coutorture --

Fashion in 50 Seconds 8/27

coutorture — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:40:54 -0700

Its going to be a fall full of Rei Kawakubo thanks to her high profile collaborations. While the Third Estate has to wait till November for her collection with H&M. But her work with Louis Vuitton is making its debut next Wednesday in a temporary concept store in Tokyo designed by Rei herself. Because its not a money making venture for Vuitton supposedly (har har, though it does "quietly mark its 30th anniversary in Japan) you can only place your orders at this pop up but you will not be back to get your bags till 2009. If we were planning a trip to Tokyo anytime in the near future we might actually consider buying this "noodle" handle bag.

Vogue and and the New York Times remember modeling maverick Jerry Ford.

Form versus function frustrates athletes. The sister debate, modesty, is also gaining some traction.

Reports are coming out of WWD Magic that buyers are sticking to comparatively cheaper American made lines.

Charles Nolan is doing his part to keep his partner Andrew Tobias, The treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, hip despite the best efforts of handlers.

J. Brand Jeans and Topshop are working together for a lower priced denim collaboration coming out November 30th. The jeans are to be named after New York neighborhoods. The skinny jean, one of J Brand's classics, is to be named the Brooklyn. We would have gone with the Williamsburg.

Reclaiming Paris for Americans, Again

coutorture — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:31:36 -0700

The nostalgia and yearning of city life has been an inspiration since antiquity. While pastoral idealism has certainly had its impact on many creative processes, fashion has always sat squarely in the camp of urbanism.

While Atonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, in E Minor "From the New World" is our favorite for a certain kind of longing and aspiration that speaks to the hard scrabble world of American immigrant urbanism that built our textile industry, there is another kind of urban symphony that speaks to American dreams.

They are dreams are not of longing, but of completion and success. Naturally we are referring to George Gershwin who is our go to guy when it comes to a certain era of cosmopolitan creation. It is inspiration for those that have already made it. He plays on a kind of perky insouciance that says there is no hoping only being as the kind of cocky optimism that plays out across the American cultural heritage. He gave us An American in Paris which practically defined the genre of American cross cultural ownership of the urban landscape. Strangely nothing is more American than a pretty lady and her beau swanning about Paris claiming French haute couture for a certain quirky American constituency.

But with the Euro beating the dollar the kind of naive ownership that American style have long had over modern cities even beyond our borders is crumbling. We cannot borrow and reinvent against other's cosmopolitan culture anymore. We simply can't afford it. We say however to let go of Dvorak and go again for Gershwin when dressing in our American Not Quite in Paris staycation attire.

Let us hope that these style inspirations help us remember more of the Gershwin and less of the Dvorak in our urban landscape. This kind of confident ownership is sure to turn our currency around and annoy the crap out of the Parisians as we again claim rights their crown jewel. Even if we have to do it from a café next door on our staycation we say emulate the Parisians. After all, we are a nation of comeback kids and second chances. We say be dressed to be an American in Paris, since any day now a chic pair of black pants and a black shift might be required as we traipse about humming Gershwin on a wild spending spree at our favorite Right Bank boutiques.

A Collaboration To End All Others?

coutorture — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:22:30 -0700

Somehow we feel like we've written that line before. So the scoop, if you were at all tuned into fashion happenings on Friday afternoon (we don't blame you if you weren't, everyone needs a weekend off now and again), is that Louis Vuitton and Commes des Garcon are going half-sies on a three-month pop-up in Tokyo. Specifically, in the Aoyama district, home to the Prada Epicenter and all things covetable in both architecture and luxury goods. The pop-up shop will of course house exclusive collaborations, namely, six one-off monogram bags designed by Comme des Garcon founder Rei Kawakubo. As Suzy Menkes rightly puts it,

"Although there have been many recent collaborations between ‘high’ and ‘low’ fashion, starting with Karl Lagerfeld’s mini collection for fast fashion store H & M, this meld is different, since it involves a beacon of individuality with a company at the heart of corporate luxury management, as part of the LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) group."

There are questions as to whether this joint-venture (instigated by Kawakubo--not, Marc Jacobs or LVMH) will alienate Comme fans. There are questions as to whether Comme is doing a little too much popping up and popping in (count a Speedo collab and an H&M collab, among others). There are also questions as to whether all of Louis Vuitton's bag collab antics might not undermine the brand's reputation for refined luxury (i.e. the days of the trunks and whatnot). Rei Kawakubo is titling her bag for Vuitton, 'The Party Bag' and we can't help but feel it's an overall sentiment for Vuitton's recent handbag endeavors. One big, 'however', is the recent Ebay victory LVMH had which only energized their intellectual property. That is, perhaps the answer to the last question is, despite contradicting whispers, no.

