FIENDTUESDAY: TREND WATCH

MONIQUE LHUILLIER

A look through Monique Lhuillier's Spring 2010 collection is a snapshot of the major trends of the past few seasons: bows, volume, draping, and animal prints.

PHOTO CREDITS: Monique Lhuillier from style.com.

FIENDMONDAY: FASHION 101

TRAVILLA

William Travilla was a costumer designer for film, theater, and television best known for dressing Marilyn Monroe in several of her films. Perhaps his best known work can be seen in the films The Seven Year Itch, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How To Marry A Millionaire (for which he received an Academy Award nomimation), and The Valley of the Dolls. He was also the costome designer for The Thorn Birds.

Looking at the work of Travilla in the 1950s is to see the groundwork for contemporary fashion, in particular for the Fall 2009 season, which is all about fine, delicate, and feminine details. His influence can be seen in the current collections for Marc Jacobs to Alber Elbaz for Lanvin.
PHOTO CREDITS: Top from The Glam Guide, Bottom from adorocinema.com.

FIENDMONDAY: THE NEW BLACK

SEEING RED

Red is the quintessential statement color for Fall. Amidst the dizzying displays of feathers and animal prints, key red pieces stood above the din to create a statement of their own.

PHOTO CREDITS: Lanvin (left), Prada (right), and Donna Karan (center) from style.com.

FIENDFRIDAY: NATURAL SELECTION

ANIMAL INSPIRATION

The animal kingdom was a huge reference point for designers on the Fall 2009 runways. From peacock prints to fur as accessories and finishing details on dresses and coats to animal skins and prints used on shoes, the runways were a menagerie of inspiration.













Photo Credits: Manolo Blahnik [top], Roberto Cavalli [left], and Brian Atwood [right] from style.com

FIENDTHURSDAY: CELESTIAL BOOTIES

OUT OF THIS WORLD

...inspiration from the stars and sky and the extra terrestrial for the Fall 2009 season.














PHOTO CREDITS: John Galliano [left], Nina Ricci [right], and Nicholas Kirkwood [top] from style.com.

FIENDTHURSDAY: DISCO BOOTIES

WE LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE

Disco never really died. It reinvented itself as New Wave, a movement which casts a heavy influence over the current fashion climate. These booties shine and shimmy in the tradition of this genre. Pierre Hardy [top], Bruno Frissoni [bottom left], and Nina Ricci [bottom right] sent out booties ready for the nightlife.












PHOTO CREDITS: Pierre Hardy, Bruno Frissoni, and Nina Ricci from style.com.

FIENDWEDNESDAY: SPORT-IE BOOTIES

ATHLETIC PROWESS


Booties take a turn towards the athletic with new styles that sport rubber bases, heels, and treads. Pierre Hardy [Top, Left] and Tod's [bottom right].

PHOTO CREDITS: Pierre Hardy and Tod's from style.com.

FIENDTUESDAY: PUNK-IE BOOTIES

TELL ME ABOUT IT, STUD(S).

Studs and other metallic hardwares are everywhere. These started trickling in last spring and became a bit more prominent at design houses like Balmain for the Spring 2009 season. Fall 2009 is saturated with studs on everything from ankle boots to jackets and dresses. Alexander McQueen [above] offers several variations on the theme, this one a little bit Vivienne Westwood Punk through Pirates collections. Proenza Schouler [below] sent out a flat variant for those shy of vertigo.

PHOTO CREDITS: Proenza Schouler, Alexander McQueen from style.com.

FIENDTUESDAY: GET YOUR BOOTS ON

THESE BOOTIES WERE MADE FOR WEARING

WELCOME TO BOOTIE WEEK ON FIEND

THIS WEEK BOOTIES WILL PROVIDE US WITH A SNAPSHOT OF FALL 2009'S TRENDS BIG AND SMALL. (ABOVE, NINA RICCI)

FIENDMONDAY: 40s By Day

40s DAY LOOKS

From night into day, these ladies don day looks with roots in the 40s. Aquilano.Rimondi allude to Betty Grable, Donna Karan channels Katherine Hepburn, Moschino offers an aviator-inspired look, and Francesco Scognamiglio gives good safari.

Aquilano e Rimondi [top center], Moschino [bottom left], Donna Karan [bottom center], Francesco Scognamiglio [bottom right].


