Hot on StyleList

Hot on StyleList

Harajuku-holler-back-girl

I'm a HUGE fan of the Harajuku Lovers frangrance range. Not so much the actual fragrance but the adorable packaging. Gwen Stefani debuted her new Harajuku Lovers summer scents at this year's New York Fashion week. I love love the five bikini clad “Sunshine Cuties” with their cute little belly buttons and adorable pedicures. Here they are:

Each cutie has a new scent that matches the personality and fragrance family of the original doll, but adds lighter, more summery notes. You simply choose the one that suits your personality the most. Introducing...

* Lil’ Angel: Fruity Floral Notes (Juicy Rasberry, Lush Pear Blossom and Warm Hinoki Woods)
* Love: Sensuous Floral- Notes: Pink Peonies, Delicate Paperwhites, Rose and Sensuous Musk
* Music: Delicate Floral Notes (Sparkling Clementine, Sweetpea + Honeysuckle and Creamy Vanilla)
* Baby: Powdery Musk Notes (Sparking Bergamot, Tiare Flower + Jasmine Petals and Soft White Musk)
* G: Modern Gourmand Notes (Fresh Coconut, Jasmine + Magnolia and Sexy Woods)
 
A bottle of G and Music for me, please! What's the point, if you can't have fun with it?

Marc Jacobs A-listed-out *lol*

Looks like Marc Jacobs is a genius both in fashion AND business.  He understands that to expand the market for his creations, he needs to attract new clientele to his showings. Thing is, for every show nearly all places are taken by A-list celebrities, making it difficult for the general public to get seats. So this year, at his show at New York Fashion Week the designer doesn’t want to see any stylish A-list celebrities. Not even backstage. He told the New York Post...

"I’m not into the celebrity thing . . . like we used to. That’s boring.” Well! I'm impressed...

Crystal Renn on Elle Canada cover

Gorgeous plus-size model Crystal Renn graced the cover of Elle Canada (Editorial: 'Fantasy Land', January 2010 issue) She looks fresh faced and absolutely devine!

Go ON girl.

Favourite Audi Fashion Week picks .... (Winter 2010) 3

UK designer Karen Millen showed a dark and sexy and line. The silhouette was slim, strong and with more than a hint of 80’s tailoring (body con dresses), softened by suede and moleskin. Most of these shapes I’m already seeing at local retail stores, so that was a little disappointing. I was hoping for something…new? Fresh? There were silvers and purplish greys, with black featuring very strongly. Purple dominated in shades of faded lilac.

I loved the supple leather biker jacket and I’m very susceptible to the liberal use of eyelets and studs, appearing on sexy clutches and even knit dresses. The asymmetrical suede skirt was also cute.

Towards the end of the show, formal dresses made of satin, organza and appliquéd lace were revealed. Origami-like folding made for interesting textures and the hems of strapless dresses were staggered to create interesting silhouettes.

FAV PIECES/LOOKS:

• Washed leather crop jackets with zip details over nude, sequined organza gowns
• Biker jackets

Favourite Audi Fashion Week picks .... (Winter 2010) 2

The Villioti Couture Collection was influenced by foreign and exotic cities. I enjoyed the massive dresses and bridal gowns in colourful prints that communicated a strong feel of South America, India and the Orient. There wasn’t a sense of one overall concept. There was a bit of delicate animal print here and fringed transparency there, bare arms, exposed backs and soft fabrics were used. This combination created movement. The models seemed like they were floating up and down the ramp.

Two students from the Villioti Design Academy showed six outfits (three each). The theme here was black and white, pale blue satin, strong shoulders/sleeves and squared and pinned together origami.

FAV PIECES:

• The hat/scarf head pieces

• The swing era 40’s inspired beaded dress

Favourite Audi Fashion Week picks .... (Winter 2010) 1

Now, I wasn’t blown away by Machere this season BUT she’s always been a favourite – I’m rather subjective. I loved the local vivid green cotton fabric printed with black elephants she used for her skirts and dresses. There was also a purple with colourful dots . The silhouette was clean – slim cut trousers, pencil skirts, tuxedo jackets and a black fitted dress. She paired these with bright heels. There were also pale gold satins, tulle, silver embossing and gold beading featured in some of the dresses.

FAV PIECES:

• Tulle headpieces held together with beads. She colour-matched these with each garment and clipped them into the hair – VERY stylish.

• A little T-shirt saying 'Kwaito saves lifes' worn with a cape. (Sooo Machere!)

