Symphonic Apocalypse (Son Jung Wan Fall 2013)

Fashion Week coverage for Fall 2013, always beginning late over here on You're A Tulle. I like to relive the week long after it's passed. In fact, let's stretch it out all the way until everyone else reaches Paris, yeah?

As I foreshadowed months ago, I toned it down a bit this season and went to only three shows, as opposed to last season's eight. The first one I attended was Son Jung Wan on Saturday, February 9th. There wasn't much information given about the collection in the show notes except for the model line-up and what exactly they were wearing, so I thought it would be beneficial for all of us if I snuck backstage and interviewed the designer to find out what it was all about. You can find said dialogue below.

Odelia: What was your inspiration for this collection?

Son Jung Wan: I got inspired by painter Kandinsky. His Compositions express the flow of music and color, like a symphony. My color palette is based on nature tones, of course gray, and beige, and off-white, and I used accent color oxblood and opposed bright colors.

Odelia: Where do you often look for inspiration?

SJW: Music, and art, and daily life, and movies.

Odelia: Did you explore any new construction techniques for this collection?

SJW: I make seamless clothes, and handmade clothes.

Odelia: How would you describe your brand's style or aesthetic?

SJW: Sexy, luxury.

If you're unfamiliar with the oeuvre of Kandinsky, this is one of his paintings:

It's a little tricky to see how the inspiration translated to the collection because of the extensive use of color and seemingly arbitrary location of brushstrokes and shapes, but upon further inspection, the pieces start to fit together.

Kandinsky was heavily inspired by music, calling it "the ultimate teacher." Take this quote by the artist that describes the above piece:

"The sun melts all of Moscow down to a single spot that, like a mad tuba, starts all of the heart and all of the soul vibrating. But no, this uniformity of red is not the most beautiful hour. It is only the final chord of a symphony that takes every colour to the zenith of life that, like the fortissimo of a great orchestra, is both compelled and allowed by Moscow to ring out."

His seven Compositions that the designer referenced had a common theme of the apocalypse, and if you think about it really hard, the end of the world is a pretty natural thing. It has to happen. I don't want to turn this into a rant on my theories about the Mayan apocalypse and Global Climate Change, but I think Son Jung Wan unconsciously agrees with me. The world as we know it is going to end, and it's going to happen soon. You can either fight it, or you can ride the wave. By going back to basics (not just in fabric choices), we can secretly reverse the destruction of the Earth and ultimately avoid the actual demolition of our planet, while still reforming our world into a new one. Like a rebirth of sorts. 

I'm really unsure if any of that made sense, so in an attempt to not confuse you further, here are pictures. 

[Photos by me.]

Like a bib-poncho, but made of fur. 

It looks like she's floating, right?!

This color is pulled right out of a painting, I bet. 

As is this one.

I'm not sure if you would classify the hairdos as pompadours or beehives. They're very Morrissey meets Amy Winehouse.

A continuation of the Spring 2013 frills trend, which is in turn a continuation of the Spring 2012 frills trend.

Swoosh.

The aforementioned oxblood.

Fur is simply never going to get old, it seems.

And neither are metallics. 

If this was incoherent I apologize. No matter how much sleep I get my brain just doesn't receive the signals that THE SUN IS UP IT'S TIME TO WORK PROPERLY, THANK YOU!

I've got a bunch of stories lined up for you all, including coverage of the Alice + Olivia collection, a street style trend photographed by yours truly, and the reintroduction of Can I Have Your Closet! And an interview with some awesome people! And a shizton of other articles I'm going to write! Wut iz skewl?

Oh yeah, it's that thing I have to go back to in two days instead of in a week. Right.

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Over It

There are really only a few things in the world that I will never get sick of: Spongebob, water, grapefruits, and overalls. And maybe Raisin Bran. And also chocolate. There's just so much to love about all of them that I couldn't imagine why I would ever stop enjoying their existence. Let's scooch back a little bit and focus on the fourth tenet of my list, our dear friend the Overall. 

