Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX store on London's Kings Road.

There’s been so many interesting fashion stories in the news recently that I haven’t had enough time to cover, so I am doing a very quick summary on some of my thoughts on recent headlines.

Malcolm McLaren in the 70s.

• LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Céline, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Fendi, DeBeers, TAG Heuer, and more.
• PPR owns Gucci Group which owns Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, and more.
• Richemont owns Alaia, Chloé, Piaget, Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Net A Porter, and more.

Natalie Massenet, founder and CEO of Net A Porter.

So what happens when one of the big luxury conglomerates takes hold of the most successful online luxury retailer in the world? Well, I am sensing that LVMH and Gucci Group might be a bit worried…Neither has managed to successfully sell their products online, and now Net A Porter is owned by one of their competitors. LVMH has launched NOWNESS, described as ” an editorial website that offers an exciting new way to experience luxury lifestyle online.” Sounds a bit vague, yes? I haven’t had the chance to properly explore NOWNESS, but I do know that it is not the next Net A Porter. LVMH and Gucci Group are going to have to come up with a better concept to successfully sell their products online, now that Richemont owns Net A Porter. I’m still shocked at how slow some of the major luxury brands have been to warm up to online retailing.

Anyway, well done to Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net A Porter, for banking 50 million on a business that was “never going to succeed, because people don’t buy luxury online.”

Uniqlo campaign.

And finally, here’s something very exciting for North America, Uniqlo has just signed for a giant retail space in New York City, in which they will pay over 300 million dollars in rent for the next fifteen years.

“What’s set to be Uniqlo’s biggest store in the world, with a whopping 90,000 square feet of space in total between 52nd and 53rd streets, is a clear statement of intent. Fast Retailing (the company that own Uniqlo) president and chief executive officer Tadashi Yanai–Japan’s richest man, according to Forbes–is determined that the Uniqlo name will become as ubiquitous elsewhere as it is in Japan.”
-Wall Street Journal

Let us all hope and pray that this will be the beginning of a massive North American expansion of Uniqlo, including shops here in Vancouver. They are the best for basics, they do what Gap does, but way better and a bit cheaper. And they have Jil Sander designing collections for them. Yay!

Image sources:
Malcolm McLaren image.
SEX boutique on Kings Road.
Natalie Massenet.
Uniqlo image.

I am not going to waste much time harping on about how Vivienne Westwood’s collections all look the same, because I’ve already said it and provided evidence. But I will say that I find this collection boring as hell. Her design team must be so bored, doing the same thing season after season.

I Love…

this blanket coat. Just make sure to ignore everything else in this outfit.

I Loathe…

slogan t-shirts. With satin culottes. And hideous makeup.

taking random pieces of fabric and wrapping them around the body and adding slogans to them.

the taffeta ball gown in every single one of Vivienne Westwood's collections.

All images from Style.com.

Fashion designer and photographer Hedi Slimane

I was reading an interview with Hedi Slimane (who used to be the designer for Dior Homme and who pretty much made the skinny pant trendy for men) and he got me thinking about the current fashion industry and the number of colelctions produced annually.

Here’s a blurb from the Style.com interview:

Style.com: Between menswear and womenswear, resort, pre-fall, and ready-to-wear, some designers are designing eight or more collections a year. Is it possible for a designer to be creative under those circumstances?

Hedi Slimane: Designers end up needing a full-blast studio for this sort of thing, which is totally absurd. I also don’t understand what the hell people do with all those clothes. Less would be better, and shorter collections.

I have to agree with him, the fashion market is saturated, and there are so many of us that have way too many clothes, and still desire more. I recently read about a very interesting initiative called The Great American Apparel Diet, which is described on their website as “We are a group of women and two men who have decided to go on a diet of sorts. A fast really. We are completely eliminating “new apparel” from our diets for one year.” I read through this and started to think whether I could do something like that…

I don’t plan on it, simply because my blog would probably turn into some sort of depressing rant about my lack of new clothes, but I have toyed with the idea of limiting myself to a very strict fashion budget for one year, as an experiment, and an opportunity to save some money to buy a house in Lions Bay with an infinity pool. But that is something I can decide after I have done my (shopping) trip to London in March.

