Five Key Fall Trends: Boy's Club

coutorture — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:46:28 -0700

Androgyny is nothing new in fashion but that doesn't mean each season doesn't bring about new manifestations of this permanent trend. After fashion beat us over the head with the concept of women wearing jazz shoes or men wearing skinny jeans (again), we're sure by now that even the most conservative among us can get down with the boy/girl paradox. Of the menswear we saw on the Fall 08 catwalks, our favorites were the cropped trouser suits by Dolce and Gabbana, the sharp shoulders by Jens Laugesen, and the rough rocker vests and trousers from Alexander Wang. The long blazer, the drop-crotch trouser, and the oxford shoe are all big pieces we'll see this fall, and between the shows and individual items, we think androgyny is a trend that won't be hard to spot.

For our photo shoot we layered structured pieces as if they were three piece suits--a little forearm was all that was left uncovered, showing that the key to pulling off an androgynous look is too keep it covered. We ended up being big fans of the oxford heel from Opening Ceremony when our brilliant stylist, Liz Baca, paired them with her own plaid socks. The vintage version of this look was also rather inspired, especially when that Versace jacket was given the heave-ho in the sleeve department.

Below, check out a spread of our current favorite menswear staples and, below that, a trend gallery with androgynous looks from the fall shows.

Five Key Fall Trends: Shape Up

coutorture — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:27:38 -0700

One of our favorite trends from Fall 08 is the body con/exaggerated silhouette trend that we've titled 'Shape Up' for today's shoot. Shape Up is by far the most notable trend from the Fall 08 shows. Designers articulated this trend by skimming the body with razor-like precision or by exaggerating the silhouette to comment on the landscape of the body. Whichever direction they went, the physical form was at the forefront of their minds. From Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Jonathan Saunders, Miu Miu, and of course, Balenciaga, Fall 08 saw the female form (and not florals nor lace--though there was plenty of that, wasn't there?) take center stage. For our purposes we created two looks which articulate the trend.

The modern look called up a pair of Marc by Marc Trousers we'd written about in a while back in an immaterial post. Though there are options galore when it comes to parachute trousers, we thought these appropriately priced and nicely tailored. On top a Harlan Bel blouse tucked everything in to a tailored point (we first discovered Harlan Bel back when we shot our La Belle Dame sans Merci editorial). On the vintage side of things we couldn't really go wrong with a vintage Dior jacket from Zachary's Smile. The cuffed bell sleeve on this jacket inspired many a Fall 08 daydream in our mind. So nicely does it display the Shape Up vantage point.

Below, check out a spread of our favorite pieces from this trend and, below that, a trend gallery from the Fall 08 shows with every sort of Shape Up frock and trouser you can imagine.

coutorture --

Five Key Fall Trends: Boy's Club

Five Key Fall Trends: Shape Up