I have always wondered why the greatest fashion designer of the twentieth century (yes, I said it, Karl Lagerfeld) is the greatest fashion designer of the twentieth century) has been unable to apply his genius to his own name. It is not that this collection is terrible, far from it, but it is certainly not as fantastic as what he does for Chanel or Fendi. I know this is supposed to be a bit more “street” than the other collections, so in no way is it competitive, but it feels quite far behind his other work.

I Love…

this incredible jacket. The front tails, the narrow sleeves, the high yoke line, and the straight bodice. It is bizarre but beautiful.

a white dress paired with shiny black leggings and headband.

the softness of this pleated dress with the shiny black leggings.

I Loathe…

the sharp, shiny inserts on this jacket. They look a bit "young designer."

the "sporty" seams on this jacket.

All images from Style.com.

Elena Gibson from Poledancing School in London

I did make a promise not to talk about sports anymore for a very long time, but I’d like to make an exception today to discuss the one sport I do enjoy doing. Some people say its not a sport, I guess its a form of dance, and it is the only sport I know of that can be, no, SHOULD be done in high heels. Poledancing.

I got addicted to it in London when I realized there was a sport in the world that would give you a great workout, and it was fun, and you could wear high heels. There are not enough sports like this.

Justine McLucas from Ecole de Pole in London

One of the reasons I am getting very excited about my trip to London (aside from shoes)  is because I’ll have the opportunity to train at one of my old schools there, run by the 2005 poledancing world champion Elena Gibson (who is Canadian!) She is an ex-ballerina, an AMAZING poledancer, and hopefully she’ll let me film her show so I can share it with you all. I’ll also be training with my friend Justine, who also has her own school.

In the meantime, I’d like to share with you my favourite poledancing video of all time, which is a film of Felix Cane, who is the current world champion (who is originally from Australia.) This is a very old show, from 2006, and although she may have improved technically since then, she certainly hasn’t changed her style. I had the opportunity to train with her last summer in England, and there’s no doubt in my mind she is deserving of her current title. She is currently living in Las Vegas and performing in Zumanity, which is Cirque de Soleil’s “sexy” show.

This video is when Felix won the 2006 Miss Poledance Australia, and it is a stunning performance that I’ve watched at least 100 times and could easily watch a hundred times more.

Everyone was getting excited about the Prada casting, and there were rumours that there were going to be some unusual models in the show. I wouldn’t exactly say the choice of models was unusual, but they did cast Doutzen Kroes, Miranda Kerr, and Lara Stone, who are much more curvaceous than the typical catwalk model, and it shows from the photos. But they work perfectly with the collection, which is very 90s Prada for a real woman, with a real body. The prints, shapes and fabrics are so reminiscent of the 90s collections that made Prada what it is today, and I think it looks fantastic.

I Love…

the pretty dresses made from heavy winter fabrics.

a "Prada" dress, made from a "Prada" printed fabric.

the fact that the coat fabric looks cheap, which is certainly not the case. And the tan and bright blue contrasts throughout the show.

signature Prada knitwear, with a matronly, retro feel.

a very simple dress with an interesting textile design.

Even the shoes were very 90s Prada. I imagine they will be relaunching some kitten heels soon, I can feel those coming back, and Prada was THE brand for kitten heel shoes. I am getting excited about this collection, I have so many coats that will be perfect for the 90s Prada look.

this is so 90s Prada, a retro court shoe.

and their signature super pointy toe with super skinny heel and a flat little bow. In retro colours.

All images from Style.com.

Fendi is famous for its furs, and this collection certainly showed off some beautiful pelts. There were some great separates in this collection, but I don’t think it was one of Karl Lagerfeld’s strongest for the Italian brand.

I Love…

the geometric lines in this fur coat.

this silhouette, and the incredibly detailed, delicate strips of fur making up the trim of the jacket and skirt.

a beautifully delicate LBD.

I Loathe…

the silhouette of this look, and the oversized fur vest. This outfit does not have the class and style of Fendi.

another poorly mached outfit, this one looks like its out of a vintage store. Although I'm sure the beautiful yellow dress on its own is stunning.

All images from Style.com.

I just can’t believe how much better D&G has gotten in the past five years. I have always had respect for the brand, but it is only recently that I have really fallen in love with their catwalk shows. This season theme theme is chalet, with Norwegian style jacquards dominating most of the looks. They have also added a bit of chiffon to soften things up. The collection is tight, the model casting is spot on, and the accessories compliment the looks perfectly.

I Love…

the boots, the gloves, and the bodysuit. I know it is not a practical look for winter, but looks great as a press piece.

the jacquard sweater coats. There are dress versions too, which are equally amazing.

the shape of this fur jacket, and the contrast of the soft chiffon dress underneath.

the cropped cardigan. And the cable knit jumpsuit is so cute.

the printed chiffon desses and skirts throughout this collection.

All images from Style.com.

Cassette Playa Fall Winter 2010: anyone interested?

I’d like to draw your attention to a rather hilarious comment left on my blog over the weekend, which I have not had time to approve and respond to until now. It was a response to my “not-so-nice” mention of the nu rave brand Cassette Playa. I’d like to take this moment to apologize to anyone who I may have offended in my blog, I am sorry if anyone takes it personally, but I don’t have any intention of censoring my opinion on things. I am going to be honest, and terribly frank when I don’t like something. Especially terrifying fashion trends such the disgusting neon t-shirts produced by Cassette Playa.

(In fact, right now I am hating myself for giving this pathetic brand so much column space, they SO don’t deserve it!)

Anyway, below is the comment and my response. Or you can click here to reread the blog post and the comments at the end.

