the internet and you want to get it. I think it's that old-school romance of snail mail. Of post offices, of sheets of stamps, of hot mailmen in their tight shorts delivering packages from a white minivan *sigh*. Of having something delivered to your door. It seems like such luxury, even though, you know, you paid for every cent of it. But oh, doesn't it seem just marvelous to have everything you buy brought right to you, as if you were some fabulous duchess having bellboys carry your hat boxes behind you as you walk? I definitely like that part of it, even if you DID pay for shipping yourself. It doesn't seem that way, not when the hot mailman comes with the package and says something cute like, 'it's a heavy one today.' (and it was, those studs and mirrors aren't light!).

Feeling like a queen even when i'm looking like a blingin' gangsta.

X

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a coat for all seasons

For the first time in a long time something in a magazine caught my eye and instantly set me searching for a pair of scissors to create a d.i.y project (with the absence of a sewing machine my d.i.y projects usually include hacking bits off things, with varying results). It was this month's Vogue U.S with the radiant michelle williams (of dawson's creek not destiny's child fame) on the cover. At the very back of the magazine they were featuring 'multi-tasking pieces', that is the item that can work in different ways in different wardrobes in different seasons. One of these items was the sleeveless coat.

Sleeveless coat you say? but what, pray tell, is the point of such an item of clothing? Surely it is the most superfluous thing to hit wardrobes since the oversize clutch bag (if you wanted a big clutch wouldn't you just use a normal bag?) But then, superfluous doesn't always mean wrong. Especially in my wardrobe. I was inspired, so inspired in fact that i went and found a coat that i never wore and hacked the sleeves off. The effect was glorious. Suddenly the coat, a drab old swing-cut thing, became at once both grungily chic and filled with gallic charm. I felt like one of those girls who just throw some fabulous piece on over a simple outfit and surprise everyone. I threw it on over my long checked skirt and an assymetrical black silk shirt with the ends flying loose. Then I swaggered off to a friend's picnic in the park all rugged up, comfortable, and hopefully effortless.

I think that the sleeveless coat is the coat for all seasons. You can warm it up in winter with added layers underneath and long elbow length gloves. You can wear it open in autumn so that you're warm, but not too warm. In summer you can belt it as a dress, or just wear it flowing over a sleeveless tank and cut offs (yes, i am talking about cut offs here, i think i may have been converted...). Trust me with the right kind of coat it can be warm (it was a weirdly chilly day in sydney yesterday) but it can also be quite cool in summer because of the no-sleeves thing. And I am so much in love that i think i'm going to wear forever. I've dallied with the sleeveless coat before, I remember when I was 14 my friend had a 'dress up as your idol' party, and I went as peaches geldof (cringe, but at 14 she did seem like this beacon of free-spirited, opinionated girl power). I wore a long sleeveless tuxedo coat that my mum wore in the 80s over a tulle skirt and mounds of plastic beads. It wasn't really Peaches at all, but i kind of miss that outfit now. I wonder what happened to that sleeveless jacket? I hope i didn't give it to charity. That would be a real shame.



Summer

Stella Mccartney boots, Michael Kors coat, linea pelle belt, erickson beamon earrings, marc by marc jacobs clutch.

When you wander into the party wearing a cashmere coat and thigh high boots people think you're crazy. A coat? In a club? In summer? What they don't realise at first is that it's sleeveless, and when belted it creeps up your legs keeping you deliciously cool. And those thigh high boots? Well they're not real leather, they're stella mccartney after all. And they're perforated. And even though people don't believe you you actually feel much cooler than all the girls in bodycon dresses and big hair. And there is something to be said for being a little bit different. Last summer when everyone was kitted out in little cocktail dresses and stiletto heels you wore long maxi dresses that swirl around your feet as you walk. This year, though, the party season is all about mis-matched elements and making it all work. Coats and boots in summer? Who would have thought.


Autumn

mawi necklace, acne boots, michael kors coat, a.p.c tee shirt, tsumori chisato skirt, ann demeulemeester waistcoat.

