SS15 Trend Watch: Lattice and Die-Cut Patterns

 L-R: Balenciaga; Whistles; Akris; Ermanno Scervino; Balenciaga

 L-R: Isa Arfen; Altuzarra; Custo Barcelona; Peter Som; Darek Lam

Strict grid patterned lattice pieces and geometric die-cut details were by far the biggest trends across all S/S 2015 fashion weeks. From chain-link fabric overlays to caged frocks and intricate die-cut patterns, the Spring runways saw both calculated, architectural takes on the trend as well as more romantic approaches. We’ve loved the look of lattice-cut fabrics since slipping on Toujours x Fidele’s white cage dress this past Spring. As the last days of Paris’ fashion week come to a close we bet you’ll see the trend on a few more runways too. Cut-outs are so in 😉

L-R: Whistles; Timo Weiland; Milly; Threeasfour; Fendi

L-R: Issa; Milly; Rick Owens; Balenciaga; Julien Macdonald; Akris

L-R: Yohji Yamamoto; Proenza Schouler; Roland Mouret; Gabriele Colangelo; Kenzo; Proenza Schouler

L-R: Isa Arfen; Reed Krakoff; Custo Barcelona; Versus Versace; Altuzarra

Topshop x Marques’Almeida

Everybody’s favourite new designers Marques’Almeida are doing what every good fashion business does as their star starts to really shine: encourage the brand’s public awareness and continuing success by releasing a collection for one of the biggest high street brands in the world. Set for an October 9th drop date, the 68-piece (!) collection features plenty of, what else, distressed denim, plus lots of white shoes and a healthy does of that early-Noughties slouch. I’ve got my eyes on the denim duffle coat and sumptuous leather trousers. Here in the 6, you can expect to grab your favourite pieces on the HBC x Topshop website and in stores on October 9.

See the complete collection here.

Images via Topshop

Dries Van Noten SS15

Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Godesses loungin’

Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Titania and Bottom by Edwin Landseer
Midsummer Eve by Edward Robert HughesThe spectacular finish

Backstage Beauties (via Dazed)

It’s not often I get enamoured with clothes so maximalist in design. But it’s not often I encounter design visionaries as creative and meticulous as Dries Van Noten. To say I was wowed by the designer’s Ophelia-inspired SS15 collection, shown last night in Paris, would probably be the understatement of the season. Each look that floated down the mossy, golden-lit catwalk made me literally gasp out loud, so stunned I was by the brilliant use of colour and masterful layering. Certainly Van Noten has a skilled hand with fabrics, and he applied them here to the semi-precious silks, weightless chiffons, and gilded jacquards. The Antwerp-alum also happens to be an expert in ambiance and showmanship, which is a relief—a collection this rooted in fantasy deserves no less. Citing A Midsummer Night’s Dream as another jumping off point for his collection, Van Noten lined the catwalk with a plush layer of carpet that looks more like a Shakespearian forest floor than your basement rec room. The dim golden light washed everything in muted sunlight, giving the scene a dreamy, late afternoon glow. After all the looks had glided down the runway, the nymphs settled leisurely on the paradise floor, conveniently giving breathless showgoers a much-needed final look.

Images via style.com, Dazed, and Creative Commons

Margarita

Every once in a while, a street style unicorn emerges from the sea of Birkin bags, Jimmy Choo shoes, and H2T Prada that’s become known as the circus outside of Fashion Month runway shows. Her outfits are perhaps a bit more left-field, less refined, at times eccentric, boyish, but always memorable. She isn’t too concerned with wearing big name designers but would rather show love to less established, up-and-coming talents like Nasir Mazhar and Marques’Almeida. She gravitates toward unusual accessories like tomato red vinyl bucket hats , and isn’t afraid to try out unexpected combinations like Nike gym socks with strappy sandals (before everyone else started doing it obviously).

