Happy 60th Anniversary!
Whose 60th Anniversary? Jan Morrow and Brad Allen, the comedy characters portrayed by Doris Day and Rock Hudson in the 1959 hit movie, Pillow Talk. That spritely, sexy, stylish smash screenplay revitalized Doris Day’s stardom and marked a string of successful comedies for her. “Pillow Talk” featured a super-chic wardrobe by top Hollywood designer, Jean Louis, and cemented Doris’ influence as a fashion role model. (Pillow Talk is available on Amazon.com.) The film’s anniversary will be celebrated at Doris Day’s 97th birthday celebration in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, March 28-30, 2019. For more information visit Doris Day Animal Foundation.
My commemorative collage to celebrate “Pillow Talk” on its 60th Anniversary.
Whose 60th Anniversary? Jan Morrow and Brad Allen, the comedy characters portrayed by Doris Day and Rock Hudson in the 1959 hit movie, Pillow Talk. That spritely, sexy, stylish smash screenplay revitalized Doris Day’s stardom and marked a string of successful comedies for her. “Pillow Talk” featured a super-chic wardrobe by top Hollywood designer, Jean Louis, and cemented Doris’ influence as a fashion role model. (Pillow Talk is available on Amazon.com.) The film’s anniversary will be celebrated at Doris Day’s 97th birthday celebration in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, March 28-30, 2019. For more information visit Doris Day Animal Foundation.
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| My commemorative collage to celebrate “Pillow Talk” on its 60th Anniversary. |
Creative Genius at Work: Iris Van Herpen
What fashion needs nowadays is originality, creativity and breathtaking beauty. Iris Van Herpen, the young Dutch Designer, presented a collection during Paris Couture fashion week that exemplified those very qualities. Her previous collections have been exciting and innovative, but wildly experimental. Her newest collection took a bit of a baby step towards commercial viability. Diaphanous silhouettes were finely pleated to control the volume of fabric in the sensuously sculptural designs. In the past, the designer restricted her color palette to neutrals; white, silver and black. The appearance of colors including indigo, purple, ochre, yellow and deep rose was a seismic surprise. But don’t think Iris has gone mainstream. Far from it. She’s inspired by DNA engineering advances combined with female forms in mythology by exploring human-animal hybrids that distort the body into a dreamscape of clouds un-like any traditional clothing. Original, creative and beautiful…Iris Van Herpen is light-years ahead of fashion.
Iris Van Herpen’s print of colored clouds on pleated translucent organza.
Brilliant creativity expressed with innovative design techniques.
Iris Van Herpen’s surprising new color palette.
What fashion needs nowadays is originality, creativity and breathtaking beauty. Iris Van Herpen, the young Dutch Designer, presented a collection during Paris Couture fashion week that exemplified those very qualities. Her previous collections have been exciting and innovative, but wildly experimental. Her newest collection took a bit of a baby step towards commercial viability. Diaphanous silhouettes were finely pleated to control the volume of fabric in the sensuously sculptural designs. In the past, the designer restricted her color palette to neutrals; white, silver and black. The appearance of colors including indigo, purple, ochre, yellow and deep rose was a seismic surprise. But don’t think Iris has gone mainstream. Far from it. She’s inspired by DNA engineering advances combined with female forms in mythology by exploring human-animal hybrids that distort the body into a dreamscape of clouds un-like any traditional clothing. Original, creative and beautiful…Iris Van Herpen is light-years ahead of fashion.
