The onslaught of Hawaiian print in the shops horrified me until the seemingly impossible happened: they actually managed to look chic and stylish. Two of my favourite fashion personalities, Yasmin Sewell and Susie Bubble, are leading the pack as usual and show us style sheep how it’s done.
Maarten van der Horst x Topshop | Alexander Wang | Acapulco Gold
A part of me still can’t believe I’m now trumpeting Hawaiian prints as chic. But it can’t be denied - these ladies look so colourful and happy (Yasmin’s even smiling!). If you’re not too keen to fork out for a potentially questionable trend, just head on over to your local Vinnies store where I guarantee that a multitude of Hawaiian prints will greet you. The Hawaiian collar on the denim shirt (below left) seems easy to DIY and is a subtle way to try this look out.
Sportsgirl is introducing an all-new concept to Australian retail shoppers called ‘Window Shop’, a giant public billboard that displays a catalogue similiar to its online shopping website. With a catch—it’s interactive. Shoppers scan the QR barcode of a particular item on the billboard into their mobile phones and just like magic, you’re at the Sportsgirl mobile store and your purchases are a day away from being delivered to your front door. This new concept promises 24/7 interactivity, with products updated on the billboard weekly to feature the latest styles.
There’s clearly a bit of something for everyone here. For the busy shopper, Sportsgirl offers a quick way of buying items on the go. For the deliberate shopper, the billboards give an additional chance to analyse the latest products. For the impulse shopper, a 50/50 chance of post-purchase glee or regret is risk that many are willing to take.
Unfortunately, even for the (mostly) deliberate shopper such as myself, there’s only so much temptation one can face before giving in. I’m already battling with food choices all day, throw a fashion one at me and it’s very likely my wall of self-defense will crumble. Temptation sucks and now it seems that I won’t even be able to remove myself from it, with these billboards eventually to be present in train stations, shopping centres and bus shelters across the country. Even innocent sidewalk strolls aren’t safe anymore since it’s very likely that I’ll be sprung on by a billboard flashing the latest styles that are one click away from being in my wardrobe (on a side thought, maybe this will motivate me to start jogging).
However, this form of window shopping has already taken off in major cities throughout the world and Australia is the next country to happily jump on this seeming goldmine of a bandwagon. Melbourne’s Chapel St store has already received the makeover and Paddington will be receiving the ‘Window Shop’ treatment next week.
Betsey Johnson
We’ll start with Betsey Johnson. Not only is she fashion’s (crazy) sweetheart, she’s also its child at heart. Known for her signature shaggy blonde hair and red-lipped beam, she could be your adorable granddaughter…if she weren’t the age of your grandmother. She lets her employees come to work wearing a slip and has even taken her assistant to the ballet on a leash—reow! But her most impressive feat yet had to be her Spring ‘11 collection. Citing inspiration from Nicki Minaj (alarm bells!), Betsey was actually able to transform Minaj’s kooky style into something that every colour-loving girl would like to wear. If that isn’t eccentricity at its most genius, then I don’t know what is.
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl’s Twitter feed has 700,000 followers. And who can blame them for following the 140-word thoughts of the Kaister when they are treated to such gems of wisdom?
“Nonchalance in couture is very important, because couture without nonchalance is just the drag queen attitude of women of an era past.”
“Florals are for middle-aged women with weight problems.”
“On this day each year, I soak the previous year’s calendar in my mother’s favorite perfume and then set it ablaze. Here’s to a fresh start.”
The moral of the story? “Don’t look to the approval of others for your mental stability.”
John Galliano
Galliano suffered a very, very long fall from grace when a series of his drunken and anti-Semitic rants went viral. The highly publicised scandal resulted in his career imploding. At his trial, he explained work and financial pressures to be the cause— seriously, the fashion industry will make you go crazy. Since his departure at Dior, there is still a designer yet to step forward and fill his talented (and disgraced) shoes. Unfortunately, today he is more likely to be branded as a racist fashion designer than the artistic genius he was previously celebrated as.
