Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2013

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana made me sit up and take notice of their Spring 2013 menswear collection when they employed amateur models of various ages, shapes and sizes to parade their interpretation of old school Sicilian clothes. I was very impressed by that collection, so naturally I was curious to see what Dolce and Gabbana would roll out for Fall 2013. Looks like they realised what an inspired decision it was to cast a heterogeneous mix of village boys and men for their spring show, so they repeated it for fall. A wise choice, since it lends the collection the same charm and empathy that won me over several months ago.

There’s less colour in this mostly black, grey and white collection. I don’t care for the religious iconography and floral motifs, but the sombre suits with cropped vests, lapelless jackets and high-waisted, generously cut pants have a classic (some would say clichéd) Southern European elegance that appeals to me. Between this and Anglo-American classicism, I’ve got my style cues all sorted out for the rest of my life.

30.1.13

Three beautiful films

Here are some screenshots from three films with a colour palette that I find very appealing: muted and earthy, almost monochromatic, with rich, warm accents. Their compelling effect is produced through a combination of the skills and aesthetic sensibility of the director, cinematographer, production designer, art director and costume designer. This is of course an entirely subjective experience, but there is something about the colours and textures in the following pictures that deeply moves me. They project humility and honesty, and a raw imperfection that one can sympathise with while being inspired by its quiet, unassuming beauty.

Hopefully you get the same vibes as I do (click on the pictures to enlarge them).

From John Hillcoat’s Lawless, with cinematography by Benoît Delhomme, production design by Chris Kennedy, art direction by Gershon Ginsburg and costume design by Margot Wilson.

From Emanuele Crialese’s Golden Door, with cinematography by Agnès Godard, production design by Carlos Conti, art direction by Laurent Ott, Filippo Pecoraino and Monica Sallustio, and costume design by Mariano Tufano.

From Yôji Yamada’s The Twilight Samurai, with cinematography by Mutsuo Naganuma, production design by Mitsuo Degawa, art direction by Yoshinobu Nishioka and costume design by Kazuko Kurosawa.

These two photographs by the American photographer Jack Delano (1914 – 1997) have a similar feel.

30.10.12

Guess I’m turning gay this spring

No, it’s not because I’ve suddenly acquired a carnal desire for my fellow penis owners. It’s because I’ve decided to wear more light colours as warmer, sunnier days arrive in these antipodean lands.

How do I know that my sexual reorientation is impending? Certain Malaysian individuals, in their wisdom and magnanimity, have published a set of government-endorsed guidelines describing the “symptoms” of homosexuality, so that concerned parents may identify and correct their offspring’s budding gayness before it fully and irrevocably manifests. These flagrant signs of depravity include having a preference for “tight and light-coloured clothes”. Since I intend to wear comfortably loose light-coloured clothes, does this make me half gay? I’m also not a fan of “V-neck and sleeveless clothes”, so I must be only one-third gay.

Some examples of gay clothing.

Reading further, I am indeed “attracted to women” and certainly like to “hang out, have meals and sleep in the company of women.” Hey, I’m actually a lesbian!

Progressive, liberal Malaysians should respond with a set of guidelines listing the symptoms of regressive homophobic bigots. Some suggestions:

• Have a muscular prejudice against non-heterosexuality, and like to show their bigotry with ill-conceived guidelines and irresponsible scaremongering.
• Prefer conformist and ignorant audience for their message.
• Attracted to policing people’s sexuality; and
• Like to bring a big sense of moral superiority, similar to that used by ideological extremists, when hanging out.

13.9.12

Dolce & Gabbana’s Spring 2013 collection

Compared to Dolce & Gabbana’s last collection for Fall 2012 (fashion writer Tim Blanks called it “opulent gilded arrogance”), Spring 2013 is less glamorous and a lot more approachable. Two things impress me about the new collection: the generously-fitted, softly-tailored pieces reminiscent of my favourite Italian designer Giorgio Armani, and the casting of models who aren’t an army of clone hunks with standard issue 8-packs and identically angled jaws.

The refreshing variety of male models lends the clothes a greater empathy than they would have otherwise possessed. I never cared much for D&G before because I couldn’t identify with their regular models. I’m not 6 feet tall with a classically handsome face and the musculature of a Greco-Roman god (well, only on Tuesdays), and the clothes were usually cut to fit this masculine ideal. Altering their proportions to suit someone of my diminutive stature would only make me look like some runty kid wearing clothes that are too grown up for him. This ill-fitted ‘look’ may have a certain insouciant charm to it (like much of the D&G spring collection), but I would feel awkward in clothes that seem forced on me.

