As I mentioned last week, I gasped rather loudly when I saw these Dolce & Gabbana powders at British Beauty Blogger. As of this writing they're only available to purchase at Harrod's but hopefully they will be making it stateside soon, as they are at least listed at the official D & G website.
The Collector's Edition powders have a striking red outer case and a beautiful embossed design based on an ancient Greek coin featuring the head of Athena in profile. In a sad attempt to improve my pictures I dug up one of my old art history books on Greek art and used it as a backdrop.
First we have the Illuminator, a pale beige with extremely faint shimmer. Even in bright sunlight I could barely see it, so I'm not sure how much illuminating it can actually provide.
And here's the bronzer. I think the design works better when there's more shimmer as it provides a nicer contrast.
The design is not new for the palette, as it was borrowed from one of the many coins that appeared in D & G's spring 2014 ready-to-wear collection, which was inspired by Sicily's ancient Greek heritage and yet another nod to Dolce's Sicilian roots. Says one reviewer of their runway show that took place in September 2013, "Today was [D & G's] umpteenth collection drawing on yet another facet of Sicilian culture, in this case the island's interaction with Greece in the ancient world. Sounds kind of academic, but it wasn't. Dolce and Gabbana are designers, after all, not history teachers. So when they used old photographs of ruined amphitheaters as prints, they had a pleasing graphic quality. Ionic columns reproduced as heels on shoes were a flash of wit. So were the gold coins that exploded into chunky prizefighter-like corset belts, especially when those belts gripped delicate dresses petaled with Sicily's almond blossom."
I thought my head was going to explode when I saw the sheer amount of gold coins sprinkled seemingly everywhere, including, yes, a variety of belts:
In addition to the earrings all the models wore, coins also appeared in necklaces:
Shoes and bags:
In print form:
And sometimes in both metal and print:
Coins also mingled with the aforementioned pictures of ancient Greek architecture and ruins, either in print or in belts.
And one look had the trifecta of a coin belt and print combined with the architectural print.
Finally, here is the coin that appears on the palette.
Since I'm not familiar with ancient Greek coins and I wanted to know whether D & G's versions had any historical basis I did a little light research online. Athena was often depicted on currency with a variety of motifs on the reverse side, most commonly an owl since she is the goddess of wisdom.
I couldn't find any depictions of Athena herself (more specifically, her hair/helmet) that looked to be identical to the one on the powders, nor could I find the little flower-like design on the lower right, but I did come across the inscription, ΚΑΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ.
This refers to the city of Catania, one of the Sicilian cities ruled by ancient Greece. Based on the coin above that depicts the god Apollo, it looks like D & G might have borrowed the sheaf of wheat he wears in his hair and worked it into their depiction of Athena. (I did not come across any coins from Catania that showed Athena, only Apollo. This doesn't mean they don't exist, I just didn't see any online).
As a side note, being obsessed with mermaids, I had to figure out what the basis was for the design of another frequently used coin in the collection since it had dolphins and as we all know dolphins and mermaids are the best of friends. I was able to identify it as a coin associated with another Sicilian city.
ΣΥΡΑΚΟΣΙΩΝ is inscribed on the coin, which translates to Syracuse, also founded by the ancient Greeks. Their patron sea nymph Arethusa appears on many of these coins, wearing a pearl necklace and surrounded by dolphins.
As the story goes, she fled to Sicily to escape the pursuit of the river god Alpheus. So she's not a mermaid but I'm satisfied with the myth regardless. 🙂
Getting back to the palettes, I haven't been this dazzled by anything in months. I love that the design came directly from one of D & G's collections as well as the overall theme of Sicily by way of ancient Greece. Although the design took some liberties with the motifs found on authentic ancient coins and the coins on both the runway and the palettes are literally the same, I feel as though there was some thought put into it – the company really leveraged the coin design by knowing it would look gorgeous on a palette, and I liked their choice of the Athena-inspired coin. The sea nymph one would be more appropriate for a summer release, plus mythologically speaking, Arethusa doesn't have quite the same standing as Athena. And it's unique, since I've never seen a rendering of an ancient coin on makeup. I just wish there was a third powder in a brilliant shiny silver!
