My summer wishlist

To be honest, Singapore has 365 days of summer, so it doesn't really count when I create my very own summer wishlist. I've learnt to stop complaining so much about not having seasons, but there are still times when I go off on a rant about how terribly boring it is having only one season throughout the entire year.

I'm taking back all the complaining this year, because Spring/ Summer 2012 has been a particularly good year/ season for designers. It's almost like a fashion renaissance of some sorts - all the vivid colours, loose relaxed silhouettes, sports luxe, etc, these are things I wouldn't mind wearing all year round.

Anyway, here's my wishlist of must-haves for this summer (and in my case) all year round.

1. Anthropologie Placid Rush Tank  2. Zara Plaited Clutch  3. H&M for Water Bikini  4. By Malene Birger Sambiara Tweed Shorts  5. Isabel Marant Merry Leather Sandals  6. Moscot Grunya Sunglasses in Crystal

Shorts are my number one summer essentials, and I've bought so many pairs of shorts recently but more on that in another post. The footwear of choice would be sandals because my feet like to soak up some sun and strappy sandals are always comfy and pretty. An easy, breezy tank top in a lightweight material like the Anthropologie one above is necessary.  Needless to say, shades are a must. And last but not least, a bikini is essential for days when I just want to cool down in a pool.

1. Tibi Floral Print Silk Dress  2. Zara XL Coloured Clutch  3. O.P.I My Pointe Exactly Nail Polish  4. Stella McCartney Heels  5. Yves Saint Laurent Arty Gold-Plated Glass Ring

When night comes, I always like to look a little dressier but not abandon the summer notion completely. I think this Tibi floral dress is perfect for summer. I'd ditch the sandals and opt for strappy heels, but ideally, still revealing some toes (and I'd prettify them with a dash of polish, this grey happens to be my favourite colour).

-Fal

Neon baubles

Here's the latest addition to my jewelry rack: A tousled necklace in the brightest of colours and friendship bands (unfortunately bought off the shelf at H&M for myself). Will someone make me more friendship bands pleaaasee? I'm completely hopeless with knots.

-Fal

Birds of a Feather

It's time to shake your tail feathers this summer - designers like Altuzarra, Proenza Schouler and Reed Krakoff have gathered together the hottest avian- adorned prints, feathers, and plumes on all things wearable.

1. Altuzarra Dress 2. ASOS Feather Necklace 3. Eugenia Kim Fedora 4. Sass & Bide Dress 5. Reed Krakoff Top  6. ASOS Feather Bracelet Pack 7. Proenza Schouler PS1 Clutch 8. J.W. Anderson ALDO Rise Heels

-Fal

Electric Dreams

Because I'm not a big fan of the pastel colour trend this season, I turn to the other colour trend - neons whenever I'm putting on my Spring/ Summer ensemble.  I have to admit that neons aren't for the faint hearted. But if you're a little bit more daring, these rave shades like hot pink and acidic yellow can really make heads turn in your direction. Here are some of my favourite pieces from Club 21:

1. Marc Jacobs organza top, S$990.  2. Marc Jacobs organza dress with plastic trimming, S$3,690.  3. Carven dress, S$1,160. 4. Alexander Wang polo T-shirt, S$500. 


For further information, Visit Club 21’s website at www.club21global.com or follow Club 21 on 
-Facebook www.facebook.com/club21global 
-Twitter www.twitter.com/club21global 
-Instagram, Search for @Club21 
-Pinterest www.pinterest.com/club21global 
-Tumblr www.club21global.tumblr.com/ 

-Fal

H&M Spring Summer Guide

Spring's here, and H&M shows us how to revamp our wardrobe this season. Think candy colours, sharp tailoring and an all new grown up look.

Watch this video for more ideas!

Video by Barracuda TV

♥,
Fal

Joining the Red Army

With Chinese New Year still going on, it's hard not to feel the festive cheer. For the more fortunate ones like me with tighter-knit families and smaller groups of relatives, Chinese New Year is a pretty enjoyable period where cousins of the same wavelength (very important), quirky uncles and blur aunties come together to feast and make merry. I cannot remember a Chinese New Year which wasn't cacophonous with family members practically shouting in order to be heard or screaming with laughter till the neighbours got annoyed over Black Jack with wine, beer and an overdose of pop music or just a good conversation with good-natured suan-ing all around. Sure it gets tiring, but hey, it's still family and I'd rather too much noise over dead, awkward silence. As always, part of the fun of new year comes in dressing up. As I don't have many places to visit annually (yay for me) and my parents are cool with my clothes (most of the time), I don't really have to watch what I wear. In fact, it works as long as it's new. However because this is the dragon year and apparently us poor dragon kids somehow offended the 'tai sui' or some other big shot up in the heavens, I'm joining the Red Army and Fal is my fellow comrade. Red isn't my colour of choice and the number of real reds in my wardrobe is countable with ten fingers. I'm making an exception this new year and hoping that it brings on better things to come in the new year.

The switch back to the non-red options is inevitable of course, just look at the gorgeous nude, pastel, monochrome and printed offerings that S/S12 had off the runway.

