fashion journalism: trends

TREND REPORT

TROUSERS WITH A TWIST

A brightness that cannot be ignored is dancing down the streets of Paris for summer and fall 2011. Legs adorned in the colors alluding royalty and passion; in colors that make bold statements and others speaking softly in delicate blush tones. Nothing is off limits; nothing is too much to show off the legs by covering them up in pants.

Once put on, colored pants can take you anywhere be it a stroll in the park, a romantic picnic, the cinema, a quick bite to eat, dancing, loud concerts, or shopping for more colored pants. While available in countless hues, colored pants are most popular in red, blush, and green. More careful variations of the color pants are black, gray, and white versions. These colors are still set apart from the standard denim color but make much less of a statement.

Where did this trend begin and why has it taken root? It may have started with the olive pants, which were a part of the military looks of previous seasons. It may have begun because of a hopeful outlook for the economy in the upcoming months. Or perhaps the rainbow of options is yet another way to focus in on the legs because these tones certainly draw attention to themselves. The list could go on and on but where the colored pants trend began is really a chicken or the egg phenomenon. Will the bright colors lead to further standout fashion styles? Can intense trends help excavate an economy buried under political problems? Subdued colors are safe and easy as they can be worn again and again without being recognized but a bright pair of pants must be in a careful rotation to avoid wardrobe scrutiny. These pants symbolize frivolity and a carefree attitude. Even if they prove more than a fad, each season will bring new colors and another reason to shop again for a new pair. These are not the careful, wear anywhere denim jeans. These pants shout to be looked at and must be worn with a bit of gusto and confidence. As one person wearing red pants said, I feel optimistic when I’m in these pants. It’s like everything good is coming in my direction.” It is clear now that it does not matter where it exactly began but instead where this trend will go. Several designers featured colored pants in their Fall 2011runway, including 3.1 Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung. Phillip Lim’s relaxed fit ankle pants were tailored enough for some, albeit risky, business casual looks and the pants played a contrast to muted tops. Prabal Gurung used red and hot pink as accent colors on the runway. There is no better way to accent an outfit than with the pink flare pants from this line.

Now these pants can be found in various lengths and styles it is possible to match up personal style to this sought-after trend. Blush chinos could make for a casual chic look while red cigarette ankle jeans could breath new life into street looks. Travelling down the spectrum from safe to quite daring, one way to wear this style is in a monochromatic look pairing shades of the same color together from head to toe. No matter how it is worn, bright colors and anything but regular denim will certainly be on par for the coming months.

Madame Grès: Influence from Obscurity

Today for class we went to the Madame Gres exhibit at the Bourdelle Museum. For our fashion journalism class we had to do a write up about the exhibit, below.

Madame Grès is often a mysterious figure in the fashion industry but the exhibit: Madame Grès, la couture à l'oeuvre, at the Bourdelle Museum in Paris pulled the veil of obscurity back a bit to reveal a couturier of great talent. The exhibit displayed her garments as well as he sketches, and photographs of her work making clear mark on fashion.

Madame Grès’ skills spanned draping, tailoring, and sewing at their highest level. Her gowns were perfectly executed and her dresses lay smoothly. The beauty is in the detail of her work. Madame Grès was a frontrunner of the movement toward using jersey in night and day wear as opposed to only using jersey for men’s undergarments. This formerly hidden textile is made graceful as she gathers meters of fabric into several centimeters of drapes. This use of jersey has now led to use of jersey for every type of clothing for both day and night in current fashion. Her faux-fur jumpsuit was avant-garde and unique. Unfortunately the back of this could not be viewed and so curiosity about the closure of the garment remains. The bows, folds, and colors seen were stunning, from bright yellows, oranges, and even several different primary and secondary blocks of color in one gown. Madame Grès use of innovative textiles for her work of the mid-20^th century can serve is an inspiration to designers today to continue striving for innovation and excellence.

Knowing that Madame Gres worked directly on the body or on a mannequin, at times probably somewhat unconventionally, helps her often-unknown work to become clearer. She had a unique understanding of the movement of the female body and how the bone structure, muscles, and shape worked together. She carefully celebrated the female body, sometimes by covering it almost completely and other times by cleverly revealing it.

After seeing the work of Madame Grès, her continued influence on current fashion can be recognized in the seemingly ever-present draped jersey dress as well as in more elegant runway designs. While Madame Grès has been shrouded in obscurity, her legacy lives on in her influence on today’s fashions. This exhibit is very informative on the work of a couturier who is rarely recognized though its setting amongst the works Bourdelle makes it necessary to be very thorough in order to not miss a single piece.

The Dutch & their bikes

Amsterdam has a population of about 750,000 yet has 1.2 million bikes! Never before have I seen so many bikes (or inhaled so much secondhand marijuana smoke) so this post is entirely dedicated to bikes.

Here is a bike parking area:

The bikes below are chained to the canal railing; many bikes are not chained to anything. Instead, they have a chain through the wheels so that they cannot turn without unlocking it. Someone said that on average they have their bike stolen every two years.

They bike out in the country too, of course!

I'm not sure how everyone finds their bike back at the end of the day. They have a bike parking garage by the train station but unfortunately I couldn't get a photo as my hands were full of baggage.

They created floating bike parking on the canal to accommodate them all.

And with so many bikes comes special bike lanes, bike road signs and...

bike traffic lights for busy intersections!

Bun in the Oven

Here is the logo for a project I developed last quarter. I had to write a business plan for a retail business of my choice. I developed a plan for a maternity and children's boutique called Bun in the Oven. I made this logo on Inkscape- a free online program that is similar to Illustrator. The program is not to difficult to use but of course, it is different than Illustrator which I had already learned how to use!

Read my fingers!

If you look closely, there is newsprint on my fingernails! You'll probably have to click to enlarge the photo to actually see anything. I'll try to find another photo that is better. It was difficult to get a proper photograph as it turns out hand are hard take pictures of. This was a fun little spring break activity I did with a friend of mine. I can't take credit for the idea, my friend found it online. You can find some good instructions at A Pretty Penny Blog. This blog tells you not to press down too hard on the newspaper but I say go for it. The more you press on it, the better print it will make on your nail. Be careful not to move it around at all though and peel it off before the paper dries or it will stick to your nail. Other things to keep in mind is to make sure your coats under the newsprint are very dry and don't forget a topcoat or it won't stay on! Don't worry if it's not perfect though...everyone loves it anyway.

Also, you can see my beautiful engagement ring in this photo! Didn't he do a great job picking it out?

rrain wear

Here are the final sketches for my CAD project:


This inspiration for this line came from the idea of being “right as rain,” and expression that means just right; another similar expression is “fit as a fiddle.” This expression can be used when someone is feeling satisfied, comfortable, and that everything is as it should be. Performance clothing should be not only comfortable but also satisfying. The purpose of rrain wear line is just that, to provide comfortable clothing for outdoor and active lifestyles. The target customer, a woman between the ages 25-40, does not want to compromise her style even when she is being active. This active wear has unique stitching details, excellent fit, and an up to date color story to fulfill this desire. The stitching as a design detail is a finishing touch that makes the line “right as rrain.”

The word "rrain" is spelled with two "r's" to indicate my first initial and the inspiration "right as rain."