So obviously I was given the wrong info. A while back on my wonderful blog (you know its wonderful), I was given the news that Christopher Kane would be taking over Nicholas Ghesquière position at Balenciaga. This was apparently not true, according to WWD this morning the designer that will now become creative director of Balenciaga will be the effortless stylish Alexander Wang. Does it make sense though? Maybe it's just because I was just coming to terms with Kane's take over, but can Wang replace Ghesquière? to be honest Wang is always a great way to get over things. So here's it to Wang. Let Wang prevail! VIVA WANG!- Here at WhatIsABoyToDo I wish him the best of luck! To Read what WWD said click here.
Last night the brilliant Miuccia Prada opened her exclusive 3 day members club at the Café Royal in the heart of London. This limited occasion consists of a bar (obviously), restaurant and a small shop where those invited can shop till they drop whilst sipping on their Champagne deep into the night. Now how great does that sound?--AMAZING! For us who unfortunately have not been invited, the great news is we get to log on from home and hear the wise words of Shala Monroque and Penny Martin tonight starting at 6:30 GMT. Although I would have much rather been sipping cocktails with Nick Cave at last nights event, I'll definitely be watching tonight's conversation with the hope of being awed by very inspirational women if the industry. Hey, beggars cant be choosers. To watch tonight follow here.
This all started when I first saw the Balmain collection. Heavily embellished, very structured somewhat armor like, the Balmain 12-13 collection blow me away. Since then I pondered on how this effeminate look can be translated into menswear? Then a small trip to Spain reminded me that its has already been done! Matadors have been adorning appliqued, embellished uniforms for decades.
In the beautiful city of Nerja, I, together with my partner and his parents, enjoyed the last of the sun, great food and drinks with a constant view of the stunning Mediterranean sea. Little did I know that I would see something that will not only inspire me for my next StitchUp London collection but it made me even contemplate moving to Spain. It's weird the effect clothes have on me, I barely understand it myself.
In a wonderfully elaborate hotel Chris and I came a across this beautiful Matador custom. A piece so stunning, that I had to try to take as many pictures to try to do it justice. In a glass box, treat as if it where a masterpiece, there it stood right by the reception commanding attention, and that is what it got.
Every individual tiny detail in this one piece can create the most romantic collection. So obviously designers have already picked up on this and here are a few things that are my personal favourites.
Lets start with the A.F Vandevorst shoes and make our way through to Balmain.
Unfortunately I couldn't find a Matador jacket to take back with me so I opted for the Spanish Sombrero. This does not mean that my quest for the jacket has ended- this is just the first chapter of my journey to get it. To be continued.
The news is out. Replacing the faboulous Nicolas Ghesquiére for Balenciaga is, drum roll please................ the talented Christopher Kane. Cannot wait to see the outcome!
It was 6:00 am and after a night of white wine, Champagne, red wine and whiskey, the last thing I wanted was an early start the following day. After a drunken conversation with my friend Sabrina while intoxicated, I thought it would be a fabulous idea to meet her at the crack of dawn after a debaucherous night. The phone rang at 6 and luckily, I was still drunk so it felt as if everything was still a dream, and it probably wasn't too far from.
We didn't have to queue for hours in the cold, we were respectful given wrist bands and where told to come back 5 minutes before it was our time and like clock work, we followed instuctions. There was no pushing no banging no shouting or hollering. Simple. 10 mins to browse and shop, you can only select one one item per style, fair and simple.
Still drunk from the night before, I bought what I wanted (minus the over-sized watch face bracelet, as I missed it). We headed up to the stylish Selfridge's fitting rooms (with cameras in them to take photos of what your wearing and send to a friend) to try on our new purchases and this is what we got.
So what better way to celebrate a successful Maison Martion Margiela/ H&M day then with a cigarette and lunch. An all in all perfect day- good company, fine purchases (minus the bracelet) and nice food. I wonder who is doing the next H&M collaboration, please make it good like Margiela- creative designers should be more accessible to the high street! well maybe only once in a while, or else they will lose some value. Either way I'm glad with this collaboration. Totally worthwhile and spot on!
Our childhoods are over as we know them. Gone are the days of referring back to our favourite Disney toons to give us that warm and fuzzy feeling of security and being safe to re insure us that everything will be alright in the end. Nope, those days are gone; much like our relationships with our parents, the older we get we figure out that our mothers aren't sweet innocent women dressed by small woodland animals daily as she sings in 8 octaves rejoicing her love that the a new day has began; our fathers are not the muscular hero that can save you from fire breathing dragons, powerful wizards and witches and a mob of people who are trying to kill you because they just don't understand you. No my loves, we find out that our parents are just mere mortals just like us.
The new realisation is this: although Disney always taught us that everything is beautiful, simple and traditional, real life is never like this. Life is complicated, messy and unpredictable yet still can be as beautiful without certain traditions and hang ups. Artist Rodolfo Loazia paints the Disney characters somewhat after their roles as princes and princesses end. We need no longer ask 'what every happened to Jasmine and Aladdin after they got married?' or 'did Cinderella & prince charming truly live happily ever after?' the truth is Jasmine fell in love with Belle, Aladdin, upset with his wife that he had used all his 3 wishes on, went to his confidant, Hercules, and after a few too many drinks, tears and an emotional breakdown, they found each other lip locking their aggression out. Haven't we all been there? And as for Cinderella- the girl eventually got everything she wanted. So what happens to the women who goes from rags to riches? Sadly she couldn't deal with it. It started when she began to hang out with that slut Sleeping Beauty, and they would continuously attend their Balls in shorter dresses without underwear exposing themselves to all their minions, then it just got worse. Her once gorgeous blonde hair was stripped away. In a moment of pure insanity, she decides that she no longer needs it and not in the spiritual sense of the word- but in a 'I don't know what the hell i'm doing' way, assuming it'll grow back in the morning. That bitch cray.
But its not all doom and gloom; another thing that we were all taught from Disney was aspiration. We all can have what we want and dream when you believe. This is demonstrated to well in the new Disney & Barneys New York collaboration. Taking us into Minnie Mouse's mind and fantasy of getting her Lanvin dress. The short cartoon gives us very influential people in fashion from editors such as Suzy Menkes, models like Naomi Campbell, celebrities like Gaga & Sarah Jessica Parker, as well designers like Alber Elbaz, hair & make up artists, photographers and other fashion icons like Daphne Guinness. To be fair, there is nothing I love more than seeing someone I like illustrated. I don't really know why, but I guess its because there is so many ways of drawing someone depending on what part you see them and how they are perceived. Its a cute cartoon that has the softness and happiness of Disney, but the hard edge of today.
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