A selection from Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2013:

 

 

I’m also very much liking D&G’s recent ad campaigns. The semi-sepia and colour photographs of multi-generational Italians (including the delightful Monica Bellucci) in traditional clothes with a D&G update are heartwarming and tender. I do prefer the understated designs and muted colours of heritage Italian menswear over the loud, busy patterns found in traditional British and American styles. Give me plain pinstripes over tartan, houndstooth or glen plaid any day.

19.7.12

Armani and Modigliani as colourists

I seldom wear bright colours. There have been the occasional cerulean pants and canary yellow shirt, even a rainbow striped scarf during my short-lived boho phase, but rich primary colours don’t make me feel as mentally comfortable as subdued, ambiguous hues do. Bright colours scream. I prefer my clothes to whisper.

Two creatives whose colour sense appeal to me are Giorgio Armani and Amedeo Modigliani. The fashion designer and the artist both draw from a self-limited range of colours – Armani has been faithful to greys, blues, creams, browns and blacks for decades, often in shimmery fabrics, while Modigliani used a wider palette including red, ochre and yellow but applied in his distinctive ‘muddy’ style that quietened their loudness. Apart from sympathising with their tastes in colour, I also admire their discipline in choosing to limit themselves to a narrow range of chromatic possibility.

Here are two looks from Armani’s Spring 2005 menswear collection that capture everything that moves me about his clothes: the gentle colours, soft tailoring and relaxed, comfortable fit. I’m not in the appropriate tax bracket to shop at Armani, but the more affordable clothes I do buy are selected with that quintessential Armani style in mind.

These are from Fall 2006.

From the latest Fall 2012 collection.

Below are several portraits by Modigliani that capture a similar sensibility. The messy mixes and rich layering of paint creating subtle, unnamable shades are reassuring in the way they celebrate the beauty of imperfection and oddness, as expressed in the Japanese aesthetic idea of wabi-sabi. Modigliani’s peasant boys, gypsy ladies and bourgeois men may look strange, yet they are not alien. And it’s his evocative colours that make it so.

 

6.6.12

Angelo Flaccavento featured on The Sartorialist

Awhile ago I posted my thoughts on a fashion article by Angelo Flaccavento, who wrote about wearing a ‘uniform’ i.e. having a deliberately limited choice of clothing that becomes one’s signature style. I didn’t realise when I read his article that I had actually seen photos of Flaccavento before on The Sartorialist blog. True to his credo, he has a distinctive manner of dressing that doesn’t vary to any significant degree, a consistent look that can be summed up as ‘beard + glasses + bow tie + well-fitted suit’. But at the time I didn’t know that the stylish man in the photos was also the articulate man who wrote the ‘uniform dressing’ manifesto that spoke to my own sartorial sensibilities.

Scott Schuman, who runs The Sartorialist and took those photos of Flaccavento, has a recent post where he interviews the dapper, intelligent gent. I especially like Flaccavento’s answer when asked what his “most memorable gift” was.

Good to know the face behind the words.




Photo by Elena Braghieri




20.1.12

Lanvin makes Dwarven bling

So much jewellery is naturalistic in form – Art Nouveauesque in its resemblance to plants, flowers, animals. Bling for Tolkienian Elves, basically. Fashion house Lanvin’s Autumn/Winter 2011 range of accessories contains a welcome departure from delicate gold-wrought leaves and silver filigree. There are still a few pieces of gracefully undulating metalwork in the collection, even some ‘Elven’ designs, but it’s the chunky, square-cut precious stones set in straight-edged heavy metal that stand out. Bling for Dwarves.

Click on the images for a larger and clearer picture.

Some pieces don’t even focus on the stones, being pure celebrations of metal and geometry.

And these really impressed me – a Dwarven take on flowers.

I can imagine the Dwarf ladies (and men too) of Khazad-dûm adorning themselves with Lanvin’s creations as they went about their daily business, back in those happier times before a certain fiery demon took up residence. Lanvin-like jewellery would have also been worn by the mysterious Dwemer of Tamriel, and can be found lying around in their long-abandoned mountain holds.

Kudos to the Lanvin designers and craftspeople for giving us a delightfully fresh perspective on the jeweller’s art.




6.1.12