damn synthetic stitching.

while on a mission to find a winter coat last week, i stumbled upon these insanely on-trend harem pants - 100% viscose, drop crotch and perfectly tailored - at Promod. have you heard of them? no? neither have i. anyways, the sales assistant tells me they were marked down from R490 to a measily R80. my only guess is that the "the drop-crotch" is not yet a favourite with the ladies, hence the steep price cuts? similar pieces have appeared in a number of local collections - Christopher Strong by Elaine du Plessis (Elle SA June 09) and Stiaan Louw (Design Indaba Magazine 1st Quarter 09) - and they're going at about R750-R1200 a pop. so, yeah, can you say "bar-gain"?

one minor problem though. they're purple. not feeling the purple so much. the idea was to dye them navy, cause i'm really feeling the navy this winter, but a trip to the local tailors this afternoon didn't quite go as planned. unless i didn't mind sporting a pair of navy trousers with v. visible plum purple stitching, no dyeing would be taking place. damn synthetic stitching! i hate you. 

i'm gonna have to force myself to feel the purple. i'll let you know how it goes.

A Collaboration Made in Heaven: Stiaan Louw "The Next Generation" Campaign shot by Brett Rubin

i know that these images have already been well, if not over-circulated. i also know that you've done the jaw-drop. i know you did, because i did too. Stiaan Louw seems to be the go-to words on the fashion scene atm and i hate to be predictable but when i mentioned being blown away by some menswear lines in my recent "menswear on exhibit" post i was no doubt refering to Stiaan Louw's new collection... but i guess you knew that already.

so we know the clothes - besides being pure perfection - has got everyone who cares about fashion talking local and talking menswear, which is more than enough reason to be loving Louw. i will rant no more. but if we take focus away from the clothes for just a second what we have here basically is a killer advertising campaign! Brett Rubin, who recently did a fantastical (v. Liebovitz in terms of it's majestic-ness) fashion editorial for the latest issue of the Design Indaba magazine, has made this the most inspiring local collaboration i've seen for a longtime. it's interesting that we're slowly picking up on the international advertising trend of designer/photographer collaborations. i recently saw something similar with local streetwear label 2bop and South African photographer, Xander Ferreira.

to put it simply - Rubin has done for Louw what Juergen Teller has done for Marc Jacobs and i love him for it.

the hedonist in me.

ACNE SS09 has me aching with envy. the dresses are crazy beautiful this season - it's a pleasure just to look (and drool). i'm always so impressed with their stuff and really surprised at how they're not more well-known around town. maybe, more so since their collaboration with Lanvin on a capsule collection. i have a tingling feeling that these elastic strap sandals were made for me, though. hmm. yes, i'm aware that it's almost full-blown winter in the Cape Town and a pair of elasticated sandals really shouldn't be the apple of my eye, but i've always been guilty of wearing inappropriate shoes for the weather so that's really not an issue here. the angle of the photo doesn't do the shoe much justice, but please trust me when i say, they are beeeautiful. i'm impartial, perhaps. i've been gaga over shoes with thick elastic straps since Marni did some a few seasons ago. gosh, these "shoe envy posts" are becoming rather frequent, aren't they? but i guess when you want but can't have, the only thing left to do is wish... and blog.

menswear on exhibit.

so doing some morning reading and mr berry over at we-are-awesome touched on a subject that got me thinking. last week, South African menswear designer, Cameron Foden chose to showcase his collection as an exhibition as opposed to a catwalk show. it got me wondering whether that has anything to do with how Foden wants his collection to be received? or how any designer who chooses to "exhibit" their collection wants to be received?

there is certainly a trend of designers choosing to "exhibit" their collections in an open space where the pieces can be taken in, carefully viewed and discussed. i like the process of viewing and being given the time to process what you see, which as most know is just not case with catwalk shows. model no.1 enters, struts her stuff and before you know it model no. 2 is out and your eyes don't really know where to go. it's all too quick and the whole scene sort of reminds me of those flashy MTV ads. this debate really echoes the fashion vs. art debate. traditionally, fashion belongs to the catwalk and art/design belongs to the gallery, but the lines are clearly blurring here.

i haven't yet seen the entire collection, but i'm really impressed with what i've seen so far. the collection reminds me a lot of British womenswear designer, Louise Goldin's SS09 collection, which i expressed my love for not too long ago on the blog. i think it's the structuralism and geometrical padding that has my brain jogging.

i've felt a little out of touch with local fashion since i've returned. i think i'm slowly getting back on track though. so far, however, i've been blown away with the cuts and shapes seen in a number of menswear lines, which is great for the guys. i don't think i can hear another male complain about how women have "soo much" to choose from and work with and they have "nothing". you boys are slowly running out of excuses.