SS 2010, Balenciaga Brings Back The Street Warriors

If nostalgia is Miucia Prada's prescription for a recession, Nicolas Ghesquiere is certainly looking forward and arming his girls with stripes of leather, bright colors and veggie dyed leather pants to fight the way out of it.

It was Nicolas' design in 2003 that brought me into fashion. I was attracted by his aesthetic of this lean yet energetic girl. It was natural for him to dive into the Balenciaga archives during an economic boom to study the old master’s work, but after the uber feminine drapy outfits shown for the FW09 season, it is about time for him to return to his true self.

Many (Americans) have argued that this collection reminds them of Rodarte. This makes me chuckle because the Rodarte sisters were perhaps still in school when Nicolas commanded the world with the tough chic image. I have always believed that Rodarte has copied Balenciaga way too much, but without the elegance or refinement.

One major difference between excellence (such as Nicolas Ghesqiere) and mediocrity (the Rodarte sisters, I’m afraid) is that the former keeps evolving and refining one idea with great attention to details. One can compare the SS2010 collection to Nicolas’ old designs presented for SS03 and FW03, and hardly ignore the difference in material, color and construction. The silhouette is the same, yet the technique has been significantly enhanced: Patience pays off.

The following tops are another good example:

(FW 2006, FW2008, Rst2009 and SS2010, pictures from style.com)

It is the Nicolas Ghesquiere aesthetic, with Cristobal Balenciaga’s sense of luxury. I have no doubt that it will be a very expensive collection, yet the spirit is so straight forward that the commercial lines will do extremely well.

Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen

Paris fashion week ended with the inevitable failure of the Yohji Yamamoto brand and the theatrical (as always) Alexander McQueen show.

Yohji Yamamoto is one of those cult brands that only a small circle of customers follow. However, when every other brand is creating a niche to support its vision, Yohji has failed to do so. Balenciaga has used its Motocycle bags and the capsule collections to make profit, Givenchy remains THE place for evening dresses following "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Lanvin's evening dresses make women feel sexy and special, YSL has a loyal following among the 40+ socialites and its bags are selling well, and the list goes on. Yohji has nothing but Y-3 yet it took on Limi Feu to burn cash. The price point is also off although it isn't a problem unique to Yohji.

McQueen, on the other hand, has learned to be theatrical yet maintain its commercial success. No matter how shocking his runway presentation is.

McQueen is a Savile Row educated master in cutting fabrics. This show is an apex of his work in past seasons: All he has been working on is to cut a piece of fabric and make it visually striking. The computer generated prints are cut, draped and sewn to enhance the 3-D like images. He also attempted to create very structured looks with soft fabrics such as silk chiffon. As crazy as the runway outfits look, his showroom was filled with adapted looks ready for a commercial success. His formula works.

Make-up trends summer 2011

In order to properly spot and identify the latest trends in make-up it is always important to talk to the right people. People who have been working in the fashion world for many years, like Yola Hung - professional make-up artist in Hong Kong - often have a unique perspective on the latest trends, and are able to identify well in advance the new trends in make-up. We met Yola in Hong Kong, where she lives, and we talked about the latest trends in make-up for Asian women, the new trends for Spring Summer 2011. Read on for the full interview.

Make-up trends and colors for the Spring Summer 2011 season. What are the key trends you see emerging in make-up for the next season?
"Retro" and "Nude" are still the key words for the Spring/Summer 2011. The main trend is still the Retro make-up and Nude make-up, also for the Spring/Summer 2011. (With retro make-up I mean the 'cat eye look', powerful and sexy eyes in dark colors, especially black).

The difference between the previous Retro make-up and the one we see emerging now, resides mainly in the fact that the make-up artist will use bright and strong color contrast to create a full visual impact of the retro make-up, use bright colors instead of somber ones.

Despite the fact that nude make-up has been the most important trend of the past two years, many people still cannot understand the main point of nude make-up. They don't know how to create the feeling of nude make-up.

The most important thing in nude make-up is the use of 'naked transparent' color on the skin, nude lips, even "nude eyebrows". Spring Summer is a dynamic season, that's why nude make-up is important, to make your healthy skin stand out.

What about the eyes?
Blue, green and bright pink color, those brilliant colors have won wide acceptance for the upcoming Spring Summer 2011. Saturated colors are very bold, eye-catching and also an important symbol of retro make-up. Smokey eyes continue to dominate the fashion stage, their influence has not decreased.Some advice on the 'new smokey eyes'?
Abandon the thick 'smokey' of the traditional make-up, dark color on eyelashes and double-fold eyelid and use instead a light color on eyelid, the inside corner of the eye and eyebrow. Use black eyeliner pencil to sketch the upper and lower eye line when using a thick eyeliner. After that, use a brown eyeliner pencil to apply the final touch, this 'small' smokey eyes make-up is better if you want to model the three-dimensional shape of the face.

