FW 07

Japan has been offering lately some amazing designers. One of them is Taomaki Okaniwa, creative mind behind growing label “The Viridi-anne”. His designs are currently being sold all over world, but he remains relatively unknown. And that’s something I feel oblige to change.

His fall winter line is based on male sophistication as well as on a brilliant craftwork. His work is full of luxe and effortless charm; the finely tailored sweaters, the tall equestrian boots, and the splendid slim pants constitute a stunning collection of wearable high-end items. The boots are not exactly equestrian since they have a rounder toe and a boxier fit, but they expose the same refined macho attitude.

The pants really impressed me since they appear to be slim fitting and youthful, but classical at the same time. Nevertheless, such characteristic is not present in all of them, obviously. For instance, there is a pair of black luster jeans which doesn’t present not a bit of a classic thing.

Detailing happens to be one of Taomaki’s key ingredients as they add character and style to a collection conceived using only a somehow obscure palette. I believe that the most representative item would be the half cape half jacket coat, which doesn’t look like anything we usually see on mainstream fashion, since it portrays everything the Viridi-anne stands for.

Almost everything that is wacky, eccentric or outrageously savvy regarding fashion comes from Europe. Brazil has a bit to offer and Australia also does; Japan has a relatively large amount of designs to offer, and so other Asian markets. But here, in the States, we haven’t got as many eccentric designers as we should - at least none any good. Therefore I believe that we should take care of those who are able to do creative and innovative wacky pieces which add a large deal of freshness to the industry. One of those unique American designers is Jeremy Scott, a man whose life is fashion.

His work is always rather comical, almost cartoonish. A heavy influence of fashion vibes and contemporary urban cults is highly visible on his latest line as well as on previous collections. His fall menswear line portrays stunning flashy leggings and mini music related icons as the main items of his carefully chosen selection. The guitars are presented as large prints complementing both top and bottom pieces while whimsical musical notes appear as prints to a jacket. The so-called “flashy” leggings are not like that because of the fabric they are made of nor because of the color in which they are shown, but because of the always amazing set of surreal artsy prints Jeremy places on these male tights.

Exclusive limited-edition items are boutiques best friends. They boost their sales and raise their popularity, no matter if they are dealing with army-like tote bags or flashy evening gowns. Some people believe that any store is not “that” popular and successful until they are offered an exclusive piece designed specially for them. Well, it seems that no one will ever doubt of long-time Fifth Avenue store Henri Bendel success - not that anyone has ever done so- since the innovative Henry of Holland has designed a one of a kind t-shirt bearing the slogan “Who Needs a Mix Tape I’ve Got the MisShapes” just for them.

Only 50 of the $108 tees have been produced, and will be available at Bendel's through August 20, along with the MisShapes book the shirt was created in celebration of, Fashion Week Daily reports. Along with Henry Holland some indie DJs have partnered with the New York store to promote their forthcoming self-titled book, which debuted at the store this week.

Will this be the future of Henry Holland? Will he have a career based on doing flashy t-shirt with not-so-funny slogans? It’s hard to tell right now, but unless his spring-summer 08 collection presents diverse ready-to-wear items as promised, I believe that he will be in great trouble.

We know very little about what is going on regarding fashion in Australia, and we merely know a thing about local designers going global. Therefore I believe that we should talk more about the great labels they have to offer. The only problem is that the only two nice brands that Australia is currently offering to the world are designed and conceived by the same man: Mic Eaton. The first one is Material Boy, the label which made him famous; and the other one is Another Boy, his second and less known brand.

I have already written about Material Boy last month so by just searching a bit on Frillr you’ll find everything you should know about it. Therefore I will focus my entry on Eaton’s more personal label, Another Boy.

It features the same eccentricity as Material Boy, but this time a slight shift towards a more “urban” look is made and less avant-garde pieces are presented. Eaton’s wacky creative mind surprises again, changing the surfer look one more time. I believe that this time he combined his urban pieces with his beach wear items, therefore creating his ideal line.

Regarding the more ready-to-wear items, I considerably like the kinda oversized hoodie featuring diverse types of patterns and prints, and no color what so ever. On the other hand, I think that the surf shorts are an amazing futuristic version of the generic California board shorts.

I'm completely dazzled by the fact that Eaton decided to use such a pale skinny, un-muscular, model to show-off his new work. And that’s no it, since the haircut he chose for his skinny young kid is so heroin chic - which is by no means related to the sun, beach nor fun activities.

I guess, there is a bit of Hedi Slimane in everyone of us.