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20120127

FASHION archive


... do please save the date, all Vienna-based fashion experts (to be) - the University of Applied Art's fashion archive will open its doors next Friday, Feb. 3, at 11 am, and disclose some of the treasures it contains (Dominikanerbastei 5, 1010) ... alors là, c'est vraiment une date à retenir si vous êtes basés à ou passez par Vienne vendredi prochain : le 3 février, à 11 heures, les archives de mode de l'Université des Arts Décoratifs vont ouvrir leurs portes et permettre qu'on se fasse une grossière idée des trésors qu'elles cachent (à l'adresse suivante : Dominikanerbastei 5, 1er arr.) ... un appuntamento da ricordare assolutamente, almeno per tutti coloro che s'interessano della storia della moda. L'archivio di moda dell'Università delle Arti Decorative di Vienna aprirà le sue porte venerdì prossimo, il 3 febbraio, a 11 ore precise (Dominikanerbastei 5, 1010). Per più informazioni consultare questo sito ...

20120126

BITCH skin

all images courtesy of Steinek gallery

... pardon my French, ladies and gentlement, all I did for the title of this post was to translate the title of the pieces I'm showing you, which Michaela Spiegel, the artist, calls "Peaux de pute". In fashion terms, I'd call these "customised fur coats", of course, and what I find interesting is the fact that they could just as well be the result of one of the countless fashion-meets-art collaborations that we have witnessed recently. But no, this is not a work COMMISSIONED by Fendi or Révillon, it is instead a chapter of Spiegel's work that she shows in the context of her show PSYCHE which is on at Steinek gallery in Vienna until February 25 ...


... j'espère que vous n'allez pas penser que je suis devenu fou ou tout à fait vulgaire en choisissant le titre que j'ai choisi pour ce message, loin de là, tout ce que j'ai fait, c'était de traduire le nom de ces pièces remarquables créées par l'artiste viennoise Michaela Spiegel, qui les appelle des "peaux de pute". Ce que je trouve très fascinant, c'est que ces manteaux en fourrure pourraient tout aussi bien faire partie d'un projet commissionné par une marque de luxe, on va dire Fendi ou Révillon, des maisons spécialisés dans le domaine de la fourrure, mais non, il ne s'agit pas non plus de vêtements "customisés", c'est plutôt un chapitre de l'exposition intitulée PSYCHE, en vue chez la galerie Steinek à Vienne jusqu'au 25 février ...


20120124

HAVE A BLAST, a colour blast

all images courtesy of Hien Le,
of his summer 2012 collection
campaign photos by Amos Fricke

... I think I must have been the only person based in Vienna and professionally interested in fashion (except for my dear colleagues who are roaming showrooms in Milan and Paris) who didn't make it to BERLIN FASHION WEEK, an event that has been attracting a lot of interest recently, and from major fashion players as for that (I'd still like to know whether the whole craze is more about Berlin-style partying or whether important deals are actually made there - well, the business situation cannot be worse than in Vienna, that's for sure). So had I gone, I would have been more than delighted to check out the amazing progress in the work of the very talented young designer Hien Le (who I already told you about). I think his use of colour and shapes is fabulous, I love his campaign photos for spring/summer, and I consider him a very convincing ambassador of minimalism in fashion ...


... après avoir été la seule personne travaillant dans le champ de la mode à Vienne qui n'a pas été à Berlin pour assister au BERLIN FASHION WEEK qui vient de se terminer, je voudrais tout de même vous signaler le seul créateur dont j'aurais absolument voulu voir la collection : c'est le très talentueux et remarquable jeune designer, Hien Le, dont je vous avais déjà parlé il y a quelques saisons. Son emploi de la couleur, sa maîtrise des formes, son œil pour l'esthétique la plus harmonieuse, font de lui, comment dirai-je, l'advocat irrésistible du minimalisme le plus réussi ...


