Crusin II...

Marc Jacobs

In a riotous mix of color, print and eras (though not as riotous as S/S 09) Marc Jacob's collection for resort 2010 was a mix of old Hollywood, vacation cliches like sailor stripes and souvenir prints, mid-70s Parisian bohemian, and mid 80s party girls. Sailor striped tops were embellished with tropical flower motifs, intentionally cheesy floral printed bandeau/skirt combos and jackets were right out of the tourist-in-a-tropical-locale handbook, and cropped trousers in vintage geometric or paisley patterns could be right from the flea market. A red and black party dress was covered in a print that, from a distance looks like some kind of flower but up close is actually made of colored scribbles. A sheer black mini dress had bands of neon across it that kind of looked like barbed wire. It was paired with a gray tweed jacket edged with shredded neon fringe. And a black cap sleeved wrap dress covered in pop colored parrots had the same feel to it that Saint Laurent's 40s collection; vintage, a little trashy and flirty.

From there things became a bit more decadent. Orchid pink satin shorts were paired with a cropped black jacket trimmed with what looks like passementerie that recalled late 70s era YSL. A blue short sleeved jacket with a slight peak in the shoulder was paired with more of those cropped trousers, now in a shiny jacquard. Ochre satin high-waisted shorts were worn with a printed blouse with billowing sleeves, and the final piece was the dress worn by Kate Moss to the Costume Institute Gala back in May (I still love it, though it fit Kate better than Olga). I'm currently reading "The Beautiful Fall" by Alicia Drake, about the Paris fashion scene of the 1970s, and this whole second half of the collection looked like how I imagined Saint Laurent muse Loulou de la Falaise to have dresses back then, a mix of high fashion with the bohemian spirit of Biba and Ossie Clark in London. Every single look was paired with massive platform sandals that made me think of the shoes Jodie Foster wore in "Taxi Driver". So there you have it, a mad mix of looks that spans who knows how many eras, trends and personalities, but could you expect anything less from fashion's favorite mix-master?

Miu Miu

In contrast to Prada's kitschy, almost cartoony take on destination dressing, the Miu Miu collection was a slightly more sedate affair. Still sticking with a vaguely "life of leisure" vibe combined with the 70s infused bourgeoise sensuality of the F/W collection, the look was a mix of athleticism and glamour. Think Saint Tropez, the rich, fashionable Parisian elite on holiday spending their days by the pool or on the tennis court court, lacquered red lips and all. The main portion of the collection was built around maillots, worn as layering pieces under short tennis skirts, slouchy track jackets, and beachy cover-ups for day wear. Shown in muted shades of beige, cream, pale celery green, and a super pale blush pink. Two sheer halter gowns in a gorgeous retro Calla Lily print (worked in two different colors for the top and bottom of the dress) were worn over plain maillots and had a blouson effect at the waist that billowed in the back.

Long v-neck halter dresses were shown in black or a dusty lilac version of that Calla Lily print, while seperates took on an even sportier feel shown in crisp white, navy and black paired with high lace-up athletic looking stilettos. The Calla Lily print made it's final appearences as a short red on black shift, a red on black maillot worn with a pink on black A-line mini, and a black on lilac full skirted mini dress. Closing the show were three short dresses in the same pale solids that opened the collection trimmed with bands of taupe and embellished with oversized buttons. Like I said, the whole thing had a very 1970s life of leisure feel to it, clean, sporty, a bit louche but tinged with undeniable glamour. I have to admit I'm loving it, probably even a bit more than Prada, but mostly because this collection has a whiff of decadence and vanity to it that Prada didn't.

all photos from Style.com

Cruisin...

Prada

This season for resort Miuccia Prada has returned to one of her recurring themes, the quirky mid-century suburban housewife. This time around she, her husband and their two-and-a-half kids have packed up and headed to a warmer climate on holiday. Bright, beachy colors like candy pink, lemon yellow, coral, sky and cerulean blue, red, and orange were mixed together in eye watering combinations that are definitely not for the faint of heart. Draped batwing tops were paired with short, layered A-line skirts. Mini shifts had color blocked bands around the skirt hem. And bikini briefs with ties on the side (very Malibu Barbie) were layered and worn with two-tone button down shirts or sweater vests.

