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Barbican: Japanese Fashion with Bacall.

Bacall — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 10:17:12 +0000

Steampunk night. A sub-culture I adore, but had no idea it’d be featured the night Solo and I went to the Barbican. Wine poured, gears and monocles shined- we were quite underdressed. Drenched from walking in the rain, I slapped on my favorite purple lipstick and chugged the rest of Solo’s glass. The main attraction we came to see was “Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion.” Now, I think our mischief and critique was our true entertainment, but the clothes were lovely. Well, some were questionable, some we differed in opinion, and most we wanted to touch. Oh don’t worry: Solo and I reserved ourselves by keeping our drunk paws at least a feet away.

Now, here’s the video of our brief adventure that Thursday evening. Sadly no Steampunk featured. We ended up loosing ourselves to our own world- and shooting bits of our shenanigans.

Listen to & Download the Event Soundtrack: ‘Unfolding’ by Janek Schaefer

Event: YoYoYo 90s

Bacall — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:38:17 +0000

There is a thin line between rave and warehouse party- but Soul Clap’s YoYoYo 90s event experimented with that line playfully. You had your rave music to reminisce, and your luscious house to come back to the moment. You had your gals in their neon raver bobs and crop tops ala 90s futuristic. But overall, from jumpers to rainbow brite or just in slacks and a popped up coat collar, you had the best looking crowd for a night of proper carefree dance music.

At times you’d get some funk, then it’d cross over into hardcore rave music – leaving you slightly baffled but content, only to end up laughing your ass off until some house was thrown on and got you dancing like there’s no tomorrow. Hell, I’m pretty convinced there was something of a “Blue Man in A Blue World” remix shoved in there that night, but I could be wrong.

Near the end, I was memorized in the corner watching Soul Clap mix (at times since I’m sober, I tend to stop like a deer in headlights and try to devour each detail) but he got me dancing in a few seconds of my standstill, and everyone in that tight corner round the fence had become my new best friend by closing. I jived, I go go danced, I did the disco point, I twirled with an adorable boy- and I even did the Mexican Hat Dance.

From dancing amongst the stage to being pushed to the middle of the crowd and naturally making my way to the empty back- it was a perfect night. Going solo is one of my favorite ways to simply adventure. The night becomes only your own, and thus I’ve got an experience to remember, with more fresh London friends than I can count. One of my first steps back into the dance music world, and I couldn’t of attended a better event to make that official.

Stay tuned for more 90s events by Soul Clap with early90s.com
All photos by Rob Low, and more are viewable here.

Priestess NYC: CLOWNS, CHAOS & ORDER

Bacall — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:07:53 +0000

Cody Ross, designer and entrepreneur, is someone who knows where he’s going, and how he’s going to get there. His label, Priestess NYC, is a collection of casual yet edgy pieces that you can just throw on and leave the house. He’s a character, and we adore him, as well as his ideals. Whether business wise or creatively, Cody Ross is one of the few world conquerers in preparation to having the entire international market addicted.

With his Fashion Week event, he brought the vibrant aura of Scandinavia with Norwegian artist Marianne Aulie’s twisted take on the darkness in color.

Find out more about the event, by reading further.

Japan Fashion Week Preview

Bacall — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:54:06 +0000

The preview in Soho was the finishing two hours of my new 6.5 inch heels’ pain for the night. Even so, not even in fashion, but life, pain is gain, and I have an exceptionally good tolerance for it! The adoration for my heels made it all worth while.

I was at the preview the entire time, and thus as it was the last day of Fashion Week, I made sure that all business cards were given out by the final hour. I only had a few left along with a couple buttons, which I ended up giving to many dazzling people that night. From a few street style websites, quick interviews, and meeting my dear friend Marie (who we’ll talk about a bit more later!), so much went on during my week’s final event.

For the presentation, drinks were continuously poured, and the DJ played familiar or foreign tunes as models switched places standing on platforms. All the Japanese designers were ones I’ve been eager about. My favorites included The Dress Co. (Hideaki Sakaguchi), tiny dinosaur, and apt*form. I especially loved apt*form for Michail Gkinis’ craftsmanship. The details and textures that went into each piece of clothing had me admiring them for more than a few minutes. Other designers included: CHAOLU lab, MIKIO SAKABE, Naoshi Sawayanagi, SHIDA TATSUYA, and YU.

In the end, bags with pamphlets were passed out, and items collected from the coat check. The excitement of being apart of Japanese Fashion had given me a jolt of energy that night. Now, just to make it over to Tokyo, I would reach ecstasy!

