#10: 70's Cartier

This month an interesting Cartier exhibition is open to the public which unveils the extensive collection from the past.  "Cartier & Aldo Cipullo: New York City in the '70s" can be seen at the Cartier Mansion until May 8th.  It focuses on the house's designer, Aldo Cipullo's work done from 1969-1974.  There are 40 historic pieces, some famously known from Elizabeth Taylor and the Dutchess of Windsor.  The cool thing about this exhibit is that they brought in a giant touch screen where visitors can scroll through pictures of Manhattan it girls, like Diane Von Furstenberg in tons of Cartier jewels.  You can also look through news archives highlighting big sales, such as the  $1 million diamond Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.  As a tribute, the jeweler reintroduces Mr. Cipullo's unisex nail bracelet, Juste un Clou, originally designed in 1971.  Most definitely something to check out!

The Juste un Clou bracelet in rose gold



Elizabeth Taylor at the 1970 Oscars, wearing the 'Taylor-Burton' diamond' set by Cartier

#9: Milan's Fair Turned Techno

Every year Milan hosts a furniture show displaying the newest, most enticing furniture and housewares.  This year the fair is taking a technologically savvy turn.  The fair, which started yesterday, will focus on new manufacturing technologies, 3-D printing in particular.  The 3-D manufacturing allows for super fast speeds and excellent percision, all while being able to be personalized to every customer's liking.  It also saves money and is eco-friendly by leaving less surplus material and unsold stock than conventional production processes.  The fair will stage exhibitions of young designers’ experiments with new forms of manufacturing in Milan for the week.  Some of what is expected to be seen: the Japanese design group Nendo will show a new series of 3-D printed objects at the design gallery Nilufar, and British designer Tom Dixon plans to make chairs and lamps on a live digital production line and then to give them away for free as part of a cluster of events he is organizing at the Museum of Science and Technology.

Digital systems, like 3-D printing, have been talked about as the future of manufacturing. The Economist recently predicted that "3-D printing would prove to be as transformative as the invention of the steam engine and the transistor."  Even more fashion brands, including Marni and Roberto Cavalli, plan to introduce furniture lines.  I think the future of fashion will rely heavily on technology and new innovations like these.  Image being able to watch a production line live to see how your piece of furniture is being made at that very moment?  I know we will be seeing a lot more of this, as we have already begun to witness the great impact technology has had on the fashion industry.  Keep an eye out!

Spoon made by French designer Inga Sempre

Wooden chair created by German designer Konstantin Grcic

3-D printer

#8: E&J Spring 2012 Lookbook

Elizabeth and James features a great Spring collection. It is full of fun, flirty florals and bright pinks, whites, and yellows.  A perfect line for the Spring season with tons of sheer fabrics, and great palazzo and silk pants.  I really love the tailored suit.   The collection showcases its fluidity and clean lines with pieces that are most definitely wearable and can be mixed in with your existing wardrobe!  They also do a great job by having a virtual lookbook right on their website, that way you can scroll through each garment and zoom into every detail.

        

      

      
 
     

     

   

Shop for Elizabeth and James at:

shopbop.com

net-a-porter.com

#7: BG Trunk Shows

A trunk show is a special sale in which vendors present merchandise directly to store associates or select customers at a retail location or another unique venue. This allows the customer or associate to get a look at the showcased designer's latest collection.  Bergdorf Goodman is known for hosting a variety of trunk shows.  They offer invitations to preview trunk shows with the opportunity to reserve pieces from next season's collections.  Recently Jason Wu previewed his Spring 2012 line at a BG trunk show and made a special appearance. 

But what is probably most talked about for a Bergdorf Goodman trunk show is when it went virtual. You probably wouldn't think of a high-end department store like Bergdorf Goodman holding a virtual trunk show for designer fashions, but the show was moderated via Skype by Akris designer, Albert Kriemler. He Skype’d in via a 42-inch television and Logitech web camera at his desk in the Swiss Alps.  Kriemler talked about his passion for the line and even showed a piece of paper with a design that inspired him to design a dress that was on the runway at that moment. Cool way to blend technology and fashion!



