Costume National F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       This year Costume National went for an all black look a bit like Jil Sander. However, what caught my eye more was the subtle hinting at color. One of my favorite things about Menswear fashion collections is experimenting with color. Being a male, shopping can be extremely uninspiring. Especially since most men prefer the colors, grey, brown, black and.. grey. There's rarely variety. But now that we're in the later 2000's I feel like we're treading closer to color for our Fall collections. Womenswear already has it down, it's up to the boys to be daring for a change. Most of these colors could be described as jewel tones. Call it what you like, I just love how subtle they are. As much as I love primary colors, it's better when you can't obviously say what color a garment is. Is it jade? lapis? forest green? Blending of colors always makes for a more interesting outfit. Costume National being an Italian fashion house, really has the concept of structure down, these silhouettes make for an interesting "space-punk" sort of look. Not sure if that's an accurate description, but I can definitely see these pieces being used in areas like New Bond Street or East London. It wasn't one of my favorite collections, but there is definitely something you can take from it, for what it is.

Dolce & Gabbana F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       Dolce and Gabbana surprisingly delivered an exquisite collection. Empirical comes to mind when I see these bold beautiful prints. Every time they do a print for their menswear collection it's usually so pronounced, these definitely are attention grabbing. Their Spring Summer 2012 collection was great, with the whole black "fishnet" tops and jumpsuits they did. Also, this collection kept the "Cape" trend going, as well as the velvet trend. Doesn't River look so dapper in that velvet suit? I'm really not a fan of suits in general, (you can only reinterpret it so many times.) but once you put a dynamic twist to it, i.e. changing the texture or color, or adding an interesting pattern or fun accessories, like the slightly subtle yet striking bordeaux bow tie paired with the striped suit. Regardless, this collection was unashamedly good. My only complaint was, where's David Gandy??

The Boys of Milan Fashion Week by Luca Finotti

Extremely simple idea, yet executed beautifully. Who doesn't love a good slow motion video filled with male models? Shot by Luca Finotti known to work with i-D magazine, Dazed and Confused, Vogue, etc. This video delivers in it's cheekiness. Kind of reminds me of my promo video I shot with Kat but just twenty times better. I'll get up to this caliber one day soon.

Burberry Prorsum F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       This time around Burberry Prorsum really stepped it up in terms of attention grabbing. This collection is definitely one of my top favorites from the Milan shows. The colors! The velvet! The beautifully tailored suits and jackets! Burberry's eccentricity lives on through these military inspired pieces. However, still playful, never serious, this collection just works. It's a breath of fresh air in my opinion yet still quintessentially British.

Neil Barrett F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       I covered Neil Barrett last year when he came out with a fantastic Spring Summer collection. Well now he's still true with his demure and extremely ready to wear collection for this upcoming Fall. A standout color would definitely be some of his crimson coats. Much of this collection depended heavily on outerwear, where the finishing touches leave nothing to be desired. Keeping up with the "cloak" trend going on all over the runways, (Dolce & Gabbana, Mugler, etc.) Neil Barrett decided to go for a less obvious approach and have his models draped with his amazingly tailored coats.
       However, my favorite part of this collection were the pants, most of them were tapered so detailed giving great attention to the shoes. One of my favorite silhouettes if you want to show off your fantastic footwear, is tapered pants. In most cases, it seems that a lot of this collection is borderline simple, but if you pay attention closely he mixes and matches different textural patterns on "seemingly grey" pieces really are chevron patterns mixed into herringbone and even tweed. It's so discreet yet brilliant.

Jil Sander F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       Out of the deep, came the Jil Sander collection. Usually known to be experimental and doused in color. This time around, Raf Simons decided to take an alternative route. A more ominous, approach to this upcoming Fall. The set design was to be that of an underground parking garage, with a mystery man in many forms. Where did he come from? What did he just do? What are in those lunch bags? The material used for many of the trenches and coats were just fantastic, I can't tell if they were all black leather or some perhaps a synthetic fabric of sorts. Regardless, as monochromatic and yet slightly playful with the sailor flaps behind with animals (not pictured), this collection reeked with malevolence. To top of it all off, the soundtrack for the show comes from the movie Shame, which we all know what that movie's about. Raf definitely delivered, and it showed in the detail, it may seem "samey" but if you pay close attention, the cuts, the tailoring is magnificent. Structurally these coats and trenches are just other worldly. I really hope this sort of black synthetic/shiny look trickles down to everyday wear. Much like with women's trends, we men should get a chance to experiment with unconventional fabrics.