I was on quest to find the perfect shortalls a while back, if you recall. My next unspoken quest was for the shortalls' cooler older sister, the overalls, and this quest was completed with minimal effort. Story time! In eighth grade, my mom found her old pair of overalls from when she was either my age, living in France, or from the '80s. It's unclear. What is clear, however, is that they are lavender, made of some odd crushed-velvet-corduroy-but-not-really fabric, and are essentially perfect in every way. At the time of their discovery, I was too much of a pudgeball to fit into them comfortably, so I gave them to Lola for safekeeping. A few months ago, I was reminded of their existence, and greedily asked for them back (just kidding about being greedy, we now have a healthy relationship with the overalls. They serve as a sort of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" object, except there's only two of us, and these pants cover our whole body). I now wear them at least twice a month, if not more. I somehow always manage to wear them on the same day my friend Violet wears her mom's overalls, so when we walk into English class in the morning we stare at each other in shock and everyone thinks we are weird outfit-coordinating freakazoids. There seems to just be a certain feeling in the air that lets each of us know that it's the right day to have them on. 

Seeing as it was Fashion Week, I figured there was no better time to flaunt them in the public eye. I wore these bad boys to the Son Jung Wan show last Saturday (more to come on that soon). 

[Photos by Lola.]

Overalls: Gap (my mom's)

Striped shirt: my mom's

Jacket: Gap via Housing Works

Boots: Timberland 

A look that exudes pure, unrefined badassery.

Necklace: "Om" charm from a bead store on a chain from a different necklace (I've been wearing this everyday since I bought it in December)

Choker: a gift from a frand

Isn't it convenient to have a choker that reminds everyone what my first initial is, and that my first initial looks conveniently like a normal shape?

Just being happy in my comfyclothes. 

Bow: a phree-bee!

I thought putting a bow on my shoe would add more pizzazz than if I put it in my hair. Luckily for me, since I'm always rushing wherever I'm going, my shoe bow fell off at some point in my day's travels and now it is lost forever. RIP shoe bow. 

I'm now supposedly on my February break, which is really just a four-day weekend because the public school system sucks royal hippogriff, which actually means that I'm not going to get to blog as much as I wanted to because some people don't understand that four days is not long enough to do a week's worth of homework. Basically I hate everything besides the aforementioned list (see: the beginning of this post).

Happy Saturday! If you're one of those people that has a full week off, you suck!

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The Oceanic Nymphs of Son Jung Wan

I know, I know, I'm really far behind on the whole New York Fashion Week recap thing. I realize that everyone has breezed through London and are in the middle of conquering Milan, but I'm still in New York. Both physically and mentally. I haven't seen any of the collections or looked at any street style photos. That's what eight and a half hours of school every day will do to ya. 

Son Jung Wan was the first runway show that I attended this season. There was a tornado watch in effect in my neighborhood at the time I was supposed to leave my house to go to the show. Of course. I spent the whole commute hyperventilating about being late, but also because I could barely breathe. The subways in the city suck royal hippogriff when it rains, and no one on the MTA has figured out that when it's hot, the air conditioners should be on, and not in the middle of the winter. So I was kind of melting in my poncho and black long-sleeve shirt. 

There were no show notes besides the ones that listed the looks, so the inspiration for the collection is unknown. However, the designer must have been feeling some good vibes from the ocean, because there was a lot of blue and green chiffon-y dresses, as well as lots of sheer detailing with lacy accents and large poufs of tulle (sea foam reference, maybe?). Yellow (sunshine) and coral (...coral) shades were used throughout the collection, plus oodles and noodles of white. The overall feel was a bit surreal (rhymez!), what with the clumps of thin braids intertwined in odd configurations on the backs of the models' heads and all of the flowing fabrics. Check it out fo' yo'self below. 

[Photos by me.]

Like ocean waves made of sunshine and love. 

High collars are the only type of collars worth wearing. 

Greek goddess goes ombré. 

Chanel signature tweed jackets: now in potato sack silhouettes. 

Whoa.

Yeah, she's not a human. No one's skin actually glows like that. 

The bluish-green splatter prints are quite a bit of fun. 

Dresses that could've been just an inch or so longer: this one.

I think crochet is resurfacing as a trend this season, along with metallics. That cross-boob stripe of reflective-shattered-glass-tape is spot on-trend.

I guess Son Jung Wan is not ready to give up the mullet hemline just yet.