PHOTO CREDITS: Moschino, Aquilano e Rimondi, Donna Karan, and Francesco Scognamiglio from style.com.

FIENDFRIDAY: 40'S BY NIGHT

40'S NIGHT OUT

The 1940s were a huge inspiration point for the Fall 2009 season, particularly in Milan and New York. Aside from the pantsuits mentioned in a previous post, there was a heavy dose of evening looks reminiscent of red carpet and cocktail looks from the era. Whether it's a a fur jacket over a dress or a gown with a clutch, these looks were finished with a 40's flair.

Francesco Scognamiglio [top center], Bottega Veneta [bottom right], and Versace [bottom center, bottom right].



PHOTO CREDITS: Francesco Scognamiglio, Bottega Veneta, and Versace from style.com.

FIENDWEDNESDAY: DRAPE ME

TRANSITION YOUR DRAPES

Draping is a technique that's often used season to season, but is one of the defining trends for next season. Hold onto the draped dresses you bought this Spring. You'll be able to transition these and still be on trend. You'll also save thanks to your wise investments. Pictured are draped looks from the Spring 2009 runways you can use as inspiration.

Donna Karan [bottom left], Anne Valerie Hash [top center], Lanvin by Alber Elbaz [bottom right].


















PHOTO CREDITS: Donna Karan, Lanvin by Alber Elbaz, and Anne Valerie Hash from style.com.

FIENDTUESDAY: AVIAN INSPIRATION

FLIGHTS OF FANCY

Designers looked to the sky to inform their Fall collections. Fall 2008's nature and tribal trends have condensed and manifested themselves in more direct ways through the use of floral prints (as we previously discussed) and the use of bird prints and feathers on everything from dresses to shirts.

Alexander McQueen and Maison Martin Margiela made bold statements pieces. Giambattista Valli sent out a moody evening dress [bottom left], Emilio Pucci a day look [bottom right], and Pringle [top center] an entrance-making ensemble. Click the highlighted links to view pieces not pictured.












PHOTO CREDITS: Giambattista Valli, Emilio Pucci, and Pringle from style.com.

FIENDMONDAY: FALL FLORALS

PREVALENT PETALS

Floral patterns were all over the Milan runways and sprouted frequently throughout the New York and Paris shows as well. This trend seems surprising due to the heavy association of floral prints with spring, but perhaps it's emblematic of the need for nature and fantasy in the world in
the midst of war, economic hardships, and intercultural conflicts.

Kenzo [top center], Burberry Prorsum [bottom left], Giorgio Armani [bottom center]. and Marc Jacobs [bottom right].


PHOTO CREDITS: Burberry Prorsum, Marc Jacobs, Giorgio Armani, and Kenzo from style.com.

FIENDFRIDAY: HOODWINKED

BENEATH THE HOOD(S)

Designers' apparent new obsession with the head suggests a new interest in a womens' intellectualism. The addition of a hood to everything from jackets (expected) to dresses (surprising) shows up all over the runways from New York to Paris.

What is particularly alluring about this feature, aside from the tension found in pieces possessing a prim yet urban edge, is the message being communicated by the concealing detail. Are designers speaking to the modern woman's conflict of playing peek-a-boo with her intellect? The balancing act of being smart and sexual? Or are they alluding to the feminine wisdoms that can be lost and even concealed under a patriarchal societal structure?

Anne Boleyn anyone?

Maison Martin Margiela (top), Alexander Wang (left), Fendi (center), Sportmax right).


PHOTO CREDITS: Alexander Wang from and Sportmax from nymag.com, Maison Martin Margiela and Fendi from style.com.

FIENDWEDNESDAY: AUTUMN ROMANCE PART II

ROMANTIC CHARACTERS

Romance is the undercurrent of the Fall collections. Designers are offering pieces that are borderline costumes. These looks offer the consumer an opportunity to escape the modern crises and delightfully succumb to the fantasy of being someone else in another time.

Rodarte [bottom right], Anna Sui [bottom left], D and G [top left], and Diane Von Furstenberg [top left] all offer variations on this trend.















PHOTO CREDITS: Rodarte and D & G from style.com, Anna Sui and Diane Von Furstenberg from nymag.com.