Pattern, shape, and colour still dominate the runway for Spring/Summer 2013. Thom Browne has taken these trends and remixed them into a tapestry of eccentric style. Yet, breakdown each outfit is wearable perfection.
The Women’s side of this Mad Hatter Collection is framed on men’s tailoring, which gives it a modern feeling. The muted colour in some of his women’s pieces help you to concentrate on the shape, while the colourful pieces give pop to otherwise boring reconditioned men’s wear.
The Men’s side of his collection is blasted with colour and pattern. Browne is not afraid to have his men speak loud. Always a man of shape, Browne’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection is all about layers. He has also taken 1960’s Mod, and made it sheer madness with silver painted skin. The combination has created a perfect storm of fashion whimsy.
I don’t know what a train wreck looks like, but I do know what fabulous looks like, and here it is—Westwood Spring 2012. The Queen of British fashion is most defiantly keeping face with her new royal subjects—China! With a new store in Shanghai, Westwood’s runway presentation used Asian models, Japanese inspired prints, and, like British fashion, Westwood deconstructs the Chinese costume.
Source: Westwood 2012
To me, this was one of her most outstanding collections since her Fall/Winter 1994, when Westwood was blasted for making Kate Moss look like a prostitute according to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), March 8,1994. Why the little history lesson? Well, like the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland,” Westwood is a personality all her own. What looks like a mess to others is simply genius in disguise. There is a reason why Sex And The City, part one, used Westwood as their fashion muse; WWD (1994) said it best: “Long Live the Queen!”
Westwood has a sense of humor with fashion that is unlike any other designer. She is not afraid to challenge beauty standards by exaggerating hemlines, hip proportions, and traditional dress. I like that Westwood allows her customer not be perfect. One of the most beautiful things about human beings is asymmetrical–Black, White, and Yellow; tall, skinny, and short—we’re all amazing. Society today requests us to fall into fashion line; buy the right trend; create the right look; follow Celebrity lines. Never one to conform, Westwood has always been on the fringe fighting for individuality, creating rebel fashion. Spring 2012 says she’s still kicking ass!