Will you be picking these up should they arrive near you?
*I meant to get this post up yesterday but was completely incapacitated with a migraine. I had most of the post completed over the weekend and was going to put the finishing touches on last night after work, but I felt so bad I basically laid on the couch and didn't move for the rest of the evening. :( I would have just waited until next Monday, but I was determined to be the first U.S. blogger to have real-life pictures of these palettes!
I was initially tempted to get this palette for the Museum, but soon decided against it. In terms of color, Armani's Organica eye shadow palette is the embodiment of the "Fade to Grey" fall 2014 fashion collection.
Linda Cantello, International Makeup Artist for Armani, notes that "[Armani] didn't want a very strong makeup statement for this show…he wanted the brows to be very strong but not overtaking the complete look. So basically, it's like a makeup that's faded." She adds, "I believe the best and the most flattering makeup is makeup that you cannot see. It’s more striking when it has that slight ‘lived-in’ look. Eyes with muted colour, an Armani look with stronger eyebrows, grey eyes and a soft mouth. It is all easy to apply and anyone can wear it.” I thought this look worked very well with the clothes that came down the runway. It's not easy to figure out a cohesive beauty look that goes with grey and green.
While I was pleased to see that the palette's colors were an excellent complement to the fashion show, the pattern stopped me from buying it. What is it supposed to be? Perhaps some variation of a leopard or crocodile print, but neither of those made an appearance in the clothing. To my eye, the shapes look a little like keyhole limpet shells.
Indeed, Jane at British Beauty Blogger called the design a "kind of ombred barnicle". There is something biological or sea creature-like about it, which would be somewhat appropriate given that the palette is named Organica. But without any direct reference to the fall show nor a clearly depicted leopard or other animal pattern, I had to skip purchasing it. From a collecting standpoint it didn't meet my criteria. However, the colors are gorgeous and I could definitely see myself using it if I wore lots of muted greys and beiges (you learned last week I'm not a huge fan of neutrals).
What do you think of this palette overall and what do you think the pattern is supposed to be?
Lancôme has quite the history of teaming up with top designers, including Alber Elbaz, Olympia Le-Tan and Jason Wu. This summer the company collaborated with three rising Paris-based designers: Jacquemus, Alexandre Vauthier and Yiqing Yin, who were tasked with creating a very exclusive (read: expensive) line of handbags, dubbed Nouvelle Vague, filled with Lancôme's best-selling products.
I was pretty excited to see what these three could come up with since I first heard about the collaboration back in April. Let's take a look at each bag and see if it's a good reflection of the designer's aesthetic.
First up is Yiqing Yin. Born in China, she emigrated to Paris at the age of 4 and later studied at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs. According to her website, "her aim has been to create a garment that protects and reinforces, being at the same time a second skin and a supple armour…she imagines structures which are never fixed, shapes that are always in mutation." I like the bold geometric lines and overall boxiness of the bag – there's something powerful about it. The lamé gives it a glam touch.
In Yin's clothing designs we see more of the strong geometric silhouettes, along with dabbles in various textures. From delicate feathers to rough-hewn wool, Yin can seemingly make any fabric bend to her vision of a "supple armour".
I can also see why she used lamé in her Lancôme design – this woman is not afraid of shiny materials!
Next up we have a very cheerful bag from Simon Porte Jacquemus, a 24 year-old self-taught designer who started his own line at the age of 19. Right when I saw the shape and color of the bag, I knew it came from a young'un. Indeed, he says of his aesthetic, "I’ll always be sporty and young…[Jacquemus as a brand] is a whole universe, a concept. Something could be a 'Jacquemus'-y shirt, or a 'Jacquemus'-y bike...it’s more of a playful spirit, clean, fresh, and at the same time raw. If you put photos in front of me, I could tell you whether things were Jacquemus-y or not!"