Koi Suwannagate’s Presentation

Bacall — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:01:16 +0000

Scurrying through Union Square, I attempted to find Koi Suwannagate’s presentation before it was over. Through a door that the other door’s flyer pointed to, I made my way up a few flights of stairs. The presentation, alive and still going strong, had models fidgeting in their Japanese Kimono-inspired wears. As they gossiped, the designer, Koi, would bring one forward ever so often, to show someone the detailing, or answer a model’s curiosity too!

It was different to see a presentation in such a natural and simplistic environment. No runway scorns, no certain agenda that the models had to follow specifically. The models one second would be entertaining themselves in the corner without too much restraint, and then the next they’d be in full model mode, working the cameras.

One thing I adored most of the collection was the little details that I admire in kimonos. From a fold, to a tuck, it’s those little additions that make these pieces timeless.

Second to Royalty at Simon Spurr

Bacall — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:17:05 +0000

I almost died when I realized I was sitting second row, and not too far from Queen Wintour. It was striking that PR put me in the close to perfect seat, as I wasn’t expecting it. As someone unheard of, with a few brilliant ideas sent around by email, the fashion industry had opened their arms to me. I’m convinced my Top Hat is also equal to my talent though, and therefore it’s as lucky. Will probably be wearing it till it falls apart. Original style is as important as what you can do in the industry at times. It’s displaying how you relate to the fashion industry.

Outside I was bombarded by a few Japanese reporters who asked if I’d comment on the collection. (Luckily, I barely speak Japanese!) This included “Simon Spurr just made me fall in love with Menswear all over again,” and “Who doesn’t love a boy in leather pants?!” From the fine tailoring, to the stripped suits and leather jackets, I was overwhelmed with glee.

Simon Spurr is essential to any boy, with all his diverse pieces that I’m sure one can mix and match to their liking.

Davidelfin’s Third Row

Bacall — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:20:35 +0000

After being moved twice, I ended up next to one of my favorites, Liz Black. I decided to sit with the City Magazine crew, as I squeezed into a perfect seat of the third row.

As it was my first time at fashion week, Davidelfin did not let me down. He put together some outfits that I grew to adore even more, with it’s ease of color repetition. From a daring hot pink velvet fabric put into jackets for men, and dresses for women, I almost shunned them…but then they were executed perfectly.

Next, he hit me with another plunge of color! He took the power into his hands, and decided gray and banana yellow should be each other’s compliment. From a cuff to an entire piece, I wasn’t quite sure of the colors at first. But by the fourth outfit, I had come to the conclusion of: Yes, please?!

I loved all the little details, and the boldness of color, with the softness of gray. As a 20 minute joy, my senses were instantly satisfied. It was a cloudy posh carnival, and I wanted to join in.

Perfectly tailored, the line between women and men was being thinned. He blended both genders as if there was no definite difference, and so, I became convinced, almost, that perfection could of been even if the boys were in hot pink dresses.

Ah, androgony. I love it! It’s the future. The end of strict labels as we know it. The standards of how men and women should dress will be no more, an obvious prediction of the future.

The Green Shows: Fall 2010

Bacall — Thu, 20 May 2010 05:56:30 +0000

Organic clothing is much more than a natural cotton t-shirt. There are various designers that sought to push being Green with their clothes this Fall Fashion Week. Yes, there is more to being Green than recycling. These designers also showed that organic clothing can be diverse and as luxurious as we liked it to be. Isn’t everything of natural materials so? More than silk, cotton, and the knowns, these designers bring a wide range of heterogeneity to the table to create their beautiful collections. During New York Fashion Week, I had the chance to attend a few of the shows that were held in the Village Green building under the name of The Green Shows. Two of the shows I went to were Ekovaruhuset and Samantha Pleet. Ekovaruhuset, meaning “House of Organic” is a collective of designers. The Designers that the New York house includes is: Eko-Lab, Johanna Hofring, Kaori Yamazaki, Meiling Chen, Mika Machida, Ronata Mann, and Tor Soderin. Specializing in intricate knits, the collection was pulled together by knitted collars and lacing. The draping of the organic material brought a relaxed shape to a gown that could be worn from work straight to the party. Dies gave fabrics a luscious coloring, and pattern when blotched. View the rest of the runway photos here.

For Samantha Pleet‘s show, there was two parts: the runway, and the after party at Soho Grand.

Her frilly frocks, hot pants, and interpretations of a kilt turned mini-dress, gave us that assurance, that pants are not something we need to wear in chilly weather! I like layering on the tights, don’t you? I especially adored the cut-out sleeved “Serf” dress and winged cardigan.

