…or at least I wish for an anti-fug ordinance. This post is dedicated to the Fug Girls, who give the gift of spontaneous laughter to the world. They write in verse (4th item)! What dedication!

We have entered the age of Style Amnesia. We wake up and turn on the television or flip through US Weekly to be guided in our dress. “Ooooh. Low-rise jeans today. Multiple layers of draped jersey today. Oversized leather belt and oversized sunglasses today. Ballet flats today. That’s so hot. I’m gonna look awesome….” Trouble is, this trend is stagnant and has been mercilessly stuck in a perpetual feedback loop for years now. In this country, those with an effortless individual style are fast becoming a rare breed.

image: Lindsay Lohan www.gofugyourself.com

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Japanese culture, its structure and how the individual plays their role in it is a subject that endlessly fascinates me and contradicts my Western sensibilities. It is a kind of “chasing the dragon” situation: the more I try to understand the Japanese mind, the way they interact with each other and create art, the more I get lost in the ambiguities and press harder for an exact understanding. I am not meant to understand and I know this. It doesn’t matter. I will always appreciate their prodigious creative and intellectual output.

image: Asagi Maeda bracelet SO-EN magazine, December 2005

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Over the last few seasons designers have been surrendering to enchantment. The mood, executed lightly or darkly, is a surrendering to the fog of history and folklore. Considering current events, it may reflect the Zeitgeist. Then again, it may not. However, one thing is clear: exploring the richness of fairytale and legend will provide designers with a neverending supply of themes.

image: Alexander McQueen a/w 2006-7 www.style.com

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“Gemma’s in a different stratosphere. She’s got that extra thing, that inexplicable thing.” This from Vogue Australia’s editor-in-chief Kirstie Clements. Australian Gemma Ward emerged a couple of years ago with the crop of “bug-eye models”, but was immediately set apart as a favorite of designers and photographers alike.

image: www.style.com

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A tailored look equates to a modern look. Tailored garments are cut with precision, using an individual’s measurements. Precision denotes sophistication, and to be sophisticated is to be mature. Modern trends suffer from a lack of maturity. The following tailored looks from the fall 2006 shows are stylish in their refined structures, and are a far cry from the naiveté that currently crowds our city sidewalks (particularly along the LA/NYC axis).

image: Aquascutum a/w 2006-7 www.style.com

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Many designers trot the globe to invoke inspiration. The designers behind Ivana Helsinki simply go camping in their backyard. The cheery, whimsical prints are originally inspired by Scandinavian camping trips in the 70’s. Paola Suhonen’s designs are wearable and charming all at once. The collections have grown out of almost folklorish origins: “…the globe’s most northern match factory in the dark uninhabited wildwood of eastern Helsinki”.

image: Ivana Helsinki a/w 2005-6 www.ivanahelsinki.com

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Sophia Kokosalaki’s s/s 2006 collection is a divine example of taking traditional elements and spinning them into modern variations. There is so much to learn from this collection. Foremost is the effect of drapery. I would like to believe that it’s the result of genetic memory, given her Greek roots, but that would deny her the praise she should receive for hard work.

image: Sophia Kokosalaki s/s 2006 www.style.com

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As I construct my own garments, I have a deep appreciation for talent. Molly Grad has talent. She far out-shone the rest at the Central Saint Martins MA show earlier this year. The layering, pleating and gathering of her fabrics creates clever volumes on areas of the female form that contrast with and bring attention to the legs.

image: Molly Grad CSM MA show www.catwalking.com

image: Molly Grad CSM MA show www.catwalking.com


image: Molly Grad CSM MA show www.catwalking.com

image: Molly Grad CSM MA show www.catwalking.com

image: Molly Grad CSM MA show www.catwalking.com

Her work is beautiful and thought-provoking. May she go far.

In the fashion industry, it’s not enough to be a talented designer. To be successful you must be self-sufficient when it comes to making shrewd business decisions. How to keep production costs down? Shall assemblage of the garments be done in Hong Kong or North Carolina? Will the integrity of the materials used be compromised in the pursuit of maximum profit?

Apart from these generalities there are two questions that are seldom asked: How is production going to impact the environment? The community? Katharine Hamnett, Natalie Chanin and Enrico Marone-Cinzano of Project Alabama and Peter Ingwersen of Noir ask themselves these questions, and likely can feel good about the answers.

image: www.katharinehamnett.com

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A superior source of information on fashion is www.jcreport.com.