After the bold solids there came a retinal assault of prints. Vaguely wallpaper prints, bold geometrics borrowed from Prada's F/W 2003 collection, overblown paisleys and illustrated tropical florals were used for everything, from wrap skirts with ties on the side, blouson tops with contrasting trim, preppy button downs, v-neck mini shifts, more of those A-line skirts and dropped waist chiffon chemises, and in almost all of the looks there were at least two prints used at a time. Combined with the Carol Brady hair the whole collection had a fun, kitschy vibe to it. It reminded me a lot of Miu Miu's S/S 2003 collection, just in a more extreme form. Overall I'm not in lust with it like I have been with Prada lately, but I'm definitely intrigued to see how, or if, this collection has anything to do with the S/S show.

Calvin Klein

Francisco Costa's recent collections for Calvin Klein in the last few years have managed to preserve the integrity of the house by making contemporary, clean, timeless clothes for an urbane, unfussy type of woman while also taking the identity of the house forward. While I admire the fact that he does such good work channeling the house DNA in new ways, there are occasional times when I've longed for the ease, simplicity and cool sensuality of Calvin himself, not to mention that I have grown a wee bit tired of the lack of color on CK runways in recent years. Granted, Klein himself was never known for bold, intense color, but he didn't use exclusively black, white and shades of gray either. For resort 2010 Costa has brought a little bit of that easy sensuality back to Calvin Klein in a collection that was much more light and easy than his recent work has been. Eschewing strict tailoring and severity for transparency and soft volume, Costa used a subtle palette of different whites and parchment, smoky grays and slates, and a handful of what I call "hybrid" colors. One was a sort of faded citrus yellow/green, another was a dusty mauvey-nude, and yet another was a pale creamy tawny orange. Like I said, they're hard to describe, much like Calvin's own color choices were back in the day. Separates consisted of narrow cropped transparent trousers, sheer organza jackets and coats that closed asymmetrically, and simple textured tops. Those trousers appeared throughout the 24 look lineup alongside occasional skirts with an unusual drape to them. More than separates though this was a collection of beautiful dresses, many featuring off-the-shoulder necklines that highlighted the collar bone. With subtle transparency and volume in the skirts they were extremely feminine without being the least bit girly.

A stunning shift in a slate gray had the transparent portion worked over the arms, while a strapless dress in charcoal had a deflated bubble shaped skirt with pleating across the front. Ivory or beige dresses had a soft drape over the hip and hems that fell to mid calf, while two full length gowns in shimmering gray or ivory organza closed the show. The whole lineup, even the pants, was a reminder of Calvin Klein's obsession with underwear and his penchant for making a sexy, unassuming little slip dress. The only real flat note (if you'll pardon the pun) in the collection was the shoes. Boyish lace-up oxfords or ankle high pixie boots did nothing for the clothes, and rather than doing what they were likely intended to do, contrast with the lightness and softness of the clothes, they just looked awkward. The clothes weren't all perfect, but it was the most "Calvin" collection Costa has done in a couple years and I really hope that he continues on this train of though for spring.

all photos from Style.com

Life's a beach...

