Category: Sensational Salad

Balmain

I’m sure everybody is excited about Balmain’s Fall 2012 collection. Designer Olivier Rousteing convinced us all with his Fabergé egg inspired outfits and edgy silhouettes. The fully adorned dresses and jackets, the amazing belts look precious and even a little bit kitsch, but they’re absolutely wearable from day to night, easy to mix and match (the white sweater worn with those embroidered pants is absolutely gorgeous!).

I guess the best thing we should appreciate at Balmain is the way they found that perfect balance between what Western civilization calls heritage and the freshness of cuts and styling which makes these outfits so up-to-date.

images via vogue.com

Posted on by laviniaban 0

Citizen K & the Sparkling Soldiers

Citizen K magazine celebrates the Sparkling Sol­diers. The  editorial  in magazine’s July issue brings together uniforms and luxury jewels as invincible cult objects in contemporary fashion’s imagery.


Pho­tog­ra­pher: Alice Rosati/ styling:  Jérome André/ models:  Robert Laby and Julius Ger­hardt/ images via fashionisto.com

Posted on by laviniaban 2

The Collage Vision

The technique of collage is fascinating and still appealing nowadays, while fashion itself became a huge collage of the contemporary culture. Here’s a particular editorial from the Chinese fashion magazine Vision, featured in an issue inspired by the work of Lee Alexander McQueen.

Handmade collages:  Ashkan Honarvar/ Editor : Ujin Zhou/  Photographer:  Yin Chao /  Styling :  Qiaoran & Josh @ Babyghost  / Model:  Wawa/ view more from this series on behance.

Posted on by laviniaban 0

Men – Behind The Scenes

The catwalk show may be the main attraction for every fashion addict. But nothing compares to the backstage images of the show, especially when they ‘re shot by  Sonny Vandevelde – “the fashion photographer trying to give you a glimpse behind the scene”. I mean, you can really get a glimpse of it, but also a fresh perspective on the next season’s fashionable looks. It’s not only about the outfits, it’s about posture, expression, spontaneity. The clothes look more ‘real’ and ‘alive’, because they’re worn by people after all… no stereotypes, no restrictions, just a few guys doing their work and having fun.

It seems that Rick Owens’ monk sobriety gets a sporty twist for the next season men. Which is very nice.

Henrik Vibskov’s oversized outfits are mixing a lot of textiles techniques with some statement head- pieces. Once again, he doesn’t seem to care about anything, breaking the rules and following his own way;

Raf Simons – sober look, bright cuts and a Tilda-like hairdo;

I love this crafted- tribal look at Damir Doma…

and the man-machine from Mugler

and Dries Van Noten – oh yes, he knows how to use color like no one other!

Dior Homme.  Of course, nothing compares with their last Summer collection, but I admit that the sporty couture in black & white looks pretty cool.

Jean Paul Gaultier comes along with his bohemian style, fake tattoos and spirited boys. The brick-outfit is genius!

This one is my favorite, I have to say it! I always loved red & black in bold stripes (and this time, it’s not Yohji Yamamato, but Riccardo Tisci). The Givenchy Collection for the next Fall is really fresh and powerful. Take a look at those nose – accessories, they’re perfect!

Great rush behind the Galliano show… plus a delicious mix of matt and shiny black.

all images source:  sonnyphotos.typepad.com

Posted on by laviniaban 2

Hakuchi

Few artists are able to build an entirely new imagery starting from a traditional background. Definitely, the Japanese artist Shohei Otomo (aka Hakuchi), is one of those happy few. We don’t know many things about him: he graduated from Tama Art University, and, soon after that, he managed to develop a personal style, gaining international recognition with  his signature ballpoint pen illustration. Further, he keeps it simple – always using black&whites with some killer red accents. His works are just impossible to ignore, they’re powerful, filled with a genuine creative passion and a lot of attention for the details. Although we can get an idea about his inspiration – manga, traditional Japanese iconography, western comics, gheisha look or samurai attire, it is still difficult to drop Shohei’s art in a particular style. It’s just his own style. For me, it’s like Sin City treated a la japonaise, or like a playful alternative of Bjork’s infamous Homogenic cover, designed by Alexander McQueen.

But, what I like most about Shohei Otomo’s art is his particular spirit of vitality, the enthusiasm of mixing violence with juicy fashionable elements, always adding a dose of good humor. I think the Europeans have a certain (mis)understanding of  the Japanese culture, which they often regard as minimal, intellectual, sober and colorless (the Japanese fashion makes no exception). But, as the Harajuku style already showed, there’s a lot of creativity out there, a sense of theatricality and a creative optimism. And Shohei Otomo’s art stands as a major proof for it.

Posted on by laviniaban 1

Versace

I’m sure that everybody is already tired of Versace x H&M theme. Me too. I’m not a big fan of Versace, but I really appreciate their strong color statement.  And I’m a color lover, colors can change the mood, colors are emotional, colors are optimistic, colors are hot! Versace always knew how to do it, they are able to make you love the same colors you’d usually reject. That’s how I see the benefits of this recent collaboration, besides the new pair of shoes, or the dress possibly hanging in our wardrobe.

And here’s a nice picture, probably the best that I found on this topic (already too publicized, too trivialized) .

Italians Do It Better– the Dress to Kill editorial / photo : Bo Brinkenfalk /  H&M x Versace collection / image via thefashionisto.com

 

Posted on by laviniaban 0