Stefano Pilati out at Yves Saint Laurent

Above: Stefano Pilati reacting to the news that he's been let go. I'm kidding, but seriously dude, why the long face?

Stefano Pilati's contract at YSL has not been renewed. Major sads. The fall 2012 collection will be his last and his successor will be named after the show. Rumoured to take over is Hedi Slimane. Pilati has been head designer at YSL since spring 2005. In that time he's raised the profile of the brand which has finally broken even after years of debt. Below are some of my favourite looks over the years.

Above: Spring 2005. A strong debut sets the tulip/bubble skirt trend.

Above: Fall 2005. Mariacarla Boscono in a cropped le smoking. This collection set off the trend for platform shoes.  

Above: Spring 2006

 Above: Fall 2008 featured Pilati's best cut pants that were full at the waist and cropped above the ankle. If you watch the show on Youtube a lot of the clothes in this collection appear to float around the body.

Above: Spring 2008 had wide-shouldered looks and brilliant use of colour.

Tom Ford SS 2012 Review

I’ve been looking at Ford’s latest collection for spring 2012 and I’m struggling to come up with a conclusion about it. It’s difficult because Ford’s positioning of his brand is unusual and confusing. On a retail level the Tom Ford brand is just like all the other luxury brands with advertising in magazines, stores in major capital cities and entry-level luxury items such as fragrance and sunglasses (I say entry-level but $500 for sunglasses is hardly a discreet purchase). But on a fashion level it’s confusing. Ford is yet to present a typical runway show with press, photographers, critics, journalists etc, just like all other brands normally do at fashion week. Instead Ford has held intimate presentations to a hand-full of tippy top fashion people with no photography allowed. Several months later Ford releases a look book to the public. His spring show look book was just published on Vogue.com, two months after the spring shows. When he did this whole secret show thing for his debut he definitely created buzz. It was exciting to read reviews by critics and frustrating not being able to see any of the clothes. But three seasons in and for me the thrill has worn off.
Once fashion month is over I feel exhausted by all the collections I’ve seen because there are way too many people showing at fashion week so when Ford’s collection pops up on Vogue.com I’m a little underwhelmed by it all. It’s weird, it’s like Ford is more than happy for me to buy one of his Private Blend fragrances and porn star aviators but the clothes are to be kept away from me which makes me feel like a peasant (which I totally am). He’s treading two luxury environments and getting mixed results. It’s masstige and super-exclusive fashion. At fashion week you’ve got a media circus all seeing the same shows and from that you get these runaway ‘it’ items that can get huge press coverage or brand buzz such as those YSL pumps with the gold armour plates. Ford isn’t getting that.
 Ford’s spring collection is a reminder of what Tom Ford did well 10 years ago at Gucci and YSL which doesn’t bode well because it makes him look out of touch. He has said himself that he isn’t following trends which is evident in the off-trend peasant tops and bow-ankled sandals. There was too much going on with many looks that were teeming with tassels, fringing, ruching, ruffles, bows, and gold hardware. This detail explosion is tiring as your eyes have nowhere to rest. Overall it was too fussy and too flashy. There were still elements there that make me like Tom Ford’s work but if you’re looking for trends and direction you won’t find it here.

Tokyo Shopping

Here's some pics of the lovely Balenciaga wallet I bought when I was in Tokyo. It was my major splurge along with a YSL coin purse.

It's in navy and has these cool inserts with top-stitching. I love it and it loves me.

And here's some of the cutesy junk I just couldn't stop buying. It was just weird crap you can't get in Australia like a waffle keychain.

Style Dossier: Julianne Moore

There's just something about Julianne Moore that's earned her a legion of fans-mostly gay fans for some reason. Maybe it was 2002's Far From Heaven. For me it's a tie between Boogie Nights and Magnolia. The 49 year old actress has been a face for Revlon since 2002 and you've no doubt seen her more recently in ads for Bulgari.
Her personal style is almost always chic, refined and never over the top. It may be a tad cliche wearing green because you have red hair but I don't care, Moore pulls it off. She seems to be a muse to Tom Ford (he cast her in his debut film and dressed her for the premiere) and possibly Stefano Pilati judging by the number of YSL outfits she's worn. Another favourite of Moore's is Lanvin but who isn't a fan of Alber Elbaz?
Normally for Style Dossier I try to get at least one hideous outfit choice but I couldn't find one. Any suggestions?

Above: This was the worst look I could find

Oh God I'm Back

It's been tooo long. Really it has. I've missed you all so much & I feel like such a terrible blogger....nah, I could give a fuck. I've been mass' busy at school (had to create an entire outfit!) but now I'm on a break & all is well. So since I last blogged quite alot has happened in the world of fashion....in no particular order *Resort collections (what the fuck's with that anyway?) *SS 08/09 menswear collections *YSL passed away *Gareth Pugh is going to Paris *LV & Comme Des Garcon collaborate on handbag line *Alexander McQueen opens new store in LA, will return to advertising in magazines & cut back on show expenditures (so sad) *Chloe has a new head designer. Paolo Melim Andersson makes sure the hand-pieced silk screen door doesn't hit his ass on the way out. *Sex & The City movie released to much fan-fare. Except for Vivienne Westwood. Oh god the list goes ya know. So yeah, what exactly IS going on with Resort? 5 years ago anyone worth their Pierre Hardy gladiator boots would've said "resort who?" Now it's full on shows & extravaganzas. Fuck, I mean look at Karl at Chanel. It borders on fashion porn. Speaking of fashion porn, Sex & The City the movie. Any thoughts? I'm a die-hard fan of SATC & I know everyone who watched SATC would say that but I've watched every episode a zillion times. Love it. Can't get enough. But the movie? Didn't like it that much. I'm die-hard as I've already told you so there's no questions about me buying the DVD but the fashion was too overwhelming & I actually felt sickened. There I said it. Please don't get me wrong, I love the show it's just the amount of product placement & the thousands, likely millions of dollars companies paid to hawk their wares in the film.....you have to agree, no matter how much you loved the movie, you have to agree with me, it was often sickening. Phew. I'm almost done, promise. *Menswear in Milan. I'm not a huge follower of menswear but I still had to look at what was on offer. Jil Sander was fantastic despite the average reviews. I still love ya Raf. *Chloe gives the boot to Paolo. Honestly I never liked what he did. Yes, if he'd actually been given more than three seasons he would've found his groove but they were shit. There was a steep curve from his first 2 collections to the last. The first two were very 'I'm here, fuck you Phoebe Philo loving bitches, this is what fashion is about' but then the last collection was more 'ok you were right'. Can't remember the new designers name but she's worked on the Chloe team for quite a few years from what I've heard so that's a good sign. OK, that's enough for now. I'm drinking cheap wine while typing this & gradually getting more drunk & think I've overwhelmed you all enough with my opinions so scream back at me, leave a comment, tell me to go fuck myself with a slingback, I'll take it all in my stride, promise.