Barbados Fashion Week: The Launch

During the recent fashion month held between September and October,  I was totally unraveled and left to be hung by a thread as the collections that I liked from the four major fashion capitals gave me such had a mental rush. Just as I had regained my composure, the unraveling was beginning to happen again as the time for my beloved country Barbados, to host its very own fashion week was here. With a slogan of ‘Fierce, Fabulous & Furious’, Barbados Fashion Week, produced by Unique Productions Worldwide Ltd, officially launched on October 25th at the Kensington Oval Warehouse and this year’s premier fashion event had a line-up consisting of local, regional and international designers. The opening ceremony was a gala and cocktail party event which was attended by designers, models, fashionistas, socialites, local media and even Club Fashion, an international TV show. So I had a night spent mingling, talking fashion and rubbing shoulders with all the attendees. The evening then conclude with a climax as the after-party was held at infamous ‘PRIVA‘ an elite nightclub on the west coast of Barbados.

me with fellow Fashion Bloggers Njeri of  “Fashion!Lights!Couture!” and Dre of “Dre Decarlo“

Top: Attendees, Fashion Blogger Dre

Bottom: Club Fashion interviewing model Sedia Jackman, Attendees

Mr.Hugh Williams one of the directors of Unique Productions Worldwide Ltd and I

PRIVA Nightclub

Dear friend and Fashionisto Imran Williams and I

Designer Kenneth Barlis and fellow blogger Dre with myself

my outfit for the night.

The evening was filled with beautiful people and definitely was Fierce, Fabulous & Furious!

Related Articles:

Barbados Fashion Week 2012: 1st Night

Barbados Fashion Week 2012: 2nd Night

Barbados Fashion Week 2012: 3rd Night

Paris Fashion Week: Top Trends

“Paris is always a good idea” – Audrey Hepburn

They say all good things must come to an end and the final fashion week from the major fashion capitals has come. After all that fashion from New York, London and Milan, I make my final travel stop in the City of Lights. Paris Fashion Week has sadly ended and many fashion lovers worldwide, myself included, are wishing we could rewind everything or keep it on repeat. To me, it looks like they saved the best for last as Paris Fashion Week had many presentations which were either magically themed or had a great story line. It’s not that I’m saying the other fashion weeks were not great but Paris took it over the top.

For this year fashion week there were many top fashion houses showcasing and the popular celebrities and socialites couldn’t be left out, so there was never a dull moment. So it was obvious expectations and excitement were on an all high as many top luxury designers were on hand to present. Most of the clothes were trendy and wearable, they could have been in retail stores the very next day. The designers created quite a stir mixing beauty and purity, the minimal look, feminine details and silhouettes, even borrowed from the guys as pants suits were quite a hit, in their collections. Truth be told, some designers I totally fell in love with like Ellie Saab, but others didn’t make such an impression on me or left much to be desired, but “c’est le vie” in the fashion world.

Here are my favourite out of the top trends from the Paris:

Embellished

Nina Ricci, Vivienne Westwood, Isabel Marant

Ellie Saab, Lanvin, Ellie Saab

Sheer

Christian Dior, Cacharel, Valentino

Maxi Dress

Paul & Joe, Maiyet, Kenzo

Peplum

Jitrois, Akris, Anne Valerie Hash

Prints

Elie Saab, Balmain, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Ruffles

Balenciaga, Anne Valerie Hash, Givenchy

Suits

Saint Laurent, Haider Ackermann, Valentin Yudashkin

V-Necklines

Vionnet, Paul & Joe, Akris

Black

Costume National Akris, Saint Laurent

Jean-Paul Gaultier, Lanvin, Valentino

Blue

Ellie Saab, Barbara Bui, Stella McCartney

White

Valentin Yudashkin, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Valentino

Ellie Saab, Balmain, Guy Laroche

And that’s a wrap from the wonderful french capital as the final curtain has closed, it definitely was a blast looking at all the fashion. So now I await the start of  Fashion Week in my beloved country Barbados, stay tuned for the coverage from BB Fashion Week.

Milan Fashion Week: Top Trends

mama mia

After taking in the designs from the land of the Queen, I hopped on over to Italy. Fashion month is whizzing by and I can’t believe that the latest, Milan Fashion Week has gone already. Home to many major fashion houses like Versace, Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, just to name a few, Milan Fashion Week has shown some glamorous designs. From the labels named, it’s hard to know what to expect and that is what added to my excitement.

The labels commanded great attention as they showcased their collections taking you back in time  with forties, fifties and sixties shapes or over to Asia with geisha girls. From my close observation,  minimalism was the big trend on the runways as most of the designers took more to the minimalist aesthetic with functional and clean designs. Cut-outs, lace, sheer, stripes and prints are still big, flower power is back and there was a strong representation of black, white and sea green as designers  played with colors.  At the end of looking through the collections, it was clear that Milan delivered a week filled with great designs.

