FIENDTUESDAY: MENSWEAR

BODY SUITS FOR MEN

Why bother with separates when you can have one piece? That was the question asked for Fall 2009 with a trend that bounced over from womenswear onto the boys' side.
'
Alexander McQueen offered color blocked versions of the body suit for his Spring 2009 collection, which was influential on the retail level, showing up in collections by H&M.

For the Fall 2009 season, Michael Kors [bottom right] and Calvin Klein [top center] offered office-ready suit interpretations of the trend while Diesel's Black Gold collection [mid right] offered an urban street-ready style.














Photo Credits: Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Diesel Black Gold from men.style.com

FIENDMONDAY: TREND WATCH

PEONY PINK

Not surprisingly, pink is a statement color for Spring, but what sets this season's pink apart from seasons past is that it can be used as a neutral. Pair it with creams, grays, or blacks and you've created an instantly chic and elegant color story you can dress down for day or up for evening. This season's pink is a peony pink akin to the hue that rushes to the cheeks during a first kiss. It's a nude, Romantic, and practical pink. Stella McCartney [bottom center], Giambattista Valli [top left], and Marios Schwab [top right] used it to best effect.


Photo Credits: Stella McCartney, Giambattista Valli, and Marios Schwab from style.com

FIENDFRIDAY:WILDCARD FAIR

SENSUAL SHOULDERS

I previously posted about shoulders becoming a new area of focus for designers in the Spring collections. The Fall 2009 collections are proving this to be a lasting fascination with looks that emphasize the shoulders from Philip Lim [top], Bottega Veneta [bottom left], and Donna Karan [bottom right]. These looks show the only accessory you need for Fall is a good pair of shoulders.













Photo Credits: 3.1 Philip Lim, Bottega Veneta, and Donna Karan from style.com

FIENDTHURSDAY: HEAD CONSCIOUS

TURBANS

The Spring collections saw designers paying a lot of attention to the head. The dominant trends in headdress were boater hats, as aforementioned, and turbans. Originated by Paul Poiret and cemented as a chic staple by Yves Saint Laurent, tonight we take a look at the some of the season's best turbans from Celine, Dries Van Noten, and Ralph Lauren.

Photo Credits: Celine, Dries Van Noten, Ralph Lauren from style.com

FIENDWEDNESDAY: ACCESSORIES

HATS ON

This season saw the first wave of the hat's return to prominence. Nowhere were they more prevalent than at Marc Jacobs, but in fact hats held a large presence throughout the New York collections. While the types of hats were varied, the most prominent of hat trends was the strawboater. Below we look at variations offered by Marc Jacobs [left and right] and Ralph
Lauren [center].











Photo Credits: Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren from style.com

FIENDTUESDAY:MENSWEAR

CAN'T SKIRT THE ISSUE

Despite not being a landmark trend for the Spring 09 season, the presence of mens' skirts on the runways left quite an impression. Designers from Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garcons [top left] to Etro [bottom left] and John Galliano [bottom right] all offered their take on the trend. Each designer added skirts to their collections in a way that only seemed to underscore the masculinity and aggression of the collections rather than lending a feminine sensibility. Marc Jacobs was quick to adopt the trend a couple of months ago, sporting a Comme des Garcons skirt while strolling with his beau. While the trend probably won't find very sturdy legs within the American market, it's a testament to the freedom and imagination designers are exercising in light of the present fincial crisis. It's also a topical way to bid adieu to St. Patrick's Day.



















Photo Credits: Comme des Garcons, Etro, and John Galliano from men.style.com

FIENDMONDAY: REINVENTED CLASSICS

LONG LIVE MCQUEEN, PART II

Last night we looked at the beautiful monsters of Alexander McQueen's Fall 2009 Collection. Tonight we look at the best of the reinterpreted classics he presented in the same collection.




















Photo Credits: Alexander McQueen from wwd.com

FIENDFRIDAY:BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS

LONG LIVE MCQUEEN

Tonight we depart from the here and now and move into the future. Welcome to the world of Alexander McQueen, a Creator who is equal parts staggering genius, enfant terrible, and technical master. It is a world of murky darkness and fearsome beauty.

McQueen moved from Spring's Darwinian fairytale to the other side of time for Fall 09: a time of recollection, reinvention, and uncertainty, mirroring the world in which we find ourselves today. McQueen's vision of our world is both primal and modern, raw and refined, apocalyptic and advanced. These contrasts play out in a collection built upon the tension between the old, the ancient, and the futuristic.

The collection juxtaposes classic silhouettes that have been reinvented for The New Era, with looks that recall monsters from the mythologies of Ancient Greece. It is the clashing of these times and elements that make the collection alluring, terrifying, and transcendent. Tonight we take a look at the beautiful monsters of Alexander McQueen's Fall 2009 collection.
















Photo Credits: Alexander McQueen from wwd.com

FIENDTHURSDAY: GENDER SWAP

GIRLS WHO WEAR BOYS' CLOTHES

All the cool kids are wearing it and all the hip designers are making it: the boyfriend jacket, Spring's quintessential staple.

It's a versatile piece that can be incorporated in a woman's closet for seasons to come.

Dress it down and make it younger via Alexander Wang [bottom right] with short shorts or adopt it for an older, more mature look with rolled up sleeves and paired with trousers as seen at Stella McCartney [top and bottom left].

Take it from runway to street-ready with skinny jeans and a tank top or a mini dress with strappy sandals.














Photo Credits: Stella McCartney and Alexander Wang from style.com

FIENDWEDNESDAY: GEOMETRY RULES

GRIDLOCKED

Dries Van Noten [top right, bottom left] and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel [bottom center, bottom right] both had standout collections this season with wide influences. The common denominator between the two was their shared love of gridlock patterns on classic silhouettes. Below, some highlights from the collections that demonstrate their mutual fascination with grids.






Photo Credits: Chanel and Dries Van Noten from style.com

FIENDTUESDAY: DAYWEAR

SPOT ON

They're back and they're all over your clothes.

Polka dots made a return to the runways this season. Although they made up a small part of the larger geometric trend that informed collections from Dries Van Noten and even Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, designers used the pattern on everything from dresses, pajama pants, and accessories.

Paul and Joe [top left] took a more classic approach with an a-line maxi dress while Alberta Ferretti modernized the pattern in a sophisticated sheer top. Brian Atwood [bottom left] gave polka dots sex appeal with his tie-heels.















Photo Credits: Paul and Joe from nymag.com, Brian Atwood and Alberta Ferretti from style.com

FIENDMONDAY: TREND WATCH

MAXI-MUM IMPACT

Despite having been a major trend last season that didn't necessarily deliver on retail floors, the maxi dress is back again for Spring. This time in moderation.

In a season where floor-length dresses are de rigueur alongside mini dresses, the rules are becoming less rigorous and more fluid. Consumers are challenging designers to raise the stakes of creativity while still appealing to the frugal pennypincher's mindset.

Versace [top left, bottom right], Paul and Joe [bottom left], and Roberto Cavalli [bottom center] all offer variations of the mini-trend. They illusrtate the obsession designers have with shoulders this season, (they're the new erogenous zone), and offer pieces that can be dressed to last for more than one activity or event.


Photo Credits: Versace and Roberto Cavalli from style.com, Paul and Joe from nymag.com