Trendology: Ground Zero Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection

Designers always get inspirations from around their lives and things that they like, however, the inspirations usually are translated into another form.  The London based designers Eri and David Chu of Ground Zero put the inspirational items and elements in an evident form, creating this very interesting collection for the fall season.  How many themes/elements can you name from this collection? (Gonna look close.)

Trendology: Tze Goh Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign

Here we have exclusive images of Tze Goh's SS11 Collection.  Some more sophisticated design the London designer, clean and pure seams that goes with summer pastels.  Look for his latest collection in LN-CC this week.

Trendology: Mother of Pearl A/W Collection 2011

The British sports-luxe brand Mother of Pearl is collaborating with British artist Keith Tyson, the winner of Turner prize, for some of the prints of the A/W Collection.  Prints from 'The Final Day was yesterday' and 'May 2002 - Time travelling with the Clouds' are used for this collection.  Other than Tyson, Pierre Hardy also teamed up with Mother of Pearl, creating 2 sneakers with Tyson prints.  At last, since it's fashion, why not team up this sporty collection with 2 colour blocked wedges, also by Pierre Hardy?

Walk the Walk: Fendi Fall RTW 2011 Collection

Karl is so good in dealing with fur as we all know from his Chanel collections.  He is using this spectacular skill here in the House of Fendi.  The mink, the vest and the coat are sometimes made with combined types of fur, or standing solo.  He even threw in a male model wearing the mink to add a twist to the style.  Besides the fur, Karl also played with the difference of proportioning and contrast of silhouettes in the same collection.

Pros:
- the fur
- the colour palette
- ruffles added a touch of feminine to this menswear-inspired collection

Cons:
- the loose fits aren't favouring as the slim cut are leading the set
- the evening sets looked effortless compare to the rest, especially the fur

Eye Candies:
- the combination of different types of furs in 1 coat
- plaid see-through shirt

Walk the Walk: Bottega Veneta Fall 2011 RTW Collection

Tomas Maier gave us a little something in this RTW Collection that enlightened our day; he used some very unique fabrics to started the collection - pilly wool or densely woven and three dimensional yarn. The materials made a very solid but soft look to the coat.  Later on he presented dresses in laces which was probably the highlight of the collection.  Layering the laces with different fabrics and corsets made the original lace dress by Maier.

Pros:
- use of materials and surfaces
- the variation of lace dresses
- the layering style

Cons:
- the evening gowns can carry on the details from the dresses before, ie, laces

Eye Candies:
- the lace dresses
- the T-strape sandal looks very classy

Walk the Walk: Thakoon Fall 2011 RTW

Fresh and energetic (Of course, creativity as well) are what Thakoon presented to us in his Fall 2011 RTW collection.  His fresh idea of joining the African tribe and the French are overwhelming the runway.  Red and blue plaid, yellow floral batik and buffalo plaid are used for the classy ball gown with the short front and long back.

Pros:

- asymmetrical cuts

- consistency with short front and long back

- energetic colour palette

- dynamic pattern

- creative used of fabric with classy silhouette

Cons:

- (please let us know if you can think of any!)

Eye Candies:

- pink puffer jacket

- yellow floral batik dress

Walk the Walk: Iris van Herpen Haute Couture SS2011

Once again, Iris van Herpen had another stunning collection that is inspired by the American sculptor, Kris Kukis.  In this haute couture collection, she blended metal and silk, burned woven metal and shiny hair threads to create her futuristic set.

Pros:
- used of unconventional material
- 3D form
- symmetrical, design is very well balanced otherwise

Cons:
- some new colours would be a breakthrough

Eye Candies:
- white ruffle dress

Trendology: Valentino Pre-Fall 2011

I think ruffle is really my thing on clothing. It was Lanvin that won my heart last time, it's now Valentino.  Continuing their signature feminine and elegant style, ruffle and roses are the main theme for their Pre-Fall collection, along with laces and leather wear to enhance the variety of textures and contrast.  A younger look is created as the outfits are all cut above the knees.

Trendology: Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2011 Collection

A very solid pre-fall collection from Alexander McQueen.  There are less than 5 colours in the colour palette, but this is what ties the collection together.  It is all about military here in the McQueen's house.  Double breasted officer coat with fur collar, golden buttons, navy blue and sailor pants, etc., are the typical military elements.  But the McQueen's collection is always different.  They are playing with the details of the edges, the shoulder pads, and the waist line.  Digital prints are still in the game, and the elegant dark gowns are also in position here in Pre-Fall 2011.

Trendology: Emilio Pucci Pre-Fall 2011

The play of pattern has always been Pucci's strongest skill, so the tailoring and the colour do a lot to make each season stands out from the previous one.  This Pre-Fall collection is so striking compare to the last collection as the cut of the dresses and the colour (needless to say, the pattern) made the best combination and produced a vivid impression. The highlight of this Pre-Fall set is the flamboyant red; blending with the darkest tone, it created a dark and fierce attitude entirely.

