Game Theory

Lifestyle plays a key role in determining a personal style. I learned that following a move from a small barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean to the dark islet of Manhattan. Not long after, I was reminded to dress for the unexpected, to budget for surprise and maybe even invest in a good pair of shoes that can carry you comfortably from downtown haunts to uptown meetings. Let's not take ourselves too seriously here, but there is a nice metaphor: Invest in quality—be it ideas, art that you love, books you will read a second and third and fourth time, in relationships of substance—and you will be the wiser woman.

Which is why this season has been so uniquely exciting. We've seen wardrobe staples reimagined for life in 2014—printed furs, opulent evening dresses, simple black pants with satin folds that mimic garden roses, and sweaters, knits, and overcoats—that are wearable (read: sensible), chic, and refined enough to retain their good looks over the next decades. You could picture yourself in Valentino's fur for the next forty years, imagine openings and galas and performances in tandem with Aquilano e Rimondi's silhouette, and countless meetings held in the company of Alexander Wang's Balenciaga knits. 

Valentino

Aquilano e Rimondi

Balenciaga

 

 

Simone Rocha

The Elephant

In the world of street-cred style, Alexander Wang reigns supreme. The stupendously young designer was tapped to take the helm of Balenciaga late last year, a move that signaled to many a shift for the storied brand towards a more youth-oriented, consumer-friendly market. The Parisian house of Balenciaga is known for its cutting-edge silhouettes, even if they're sometimes shapeless (see: 1957 sack dress). Alexander Wang's empire was built one $100 t-shirt at a time.

But that's a sign of the times: The t-shirt has become a staple in American dressing, and when paired with an ankle-length satin column, the look hits 2013 on the nose. It's realistic.

I was a bit surprised to see Alexander Wang's collection for Fall 2013, shown at New York Fashion Week.  It was a mass of leather, fuzzy mittens, and pleats that cut futuristic silhouettes (think androgynous and sharp), but I couldn't help myself from thinking, Yes, but who will actually wear this? Six foot tall, seven stone models aren't flattered by the designs. You'd have to really work to make one of the pieces relatable.

Did I just miss the point? Is fashion an expression, and nothing else? Am I taking creation and art and turning it into something mundane? Or, perhaps, I am asking out loud what everyone who knows, knows: that it is the effort to take something so improbable and turn into an effortless expression that is the currency of design?

The more I see the designs, the more I appreciate them. Wang didn't give us something pretty or expected. His collection challenges our notion of what good design is. Raf Simons did similarly with his debut Dior collection last Spring. He used iridescent neon gossamer where many assumed they'd find black silk. Wang gave us fur helmets instead of moto jackets. He gave us expression instead of a t-shirt.

(photos: Elle)

Boxtrot

May I remind you: It's 2012. It's so de rigueur to go slinky and slim, or hip-grazing and flouncy. Let's study shapes that are architectural--flares, spires, arches, boxes. Forgive me if I'm using this word all over the place, but it feels especially modern to see shapes other than the hourglass.

I just finished an article in February's Bazaar called "Spring's New Look," comparing, of course, Dior's watershed 1947 New Look with styles from the spring 2012 runways. This year we saw updated versions of the paradigm shifting collection of "exaggerated womanly looks that outmoded the spartan wartime silhouette and provided the broad strokes for the elegant uniform of the baby-boom era". Now, Rochas, Dior 2012, and Jonathan Sanders might have created looks that could have appealed to a clientele in 1947, but in this post, we're going to obsess over the very-new millennium looks.

Balenciaga hooked me, hard. Classic and of-the-moment at the same time. The fabrics look like neoprene-silk. The shoes, phenomenal; sculptural and almost utilitarian in their reference to boots.

Simple, uniform hair and an artillery of wrist decorations.

More Balenciaga- this helmet-like hat might prove too theatrical for life off of the set, but it reminds me of a shield, or hood--perhaps a wartime reference. The patches of fabric sewn together inspire an image of  rationing; an important factor the original New Look followed. The altogether surplus of fabric seen with the Band of Outsiders look (right) could possibly reference the end (or hopeful cessation) of conflicts abroad with the inclusion of extra yardage-- a shape reminiscent of tunics-- and red and white pants that mimic the colors of a traditional bidah. 

Phillip Lim 3.1 took things to an airier place. The fluid cuts spoke volumes of modernity. The wearer is not weighed down by constraints, or notions of femininity. She is bold while being relaxed, pulled together without ties or attachments. The ends always taper to a slim, defined point.

Celine's collection was also a study in strength and shape. I'm reminded a bit of nun's habits here--or the idea of a uniform. (Note the shoes are the same.) Wouldn't be too terrible to have to wear either creation day after day. As little as two generations prior, our grandmothers might have had just one day dress. We're not so far away in time.