Girls & Boys & Birkenstocks

I was thinking about boys and girls and fashion. Or rather, girls and boys and fashion.

Most girls I know will slyly confess to having gradually and subtly infiltrated the dark recesses of their significant others’ wardrobes and ‘tweaking’ them into something more ‘appropriate’. This tweaking is generally a gradual process. First it’s a blank, dumb-founded stare when you first lay eyes upon the world’s most obstinately ugly shoes. You might then follow this up (across a series of occasions) with a couple of lighthearted but really very deadly serious jokes about said shoes. And then you might be forced to actually be moody and/or difficult when they continue to show up. If it gets to the point where you have to actually reason or bargain over the offending shoes, then you know you’re in for a rough ride – a guy who either (inexplicably) loves these shoes as much as you do yours, or a guy who wants to make a point – about being down-to-earth or about standing his ground, negative on all accounts.

If he truly adores them, your resolved might be weakened. And if he’s playing the down-to-earth, I-don’t-care-about-clothes card, then you’re either going to feel like a primadonna, or you’re going to be faced with a whole lot of cargo pants, Crocs and – God forbid – polar fleece.

 

I’m familiar with both phenomena. My first serious boyfriend, walked into my life in a do-rag, a pair of gangster jeans and a basketball vest. There also may or may not have been a bandanna hanging out of his back pocket, a la Snoop Dogg. He looked like he might surprise the Grahamstown high street with a Crip walk at any second. By the time we broke up he was wearing corduroy stove pipes, flannel shirts, (normal sized) tshirts and Converse. The only remnants of his Tupac fetish were the flat caps he refused to part with and his Dallas drawl. Success! Through a careful campaign of encouragement, discouragement, raised eyebrows and birthday presents, I guided him into manhood. Goodbye Fubu! So long, Evisu. Your services are no longer needed. Of course, he believed that he had just changed. He still believes it, I’m sure.

A friend of mine adopted a more aggressive approach. Her then-boyfriend, now-husband, wore white square toe leather loafers on their first date. With chinos. She told him in no uncertain terms that the shoes would not be around for long, nor would their partners in crime, the chinos. If he didn’t oblige, she, too, would not be around for very long. The rest, as they say, is history. She now reminds him almost daily about these humble beginnings, especially when he pips her to the post at vintage fairs, snatching the early-shape Wayfarers before she can get her paws on them. He smiles sweetly, and tightens his grip on their sleek, rare frames. True love, I tell you.

The man that is bound to his Birkenstocks out of sheer principle is the one that puts you in a real pickle. If you really dig him, you may wind up wavering on your fashion maxims – maybe I do take too long to get ready, maybe silk is impractical for a hike, maybe I shouldn’t wear sequins to Obs Fest, etc. This, upon reflection, is a masterful example of reverse psychology. He is trying to outsmart you with earthy undertones and inside-out rhetoric, i.e: You look better without makeup on (read: liquid eyeliner takes eons to get right and the gig is about to start). If, like me, the way you feel about clothes and dressing is a part of your DNA, then you should never allow someone else’s opinions on the matter to cloud your judgment. Even if he is 6″2, dark-eyed and daring.

If Herr Birkenstock is, however, the sweet type – the type that is happy to trundle along in his orthopaedic footwear while you slick on the liquid eyeliner and wear silk to sleep in, then you know you’ve found yourself a keeper. Someone who genuinely is down-to-earth and who understands that you are too, you just do it in diamonds.

The only downside is that you may then have to forego the shoe jokes and blank-eyed stares.

Up your ziggy with a Rah-Rah crush!

If you’ve ever seen the classic 90’s girls movie, Strike! starring Gaby Hoffman and a young Kirsten Dunst, then you’ll get the title reference. Strike! rocks (see clip below and then do yourself a favour and track down the full film).

In any case… it’s The Rah-Rah Room 2.0 tomorrow!

Join me for a post-payday shop if you are looking for something fetching to call your own. New newbies, just-arrived vintage and a whole new range of hand-crafted Crystal Birch headpieces… all waiting to be held up to the light and loved!

10:00 am til 2:00 pm. See directions above.

x

Design Indaba

So, I didn’t post today.

And it always makes me quite anxious, like I’m frittering away precious ideas that will lose their glorious sheen once pressed onto the lined pages of a book and left to seep for some days.

I do have a good reason, though.