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| Iris Van Herpen’s print of colored clouds on pleated translucent organza. |
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| Brilliant creativity expressed with innovative design techniques. |
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| Iris Van Herpen’s surprising new color palette. |
Spring 2019 Paris Haute Couture
It can be said that timing is everything in the fashion world. It’s also confusing. For example, the spring 2019 Paris Haute Couture collections are shown in January, custom-made for immediate wearing by privileged clients. At the same time, the designer menswear collections are being previewed for wearing in the far-off fall 2019 season. It’s best to forget about making sense of the fashion calendar and simply relax and enjoy the shows, the hoopla and hype. One can also hope to see some gorgeous clothes and even spot a few fashion news stories, which is what happened in Paris for this spring. Mercifully, there were few theatrical “themes” and more exciting, inspirational fashion. Chanel’s show was set in a gargantuan palazzo (with the bride in a swimsuit!). The Dior theme was a circus starring female acrobats. John Galliano’s graffiti-inspired madness was totally meaningless. The good fashion news was focused on romantic feminine fabrics. Of course, floral prints bloomed. Sheer transparencies continue to inspire designers to create cloud-like, diaphanous effects, sometimes a veritable tsunami of explosive tulle. Newer and even more extravagant were the fantasy fabrics with fanciful textural effects such as dimensional lace, hand-painted sequins and resin-coated dried flowers. The noteworthy design effect du jour was accordion pleats that helped to control the ever-increasing dramatically voluminous silhouettes. Hardly a springtime hue, black continues, but it is the appearance of audacious color that ignited the season. Rosy pink, bright yellow, parrot green, deep orange and sweet violet were among a veritable bouquet of eye-catching colors at Valentino’s glorious reminder that Haute Couture can still inspire extravagant fashion dreams.
Chanel’s palazzo show packed a lot of pizzazz.
Chanel’s extravagant examples of couture craftsmanship.
Dior’s circus theme with a light touch.
Dior references black and white successes from the past, frequently revisited.
John Galliano’s graffiti grab bag of distorted design.
John Galliano as commercial as he gets. Not very.
Givenchy focuses on unexpected textile choices.
Givenchy explores a freshly vibrant color palette.
Giambattista Valli designs for a young couture clientele.
Giambattista Valli designs spectacular showstoppers.
Valentino’s wallpaper florals are lavish and lovely.
Valentino’s combinations of color are daring.
It can be said that timing is everything in the fashion world. It’s also confusing. For example, the spring 2019 Paris Haute Couture collections are shown in January, custom-made for immediate wearing by privileged clients. At the same time, the designer menswear collections are being previewed for wearing in the far-off fall 2019 season. It’s best to forget about making sense of the fashion calendar and simply relax and enjoy the shows, the hoopla and hype. One can also hope to see some gorgeous clothes and even spot a few fashion news stories, which is what happened in Paris for this spring. Mercifully, there were few theatrical “themes” and more exciting, inspirational fashion. Chanel’s show was set in a gargantuan palazzo (with the bride in a swimsuit!). The Dior theme was a circus starring female acrobats. John Galliano’s graffiti-inspired madness was totally meaningless. The good fashion news was focused on romantic feminine fabrics. Of course, floral prints bloomed. Sheer transparencies continue to inspire designers to create cloud-like, diaphanous effects, sometimes a veritable tsunami of explosive tulle. Newer and even more extravagant were the fantasy fabrics with fanciful textural effects such as dimensional lace, hand-painted sequins and resin-coated dried flowers. The noteworthy design effect du jour was accordion pleats that helped to control the ever-increasing dramatically voluminous silhouettes. Hardly a springtime hue, black continues, but it is the appearance of audacious color that ignited the season. Rosy pink, bright yellow, parrot green, deep orange and sweet violet were among a veritable bouquet of eye-catching colors at Valentino’s glorious reminder that Haute Couture can still inspire extravagant fashion dreams.