O-pen backs! O-pen backs! Also, those pants are so Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2013. 

The last model, peacin' out.

P.S. Brookie Shields and her lil' kiddies were sitting front row. She looked and acted surprisingly normally and not like, "HEY GUYS I'M BROOKE FUQIN SHIELDS LOOK AT ME!" It was really awesome. I've heard from some inside sources that she's actually a very nice person. Ten points for Brooke. 

Have a happy weekend full of museum-going and art-making and writing and reading Rookie mag and lots of other great stuff. Lots of apples, too. Make sure you include those. 

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Ponchito

Last weekend was one of those times when I was very aware that I was alive. 

That's totally not even true. I was just really tired. 

On Saturday, I went to Son Jung Wan at noon and Katya Leonovich at 4 pm, both of which will have their own post later on this week. After all of the day's festivities, I somehow ended up at Lola's house on her rooftop. I flew there. (You will understand this in a moment.)  

Now for a change of verbal scenery: I usually put all my text at the beginning of the post, but this time let's add some after the pictures. It will make more sense that way. 

[Photos by Lola.]

Top: Eileen Fisher 

Cray-zeee pants: my mom's from da eighties

Boots: my cousin's riding boots 

Caught mid-inhale.

Poncho: a skirt from J.Crew worn as a poncho because they are way cooler than skirts

I'm a huge poncho fanatic as of late. When I was in California in June I suddenly became obsessed with the concept of wearing embroidered ponchos. Fanny packs and ponchos are going to come back because I will single-handedly bring them back. With your help. 

Like, how could you not want to wear that? There is literally no way. 

(PS this is how I flew to Lola's rooftop, poncho=makeshift wings)

Let's just think about the practicality and all around awesomeness of the poncho. It covers your entire torso, therefore you have insulation. You have the mobility of a jacket without being restricted by sleeves. You're essentially wearing a blanket but you're not. What is there not to like?

Welp, shall you join me in the quest to make ponchos Fashion Week acceptable? And beaded fanny packs? And one-sleeved trench coats? Because I am so ready.

I told you I was going apple picking this weekend, and I just did. Dis bitch keeps her promises.

Have a spiffy rest of the weekend.

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Minnie Mouse Clubhouse

Whoa. Three days in and the Week has already been incredible. I saw two shows on Saturday, I have one today (as well as some other special surprise events, the details of which I will disclose to you all at a later time), and then the rest of the week is more of the same, which we all know means completely unpredictable. But fo' now, I will show you my outfit for the Erin Barr show on Friday. Inspired by baseball--you will absolutely never figure out where the connection comes from--I wore the only t-shirt I ever leave the house in with a pencil skirt. Those are kind of a trend. I write so much about what's "in" that I thought for once I'd give it a try. But tight clothing?? What??? Don't worry, I balanced it out by having a big ol' mouse with outrageously sparse yet large eyelashes plastered across my chest. I felt that it was necessary to put on some masculine shoes as a counterattack against the skirt. Here at You're A Tulle, we view provocative clothing as the misunderstood mean girl, ourselves as the one geek who is nice to her and lets her come to our house after school for cookies. But she has to play Dungeons and Dragons with us. We stifle her bitch-tastic-ness by amping up the nerd factor. Crank that baby up to 11! 

The hat was my attempt at adding some class and breaking skewl rewls. No hats in the building? Bah! Just try and stop me, security. You've got a delinquent bloggah on the loose. Maybe you can focus on hunting me down instead of giving freshmen detention for not composting their lunch correctly. 

[Photos by my mother, in front of the 9/11 memorial on 7th Avenue South.]

T-shirt: Disney 

Skirt: INC International Concepts 

Hat: J.Crew 

Socks: the drawer that houses my socks 

Brogues: thrifted Giorgio Brutini

The death stare. 

The stance of Sass, sabotaged by the Smile. 

I don't want to give too much away about what happened yesterday, but I'll give you a few little tidbits to munch on before I tell the full stories. Brooke Shields was sitting front row at Son Jung Wan, I saw Caroline when I snuck back stage at Katya Leonovich, and I briefly interviewed the latter designer. It was freakin' awesome. 

See you on the flip side, amigos. 

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