Timely Fashion

So, you've all heard the news.  Balenciaga announced earlier this month that Nicholas Ghesquière will be leaving the label on November 30, 2012.  No reason was given for the departure or details given about either party's future.  Ghesquière has been Balenciaga's designer for 15 years, and a statement praising Ghesquière's incomparable creative contribution was released alongside the announcement.

If this had been announced literally 2 months earlier, I would have had a very different feeling towards it than I do now.  As I said in my Spring/Summer 2013 review, I finally wholeheartedly understood Balenciaga's appeal after its Spring 2013 collection.  I had always appreciated Balenciaga's innovation, but it never produced collections that I considered to be among the best.  Luckily, Balenciaga managed to open my eyes to what I hadn't been able to see all these years: the beauty of designs that speak to constantly changing possibilities.  Ghesquière's designs were always graphic and unconventional, and I blindly mistook them to be too technical.  After Spring 2013, I finally understood that Ghesquière was actually moving along with the times - with a very keen eye, might I add.

Unluckily for me, just as I was starting to look forward to following Balenciaga more closely, this announcement came along.  As it usually is with these kind of announcements, I was shocked, saddened, incredulous - probably the reaction of everybody else in the fashion world.  Some people may have never liked Ghesquière at Balenciaga, but if so, they have most definitely been dwarfed by the majority of us that do.  Ever since I started getting into fashion, I have never heard anything but praise for Ghesquière.

Over the summer, having read a couple of fashion coffee table books, I actually did question what attraction Ghesquière had considering how he had completely changed the image of the Balenciaga label.  Looking at Cristóbal Balenciaga's designs, I saw something completely different.  But now that I think about it, Ghesquière has been on the right track all along.  Both designers fully explore construction and volume.  Back in Balenciaga's time, his designs would have been innovative just as Ghesquière's designs are now.  In fact, Balenciaga's brand has never been about an image, but about keeping up with (and surpassing) changing conventions, truly transcending time.

Image Source: Photo 1, 2, 3

Mini McQueen

Even though I know these have probably been around for a long time, I only just recently stumbled upon the mini Alexander McQueen Armadillo shoes The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York seemed to have given away at one point:

Absolutely adorable.  I yearn for one of these almost as much as I would a chance to see a pair of McQueen Armadillos in real life!  If you'll notice, there's a tiny hoop at the top, perfect for looping as a necklace.  Wearing a McQueen Armadillo necklace...what a great way to give edge to any outfit.  What a great conversation starter too!

Remember when McQueen skull print silk scarves were in huge demand after McQueen's passing?  I imagine this would be a more fitting tribute to the late genius.  I would love to have one sitting demurely on my windowsill, a discreet little expression of my love for high fashion.

 

In other news, I've been awarded the Liebster Award by aki!  Thank you so much!  What follows are a couple of questions she had me answer.

1) What is your favourite Nicholas Cage movie?  I haven't seen any.

2) What is your favourite Nickelback song?  I don't listen to them.

3) Do you find yourself using internet memes in daily speech?  No, I don't really find a lot of memes funny.

4) About how many make up products do you find yourself wearing daily?  None.

5) Earrings, bracelets or necklaces?  I would say all, but in reality, I only wear earrings most of the time.

6) Do you bruise easily?  Yes, especially considering all the tight spaces in my residence room this year.

7) Do you burp in front of your significant other?  No significant other, so nope!

8) Do you still lick envelopes?  No.

9) What sound do you hate?  High-pitched Barbie doll voices...

10) Where do you want to be a year from now?  Right where I am now, at school, building up my future.

11) When do you think is the best age/stage in life to move in with your significant other? When you're mature and clear headed enough to see that they really are worth moving in with.

Image Source: McQueen1, 2

Making me Blush

So on my downtime when I prowl the internet for fashion giveaways (an utterly meaningless activity, by the way, since I never win), I encounter Etsy a lot.  I discovered Etsy last year and, as many of you probably already know, it's a pretty little site where people can buy and sell homemade items.  There are actually many unique fashion pieces on that site (especially the jewelry...unbelievable), and if you're not averse to online shopping, Etsy is the place to go for one-of-a-kind pieces.  Recently, I came across this photo by Blushfashion on Etsy:

I immediately fell in love with the refined simplicity of the photo.  Of course, the mint-blue colour and Grecian draping had something to do with it, but I just adored the pure white background.  The model gives a sultry character to the photo by looking gorgeous in a pose that isn't outrageously high fashion, but still glamorous enough to capture that bit of fashion fantasy.  Desperate to see whether there were more photos like this, I scrambled on over to Blushfashion's full collection.  While not all stunning hits, there were still many beautifully shot images:

This goes to show that how you present your brand is incredibly important to both your creative and business image.  These dresses are pretty on their own, but it really takes a good model and photographer to bring them to life and turn them into something of desire.

Check out all the photos here.

Image Source: Blushfashion