Best of Berlin Fashion Week 2017

ESTHER PERBANDT

Beetlejuice. Lydia Deetz's schoolgirl uniform. 

Evening. The Little Black Dress goes Goth.

IVANMAN

Popped. Sculptural collar on cream coat.

Lightbulb. The cocoon silhouette on a man.

Berlin Fashion Week: Dorothee Schumacher Fall 2017

Karate. A blue pantsuit.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VOGUE.COM

Criss-cross. A black dress.

Morning News. That female anchor shoulder.

Ivy. Black & white suit.

Fifties. Those polka dots & that skirt.

Squash. Asymmetrical sleeves.

Pollen. Astrakhan coat.

Garden. Plum chiffon suit.

Backwards. Checked jacket

Paintbrush. Portrait neck coat.

Karl Lagerfeld Brings Big Ideas with Chanel Resort 2018

Mica Arganaraz walks  (Credit: Vogue.com)

The Chanel Resort 2018 collection gives me visions of pottery, oily snacks and Jacqueline Onassis.

The overall collection is bland and typical of what Karl Lagerfeld has designed before, but the outfits that work are bold and innovative.

The models wear accessories that are meant to make them look like Grecian goddesses regardless of the outfit. The chokers, the thin headbands and the gladiator sandals frame the outfits and point to the Grecian theme.

Cara Taylor walks (Credit: Vogue.com)

Top model Cara Taylor wears a striking shirtdress with that convenient naval-inspired drawstring. The horizontal stripes of terracotta brown, black and gold are rich.

Seashells & Potato Ruffles (Credit: Vogue.com)

The tiered ruffles of this dress resemble seashells and ruffled potato chips. The inclusion of dark tweed fabric evokes the classic Chanel suit, which begs the question: is this a dress or a suit?  It’s hard to tell.

In a moment of simplicity, Chanel muse Mica Arganaraz wears the collection’s subtly bold outfit. She wears—gasp!—sweater and jeans, but with a gilded leaf appliqués. The simple outfit and big glamorous sunglasses evokes former First Lady Jacqueline Onassis in her 1970s period. The clutch indicates Mica is headed to a party.

There are many ideas to take away from the collection. The gladiator sandals can be worn with cropped jeans, shorts or a skirt. Women can take advantage of open-necklines like wearing chokers with sweaters.

Poncho-like coat (Credit: Vogue.com)

Caroline Brasch Nielsen Tests Dominance in ‘Glory’ Fashion Story

Red Cross Nurse (credit: Models.com)

Photographer Greg Kadel turns symbols and body language on their head in the April 2017 issue of King Kong Magazine.

In the fashion editorial “Glory Hole,” Kadel tells the story of a provocative woman, played by model Caroline Brasch Nielsen, who hits spots around Lower Manhattan.  She flaunts her sexuality and challenges the idea of control.

Caroline and a thuggish-ruggish-styled man sit on a bench with their legs open. This sitting style is eyebrow raising because she’s wearing a hiked up mini dress and wearing a nun’s habit. Also, a cross is embroidered on the crotch of her dress. Visions of Reagan from The Exorcist spring to mind. Now Caroline and the man have equal power.

Contrast that with another bench scene where Caroline shares a bench with a heavily tattooed older man. In her tight pink jumpsuit, her legs are again wide open, while the man has his leg crossed away from her. She holds the power.

Blind in an Elevator (credit: models.com)

Phallic imagery is usually used to show a man’s power, but the provocative woman uses it to show her own power. Caroline plays a Red Cross nurse with blood-red latex opera gloves  that cross over her body imitating the Red Cross on her tiny apron. Her red-gloved hand is inserted in her mouth simulating oral sex. Then there’s that stool that hits squarely on her crotch.

It’s rare that Caroline’s provocative woman is not powerful, but when she's not powerful, you wonder if she’s playing a trick. In an old elevator car, she sits on the floor with her legs spread. Her spiky goggles act as a blindfold, while a man’s hand hits the elevator’s buttons. He’s in control, or is he?

Another shot features the provocative woman in a park, but her body shrinks in submission as a tattooed, muscular young man stands dominantly above her. Instincts tell me that she’s going to sucker punch him. The photo that exemplifies this notion of deceptive power is one of her with her wrists bound. However, the front of her body is facing away from the camera, so she holds the power because her face isn’t visible to tell what emotions she’s feeling. She’s dangerous.

Visual signs of dominance are multifaceted when it comes to women, and deceptive power works to a woman’s advantage. People like Caroline’s provocative woman are dangerous, sexy and cool.

A nun on a bench (credit: models.com)

Hidden Face (credit: models.com)

Pink suit on a bench (credit: models.com)

Submissive body language (credit: models.com)

Seoul: The Wasp Waist Wins at Pushbutton FW17 Show

Opening Look (Credit: Vogue.com)

KOREA—The fact that the Pushbutton FW17 show opens and closes with a womanly wasp waist and pants means something: a woman flaunts her curves and wears the pants.

The opening model wears a gray T-shaped dress shirt shaped like a kimono. The shirt’s hem tucks into periwinkle blue pants that feature a peplum. The duo of hems creates a wasp waist. The model looks intelligent with her aviator eyeglasses on her way to work to maybe engage in Working Girl officepolitics. Is she the Sigourney Weaver boss or Melanie Griffith ambitious underling?

Closing Look:  (Credit: Vogue.com)

The silhouette appears as sexy and demure in two separate looks. There’s the sexy off-the-shoulder coat with boning that gives it the effect of an 18th Century dress. A model wears a Dorothy Gale-worthy sepia gingham cocoon jacket and looks like she should be holding a basket of baguettes. The asymmetrical styling of the gloves gives the outfit a whiff of weird.

The closing look is of a woman wears creased pants and wasp waist like the opening model.  Unlike the bespectacled opening model, this woman is dressed like a movie queen incognito trying to avoid the paparazzi. The gym bag and hoodie point to an athletic, street-smart woman. Surprisingly, I thought the hoodie was a hijab from a distance. (A hijab is a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women).

It’s time to embrace the wasp waist, and it’s never looked fresher than it does at Pushbutton FW17.

 

18th Century-style  (Credit: Vogue.com)

Wholesome Gingham  (Credit: Vogue.com)

Seoul FW17: Cres E. Dim’s Urban Warrior

Gardening Tools  (Photo: Vogue.com)

The Cres E. Dim Fall 2017 collection showcases the urban warrior with softness sprinkled around.

The aviator sunglasses and Doc Martens rumble with militant toughness, while the baseball caps, sweatshirts and nameplate chains are athletic and very hip-hop.

The softness shows up in the form of whimsical images from childhood including the schoolgirl skirts and the plush fabric of the hats and pumps. The nameplate chains also speak to the gaudiness associated with childhood.

A certain shade of yellow pervades the Cres E.Dim collection. The shade evokes Chick-fil-A sauce as well McDonald’s thanks to red piping. This commercialism is characteristic of hip-hop and childhood products, whether it be cartoon characters or a favorite fast food restaurant.

Chick-fil-A yellow (Photo: Vogue.com)

The garden tools that the models carry are at first humorous, but then when considered with the words spelled out on the nameplate chains (“No More Candlelight” and “Call for Peace”), the message is clear: these models are portraying grassroots rebels.

These urban warriors are tough that think with their heads and hearts.

Mountainous Sloped Silhouette (Photo: Vogue.com)

Nameplate chain necklace (Photo: Vogue.com)