The Cutting Class

Prada, Menswear, AW12.

It was against the background of the homogenous men’s suit, that Miuccia Prada worked touches of individualism in her recent show for Autumn-Winter 2012. The looks were comprised of carefully layered garments that were given personality by small arrangements of pocket detailing. These adornments included long brooch pins with sporting and hunting emblems, flowers, pens, pocket squares and pocket books.

They also allowed a clever play of colour through the vibrant red lensed glasses that were visible on some of the outfits as the hits of colour helped to offset the more muted and traditional tones of the suits and shirts that formed the looks.

There was a poetic sense of symbolism and tradition in the small emblems, and in the same way that an institutional or family crest will pull together simplified images to act as a representation of what the group of people stand for, these small tokens can be rearranged or switched on a daily basis depending on the mood of the wearer.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, SS12.

Miuccia Prada has a knack for combining disparate elements to create collections that are filled with a playful variety of textures, techniques and colours. While the overall mood of a Prada collection can come across as naive and whimsical, the approach to the design of the collection is obviously anything but flippant.

With references to 1950s car culture, the collection could have easily strayed into a novelty kitsch territory, but sheer attention to detail is what makes the Prada collections so desirable. The flames that are thrown up the borders of skirts, or embedded into pleated dresses, for example, are in sophisticated colour combinations, offset with unexpected highlight colours through piping and embroidery. And the accessories including tiny chrome tail lights on the heels of shoes, or tonal appliques on handbags were always perfectly executed, down to the “Prada” number plates.

There was an interesting transition of some of the details from the Menswear collection as well with piping and retro prints making a reappearance. There was also the reuse of brightly coloured gemstones, this time appearing to take the place of studs on bomber jacket styles.

It’s also interesting to note how the hint of tummy has been done in the most modest way possible, keeping the skirts long and high waisted, with only a strip of toned skin beginning to be exposed. As designers tend to focus attention on different areas of the body in a fairly cyclical way, this is obviously a more chic way of unveiling a bit more flesh rather than going for the full length stomach exposure. 

Images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, RST12.

Among the many carefully chosen details from the Prada Resort 2012 collection, the collars, plackets and yokes were often defined with a piping trim. Piping is an excellent way to add definition to garment edges and seamlines as it forms a subtle 3D edge, perfect for small hints of contrast colours.

Piping is essentially made from a length of cord, usually cotton cord, encased within a bias cut strip of fabric. For the same reasons that bias cut strips are used for bias bound edges, the fabric must be cut on the bias to allow the edge trim to mould smoothly around curves and corners.

Piping can be bought pre made, or you can make your own using bias cut strips of fabric and cord.

The images below show the basic method of making your own piping: 

The images below are of pre made piping. The piping in the image on the left is made from Polyester Satin Binding, the piping in the image on the right is made from Leather:

The images below show two different thicknesses of cotton cord, suitable for making your own piping. The image on the left shows 2mm cord while the image on the right shows cord roughly 6-8mm thick:

Prada images from Vogue.com». Piping and cord images from MacCulloch & Wallis».

Acne, Menswear, SS12.

Ever a game of details, menswear is often best dissected by focusing on the individual elements that come together to make up the collection. For the images below I have focused on the collar shapes and necklines of the Spring-Summer 2012 menswear shows. On the whole the necklines often appear high and perfectly round, and this shape was most commonly seen on t-shirts, tank tops and knitwear pieces. Shirt collars are generally wider and longer, rather than the skinnier, finer collars that we’ve seen over recent years. Jackets were often 3 button, or double breasted and this has had the effect of bringing the jacket break point higher on the body, making the lapel line shorter, and forcing the collar out wider in a shape that is reminscent of the 1940s, a style that was also revived in the 1970s. On other jackets, a wide collar was added to a round neck jacket shape, again bringing the focus of the eye up higher on the body, as opposed to say a one button jacket that buttons down lower at the waistline that has a generally more lengthening silhouette.

The shirt collars for the Acne menswear collection above featured a rounded tip that gave the shirts a more stylised, cartoonish look especially when paired with the candy coloured pastels. There was also some interesting use of cowl-style necklines in the more luxe sportswear pieces, where the collars had more volume around the neckline.

Dior Homme, Menswear, SS12.

The collars at Dior Homme were slimmer at times, but often within the context of a more voluminous shirt shape which gave it a more contemporary feel. There were also shirt variations with a collar stand only, often referred to as a “grandad neckline”. In the double breasted styles we see the effect of the wider lapels, shown above on the cream jacket and paired here with a black slim line shirt collar. There were also times where the jacket lapels were fastened over the top of each other with a metal ring fastening, to create a high neckline. This created a more triangular shaped silhouette for these garments.

Raf Simons, Menswear, SS12.

