Getting Cute
By Susie Bubble
LONDON--'Cute' is a word that gets thrown around a lot when people describe me. It's not pretty. It's not beautiful. It's 'cute' - like a bunny rabbit. I don't begrudge that. Hey, there are worse things to be labelled than 'cute' (*she says with gritted teeth*). So I suppose playing up to that 'cute' label is something fun to do once in a while and if I'm going to play up to it, then I can justify it by wearing Jessica Ogden's new range for Fred Perry. It's now the second time they have collaborated and I think this collection has outdone the first one both in a faded kind of cuteness. The design and styling reminds me of this Class of 2006 Models editorial from British Vogue shot by Paolo Roversi, a bit 1950's retro but then I also love those touches and references to 1930's tennis wear. Wimbledon themed parties are on their way (strawberries and cream and lashings of Pimms!) and this collection has given me the perfect outfits and also to get cute in. If I so wish.
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Red PVC? Whatever next...
The clothes that I have crushes on can be pretty random. A few months ago if you had said the words 'Red PVC', I would have instantly replied 'Badly dressed hooker'. Then I went to the presentation by designer Maaike Mekking, who has been designing No-One's one-off collections but has now got her own label. Her AW07/8 collection entitled 'She's Lost Control' features a delectable red PVC trench worn in such a way that suddenly changed my opinion of that material. It's the idea of a classic trench trashed up with such a material that I think works.
Then in quick succession, I spied a Michael Kors red PVC trench (from Nylon May 2007), and a D&G red PVC trench from their pre-fall collection (from Dazed & Confused May 2007). Yes, the seeds have been planted. I can't get the effing garment out of my head. For early fall, a red PVC trench suddenly makes perfect sense. It may well be the enticing images lulling me into a false sense of security, making me thin
k 'Yes, I could work a red PVC trench'. Therefore, my first foray into red PVC will be cheap, hopefully vintage and thus it won't be a dead loss if this clothes crush of mine fails.Maaike Mekking // Michael Kors //D&G
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The Gap widens between the Gaps
If you are a transatlantic traveller, someone who goes back and forth between Europe and the States, you may have been a little baffled as to why the stuff you see in Gap in US doesn't quite match up with Gap as we know it in Europe, or more relevantly the UK. For a while now, half of Gap's European stock has been unique - i.e. it's only available in Europe and not the states, an initiative instilled by Steven Sunnucks, Gap's UK president. Given the more fashion forward climate and the competition from European chains, Gap had no choice but to install a separate European design team to bring us Euro-peeps something more fashion-worthy than the basics offered in the States. Basically veering away from what Gap are known for.
I've always thought this was somewhat of a dodgy move precisely because I know what Gap are useful for (a good t-shirt, some ok-ish jeans) and when they start offering something a bit more fashion-forward/fancy-schmancy, I also know I can get better design somewhere else. In other words, it's a little confusing and I think the still-flagging sales in the UK reflect this market confusion.
Nonetheless, the Gap have decided to push forward with the US and Europe separation. From this fall onwards, the collections stocked in Europe will be entirely separate from the offerings in the US and this is what we will be getting.
Fashion Inc has given us a selection of sneak preview pics from the Gap presentation show a few weeks ago shown to UK journalists. The brains behind the collection certainly pack a few punches. The collection was designed with the consultation of Marie-Amelie Sauve (pictured with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nicholas Ghesquiere), Vogue Paris fashion editor and muse/design consultant to Nicholas Ghersquiere at Balenciaga.
The other consultant could also have been Phoebe Philo, ex-Chloe designer, seeing as she is rumoured to have been Gap consulting for yonks now. It would certainly explain why a series of very Chloe-esque, girly, flirty summer dresses (UK ppl must have seen those newspaper ads...) have suddenly popped up in stores.
It's hard to tell without some better close-ups and I suppose one must take into account styling tricks, but it does seem that the two formidable design consultants have come up with something distinctly un-Gap. A New York urban wearability crossed with English country quirk. If I've been secretly coveting Gap's summer dresses, some of this stuff is even more impressive.
My gripe though, and I'm feeling it on behalf of US ppl is why make it ONLY available in Europe? Surveys may say that American tastes are more conservative but why not let the US consumer decide for themselves and have the choice. Surely the big bosses at Gap haven't lumped the entire USA into one category that are only into buying t-shirts and dresses. Surely, with the recent success of the Design Editions white shirt range by Thakoon, Doo.Ri and Rodarte (managed to snag the Thakoon petal dress and Rodarte bow dress over the weekend...woop dee doo...), the Gap customer base has demonstrated an appetite for high fashion-inspired clothes?
It will still be interesting to see whether Gap's fortunes in Europe change for the better come fall and if Gap continue to go along the route of aiming higher fashion-wise, perhaps they should be more democratic and just offer it globally.
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Who cares if I don't have wide feet?
Shame on me. All this fuss about Giles for New Look, Kate Moss for Topshop etc. made me overlook a much more and interesting designer high street collaboration.