The transition from Summer to Autumn is delicious to behold. The trees start turning ever so slowly into safrony yellows, rich golden oranges and warm burgundies, and then the leaves fall down like gorgeous summer rain. Things are getting cooler, but never uncomfortably so. It's warm enough that you can still spend all day outside, kicking up the leaves with your laced up boots and watching them fly. Still warm enough that you can sit outside at cafes and enjoy the crisp bite of the wind on your face. Still warm enough that you can climb to the top of the eiffel tower and spend hours up there, just looking down at the beautiful winding Parisian streets (i suppose fabulous future me is in Paris now, as you do). You can do all that with a sleeveless coat, a stripey tee shirt, a quilted skirt and, if a little more warmth is needed, a beaded wool crepe waistcoat. Parfait!


Winter

american eagle socks, burberry shoes, miu miu coat, tom ford glasses, acne jumper, dolce and gabbana skirt, h&m circle scarf, lanvin gloves, see by chloe bag.

A sleevelss coat in winter? Who would have thought? Who would have thought you could be so warm in a coat that didn't have any sleeves? But with the right kind of accessories, namely, a big warm scarf, a cosy jumper, elbow length gloves that keep those hands of yours snug, clunky ankle boots with chunky socks. You can clomp around town in this outfit without feeling the least bit chilly, going from interview to interview, meetings, appointments and the odd shopping trip (you NEEDED that topshop dress, you really did!). The best thing about the sleeveless coat is that when you go into a restaurant, or building, (or department store, naturally), that's all heated and warm you can just peel those accessories off and you're not the slightest bit overheated. You really feel for those people who are sweltering in their big coats and thick woollen tights. And you're cool as a cucumber.


Spring

miu miu coat, alexander mcqueen dress, loeffler randal shoes, chanel bag.

Oh spring has sprung! With all the flowers blooming, scents filling the air, cool breezes and hapless spring afternoons you feel so young again! And nothing quite captures how you feel like a patterned shift dress and strappy sandals. At once powerful and practical, both chic and clever. With the sleeveless coat open over your dress, blowing out around you with the spring winds, you can stride around purposefully. Even if you haven't got anything more purposeful to do other than have lazy lunched with friends and spend hours in the grower's market searching out the perfect strawberry. You hear they go wonderfully with champagne. You're not complaining!

X

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love, loss and what i wore - star spangled banner

corinneday.com

I don't know if any of you have the book by Ilene Beckerman entitled 'love, loss and what i wore', but it is a veritable treasure. It's a memoir of sorts, peppered here and there with line drawings by the author of outfits that she wore at significant times during her life - her first day of school, meeting her husband, the loss of a child... It's canny and wry, but also subtle and leaves a lasting impression. When I read it it made me realise just how much us women are impacted upon by clothes, whether we mean it or not. I can remember exact outfits, down to the last bejewelled ballet slipper, on days that were somehow significant to me, whether they be lovely or lamentable. It's something about grounding us in reality i think, the clothes we wear. Or perhaps something else entirely...

The day I met my first 'real' boyfriend was also the first time I ever performed on a stage. We were 16, indie-chic and part of a school rock band. I, inextricably, was the singer. It was our school open day and all the rock bands had to play, including woeful us. We didn't even have a name. But oh! we had style.

We decided that our theme for our set would be rock glamour. For me that meant an American Flag dress, ripped in places (naturally), with a great sparkly, spangly star print and rich colours for the stripes. It was short (for me anyway) and had this twisty, drapey kind of effect on the straps and across the bust as if I had just taken a flag and wrapped it around myself. I also teased and sprayed my hair and wore a pair of crazy thigh high boots. I was well ahead of my time, you see. My best friend A was the drummer in our band, and she was wearing slashed leggings with a glittery shift dress, and her hair sprayed up in a mohawk. The girls playing guitar were in a suitably rock combination of leopard print, rips, safety pins, black, motorcycle boots, skinny jeans and leather jackets. We were so crazy I cant believe they even let us near all the $5000 equipment. But they did. And we rocked out. Hard. If memory serves me correctly (and this memory does, it's pretty hard to forget the day you first perform live on stage and met your high school boyfriend) I leapt off the bass drum. While the keyboardist stage dived. And the bass guitarist attempted to smash her guitar (stopped, with great hilarity by our 'manager', the band supervisor).