Dame Vivienne Westwood

And even if I don’t decide to give myself a “fashion budget,” I am definitely making an effort to to buy less, and focus on really good things. Despite a few things I may not quite like about Vivienne Westwood, one thing I respect her for is her campaign to encourage people to buy less clothing (which is quite brave, considering her business depends on people buying more clothes…) Just a few weeks ago she was quoted again, this time in The Times, telling people to buy less. “I’m saying to people as well, buy less clothes. Only buy things when you really need them and really like them. Wear them and wear them.”

I got thinking about my “dream shoe” or the “must have bag” or all the fashion items I covet, and then I asked myself, what is my perfect outfit? To have a perfect outfit, I would need a perfect scenario in which to wear it. And then I realised, it was all about the circumstances. My perfect outfit involves a pair of cut off jeans, a tank top, a big pair of sunglasses, and a comfy pair of cowboy boots. Preferably worn with a bikini underneath. Because when I think about myself being really happy, I imagine myself lying in a hammock, in my backyard, with the hot sun shining in my face, great classic rock on the radio, dogs and maybe kids running around, the husband cooking on the BBQ, and a ‘69 Ford Mustang parked in the garage. I am relaxed, it is warm, and I am not busy.

The coveted Chanel 2.55 bag, named after the date of its creation, February 1955.

Don’t worry, I am not suddenly going to stop coveting beautiful new clothes, and talking about the brands I love (and loathe) but it is good sometimes to reflect on the real picture. Will the Chanel handbag make our lives better? Or is it the circumstances we would be in, when we can afford that Chanel bag? I don’t think it is fashion brands or products that play with our emotions, rather the perception of what they will give us, or the circumstances surrounding them. So next time I think about when I am going to get my first Hermes bag, I am going to tell myself that I don’t need to run out and buy one to achieve perfect happiness. I should focus on the other things in my life that make me happy, and remain secure in the knowledge that eventually my Mom will get bored of hers and give it to me. Ok, just kidding (well Mom, actually I’m not kidding, I WANT THAT BAG) but seriously, I’m prioritising a happy life over a fantastic closet.

I don’t understand why Vivienne Westwood bothers to show her Red Label. I suppose she wants to have the benefit of showing in Paris (Gold Label) and London (Red Label) but I think she should just commit to showing in one place, which should be London, her home and the home of her brand. I’ve commented on Vivienne Westwood’s collections before, which I feel are very repetitive, and I don’t think this one is any different.

I Love…

this draped wool coat.

a colourful shiny dress. And I think it goes well with the knee high socks and the new version of the pirate boot (that we have seen already a million times.)

this beautiful taffeta top. It is signature Vivienne Westwood, and despite my annoyance at the repetition of her collections, there is no doubt some of it is beautiful.

I Loathe…

ugly colours, tacky prints, and generally looking like I just raided a garbage can for my outfit and then covered myself in an ugly blanket.

way too many colours and patterns, thrown together in a very tacky ensemble.

EVERYTHING about this outfit. It is the repetitive, overdone, ugly Westwood stuff I despise.

anything Pixie Geldof is wearing. And that tophat is...well..it is gross. I spend my life avoiding people who wear hats like that.

All images from Style.com.

This is not the first time I have mentioned Melissa, and probably not the last. What a fantastic brand, one of the many Brazilian brands that are totally underrated outside of Brazil. Melissa’s rubber shoes are cheap, unbelievably comfortable, recyclable, and SUPER cool. Their collaborations with Zaha Hadid and Vivienne Westwood were amazing. And now the have announced they’ll be working with Jean Paul Gaultier. I saw this photo on Dezeen, and I can’t wait to see more. I hope I can access a stockist and buy a pair!

I don’t discuss denim much on this blog, although, like most people I’m sure, it plays a very important part in my wardrobe. I don’t really do designer denim, I have yet to understand why one needs to spend $300 on a pair of jeans, when you can get a perfectly good pair for $50 or $100. I have a couple pairs of Lee Jeans I really like, and the last pair I bought was from Uniqlo, which are great, and very cheap. I will definitely be spending some time at Uniqlo when I am in London in March.

There’s been a couple of announcements of denim collaborations in recent weeks, including Vivienne Westwood with Lee, and Henry Holland with Levi’s.

Some of my Vivienne Westwood jewelry.