I was really excited when I saw that Georgina Goodman, one of my favourite shoe designers was doing a collection for the UK plus size store Evans. However, when the initial fall 06 collection came out, I was a little disappointed - too much Evans, not enough Georgina Goodman. Clearly though my doubts were not a concern since the collection was so successful, Goodman was asked to do a spring summer collection too. To my delight, the s/s07 stuff positively screams Georgina Goodman. The black wooden striped heels, the cone shapes, the contrast of textures albeit on a less luxurious scale (Goodman is famed for her unusual combination of reptile skins).
A selection is available online to UK peeps but bear in mind, Evans is a plus size store so the shoes are made for the slightly wider feet. Pah! As if that's going to stop me. I may not have particularly wide feet but it's nothing some chunky socks and tights won't solve. Actually the slightly mish-mash quality of the shoes means, I'd probably be more inclined to wear them with some geek-out knee high ribbed socks and perhaps some mixed pattern outfits that Ugly Betty would be proud of.
The Gap widens between the Gaps
If you are a transatlantic traveller, someone who goes back and forth between Europe and the States, you may have been a little baffled as to why the stuff you see in Gap in US doesn't quite match up with Gap as we know it in Europe, or more relevantly the UK. For a while now, half of Gap's European stock has been unique - i.e. it's only available in Europe and not the states, an initiative instilled by Steven Sunnucks, Gap's UK president. Given the more fashion forward climate and the competition from European chains, Gap had no choice but to install a separate European design team to bring us Euro-peeps something more fashion-worthy than the basics offered in the States. Basically veering away from what Gap are known for.
I've always thought this was somewhat of a dodgy move precisely because I know what Gap are useful for (a good t-shirt, some ok-ish jeans) and when they start offering something a bit more fashion-forward/fancy-schmancy, I also know I can get better design somewhere else. In other words, it's a little confusing and I think the still-flagging sales in the UK reflect this market confusion.
Nonetheless, the Gap have decided to push forward with the US and Europe separation. From this fall onwards, the collections stocked in Europe will be entirely separate from the offerings in the US and this is what we will be getting.
Fashion Inc has given us a selection of sneak preview pics from the Gap presentation show a few weeks ago shown to UK journalists. The brains behind the collection certainly pack a few punches. The collection was designed with the consultation of Marie-Amelie Sauve (pictured with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nicholas Ghesquiere), Vogue Paris fashion editor and muse/design consultant to Nicholas Ghersquiere at Balenciaga.
The other consultant could also have been Phoebe Philo, ex-Chloe designer, seeing as she is rumoured to have been Gap consulting for yonks now. It would certainly explain why a series of very Chloe-esque, girly, flirty summer dresses (UK ppl must have seen those newspaper ads...) have suddenly popped up in stores.
It's hard to tell without some better close-ups and I suppose one must take into account styling tricks, but it does seem that the two formidable design consultants have come up with something distinctly un-Gap. A New York urban wearability crossed with English country quirk. If I've been secretly coveting Gap's summer dresses, some of this stuff is even more impressive.
My gripe though, and I'm feeling it on behalf of US ppl is why make it ONLY available in Europe? Surveys may say that American tastes are more conservative but why not let the US consumer decide for themselves and have the choice. Surely the big bosses at Gap haven't lumped the entire USA into one category that are only into buying t-shirts and dresses. Surely, with the recent success of the Design Editions white shirt range by Thakoon, Doo.Ri and Rodarte (managed to snag the Thakoon petal dress and Rodarte bow dress over the weekend...woop dee doo...), the Gap customer base has demonstrated an appetite for high fashion-inspired clothes?
It will still be interesting to see whether Gap's fortunes in Europe change for the better come fall and if Gap continue to go along the route of aiming higher fashion-wise, perhaps they should be more democratic and just offer it globally.
____________________________________________________
Who cares if I don't have wide feet?
Shame on me. All this fuss about Giles for New Look, Kate Moss for Topshop etc. made me overlook a much more and interesting designer high street collaboration.
I was really excited when I saw that Georgina Goodman, one of my favourite shoe designers was doing a collection for the UK plus size store Evans. However, when the initial fall 06 collection came out, I was a little disappointed - too much Evans, not enough Georgina Goodman. Clearly though my doubts were not a concern since the collection was so successful, Goodman was asked to do a spring summer collection too. To my delight, the s/s07 stuff positively screams Georgina Goodman. The black wooden striped heels, the cone shapes, the contrast of textures albeit on a less luxurious scale (Goodman is famed for her unusual combination of reptile skins).
A selection is available online to UK peeps but bear in mind, Evans is a plus size store so the shoes are made for the slightly wider feet. Pah! As if that's going to stop me. I may not have particularly wide feet but it's nothing some chunky socks and tights won't solve. Actually the slightly mish-mash quality of the shoes means, I'd probably be more inclined to wear them with some geek-out knee high ribbed socks and perhaps some mixed pattern outfits that Ugly Betty would be proud of.