... è appena finita la settimana della moda a Berlino e se mi chiedete a me, ho l'impressione di essere l'unica persona lavorando nell'ambito della moda a Vienna che non è andata (tranne coloro che sono andati a Milano o a Parigi per gli uomini ... ah, vi dico, la vita è ben dura...). Comunque, se fossi andato, la collezione che avrei assolutamente voluto vedere è quella di Hien Le, un giovane designer con moltissimo talento il cui lavoro sto osservando da ormai qualche stagione. Il suo occhio per le forme le più armoniose, la silhouette la più perfetta, l'uso dei colori con moderazione e gusto, tutto ciò fa di lui un designer da ritenere per i prossimi anni e un ambasciatore del minimalismo molto attraente ...

20120115

FROM RUSSIA with love

communism and pedagogics:
WHO BUILT OUR HOUSE?...
that's who built our house, the house we live in

... now I DO have to be honest with myself and ADMIT that my knowledge of the MAGNIFICENTLY BEAUTIFUL Russian tongue will not allow me to absorb texts whose degree of difficulty goes beyond that of a regular children's book (and even then...)? I mean, of course, for the time being - things have been improving, and after all I do have SOME OTHER language babies to look after (I wouldn't want to open Castilho's Portuguese translations of Molière that were the topic of my first book and not be able to understand a word, would I?). Anyhow - so what a great flea market find are these Russian children's books, I just adore them. And I would of course have bought them even if, as we say in German, Russian were to me a Spanish village - meaning the proverbial "all Greek" incomprehensibility ...

even in the midst of THE BLUEST OF SEAS, all of a sudden
a "shtorm" may come up ...

... malheureusement, et même après des années et des années d'études, l'état de mon russe est encore plutôt pitoyable. Mais bon, ça avance, ça avance, à pas de nain plutôt que de géant, et c'est sûr que 2012 n'est pas l'année où j'entamerai mon premier Dostoïevski en langue originale. Pour ce qui est d'un livre pour enfants, par contre, je pense que le moment est venu ... je suis donc d'autant plus content d'avoir déniché, sur un marché aux puces à Vienne, ces quelques exemplaires - et je les aurais achetés quand bien même je n'aurais pas la moindre idée du russe, tellement ils sont beaux - ne trouvez-vous pas? ...

20120113

THE PATTERNS of Prada

the Prada capsule collection of scarves

... isn't it always quite the same: you go to a label's fashion show, you like it or you do not, and then you start wondering which (re)interpretations of a collection's main motif will actually be meant to hit shop floors. More often than not, you'll be able to reencounter a bag, or a shoe, or a boot. Or a pair of sunglasses. Or a combination of a woolen fabric and a prominent button. Or a pattern. To make it really easy for all aficionados of Prada, the brand recently issued a "capsule collection" of scarves that carry characteristic prints from some past and the upcoming spring/summer collection (Hot Wheels - remember?). A welcome gift - for anyone who hasn't decided to stick to Thomas Zeitlberger's designs, that is ...


... c'est toujours la même chose après qu'on a assisté au défilé d'une grande maison de mode : la question est de savoir quels éléments caractéristiques, quels détails marquants vont effectivement faire le chemin jusque dans les boutiques et sous quelle forme (une citation par-ci, une allusion par-là, une délicate réinterprétation ailleurs). Pour faciliter le traintrain de la mode à ses adeptes les plus férus, Prada vient de lancer une collection limitée de foulards avec les desseins les plus voyants de ses dernières et de sa prochaine collection. Et ceci donc juste à temps pour inspirer aux fans de Miuccia des doutes sur sa prochaine inspiration - en effet, après les oasis dans le désert, les voitures, le golf, des fleurs à la façon de marimekko (ou presque) - que reste-t-il du monde ? ... effettivamente, la domanda è sempre la stessa, più o meno, dopo aver assistito alla sfilata di una delle più importanti maisons : quali dettagli caratteristici della collezione avranno fatto tutto il cammino fino ai negozi una volta che la collezione comincia a esser venduta sei mesi dopo. Normalmente, l'affare si riduce a un'allusione, una reinterpretazione, un'idea di ciò che venne presentato ai giornalisti delle importanti riviste. Vabbe', ma per rendere più contenti i suoi fedeli, Prada ha appena uscito una capsule collection con dei motivi centrali delle sue ultime collezioni, ma anche (macchina! macché?) della prossima, di primavera 2012. E tutto ciò a tempo, si capisce, per istigare i tifosi del marchio a chiedersi quale sarà il motivo principale della collezione che sarà presentato tra, ma figuratevi, un mese e mezzo. Che eccitazione (uffi) ...


