Victoria Beckham Spring Summer 2013 Review

Victoria Beckham is out to prove she can design and run a successful brand. She’s doing that by presenting immaculately tailored clothes and this season is no exception. For spring Beckham introduced separates with silk shirts that were giving me 90’s Tom Ford Gucci flashbacks. Things started out causally with a series of loose fitting blouse/shirt/pant combos then moved on to more structured territory with sharply layered skirts and a beautifully cut boyfriend jacket in vermilion that skimmed the thigh. Beckham then showed her signature body hugging dresses, this time with sexy bra straps on show. All the shoes were flats. There was a derby shoe and a gladiator style. The outer-wear touches and the graphic cut on the final dress shows Beckham is slowly becoming more confident with her design skills. In previous collections all she ever talked about was the construction of her dresses and the thoughtfulness that went in to them which on its own is something to be admired but now that she’s got those solid foundations in place she’s giving herself room to start playing with design. Overall a strong collection.  

Thakoon Spring Summer 2013 Review

Above: Beautiful, imaginative, striking. Below: No!!! Stop it. This is not fashion.

Thakoon Panichgul’s spring summer show was perplexing. It opened with a dreamy white strapless dress that had a print of a golden birdcage matched perfectly with the cut of the dress. The cage had birds, butterflies and flowers bursting from it. The first four looks featured this print on tops, jackets, and skirts but the rest of the collection looked like it had been designed by someone else and was derivative of so many designers.

 Instead of seeing originality I saw a pick n mix of popular looks from other designers such as the criss cross wrap top with midriff peekaboo. While not revolutionary, Prada did the same thing three years ago as well as Proenza Schouler last season. Same goes for the oversize pailettes on skirts (Prada, Christopher Kane, Stella McCartney). While a lot of these looks were pretty and will most likely sell I don’t feel that ¾ of this show is the work of a strong designer because I don’t see an independent voice. But based on those first four looks I don’t think Thakoon will be going out business any time soon. 

Below: Vibes from other designers. Clockwise from left: Christopher Kane, Prada, Prada, Balenciaga

Prabal Gurung Spring Summer 2013 Review

Above: Heaven. Below: Hell

What started out great at Prabal Gurung’s spring show-tailored suits with long, sheer, draped tops-quickly devolved into bad taste and poor judgement.

Overall the collection was fussy and lacked polish. I don’t know who his customer is. I don’t know who’s buying or wearing, say, a flounced layered dress with feathers or a predictable looking white dress with cut-out details. And the prints. I mean, fuck me with shards of glass the prints were bad. They were uninspiring, garish, and confusing. The worst offender was a matching blouse and pant with what appeared to be small blue flowers. I don’t know, digital prints like this have been done a thousand times and with more skill so why bother?

Prabal Gurung has some interesting ideas but I think the problem is that he has too many and crams them all into one show. This collection would’ve been much stronger had he left out the prints and the flounce and just focussed on layering. 

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.