The bag's shape directly references some of the pieces that came down the runway for his fall 2014 collection. I find this quote from him to be a perfect description of the collection: "If I had a bigger budget I would do more couture moderne: more refined, more exacting, spectacular space-age pieces from the ‘60s; that's what I like. But always mixed with T-shirts and sneakers." Bigger budget or not, I do find these pieces to have a futuristic '60s vibe.
I also thought the strap attachment on the Lancôme bag looked similar to the yellow strips adhered to this coat.
Circles are definitely this designer's muse as of late. In addition to Jacquemus's clothing, they appear in many of the images used in his campaigns.
Of the three I think this one is the most youthful and fun. I couldn't pull off this bag, but I appreciate the style.
Finally, we have Alexandre Vauthier, whose sleek black clutch features his signature gold bar across the front. As for the fold-out mechanism, he says, "I wanted to have something that opened up like this, very technical. I’m very crazy and obsessed by horlogerie [the practice of clock-making], as well as the precision of haute joaillerie [fine jewelry], like when you cut a diamond. I want to have something that represents this kind of work."
A streamlined clutch made its way into both his fall ready-to-wear and couture collections, making a subtle counterpoint to the intricately detailed (and undeniably sexy) dresses he created.
This bag is my favorite since it seems to be the most versatile of the three – I could easily see myself carrying it with a number of outfits (I think it would pair especially nicely with those leopard print Louboutin pumps!) I also like that there are individual straps to keep the makeup in place.
I wish I could get all three for the Museum since I feel each one represents their respective designer very well, but given they range from $500 to $1,300 each, it's not happening.
What do you think of these? And which is your favorite?
Huzzah! The designer behind the famous red-soled shoes has launched a nail polish line. Back in 1992 Christian Louboutin was hard at work creating high heels when he thought his current designs lacked a certain something. He took a bottle of red nail polish from an assistant, painted the sole, and from then on, the fashion world was never the same.
As a big Louboutin fan myself I was most excited to get my paws on this, especially since I adored the bottle. Any accessory that can double as a weapon is good in my book. I thought I'd dig out one of my two pairs of Louboutins for fun, and of course to compare the nail polish color to the shoe sole. You may remember I did the same experiment way back in 2008, when I compared Lancôme's Piha set to a black pair of "Very Prive" pumps. So let's take a look, shall we?
First, the bottle. The smoky ombré bottle has sixteen facets in all, each one polished with a hand-held flame. The outer box (which I neglected to take pictures of) is also made by hand. According to an article in Women's Wear Daily (WWD), each one takes 22 weeks to make. Says Louboutin, "I always loved architecture and architectural elements, so when it came to this bottle, a lot of things came in mind…first of all, there was an importance on transparency. It was important to me that it seemed to float. The ultimate goal of the nail color was to evoke a shiny lacquer imprisoned in a piece of faceted crystal." The cap takes its design cue from the Ballerina Ultima shoe Louboutin created in 2007 as part of a collaboration with filmmaker David Lynch. While I personally found the wand to be difficult to maneuver, apparently it's bottom-weighted to make for an easier application.
I love these shoes but hardly ever wear them. They are awesome but not all that practical.
God help us all, I tried to take some "artsy" close-up pictures. They are not near what I wanted, given my lackluster photography skills, but I tried. I was infinitely fascinated by combining the luxury of leopard print rendered in sumptuous pony hair with the shiny nail polish bottle. While I failed to adequately capture the beautiful textures of each, these may give you some idea of what I was trying to accomplish.