Comment from Anonymous:
“for starters Cassette Playa is NOT a nu rave brand you brain dead idiot! For someone who rates topshop this all quite makes sense. As for the brand disappearing you need to learn the facts before you start spouting shit on the internet! CP showed at LFW earlier on todat was fucking amazing!

Your blog is awful, you need to give it up mate! especially when it is called searching for style when you clearly aint got a clue”

My reply:
“Firstly, I am sorry for taking so long to approve and respond to your comment, but I have been busy, and since this is my blog, I decide when I am going to publish rude comments.

I’d like to know how you describe Cassette Playa, if it is not a nu rave brand, because as far as I am concerned, it came to be during the nu rave trend, and then disappeared when nu rave was over. Also, I should clarify that when I say disappeared, I don’t mean the brand no longer exists, I mean that the brand is no longer on the radar of the fashion industry. In the case of Cassette Playa, the only people still checking out the brand are people stuck in 2007, or wishing to have a good, hearty laugh.

I struggled to find any press about the Fall Winter 2010 collection, probably because there are very few blogs or websites that bothered to cover it, although there is a video clip here. I’ll have to disagree that it was “fuckin amazing”, it looks like the same ridiculous clothing, from 2007, with a few minor changes to the shapes and the way it is presented.

Also, I’d like to suggest that if you, Mr or Ms Anonymous, wish to be taken seriously in the future, perhaps you’d like to substantiate your claims and back up your arguments, rather than just saying things are “fuckin amazing” or “awful” With regards to your suggestion that I should “give it up mate”, I’ve had a 90% increase on unique visitors every months for the past three months, so I am guessing there are some people out there who like my blog, which has encouraged me to keep it going.

Finally, I’ll accept many insults graciously, like “bitchy”, “rude”, “mean” or “a spazz” but “brain dead idiot” does not even come close to describing me or my writing skills, so perhaps you’d like to reflect and consider what you say, before you say it. Just a little suggestion.

Btw, Cassette Playa SUCKS.”

Another unattractive t-shirt from Cassette Playa, this one from Fall Winter 2010.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for their support, its thanks to you all that I have had this great growth in readership. And I really appreciate the fact that I don’t have too many comments like this. As funny as they are, it takes a lot of time to respond.

Ralph Lauren’s show had lot of looks, and a lot of repetition. There was soft floral dresses, equestrian references, and lots of velvet. Not the most ground breaking of collections, but we never expect that from Ralph lauren.

I Love…

the lightness of this dress, which is very summery, but works for winter with the heavy tights, knitwear, and a jacket for winter. Its almost classy grunge.

the leather belt, the fur bag, the brown buttoned cardigan. A bit boring, but this is classic defined.

any evening wear that involves hands in pockets. And these cool gloves. Its all about the gloves!

that there's way too much going on here: full length velvet, a puffy sleeve head, mesh arms, a long necklace, and then a casual leather bag. But it sort of works.

I Loathe…

this blouse. It is absolutely horrible.

this overdone outfit. Jodhpurs, sparkly top, fur boots... This is countryside OTT.

All images from Style.com.

I really feel that Francisco Costa understands the image of Calvin Klein and he is a great creative director because he brings it back to its roots of modern minimalism. That is what it has always supposed to be about, and Costa does it perfectly. I didn’t loathe anything in this show, which doesn’t mean it was incredibly brilliant like the Donna Karan show I loved, it was just a very tight, edited show with a consistently strong theme running all the way through it. No weak links. Completely on-brand. And beautiful. (And, a great model casting.) Every show should be like this.

I Love…

a perfectly cut coat. The raglan sleeve with the shoulder pleat is stunning.

another great raglan sleeve, this time on a beautiful dress with discreet funnel neck.

the sleeve on this shirt, although it is difficult to see exactly what is going on. And a great pair of high waisted trousers.

the simplicity of this dress.

a great pair of flat front trousers.

a beautifully cut suit with an interesting silhouette and a very modern fabric.

All images from Style.com.

I feel very lukewarm about this Proenza Schouler collection. It was a struggle to find anything that I loved or loathed…it all felt very uninteresting. But on a positive note, this PS11 bag from the Fall Winter collection is beautiful.

I Love…

that Proenza Schouler's version of the fall winter schoolgirl is a bit goth, and she wears some fur on her uniform.

I Loathe…

the print on the jeans, and the jacquard on the sweater. Its too much, and it looks crappy.

that this coat has white sleeves and a fur collar, making it look like a baseball-jacket-meets-wool-coat-meets-fox. And the trousers look too goth with those shoes.

that the mix of prints here isn't working. But I love the shape of the dress.

All images from Style.com.

Oscar de la Renta is pretty old school, doing evening wear and day wear for his super rich, elegant, conservative women. And he does it well, and it always works. Sometimes his stuff looks on trend, sometimes it is ultra classic (and sometimes it is boring and not so pretty) but he always sticks to his brand identity. Reliable is not such a bad thing, and I can only hope that as his older clients die, younger ones will move into the Oscar world. I know I will if I have a bit of cash when I get a bit older, just as I’d love to buy myself a Chanel suit when I turn 50.

I Love….

the rich colours of this outfit. The beautiful tones in the fur and the dress fabric. And gold necklaces worn over a coat. Amazing. The Queen should dress like this.

that not everything Oscar does is "mature." I would wear this lovely "modern prairie" dress, and it would also look good on someone who is 55.

that if you are going to wear a hideously conservative double-breasted blazer, make sure your gloves and tights match perfectly. Suddenly that blazer becomes cool

the warm colours of this outfit. And the awkward length of the skirt.

classic red carpet evening wear, what Oscar de la Renta does best.

I Loathe…

this coat. There is to much going on, or not enough.

a pouffy ballgown with many of the evening wear elements I despise: netting, fabric flowers on the shoulder, and tulle crinolines sticking out of a big skirt.

All images from Style.com.