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| Chanel’s palazzo show packed a lot of pizzazz. |
 |
| Chanel’s extravagant examples of couture craftsmanship. |
 |
| Dior’s circus theme with a light touch. |
 |
| Dior references black and white successes from the past, frequently revisited. |
 |
| John Galliano’s graffiti grab bag of distorted design. |
 |
| John Galliano as commercial as he gets. Not very. |
 |
| Givenchy focuses on unexpected textile choices. |
 |
| Givenchy explores a freshly vibrant color palette. |
 |
| Giambattista Valli designs for a young couture clientele. |
 |
| Giambattista Valli designs spectacular showstoppers. |
 |
| Valentino’s wallpaper florals are lavish and lovely. |
 |
| Valentino’s combinations of color are daring. |
Fashion Winners at the SAG Awards
The 25th Screen Actors Guild awards show had plenty of glamorous fashion on view. The usual red carpet was replaced by silver. The female actors (no longer designated as “actresses”) demonstrated the diversity that encourages individual statements. A wide variety of designs went from sophisticated, pretty pink on Emily Blunt to a jeweled gold top with tuxedo pants by Louis Vuitton on Emma Stone. Lady Gaga stole the spotlight in Dior’s white gown with raggedy edges. There was no singular big story, no major trend, just a varied selection of looks, fabrics and colors. Most surprising fashion statements were made by a young generation of style-conscious men. Even ever-popular classic tuxedoes looked newsworthy recut into skinnier silhouettes. Some daring men went for edgier surprise statements like the floral printed harness on Michael B. Jordan.
Standout style on Emily Blunt, Lady Gaga and Emma Stone.
Design diversity on Aja Naomi King, Danai Gurira and Yara Shahidi.
Tuxedoes rebooted on Rami Malek, Matt Bomer and Justin Hartley.
Michael B. Jordan, Timothee Chalamet and Anthony Ramos.
The dinner jacket returns on Darren Criss, Henry Golding and Chadwick Boseman.
The 25th Screen Actors Guild awards show had plenty of glamorous fashion on view. The usual red carpet was replaced by silver. The female actors (no longer designated as “actresses”) demonstrated the diversity that encourages individual statements. A wide variety of designs went from sophisticated, pretty pink on Emily Blunt to a jeweled gold top with tuxedo pants by Louis Vuitton on Emma Stone. Lady Gaga stole the spotlight in Dior’s white gown with raggedy edges. There was no singular big story, no major trend, just a varied selection of looks, fabrics and colors. Most surprising fashion statements were made by a young generation of style-conscious men. Even ever-popular classic tuxedoes looked newsworthy recut into skinnier silhouettes. Some daring men went for edgier surprise statements like the floral printed harness on Michael B. Jordan.
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| Standout style on Emily Blunt, Lady Gaga and Emma Stone. |
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| Design diversity on Aja Naomi King, Danai Gurira and Yara Shahidi. |
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| Tuxedoes rebooted on Rami Malek, Matt Bomer and Justin Hartley. |
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| Michael B. Jordan, Timothee Chalamet and Anthony Ramos. |
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| The dinner jacket returns on Darren Criss, Henry Golding and Chadwick Boseman. |
Fashion Coloring Book from Korea
I received a very interesting gift from a friend. It is a coloring book from Korea. I cannot translate the title, but I know that its many, many intricately drawn pages are evidence that young Korean girls are tuned-in to the world of global fashion. The book contains a wealth of status label visuals to color—if one is patient, because the artwork is crazily complex. I colored one of the simpler pages, a paper doll with outfits from the New York Fashion Weeks of the past.
Cover of Korean Fashionista Coloring Book.
Sample pages that are a challenge to color, so complex is the artwork.
Paper doll page, colored by David.
I received a very interesting gift from a friend. It is a coloring book from Korea. I cannot translate the title, but I know that its many, many intricately drawn pages are evidence that young Korean girls are tuned-in to the world of global fashion. The book contains a wealth of status label visuals to color—if one is patient, because the artwork is crazily complex. I colored one of the simpler pages, a paper doll with outfits from the New York Fashion Weeks of the past.
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| Cover of Korean Fashionista Coloring Book. |
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| Sample pages that are a challenge to color, so complex is the artwork. |
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| Paper doll page, colored by David. |