Baby, it'll be cold outside....soon

So, the tan lines have faded, we're slowly drifting into autumn and The Audi Fashion Week has come and gone. I've been sifting through the designers that showcased their creative forecasts of the upcoming season's trends at the Sandton Convention Center, this year. It's a mixed bag and I have to agree with Elle SA's Chris Viljoen (Elle SA, Dec'09) when he reasons that local fashion designers have to ask themselves a few questions. Are they READY to show at fashion week? Do they know what they stand for and who their potential clients are? Is Fashion Week the correct place for some of the brands? Or is maybe, a showroom and  internet/social media sites the best bets?

Most of the lines left me uninspired. Love the fact that the shows are so accessible though and the fab wine brand Kumkani  (or as my partner in crime was calling it by the end of the evening - "Kooh-mkuh-nee!") kept the Infiniti Methode Cap Classique coming. It was in a blaze of bubbles, that we giddily air kissed and followed the excited stampede to find our seats. These were my favourites....

NEW YORK Fashion Week (Fall 2010)

The tents went up for the last time in Bryant Park and New York fashion week officially kicked off this Thursday (11/02)  and ooooooh happy days, this year, several of the designers have opened up the guest lists to fashion lovers all over the globe. We can all now pop a bottle of champers and watch some of the fall lines debuting on the catwalks, yes that's right, from the comfort of our own homes. Livestreams are the future! So, I'll be up at the oddest hours to catch PORTS 1961(missed it!), ALEXANDER WANG, MARC JACOBS, RODARTE and CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION Womenswear....live!




These are the designers who showed on Thursday:

MACKAGE
BCBGMAXAZRIA  (can't wait!)
RICHARD CHAI
DUCKIE BROWN
TONI MATICEVSKI
PORTS 1961
ANNE BOWEN
LA PERLA
FARAH ANGSANA
THE HEART TRUTH’S RED DRESS COLLECTION 2010 (I'm veeeery curious!)
MIK CIRE by ERIC KIM


...and today these where the designers that sent models down the ramp:

CYNTHIA STEFFE
PROJECT RUNWAY
YIGAL AZROUËL
MICHAEL ANGEL
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO
NICOLE MILLER
CHARLOTTE RONSON
VENEXIANA


As the song goes.....'can hardly wait!'

RIP L'enfant Terrible (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010)

I'm still shocked and saddened at the news that Alexander McQueen was found dead at his London home on Thursday morning, nine days after his mother's death (she was buried today). I still can't believe it. The wonderful hooligan of english fashion is no more. It's funny how someone can be a total stranger and yet touch so many hearts and minds. He was big on shock tactics, a true showman but he was a genuine trend setter. An innovator. This is a man who at three years old, drew a picture of Cinderella 'with a tiny waist and a huge gown' on his sister's bedroom wall. By his own admission, the 'pink sheep' of his family! He leaves behind a legacy of shock, outrage, fun, frivolity and THE outmost style.

I'll never forget his sewing 'I am a cunt' into the lining of a jacket he worked on for Prince Charles...the tush revealing jeans dubbed 'the bumsters'...that lavish recreation of a shipwreck for his spring 2003 collection.... the  Alien and Armadillo shoes at his 2010 spring/summer collection. Outrageous but oh-such fun!

The man brought a smile on my face when he said,

"I was sure of myself and my sexuality and I've got nothing to hide. I went straight from my mother's womb onto the gay parade" and how can I forget "Clothes and jewellery should be startling, individual. When you see a woman in my clothes, you want to know more about them. To me, that is what distinguishes good designers from bad designers."

How could I resist? I will always admire and remember him for his refusal to compromise his vision . Long live The Queen!

Amber Rose's Skinhead PERSONA

SO! My-kel Monroe's PERSONA magazine was launched in September '09, in conjunction with Swaggmedia, mid NY Fashion Week and I have been indulging since November '09. Punted as a digital and print magazine on the pulse of fashion and culture, the press release had this to say about the mag... "PERSONA Magazine will speak to and reflect the thoughts and emotions of critical and creative thinkers of the current mixed generation. With the blues of urban angst and the hues of high fashion, the abstract greens and browns of the underground and eclectic purple sound of electronica, PERSONA Magazine is the prism that enables this generation to view a full spectrum of expression, from the collective conscience to individual awakenings". Mhm. A mouthful. We shall see. Gracing the first cover was none other than Kanye's missus, in all her androgynous hot-boy girl sexiness. Love or hate her, she's THAT chick at the moment. Her dubious kit at the magazine's launch made sure you were looking and those contact lenses? You can't accuse the girl of not trying.

The magazine's first pictorial layout (and the first edition) is themed : American Rebel Vol. 1 and I can't hate. It's provocative AND Dope. The theme was borrowed from the film 'This England' about a group of Skinheads in a 1960's London. Check out the 3 min film comprising of behind the scenes footage taken during the photoshoot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XezFDzOM3Yo