coutorture --

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.

I Enjoy Being A Girl

coutorture — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:38:50 -0700

We might be on a bit of an estrogen overdrive thanks the menswear being shown in Milan this week. This is making us exceptional prone to cooing over the silliest of girly accoutrements. Community member Fashionation has an entire post about bows that set us over the edge of feminine sanity. She has an entire collection of bows for her hair that just made us squeal like schoolgirls. But its not all giggles and tea time, serious fashion designers like Diane Von Furstenberg have been showing bows in their resort collections. Thus in the spirit of being a girl we have picked a few bow accessories for your enjoyment and a little video ditty to express just how pleased we are to be the fairer sex!

Playing By A Different Set Of Rules

coutorture — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:58:12 -0700

We're noticing a trend more significant than black rimmed glasses cropping up in Milan. That is, diversity. Not the typical hand-picked representative sample of one beautiful model for every ethnicity, but a downright street-style version of diversity, culminating with this guy. No, we are not the only one's who haven't a clue what to do with the discrepancy between the women's and men's castings. This week, aside from Westwood's beefcake superstar, Etro showed a few models post-midlife crisis, not a new concept but certainly something you don't see in women's wear (the women's standard is, what, 21?). We can't wait for that controversial Vogue Italia issue to come out and 'wow' everyone with its drop dead gorgeous models of color. Wouldn't it be a perfect world if the women's wear side of the ball game just shut their mouths and put models like these guys on the runway? Oh wait, same designers...

Professor Specs: A Trend Emerges

coutorture — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:21:56 -0700

We might be covering men's wear now but that doesn't mean we'll keep from saying that things look 'hot' and mean it in a 'we want to date them' way. Queue professor specs. These glasses just cropped up styled into the D&G men's wear show and we saw it yesterday from Romeo Gigli. Shall we call it an eyewear trend in the making? Let's hope so. Aside from liking them because they look so sharp, we're pretty sure we have some trend evidence to back this up. First Persol 714's replaced Wayfarers as the retro sunglasses of choice this Summer and we have to say the shape it curiously similar. Second, as we know, men and women alike are going high water these days (from Spring and now, well, Spring) and so a nod to nerd in the trouser arena might have made way for professor specs as a full on trend. It can't just be that gents look good in them, could it? No, we know better than that. We going to take it from Milan and make it our own. Let's just hope it looks half as good on us.

Alexander McQueen Spring 09 Menswear

coutorture — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:08:06 -0700

McQueen gave Milan something for the ladies this Spring 09. Included in his menswear collection, which showed in Milan yesterday, were fourteen women's looks. The collection gave a nod to the scuba sport look we've begun seeing by everyone from Miu Miu to Opening Ceremony, his versions included neon bodysuits for the ladies. Another reference which appeared was the Jonathan Saunders method of color blocking where panels went from head to toe, creating a curvaceous silhouette when applied to body skimming frocks. In McQueen's version the colors were 'smoked' by way of a labor intensive technique McQueen created for the occasion. In reference to the silhouettes and aesthetic McQueen was going for with the ladies looks, he said, "There's lot of exposed leg, but it's all very understated luxe and non-p.c. in a healthy way". Amen to that, we say it's high time women wore the kind of clothing that made their bodies look anything but shapeless, and if 'understated luxe' translates as neon scuba jumpsuits, we are so totally supportive.

Boy, This Could Be Great

coutorture — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:36:48 -0800

The Dolce&Gabbana Fall 08 runway revealed neatly tailored three-piece suits complete with silk scarf neckties and newsboy caps. The pants were tailored short and skinny, leaving those who fear the super wide leg trousers a flattering alternative. Just imagine those trousers with loafers and socks. It's the ultimate Annie Hall look only with that special brand of impudence only Dolce&Gabbana can quite conjure. It seems Fall 08 is getting its revenge on the babydoll dresses of yesteryear with either, dazzling ladylike luxury, or slim boyish tailoring. As for the latter we say, boys, have at it.

Coutorture Editorials

Roberto Cavalli Fall 08 Shoes

coutorture — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:38:58 -0800

The sexiest things we've ever seen. Something about the Fall 08 Cavalli shoes really gets us in the mood. They're pristine, virginal even, sort of Madonna like in the end. Pair those lace booties with some dark high-water trousers or, hell, long shorts and you'll forget all about makeup and blouses. It's just like Cavalli to give us footwear that's so vamped up, it feels like a drug. Nothing the man does is without a certain panache, which is how we like our designers. That is, full of personality and with the talent to make us imagine ourselves as sex goddesses.

Prada Transformers From Today's Fall 08 Show

coutorture — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:22:17 -0800

Check out these boots, er, shoes, er, transformers. Looks like spats really are coming back into style as seen in today's Prada Fall 08 show. These metallic creations seem to consist of three interchangeable parts (though we'll admit it's hard to tell), making them a sure bet for upcoming 'pack like a pro' stories. We're totally sold on the newspaper-boy vibe that spats give off, though how these will manifest on the streets, only time will tell.