Is the polish really a match for the sole? I think so! (You can also check out swatches at Café Makeup.) Louboutin notes that he while he wanted the color to be a good match, it was more important to him that the polish be flattering on every skintone. "I’ve been traveling the world since I was a teenager and so, for that reason, I never consider just one ethnicity. When I’m thinking of the skin of a person, I don’t necessarily see a white skin. When we started to work on the colors, [it was a question of] why would you have just one person try? You have to see it on different skin." (source)
Rouge Louboutin had a very long lead time. We first heard rumblings about an official Louboutin beauty line in 2012, but even prior to that there were manicures and colors inspired by the designer's shoes. In early 2007 nail artist Zoe Pocock, working out of the Charles Worthington salon in the UK, debuted the Louboutin manicure in which the undersides of nails were painted red to mimic the soles of the shoes.
In 2008 the craze for Louboutin-inspired nails was still going strong with the release of the aforementioned (and highly exclusive) Lancôme Piha set, consisting of a black sparkly gloss and red lipstick.
The fad seemed to die down for a while until 2012, when singer Adele sported a silver variation of the Louboutin manicure to match her silver Louboutin heels at the Grammy Awards.
While the idea of transferring Louboutin's shoe designs to nails isn't new, what makes the official Louboutin polish novel is the obvious lead he took in creating it. The wealth of information surrounding the development of the collection and photos like the ones below show that he was truly invested in this endeavor, and that he doesn't see it as merely another source of revenue. “The idea is definitely not to put my name on a new product,” he says in the WWD article.
I think the quote shown below really sums up the beauty line nicely: "The red sole was born from red nail polish. I am giving back to nails what the shoe took from the nails many years ago."
Of course, the launch for the nail polish line was nothing short of dazzling. Louboutin reconnected with David Lynch, who produced a short film in honor of the collection's release.
At Saks 5th Avenue in New York City, the mythical place known as "Loubiville" took over all the window displays. I was struck by how elaborate they were. Incidentally, the nail polish is currently being sold alongside the shoes rather than in the beauty department. The fantastical cityscape was designed by architect Tarek Shamma and will make the leap from an all-white palette to a more colorful one as new products are introduced.
This arch blew me away – if you look closely you can see high heels forming the pattern.
Amidst all the fanfare there has been an undercurrent of criticism. How much is too much to pay for nail polish? It seems a lot of consumers, beauty bloggers among them, find a $50 bottle of polish to be outrageous. But I'd like to point out that you're not paying just for nail polish. You're paying for both a color and a beautifully crafted bottle that capture the essence of an iconic fashion designer, a collectible meant to be enjoyed by applying but also displayed on one's vanity. If you're into collecting things like this, $50 isn't necessarily unreasonable. "Entering beauty, for me, was almost like entering the religion of beauty," Louboutin told WWD. "If you’re talking beauty, it needs to be beautiful, because we are surrounded by tons of objects now, in every civilization, and there are so many ugly objects. You know, I just want the object to always be present because this is here, this is in your bag, this is in your bathroom. Too many objects are ugly, and I think that I do not want to add in that direction. There is a culture of cynicism, I think, of a certain cynicism with ugliness. That’s really a thing I do not want to participate in." It really boils down to whether you like the bottle as much as the polish – whether you see it as a beautiful object as Louboutin does. In that case, I think a splurge is in order. Additionally, as All Lacquered Up author Michelle Mismas notes, there have been polishes costing $250 and $500 due to the use of real gold and other precious metals in the polish formulas. There's even the famous black diamond-laced Azature polish which costs $250,000. Personally I'd never pay those amounts since I don't very much care about fancy ingredients, but $50 for a pretty trinket by a luxury designer whose work I greatly admire seems like a decent price. If you just want a red polish with no frills, then yes, $50 is absurd as there are quality polishes out there at a much lower price point.
So what's next? As of August 31st, the other colors in the Louboutin collection will be on sale. There is the Pop group, more "fun" colors with a silver cap that are each named after one of the designer's existing shoe styles.
The Nude group features rose gold caps and shades for a variety of skintones. Again, Louboutin wanted to ensure there would be a flattering nude shade for all. "Nude is supposedly something which is going to fade into your own skin, so it just means the color of your skin…so, if you say color of your skin, you have to consider a lot of skin [tones]."