Find the rest of the lookbook here. At the Soho Grand, which I sadly did not attend due to fashion week fever, was a cocktail party and video presentation of the collection.

Pleet, as an independent designer, has a collection at Urban Outfitters plus an Ecco Domani award under her belt, and with these darling clothes, is someone to watch.

Prince Peter Collection: Fall 2010 Event

Bacall — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:27:35 +0000

One of the most refreshing events during New York Fashion Week was Prince Peter’s party at Good Units.

Upon arrival, it began to snow. As I walked up to the entrance, I noticed I actually was a bit early (it was a definite first that week). To protect my hat, I took an abrupt detour through the neon green-lit Hudson Hotel, until the doors opened. Just a couple of minutes later, I headed through the side entrance. As I made my way through the hall, the walls were splattered with newspaper look-books duck taped on top of the previous night’s party posters for Interview Magazine. In a brief second, the hall finally opened into a larger room, completely black and industrial in decor. It seemed to be divided into 4 major sections: the first was a long room containing the bar and merch table where at the far end it led off into a small room for the photobooth; in the middle, a large double doorway opened to the dance floor and stage; and at last, VIP was located on the second floor, as a huge balcony looking over the dancefloor. Once I was in the main section (the dance floor), I snapped a few photos for tweets- it was set up as a gallery to browse while guests waited for the main attraction. All pictures on display were of Madonna in the 80s. Passing out the few buttons I had left by evening to a few darlings, I made friends with the man in charge of the gallery, and shortly after I ran around bumping into people I knew personally or I instantly adored. A wonderful social-bee myself, I can go into an event without knowing anyone and come out with a new group of friends! Probably one of my favorite things to do. Anyway, after a bit of fun with a photobooth-turned-photoshoot in the other room, I ran to the dance floor and pushed my way through the crowd. The show was about to start, and thus with my trusty video camera, I made sure to capture a lovely amount of footage. A live band, Jessica 6, began to perform and models made their way onto the stage. Probably all my favorites too- fresh, new, and individualistic. From Raquel Reed to my boys from Q to Ford. Prince Peter, known for his T-Shirts, had all the usuals, in addition to, of rockstar chic: leather and eyeliner.

Jessica 6 made their mark on my personal playlist later that night, and definitely will be blogged about in the next music post I get to. After the presentation, I got a drink, made friends with two boys called Joe and Steven (who made their way into my favorites), and we clambered up to VIP. A bit of dancing to Dan Black, socializing with all the dazzlers I met earlier, and arm in arm with a few others, we formed a click of our own and talked about the most random things. Prince Peter was a doll, the people were enjoyable (aka no stuck-up egos compared to the tents), and I ended up prancing about outside with my male models. Texting my step-mother (Margaret) she stated “models are the best, and they’re you’re age!” HA. We forget that most models are under twenty, don’t we?! It all ended around 1am, I kissed everyone on the cheeks, got numbers, and climbed into a cab to head home. Late morning shows, darling. No after parties. Got to be a proper working girl during one of the liveliest times of the year!

First Photo: LuxCartel

Toni Francesc: Artificial Life, Fall 2010

Bacall — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:42:26 +0000

After leaving Siki Im, in a rush, I jumped into a cab with someone I met within the time I spent viewing the collection, so about five minutes. I was there for an hour and a half, but we’ll explain what happened later. Making it in time for Toni Francesc, I checked in, grabbed my seat number and stood until the music begun.
(I was fourth row, and wanted to see if a first was available! ha. You never know.)

Inspired by Man and Machine, Toni Francesc takes the alienation, and irony in industrial fulfillment humanity attempts to acquire more-so each coming day. From past to future, he takes elements worthy of steampunk, reminiscing the base of passage, and an ideal of future cyborg reasoning. Colors ranged from black to the hues of rusted metal. Perfectly cut bobs, and make-up that made each model look as if they were a luxury designed machine gliding down the runway, with outfits fit for any post-modern, to avant garde, quest.

Sleek for speed, efficiently trimmed to be wired… I mean sewn, and timeless. Pieces that are for the strong woman, from the norm of fashion patrons to those of industrial goth. Materials used were cotton, viscose, and silk, which Francesc took as “textures and shades that are modified through fading processes”. Definitely, it was one of my favorite shows to attend during Fashion Week. Toni Francesc officially is also one of the designers I admire, and be determined to wear this coming Fall.

Gift bag consisted of a wonderful lookbook, more information about the collection, Francesc’s biography, some of Salerm’s products (nail polish + hair product), and a CD containing all the printed information provided. All of course worthy to be stuck on my Fall 2010 fashion wall.