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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Mother Nature (Erin Barr Fall 2013)

Well, New York Fashion Week has begun. It doesn't feel like it, though. I've been so out of touch with the fashion world just trying to get by that I'm completely unfazed by my favorite biannual occasion's advent. It hasn't sunken in yet; it feels very far away. Maybe it will all feel much more real after attending my first runway show of the season, which will be soon. It was going to be Erin Barr (remember her? I saw her collection last season. She's made the transition to catwalk for Fall 2013. It's very exciting), but I couldn't make it. I was quite bummed about it, especially because it was at Pier 59, and I prefer the venues at Chelsea Piers. Lincoln Center is great, but Pier shows just seem a lot more underground, in a way. Even though I couldn't attend the show this season, I wanted to review the collection anyway because I'm a fan of the designer's work. I got a hold of some pictures (obviously not ones that I took) and selected my favorite looks from the lineup. 

Erin Barr is from Wisconsin, which is a pretty homely (in the non-plain-Jane sense), nature-y place. I have a friend who's from Wisconsin. Just a fun little fact. This season, the designer decided to reflect that atmosphere in her clothing. The inspiration is very subtle, nearly undetectable, even. But once the source is known, it's easy to see how all of it ties together. If you recall her pieces from last season (take a moment to refresh your memory here), you would know that Erin's aesthetic is borderline minimalistic, using color, texture, and small but distinctive details to create variety. She stayed true to the nature of her work (pun so intended) this season, with the basic silhouettes accented by covertly complex details. That's how nature really is though, isn't it? The simplicity of nature is exactly what makes it beautiful. 

The ancient religions of Daoism and Shintoism, to name a few examples, inspire believers to look to the natural laws of the universe for guidance. Some people frown upon this ideology, claiming that life is not as straightforward as that. It's tough to say who's right, but I'm leaning in favor of the Japanese philosophers. Due in part to the cultural influence of the aforementioned religions, the environment is stereotypically thought of as being this graceful, harmonious entity; the words "grace" and "harmony" don't lend themselves to intricacies and complexities. They invoke thoughts of fluidity and ease, just as Erin's clothing this season does.  

The show notes also mentioned the fact that the designer began thinking about the contradistinction of the sensuality of nature and the sensuality of the female form. To me, the human body is one of the most phenomenal aspects of nature itself. Lay-deez bodies are a hot topic (one that I will be writing a great deal about in the near future on this here blog), and not without reason (although my reason is probably not the same one everyone else has): WOMEN MAKE BABIES! They have the physical ability to create life. What is that all about? That is crazytown. Crazy Town. And what's more natural than life? Nothing. 

If you're reading this, Erin Barr, I totally get your collection now. 

Now, the photos. 

[Images courtesy of MAO PR.] 

I'm a little bit in love with the detailing at the shoulder. Anyone can make a plain old sheath dress, but not everyone has the creative brain power to put little spaghetti wings on it. 

Another example of small features that make a huge difference: that stripe of almost shimmering black fabric across the model's chest that is not the same textile as the rest of the shirt. It's hard to see at first, but then it's really exciting because it's like she's wearing a secret shirt. 

Pockets? Who needs those? They are useless. Turn them upside down and slap them over your breasts. Now that, that is something that will come in handy. 

I guess Erin was feeling the armless vibe. I dig it. 

Did I not say that Fashion Week would bring a lot of leather? Peplums are so last season, but tops with detachable (or so it would seem) flaps are way cool. Now you see my belly button, now you don't!

This zipper seems to be functionless, not unlike stepped-on leaves posing as crunchy ones. They exist in nature, but they serve absolutely no purpose. There's still some sort of charm about them in spite of their trickery, though. They got you this time, and they'll do it again next time.

It's no surprise that Erin is a fan of cut-outs, and evidently zippers-to-nowhere, and leather gloves. I like those things, too. Let's get together and feel alright.

There's nothing unnatural about fashion. Erin Barr can easily explain that to you.

All you New Yorkers out there, stay safe in this crazy-as-hayl blizzard we've got goin' on. It better not affect Fashion Week. I've been waiting six months for this. If anyone tries to deny climate change after this (or even after Sandy) snowstorm, I will personally go to (read: forcibly enter) their abode and make them look at boring graphs of weather patterns and temperature shifts dating from the beginning of the last millenium. That's a lot of lines and numbers and axes.

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DIY-deas

I tried various combinations of syllables for the title, such as DI-deas, DIYdeas, etcetera, but the main point is: DIY IDEAS. Consolidated into a neat little list. Just for you. And sort of for me. It's a mutual relationship.

I'm a craftsy sort of gal, but due to the fact that I am legally obligated to attend school I have little time to actually craft. Over a recent vacation I made a dress out of Superman pillow cases from the dollar store (I will have pictures of that up soon; I know it's been a mega long time since I've done an outfit post), but that was only one thing out of many that I've wanted to create lately, because really, who has the money to have awesome stuff all the time? Not me. Solution? Do it yo'self, ho. ('Ho' in the Shakespearean sense, naturally.)

[Photos via Style.com and Man Repeller.]

ASHISH HARE KRISHNA SKIRT:

I've yet to formally profess my love for the brand Ashish, but let me assure you it's one of my favorites. I was all over his Fall 2012 collection, especially his Hare Krishna garments. These would be super easy to recreate: just get some gray fabric, sew it into a circle skirt, and use a red fabric marker to write "Hare Krishna Hare Rama Hare Hare" all over it.

CHANEL PEARL HAIRPINS:

I haven't quite figured out how to make the ones that stick to your face unless you paint button candy and place it on your skin, hoping for the best. I think the hairpins could be made by simply getting some fake pearls from one of those shady overstock websites (or a craft store) and hot gluing them to bobby pins (one pearl per pin), and then using a silver sharpie to write the Chanel logo on top. 

ALEXANDER WANG LEATHER BONNET:

From the front, these look like cat ears. I wanted to show a side view so you could see what it actually is, but the cat ears are a real hoot. If you're like me and happen to have a whole bunch of pleather lying around (from your seventh grade project on Colonial shoemaking, of course), then making one of this would be supereasy. All you have to do is cut out the shape--a simple isosceles triangle should do--and tie it around your head. If you're not weird and don't have animal skin to spare, your local thrift store should have something cheap made of leather, be it a skirt, dress, top, whatever (most likely a skirt, though). My guess is that it won't cost more than $20, and Alexander Wang's cost a billion times more than that. Cost-per-wear, guys. 

 CELINE FLUFFY SANDALS:

These are magical. That's really all I can say about these. And, if you have an old pair of Birkenstocks, or other sandals that are really just too ugly to wear (not that Birkenstocks are ugly, I dig those), you can turn them into Céline look-alikes by getting some faux dyed hair at either a fabric or crafts store and hot gluin' that shiz errywhere. 

JIL SANDER PAPER BAG:

Okay, Jil Sander literally created this just so it could be DIY'd. THIS IS THE EASIEST DIY ON THIS LIST. Go to a deli and ask for a paper bag, get some varnish from an art or crafts supply store and coat the whole thing, let it dry, and either stamp or write something on the front if you feel so inclined. $150 for a paper bag? Try again, Jil. 

My new goal is to create all of these things. Why is it that I always wait until a week before Fashion Week to decide to be all trendy? Oy.

Enjoy the week, frandz. If you're gearing up for NYFW, well, you better start gearing.

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