monday links

Apologies for the slow-down in posting lately, I've been so busy with work and going crazy with no time to myself. I'm heading overseas this Friday (!!!) which will be such a needed break and lots of fun. I'm taking my computer so hopefully free time will equal more posts! Enjoy these links today and I plan on posting about Paris Fashion Week sometime before Friday (I'm pretty much a month late, how hopeless).

- Love of my life Tori Amos looking incredible in a photoshoot for the first time in years, here.

- 90s Woman, a site I have spent so many hours on reading about (I won't say reliving, I was under the age of ten for the whole of the nineties!) nineties women's issues brought into the present. Among the most popular tags on the site are 'feminism' and 'Lady GaGa' so it pretty much ticks all my boxes.

- One of the best interviews I have ever read, Vice Magazine/Karl Lagerfeld.

- An extensive collection of very confronting advertisements here.

[image from Chanel's Spring/Summer 2010 campaign]

thisisapastiche presents: milan fashion week blooper reel

Milan is always pretty solid, and there weren't any real lows to speak of this season. However some of my favourites went in directions I really didn't understand or like - Jil Sander was (sadly) really dull, Fendi had its moments but also had some downright hideous fur and Marni was too loud for me, not enough of the simple colour-blocked clothes to gorgeous overbearing accessories ratio.

prada fw10

Such a change from last season but I guess that is to be expected of Prada. There was a much more demure look overall this time around - everything from the fabric, the cuts and model choice. There were some great prints and colours, and the whole thing made me think of modern tweed - classic looks made interesting and brought into the present. For instance, the incredible 'eyebrow' sunglasses which were such a quirky idea to throw into something so reserved. However I think if Miuccia was going to use fuller figured models (which she did), she should have gone a bit further because so many girls were swimming in the clothes and selling them poorly as a result. Yes it's a relevant and interesting topic of discussion which she's brought to the runway, but I feel like it could have been a bit more concrete.

gabriele colangelo fw10

I really don't have much to say about this collection except that it was pretty much flawless. I loved everything from the hair to the colours (or lack of) to the incredibly subtle shapes of the dresses. Gorgeous.

albino fw10

This collection is very clean cut and deceptively simple, with amazing use of graphic qualities and proportions. For me, the long dresses were the winners here (in fact long dresses in general have been catching my attention for a while now) as well as the minimal colours, not straying from peach tones, black, grey and white. I absolutely love obvious (but not overdone) coherence in collections, and this theme was stretched just enough without becoming tiresome. I remember really liking Albino's previous season too, so hopefully the label continues to hit the mark with such great work.

thisisapastiche presents: london fashion week blooper reel

My main comment about London Fashion Week is that I'm really disappointed in Christopher Kane, who used to be so fantastic and is now completely losing his touch (or his mind). Come back to us next time with something amazing please!

charles anastase fw10

This is the perfect example of something I click with but can't explain why. Most of the (surprisingly small?) collection makes beautiful sense to me and even though I can't figure out any coherent theme, I still love the abstraction and the playfulness of everything. I wish I could figure out what goes on in this man's mind. Oh and also the incredible shoes are back - in more colours this time around - still haunting/taunting me.

louise goldin fw10

I wish I had something more erudite to say about this collection aside from "That is SO fucking cool!" but I don't. It's so incredible to me that someone can mould these materials this way, not to mention having the vision to do so in the first place. This whole thing gave me such a visual kick.

todd lynn fw10

I've never paid much attention to Todd Lynn before, and looking at this collection makes me wonder why on earth not. Fuck this was so good; everything was so slick and impeccable! I loved the contrast of materials, especially the looks that featured leather. Yes the whole thing was a little samey but it was so futuristic in an everyday sort of way, and god I can't get over the craftmanship. Beautiful work.

erdem fw10

This collection wasn't nearly as polished as previous seasons, it was a bit darker and an obvious attempt at moving in a new direction. As such there were hits and misses. It was a bit all over the place with the excessive frills and the outerwear looks were superb but didn't really seem Erdem-like at all. On a more positive note, his signature dress silhouette was still there and gorgeous as always. Plus I loved the selection of colours and prints even though they're not really my style.

thisisapastiche presents: new york fashion week blooper reel

New York is well known as the most safe, even boring, of all four Fashion Weeks. Who would have thought that 'boring' would give us such interesting (read: lolworthy) runway looks!? Enjoy.

yigal azrouel fw10

I can see a more adventurous side this season, moving this line into more dark and serious territory. After seeing all the suits and all the leather, I was nervous for a moment that no (signature) knits were coming, but Azrouel delivered as usual. The only thing that didn't work for me were the slightly bodycon and showy dresses; definitely not where the talent lies here, and not true to the brand at all. The strongest looks were more often than not the ones for men, and I especially loved the pops of reddish tones here and there which weren't too overbearing and added some nice variety.