>>  Their collection did kind of remind me of Lucky Charms -- there were rainbows, stars, hearts, and lots of magically delicious colors.  But don't worry, Eley Kishimoto's collection wasn't so overdone that it was tacky.  Rather, it was the perfect fusion of the Japanese fashion-inspired and the sixties-inspired, making for a cheerful spring/summer collection to contrast all the drabness that has prevailed thus far. 

On the rainbow dress, right, we see the tiers that were all over in NY, but this is definitely the best treatment I've seen of them so far -- probably because the print is fairly busy, so it draws some of the attention away.  Very cute, and I love the buttons down the front. 

The heart dress (left) is one of my favorites of this collection -- I love the simplicity of the shift dress shape, embellished with a big bright-red heart and a ruffle at the bottom that alludes to a tutu.  Very simple, and yet unique.

It looks like big sunglasses are here to stay for another season, if this collection and Luella have any influence.  Again, I love this top, with the big smacking red lips against the darker background.  Playful?  Check.  Cute?  Check.  Graphic qualities?  Check.  Add 'em all up, and what do you get?  My resounding approval. 

More photos of the collection available at yahoo.

>>  Alexander McQueen, son of a cabbie, has made himself into one of the most powerful designers in the world.  And it doesn't look like he's going away anytime soon, considering the success of his Hitchockian Fall/Winter collection.  I have the utmost respect for this man, who has always lived by his own rules, at times flipping the world the bird.  Like the time twenty years ago, for instance, when as an apprentice he wrote "I am a cunt" in the lining of a jacket destined for the Prince of Wales. 

In anticipation of his new collection's debut in Paris, The Guardian did a wonderful article on McQueen that made me respect him even more.  One of my favorite excerpts:    

McQueen has always been more about psychology than clothes. He is not particularly interested in pretty faces or pretty clothes simply on a superficial level. ("David Beckham is vainer than the veins on my dick," he once said, with consummate delicacy.) Psychological themes crop up time and again. As well as shows based on Hitchcock and Picnic at Hanging Rock, there have been collections inspired by Lord of the Flies, chess games, and asylums. McQueen calls his shows "my own living nightmares", but part of the power of the shows is due to the fact that they have an emotional resonance with audiences as well, McQueen having the outsider's ability to take a clear-eyed look into the fashion world. Sometimes he feels like the fashion industry's therapist, he jokes.

**sources: nymag.com

>> One of the first Spring/Summer collections to come our way from Europe, Tim van Steenbergen's show Moules de Belgique, set the ball rolling in a good direction.  Elegance and class emanated from the metallics, the knits, the puffy-sleeved cropped jackets and the full skirts. Even a hoodie was thrown in here and there.  It was all very streamlined, simple, and yet striking -- very wearable, but far from everyday.  The beiges and creams that we saw in New York were very prominent, as well as a pair of the jodhpurs that seem to have popped up in many of the shows thus far. 

>> Looks like cries have changed from "Save Katie!" to "Save Kate!" as the Daily Mirror shockingly revealed that Kate Moss does cocaine.  Wow, what a revelation!  I mean, who would have thought -- Kate Moss, doing the cocaine?  No.... 

CNN is backing up the story, reporting that Miss Moss acknowledged that the allegations were true.  If nothing else, I have respect for her owning up to her actions.  And really, this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.  Not to be presumptuous, but it's not exactly new news that Kate does drugs.  But that's not why we like her anyway.  We like her look.  We like her style.  We like the way she carries herself.  And we like her devil-may-care personality. 

At the same time, however, I do worry about Lila Grace, Kate's daughter, and how this affects her.  Because by no means do I think she deserves a mother who does drugs. 

As a side note, I do find this t-shirt the Imaginary Socialite snapped a picture of (I believe at the Heatherette show) quite amusing.         

Another interesting, more fleshed-out view on the matter.

>> Leave it to Heatherette to make the most ridiculously impractical dresses EVER.  Looks like their inspiration this year was comforters -- all they had to do was sew them together, steal a few hairbows from their neighbor the giantess, and voila!  The beauty!  The masterpiece!  I mean, who wouldn't want a skirt that makes you feel like you're sitting on a pile of comforters. I saw all this, and yet, these skirts... they're pretty darn cute.  Really, what else would you expect from a former club kid named Richie Rich? 

>>  New York is so full of surprises.  Never once have I given Luella the bat of an eye -- I just wasn't interested.  Her S/S 2006 collection is a different story -- it has a very rock'n'roll feel -- songs like the Ramones's Blitzkrieg Bop and the Stones's Paint it Black played in the background as the models pranced down the runway.  As Luella Bartley said herself,  "This collection has all the traditional English elements that I love, which is that kind of very aristo...like riding, tennis, sailing...all the kind of like rich English sports mixed with the kind of London underground music scene."  Which is partially why it surprises me that I like the collection -- I've never been the preppy sort.  It must be the rock'n'roll that reeled me in.  But definitely, what I found so amusing about this collection is that the model's hair, makeup, sunglasses, and some of their clothes even, reminded me of Barbie dolls from the '50s and '60s.  Even funnier because I never liked Barbies, and yet I like this.  Anyway, there's too many looks for me for me to post on here without confusing the living daylights out of your eyes, so I collected them elsewhere instead.

