Abbey Lee and Our Mountains for Pierre Balmain

I'm one of those people who can't helped but dressing like they're in the band, leather jackets, fishnets, band tees and cutoffs(with a twist of course. I hate being typical) Which is why I'm so excited about Pierre Balmain, the diffusion line that's coming this spring. This debut short film follows Abbey Lee and Our Mountains throughout New York City, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, in Pierre Balmain pieces. I had to admit that Abbey looks a tad bit like Taylor Momsen without all the dead makeup(which is such a different direction from her editorial for i-D F/W 2011)

Shot and direct by Inez and Vinoodh in black and white, it makes me wonder if I can go platinum blonde.

source: youtube

Versus Spring 2012: First Looks

"So did the semisheer knit dresses and skirts with a sharp, static pattern woven in—also playing into the season’s passion for prints. They looked sophisticated and grown-up. Out of context, and in those sherbet colors, you’d never know they were inspired by cardiograms. Though as Kane says, 'They would have looked a lot more serious if we’d done them in red.'" - VOGUE

The sporty assembles donned by the Versus models are really growing on me. The pleating and styles are signature Versace, while the understated accessories, simple necklines + hems and pastel palette gave it an air of youth. That might explains why the show was stated in a basketball court. Cheerleaders-meet-athletes, hmmm.

Note: I'm never a cheerleader myself. I'm dead clumsy. Besides, they're too cheerful and bubbly. 

More pictures after the jump

Calvin Klein Spring 2012: Simple fabric & delicate cuts

"The palette of melting sorbets segued into tones of black, and suddenly those brassiere details and the flashes of translucent chiffon slips under low-cut necklines took on a sexier edge—recalling the lightly clad subjects in the Paul Outerbridge photographs that inspired Costa. Even though these flimsy dresses and those divided skirts are occasionally worn under abbreviated jackets and svelte coats, this seems a collection intended primarily for a woman who blossoms after dark." - VOGUE

What is a better way to start off Spring 2012 with light, peachy tones for day and black for night? This Calvin Klein collection reminds me a lot of Spring a la 2008, which is the first time I picked up a fashion magazine and fall in love with Calvin Klein. The fabrics! The cuts! The way the fabrics hang! All the looks are minimalistic yet delicate, suitable for every women of every age(well, except for the dress with glittery starfishes all over it. That is the only thing I dislike in the whole exquisite collection)

This is another collection that relates to The Great Gatsby, besides Marc Jacobs. Carefully-cut slip dresses that come to the ankle(or mid-calf) with low, simple necklines are the main pieces of the show, alternating in colours of peach tones, black and silvery-blue. There are also occasional metallic and overcoats incorporated slyly into the collection, accessorized with simple, platforms in varying shades.

For next spring, I'm honestly giving minimalism more attention.

photo source: vogue

Alexa Chung for Madewell

No one dresses more quirky than Alexa Chung, the British trendsetter who sets the fashion blogosphere and photographers crazy after her style. For this Madewell collaboration, she puts her signature boy-meets-girl style into affordable designs. Among the lace dresses, denim trousers and skirts, this pouch really caught my eye with its strange yet interesting pattern of eyes. At $25, it's stylish and artistic(not to mention quirky), but won't break your bank account. What else can you ask for?

buy the Alexa Chung for Madewell eyes eyes eyes pouch here

NYFW Spring 2012 Streetstyle: Pattern-Crazy

Sometimes, fashion can be so ironic. When we get older, we revisited our childhood clothing, but in a more mature and bizarre manner. As seen above, with a colour-blocking backpack and watermelon clutch. Otherwise, I'm really intrigued by the patterns seen on the street during New York Fashion Week.

photo source: streetfsn

Marc Jacobs Spring 2012: Plaids, latex and flowy dresses

There is always one thing I love about Marc Jacobs' collections: expect the unexpected. Whether it is on the fetish policewomen for Louis Vuitton or the infamous Perry Ellis grunge collection, the guy takes inspiration and take a new spin on things. Even though the fashion world wasn't as keen with Marc Jacobs and his designs, as they had been years ago, I still find his designs innovative and meticulous. Shorts, skirts and skin-revealing is something expected for spring, but this collection take notes from the masterpiece of book The Great Gatsby(it's set in the 20's during the Prohibition with a lot of flappers)

You're probably think "How exactly is that related to fashion, Marcia? Just get to the point and talk about the fashion!" I'm not, so you might just click over to one of your other blogs and look the the pictures. The runway was set in a dance hall decorated with retro lightbulbs, where the models were waiting behind a heavy velvet curtain. When the spotlight came on and roll onto the first model, I'm just full of shock(well, in a good way, a good surprise? Nevermind.) Everything is so romantic and fantasy-like, it didn't feel real at all. But that was the purpose, according to Marc Jacobs himself: "I didn't want it to feel real." It didn't feel real at all.

The Roaring Twenties were an amazing time, not only for fashion but also feminists. We stopped wearing those tiny corsets and wore clothes that you can actually walk in(can you believe that people used to have 16 inches waist? It sounds horrible, can you actually eat in it?) When you mixed history and The Great Gatsby together,  you get romantic-themed fashion. There are a series of boxy, cropped jackets, dropped-waist  flapper dresses with socks and plastic cowboy-boots and sequined-checked turbans. Mixed in with denim suits, sporty sweatshirts and techno-gingham prints(on coats and skirts)

Romantic, yet a bit of nostalgic and unexpected. Exactly what a fashion collection should be, evoking different thoughts and emotions. Quick question: would it be far-fetched to wear techno-gingham with Surface to Air boots?

photos: vogue collections

Back to School.