We were horrible, I'm sure. All of our friends turned up to rock out and say how amazing we were, but all I can remember was amplification, heart-beating wildly with nerves and the whole thing being over in seconds. And then we climbed off the stage, eyeliner smudged and lipstick smeared, huge smiles plastered across our faces.

And that's when I met him, he introduced himself and said how great we'd been. I laughed. He was lying. But he looked great doing it! He told me he played bass... We had the same taste in music. He was so tall, well above 6 feet, and even in thigh high boots I couldn't quite look at him eye to eye. I remember thinking how odd it must be to always be looking down at people like he was to me. He said he liked my dress. I laughed again. He must have been lying. It was a sparkly american flag dress, worn with just a pinch of irony. He said he really did like the dress, said it was cute.

And that's when I gave him that mega-wattage, starry-eyed smile that you save for special occasions (and people). Oh I remember that smile well...

I remember we went to a party once, nearing the end of our long relationship and I wore that dress, for lack of anything else suitable for party wear. Without the thigh high boots and teased hair, and with a blazer and sensible ballet flats. I thought the whole look was quite eclectic-chic, almost carrie bradshaw-esque. He was shocked when I ran out of my house and into his car, as if i was wearing a gorilla suit or underwear as outerwear. He laughed at me, not kindly, said i looked stupid. That's a crushing thing to hear, from anyone, let alone the guy who supposedly loves you.

And that's when I realised. There wasn't any fun left in our relationship. No humour. The smiles i gave him never quite reached my eyes. We would sit together, sometimes, and not talk, just sort of be together. That used to be enough, but not anymore. Where had our witty banter, our laughter, the teasing, the petty arguments gone?

I still have that dress. I haven't worn it, not in a long time. But it's still there, at the back of my mother's wardrobe (when we broke up i wanted it wayyy out of my sight, forgotten and gathering dust). But thinking about the book 'love, loss and what i wore' makes me think about that dress. I can't remember what I wore when he broke up with me, it was by phone so probably pyjamas (that's another story entirely, though), but i can remember this dress, and the times i wore it with him, in vivid detail. It started off so fun, but it became something else entirely towards the end.

But it was a great dress. It really was.

X





p.s i'm thinking of making this post semi-regular, i have such stories, some mine, some others, that i'd love to share with you. let me know if you'd like to hear them. I think that the link, especially among women, between clothes and emotions is so strong and so fascinating. :)

You have read this article clothes / fashion / love / me / music / style with the title September 2009. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2009/09/love-loss-and-what-i-wore-star-spangled.html. Thanks!

you look lovely today... just today?

this week has been very tiring, but filled with varying degrees of loveliness. the best thing about this week has been my purchase of the christopher kane for topshop studde/eyelet sweatshirt, i seriously can't stop talking/thinking about it, and can't wait or it to arrive. I'm so excited! ahhh!!! Also lovely has been the last moments of freedom house sitting for my uncle, making my last 'single gal living on her own' bowl of pasta (for the moment anyway) and packing up all my stuff. I've also been hatching a few plans for the future and sitting on them, all will be revealed in the future, as it were (hehe). Anyway, onto the celebrities. Apparently it's been london fashion week or something, not that i've been paying attention or following slavishly or anything.....


Leighton Meester


celebutopia

The Emmy Awards are always belittled in America, for the australian readers i suppose they're like the logies, a little superfluous. But you can always count on the young stars of television to pull out all the stops and make an impact. Blake Lively's in your face 'sexiness' is not really my thing, but this Bottega Veneta gown is that kind of old school glamour that really works on the creamy alabaster skin and classic features of leighton meester. White is such a tricky colour for pale people, and she pulls it off with marvelous aplomb, and i love the shoulder detail. I love how she doesn't dress like Blair off-set either. Blake and Serena are practically interchangeable with their sexy frocks and hip accesories. Leighton, however, is all fashion, all the time, unlike Blair, the preppy queen bee.