The Noir group will have dark gunmetal caps and include rich, vampy, jewel-toned shades.
Additionally, according to the WWD article, more products will be rolling out within the next 2 years. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for lipstick.
So what do you think? Are you a Louboutin fan?
I was so happy this lovely palette finally made it stateside. I had anxiously been waiting out unconfirmed reports that Chanel Dentelle Précieuse would be available in the U.S. as a Nordstrom exclusive for their anniversary sale in July, and fortunately the rumors turned out to be true. I bought it the minute it became available.
The palette's intricate lace design was inspired by "Gabrielle Chanel's love of lace" and was appropriate given all the lace that came down the runway for Chanel's fall 2014 couture show.
I would have liked to explore the use of lace throughout the history of this hallowed fashion house, but that would be an entire book. Instead I'll examine this particular pattern more closely. I studied the lace detailing of some of the fall 2014 pieces and none of them quite matched the pattern on the palette. They were very close but not identical. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't the exact same pattern, but I did some digging and I think it's actually from the spring 2009 ready-to-wear collection.
I rotated the picture of the palette and zoomed in on one of the sleeves from the top shown above. The white circle is around the exact spot where I thought there was a match.
I might be wrong but they look the same to me (although the pattern on the palette is upside down). If they are the same, I'm puzzled as to why Chanel would have used that lace pattern instead of a more recent one…maybe that particular one was just easier to produce in makeup form. In any case, you can't argue that the design is truly gorgeous and probably the best lace design I've ever seen in a palette (including Dior's Dentelle collection from spring 2010 and D & G's Sicilian Lace bronzer.)
What do you think?
Dior's Transat collection pays homage to both Dior's first resort collection from 1948 and Raf Simons' modern take on the designer's original vision. From the website: "Christian Dior presented his first Resort and Spring line in 1948, inspired by the great transatlantic crossings that fascinated this couturier. Synonymous with freedom, elegance and picturesque destinations, the nautical world has always been an invaluable source of inspiration for Dior and its creations. Today, Raf Simons upholds this heritage with the Cruise 2014 collection: his outfits feature all the elegance of a modern nautical look with timelessly chic styling. Transat, the summery look created by Dior makeup is reminiscent of these outfits. A radiant, sun-kissed complexion; ultramarine blue eyes; intense lips and nails with sailor stripes: Transat brilliantly breezes through summer. Nautical chic, Dior style." I picked up one of the two eye shadow palettes in Atlantique. The rope detailing and the colors very much align with the collection's description.
And I was pleased to see there was also a direct connection to the fashion that came down the runway for Dior's 2014 resort collection. Compare the Transat promos to some of the looks at the show:
I don't really have anything to add, except that I did come across more information in Dior's online magazine about how Dior was one of the first designers to introduce the notion of a resort collection, which was quite interesting. "'As a true native of Granville, I have sea legs,' wrote Christian Dior in his autobiography 'Christian Dior and Me'. The couturier grew up facing the ocean, in his beloved family villa perched on the cliffs of Granville, in Normandy. As a boy, he contemplated fishing boats with billowing sails and the Channel Islands, which seemed so near in fine weather. Dior grew up gazing at an infinite horizon, which cultivated his taste for travel. This passion for elsewhere would last his entire life, and live in the heart of his creations. By 1948, he was a renowned couturier in France, and opened his house in the United States. He offered his American clients a collection called 'Resort and spring'. The clothes’ colors were summery, their materials and lines light and easy to wear, their names evocative of paradise : 'Bahamas', 'Honolulu', 'Palm Springs'. In America at that time, the fashion was for cruises, long voyages aboard a steamship with stops in sunny destinations. A quest for summer in the middle of winter; warm holidays spent on distant horizons during the coldest season of the year. One had to dress accordingly. One needed a wardrobe of outfits that were easy to pack and to wear, something ideally suited to long steamboat excursions. And the notion of Cruise collections was born. 'If you travel frequently, you will need clothes that don’t take up too much space, that are light and won’t wrinkle,' Christian Dior wrote in his Little Dictionary of Fashion ; and with his very first collections the designer expressed his taste for travel and marine codes (boat necks and sailor stripes). In 1950, the press communiqué for his Resort collection specified that 'Monsieur Dior has chosen for his color palette soft variations on the magnificent colors of the South Seas', and the couturier offered his French clients wide-brimmed hats, robes for lounging and shorts in floral or gingham fabrics with names like 'Bain de minuit', 'La Croisette' and 'Méditerrannée' – names that chimed with the dream of sunny, never-ending vacations. Today, dreams of travel to sunny climes continue to inspire fashion at the House of Dior." I tried to find images of some of these pieces but came up empty-handed.