And that reason is the wondrous fact that I won a ticket to attend the Design Indaba Simulcast, via Elle Deco. In a way I feel bad, because it’s almost like I made them give it to me, with all my persistent tweeting and nudging… but… in a way… I totally deserve it! And I am making the most of it (follow my tweets for both The Pessimiss and my day job at Colourworks, and you’ll see just how much).

For those who don’t know, the annual Design Indaba is a world class conference centered around all things design orientated – from architecture, to social design, to graphic and multimedia design, to trend forecasting and industrial design. It’s basically three days crammed with speakers from all over the globe, speaking on things so inspiring they might drive you to tears – from sheer appreciation, awe or envy.

Today we listened to Francis Kere, an architect from Burkino Faso, talk about preserving culture and tradition in his hometown by building infrastructure their own way. Instead of building high rise structures popularised and suited to urban landscapes, Francis embraces the inclusive nature of his people and gets everyone from children to mothers to grandparents involved in smoothing in traditional clay floors. Francis was so animated he could scarcely confine himself to the stage allotted, and both audiences were so moved by his clear and emotive understanding of the people of his country, that people literally wanted to hug the man when he said his thanks.

Dror Benshetrit, an Israeli-born creative, unveiled a project he has spent four years working on today at the Design Indaba. Social media channels were alight with the news that he was ‘giving birth,’ and it was indeed a momentous and stirring occasion. QuaDror, the revolutionary support structure that he and his team have invented, is composed of four identical L-shaped pieces, that, when arranged in a certain, form a solid base for a vast array of structures. Dror explained that he was building on work done by the likes of Da Vinci and Buckminster Fuller, if that gives you an idea of the magnitude of the occasion.

Acclaimed UK design agency, Hat-Trick, were my favourite, rifling through a collection of 19 incredibly emotive pieces of work at a rate of knots and with tons of charm and laughs along the way. From typographic campaigns for the Sumatran Orangutang Society to self-published volumes that are there for no other reason than to exist as a memoir of one person’s life, Hat-Trick have spent time and energy on ideas. Great ideas.

And that’s what the Design Indaba is all about. Giving room, appreciation and light to great ideas. Whether they be about affecting social change, or getting people to do or see something, or just because.

Three trends that seemed to make their presence felt on day 1, and which I look forward to seeing develop in the next 2 days include:

1. Co-design – collaborating with other creatives and with direct users of products to create the best solutions possible.

2. Design that improves lives and living – from healthcare, to public transport, to banking.

3. Design for innovation’s sake – design for no other reason than to create something exquisite, hilarious or historic. As South African speaker Richard Hart termed it: ‘Utterly beautiful, but useless.’

These are trends that filter implicitly into fashion, too. We see brands incorporating elements of co-design into their businesses in many ways. Take, for example, the hauling trend that has taken America by storm. Corporations now approach girls in their specific target markets to do their hauls and to consult on what other girls want. Collaboration, too, has become an important mechanism for both economising and innovating in the fashion industry. Look at luxury brand collaborations with high street chain stores – Lanvin x H&M or Kate Moss for Topshop.

More and more, fashion is also developing a conscience. How do you feel about wearing fur or leather? Or have you considered the impact your spending habits have on your carbon footprint? What kind of packaging did your brand new shoes come in? Do you support brands that manufacture their clothing under harsh working conditions? These are things the fashion industry is also taking into consideration, design wise.

And of course, the final point. Art for art’s sake. I watched The Last Emperor, a movie about Valentino and his decadent, crumbling empire this week at the Design Indaba Film Fest, and it plays very much to this dichotomy: excess and fabulousness (or art for art’s sake) vs. modernity and commercialism. 90% of revenue at big fashion houses is generated through accessories, like handbags, belts and watches, not through the extravagant couture shows we all love to love. How can someone like Valentino, whose gowns are handstitched by a team of eagle-eyed artists, and to whom each gown is a triumph, conceive of licensing away his name and churning out hundreds of V-emblazoned clutch bags to the masses? Economy dictates these changes.

Perhaps more fashion people need to come and spend a day at Design Indaba. Perhaps we all need to relook the way we perceive design and its purpose, and see that it can be used to change lives, to educate and to stun.

Oh, Erdem!

Erdem’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection makes my heart sing.

Tantalising slicks of psychedelic devore velvet, satin and velvet shoes as sleek and vivid as a bird’s belly… floor length dresses fit for rogue gypsy priestesses on the run, and a compelling chaos of prints and textures that has become synonymous with the Erdem name.