I had a very, very bad experience in the Vivienne Westwood store in London a few years ago, which resulted in me writing a nasty letter to them highlighting the fact that their customer service sucks, and the response from their retail manager was basically “tough shit.” So I will never shop at Vivienne Westwood again, even though I have tons of the jewelry, which I still wear, and have recently been given some more of the jewelry as a gift, which I also love. (I do think her collections are a bit boring, she did a whole bunch of cool things a long time ago, the pirate boot, the platform shoe, the corset, the big pouffy satin ballgown, and the amazing tailored suit, and she hasn’t really evolved since then. Her fashion shows almost all look the same.)

Vivienne Westwood catwalk looks. From left to right: Spring Summer 2006, Autumn Winter 2007, and Autumn Winter 2008. They all look the same. Images from Style.com

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania brand is collaborating with Lee jeans, and according to WWD, “the debut collection for fall will launch to buyers next month, and will include styles such as superskinny jeans and microshorts for women, along with bondage jeans and skinny jeans for men. Washes will run from indigo denim to metallic gold- and copper-colored denim to denim printed with a trompe l’oeil lace design.” If the collaboration is half as good as her ongoing Melissa shoes collaboration, then I am sure we can expect great things. But I won’t be buying it.

Amazing rubber shoes. Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa. Images from Melissaplasticdreams.com

The other denim project announced was Henry Holland’s collection for Levi’s. I have never met someone working in the fashion industry in London that didn’t think Henry Holland’s collections were a complete joke. His original slogan t-shirts were cool and catchy, but his attempt to turn them into a full on fashion collection were a complete and utter failure, which only captured media attention because Agyness Deyn was his very close friend and used to model his shows. One day when I write a post about models, perhaps I will be able to express my disdain for Agyness Deyn, the one-trick-pony model with terrible poses and who never closes her mouth. But today is about jeans.

The slogan tees were a bit tacky too, but they have their place in fashion history.

I think Sarah Mower summed up Henry Holland’s last catwalk collection quite well on Style.com, by describing it as “a presentation with very little substance and plenty of ironically tacky clothes that are actually genuinely tacky, too (how else to describe tangerine lace?)… he’s a one-man self-marketing wiz who instinctively knows how to brand himself (the quiff, the glasses, the Agy, the cheeky northern wit) and is now using his runway chiefly to display his collaborations with other companies.”

Why did Levi's have to hire Henry Holland to make these jeans look ugly?

Well, his collection for Levi’s is no better. In fact, I think it looks tacky like the rest of his stuff. You can tell he is not a designer.  I’m very bored of Henry Holland, and I wish he would go away.

More ways to ruin a perfectly good Levi's jean jacket, by Henry Holland.

Levi’s by Henry Holland images source.

Today’s post is really three mini posts about shoes, a pair that I sort of want, a pair that is really cool, and a pair that terrifies me.

Let’s start with the pair I want…

I have been toying with the idea of buying a pair of trainers from the brand Alife for a few years. I really like their giant, colourful shoes, but also know that they will be extremely unflattering, and will make me look ridiculous. On a more recent trip into the Gastown store, I found a pair that would be quite practical for my trip to London and Turkey at Easter. (I need to clear up that I am not the person who travels with a giant backpack and running shoes on, that is obviously not me. But since I am going to be doing touristy things with my Mom in Turkey, and I don’t know what their streets are like, I was thinking, maybe I should wear flats… Also, I only want to bring two pairs of shoes to my Europe trip, one pair or flats and one pair of heels, and a very limited wardrobe, so I have space for the shoes and clothing I am going to buy, which will be a lot.In fact, I may just fly over with two outfits, and buy the rest.)

Here are the shoes I like.

The ones I want are actually in suede and have a black upper and a black sole. They look more like a shoe than a trainer.

But can I find them in my size? No. Apparently they do very limited women’s sizes, they do very limited runs, and basically its really hard to find the pair you want. I have never walked into that store in Gastown and been able to try on a pair of nice shoes in my size, which I find extremely frustrating

The notion of exclusivity works in many situations…a lot of brands have limited edition products that are very sought-after and sell out quite quickly. But I don’t think a brand should make it impossible for a customer to get anything in their size. Its ridiculous. Even the Alife website doesn’t have many products, and virtually nothing in my size. Plus, the sales guy in the Gastown store was supposed to try and find a pair for me and call me back. Haven’t got that call yet…You may need to wait 2 years to get some Hermes bags, but you can definitely walk into any Hermes store and get some sort of bag…

(the Alife images were take from this and this website, as the Alife website doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe this is part of their “exclusivity” factor.) I think I’ll bring Converse to London.