While the design didn't knock my socks off the way those of previous Dior palettes have (i.e. Lady Dior or Tailleur Bar) I still think it's a solid addition to my summer-themed collectibles, given how well it ties into both a recent fashion collection and Dior's idea of resort wear over half a century ago. The only downside is that it makes me yearn to take a fabulous trip on my non-existent yacht!
What do you think?
I feel as though every summer cosmetic companies up their design game when it comes to bronzers. Givenchy hopped on the too-pretty-to-use bronzer bandwagon this year with its Terre Exotique Healthy Glow Powder. I didn't even know what the pattern was when I first looked at it; all I knew was that it was a must-have for the Makeup Museum.
This little treasure comes outfitted in a sleek black case with a coppery chain detail.
My first impression of the design was that it looked vaguely organic – leaves of some kind, but I had no idea what the raised portions of the patten were.
I figured the pattern had its origins in Givenchy's fashion, as it seemed too intricate to be something that was designed solely for this bronzer. Low and behold it appeared, quite colorfully, in the 2012 resort collection.
Here's a better image of the print. An abbreviated version appears in the bronzer – only the central part of the pattern (outer leaves of the irises and bird of paradise flowers) and some chains were used.
Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci was so taken by the blooms of Hawaii for his 2012 resort collection that the above print appeared on nearly every piece that came down the runway. But the body-conscious silhouettes gave a hard edge to the brightly colored pattern. As one critic remarked, "flora has never looked more urban or street."
Indeed, the print was also used for the packaging on the Jay-Z/Kanye West album Watch the Throne (Tisci has previously designed the cover for their H.A.M. album in 2010.)
It's still a mystery to me as to why this pattern ended up on the bronzer this year rather than in 2012 or even 2013. Was Givenchy running out of ideas and figured this would work well? Or is it that it's just a fabulous print and the company wants to get as much mileage out of it as possible?
In any case, I think the bronzer is quite lovely, even though it may have worked slightly better if it had multiple colors or at least outlines of the flowers. I'm glad I found the print on which it's based because you can't initially tell what it is in the pan – it didn't immediately read irises and birds of paradise to me, just symmetrical, pretty shapes. After seeing the original design you can better recognize the tropical flowers and see how appropriate the pattern is for summer.
What do you think?
Once again I randomly found some really cool makeup-themed stuff while researching something completely unrelated. I'm sad I missed this collaboration between Italian clothing label MSGM and art magazine Toilet Paper that debuted last summer. Toilet Paper Magazine is an image-only publication founded by sculptor Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari (I dare you to try to make sense of the website), while MSGM is a recently-established line started by former DJ Massimo Giorgetti. According to a Wallpaper article, the collaboration was an attempt to broaden the reach of Toilet Paper Magazine beyond bookshelves. "We are interested in trying out our images in different mediums…we discovered that a toad in a sandwich works just as well on a sweatshirt," said Ferrari. Translation: we can make more money if we put some of our images onto clothes. Similarly, Giorgetti saw a golden opportunity to expand his line as well. "I have found thousands of similarities between the subjects of the prints used in my collections and the images printed in the magazine…the images in Toilet Paper have always captured my attention, inspiring and entertaining me." Translation: working with established artists gives my line more credibility.