The velvet detailing just does me in. I was almost irritated when its telltale plushness began to appear on shins and shoulders, heralding a trend revival, because I always quite liked that most people thought it dowdy and were oblivious to its lush allure.

But this is different – another level of lush altogether.  Rohrschach printed blouses of ink blotted silk and satin, molten watercolour and irregular celestial beauty all over the show. Shift dresses, blouses, lightweight trenches, new wave she-suits and some show stopping evening dresses beamed down the catwalk and into my heart (and yours).

When I see things like this my faith in the world is restored. And I think IXNAY on those who extoll negativity and say things like there is no more originality in the world. And that everything is a reimagining of something that came before. Isn’t that the point? I think that’s what makes it all the more beautiful. That these prints, textures and shapes remind us other times, places and people.

The Curve of Forgotten Things

Another beautiful piece of short film brought to the universe by Nowness, an LVMH (Moet, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton) brand that collaborates with the world’s best creative thinkers to tell tales of luxury and beauty.

Directed by Todd Cole and featuring Dakota’s doll of a little sister, Elle Fanning, the film is a showcase for Rodarte‘s dreamy A/W 2011 collection. Elle is the Mulleavy sisters’ latest muse, and she certainly does their otherworldly shapes justice, with her flaxen hair, snub girlish nose and lilting lope. She has all the beauty and grace of an adult woman, with all the clear-eyed artlessness of a girl.

I wonder how it must be to be so light? Having had dark hair and eyes my entire life, I cannot fathom how it must be to walk amid such a white halo of hair.

Beautiful.

Va-Va-Vivetta

Man. I love Vivetta.

I first saw it on editor of French ELLE and ingenue, Eva Fontanelli, and fell head over heels in love with a velveteen skeleton dress.

Their witty sartorial style, quirky detailing and rockabilly girl edge just speak to my heart. This is a peek at their most recent collection. Well, not so much a peek as an almost-complete look. Because I love it all so much that it was hard to select favourites. The styling is so great – from those off-centre lips, to the model’s Purdy ‘do and deadpan pinup posturing… hot!

Suzaan Heyns, Die Vorm

Suzaan Heyns‘ collection for Autumn/Winter 2011, ‘Die Vorm’, was a startling examination of the human form, externalised.

“I wanted to take the inside of the body and reveal it on the outside, flipping it inside out. The idea behind this collection was to flip fashion on its head by focusing on the inside of the body, rather than the outside”.

Produced by renowned fashion show producer Deon Redman and featuring an opening short film directed by Jeana Theron, the collection is a visualisation of Heyns’ trademark “conceptual androgyny and steel-edged femininity”. The footwear for the show was provided by edgy UK label, FINSK and it looks epic. I love that the show was such a production – the hair and makeup make me think of some kind of Transylvanian swan princess.

 

Spotted.

I love the strange polka dot addiction that went down at Marc Jacobs A/W 2011.

From prints to shapes, on stockings and skirts, spots were put through their paces. I think it’s such an eccentric focus – to find ways to incorporate something so specific in so many different ways. I don’t particularly love any of the clothes that much, but the spots made me smile.

* All images taken from The Sartorialist

You are my high

Some oldschool Demon vs. Heartbreaker for the fortuitous Friday.

It’s been a really, really long week. And I need a little jolt. If you’ve never seen this video, then you didn’t watch MTV during Cat Deeley and Ulrika Eriksson’s heydays, but that was what I used to do when I was in my early teens. It was racy then, and it’s racy now. And it kinda makes you want to look away.

I like it.

Happy Friday!

Girl Friday: Shala Monroque

Meet New York it-girl, Shala Monroque.

Never heard of her? Neither had I until I saw a great shot of her sitting front row at NYFW 2011.

Some quick research yielded a selection of some of the most inspiring outfits I’ve seen in a while – 50’s inspired full skirted bliss beamed up to diva heaven with urban turbans, Miu Miu madness and a slash of 90’s edge for good measure.

I love her style and the fact that she chameleons from one look to the next, always with attention paid to creating a sense of drama and narrative.

Shala is editor-in-chief of edgy creative magazine Pop (which once featured young Tavi Gevinson as its cover girl) and describes herself as a fashion enthusiast, writer and traveller. She is also an avid art lover, an interest that is surely encouraged / indulged by her partner, silver-haired art mogul Larry Gagosian.