20120112

COVER GIRLS 3.0 (industry secrets revealed)

... just in case anyone didn't already come across the really beautifully done "Fotoshop by Adobé" fake cosmetics commercial by Jesse Rosten - there you go. I'd say that after the fake fashion and beauty ads photographed by Steven Meisel for W magazine, this is the logical next step, and it's almost as revealing and unsettling as the legendary Dove "Evolution" commercial that caused such a great stir when it was first screened ...





20120111

OF CATFIGHTS and chocolate candy


a catfight, or should I say, THE ultimate catfight of
Alexis and Krystle (the name alone!) in the Dynasty "Reunion" series.
Best thing: this even involves fashion!!!


... with great interest I heard the news that Joan Collins will be the new "face" of the Snickers chocolate bar. Where Mr. T reached out to the community of Snickers snackers until recently, Joan "Alexis" Collins will do her best soon. So let me express my feeble hope that the Snickers commercial which she is supposed to star in will feature a chocolate candy catfight (that's what what everyone was waiting for when they had dinner & Dynasty back in the 80s, right? I was even allowed to stay up longer when the Denver Clan was on) ...

Mrs. Collins will hardly have to reach out to snackers
quite as aggressively as Mr. T does, will she?

... alors ça : le Daily Mail britannique a annoncé que Joan "Alexis" Collins est la prochaine star qui fera venir l'eau à la bouche de ses fans en essayant de leur vendre la barre de chocolat Snickers. Eh ben ouais. En vieux partisan de Dynastie (d'accord, j'étais encore très très jeune quand cela passait à la télé mais on me permettait tout de même de rester éveillé jusqu'à très tard à ces occasions-là), j'espère que la pub sera imbibée de l'esprit de la légendaire série télévisée Dynastie - peut-être même qu'il y aura une des bagarres attendues avec tant d'impatience par les fans de la série. Allez, les cacahuètes ...

edit: the German agency that co-produced the spot just leaked the German version (I guess that's not what Snickers originally intended, because the brand is definitely saving this for Super Bowl, right?)




just out - the German version of the commercial feat. Mrs Collins


do we have to expect something along these lines? after all, Collins is a real diva too...



really "sweet" - Betty White playing football

20120108

KNIT girl

all photos (c) Nicolas Receveur

... it's an obvious and well-known fact that the spring/summer season is a bit difficult for certain domains of fashion, for example milliners, furriers - and experts of knitwear will find it more of a challenge to sell their designs throughout the warm season. It's all the more impressive to see how the young Paris-based designer from Austria Michaela Buerger, who I appreciate immensely for her clever approach of the marché de la mode, adapts her collection by focussing on interesting, slightly vintage-looking swimsuits and beach accessories like the oversized shawls. Bravo, I say ...


... vous n'allez pas être surpris si je vous dis que la saison chaude s'avère un peu difficile pour certains domaines de l'industrie de la mode, par exemple les chapeliers, les fourreurs et, mais oui, les spécialistes du tricot. C'est d'autant plus intéressant d'observer comment Michaela Buerger, la jeune designer autrichienne si bien établie à Paris (où elle dessine une capsule-collection pour la maison Fabre, par exemple), a su adapter sa collection (elle mise sur le tricot depuis plusieurs saisons déjà) aux jours où il fait bon et chaud. Pour des jours à la plage, ses maillots de bain en tricot, pourquoi pas ? Et pour les compléter, quelques ensembles bien sexy ainsi que des foulards oversized. Adorable, qu'en dites-vous ? ...


... and to top things off, Michael was invited by the all-important Fédération française de la haute couture to present her collection on the upcoming Sidaction gala during Couture week - just take a look at this album published by Vogue Paris to check out the very important audience that attended the gala last year. Good luck to Michaela, then ...

... dernière nouvelle de l'univers de Michaela : elle vient d'être invitée par la Fédération française de la haute couture de participer au gala de Sidaction, lequel a lieu en janvier pendant la semaine de la haute couture et où, à en croire cet album publié sur Vogue.fr après l'édition de 2011, le tout Paris de la mode vient pour s'amuser et apporter du soutien à une bonne cause ...