Lanvin

Marni for some yellow

Black and white with Lanvin

Marni again and I'm loving the clashing prints 

Marni taking on the florals

Roberto Cavalli  

Kudos to Roberto Cavalli's crazy prints

Happy New Year everyone!

♥,
Fir

In Full Bloom

Flowers are set to blossom in spring and the runways were adorned with floral prints in all shapes, sizes and hues. My favorite floral prints of the season are the bright, crazy and modern take on florals - tropical flowers picked fresh from Proenza Schouler's S/S 2012 show, Hawaiian blossoms from Altuzzara's runways and Belle Sauvage and Mary Katrantzou's digitally manipulated but ultra modern floral prints in clashing hues and bright colours. I can't wait to get my hands on these floral prints, and I know my wardrobe will thank me as it comes to life again this spring.

Mood board by me.



♥,
Fal

MARNI at H&M

Just as everyone is recovering from the aftermath of Versace for H&M (by that I mean the damage on their purses and all the elbow-shoving from trying to get a piece of Versace heaven), H&M has just announced today that it will tie-up with MARNI for its Spring/Summer 2012 designer collaboration.

I can already hear the applause and shouts of joy from the millions of H&M fans who are probably thrilled with this news. Spring/Summer 2012 is the perfect time to tie-up with MARNI as fans can expect full-fledged tribal prints and Bauhaus graphics which are colourful and playful.

The collection will be launched on 8 March 2012. Mark that date on your calendar folks. I know I'm going to be in line for this one.





MARNI AT H&M: Announcement EPK from Barracuda Film & TV on Vimeo.


♥,
Fal

From the BOB Trunk Show: Atelier Swarovski

Swarovski has always been synonymous with crystal jewelry and accessories that are delicate and simple, which aren't big on designs. But did you know that Swarovski has a more upmarket line geared towards high fashion?

Little known to most people including Fir and myself, this line, aptly named Atelier Swarovski, collaborates with renowned designers such as Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf, Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane and most recently Mark Fast. Atelier Swarovski remains true to the brand by encouraging designers to explore the different possibilities of using crystals. As such, every collection features innovative and cutting edge designs, with almost limited edition pieces, since the designer for the Atelier line gets renewed every season.

Fir and I were lucky enough to preview the Atelier Swarovski S/S 2012 collection at the BOB Trunk Show. Big bold statement necklaces and cuffs were featured with the former encrusted with crystals galore and the latter embellished with large crystals.

Fir took a liking to the necklace below, while I took to this gorgeous clutch.

In the saturated market where costume jewelry is abound, its nice to know that there are other options available and Atelier Swarovski is one of them.



 ♥,
Fal

From the BOB Trunk Show: KTZ

UK brand, KTZ is a collaboration between designers Koji Maruyama, Sasko Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski. KTZ, which is short for Kokon To Zai, loosely translates as 'from here to then', which is the brand's philosophy of a transgression or movement of fashion and style.

At first glance, KTZ's designs seem outlandish, even jarring to the senses with its loud prints and clashing elements. This is the design signature of the brand - strikingly graphic in prints and shape. While KTZ is definitely not for the faint hearted, its pieces do grow on you.






KTZ's Spring/Summer 2012 collection, draws inspiration from Africa, using tribal influences such as bright colours, beading and bold pieces. I like to think of it as the tribe leader of the Maasai meets bling.

Fir and I love KTZ's accessories. Bags in odd shapes, such as these clutches and shoes embellished with lots of studs all make great statement pieces in one's wardrobe.









If the name KTZ sounds familiar, its probably because the brand isn't new to Singapore. It was brought in during the Blueprint exhibition earlier this year and introduced as a special A/W 2011 range at Topshop not too long ago.

Hopefully, KTZ will be a permanent fixture on the shelves of shops in Singapore. While not everyone will take to the brand, I can foresee that there will be a cult following of the forward, young and rebellious just like its current list of Hollywood celebrities (Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Nicky Minaj) that it counts as clients.




♥,
Fal

SOARing to great heights

Featured at the BOB showcase that Fal and I attended was Tim Soar. This graphic designer turned DJ turned music consultant to fashion houses (for runway music that is just right) turned fashion designer sure has one hell of a CV that has catapulted him to the upper echelons of the British fashion scene. Tim Soar shifted away from the DJ spotlight and placed himself into the fashion spotlight with menswear design, amid plenty of scepticism from his fashion industry insider friends. Nonetheless, the designer threw himself into it and has since earned himself a reputation year on year at London Fashion Week.

Rice informed us that the collection carried on BOB is pretty much his inaugural womenswear collection. I appreciated the clean lines and neat tailoring that is the essence of menswear that Tim Soar has managed to translate into skirts, dresses, blazers and so on with effortless ease and no pretense. The only issue I have with the collection is that it is a tad too simple. Not that there wasn't enough attention being paid to the detail, tailoring in itself is a detail-focused activity, I guess I was just expecting more than the blatant subtlety.