Her idols, she lists as Diana Ross, Miuccia Prada, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan. An eclectic list, to be sure. Her favourite city for shopping is Marrakech, which might explain the origins of some of her refreshingly unusual neckpieces and brights.

Check out Shala’s suitably edgy blog here.

The United States of Weiland

Yesterday I blogged about new techno fashion platform, Fashism, and how a design duo called Timo Weiland cleverly used the platform to publicise pieces from their Fall 2011 collection, which had debuted hours earlier at New York Fashion Week.

Hailed as the next big thing in fashion, young duo Alan Eckstein and Timo Weiland are keeping themselves busy wowing fashion-lovers and editors alike with their eclectic style. Their menswear basically takes all the best things I’ve seen men wearing on street style blogs over the past two years and combines them to produce a collection of enviable, wearable pieces that I’d love to see on any boyfriend of mine. I love the way they revise menswear classics like the plaid shirt and the double breasted jacket with memorable, quirky details and head-turning shapes.

I love this interview they did with Grungy Gentleman so much, that I’m borrowing it.

How did you get into fashion?

I have always had interest in art, music, style, personality, and culture. Travel played a big part as well. Especially travel to music festivals and the Cannes Marche du Film.

How would you describe your aesthetic and what type of guy wears Timo Weiland?

Clever, witty, well-traveled, original, confident, quirky, and inquisitive. He is a spontaneous creature of habit.

The Grungy Gentleman has recently become a huge fan of your line. The buzz is out there! From NYFW to features alongside Simon Spurr, etc. Why do you think your brand has evolved at such a rapid pace?

 

We are clear-minded and never stray from the vision that we have. Timeline hasn’t really been a limiting factor or a gauge of any kind for us. We keep our heads focused and our ideas in-tact regardless of what else is happening with other brands and trends.

It is absolutely amazing how you are able to mix texture, pattern, color, and yet make it all look cohesive. What is your secret?

 

TW: We act naturally, meaning we design in a way what feels natural to us. The secret is that not everything we make is sensible at the start. The collection evolves into a cohesive entity from season to season because of our common palette story and texture pad. Colors become surrogate family after out-of-the-ordinary pairings fall into place.

Where did you get the inspiration for you fall collection?

AE: The fall 2010 collection was entitled “Pageantry and Ceremonial Splendor”. The inspiration was basically English transplants to New York in the 1960s, the rolling stones and their birds. Gangs of New York meets The Age of Innocence.

Having your first fashion show at 27 years old is quite an accomplishment and a huge amount of responsibility. What can we expect from Timo Weiland for his debut at NYFW? What are you most excited about?

TW: The team is very excited for the first show in the “tents” at Lincoln Center for the inaugural season in this new locale. You can expect the unexpected twist on setting as we will definitely turn the organization of the space on its head and open up new mediums of expression to showcase the collection. The show actually began last weekend when we shot our short art film collaboration at the MOMA PS1 with performance artist Ryan McNamara (who is featured in Vogue September Issue this month).

What other men’s lines are you a fan of?

TW: Dries Van Noten, Lanvin, Patrik Ervell, Jil Sander, Marni, Opening Ceremony, Commes des Garcons, Yves Saint Laurent, Adam Kimmel, and Band of Outsiders.

What should everybody know about Timo? Wallets?

 

TW: Timo! Wallets is how I learned how to use a sewing machine and express myself through sewn-product manufacturing. It is a wonderful, energetic, small accessory brand that specializes in travel goods. Timo! Wallets has been a hobby since I was 17 and only became a business when I realized that there was a niche market for the product last year. I always like putting my own twist on things. Some of the wallets are viewable with 3-D glasses.

Are there any collaborations in the works?

AE: We collaborated this season with George Esquivel shoes, Albertus Swanepoel Hats, Bing Bang Jewelry by Anna Sheffield, and other things that are in the works. We did a private label accessory collaboration with Urban Outfitters under the names of our siblings David (Eckstein) and Page (Weiland), so “David Page” for Urban Outfitters.

What can we expect next from Timo Weiland?

TW: Something bright in bold colors, but slightly weathered and nautical. There is something self-indulgent and fun about it all. The Spring 2011 title of collection / project is “A Wharf on the Baltic” and the film collaboration is called “The Watch.”