Anyway, while the collaboration did use some non-makeup-themed images from Toilet Paper's archives, there were cosmetics aplenty in a range of colorful tops. I found them to be delightfully surreal with a touch of Warhol-esque indictment of consumer culture. We have disembodied men's hands reaching to apply lipstick to non-existent mouth, a monumental row of worn lipsticks, and a shiny eyelash curler just a moment before it clamps down on a pair of long fluttery false lashes.
Since I couldn't find any information on these specific images or why they were chosen for the collaboration, I thought I'd look at the individual artists instead. Pierpaolo Ferrari is a photographic force to be reckoned with, equally adept at shooting ads, editorials and portraits.
Here's a BMW ad and a slick high-fashion spread, both for Vogue Italia:
And here's a fantastic portrait of his partner-in-crime, Maurizio Cattelan. I love that you don't have to know who it is in the picture to fully appreciate it – it's just a great photo.
Speaking of which, Maurizio Cattelan's earlier work in sculpture is much darker than the images he helps produce for Toilet Paper. According to an excellent profile at the Guggenheim's website, he "creates unsettlingly veristic sculptures that reveal contradictions at the core of today’s society. While bold and irreverent, the work is also deadly serious in its scathing critique of authority and the abuse of power."
One of his best-known works is La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour) (1999) which depicts Pope John Paul II getting hit by a meteorite.
Other fairly disturbing works include Ave Maria (2007):
And All (also from 2007), influenced in part by his stint working in a morgue as a teenager.
As you can see from this 2012 installation at the Palais de Tokyo, Cattelan's work for Toilet Paper, while still somewhat unsettling, is downright sunny compared to his earlier sculptures.
Finally, we have Massimo Giorgetti, founder of MSGM. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, he credits the success of his line with a thorough understanding of social media and what young people want. "Presenting a collection in 2009 with psychedelic prints done by computer and in fluorescent colors was the secret to MSGM's immediate success. Also, right from the beginning we wanted to create a contemporary collection — which wasn't something very common in Italy at the time — and get the message out immediately, considering the impact that social networks were having. I think the market was waiting for a product like ours; many young people were already getting ideas more from the Internet than from the pages of magazines. MSGM is really created for a young public that adores fashion but isn't a slave to designer labels, a public that likes to dare and likes to be noticed."
I have to say I can't really describe the overall style. The best I can come up with is "eclectic". There is no one silhouette, print, or palette within even an individual season's collection, let alone from season to season – it's kind of a mishmash of disparate lines and color. I will say that I do think it's modern and youthful, in that I think someone of my advanced age couldn't pull off any of it!
Sidenote: there is a small sidebar on Giorgetti and MSGM in the April issue of InStyle magazine.
Getting back to the collaboration, I think it's an absolute perfect marriage of contemporary art and fashion. Both Toilet Paper and MSGM are pretty offbeat, and while I'm not crazy about the latter's clothing in general, the images from the magazine make those simple sweatshirt and tee shapes work. Given how bizarre they are and the fact that they contain pictures of makeup, naturally I would dearly love to get my hands on any of them. While they're mostly gone, I think there a few still for sale at ssense.com…heck, I'd even take the men's versions! I'd still like to know how the original images came to be (why lipstick and eyelash curlers?) and why they were selected to be part of the collection, but I think I've learned enough about the individual artists and designer that I'm sold, even without knowing the full story. I think they're just part and parcel of the magazine's spirit – avant-garde, flippant and humorous.
What do you think of all this? And would you wear any of the collection?