Roberto Cavalli F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week

       Roberto Cavalli's collection for the Milan Fashion week was just spectacular. It took a close eye to catch the subtlety of his patterns onto the clothing, chevron, snakeskin, animal prints, and his own unique designs. My favorite part of this whole collection were the pops of color, chartreuse, dusty salmon, electric blues and purples. The detailing of his suit collars were also very interesting, instead of going for a typical straight cut lapel, Cavalli implemented rounded edges and even shawl collars. This is definitely one of the more exciting collections I've seen from all of the Milan shows. The trend of the Importance of Coat is definitely alive throughout this whole collection, making bold statements for each outfit walking down the runway.

Sky Ferreira by Mario Testino for V Magazine #75

when I eat cake, I prefer the cherry...

       Well this is interesting, back in 2008 when Sky Ferreira was just a 14 year old she contacted Bloodshy & Avant, Swedish hit makers known mainly for their work with Britney Spears (Toxic, My Prerogative, Do Somethin', Radar), Rachel Stevens (Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex) and even Kylie Minogue (Speakerphone, Nu-Di-Ty) and even their side band project Miike Snow, anyway you get the idea. So the surprised duo flew her to Sweden, wrote some songs, recorded, etc. and a few years down the road she released the epic single One in the UK. Unfortunately it flopped in the Fall of 2010 but that didn't stop me from playing on repeat all of summer 2010 (apologies to those who were around at the time). Something about Sky's gusto and sex appeal make her so intriguing. Now a days she's at the boring legal age of 18, but still very much relevant in the industry. Slowly but surely, she just keeps on popping up in places you'd never expect.

       This amazing photo shoot was done by the never disappointing Mario Testino, whom you've most likely seen loads of his work on covers all the world. Instead of Gaga's and Lindsay's paying homage to Marilyn Monroe, we see a new kid in town, paying homage to the now (but not for long) irrelevant Madge. It's a great ode to Madonna's peak in terms of popularity. And why not use it as the theme for Sky Ferreira? Fake it till you make it right? She may not be at the same caliber in terms fame as Madonna's "Boy Toy" days, but she just may be in 2012.

Featured Song in Title: Aeroplane feat. Sky Ferreira - Without Lies

Nicola Roberts by Robert Wyatt for InStyle Magazine (February)

paradise with ice cream skies shine...

       Incase you missed it, you can listen to the solo version sung by Nicola Roberts of actually, one of my favorite Girls Aloud songs "Memory of You." When the song was first released almost exactly three years ago, it was only to be  heard on the vinyl version as a b-side to the single "The Loving Kind." Nerdy I know, but it's important, because now not only do we have a High Quality version but also a version with only Nicola singing the tune as a B-side to her latest single "Yo Yo." Which to be honest, no song can beat Xenomania's production. This song has to be one of my favorite Aloud songs that just never gets old. With borderline nonsensical lyrics (thanks Miranda Cooper..) to the dark electro instrumentations and of course Nicola's ever charming vocal stylisation. It's definitely a must hear. 

       The photographs above are just some of my favorites from her recent shoot in InStyle Magazine. How this flawless beauty always manage to bring out the best in photo shoots, I'll never know. She's typically known to be shy in front of the camera, not anymore!

Featured Song in Title: Nicola Roberts - Memory of You

Antony Hegarty by Inez & Vinoodh for V Magazine #75

their splendid sparkling fire...

       Antony Hegarty by Inez & Vinoodh for V Magazine wearing Givenchy, what else could you ask for? Antony has always had an air of mystery around him and wearing this beautiful cape just goes along with that aesthetic he's always had. His haunting voice, with vibrato-like shakiness will always be his trademark style. You always know when Antony is singing. My first introduction of him was through Björk when they collaborated for the Volta album on the song "The Dull Flame of Desire," fantastic duet by the way. 

Antony is on my list of my most favorite unique voices from a band or solo artist. Along with Erlend Øye, Morrissey, Róisín Murphy, Stefan Storm and many others. But that post is for another day. For now, let's just revel in awe at this amazingly moody photograph. 

Featured song in title: Björk feat. Antony Hegarty - The Dull Flame of Desire (Live at United Palace)