The FALL of RODARTE.

SHOWTUNES: RODARTE FW12 - "Dream Baby Dream" by Suicide by OpeningCeremony

Listen to the above song to hear Rodarte's "ShowTune," aptly coined by Opening Ceremony. Damn't, they always come up with cool coinage...

The word on the streets is Rodarte is going dutch. Artistically, in a literal and figurative sense. Most recent press releases have Rodarte moving slowly but surely towards the mainstream with the ever-so tantalizing fiscal and commercial sirens calling their names.

Plainly stated, I don't believe that. What I do believe is they're simply sustaining a stream of consciousness from their Autumn/Winter 2011 and Spring 2012 collections. A persistent continuity of color palate--dusty blues, rustic oranges, and wheat yellows, (all beautifully paired)--pattern/fabric amalgamation, and to paraphrase myself (how cheeky), keeping with the unconcerned originality that art in all it's forms--paintings, photographs, and film (to name a few)--has inspired.

To name a few.

Christina's World. Andrew Wyeth. 1948.

Films like this.

Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" 1978.

 

See any symbiotic transfer? And lest I remind you, this does not mean I don't think other forms of stimuli were noted for inspiration. I'm just saying I doubt these two will ever exchange their design aesthetic in for big business commercialism. Well, other than for Target' of course.



**Photos via The Cut and DVD Beaver

THE NYFW-FAVORITES. SPRING 2012. THE GANAS EDITION.

I know I said this month was dedicated to audible indulgence, and I promise, there is MORE coming. However, this is also, first and foremost, a month dedicated to Fashion Week's around the world. SO, I've compiled a breakdown of my favorites from New York, and also noted reasoning to why they are such. Enjoy my compilation.

PRABAL GURUNG SPRING 2012

Yes, I am a going to jump on the bandwagon with Prabal this season. Reason? It was a well rounded collection playing on the dichotomy of being trendy and masking trendiness. Playing with and combining the big ones such as: mixing patterns, sheer, pleating, slits, short suits, iridescent metallic, feathers or faux feathers (I can rarely tell the difference from afar), florals, purple, satin and bondage; and somehow, softening the blow upon impact. I loved every single look and could not believe the perfection of the collection and it's craftsmanship. Plus, he paired the clothing with some seriously killer music by Lana Del Rey and M83. If he was attempting to channel some sort of message, I could hear him loud and clear. Over.

RODARTE

Why? Well, to be honest, it wasn't my favorite of their collections. However, I am consistently confounded by their ability to create pieces that remain true to their design aesthetic, (remarkable prints, flowy asymmetrical tiers, and effortlessly cool) and furthermore, continue to create with a purpose of unconcerned originality and unconventional beauty. It's not that they can do no wrong. It's called unconditional love for a reason. That and they always have the most emotive and nostalgia enducing runway music. This time it was Morrissey's "Every Day Is Like Sunday". My personal favorite.

ZAC POSEN

Two words. Silhouette and Structure. I rest my case.

SALLY LAPOINTE

I love her concept. The clothing is attempting to remit a ghostly nostalgia, to convey a haunting presence inspired by the expired patients of an abandoned smallpox hospital in NY. The kicker for me was a print designed to mimic the hospital's decomposing wallpaper. Ghastly inventive.

3.1 PHILLIP LIM

I absolutely love everything about this collection. The minimalism, the pastel pairings/colorblocking, and the black assymetrical racerback tanks and jumpsuits. All of the looks are wearable, uncomplicated, and effortlessly gorgeous. Last but definitely not the least of my reasons for loving this collection were the pastel blue heels with the silver soles. Come on!

PREEN

I am in LOVE. The interpretation of peplum, collars, transparency, pastel prints, texture mixing, matching, and the block heel peep-toe booties. I did say love, no? 

These were my favorite looks from the Preen Collection that didn't really get highlighted in the video. I shall shine a light on thee...
  
Y-3

 Yohji Yamamoto is consistently innovative and also consistently on point. That balance alone shows his desire for reinvention and subversion. I admire him for those qualities. A person, any individual not much different from that of myself or yourself, who is not afraid to travel the path of most resistance. I always look to his designs for inspiration. His pieces are what one might wear when there is a moment of pure ease and individuality--to look as if you've just thrown something on, and yet, you convey an undeniable identity. A really cool one at that.

YIGAL AZROUEL

Yigal reminds me of a nubile Celine or Jil Sander. Minimal yet bold and classic-ly effortless. In one word, CHIC. Or six--Tilda Swinton in "I AM LOVE."

 

Till next time, I see London, I see France...