Not to be a hater but scoping out the street style scene during Fashion Month gets super boring after the 5th or 6th slide. A mixed print here, a bratty graphic tee there, at least three kinds of handbags in the shape of a fruit/body part, plus countless arm parties scattered throughout and I’m ready to throw in the towel. How thankful I am for women like Margarita Zubatova who bring a totally nonchalant vibe to the contrived polish of fashion week peacocking. Like the Rei Kawakubo faithfuls, the Emmanuel Alts, and the Rick Owens loyalists, women like Margarita have a powerful fashion compass, their sense of personal style outweighing even the most ubiquitous trends.

Margarita takes her self-assured style vision and applies it to her work as a freelance stylist and as a buyer at the Kuznetsky Most 20 concept store based in Moscow. Information regarding her career is hard to come by on English-speaking Google but I was delighted to find some of her lookbooks and editorials, including one she styled for ZDDZ’s debut collection as part of September’s VFiles’ Made for Fashion show. She is also principle stylist for Ukrainian designer and Central Saint Martins grad, Yasya Minochkina, and you can see her handiwork in the minimal and sporty images above. Did I also mention that she has great taste in music? Check our her IG for video and photographic shout outs to amazing musicians like Dev Hynes, Kelela, and DJ Rashad (R.I.P.). OK I’ll stop stanning so hard.

Images via iamkoo, tommy ton, j’ai perdu ma veste, style du monde, and Yasya Minochkina

SS 2015: White Heat

Lisa Perry

Fashion month is only halfway through and already the amount of shows to take in is starting to overwhelm. With hundreds of designers unveiling their Spring Summer 2015 collections during this short month, all of the new trends, textiles and colour combos to keep track of adds a sense of chaos to my normally simple fashion life. For times like these, a visual palate cleanser is your new BFF, and what makes a better visual palate cleanser than the freshest, most elegantly minimal colour to wrap yourself in?

Marques’Almeida

Phoebe English

 Kaelen

The answer to that obviously rhetorical question is nothing. Nothing looks better and is more idiot-proof than wearing head to toe white (except for maybe head-to-toe black). And judging by the SS15 collections, this isn’t a trend that’ll die any time soon. Its aggressive simplicity makes it almost anti-trend, as timeless as a little black dress but just a touch more daring and prone-to-spills. It ruled the runways of New York and London and dominated the street style scene outside of the shows as well.

Kathleen Kye

Sally LaPointe

Jonathan Saunders

Alexander Wang

As the only colour in nature defined by an absence of pigment, white gives designers a blank canvas upon which they can demonstrate their skill in fabric manipulation, experimenting with shapes, and creating unexpected textures. Runway looks in New York and London ran the gamut from distressed denim workwear to tissue-thin haute rags. My favourite look? A pristine white shell paired with high waisted short shorts by Lisa Perry, the innocence of the vintage bathing suit silhouette is spiced up by the high hemline of the shorts and the completely see-through PVC skirt layered on top.

Images via style.com and Dazed digital

Toujours x Fidèle

Look 1: lolitawoolf wears Earl Grey shorts by T x F and thrifted men’s button down | aerielist wears distressed raincoat by T x F and stylist’s own bodysuit
Look 2: lolitawoolf wears distressed raincoat dress by T x F and stylist’s own hat | aerielist wears Shibori-dyed silk organza top and jacquard skort by T x F
Look 3: lolitawoolf wears Citrine Ramie halter and jacquard skort by T x F | aerielist wears Ladder mesh shirt dress and celery sweatshirt by T x F; stylist’s own white slip
Look 3: lolitawoolf wears Blue Monday anorak by T x F | aerielist wears Rainbow Chip crop top and thrifted Communion petticoat

This past June, myself and Lolitawoolf put our styling caps on and collaborated with Toujours x Fidèle creative director, Amy Wong on a sunny, pastel-infused shoot. Inspired by the brand’s dreamy designs, a shared fascination with suburban table settings from the 1950s, and the synthetic beauty of jellies, the three of us sought to focus our influences into a cohesive and modern shoot. In keeping with Toujours’ environmentally-conscious method of manufacturing clothes, we only incorporated thrifted garments and items already in our closets. Make-up was kept monochrome with a hint of Raggedy Ann whimsy, and everything else was left white. Thank you to The Black Cat gallery in Toronto’s west end for lending us your space. And thank you, Amy, for giving us this unforgettable memory.

