Voxfrock visits the worthiest offerings and practical curiosities from current winter and upcoming Cruise and Spring/Summer 2013/14. Scroll down through Mr. Lagerfeld’s latest exploit, the peplum according to Keepsake, Sportscraft’s snuggle chic, Jeanswest’s gift to yummy mummies and Miss Kirrily Johnston’s gifts to us all…
Mr. Lagerfeld proposed several challenging new aesthetics in his 2013/14 Chanel cruise collection shown in Singapore. One in particular, a boxy wide-shouldered top bulked out by crisply flagged trousers on the bottom, has popped in and out of the Zeitgeist since the early 1990s. It is notoriously unflattering on many girls and women (a virtual upright oblong silhouette) but still manages to lure its legions of followers whenever it appears. In the 1940s and 1970s when wide patio and flagged trousers and flares were most popular, a skin-fit or shapely tailored jacket or blouse cut close to the body was worn as a flattering counterpoint to balance the bulk below. (A smashing look it was, even more so worn with higher-than-average heels concealed behind floor-skimmer trousers. Think about it.) However, Mr. Lagerfeld’s more youthful and adventuresome aesthetic was less bothered with flattery than a strikingly fashionable look so that method was moot. His cruise exits did, however, segue into a few versions of the silhouette conceived in slacker, softer silkier fabrics. And, this is important. Their drapery fell naturally into vertical folds and thus produced the classic optical illusion of elongation and leanness. In other words, “upright oblong” silhouette problem sorted for those of us hellbent on replicating the boxy look.
“Their drapery fell naturally into vertical folds and thus produced the classic optical illusion of elongation and leanness….”
Mr. Lagerfeld’s penchant is to present cruise in exotic locations with considerable fanfare and for this collection, Singapore’s perfumed tropics were deemed delightful. Chanel ambassadors Zhou Xun, Anna Mouglalis and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey were flown in for the knees-up, with actresses Dakota Fanning, Rinko Kikuchi, Fann Wong, Lun Mei Guey, Zoe Tay and Ryeo-Wong Jung, and singers Kit Chan and Siwon Choi. London DJs Horsemeat Disco spun discs and Señor Coconut sang for more than 1200 guests who eventually fanned into a romantic palm-treed garden for some post-show flute waving.
Mr. Lagerfeld reportedly conjured Mademoiselle Coco Chanel in Deauville in 1913 to get his creative juices flowing on Cruise 13/14, hence the white cotton patio trousers, considered both elegant and revolutionary in their day. (Remember, Dear Readers of ordinary mortality and modern physical dimensions, however, that Mademoiselle was thin as a whippet and graceful as a stick of cooked spagetti and One must adjust One’s sartorial leanings to accomodate One’s unique reality. Hence; hoop-wide trousers with box-shouldered tops may not be the look for you.),
Chanel’s press office reported Mr. Lagerfeld’s wide trousers worn with two-tone pumps, longline sweaters, pearls and camellias, were conceived “with simplicity and insolence”, a rather charming summary of his unerring ability to freshen the feminine familiar.
www.chanel.com
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The peplum is by no means fashionably defunct but, after blasting onto a zillion racks with almost no preamble or build-up two summers ago, it does appear to have been widely – and quickly – abandoned. As fads tend to be which arrive and thrive too-too fast. However. The benefits of the peplum to women and girls are inarguable and Voxfrock suspects it will rise again soon with bells on. The innate flattery of its kink into the waistline, countered by the skim and extension of its little skirt along the hipbones’ sightline, is simply too pretty an illusion to ignore. Disparagers of the peplum perhaps did not personally understand the joy of a “slimmed” waist and hips-slash-bottom for both girly-girls and womanly-women.
Adelaide designers Carmen Dugan and Joanne Altham however, did. Creators of the charmingly feminine, bulls-eye fashion brand Keepsake, Voxfrock is happy to report, will deliver several versions of the peplum with their spring/summer 2013/14 collection later this year. For those clever enough to chase the waning fad (or be first with its revival), Keepsake’s principal stockist is Myer, its armchair stockist is The Fashion Bunker, and its price range is a disarmingly reasonable $60 to $270 for the simplest through to the most complicated and detailed garment.
www.keepsakethelabel.com.au
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Kirrily Johnston’s Spring/summer 13/14 collection is testament again to the designer’s intuitive skills in drapery, cut, proportion. Her judgements on grip and release – the precise body points on which fabrics create their most beautiful and sexually attractive tension of stop and flow – are always bang-on right. Here is a quickpick of the bestof according to Voxfrockers. Note, Miss Johnston has steered off the stiffness and sticky-outy extensions of shoulders and skirts that are so prevalent among high-end designer collections for spring/summer, and stuck instead, to her more fluid, trend-transcendant aesthetic. With a couple of exceptions. Voxfrock was particularly drawn to her structured brassiere top (pictured) in leather, what we like to call a perfect “swivel piece” that will work across multiple outfits in a modern wardrobe, freshening many ensembles with spring’s key bare midriff. Miss Johnston’s handspan waist belt with delicate little peplum ruffle attached is also a mark of her creative genius. Really, who wouldn’t want their middle regions shlooped into that?
www.kirrilyjohnston.com
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Jeanswest’s Maternity Collection is so turgid with duh-fashion-logic, we can only puzzle why it wasn’t developed sooner. Mothers-to-be can now rock their skinny-leg hipsters with thumb-long zips and their baby-bump too. The new jeans have adjustable elastic waist, belt loop and double-layered elastic belly band (pictured) with legs cut lean as a teen’s. Topmates include a range of basics and fashion detailed shirts in sizes 8 to 16, from $30. The Maternity Denim prices start at $70 for styles in sizes 6 to 16.
www.jeanswest.com.au
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Sportscraft’s Woolmark offering, racked in retail stores now, caught Voxfrock’s attention at precisely the moment one journalist and two interns were searching for a winter layer; “something smart but snuggly”. We contacted Sportscraft for the dope on “Signature”, a knitted coat, priced at $299 and which ticked all our boxes for smartness and casual chicness, warmth without bulk (marvellous for layering with crispness and whiteness, or cottonness and checkedness, or turtle-neckedness, depending on the Voxfrockian) and, the most vital, snuggliness. Sportscraft released the Signature in its 49th pure wool fashion offering. In 1964, Sportscraft was the first Australian brand to hook up with Woolmark. The same year, Woolmark’s now famous global logo was launched. In the 50 years since, according to Sportscraft, the logo has swung on five billion products, from carpets to haute couture, trivia that mattered not a jot to the three Voxfrockians scribbling “Signature knitted coat; $299, Sportscraft” on their various shopping lists.
www.sportscraft.com.au
Compiled by Janice Breen Burns with Candice Burke and Terry Carruthers: jbb@voxfrock.com.au, intern@voxfrock.com.au