Honey, Which Suit Is More...Pink?

coutorture — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:51:32 -0700

Givenchy decided to up the anti with their version of the pink suit for Spring 09. Both Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein tried their hands at the suiting game and, we think, lost. Sure the Calvin Klein version is a nearly-blinding orange-pink (Is that what color it is? We've been staring at it too long and we're starting to see white spots.) and the Louis Vuitton version, a mellowed but decisive attempt, but Givenchy, well, it doesn't get much more pink than that. There's something irresistible about this look. Perhaps it's the creamy skin and blank stare of the model who wore the suit, perhaps it's just that the color is just so damn vibrant that we're stunned into submission. Either way, you could say we're being beat over the head with two major Spring 09 trends. Namely, monochome outfits, and, well, pink. This decisiveness in menswear has us really excited...to see the womenswear shows. Below, men in pink. Get ready for it.

Pink For Spring!

coutorture — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:40:06 -0700

Even though it feels like women's collections are frequently being slated as menswear inspired, sometimes it's the other way around. This men's collections for Spring 09, so far, have shown quite a lot of pink. From Calvin Klein to Louis Vuitton to Moschino, it seems the boys just aren't afraid of the color most commonly associated with, well, princesses.

In the Moschino show, the models were proper gentlemen in red checked suiting sometimes accented with a pink prints or blocks of color. As for Calvin Klein, the statement was more sharp, when pink came down the runway in neon suiting. Among a signature black and white palate, one pink suit (there were other neons as well) made a statement about the possibility that a slick, serious Klein customer doesn't worry too much about the gender of color. Louis Vuitton effortlessly included pink as well, in the show it was used confidently from head to toe on more than just one look. So it seems a strong trend for menswear in Spring 09 and one that just maybe isn't that big of a deal. Typically, when we talk about androgyny, we're talking about women dressing like men, and in this case, it's just the other way around. No big thing.

Style Bytes Shoutout: Core Values

coutorture — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Apparently the dream of traveling by Orient Express is still alive and well. And no we don't just mean in the new Louis Vuitton Core Values advertisements. The beautiful Agathe of Style Bytes demonstrates that sleek dressing can come straight from H&M as long as you style it well. The winning accoutrement for Agathe is a second hand hat case.We feel like LVMH should gift her with this precious little hat box key chain and encourage her to help them with their luxury luggage campaign. Wouldn't she look just perfect next to Mikhail Gorbachev?

Check Out Other Community Shoutouts Here

Monogramouflage And The Brooklyn Ball

coutorture — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:59:03 -0700

The rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Ball on April 3rd are reaching a fever pitch. The Ball will be held at the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate a pop-up shop with the Louis Vuitton Monogramouflage collection. And while we steer away from celebrities there are a few fashion names attending i.e Kayne and Jay-Z. Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Takashi Murakami to be exact. Pop culture at its finest even if it makes us feel slimy. The breakdown: Vuitton is handling the monograms, Jacobs (for Vuitton) and Murakami, the canvas paintings (those will be squashed together), Kanye West will hold down the flare, and hipsters will be standing in the bathroom line. The event is also being thrown to kick off the Murakami retrospective, open to the public some days later.

Photo courtesy of citynoise.org

Trend de la Creme For Coutorture: Louis Vuitton For Architecture

coutorture — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:33:06 -0800

Trend de la Creme has a keen eye for finding fashion's true inspirations. As one of our network partners, she keeps a close watch on the cultural comparisons so relevant to the industry. In today's exclusive 'Trend de la Creme for Coutorture' comparison, the Louis Vuitton Fall 2008 collection is likened to the angles and shapes found in modern architecture. No matter how many times we're told that nothing new can be done, we just don't buy it. And neither, now on a weekly basis, does Trend de la Creme.

Coutorture's Morning Must Reads 1/24

sbconle — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:50:55 -0800

Wardrobe Oxygen reminds us to dress our age, not our shoe size.

If you slap a logo on some gold, does that make it jewelry? Not to
Jewel History.

Style Eyes finds tropical hair inspiration.

You've never had a subscription like this before! Grooveeffect explains.

The Fashion Bomb attends the fourth Absence of Color meeting.