Alexa chung

topshop.com

Laying aside the fact that wearing shorty denim cut offs with a coat is a little incongruous and begs a few questions about the weather. But, that not withstanding, i love how alexa mixtures textures and silhouettes in this outfit. Sheer shirt, thick woolly coat, fraying denim shorts and that shiny patent leather on the bag (incidentally the mulberry 'alexa' bag) and boots, love that she matched the two. It's a little hipster, but it also has those quirky british country/prep that we know and love with alexa's style. Like how that coat is printed with a charming floral applique pattern, and the little socks that she has folded over the tops of her boots.


Yasmin Sewell

garance dore

Oh Yasmin. How do i love thee? let me count the ways. Is it your beautiful scrunchy trench coat, rolled up way past your elbows, way past your upper arm, right up to tee shirt level. Is it your graphic printed shirt that provides a welcome amount of fashion detail? Is it your perfectly tailored trousers with the pleated front that is so flattering. Yes, they're all nice, and they're all why Yasmin is the favourite of street style photographers and fashion week watchers, and why Liberty of London is doing so well at the moment - it's been bathed in her midas touch, she's got impeccable taste and she knows what people want to buy. Better than all this, though, is her beautiful hair. Those corkscrew curls are vivacious and effervescent, just like her. And she's Australian too, and we all like a little patriotism!


Caroline Sieber

fashionista.com

It's been a long time since I wrote about Caroline Sieber, but since she's styled Emma Watson she's kind of dropped off the radar. One way to get back on that radar (and then some) is with gloriously mis-matching fashion trends. The spotty shirt, (im)perfectly turned up and undone, the tiered mini peplum skirt, flirty and fun, the snakeskin and grosgrain bag gripped oh so casually like all bags should be gripped nowadays, and the lace up nude sandals that elongate legs and slim ankles (not that she needs it). It's one of those outfits embodying that laid-back casual elegance that you never see anymore with fashion editors.


Emma Watson

celebutopia

Wow. You think you know a girl... There's only been two times that i've been truly blown away by what Emma Watson has worn, the first was in a skin tight, nude, drapey dress with a studded belt at the Vanity Fair Portraits party last year. The second is now. Both times those dresses have been Burberry. She's a very pretty girl, and she always dresses a bit old for her body, but with dresses like these she can remind the world that she's just a 19 year old girl who loves a party dress like anyone else. It's sparkly, it's tight, it's very short (a little too short, but eh, what can you do?), and it's paired with super high, danger danger heels. She looks resplendent, and not just because the dress is so golden it's almost it's own light source. And she's only just started uni! how does she do it?


TGIF!

X

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front row fiesta... again.

daily mail

As soon as I saw these pictures I was firstly a little excited, thinking of the possibility that the chungster might land a vogue us cover (a girl can dream right? and at least they would brush her hair and blow dry it for an editorial shoot). Then my second thought was, oh dear. Look at Anna Wintour's body language? Legs angled away from alexa and pixie who are just clowning around, disapproving gaze, tired air... Seriously, who sat them next to Anna Wintour?? And do they still have a job?

It's a sign of the times that not only can Pixie Geldof score a front row seat but that she can score one barely 2 from Wintour. I mean, I understand why both her and Alexa are in the front row, celebs go in the front row, but to put them in the royalty section reserved for Anna and other major editors is incredible. I don't demean their position there, celebrities are a part of fashion as much as editors are nowadays, they are the touchstone for the average person and the pay check for the designers.

But are they really supposed to be next to Anna Wintour? Really?

X

p.s on other notes, alexa does look great here, love the brocade skirt with a scribble pic tee shirt and blazer. back to that old school alexa i fell in love with!

And, in other notes completely, Lady Gaga visited the vogue offices recently, spraying her hair all red for her meeting with Grace Coddington... Lady Gaga, coming to a vogue cover near you? As crazy as it sounds I wouldn't mind seeing it, Anna would do something really interesting with her, maybe all that Dior Couture (pantsless chic!). And it would sell like hotcakes, even if people were just interested in it, and not loving it. Hmm... food for thought indeed!