Check out their Fall 2011 collection (and their womenswear!) here.

NYFW 2011 – Street Style top up

More looks from the streets of New York Fashion Week 2011, courtesy of Facehunter and Mr Newton.

The Nowness: Facehunter

When I first saw the short documentary about Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist I was so taken… with him, with his art, with his vision.

And now this!

Yvan Rodic of Facehunter in a short film by The Nowness – beautifully shot, honestly narrated. And he’s rather dapper – oldworld handsome with a touch of cheek and a lot of style. I like it. I like his elegant collars. And I also like his photos from Istanbul Fashion Week – fuel to the Turkish fire that’s keeping me busy at night, researching and dreaming.

Fashism!

Yesterday while browsing on Mashable I came across a word that caught my eye: Fashism.

A little research later and I’m convinced that this fash-tech startup is the next big thing. Every one of us (girls and guys alike) have fashion crises. I know this because I live with my brother, and we ask each other ‘how does this look’ almost daily. Luckily I have trained him well (he might beg to differ) and, as a general rule, I trust his judgment. But there are still times when I feel he’s just not getting it. Or sometimes I’m home alone and I careen into what I call a Level 3 Fashion Crisis – immobile, panicked, surrounded by discarded blouses and belts that I’ve tried, in desperation, to use as headgear, or worse.

In times like these I have resorted to Twitter to get an honest opinion – real time results from people who follow me and who care about fashion. See the mini crisis I had when debuting my ASOS leather skirt in Cape Town below:

[I went with option two, by the way.]

Fashism as a platform is designed specifically with times like these in mind. And I think its genius. Girls all over the world are already seeking advice and commentary on their clothes and style in the form of sites like lookbook.nu. But what about a site whose sole purpose is to source advice and support when you’re standing in your broeks with a fine swathe of perspiration starting on your upper lip, your lift’s on its way and you’ve still got a weirdly shaped present to wrap?

Founded by Ashley Granata and Brooke Moreland, Fashism is all about sourcing unbiased opinions when your boyfriend’s had enough of hearing about hemlines riding up and ruffles making you look like a poptartlet. With buying and marketing roles at Bloomingdales.com and Style.com and a fashion column on theGloss.com between them, Granata and Moreland have certainly hit on a good idea that was waiting to happen. They raised the funds needed to launch their startup with the help of generous donors and the rest is (almost) history.

Fashism is available online and as both an iPad and an iPhone app. Users ‘Upload a style’ under one of two categories – ‘Does it work’ and ‘Which is better’. The community then replies Yes or No and A or B respectively. The community can also leave comments and support for each style and browse through categories – ‘Hottest looks’, ‘Just posted’ and ‘Most discussed’.

Interest in Fashism has been so potent that they recently spoke at both the Evolving Influence and the FABB Conferences (Fashion & Beauty Bloggers Conference), joining an illustrious lineup of independent fashion bloggers and online sensations like Susannah Lau of Style Bubble, Rumi Neely, Bryan Boy, Bloglovin’, lookbook.nu, Street Peeper and Gala Darling. Other speakers included representatives from Google, Foursquare and Tumblr, which gives you some idea of the conferences’ level of prestige.

Fashism was also used at New York Fashion Week to promote a young design label that’s being heralded as the next big thing in fashion design. Duo Alan Eckstein and Timo Weiland of Timo Weiland used Fashism to allow fashionistas to try on pieces from their Spring and Fall 2001 collections, which were then uploaded to the site to be commented on by the community. (Full post on Timo Weiland tomorrow!)

Such a great integration of fashion and technology, don’t you think? Social media around the event was massive, another affirmation of how seamlessly the two work together to create hype and establish trends.

Ladies, start your engines.

It’s Rah-Rah time!

Those of you that shimmied on by in your Saturday finest last time will know that you’re in store for an eclectic selection of vintage and new one-offs, not to be found anywhere else. Fresh new stock is waiting to be preened over and payday is just around the corner! So stockpile your pennies, and polish your peeptoes, it is tiiiiiime to shop.

I will be open from 10 until 2pm on Saturday the 26th of February.

Please feel free to make an individual appointment if you’d like to arrange a private shop at any other time. I’ve had stray shoppers and friends alike popping in for tea all month, and they seldom leave without falling in love with something. Spread the word – send friends, foes and lovers, and I’ll tend to their needs with taffeta and Topshop.