Vanessa Bruno : 2011 A/W Promo Video

Personally, I wasn't familiar with the brand up until 2010, but a close friend of mine lead me to look into the brand.  They launched their London flagship store on Dover Street (or Grafton Street...not sure) about 1 year ago and I thought some of their products were pretty good.  Nothing cutting edge or trendy but luxurious, chic and elegant yet not boring.  Not something I would buy for my 'significant other' because of the limited colour palette (they are usually very very beige with few other earth tones), but for those who are frequent shoppers at Max Mara or even Burberry (not Prorsum), who needs a pinch of femininity, Vanessa Bruno seems like a good choice.  I think it is one of those brand that a mother and a daughter can shop together.  


Below is a promo video for their 2012 A/W, featuring Kate Bosworth.

The idea seems to be a "oh backward video, I've seen one of these", but I love the tone of the video.  Very surreal yet tranquil at the same time.  Kate Bosworth's makeup and the expressions works great with the whole mood & the concept too.

PIERRE BALMAIN : A new diffusion line of BALMAIN

PIERRE BALMAIN is the new diffusion line of BALMAIN.  However, the design & manufacturing has nothing much to do with BALMAIN, it is licensed to a Italian company who creates the collection from a scratch, on their own, and they just launched a promo-video.


Because it's a short promo-video, I cannot make a clear judgment, but I must say I am bit disappointed that the clothes featured on the video looks almost identical to the previous BALMAIN stuff.  Most obvious one was the double slanted zipper, biker style pants.  I don't know, maybe this is a good news for those who love BALMAIN but can't afford it, but I thought it would lead BALMAIN to lose its loyal & core customers.  Not many people can afford to spent £800-£1200 on a pair of jeans but people who do, do that because not many brands offer that kind of exclusive(ridiculous) price tag on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, besides the good design factor.  Those customers who buy the original BALMAIN don't want to see people full of wearing same or similar looking clothes that only costs 1/5 of what they HAD to pay for theirs.  And the worst part is that these clothes that only cost 1/5 of the original, even have the legit brand labels too, one that sounds even more authentic rather than a diffusion line : PIERRE BALMAIN, the full name of the founder of BALMAIN!

I think I am just pissed off because Decarnin left BALMAIN, the new collection for 2012 S/S doesn't look good at all, and I bought a pair of jeans, which will be knocked off by PIERRE BALMAIN in the near future.

Alden : CHOCO SUEDE PLAZA CAP TOE BOOT

In terms of leather shoes, I prefer and I (almost) only buy English shoes, Tricker's mostly.  I know nowadays, you can easily spot numbers of gentlemen and fashionistas looking amazing with Alden shoes and Mark McNairy shoes from the fashion & trade shows, but when it comes to shoes, I prefer old English shoe makers with heritage and especially those who offer bespoke service.  Despite of what I have just told you, I found an amazing pair of cap toe boots from Alden :-P so check it out!

It seems like it's a perfect pair for A/W but I cannot stop wishing that they had left the welt in natural leather tone so it has the brighter appeal for S/S as well.  Well... can't have everything in my way.  It is $475 from Leather Soul.

MARNI : 2012 S/S

Interesting texture and colours, but I wish there wasn't that organza layer underneath

But here, under-layered organza works very well with top garment

Antonio Marras : 2012 S/S

Wow.  What a collection.

Leaving Kenzo wasn't a bad idea at all.  Massive number of pieces (the show featured 79 garments), every single one of them being so good.  You can just see how versatile he is in creating different moods throughout the whole show.  You may say that the show wasn't focused on one theme but who cares?  Great presentation helps but after all, it's really about seeing great clothes. 

My favourite look of the whole show

Very Jil Sander but without that German stiffness.  Nice shoes.

Junya Watanabe : Herringbone Tweed Biker Jacket

I recently posted about Junya's down jacket in Biker Jacket style a while ago, and I also just found this herringbone tweed biker jacket from Barney's New York website and it looks great too.  Nicely matched with a black leather dress from his collection.  

PRADA 2012 S/S : Few of my favourite looks from the show

My favourite look of the whole show

As good as Celine

Love the colour mix of the pleated dress AND the sunglasses.

Autumn / Winter bags

Bags made with nylons look bit too cold and glossy for Autumn/Winter season therefore I am in constant search of a nice backpack.  During my search, I found some nice bags made with woolens.  

I can do nasty things to get that jacket, I mean very nasty things...

Junya Watanabe : Down jacket in biker jacket style

I was in love with the unique reinterpretation of Junya's 2011 A/W for the classic biker jackets, and today I just found this from Colette, the same unique design but in down jacket!  I mean, this is why I love Junya and CdG, that they make these decisions that no other brands can and give you, the customer, a wider options to choose from.  Junya's Levi's sweatpants is another good example of that, that he makes a sweatpants in shape of a pair of jeans from the Levi's with every denim details such as the copper rivets, yellow stitchings, leather tag and etc.  Truly one of a kind.

Junya Watanabe 2011 A/W : Original runway leather jacket

Available from the Colette for €1180.

* Also, check out the herringbone tweed biker jacket I posted later!

J.Crew for the UK

God damn it, it's about time.  The long waited, duty-free shipping to the UK.  
Plus, J.Crew is offering free shipping until 31st of October, 2011.  Yes! FREE international shipping!

Let's go shop!

Pantone Colours for 2012 SPRING Menswear

Pantone's predicts the colour trend for Spring 2012 for menswear.  They include : DAZZLING BLUE 18-3949, VINTAGE KHAKI 16-0205, GRANITA 19-2039, HAWAIIAN OCEAN 17-4540, STARFISH 16-1120, TANGERINE TANGO 17-1463, SODALITE BLUE 19-3953, SOLAR POWER 13-0759, TRADEWINDS 15-4307 and GRASS GREEN 15-6437. 

Lanvin : Kidswear Pre S/S 2012

Dior, Gucci and now Lanvin.  I personally love Lanvin's kidswear the most.  Not only, it's got that same cheekiness of the original Lanvin, very well translated into the kidswear, but it does not give off that "Clothes for rich kids" feeling by looking at these photographs.

Hermès : Bienvenue à Paris & Hello

Turms leather shoe kit

Leathers and various types of hides are temperature, humidity sensitive and therefore requires a good after-care.  And trust me on this one, because I have seen my father's shoe collection since I was a kid, if you devotedly look after your shoes it will be kind to you for years to come.  


Leather shoe kit from Turms, a Italian shoe last maker, makes some nice kits to make the job easier.  And these kits are aesthetically good looking as they are functional.  I just love the clever idea of making a leather case in a penny loafer style.

Kit includes a cloth, shoe horn, two brushes and two tins of polish

For those who want to have their shoes polished to perfection, should consider purchasing the Wooden box complete care kit for £450.

Kit includes polishes, brushes, a shoe horn, shoe deodorant, suede protector, and shoe shampoo