High school is a lot like the fashion world: wear the same thing twice and we'll judge you on it. Dealing with judgmental people is very annoying. From Brooklyn, where Aeropostale is the IT brand, to Manhattan is a great change. And there's a lot of models around my school. 

song: my immortal by evanescene

Flash!

Currently attached to photography with an inner glow. There are something about these kind of photography , and I found them very optimistic and interesting.

photo source: stylerookie, fashiongonerogue, igorandandre, nastygal, thecherryblossomgirl, frenchfrosting

Slowly floating away

Usually, a French-inspired film, fashion or not, leaves me slightly nauseating. I went through a French phrase when I was little and it became out of control. And most films did not capture that true spirits of "Parisian chic"(or whatever you call it) and it became a wreck. They usually involves balloons, a couple and a lot of unnecessary pink.
Sofia Coppola is different though. Her approach is quite intriguing, or I just think like that because she directed The Virgin Suicides(I still haven't read it, I barely read anything this summer, I'm ashamed to say, expect for rereading the entire Harry Potter series and fashion magazines) I like how she takes the most natural moment of model Maryna Linchuk and it went very well with the retro outfits and location.
The end is cheesy, but don't you want to spray on Miss Dior Cherie and float away in a bunch of balloons? And you still didn't throw up, yet.

What I learned from Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

On the small list of celebrities I admired, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are somewhere in the middle. Before you left a particularly nasty comment and left my site, thinking I'm about to cook up some sort of typical bullshit story about how they changed my style forever blah blah blah and how they became my style icon, I think I should explain.

Note: I've notice there's a certain stereotype going on in the fashion blogosphere and we had to like the style of MKA, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and other celebrities. Since stereotypes are created to be broken, I'm determined not to post all the celebrity styles on here.

A week ago, I received a tweet from Net-a-Porter mentioning that I won the giveaway of Mary-Kate and Ashley's book Influence. I was fairly excited because I was running out of coffee table books for inspiration, and was always meaning to check the book out but never got the chance too. But my relationships with any books associated with celebrities/magazines always ending up having the same fate: I hate them all. Usually, X celebrity/magazine paid Y writer to "finish" Z book. Just like a algebraic equation. And my impressions that all celebrities are arrogant, money-sucking prats doesn't help either. But flipping through Influence is quite a different experience(don't laugh, I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO) I was expecting endless pictures and short interviews, but instead pages upon pages full of columns and columns of small text jump out at me, inviting me to explore the broad world of artists and designers. I'm currently intrigued by Bob Colacello, George Condo and Richard Prince. Their work would put many mainstream artists today to shame.

5 things I've learned reading Influence

1. Instead of reading endless references of your favourite photographer, just grab a camera and start taking pictures. Learn the technics and skills along the way, your point of view and niche will develop slowly. You are never to young or too old to do what you love, just get start. Time's a bitch and before you know it, you're 33, living in your mum's basement and still obsessed with that picture of Kate Moss with lights between her legs. (here.) 
2. "In compromising your vision, you give up on your integrity and individuality." I tweeted that earlier today while thinking about bloggers with campaigns and promotions for fashion brands. Funny enough, now I quoted Terry Richardson ",You try not to compromise, but I think the key is if you do something and you feel good about it, no matter what it it, that's the greatest satisfaction - to do something and be proud of it." and later on "You'd like to think that everything will be how you want it to be, and you wouldn't compromise, but the minute you say yes to something, that's a compromise. The minute you start to work with other people, you're compromising, because when there are other people involved in your vision, it becomes different." Rephrasing my tweet, it turned into "Don't lose your vision while compromising, otherwise your individuality is lost."
3. You don't do something to impress other people, you do them to please yourself. The ability to impress can only go so far if no passion is involved. If you put energy and time into something, people take notice and give you the attention you deserve.
4. Be revolutionary, but still study the trends and influences in the past and present. How can you rebel against something you don't understand? Study them and add your own take to it, don't be a rebel without a cause(that is pointless in a way) Besides, if everyone has a similar vision and approach, that can be quite boring, wouldn't it?
5. You really need to love what you are doing. I started blogging because I want to work in fashion later on in my life, and blogging had introduce me to a world I never thought existed. I saw a lot of bloggers who are only doing it for the fame, and it shows through with several posts a day, lack of good content and quality and no individuality at all. You need to go to sleep and can't wait to wake up  because your job is what you love doing, whether it is photography, blogging, designing, illustrating or writing. "You have to take time off if you have a boring job. But my job is perfect. what I like about the job is the job." said Karl Lagerfeld. You really need to love it, and believe in it. 

What coffee table books do you find inspiring, and what are your favourites? Now that I finished with Influence(in 2 days I like to add)......

Shoutout to mint maison(my writing style is turning quite like a typical Tumblrer) and thank you for your new post! I'm glad you appreciate my blog and your comments are quite interesting.