Renaissance Street Fashion

Gentle Reader -

If one is going to paint an ideal city, shouldn't the fashion match as well?

Italian fashion has a long legacy of dressing to complement both oneself and the surroundings.

The street as fashion inspiration goes way before YSL and Mary Quant.

But which streets to choose from? Tokyo or London? A global stylist will take from all the major cities and then sift for key themes.

In the above painting, it's all about harmony and balance.

- AP

The Future of Artiface

 

The face that stares out in the photo is from the 18th Century. Yet there is something in the eyes that suggests the future of fashion. Artifice always has a front row seat in fashion. What are commonly seen as 'fake' or 'false' (as in hair and eyelashes, respectively) are really transformational aids.

The 18th Century, particularly in Paris and Venice, took artifice to an extreme we now find ridiculous.

However, the future will have a renewed use for artifice that will be:

- practical (embedded applications in clothing or skin - but not implants)
- dramatic (always a favored purpose for artifice)
- chic and nomadic (wear only the sleek things you need to survive)

Some things to consider as the ultimate transformational day approaches, Halloween.

- AP

Alex Light: Fashion Themes to Ponder

Gentle Reader -


We return once again to the serene light of Alex to ponder the following:

1. Jean-Louis Scherrer: in his heyday (when he ran the house), Scherrer was code for that elusive mix of bourgeois, sensual and chic. That mix doesn't work in every time period or place, but in the 70s to mid-80s, it was right. Vintagers, that's a hint.

2. The overuse of coral: both as material and color, coral fascinates. However, it is time to give both a rest - before it factors into another trendbook...again. Can carnelian and lapis lazuli make a return?

3. Moiré: it is amazing how impressive or tragic the iridescent ripples of moiré can seem - depending on the season. Use moiré with velvet for the best effects in winter; with white in spring.

Is it just this writer, or does moiré look completely wrong in summer and autumn?

Have a great weekend.

- AP

Rio Male Beauty Secrets

This just in -

The simplest dictum for the streets of Rio de Janeiro's Zona Sul:

- be easy and take care of yourself

Nothing is as hard to accomplish as effortlessness.

- AP

Orientation and Alignment

Gentle Reader -

How do you know when it is time for a change?
I am referring to the internal compass which, from time to time, indicates that some shift in direction must be made. It could be as simple as changing one's fragrance or shade of lipstick.

But there are other moments, much rarer in occasion, when a complete upturning, a revolution, is in order. In these cases, it's not just a matter of an internal compass, but a true shift of fashion's poles of attraction.

Examples from Western Civilization's Past:

The shift from robes to pants
The abolition of the corset
Pants as part of female attire
The abolition of ornamental male daywear

I am predicting that by the 2030's we should really see the transition to the future of fashion. This is really sooner than you think.

- AP

Weekend Assignment: Fashion 2016

Gentle Reader -

While togas are so yesterday, glimpses of the future can be had right now.

The weekend assignment: fashion in 2016. What does it look like? Why? How did certain trends emerge? How much does fashion diverge from right now?

In other words, become an armchair trend forecaster over the next few days. The results may surprise you!

- AP

Roman Toga: Material Wealth

Gentle Reader -

After several weeks of fashion collections in the now, a quick trip into the ancient past felt right. The lines of the toga speak of a time when wealth was in part indicated not only by the quality of material, but the length.

A marked contrast from current fashion, to be sure.

As for future fashion, who knows?

- AP