The images above from the Raf Simons collection, shows examples of the wider squarer collar that has been added to a rounded neckline. There were also some other details added to the Raf Simons garments at the neckline such as contrast trims on the collars and the buckle detail on the placket of a polo shirt.

Jil Sander, Menswear, SS12.

The clean, rounded neckline continued in the Jil Sander show on repeat print t-shirt shapes and chunky knitwear. The shirt collars here often appeared to be cut in a silk fabric, or some sort of satin texture and the collars were wider and more elongated.

Prada, Menswear, SS12.

There were actually many neckline variations at the Prada show, from double breased jackets with wide lapels, to longer slimmer cut lapels, v-necks on knits and polo shapes and wider shirt collars that were covered in jewels. One of the main features of this show that pulled focus to the neck lines was the repeated use of the neck scarves and these were often used to fill in gaps around the neckline on the lower and more v-neck styles and underneath open shirt collars.

Walter Van Beirendonck, Menswear, SS12.

At the Walter Van Beirendonck show the cuts of the jackets were quite intricate and the fabrics were full of colour and texture and these details was balanced by more classic shirt and lapel shapes. This was one of the few shows to use ties, and bow ties at that, and they appeared to be made out of the same colourful jacket fabrics, but shown contrasted against the other colours within the look that they were paired with.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, Menswear, SS12.

Fashion has had it’s fair share of block colours and clean lines of late with designers experimenting with their own versions of minimalist aesthetics, simplified forms and graphic silhouettes. But at the end of the day, aesthetics that disciplined aren’t necessarily particularly fun and in some of the recent Resort and Menswear collections designers are breaking out of the minimal mould.

In the recent Prada Spring-Summer 2012 Menswear collection there was a sway away from clean lines for all, towards loud shirts for the brave few. Colours continued to pour forth in all new combinations and repeat prints were busy and quirky, depicting scenes of golfing, surfing and dancing. Shoes used 3 or 4 colours at a time, with cartoon-like studs protruding from the soles and the hats included beret style shapes that looked like borderline granny shower caps. The yoke lines were also warped into strange new outlines and used to contrast clashing prints with fine lines of piping. And that’s without even mentioning the bedazzled garments and accessories that just pushed the whole look to a new level of eccentricity.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, SS11.

In the long space of time between when we first see garments on the catwalk and when they start to arrive in store, the original memory of a collection can become diluted. By the time the actual garments arrive in a retail environment we will likely have seen the colours appropriated for high street collections and the silhouettes replicated and toned down. By this time we have even been shown the catwalk collection of the next season, so we’re already beginning to slip into the mindset of the wrong climate altogether.

The best way to be inspired anew is simply to look back at the original catwalk images and remember why the collection looked so fresh in the first place. A perfect example is the Spring-Summer 2011 collection from Prada that was heralded as such an optimistic game-changer for the season. The swatches of fabrics, patterns and colours shown above have been abstracted away from the garments and the quirky accessories. Even simplified down to this pure form you can still see why this collection got the editors all excited.

At the end of the day these are just really great colours. Fresh, pure and bright, they have been hidden from trend reports for a season or two and that all helps to make them primed for their reappearance in the context of a very strong collection. Afterall fashion is so much about context, about the right thing at the right time - and Miuccia Prada definitely has a knack for reminding us about the colours and styles that we never knew that we always wanted.

Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».

Prada, AW08, Lookbook.

There are certain areas of fashion design that can be overlooked or glossed over under an umbrella term. But if you take the time and the interest you will realise that some of these areas will open up into many little fragmented pockets of information. This seems to especially be the case with textiles, which almost like a language, can be steeped in tradition and defined by small regional and historical quirks, almost like dialects.

Lace is definitely one such area which can suddenly open up once you realise just how many types of lace there are, and become aware of the variety of techniques which have been used to create this most fragile of textiles.

Prada, AW08, Lookbook.

Below are just a few quick images of different types of lace and lace making techniques. Predominantly, they seem to have evolved along the lines of two different approaches. The first is by starting with a base cloth and removing threads to leave gaps, with the edges of these gaps then being secured by tiny stitches, and small web-like threads are also created to help bridge these gaps. The second approach is to start without a base cloth and to build the lace with basically just a needle and thread. Or a variety of different pins and thread holders (called bobbins) as is depicted in the image below.

This really is just a taster of a few of the more well known types of laces, but really this is an area which could be expanded out to many more posts about individual types of lace and their particular histories and techniques.

There are also a couple of videos on this site about the techniques of lace making, Virtual Museum of Textile Art».

Lookbook images from Prada via Fashion In Motion».

Lace images from Wikipedia, The Lace Fairy» and The Textile Blog».

Celine, AW11.

