coutorture --

Our Fall Top Five: Modernist Fall 08

coutorture — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:21:29 -0700

Wrapping up the list of our favorite shows from Fall 08 is British brand Modernist. We've said from the start that this list has no real rhyme or reason save for the fact that the five shows each impacted our impression of Fall 08 as a season. Bringing you this list was as much about having the galleries back up on the front page as it was talking about them again. We think it's reason enough. So, after bringing up Prada, Preen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Miu Miu, we're going to finish up by talking about the Modernist Fall 08 show.

British brand Modernist, headed by Abdul Koroma and Andrew Jones, showed their second collection as part of London Fashion Week this Fall 08. The collection, feminine and appropriately paired down with a strict palate of red, charcoal, and black was a stark and striking contrast to the opulence that overran New York Fashion Week the week prior. Everything from the cool grey backdrop, to the thick painted eyebrows and slicked hair, to the shapely garments that layered over one another quite beautifully, made this collection on of our favorites. To our surprise the brand is stocked sparingly in the United States and abroad, but we're confident that will change if they keep moving in this direction.

Gareth Pugh Kind Of Scares Us

coutorture — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:30:57 -0700

Yesterday we got to check out a whole boatload of fresh fall Raf Simons and Helmut Lang. However commercial, it kind of put us in a darker mood. You know, dark for us--we typically gravitate towards the nerdy stuff. We're going to cover London Fashion Week this year and though we always report on the shows remotely, we feel a refresher course is in store. So we went on one of those endless fashion tangents that starts with Helmut Lang and ends with something much more avant garde--we had on our minds the London coverage and the clothing from yesterday. We ended with Gareth Pugh. We ended with the picture you see at left and realized that it's amazing and scary and we really like him. So, a few things you might like to know about the designer. He's British (obviously), he's 25 or so, he's most likely more broke than most designers (who are mostly broke) because none of his fashions were for sale until his Spring 07 collection, he's stocked at Dover Street Market, and Anna Wintour (and therefore Style.com and, er, everyone else) approves. That picture is the stuff of nightmares and we can only hope for more of this come September. Sorry there are no spreads to offer, that cape isn't exactly Shopbop-friendly.

Wednesday Video Pick-Me-Up

coutorture — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:57:57 -0800

It's freezing, we know. It's also late enough in the season that some of us may have started actively daydreaming about summer. This video by The Teenagers might just facilitate that process. Oh, and it's f-ing hilarious. So, if you're the sort who is focusing on the Barney's Warehouse Sale rather than the 3/15 deliveries (one of the biggest spring deliveries), at least you'll have a laugh. Bonus points: the appearance of a plum silk tie neck blouse, and the narrative acting as our Ode to London Fashion Week part two.

The Push Forward

coutorture — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:19:56 -0800

Catwalk Queen takes a look at the model controversy casting a shadow over London Fashion Week. Some believe designers are excluding models of color on purpose, while designers claim they are choosing those who best display their clothing. Catwalk Queen believes it's time to make a move to better represent your customer base.

"Just don't take any of it too seriously, or you'll miss the whole point."

coutorture — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:15:02 -0800

This video is our ode to London Fashion Week. We really fancied some of the collections presented this year, so, in tribute, we dug up this ridiculous video detailing 1960's London fashion in a manner that makes Tuesday seem possible after all. King's Road, the shopping street that made punk, mod, and The Beatles possible, is now completely gentrified (not that there aren't new shopping prospects London has to offer). In this video you will learn that, even in the 1960's, people were talking about there not being anything left to create, and that fake eyelashes make plain English girls look like movie stars.

Coutorture Editorials

What is Wrong With Wearable Clothing?

coutorture — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:50:30 -0800

After viewing the Central Saint Martins graduate fashion show, Ostentatious Style wonders what is so wrong with creating wearable clothing?

