To Be You? To Be Me? No, No, "To Be G"

Straight off the pages of WWD (Thank you Heather) Brothers Guccio and Alessandro Gucci are starting their own handbag line to be launched next spring. The Great Grandchildren of fashion legend and icon Cuccio Gucci, founder of the Gucci fashion empire, want to establish and execute their own vision separate of the Gucci brand.

For some unknown reason they wish to create their own name in the fashion industry. Ironically Guccio has has worked as a coordinating development of product and research of hides for the past 12 years at Gucci. I think this background in leather may help them create a luxury leather handbag line. Because he was involved in product development we may start to see some similarities in the shapes and designs of the bags. The bags are planned to retail between $900.00-$9,000.00

Either Guccio and Alessandro Gucci actually have a strong desire to design and show their own personal point of view they feel they can not execute at Gucci, or they are planning to milk the Gucci name for as much as they can. This is a brand I am going to keep my eyes on.

Capes, and Cloaks, and Capelets . . . OH MY!

Whatever you want to call it the cape is a fashion item that says a lot. Personally I have always been a fan of the cape. I think the cape is one of the most forgotten about pieces of outerwear. I will even go as far as saying the cape is a staple wardrobe item. To me the cape is as timeless as the little black dress and can never go out of style. Put on a cape and you immediately look stylish and fashion foreword . . . even though the cape has been around forever. I am so excited to report that many designers are showing capes in their Fall 2010 collections! This is a trend that I want everyone to embrace but I dont want it to become as over saturated as lets say . . . the pea coat (lets keep this convo in the outerwear family). Not everyone can pull off a cape. You have to have a certain look about you. It is not a fashion item you can just throw on (literally you can because it doesn't have sleeves, but you know what I mean) you have to wear it will dignity, or you will look like a Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings groupie reject. So go out get your capes and a coordinating pair of gloves and strut the street with pride.

These capes are from Zara, Rag & Bone, and Marc Jacobs.

Rad Hourani

Rad Hourani is a designer from Canada. Even though his label was only started 3 years ago his designs are sold in stores such as Bergdorf's, Barney's, and Nieman. He is all about the androgynous look and most of his items are gender neutral he even takes it as far as making the same shoes for men and women. Also most of his items are black.

I volunteered as a dresser at the Fall/Winter 2010 Rad Hourani show that was held at Milk Studios. Rad uses basically all wool, silk, leather, and other knit fabrics in his clothes.Let me tell you that actually examining these close as closely as i was able to do was extremely exciting. The stitching on each garment was amazing. Some of the items contain two to three different fabrics and the transition is not only smooth it completely flows like it is almost the same piece of fabric. This comes down to extreme quality of construction of this line.

At first look at the clothes it seems like all five layers in one jacket are stitched together, that is not at all the case. Each layer is its own piece making this collection entirely versatile, customizable, and able to be combined with other items in your wardrobe to change your look. Another piece of insider information is that in every jacket/coat/cardigan item there are two elastic straps that run from the shoulders to the bottom hem. I had no idea what they could be for. So me being the type of person I am, I asked Rad himself, yes you read it right, I actually approached and asked the designer something about the collection. He kindly responded that they are to carry the items without having to wear them and shore enough they actually work. How many times have you had to wear your coat while you are sweating, or sling it over your shoulder or arm because you have no place to put it? If you buy a Rad Hourani coat you can use the handy straps and wear it like a backpack!!!! Amazing!!!!

Overall I loved every piece of this collection. I believe that Rad Hourani will have a really long and successful career. In the next few years he will become a household name. I am most definitely in the market for some Rad Hourani clothing.

Park Choon Moo

Park Choon Moo is the ready to wear fashion line by South Korean designer Choon Moo Park. She has a large following in South Korea and just had her New York Fashion Week debut. Her show was at the swanky Hudson Hotel which is almost as interesting as the actual collection. The runway was set up in an "X" shape which I think was a good idea because it allows you to see the clothes from different angles and the actual clothes spend more time on the runway.

Now on to the clothes.

The Park Choon Moo Fall/Winter 2010 line contained both men's and women's looks in shades of black, gray, and silver the fabrics were mostly woollen thick fabrics but there were also a few silk pieces. There was also a blue and black houndstooth involved that I was not that big of a fan of because of my deep seeded hatred of combining blue and black in an outfit, but that is just my personal opinion. Some of the items, particularly the coats, were using the current trend of zippers everywhere and a somewhat androgynous, over sized look. I was not really a fan of the silk evening wear because the designs looked rather plain and not that cutting edge.

Overall I really liked the collection. I think Park Choon Moo could easily be merchandised and sold next to other big name U.S. designers. I think Park Choon Moo is a name we should remember because this line has the makings of becoming a hit.

First Post (Risto Bimbiloski F/W 2010)

So I'm ready for my first blog post, lets see how this goes!

I volunteered for the Risto Bimbilioski Fall/Winter 2010 fashion show. By coincidence I also had volunteered at his Spring/Summer 2010 show and let me tell you this designer has changed almost every detail of his aesthetic and style. The two collections are almost unrecognizable as created by the same designer, the only thing that is similar is the tag on the inside of the garment.

For his Spring and Summer collection Risto was inspired by lightning bolts and lava. Almost the entire collection contained sheer printed fabrics with lighting and lava graphics on them. They were very interesting garments that definitely gave away what the designers inspiration was.




For his Fall and Winter collection Risto was inspired by digitized images. He used these types of images as prints on bodysuits. As is always true for Fall and Winter there was both nits, wool and other thick fabrics.




I loved both of these collections but I preferred the Fall/Winter line because I found it both more wearable (except for the entire knit bodysuit) and more to my personal tastes.