You have read this article alexa chung / celebrity / fashion / fashion week / london / london fashion week / pixie geldof / vogue with the title September 2009. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2009/09/front-row-fiesta-again.html. Thanks!

front row fiesta

emma watson arrives at the burbery fashion show

I know, I know... I'm going a little bit london fashion week crazy. But it's just a veritable gold mine of pictures, and i want to share them all with you! One of the most exciting things about London Fashion week has been the return of Burberry to London after 8 year in celebration of London Fashion Week's 25th year anniversary. Burberry, despite its old school reputation, has proved that Christopher Bailey not only has a talent for design but also a real understanding of the online media. He invited several bloggers to attend the show, such as stevie from dischoteque confusion, but also streamed the show live online for everyone to watch in real time. Which mean sometime during the early hours of the morning for me, but as soon as I got it up was the first thing I watched.

And let me tell you, Christopher Bailey is a bloody genius.
























Beautiful sculptural pieces in those dried out, pastelly colours that Bailey does so well (dusty lilacs, steely greys, almost poetic blues). Everything cinched in by roll-tied belts. Mega-draping, reminiscent of the SS08 collection, twisting and turning of jersey fabrics, tucking, darting up the knees of dresses. The draping was the best thing about the collection actually, Bailey had taken lightweight jersey and cotton and twisted it beyond belief, skirts were overlayed with tucked and manipulated draped fabric pannels. Coat dresses that update the classic trench coat into the modern girl's wardrobe. Sleeveless coat dresses with draping and ruffling along the bottom, surely next season's stand out 'must have' piece. Glittery, sparkly, resplendent pieces that shone with an effervescence.

There were a few bold shoulders but they were whimsical rather than predatory. There was little 1980s to be found in this collection. What was to be found was this organic beauty - all that tucked in drapery was like the natural fall of fabric or rushing waves upon the sand. The ruffles on the sleeves of shirt were like shells or the petals of flowers. The jewelled pieces seemed almost naturally so, like how some landscapes seem just to sparkle with life. And the colours, that very Burberry mix of rich camels (which is now back in fashion again!), pastels and dusty shades was kind of like the view over a beach at dusk where everything takes on a new colour as the sun sets and day, with all its carefree effervescence slithers into sensuous night. There's something very natural about his design, none of the ruffles, the twists, the elaborate pouffs and whiffs seem fake or contrived. It's as if the fabric formed that way all on its own, without any outside influence at all.

The thing I love about Bailey at Burberry is as a designer he has such a clear vision of the girl who wears his clothes, and even though his collections are different every season they never fail to supply beautiful clothes for this girl. She's any girl who likes to mix polished elegance with cutesy details like sandals and socks and pastel colours. She's any girl who likes to top off her party frock with a classic belted trench coat. She's any girl who's to be found mucking about at a country estate in hunter wellies and a drapey mini dress. She's exactly what i try to capture in my clothing every day, that perfect mixture of 'right now' trendiness with who-gives-a-fuck styling and those classic pieces you find women's magazines saying every girl must have in her wardrobe. All whilst conveying the auro of not trying, of course.

Yeah, so he's done it before. But, you know, if it ain't broke... I think that Bailey is like Phoebe Philo at Chloe circa 2004/5, he captures the wants and desires of girls (women?) like no other designer. They even have a very similar aesthetic, back then all the girls were running around in babydoll dresses, chunky platform heels and a swinging coat. Today the girls are in matronly shift dresses hacked off mid thigh with the clunkiest ankle boots i've ever seen and a trench coat. It's that same kind of muddled up romance and classiness.

Muddled up, but just way i like it!

X

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ah, maKANE, you've done it again

hehe, so that title was a little aussie reference, there is this frozen food brand here called Maccain, and their little taglain is (in broad aussie accent, of course) 'ah maccain, you've done it again', which i have now re-appropriated for none other than man of the hour himself - Christopher Kane. See what i did? wasn't it clever? ahhh you guys, you're the best audience, really.

