Adam Fall Runway Show 2008

NEW YORK, February 3, 2008 – After seeing this collection, I was a little surprised that the writer Laird Borrelli-Persson at Style.com was not impressed. Here's a blurb of what was written..."

If anyone should understand sophisticated American style it should be Adam Lippes, an alumnus of both Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta, right? One of the strongest looks was an ombré mohair wool coat that blended in with the mural of trees on the runway's backdrop. Unfortunately, nothing seemed truly signature or unique, the proceedings were a bit repetitive, and Lippes got rather lost in the woods."


I have to disagree - this was actually one of my favorite shows this year. See what you think...

Christian Lacroix Fashion Week RTW Fall 2008 Paris Runway

Dark , mysterous - the tone is set for Fall 08.
Check out these pieces from the Christian Lacroix Fashion Week RTW Fall 2008 Paris Runway...

One-Shoulder Look

Here's Katie Holmes at the 2008 Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica. The actress needed little other than peep-toe Louboutins to complement this gorgeous dress. We're seeing the one-shoulder look come around full force this season.

Andrew Gn Fall 08 Runway Paris

"Gn's dark, sophisticated new palette aligned nicely with the Paris season. So, too, did his now more understated embellishments, like the basket-weave detailing at the collar and cuffs of a cashmere redingote, the hand-finished organza yoke of a high-necked silk blouse, and the braided waistband of a satin cocktail dress.The real question, of course, is whether or not the designer's high-flying fan club will take to the edgier, less overtly feminine look."

-Nicole Phelps Style.com

Visa IPO - Biggest US IPO In American History

Visa IPO - Biggest US IPO In American History

Visa’s shares surged 28 percent in the first day of trading. Volume was heavy, with more than 175 million shares changing hands. Visa planned to sell as much as $17.1 billion of stock in late March, following in the footsteps of its smaller rival MasterCard, which went public in May 2006. The company sold 406 million shares in the offering, raising just under $18 billion. This is no surprise since Americans use plastic over paper now a days. How often do you pay with cash anymore?

Stella McCartney Fall 08 Paris Show

PARIS, February 28, 2008 – "After taking in Stella McCartney’s engaging show, it’s clear that McCartney, who has made the intersection of seduction and sporty ease her stomping ground, didn’t reinvent herself this season, but she did turn out what we’ve come to think of as Stella-isms—the sweater dress, the swing coat, the inventive alternatives to fur—in new cozy-chic incarnations.

She looked to her British heritage for her Fall motifs. Heraldic flags decorated long, off-the-shoulder knit dresses and oversize scarves; traditional broderie anglaise graced softly unstructured poet blouses and dressing gowns. If, at a time when tailoring has moved to the fore, McCartney’s collection was a little light on the sharp Savile Row suiting that launched her career, well, tailoring’s just not where her head is at.

The designer dedicated her show to her family and “to everyone who believes you do not need fur in fashion.” While you won’t find a lot of those in her front row, they’re out there, and McCartney offered some viable stand-ins for this season’s omnipresent fur chubby: a pair of oversize washed-mohair sweaters, worn with short chiffon skirts. As for that aforementioned felt, the mottled gray coats, with their big volumes cinched by faux-leather belts, scored points for making something so stiff look so cool.”

– Nicole Phelps
Quoted on Style.com Fashion Flash

Synchronicity

The uncanny coincidence. The unlikely conjunction of events. The startling serendipity. Who hasn’t had it happen in their life? You think of someone for the first time in years, and run into them a few hours later. An unusual phrase you’d never heard before jumps out at you three times in the same day. On a back street in a foreign country, you bump into a college roommate. Maybe a book falls off the shelf at the bookstore and it is exactly what you need.

Carl Jung believed it was a glimpse into the underlying order of the universe. He coined the term synchronicity to describe what he called the “acausal connecting principle” that links mind and matter. He said this underlying connectedness manifests itself through meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect. Such synchronicities occur, he theorized, when a strong need arises in the psyche of an individual. He described three types that he had observed: the coinciding of a thought or feeling with an outside event; a dream, vision or premonition of something that then happens in the future; and a dream or vision that coincides with an event occurring at a distance. No one has come up with a definition that has superceded his, although there has been debate on whether events linked to precognition and clairvoyance should be included as synchronicity.

Some scientists see a theoretical grounding for synchronicity in quantum physics, fractal geometry, and chaos theory. They are finding that the isolation and separation of objects from each other is more apparent than real; at deeper levels, everything — atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, people — participates in a sensitive, flowing web of information. Physicists have shown, for example, that if two photons are separated, no matter by how far, a change in one creates a simultaneous change in the other.

Synchronicities are sometimes regarded as signs, and some people consciously use them to make decisions in life. In the novel The Celestine Prophecy, a bestseller which thrust synchronicity into the public consciousness, James Redfield says that all coincidences are significant because they point the way to an unfolding of our personal destiny.

Chloe Fashion Show F08 Paris

Chloe designs are always feminine and flirty. This year wasn’t any different.Check out these 2 looks that came down the runway from Paris RTW Fashion Week 2008….Love the shoes…

Compassionate Fashion

Read that Natalie Portman has a new shoe line, and it’s cruelty free. I believe that it’s all the better if we can find alternatives for certain fabrics like leather and fur. There is plenty of science and technology today where we can make eco-conscious substitutes for our actions, whether it be fashion or something else.

Las Vegas has an annual earth-friendly fashion show and market which is committed to environmentally sustainable products. In the heart of a city that celebrates excess, this event is a haven of organic and natural beauty products / fashion crafted from beautiful and sustainable materials.

Here’s some terms that come up regularly on the topic of “environmentally friendly” products :

Organic : The farming and harvesting procedures for the material must not involve harmful pesticides and bleaching chemicals that harm the land.

Sustainable : The harvesters and traders of the products are paid a fair wage, allowing for a healthy culture.

Cruelty-Free : No animals are harmed in harvesting or assembly; clothes and accessories don’t use fur or feathers.

Recyclable : Clothing and accessories are sturdy for long use and bio-degradable once discarded.

Here at Blend New York, we are always looking for clothing and accessories that are made with the heart. Even though there aren’t multitudes of designers creating “compassionate fashion,” hopefully this necessary trend will catch on more. I’m keeping my eyes wide open in hopes to find the most stylish, eco-friendly clothes and accessories that can esthetically compete with world-class design houses.

Alexander McQueen F08 Show

Love, love, loved Alexander McQueen’s show for Fall. It was creative and beautiful. The peacock details throughout his line were imaginative and I am definitely seeing that detail becoming a small trend in print.