Jason Wu Spring Summer 2013 Review

After viewing this collection someone commented that he is in love. I’d like to counter that and say he’s in lust. It’s quite obvious-to me anyway-that Wu has been watching way too much hardcore gay porn. Think brawny leather daddies in harnesses trampling each other with their boots and fists. That sort of thing. But of course there’s always the balance of the hard and the soft which is just so typical of designers. He’s married hard leather with delicate lace, crystals, and silk. Carolyn Murphy opened the show and she killed it in a form-fitting leather dress with a lace panel right under her tits. There were snug, flirty dresses in leather and silk with beautifully pieced lace trims at the hem which really put Wu’s workmanship on display. His attention to fit and cut is really quite spectacular and I think some of his peers should take notes because I’m seeing a lot of talent in New York but the execution is garbage.  

Wu’s vision and brand DNA is so evident that it’s great to see him take some chances and push himself to express a smutty side to his personality. It’s dirty slick. 

The Peplum

Clockwise from top left: Christian Siriano, Jason Wu, Vera Wang, Alexandre Herchcovitch.

Is every designer in New York going to the same trend forecaster because if they did, that fortune teller is a gypsy circus fraud. Soooo many collections have featured a peplum. I get that if enough designers show the same thing then you’ve got a trend and then the magazines push that trend and then everyone buys peplums. That’s how fashion works but this trend is dead already. Also, the bright, poppy colours and colour blocking. Dead to me. I love colour blocking but there’s too much. I can’t take any more. I think I’m gonna fashion my own colour blocked peplum that I can attach to my clothes like a waist scarf.

Giambattista Valli

I've never been interested in Giambattista Valli. His work has always felt too fussy to me and not very I don't know. His work has never caught my attention. His work is in line with that of say Valentino, Jason Wu or Oscar De La Renta. That is to say, someone who designs for the ladies who lunch set. But my lack of knowledge of his work is why I don't appreciate it but with this being his first haute couture collection I was curious to see what he'd come up with. I loved it. Not all of it but a lot of it. It was what you'd expect from a couture show in a traditional sense. Lots of bead work, feathers, ruffles, pearls, lace. All that jazz. My favourite look was the white shirt with tweed (I think) pencil skirt. It was designed to look as though the shirt was peeking out from the hem of the skirt. It was just so fucking smart and sharp and sexy. It was perfect. And the capes were cool. At first I thought they were a bit too much but then I'm like, no, the Dior caftans were too much. Joan Smalls in a black dress with white cape is not too much. If I could wear that look it would be at the airport walking to the gate, boarding a plane.

Joan Smalls is the baddest bitch on the runway

Jason Wu Spring Summer 2011

This is the best collection I’ve seen from Jason Wu. Prior to this collection I’ve had very little interest in his work. Everything was always so precious and a lot of people were dubbing him the young Oscar De La Renta whom I also have no interest in.
But this collection was concise, elegant and it wasn’t terribly fussy even though it had a French streak running through it; or more what an American thinks is French. Like, hmm, French women wear polka dots and bows and lace, tra la la let’s eat bon bons and listen to Serge Gainsbourg. But it just looked sooooo good mixed with all-American khaki and stripes. It just worked brilliantly. The stripes!!! When I first saw them I had de ja vu. I was thinking Marc Jacobs Spring. What year? 07? 08? Turns out it was Louis Vuitton Spring 09 and it was quite different to what was on Wu’s runway but I find it interesting that something as simple as stripes can become such a memorable print. Black and white? Forgettable. Mustard and black? Seared to my skull! Also the shoes and bags are going to be on many a wish-list next summer.
This collection is amazing and sure, giant bow tops may not fly off the racks but for 15 minutes on that runway it was pure vision of what modern American sportswear can be.

This is the Louis Vuitton look from Spring 09 I was talking about. I still love this collection. The hair is just fucked. I love it. And the shoes too. Those Spicy sandals were sooooo widely copied.

MINI PRE-FALL ROUNDUP PART ONE

It's nice to see designers taking pre-fall more seriously rather than just churn out watered down filler. I think I read somewhere that resort and pre-fall sells really well so maybe that's where the enthusiasm is coming from for designers.
So far I haven't seen any knock-out collections but each one has had some seriously covetable pieces. Thakoon is doing an oddly chic looking pant that's quite boxy at the top. Unlikely to be flattering on most women but beautiful all the same.

Below: Thakoon

Pringle of Scotland have the best coats hands-down. Donna Karan did a gorgeous military skirt suit that will just melt around your figure. It's such a non-aggressive look for military inspired clothes. Jason Wu has some beautifully molded jackets, belted and paired with pleated skirts and wooly tights. It's good to see him do something youthful and more playful while maintaing that Fifth Avenue tag he has. Above: Donna Karan. Below: Jason Wu

Above: Pringle of Scotland

Currently I'm completely freaky for Celine and Phoebe Philo can do no wrong. Her work is so refreshing and sweet without being frothy. Crisp crease-front high-waisted pants make a return this time in olive and there was also a trim pair of red pants cut just on the ankle. Coats were strong, a sporty black japara and a long black one in what looked like felted wool was trimmed in licorice leather.

Below: Celine