Nonetheless, fabrics that were used to create these gorgeous tailored pieces were in themselves a pleasant surprise. Touch that wool blazer and instead of a heavy and rough textile that feels like wool, you'll be taken aback, in a good way of course, by the soft, silky fabric that slides right off that finger. What appears to be a thick, woolly blazer is actually a silk blazer, soft to the touch, printed like wool, perfect for the warmer weather that is spring/summer.



Another item of interest was the pencil skirt, which looks like 6 of daddy's old silk ties cut up and pieced together to form a wonderfully tailored skirt, haphazardly striped because obviously, ties are too oddly shaped to be sewn in a straight line. I loved the sense of spontaneity and fun in this skirt and I'm actually toying with the idea of trying one out on my own with (yes) 6 of daddy's old silk ties (if he would let me).



Tim Soar admits the heavy influence of menswear on his ladies' collection probably because of the huge archive he has to draw on through his experience designing for men over the years. Nonetheless, a womenswear collection is the perfect outlet for some of his designs which are too feminine for the menswear collections. Taking things slowly, Soar did not want to try too many things simultaneously in his first collection, which explains the clean cuts and crisp lines.



This designer definitely does not take things that slow; he is still dedicated to music and now compiles playlists for hotels more than fashion houses under his label, Music Concrete. My personal subscription is to the belief in fueling and fulfilling the passion that one has for something and achieving a balance between money-work and passion-work. It's not easy as I have come to realise (especially today) and observe, but still, worth a shot. Life is short and if Tim Soar can do it, I think we all can afford to at least try.


♥,
Fir

From the BOB Trunk Show: Belle Sauvage

Tucked away in a corner at the BOB | Best of British Trunk Show was Belle Sauvage's Resort 2012 and S/S 2012 collection. The discreet location was by no means inconspicuous, as the arresting colours and dizzying floral prints drew my attention to it.








The collections marries pastel shades such as yellow, magenta, mint green and lilac with digital floral prints which have been manipulated till you can hardly make them out. All that put together seems like a gaudy mismatch, but Christian Neuman and Virginia Ferreira somehow manages to pull it off. Coupled with powerful feminine elements and slim silhouettes in the form of maxi dresses with high collars or cocktail numbers with smart tailoring such as a heart shaped neckline, fins that protrude from the hips, or just sleek and fitted mini dresses, the inspiration was clearly derived from Hollywood in the 
1920s.









Softening the bold touches of colour and tailoring is the choice of fabric which is a mix of silks and French embroidered tulle.


This dress, that Fir has mad love for, is a good example of the combination of all elements that Neumana and Ferreira have chosen to incorporate in their S/S 2012 collection - mint green chiffon panels with a tailored maxi dress in digital floral prints.





Belle Sauvage's current collections feels modern without being too space age, and feminine without being too pretty.


Will Singaporeans take to the brand? I sure hope they will, because I can't wait to see Belle Sauvage's dresses at stockists' around Singapore.



♥,
Fal

London Fashion Week: Antonio Berardi Spring/Summer 2012

I saved Antonio Berardi's collection for the last, because it is, in my opinion, the best of London Fashion Week. I am after all a sucker for gorgeous dresses and Berardi delivers this with precision tailoring. The billowing chiffon pieces, patent shoulder pieces and chiffon pieces encrusted with sparkling beads, made the collection all the more beautiful. Short shift dresses or shiny leather were with a body con silhouette had great details either with beads or mesh cutouts forming intricate patterns.  The softly draped kimono tops and dresses with asymmetrical hems were flowy with a train behind looking almost like a dream to wear. And the colour palette - pearl, flesh pink, pale spearmint and scarlet and even black made the collection so stunning.

 

♥,
Fal

London Fashion Week: Christopher Kane Spring/Summer 2012

Christopher Kane's collection is worth a mention simply because it was light, gorgeous and gave a new take on doing embellishment. What started out as a pale leather look shift dresses was actually a dress smothered in fine gold and silver. This gave way to shorts and matching jackets, and pale mint leather mini skirts and mini dresses in pale and bronze brocade. Thick tailored grey nylon followed, with bold black and white, glitter fringed applique. Later the bold glittering prints became bright plastic fridge magnet embellishments on nude chiffon dresses overlaid in shimmering organza. Then the arrival of a twinkling, embellishment story was heralded as densely encrusted sparkling mini dresses, jackets and mini skirts went by in a blinding line-up. The embellishments served to create an optical illusion and 3D effect on every piece, making this collection one of London Fashion Week's highlights.

♥,
Fal

London Fashion Week: Peter Pilotto Spring/Summer 2012

Everyone knows that Peter Pilotto creates gorgeous prints, and this collection sure did prove that point. Dresses and suits in psychedelic, out of the world prints opened the show in bright hues of blue, yellow and red. While the prints of flora and fauna were inspired by the duo's trip to Indonesia, they were surprisingly modern and it was a definitely fresh take on an Asian influence, away from batik prints. The best part about this collection however, was not its prints, but the use of texture with prints - crystals encrusted the necklines and skirts, PVC leaves were unfurling elsewhere and dresses had interesting cutouts that revealed lots of skin. This mixture of print and texture definitely gave the collection a new dimension and was definitely a breath of fresh air from other collections.

♥,
Fal