**Photos and Video courtesy of New York Magazine Blog, The Cut

A CONVEYER BELT OF NOSTALGIA

I realize some say "never look back." But my inspiration to keep "a movin" forward (personally) stems from a perpetual looking back, a conveyor belt of nostalgia, if you will. So, this aforementioned advice does not apply to me.

I recently started to dance again after a 5 yr. hiatus. Yes, it has been a good while, however, this did not stop me from recycling my old dance shoes and hoofing it over to my old dancing grounds. During my first trip back to dance class I realized a couple things: 1. I have regressed 2. I should have never stopped 3.Shoulda Coulda Woulda And, lastly....4. I still love dancing, and, like Britney says, I'm gonna dance till the world ends, or something along those lines.

Dance also heavily infiltrates my personal style. Layering loose, flowy, asymmetrical items, leotards, ballet flats, tights, textures and fabric choices such as tulle, and jersey all stem from the influence of dance and a dancer's wardrobe. Chloe and Rodarte have both recently created lines that seem heavily influenced by dance and therefore heavily influence me. I find that both of these lines are quite balanced in completely opposite ways in terms of inspiration, influence and approach, nonetheless, both lines are completely and obsessively covet-able and most definitely inspire me to attempt re-creation DIY style. Wish me luck...or just say break a leg.

Chloe Spring 2011

Rodarte "States of Matter" Exhibit Installations at the MOCA PDC  

MY SWEETEST DAY...

I did this for Sweet Thing a couple of months ago and wanted to share (it)  "My Sweetest Day"  with you guys as well. Follow my lead and take this Friday on "Con Ganas".

GANAS LOOK OF THE WEEK. LANDING ON THE MOON.

Treated like the space shuttle from 2001: A Space Odyssey--I only feel euphoria and a deep immersion-ism as I space walk into Frank Lloyd Wright's Civic Center Library. A glimpse of the future and my nostalgic yearning for a bygone era amalgamate in this space. Synapses fire like rocket engines and the connectivity of my thoughts all seem to stream from one outlet. At this point images are pasting themselves onto a mental inspiration board. The library is made up of classic shapes and neutral de-saturated colors, all of this combined with F.L.W.'s respect and appreciation for the West Coast environment and it's inhabitants, motivated me and I became aware of what it was like to stand in someone's creation-- a creation with an unreachable stature of imagination and originality. As I attempt to regain my bearings, "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright," by Simon & Garfunkel, begins to faintly play over and over again in my head. He truly does "... change my point of view."

I feel at home within the space and immediately catch a glimpse of an interconnection. Franny and Zooey, the work of J.D. Salinger stands out in my periphery. I grab the book and turn it to the page that I also relate to my inspiration for the outfit I'm wearing in the library. It reads:

"She was wearing a sheared raccoon coat, and Lane, walking toward her quickly but with a slow face, reasoned to himself, with suppressed excitement, that he was the only one on the platform who really knew Franny's coat. He remembered that once, in a borrowed car, after kissing Franny for a half hour or so, he had kissed her coat lapel, as though it were a perfectly desirable, organic extension of the person herself."

My specific inspiration for this outfit was Margot Tenenbaum and Rodarte's runway look for Spring 2011.

(Rodarte photos courtesy of Zimbio)

The connection between Franny and Zooey and "The Royal Tenenbaums" is quite obvious if you are an avid Wes Anderson fan, or, if you just pieced together the excerpt from the book and the clip right below it. Anderson is strongly influenced by Salinger and made "The Royal Tenenbaums" about characters who are privileged and articulate--as well as naive and maladjusted--and the Glass family in Franny and Zooey, were a family of neurotic, depressive, hyper-achievers--wonderfully reminiscent of the aforementioned family also populated with child geniuses.

My inspiration for most outfits come in the form of ideas about character's. Whether they are stewed in my own subconscious, imagination, or taken from films and or television, they are characters that I attribute a certain iconic status to, and as a consequence, these characters influence my taste and inclination towards certain items of apparel. I usually start basing color palettes or silhouette on one single piece that is reminiscent of said "character." Then, as I begin to compose everything together--on a good day--I end up being able to live vicariously through these icons. Whether simple or decadent, they allow me to display a sort of visual shorthand for who I am or at least who I like to think I am.

Jacket: Vintage Faux Fur

Shirt: Rodarte for Target

Pants: Vintage Escada Riding Pants

Thigh highs: Worn as socks, Heart pattern, American Apparel

Shoes: H&M

Sunglasses: Vintage from my Auntie's Vintage Collection (Thanks! Love!)