Akris Trunk Show @ BG



Jason Wu Trunk Show @ BG



#6: McQueen's Runway Fantasy

When I think of an extraordinary fashion show, Alexander McQueen almost always pops into my head first.  Sarah Burton has really done a great job taking over his brillant shows.  She is able to transform ordinary garments into works of art.  They are not only just fashion shows displaying garments; they are pure entertainment.  McQueen's shows transcend you into a fantasy world.  I find myself astonished at how one can even think of the structure and materials, let alone constructing these fabulous pieces. 

McQueen's Fall 2013 show in Paris was just a sight to see.  This show sets a mood and the pieces play off perfectly with the atmosphere.  It leaves you remembering every single garment and how amazing they were.  Sarah Burton describes this show as one of "a beautiful future, positivity, optimism."  The show was injected with magic, light and transending.  She portrayed the future with lightness, instead of the usual dark futurism.  The dresses were tiered and flowy, filled with layers of fabric, like organza.  There was fur and feathers of all kind; goat fur, ostrich feather, or Mongolian lamb.  As we moved on further into the fantasy world, the color scheme changed.  From the purest of whites to the grand finale of red and black, symbolizing innocence into experience.  Even the audience members could not get over the excellent technique, despite the absence of the every day wear.  Most definitely a show to take a look it!

Here are just a few of my favorite looks.

#5: Gala Gossip

I currently intern at Giorgio Armani in the visual merchandising department.  Last Thursday we hosted a gala for the Museum of the City of New York at The Plaza Hotel.  It was a giant event- filled with 500 people, most socialites.  The night started off with a cocktail hour and ending with a 4 course meal in the extravagant ballroom.  My job was to assist the visual and image events teams to transform this space into something Armani. The inital tasks consisted of sourcing props to go into the space to make it visually appealing according to Mr. Armani's standards.  On the day of the event, I was there to help set up, do routine checks during the event, and then breakdown.
 

When setting up, straightening every napkin, fork, knife, gift bag, place card, and so on, I noticed Liam Neeson's name being seated at the Armani table.  I was totally excited to see him-even though it was only a brief glance from down at the other end of the table ;)  But apparently as the night went on, Liam Neeson accidently knocked over one of the candelabras we had custom made for the event.  This in turn caused hot wax to spill onto a woman's Giorgio Armani dress and her companion's suit.  Guess someone there spilled the beans about the event and what happened to The Post, who of course overdramatized it.  Think this is funny? Check out The Post article.

A look inside the Grand Ballroom.

Liam Neeson

#4: Blogger Lingo

Cathy Horyn is a great fashion journalist for the NY Times.  Her dictation is so descriptive and clear you can picture exactly what the garment looks like without even having to see a picture. Examining one of her blog posts from Paris Fashion Week more closely, I was able to get a real sense of what Dries Van Noten's Fall 2012 collection looked like. Above is the link to Cathy's blog and below is her blog post with my interpretation of the language used.

February 29, 2012, 12:27 pm

Dries Van Noten Refigures an Asian Story

By CATHY HORYN

Jacques Brinon/Associated PressDries Van Noten, Fall 2012.

Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York TimesDries Van Noten, fall 2012.

Under the chandeliers of a gilded reception room at Hôtel de Ville, Dries Van Noten presented a calm, thoughtful, inviting collection that married his masculine tailoring with historical Asian prints. The richly colored prints — from Japan, China and Korea — appeared not only as silk skirts, blouses and languorous dresses, but also as angular panels on jackets and coats. Backstage, Mr. Van Noten explained that all the prints came from costumes in the collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The garments were photographed, and their shapes directly influenced how they appeared on his clothes. “It was quite spontaneous,” he said of the idea. It was a simple, imaginative use of the past. And not to be overlooked in this solid collection were Mr. Van Noten’s relaxed trouser suits, high-collared white cotton shirts; and outerwear with a nice, rugged, vaguely English attitude.

1. SILHOUETTE & DESIGN

- Masculine tailoring

- Angular panels on jackets and coats

- Shapes of prints on costumes in London museum directly influenced how they appeared on his clothes

-Relaxed trouser suits

2. DETAILS

-High-collared shirts

-Asian prints

3. COLOR

-Richly colored prints from Japan, China, and Korea

-White cotton shirts

4. FABRIC

-Silk skirts, blouses, and dresses

-Historical Asian prints

-Cotton shirts

5. CREATIVE JARGON

-“Languorous dresses”

-“Outerwear with a nice, rugged, vaguely English attitude”