Valentino
Red dress posing on the red carpet? Check. Matching tan and hair? Check. Personalised mode of transport? Check. In fact, for “The Last Emperor” of high fashion (there, there Karl), Vanity Fair proclaims that “three buses are needed: one to move Valentino, Giammetti [his business partner] and staff; another for luggage; and a third to transport five of Valentino’s six pugs—Milton, Maude, Monty, Margot, and Molly”.
André Leon Talley
With the invention of words such as “dreckitude”, André Leon Talley’s whirlwind personality was clear to all those transfixed (in horror, bemusement?) in front of their screens during his time on America’s Next Top Model. Although he is Vogue’s Contributing Editor, Talley also keeps busy by swathing himself in furs and swirling around in capes. It all makes for a very interesting look, more so if he’s being hand-fed grapes at the same time, a sight Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn swears that he witnessed.
Anna Wintour
Not one to be outdone by Talley, Anna Wintour is known to have even more outrageous demands. Once again, it was that lucky Tim Gunn who happened to spot Wintour being carried down flights of stairs by her bodyguards: “The bodyguards had made a fireman’s lock and were racing her from landing to landing. She was sitting on their crossed arms.” Did she also wear a crown with two horns protruding from the sides? Some would say no, many say yes, but her true power lies in the fact that she is the only one in the fashion industry who can make anything seem legitimate, wearable and highly on trend. A fashion force to be reckoned with, if Anna had liked Crocs, there is no doubt that they would be showing at Paris Fashion Week.
As much as I love the artistic direction of the highly anticipated The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo x H&M collection (above), the fact of its existence at all still baffles me. Although it looks fantastic as a grunge-punk-goth collection, I think that it’s branding as a “Lisbeth Salander” collection is really quite questionable. For those who have read the books, Salander rarely, if ever, gives any thought to her stle choices. Of course, she’s a technological genius and has an admirable amount of nerve but is that what people are even looking for in their clothes these days?
Let’s see what late author Stieg Larsson has to say on the matter in one of his interviews:
I picked up Pippi Longstocking. What would she be like today? What would she be like as an adult? What would she be called? Sociopath? DAMP-child? She has a different view of society than others. I made her into Lisbeth Salander, 25 years old, with a feeling of being a total outsider.
If the rest of this upcoming The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo collection is anything like that description, call me crazy for not wanting to channel it in my everyday wear.
Turband: turban-style headband.
When first presented with this trend, I was dubious and my belief that hipsters try pretty hard was reaffirmed. In actual fact, fashion’s dalliances with turbands goes much further back than those of the hipsters on my campus. The turban often starred in old Hollywood classics, with the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Lana Turner and Gloria Swanson all sporting turbans on their very sophisticated and glamorous ‘dos. Years later, celebrities and style-savvy fashionistas have been occasionally snapped wearing the turban. However, its main re-introduction into the fashion industry was in 2007, when Miuccia Prada included it on Spring collection catwalks. Slowly but steadily, turbans and its variations (turbands) crept up until late 2010, which saw a whole crop hit the mainstream at last, wrapped around the heads of gorgeous models at Charlotte Ronson, Jason Wu and Giorgio Armani.
Now, thanks to overexposure through mainstream fashion, I have been completely convinced as to the true stylistic qualities of wearing a turband on your head. Not only does it keep your head toasty in winter and hair neat in summer, it’s versatility means that it can be worn with hair up or down. It even sorts the issues of bad hair days- just wrap it around your head and all flaws will be hidden.
Grab your own turband from the shops or better yet, make your own from a light, summer scarf. Here are tutorials for two different styles, here and here.
1. Black Turban $19.95 at dotti.com.au
2. 1940s Black and White Striped Turban £65 at Atelier-Mayer.com
3. Audrey Square Scarf $49.95 at sportscraft.com.au