Trendology: Boudicca SS2011 Collection - Fragmented Dream

Fragmented Dream, a very kimono inspired collection for 2011 by Boudicca, is presented in a very unique way through the web.  Rather than having the ordinary photos, this collection is showed with moving pictures.  Filming the model from above as she is laying on the ground, having to see her movement at the same time, different positioning of the clothing is also showed.

For the moving pictures, please visit here.

Trendology: Chanel Pre-Fall 2011 Collection

As Karl explained, this season's theme is Paris-Byzance which is inspired by Empress Theodora and the lost culture of Byzantium.  Karl never disappoints us in his creativity and choice of inspiration, and anything through his hands would become extraordinary.  In this collection, the braids, the gold chains, the feathers and the fringes are having a very unique chemistry with the Chanel style, especially with their signature tweed.

Trendology: Jason Wu Pre Fall 2011

It is Jason Wu's second pre-fall collection, and he's showing his capability in fashion by expanding this 2011 collection twice the size than his first.  In this pre-fall collection, he added a grey tone to his colour palette, making it a very moody collection.  Lace shirt became his favourites, horizontal stripes is also another major elements in here.

Trendology: Thom Browne Women's Spring/Summer Collection

It is Thom Browne's first debut of women's clothing.  As obvious as it could be, this collection is inspired from Thom Browne's well known menswear, the jackets and trousers, the grey flannel and the navy cashmere.  You can basically expect to see everything from the menswear in this collection, yet, translated into one sexy collection that would fit the feminine bodies.  One thing that I noticed in the collection is that, even though it's inspired from the menswear, there isn't much trousers in the collection.  But anything below the waist are translated into some flawless dresses/skirts.

Trendology: Christian Dior Spring 2011

The spring 2011 season had officially started in Paris.  As a super shoes lover, I, of course would share these lovely shoes with you guys first before I do anything.  Other than the feather, buckles, rope and ribbon, one other thing that caught my eyes is the red pair of heels.  Abstract free curve is what made up the main part of the shoe, and its heel.  Nice one for evening out!

Ray of Inspirology: Prada S/S 2011 by Steven Meisel

Who would not fall in love with the colourful Prada collection this year?  Photographer Steven Meisel, along with the supermodels, have taken another step into this collection and make it even more loveable.  Putting all these colourful and retro looking pieces together on a plain beige background rigidly.

Ray of Inspirology: Dawid Tomaszewski by Michal Martychowiec

If you remember from the previous post, this collection is from Berlin Fashion Week back in the summer.  Adding onto this fabulous collection by Dawid, Michal Martychowiec is bringing the collection to the next level with his photography.  The composition and the saturations are both so beautifully done.  Movement is created with the very rigid architecture structures at the background, and contrasting with the movement of the very soft fabric.  Also using the geometry of the background to echo the feather feature, as well as  carrying out the form and pattern of the dresses. Wonderful collection and wonderful photographs.

Courtesy: COUTE QUE COUTE

Trendology: Theatre Products Spring Summer 2011 Collection

Akira Takeuchi and Tayuka Nakanishi, designers of Theatre Products, described their brand as one that designed for theatre plays.  It looks like they stayed true to their philosophy as their collection emerged as costumes that I would imagine for the Shakespeare's play.  Looks like inspired from the old English days as the ladies are wearings gloves and hats.  Ivory laces and chiffon are widely used in the collection; most of the chiffons are being used for the evening gowns, as a large amount of them are put together to achieve a certain shape and volume below the waist line.

Trendology: Yukiko Hanai Spring and Summer Collection 2011

This collection is fabulously chic and whimsical! I'm loving it! I love the choice of colours, especially how Hanai treated the green here so beautifully.  I never liked green, it's never a colour that I like, but here she used different kind of greens in one outfit with floral prints, it makes the colour less boring and it looks young (which I think it's a very new sight for this particular colour).  There is one fabric that I found really interesting, the greyish metallic looking fabric that she used on one of the skirts and gowns. In my knowledge that this kind of fabric is very heavy and thick, but it's really good for making volume, yet in here this fabric looks less heavy but still created incredible volume.

Trendology: Junya Tashiro Spring Summer Collection 2011

Junya Tashiro, a self-taught fashion designer from Japan, created this very refreshing collection for spring and summer 2011.  A very nice colour palette for the season he chose here , reminds me of the grapefruit.  Again, it's a very refreshing colour.  Maybe it's designed by an Asian designer, I think this collection is so perfectly tailored for Asians as most of them are above the knees. It can be carried very well in a petite Asian girl.