For the last few years Karl Lagerfeld has made it a tradition to ditch Paris and take his pre-season collections for Chanel around the world. The collections have shown up at Grand Central Terminal in New York, an airplane hanger in L.A., a theater in Monte Carlo, The Raleigh Hotel in Miami, and somewhere in London (can't remember the venue, it wasn't anything amazing though). This year's destination for the 2010 Cruise collection was Venice, and the inspiration, at least in part, was one of the cities most well known residents; Peggy Guggenheim. This being a Chanel collection though, Coco's spirit was definitely not far. So what do you get when you combine the artsy/bohemian chic style of Guggenheim (with more than a dash of the Marchesa Casati thrown in for good measure, if you ask me) with Coco's signature understatement and easy femininity, a bit of Visconti's "Death in Venice", and more than a hint of the city itself? Well for starters you get a great location. Shown on the Lido beach at dusk with wind blowing off the sea, the set was already worlds better than some of the borderline kitschy locales and sets Lagerfeld has chosen before (that airport show was just plain cheesy. It's jet set, we get it..) and I imagine it was pretty picturesque as well for the lucky bastards who were there. Now don't get me wrong, I would've LOVED to have seen models maneuvering from one teetering gondola to the next on the grand canal, or vying with the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco for space on the runway, but I'm a realist. I know that salt water and bird droppings just don't mix with expensive handmade clothing. Still, it would've been nice to be able to look at the pictures and see "Venice", ya know? But I'm just splitting hairs, cause from the pictures at least the location looks gorgeous. When I initially heard that Venice was to be the destination, I was a little worried. Given Karl's penchant for cutesy gimmicks that can sometimes drown an otherwise chic outfit (like the plastic "Barbie Doll" purses from Fall, or the mini 2.55 bags that looked like alcohol monitoring anklets back in '08 for example) I was dreading what seemed like the inevitable parade of straw boater hats tricked out with Double-C's and striped gondolier's sweaters thrown in with Carnival masks, or something equally touristy. I can thank the fashion gods that Karl thought better of this, and that where he did use nautical stripes, he managed to make them look grown up and chic. The first looks out were probably some of the most theatrical and "costumey" looks I've ever seen from him; black swimsuits worn with billowing black capes, tricorne hats and sunglasses perched on a rod to look like those masks worn at a masquerade. Even though they were no doubt inspired by the Venetian carnival celebration, there was something very "Eyes Wide Shut" about the looks, and having the slightly perverse sensibility that I do, I quite liked the Kubrick vibe. From there Karl went right into the Visconti allusions, sending out sailor-inspired tailoring, dresses and knitwear, but even though the first looks out were a kind of homage to the characters in Visconti's film, the clothes basically fit in with the whole early-20th Century life of leisure/jet setting thing that Coco herself embodied. Really the only thing exciting about the looks was the hair and makeup. Every model was outfitted with curly, fluffy little bobs (some better looking than others) and smokey eyes. Now here's where the whole Marchesa Casati thing comes into play for me. About 1/3 of the wigs were red, and paired with the dark eye makeup, the models wearing them really did seem to have been styled to look like her. It wouldn't exactly be random if Karl worked a bit of La Casati into the collection. She did spend a good portion of her life living in Venice, in the very same palazzo that Peggy Guggenheim would purchase after the Marchesa lost her fortune and was forced to sell it, which would then become the Peggy Guggenheim collection. But wait, there's more! According to something I once read (don't actually remember where I read it, just that I did), when the Marchesa's belongings were auctioned off, Coco Chanel herself was one of the bidders. So there you have it. No matter what, everything goes back to her. Karl knows his Coco lore, and for the first time it seems, I do too.

Anyway, from the sporty and nautical inspired opening looks, Karl moved into more decadent, and what I imagine could be called "Venetian" territory. Chiffon dresses were printed with baroque scrollwork over the signature double-C logo. Mini dress and cardigan combos came covered with gilt embroidery or vaguely mosaic patterns. A stunning printed column with a Fortuny-esque kind of vibe came with embroidery around the collar and under the bust, and was cut to leave the sides completely exposed. And dropped waist chemise dresses came accessorized with gorgeous necklaces and bracelets that popped up throughout the show. This being a Chanel collection, there was, of course, a number of tweed suits. Some of them had the jackets worn open over a bra and girdle type thing peeking out from the high waisted skirt, and I have to admit, it was kind of refreshing. For some reason I tend to find the tweed suits, arguably Chanel's most well known look, kind of stuffy a lot of the time. It's just something about tweed itself, I suppose. But like I said, it was refreshing to see them worn with a sort of, I hesitate to say vulgar attitude, but it sure as hell didn't look stuffy. For me though this Chanel outing was all about the dresses. Each one of them just really easy and beautiful. There was a gorgeous Venetian red off-the-shoulder column with sheer sleeves, a strapless draped black satin number worn with an incredible drop necklace that hung all the way down to the waist, a short red lace number with buttons up the front and billowing split sleeves, and an ecru column with metallic beadwork forming a Y down the front. All of them had that sort of slinky glamour of the late-teens and 20s.

I think that's why I liked a lot of the collection. I find that Karl does some of his best work when he channels that sort of flapper side of Chanel. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe it's the ease and simplicity of the fashions that defined the era, as well as the fact that Coco herself helped to champion those ideals. Maybe it's that there's less room to go all out with the baroque embroidery and heavy detailing that Karl loves to indulge in. Thinking back, most of the Chanel collections that I've really liked over the years have had a bit of a 20s flavor to them, even if it wasn't overt. In a way I think the paired down presentation helped the collection as well. Not that renting out the stretch of beach, flying in models, crew and clothing, and making sure all of the guests were able to get there as well is what anyone would call understated. But there was something really pure about having the models walk a straight line up and down a runway, or boardwalk serving as a runway, with nothing but a natural backdrop and lighting to set the scene. I've grown a little tired (okay a LOT tired) of these monumental Chanel presentations lately with the huge sets and all of the "Chanelisms" crammed into each outfit. Something like this, more intimate, more special, and more restrained, just seems really appealing. I guess the whole thing, clothes, location, styling, show, all just clicked for me. Needless to say, I haven't liked a Chanel collection this much in a long time, and it's nice to know that Karl can still have that effect on me.

All images from Style.com