There is a lot of vitriol on the internet regarding Kane's latest collection. People seem to question how it fits into the Kane aesthetic, how it flows on from his last collection, and whether it is actually any good... i'd like to weigh in, if i may (that's what this blog is for, isn't it?)

1. it's perfect for now.

Remember, Kane is always ahead of the pack. He did 80s neon revival and tight form-fitting bodycon back in 2006. He did the lace well before miuccia prada and his animal prints are sure to be fixtures on runways to come. He's not one for looking back, he's one for constantly moving forward, each collection an evolution beyond the other.

And now, as designers consider stepping back from all the black, the leather, the studs, the goth (marc jacobs said at his New York show that he was sick of seeing studded things) - even Alexander Wang has moved away from ripped grunge and into sportswear - Kane is one of the first to capture this aesthetic completely. His sexy milk maid collection, with pastel colours, gingham checks and naughty details - the dresses were shot through with cut outs or slits, revealing glimpses of the model's skin - is that so very 'now' idea of relaxed romanticism, playful exuberance and everyday implied, never declared. The hair was all messy and askew, the garments were undone (the underwear as outerwear featured heavily here) but the idea that the girls were fresh from a romp in a haystack or had been kissing a boy behind a garden shed was not so clear as it was tantalisingly hidden.

No sex please, he is british.

2. an evolution doesn't always meen a revolution

Even though gingham checks and pastels might seem light years away from Gorilla prints and circular scalloping Christopher Kane is actually a designer who builds upon his collections each season. While some designers might focus on colour or print, for Kane it is the form of the clothes, the shape, the cut, the design that he is so intent upon developing. This season he took the ideas from fall/winter, of the tight bodice pushing out into full skirted volume at the waist, and the square necklines, and he developed them even further with cut away windows, floral applique, sheer panelling and embellishment. Like i've said before, Kane is a designer's designer, he's creative, but he's also technical. The floral embellishments on the dresses were superb, and his colour matching was so perfect for spring and summer. These dresses aren't for everyone, but then, Gorilla prints, neon leopard print and swirly organza skirts aren't for everyone either, are they?

3. did you really expect it to be like christopher kane for topshop?

the man has already sent forth a collection this season, the highly anticipated, highly lauded, highly lucrative christopher kane for topshop launched last week. people seem to be astounded that those little gem cup neon dresses, studded jackets and jeans and animalistic designs and prints aren't on his spring/summer runway. I don't know why people thought he would put out a collection, a mere 4 days after topshop was launched, that was similar to it? This is the same designer who moves effortlessly from tight bodycon to flowing silk, from gorilla's open mouths to organza and pailletes. He is aware of his position within fashion - Anna Wintour and Donatella Versace sat front row at his collection, the overlord and the mentor - and it must be a huge mantle to labour under. His continuing ability to evolve and change is a sign of his strength as a designer.

This collection might be a little frou frou and sweet, but it's never sickly or saccharine thanks to Kane's dark vision for his clothes. This isn't your average milk maid, after all. She's almost the kind of willing prey for the vampires that at current haunt our every entertainment genre. She's the sofia coppola heroine, running through fields of dandelions and daffodils with messy blonde hair and a knowing smile. She's that girl everyone wants to be, who turns up to the boutique opening in a dress with a frothy tulle skirt, high neckline and slits up to her thigh. She's a milk maid with attitude, style and a wicked sense of humour.


My one complaint would be that it was a little heavy on the dresses. A few more pants, jackets, shirts and skirts would have made this collection a little more full-bodied. But who can blame him? it's his dresses that regularly sell out and feature on the starlets of the moment as they parade down red carpets and dance the night away at after parties.

And, after all, Versace was the King of the dramatic dress, wasn't he? And with Donatella styling Christopher and Tammy as holding the same relationship she had with Gianni, he might do well to evolve his dress-making technique.

style.it

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You have read this article christopher kane / fashion / fashion shows / fashion week / london / london fashion week with the title September 2009. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2009/09/ah-makane-you-done-it-again.html. Thanks!