Now onto the shoes I love. Melissa is a Brazilian brand that makes rubber shoes. It is anther one of those totally underrated Brazilian brands that are not widely available internationally (Osklen and Rosa Cha would be two other such brands.) Melissa is slowly starting to penetrate the European and North American markets, but, like most export brands, the prices are totally inflated here and the selection is not very big.

Here are some of the cool Melissa shoes. They are made completely from rubber and are VERY reasonably priced.

And here are some of the collaborations they have done recenty, including Vivienne Westwood, Zaha Hadid, and J Maskrey.

Top row left, Zaha Hadid for Melissa, top row centre and right, J Maskrey for Melissa, bottom row, Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa.

And here are the amazing boots I spotted yesterday on Diane Pernet’s blog. (I forgot to mention another plus about Melissa, the shoes are made out of recyclable plastic.)

The downside is, these one are only available at Galeries Lafayette, which is a department store in Paris, so I won’t be getting a pair…

The last shoe story I want to talk about (save the worst for last) is the news that Jimmy Choo will be doing a collaboration with Ugg Boots. Now, I’d like to start by saying I have tagged the word Jimmy Choo FAR to much in this blog. The brand is overrated and has been ruined by celebrities and WAGS. I should be using this blog to talk about the shoes I love, like Roger Vivier (my wedding shoes were by him), Finsk and Chie Mihara (my favorite “wearable” brands) and other fantastic footwear brands like Guiseppe Zanotti, Sergio Rossi, Azzedine Alaïa, Charlotte Olympia, Sigerson Morrison, and Camilla Skovgaard. In the future I am going to try and spend more of my time talking about brands I love and not brands I don’t like.

So, Jimmy Choo is an overrated brands, and Ugg is second most disgusting shoe in the market (after Crocs) and are only acceptable as chalet fashion. Apparently Carine Roitfeld (editor of French Vogue) does nto allow her staff to wear Uggs at work. And THAT is one of the reasons why I think she is great.

Two celebrity favourites combined into one shoe. Maybe they deserve each other.

Apparently Tamara Mellon (Jimmy Choo) agreed to do the Ugg collaboration, as it is the “only footwear brand she wears other than Jimmy Choo.” Good for her, they are still disgusting. The fashion world is wondering what they are going to look like, there are quite a few speculative collages out there, but what we do know is that they are coming out in October and they will cost $595 to $795 per pair. Yes, over 500 dollars for a disgusting pair of shoes. SHOCKING.

I was so wrapped up with my Decade Summary Posts (Remembering the Noughties Parts 1, 2, and 3) that I didn’t really upload many of my photos from the holidays. Here’s a couple of the parties and stuff. Christmas was low key this year, with presents mostly revolving around the home: a few French tapestries, antique silverware, money towards a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, and a giant plastic rabbit toy with a cigarette in his mouth.

My Christmas shoes, old Sonia Rykiel press pieces.

What is a better present than a book about shoes?

A book about shoes that is hand drawn by an artist.

Girls who love Shoes 2009 by Dougal Graham. I hope there’s a 2010 version coming soon.

Douglas Coupland’s City of Glass was one of the secret Santa presents.

It is all about Vancouver.

This list of top ten surnames in Vancouver was, well, interesting.

Thanks to Kendra, Tara and Neil for throwing a great New Years Eve Party. A house party is always good, there are no variables…you know there will be a toilet, your shoes aren’t going to get ruined, and you probably won’t be cold either.

The pom pom wreath

I like their house

Happy New Year!

The NYE aftermath: my D&G shoes, Sonia Rykiel diamante anchor, Vivienne Westwood rings, money left over (a very pleasant surprise) and a midnight snack of Lindt chocolate.

Last night we went to my friend Maria’s house for drinks. Her husband, Gregory Kenny, is a furniture designer, so there was high expectations with regards to their house. It was beautiful, but unfortunately my photos didn’t turn out that great since it was dark.

I love the painted radiators

Greg’s work is modern, and they have done a great job mixing modern and old in their home.

Here’s a few pictures from Greg’s website.

Back to school and work tomorrow everyone! Good luck…