London Turns Out A Little Opulence

coutorture — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:42:48 -0800

We'll have the Jenny Packham Fall 08 show to you shortly and here's a sneak peek from backstage. Looks like the London red's are still turning up as the week continues and though many designers from London Fashion Week are presenting much darker, more sinister collections, opulence is bound to turn up somewhere. The Packham show should be quite romantic (the woman does bridal wear for god sakes), and dare we say it, appropriate to show on Valentine's Day.

London Fashion Week: Roksanda Ilincic Fall 08

coutorture — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:28:28 -0800

Roksanda Ilincic's Fall 08 collection was inspired by architect Oscar Niemeyer. Niemeyer's modern sensibilities encouraged Ilincic's statuesque silhouettes. By texture (bright, floating silks) the garments had an undeniable lightness but the tailoring (indeed, each shoulder with its own personality) established boundaries so that the pieces were not bohemian, but decidedly modern. This look shown to left, for example, is appropriate for fall by way of heavier fabrics but is balanced with a lightness in draping and a close fit where women are most narrow (ankles, high waist) to make it one of the most chic outfits we've seen this season.

The Next Earnest Sewn Pop Up A Far Cry From Trovata

coutorture — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:51:16 -0800

Jans Laugesen showed his A/W 08 collection today at London Fashion Week. Laugesen's collections are currently sold at London's cutting edge Dover Street Market, and are destined to be featured in the next pop up at Earnest Sewn in New York. Laugesen has channeled a slim, masculine silhouette for his fall 08 collection. The aesthetic is not unlike Karl Lagerfeld's personal style where strong shoulder tailoring, leather gloves, and high necklines make for a Bladerunner meets Bullfighter style. Laugesen's collection is also align with the mood of London Fashion Week which has proven to be much more severe than that of New York. Frankly, if you're long and lean (and shy away from anything described with the words 'rosette' or 'bubble') this collection is your ticket to fall 08.

New York Versus London (So Far and Mostly)

coutorture — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 06:00:05 -0800

So it seems our British friends have taken A/W 08 in an entirely different direction. That is, the fur and sparkle of New York's A/W 08, not to mention the deep plums and vibrant greens are virtually non-existent. London Fashion Week, thus far has been a little more Terminator, a little less Kindergarden Cop. Just take a peek at our photo galleries from Topshop Unique, Jacob Kimmie,
Krystof Strozyna, and Modernist Autumn, it's virtually another fashion world. All of these collections dominated by black and white, most with eruptions of red in the most brazen display (it's not worked in slowly, it's thrust into the collection and promptly removed). Sure, you could call upon Paul Smith from the Londoners, and
Camilla Staerk from the New Yorkers to argue that there is crossover. To which we'd say: "Despite some dandy-embellishments, Paul Smith is no different than Ralph Lauren, and Camilla Staerk is a newcomer. Those are bad examples.". So we win. And boy, do we love the fight.

London Fashion Week Photo Coverage

coutorture — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:04:57 -0800

Just because New York is over doesn't mean we have seen it all. London is in full swing and we are simply obsessed. We have photos from high street favorite Topshop Unique's Fall 2008 runway show, bad girl favorite Christopher Kane, Sinha Stanic, Core, Modernist and many more! We promise to keep updating so you can keep drooling.

London Fashion Week: Osman Yousefzada A/W 08

coutorture — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:11:00 -0800

The former banker and Cambridge graduate, Osman Yousefzada, showed his second collection for A/W 08 in this London Fashion Week. Yousefzada typically embraces his own cultural lineage and the multiculturalism in his home of London to fuel an ever-globally minded label. His pieces, in other words, are always pulled for the 'global trend' stories in American magazines, though his designs do not necessarily highlight the specific cultural prominence dictated by them. Yousefzada is one who naturally sees the world from a diverse perspective and his designs, therefore, organically reflect that dynamic. This season, Yousefzada references Japan (embroidery) and India (color) while giving a slight nod to western costume (Spanish bullfighters).

London Fashion Week: Paul Costelloe

coutorture — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:17:00 -0800

A mere day of rest and another fashion week starts! While we still don't feel quite ready to cope with even more designers bombarding us with new goods we figure we would share a little bit from Paul Costelloe who showed Sunday in London.