a wee bit skint. (a fashion blog)

spring.

the definition of spring, personified by a runway collection? perhaps. a show that was decidedly cheerful? definitely.

junya watanabe ss09:

much.

twee and usually chock 'o block with flights of fancy - tsumori chisato usually strikes a good balance between too-too much and just enough. perhaps this time though, reigns should have been pulled in, just a bit...

rocknroll.

in my head, there's this sort of rock 'n roll fantasy, and the girl in my head dresses the way ann demeulemeester designs clothes. it's definitely got a razor-sharp edge, but it comes off as approachable and totally modern.

futureproof.

colour and light, in a most literal sense made the balenciaga show an even more futuristic endeavor than one would have initially thought. the clothes were space-age chic, clothes that take thought, not ones that have an immediate visceral reaction of love or hate. while i may still be debating wearability, it was no less entertaining for it... oh, and by the by, there were no "it" shoes that ghesquiere is known to provide every season, instead there were stockings - worn over the shoes...

expectations.

you don't expect much different from yohji yamamoto. and sometimes, the usual is a very comforting thing...

sigh.

i think of isabel marant almost like a sigh of relief. a breath of french ease and simplicity that just begs to be worn. this season was a bit more country than rock 'n roll, but filled with chic, everyday-wear that anyone (me!), would love to add to their wardrobe...

perusual.

as always, galliano for dior showed a collection with a flurry of ideas that seem to whiz by so quickly that i rarely seem to be able to catch on to any of them. of course, it was filled with the pretty, but not all of it worked, necessarily...

enough.

sometimes i think there are times when it's better to leave things unsaid. that's why i won't post pictures from the martin margiela ss09 (and possibly his last!) show, and i know i'm in the minority when saying there were no clothes in his clothes. as an art collection, i can appreciate it, and fashion in many ways is art, but... you know what? i digress.

instead, i'll just post a few photos from the antonio berardi ss09 show and say that the collection was lovely enough, but didn't leave me wanting more...

adjectives.

i rarely use the word "cute" because, it just seems to be an adjective that most women, girls, etc., do not want to be labeled. instead, i like to use words like whimsical, charming, delightful - to express a sort of joyful type of dress-sense, that doesn't necessarily translate into 'too-young' or 'childish'. and mark eley and wakako kishimoto’s first go-round with cacharel definitely defined those adjectives that i employ on a regular basis, and i think i loved every little bit of it...

graphic.

graphic in his choice of colour and geometric in his use of shape, the bruno pieters ss09 collection intrigued me to no end. which could go either way, really, but in this instance it is a positive...

light.

far be it for me to go against the grain, well, it isn't so far for me, but i just can't seem to get on board the love for oliver theysksen's designs at nina ricci. if you can show me the light, i'd gladly follow, but for now ss09:

teeny.

super-sexy and tough - it's a pairing i quite enjoy, and it's something that christophe decarnin does well for balmain, something that really brought the old house back to the forefront. his ss09 show was quite beautiful and i totally adored the ripped, peg jeans with oversized, boxy jackets and teeny-tiny little dresses.

i will aver though, that perhaps it's time for decarnin to mix it up a little, non?

uplifting.

the change that has taken place within the mindset of dolce & gabbana have been mind-blowing. they were known for their overt viva-italia! sexuality for so long that i started to actually ignore them. nothing new here, just move it along. but for the past couple of seasons, they have turned themselves over to an entirely different muse. and their ss09 collection was absolutely gorgeous - a positively uplifting event...

and that was milan. next? paris...

only.

tight, corseted, slinky and sexy. no guesses required - i could only be speaking of one show, and of course it's versace. but i'll add an adjective here: modern. more so than any other versace collection i can remember...

aplomb.

i truly believe that the kaiser has no limits. he sets his sights on something and he goes for it, and does it with aplomb. he wants to do sheer, he goes sheer - but in a way that is unexpected, lovely and with a sense of a certain bit of humour that i don't recall seeing before in a fendi show. also, i dug the belts, a lot of people didn't like them, but i kinda like it...