>> We're just going to take a short commercial break from the runway goings-on because I just received my anthropologie accessories catalogue, and their sun-bird necklace ($288) made my heart go aflutter.  It's beautiful and modeled after my favorite mythological bird, the phoenix.  Now if only $288 would rise from the ashes for me...   

>> Yes, that's right, so soon after I bespoke my undying hatred for all things touched by the MJ monster, I have to eat my words.  Perhaps its because I love leggings paired with everything, or because I have a soft spot for the ballet-inspired (ballerinas are the epitome of beauty and grace), I'm not sure.  All I know is that, yes, I like the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection.  Quite a bit.  Oh, all right, it's one of my favorites so far. 

So I put together a little collection of my own -- my favorites. 

>> The baton twirler broke out of the pink and purple-lit backstage, flipping and jumping and...twirling (surprise!)  The Penn State band marched forward, jiving to the drum line's beats.  When all were in place on the runway, the band broke out into a rendition of Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit -- the fifth time Mr. Marc Jacobs has included the song on his runway soundtrack.  Why?  "Because it's the anthem of teenage angst," Mr. Jacobs quipped backstage. But it wasn't just that song that was teen angsty -- the lighting reminiscent of a prom, the marching band, the screeching angsty woman who played soundtrack to the rest of the show  -- it all seems a little high school to me for such a well-known designer. Even at the end of the show, golden ticker tape fell from the ceiling, like the prom king and queen had just been announced.  "I was thinking about American ceremonies with a dark side," quoth Mr. Jacobs.  "It was about all the cliches of American dressing, a play on proportions, keeping the volume but making it more anecdotal."

Yes, well.  I definitely saw the schoolgirl resemblance in outfits like these two, what with the knee socks, the long pleated skirt, the white long-sleeve shirt, and the suspendered dress (above).  And then there were the 80's-looking bad prom dresses with too many tiers, as well as too much metallic gold fabric (left).   

Overall, I can't say there was too much I liked.  But we all know that I'm not an aficionado of the ol' MJ mojo.  I did, however, like this very girl-who-skips-class-to-smoke-in-the-bathroom look (right).  And the other thing I thoroughily enjoyed was Mr. MJ's use of back detailing.  Some of the dresses were quite plain Jane on the front, but had some redeeming twist on the back.  I wish I had some good pictures, but the best thing I can suggest is going to the Marc Jacobs site and watching the runway video -- my favorite example is probably the gray dress that Gemma Ward wears towards the end of the show (above).   

**sources: international herald-tribune

>> So far at NY Fashion Week, things have been pretty bland among the newcomers.

Brian Reyes, the self-taught designer who has been quite hyped (he got a feature article in the New York Times a week ago or so), had a couple of decent looks -- this Grecian-inspired ivory dress, and this safari-inspired dress, for example.  But over all, nothing that hadn't been seen before and will be seen again.  Nothing that makes me say "me likey" and "me wantey."    

Then there was Ashleigh Verrier, Parsons darling and former intern at Proenza Schouler.  Again, nothing that makes my eyes zing out of their rightful homes in admiration.  The first look reminds me of a fashion-conscious caped crusader, and the second tuxedo-shirt look I wanted to bring up because I saw similar looks on the United Bamboo runway.  Possible trend?  We'll have to wait and see.  The thing is, tuxedo shirts are already here and now -- just look at the front cover of your September Lucky magazine, if you don't believe me. 

Things started to improve a little bit with Project Alabama -- although this is their first runway show, they do have five years of experience under their belts that the previous two don't.  When I saw the first look, I think I wet my pants a little -- maybe things were starting to look up.  As it turns out, however, the first look happens to be my favorite of the whole show -- nothing else really came close.  It's not bad -- the full skirt, petticoat peeking out from underneath, and harlequin-esque print were carried all throughout the show -- it's just that they didn't quite work as well together the second, third, fourth times.

Just when I felt there wasn't hope, came a breath of fresh air.  Rodarte -- le sigh.  I want to frolic in its gorgeousness.  The two sisters who head this collection, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, like Brian Reyes, lack professional design training.  I wouldn't have known if I hadn't been told -- the minimalism of the colors and designs is spot-on.  The collection is partially inspired by 1960's sculptural forms -- which is no surprise, considering how well-molded the dresses are to the wearer's body.  Lots of geometric shapes are involved, but in a tasteful way -- nothing is too overwhelming.  In fact, it's a nice taste of sophisticated underwhelming.  Beautiful, just beautiful.