Photography – Benjamin Telford
Concept & Styling – lolitawoolf, aerielist, & Amy Wong
Models – lolitawoolf & aerielist
Make-up – Kay Zhang

 

Wang x H&M

Designer collabs are great in theory. Who doesn’t want to own a garment by one of their favourite designers, whose products are way out of most people’s price range? But in practice, they’re kind of a disaster. Ridiculously long lines, scalpers, exorbitant prices, and substandard quality of production are just a few problems keeping me from taking a day off from work in order to line up in the autumn chill for like 10 hours.

Looking at these photos from the as-yet-to-be-released collection by Alexander Wang for H&M though, I have to say my resolve is weakening. I love the technical look of  all of the pieces, maybe even enough to wait in line with my fellow fashion-obsessed but financially-challenged peers. I’m particularly obsessed with the grey coat and textured neoprene sweatshirt. Also wouldn’t mind owning the white cycling shorts and dark grey backpack.

Alexander Wang for H&M releases in stores and online on November 6, 2014.

Images via style.com

Women in the Dunes

aerielist wears dress by motel and backpack by S&T.
lolitawoolf wears dress by rick owens and vintage booties.
shhrug wears jacket by american apparel, shoes by damir doma, and vintage dress.

Sometimes you’ve got to get out of the city.

Shortly after being called loud-mouthed teenagers on a bus, we happened upon a dune that felt a million miles away.

Welcome to our desert.

All photos by The Pack.

Street Style Wallflower

Photo via Tommy Ton

Unless you’re a model or a Vogue Paris editor, extravagance is the name of the game when looking to get noticed by street style photographers during fashion week, and with good reason. As perfect as black is, it just doesn’t pop in photographs like mixed prints and colours. In the decade since the explosion of street style, online fashion mags have even started posting shopping guides just before fashion weeks advising showgoers on what to buy if they want to get snapped. Of course, good bloggers should be considerate of how clothes look in photographs, but never at the expense of their personal style. There is something unseemly and kind of thirsty about getting dressed not for yourself, but to satisfy the attention of photographers and the fickle tastes of the commercial fashion industry. So in the true spirit of not giving a fuck, here is The Pack’s handy style guide for anyone looking to just blend in, in a stylish but practical, even irreverent kinda way.

Style Throwback #1

Personal style, much like our preference for a particular genre of music or a style of food, is deeply intertwined with our background and upbringing. Nostalgia is, whether we like it or not, a powerful emotion. The kid who was raised eating bold flavours will likely develop an affinity for spicy dishes, and the kid who grew up listening to golden era hip hop will probably have a hard time wrapping their head around crunk or Riff Raff.

Of course, as we know, letting go of our past is a valuable exercise in helping us grow as people and as purveyors of good taste. But looking forward doesn’t mean we should forget where we came from. And on this holiest of Internet days, Throwback Thursday, I wish to pay tribute to my shoddy fashion past.

An embarrassing factoid about me is that I was dressed by my mother until I was in middle school. Yes, Tiger Moms are real. Mine chose to wield her unimaginable power in the cruelest way possible for a kid growing up in the public school system: dress her up in matching play suits obtained from the mainland of China while her peers frolicked in nondescript Gap Ts and Nike sneakers. I had the dubious privilege of owning said play suits in a variety of colours, each one more garish and humiliating than the last. One time I wore a school bus yellow suit and got chased around during recess by a bunch of hungry honeybees. Everyone saw.

How I survived that and elementary school in general I’ll never know. But now that I’m older, wiser, and get to pick my own clothes, I can look back and smile about it. I can also see with clearer, less angsty eyes that maybe some of those forced-upon-me style choices weren’t so off the mark. Monochrome suits not made in China during the early 90s are beyond chic, especially in unexpectedly bold colours like magenta. Sure, moms should let their kids pick their own clothes. But if you’re dealt such a sucky hand in life, pray that the person picking your outfits has an eye for colour like my mom did.

Images via thesartorialist and style.com