Dior's spring 2014 collection was inspired by the Petit Trianon, part of Marie Antoinette's private estate. From the Dior website: "Christian Dior's beloved monarch, a flower-woman painted in a palette of wild roses, reigns supreme over Spring 2014. The Trianon Collection is an ode to the 18th-century aesthetic so adored by the founder of the 30, avenue Montaigne maison. Powdery colors and Fontanges bows capture the magic of Versailles and the palace gardens in full bloom." Louis XVI bestowed the Petit Trianon to Marie Antoinette as a gift in 1775, who promptly overhauled the gardens surrounding it to suit her taste. In my opinion, the spirit of the Petit Trianon was best represented in the colors in this collection, which encapsulate the hues of the lush variety of blooms.
I got the eye shadow palette in Pink Pompadour. While Dior has utilized the bow motif many times before, I enjoyed the daintiness of this particular bow.
While there was no official Trianon theme for Dior's ready to wear spring 2014 fashion lineup, it was most certainly flower-focused. Dior Artistic Director Raf Simons created a garden of sorts on the runway, where models walked underneath a canopy of hanging flowers.
The flowers used in the Trianon collection's promo images are quite similar to the ones that adorned some of the dresses. Not only do the colors of the flowers match, they seem to be cut out and superimposed onto their respective backgrounds.
Finally, the palette seen on the runway – pastels offset by hints of more vibrant shades – directly corresponds to the colors of the Trianon collection.
But what about those delicate little bows that were embossed on all the powder-based items from the Trianon collection? Well, they may not have made an appearance in the ready-to-wear show, but they did peek out from the models' necks and hands at the couture show.
Thus there was some overlap with the couture collection as well as the ready-to-wear.
While I appreciate the attempt to use Dior's fascination with Marie Antoinette and her private estate as the springboard for the Trianon collection, ultimately I didn't find it to be all that creative, especially since a garden-themed collection has been done before and with a much more meaningful foundation: the spring 2012 Garden Party collection, which took the designer's magnificent childhood home and gardens as its inspiration. The Trianon collection certainly had a nice selection of spring-appropriate colors, but the overall expression of the theme was lacking.
What did you think of this collection?
Well, this was a close one! I almost didn't get my hands on this palette as I was waiting for a good gift-with-purchase event. Little did I know not all the usual online retailers of Armani would be selling it, and counters only received a few. Anyway, after much searching I managed to snag this palette, and reminded myself that if something is a "must-have" for the Museum, it's best not to wait to buy.
The Belladonna Highlighter is embossed with its namesake flower in a lovely champagne color with a high-shine, nearly metallic finish.
Instead of tying the palette to their spring 2014 fashion collections, Armani went in reverse, looking instead to their fall 2013 Privé show. The "Nudo" collection provided a fresh take on neutral tones in which the designer opted to play with texture and pattern rather than color. In looking at the styles that came down the runway, you can definitely see how the palette relates to the overall feel of the collection. On the more literal side, flowers were an integral part:
But the airy lightness of several of the gowns, coupled with the gleam of subtle metallic touches, is much more reminiscent of the palette than the flowers. The models almost seem to float down the runway in wispy fabrics and flowing silhouettes, offset by glints of iridescent gold and champagne.
The texture of this jacket in particular reminded me of the fabric-like background of the palette.
Here's a close-up so you can really see the lines:
Armani makeup artist Linda Cantello used a prototype of the Belladonna palette on the models' eyes, which tied the ethereal look together perfectly while also lending a touch of '20s glamour.
While I'm still a little confused as to why Armani would release a product that was tied to a fall collection for the spring, I do think in this case it works. The fall 2013 couture show read much more spring in terms of color, shape and textures; there was none of the heaviness that designers tend to bring out for fall collections. With all the elegant details incorporated in both the styles at the Privé show and in the Belladonna palette, Armani demonstrates that nude doesn't mean boring. I also love the choice of the belladonna flower. While I don't know the reasoning behind Armani's selection of this particular bloom, it's always refreshing to see flowers other than roses on palettes.
What do you think of this palette? And of the fall 2013 couture collection?