Favorite looks of the top trends from the italian capital:

Asian Influence

Aquilano Rimondi, Etro, Prada

Bold Prints

Moschino, Aquilano Rimondi, Antonio Marras

Cut-Outs

Ermanno Scervino, Etro, Versace

Deep Plunge Neck Lines

Gucci, Frankie Morello, Versace

Floral

Bottega Veneta, Prada, Etro

Lace Applications

left and right: Roberto Cavalli,  center: Versace

Sheer Layers

Dolce & Gabbana, Alberta Ferritti, Emilio Pucci

Stripes

Dolce & Gabbana, Versus, Sportsmax

Black

Emilio Pucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sportmax

Sea Green

Alberta Ferritti, Giorgio  Armani, Gucci

White

Emilio Pucci, Jil Sander, Moschino

Milan Fashion Week  will be forever be stuck in my mind as  it was full with many memorable moments.

That’s three major cities fashion weeks down and one more to go.

So for now it’s,  Chao Italia!

London Fashion Week: Top Trends

Little mouse, little mouse where have you been?

I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.

From the coveted New York Fashion Week, I took a trip over to England for London Fashion Week. While models and fashionistas checked-in at airports, I did my checking-in online to see what the British had to offer. Compared to the other major fashion cities like New York, Milan and Paris, London is not very known for sleek  splendour designs. Therefore  London can be considered the underdog of the major fashion capitals as they tend to take a more comical theatrical approach to fashion.

However that outlook on fashion is changing, as some designers over the last few years have been adding versatility to their collections as the public is looking to buy wearable designs. But there were still those traditional designers and this lead to a mixture of tastes showcased in the collections with strong pop, prim and punk influences. At the end of the week it was evident that even though fashion is evolving in England, the designers stayed true to themselves to their tailored roots despite the present evolution of their  fashion.

This year, during the various shows of London Fashion Week, tradition looks were still holding onto the throne but it was quite clear that there were strong trends going around. There were plenty of  black and white designs going around, designers opted  for the relaxed loose-fit, flowing look and even though there were many  bold prints. However most designs had a  minimalism look approach showing that sometimes less is more. Here are some looks that were trending amongst the designers:

Black

Temperley London, Osman, Heohwan Simulation

Fashion Fringe, Yifang Wan, Emilio de la Morena

White

Julien Macdonald, Temperley London, Willow

Simone Rocha, J Js Lee, Christian Blanken

Loose-fit

Jean-Pierre Braganza, Paul Smith, Jasper Conran

Das, Vivienne Westwood, Maria Grachvogel

Tom Ford, Julien Macdonald, Das

Bold Prints

Maria Grachvogel, Mary Katrantzou, Antoni

Louise Gray, Belle Sauvage, Jean Pierre Braganza

Ekaterina Kukhareva, Michael van der Ham, Peter Pilotto

Traditional Theatricals

John Roca, Giles

Dans la Vie, Phillip Treachy

Meadham Kirchhoff, Hellen Van Rees

The British designers did impress me and are proving they are a force to be reckon with. So I’m signing off from London with love and heading over to Milan.

New York Fashion Week: Top Trends

Baby I’m from New York!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s  nothing you can’t do
Now you’re in New York!
These streets will make you  feel brand new,
Big lights will inspire you,
Hear it for New York!
(New  York, New York, New York)

chorus of New York by Alicia Keys

When Alicia Keys sang those words to her infamous song “New York”, I think she was referring to the recent New York Fashion Week. The opportunity to have been able to experience this year’s shows would have been an honour and privilege. However it wasn’t meant to be but I was lucky enough to have the next best thing, access to plenty of live-streams and pictures of the coverage via the internet. From the exquisite designs to the stylish celebrities and socialites who attended, it is no wonder that New York Fashion Week is one of the most coveted events amongst those who follow the fashion scene or those in the fashion industry. Now that New York Fashion Week is officially over even though I feel it went by too fast, I have closely examined all the spring/summer 2013 looks and I’ll share with you the top trends amongst the designers.

Here are the highlights:

• The designers turned up the level of sexy with many designs brandishing harnesses.

both left and center: Jason Wu, BCBG Max Azria

• While on the subject of sexy, it couldn’t have been brought to the table without the lace and the sheer, it was draped, layered and mixed with solid garments.

Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera,  Carmen Marc Valvo

Badgley Mischka, Tadashi,  Vivienne Tam

•  Another appealing look that was on the runway was leather, from all-over pieces to panelled pieces of leather incorporated into designs, it was hot, hot, hot.

both left and center: Reem Acra, Derek Lam

• The cut-out trend is still with us but the designers are mastering this look this season with more sophisticated peek-a-boo here, and there.

Diane Von Furstenberg, Mara Hoffman, Michael Kors

• Stripes are still trendy and were seen on the runways in various sizes and colours.
  
  Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger

• Even though  this year’s very fashionable Olympics is over, the sporty look is still with us.

Helmut Lang, Rag & Bone, Jen Kao

• There was also noticeable colour trends and the ones that popped the most were yellow, pink, orange blue and green.
  
  Lela Rose, DKNY, Oscar de la Renta

 Jenni Kayne, Honor, Marchesa

Vivienne Tam, BCBG Max Azria, Carolina Herrera

Farah Angsana, Rebecca Taylor, Peter Som

Lela Rose, Zac Posen, Rag & Bone

• The traditional colours of black and white could not be left out of this affair.

left and center: Jason Wu, Oscar de la Renta

DKNY, Diane Von Furstenberg, Honor

So there you have it folks and now that you have seen what’s coming for spring/summer 2013, we can rest assure that we would be looking fierce and  fabulous in 2013. Remember even though you can’t control the trends you can dictate your style, so choose the ones that compliment you well.