Of all the fabrics that are used for fashion collections, animal fur is surely the most politicised of them all. Despite this fact, fur was used in the recent Autumn Winter collections in a number of ways. This is not a forum for the debate on the use of fur, as that is a matter for people who have more knowledge and understanding of the issue than I can offer here, especially in regards to the treatment of the animals involved. For the catwalk images below, I do not know which designers have used real fur or fake fur but I think that it is still worth considering the ways that fur was used in the recent collections and the references surrounding its use. Maybe by considering the contexts of the fur designs we will have a better understanding of what fur actually means to us and why some designers and consumers are reluctant to give it up.

There appeared to be different moods surrounding the collections which used fur this season. At Ann Demeulemeester the use of fur seemed to return to a very primal place, whereby it represented fur as protection against the elements, as a part of basic human survival.  This use of fur tied into some of the other tribal references in the collection - hunting tools for food, and animal skins as shelter and warmth. There was a sense in the styling of the collection that there was something quite animal about the models themselves. They were not wearing animal furs as a symbol of some sort of hunting trophy, but almost more as a sort of camouflage to better blend into the surrounding wilderness.

Ann Demeulemeester, AW11.

At Alexander McQueen, there was perhaps less of a reference to an ancient tribe and more of a sense of an ancient civilisation at war. There were styling references to armour in the metal hair clips, and the leather harnesses resembled some sort of battlewear fit for military queens. The fur in this collection seemed to be almost an aid for intimidating the opponent, as though the fur and towering heels increased the size and stature of the wearers, like an animal raised up to its full height before attacking its prey.

Alexander McQueen, AW11.

It was at Celine and Miu Miu that fur appeared in it’s most classically “fashion” form, as a symbol of wealth and luxury. But it was only used in small amounts, as a token coat at Celine and as a rare shrug or handbag at Miu Miu. There was a sense at Miu Miu that the use of fur was a little bit of a retro throw back to a time when wearing fur had less negative connotations - when fuel guzzling cars, nicotine filled cigarettes and mink stoles were not as politically incorrect as they are today.

Miu Miu, AW11.

At Alexander Wang the use of fur was presented with a very different attitude and a much more rock and roll aesthetic when fur jackets and sunglasses were paired with glittery, skinny trousers. On Style.com» Wang was quoted as saying “We’re almost poking fun at decadence and luxury”, which was surely the same up yours message the Rolling Stones were sending when they were wearing fur in the 60s and 70s. Wearing fur in that era seemed to say that it was no longer reserved for the old-money, luxury set - those living fast and dying young were having just as much fun wrapping themselves up in big fur coats and lazing around in decadent mansions.

Mick Jagger, Photographed by David Bailey, 1964.

Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg.

Keith Richards, Anita Pallenberg, Gram Parsons, Photographed by Dominique Tarlé while The Rolling Stones were recording “Exile on Main St.” at the Villa Nellcôte in the south of France.

Alexander Wang, AW11.

At Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs the play on furs’ luxury associations was done using oversized proportions and rich jewel tones. At Louis Vuitton, models appeared to saunter into the foyer of a very expensive hotel, like high paid escorts or mistresses who’ve been given sumptuous fur as gifts. The whole collection had a subversive, sexual tone and in essence the use of fur seemed to be focused on pleasure, and the fact that soft furs are so incredible to touch.

Louis Vuitton, AW11.

Marc Jacobs, AW11.

At Prada the use of fur and snakeskin seemed to be so oversized and colourful that it almost abstracted it away from being anything to do with real animal skin at all, almost like some sort of Flintstones take on wearing fur. At times the textures seemed to be almost more like an interior fabric for some sort of crazy sixties pad. The vibrant green of a jacket with fur lapels started to look more like some sort of astroturf and the thick wooly texture of some jackets seemed to resemble thick shag pile carpets.

Prada, AW11.

Like any fabric, designers give fur meaning by placing it in different contexts. Furs power on the fashion industry is based on the fact that it holds so many subconscious references - it reminds us of warmth, of luxury, or stardom. Sometimes it appeals to our animal sides, our more basic instincts. At times we don’t even see it as being linked to another life form, but just enjoy it for being a soft rich texture.

PETA advertisement by David Lynch.

For some people, wearing fur does not represent any of these things, but is a symbol of cruelty to animals. There are those who believe that synthetic furs are ok, while there are others who still resent the connotations involved in wearing even fake fur. But there are also those who are pro-fur, who seek to educate people about different ways of farming fur. The fashion industry has at this stage reached no consensus on this issue, there are very public advertising campaigns, such as those by PETA (above), which speak against the use of fur and there are designers who continue to use fur and fur substitutes as a part of their collections.

I am not offering a definitive answer on this issue by any means, but I do believe that the use of fur should not be used without an awareness of the issues involved, or without careful consideration of what using fur can say about your designs from both a political and a historical point of view.

Image of Mick Jagger from BBC». Image of Richards and Pallenberg from Shumaq’sBlog». Image of Richards, Pallenberg and Parsons from FormatMagazine». PETA advertisement from Ads of the World». Catwalk images from Vogue.co.uk».