Combine nude lips with flimsy make-up base, basic but not simple. You will get a 'retro' look if you will use red lipstick. No wonder smokey make-up seems to continue to be an important trend, as it is for the black color.

Let's talk about the lips…
Nude lips give the impression that there are no contours, natural, healthy, low key and moderate. Natural soft touched, true shiny skin is back, in the natural make-up trend.

And the cheeks?
The 'cute look' has always been very valued in Hong Kong. We don't want to do too much on our eyes in daily life. We prefer to pay more attention to the cheeks. Colors: light pink, and light orange will be good choices.Eyebrows?
For eyebrows, it is a good idea to use a product that matches closely the real eyebrow color.

False eyelashes: yes or not?
The false eyelashes trend has been very popular for quite some time, almost a must for many girls in their daily make up, they use them everyday, some use "eyelash extensions". However, I personally prefer a more natural look. Over exaggerating false eyelashes are just too much in my opinion. To me beauty is natural, for everyday life, in any case. If you want to look energetic and modern, do not use them. For fashion shows and photo shoots it is a different story, of course.

Nails are becoming more and more important lately, with new materials, techniques… do you see a main trend in nail decoration, what is "trendy" right now among the girls in Hong Kong?
Japanese and Korea determine a big part of the trends here in Hong Kong. The nails technique isn't developed as much as in Japan and in Korea in terms of the detail. It is separated into two main nail decoration styles here in Hong Kong: one is a lot of 'bling bling' and the other is the more traditional 'French nail'.

What is currently the ideal of beauty among Hong Kong girls?
Most of the girls tend to follow the same trend. Right now the most popular trend among girls in Hong Kong is the 'big eyes doll' from Japan. They will be 'equipped' with big eyes contact lenses, thick false eyelashes, thick black eye line on the top and on the bottom.

Who is the "style icon", the singer or actress or TV personality which inspires most beauty trends right now in Hong Kong?
I do not see any local 'style icon' these days, in Hong Kong. Internet has changed also this aspect of our life, and style blogs, online magazines, Facebook, are determining the trends also in makeup more than ever before. I would say Lady Gaga is the style icon who inspires many local artists nowadays. She is confident, original in her look and outfit. I guess that's the reason why she is so outstanding to have many followers.

The way to be a stylish like a Korean Star

Korean stars appearance that always looks perfect and attractive make many people interested. Start from Wonder Girls until SNSD, they always look perfect appearance both outside and on the stage. Not only through the action amaze music fans, K-pop star style is also starting to become an inspiration. For example Ayu Ting Ting (An Indonesian Artist, cz i'm from indonesia lol! :D)who claims to be affected in the Korean style of her style dress choice. So, what kind of way if you want to look like them? this is the way gals...

1. Top Dress
- Wear a unique and simple top dress with attractive pictures. Color is an important element to attractive attention. Bright pastel colors to impress cute or bold bright colors that can be used according to taste. Often not enough to make one piece top dress perfect appearance. Short top dress above the stomach combined with depths tanktop or loosely tanktop with depth in the inner layers are often used. Don't stop there gals, for the daily appearance, lightweight cardigans or jackets that unique to the last layer combinations of Korea star-style top dress.

2. Sub Dress
The Korean star doesn't hesitate to show their smooth legs. This became one of the keywords in their appearance. Either super mini short pants or mini skirts that beautiful. If you must use the pants, make sure the pants are tight enough in the body. Sure as the average Korean star is so slender tights out of jeans and leather materials make them look more perfect. Colorful leggings are also a fashion item that is commonly used to complement the loosely tops.

3. Legs
From subordinates we are not just jump into the shoes. In the middle of it there is still an important element of the stockings or knee-length socks. Remember, generally the colors used are bright colors that attract attention. Colors can also be used to match the accessories that used gals.

4. Shoes
The Korean stars were never play in choosing shoes. Boots is one shoe that is commonly used by them, usually that knee-high boots. About the color of the stars who always look up to is never in doubt. Bright colors and print patterns often become their choice. For beautiful shoes, or lace strappy model choice is almost always a mainstay.

5. Accessories
Well this is one of the important elements in a style like the Korean stars. Hats, hair ornaments, belts that attractive, and great bracelet. Korean women are quite happy to wear hats and hair ornaments in everyday dress occasions. Accessory make them look more cute and stylish. Overall style of Korean women dressed always impression, funny, smooth, and stylish. Occasionally they appear more bold and cute character but still impressed. Although elements of fashion, colorful, there is always harmony in the appearance of Korean stars. Especially those who are members of the band. All the members of appearance always looks harmonious and highlight the character of each. They also only use a few colors and patterns to make it look more harmonious and simple. For special occasions like the show, the glamor dominate their appearance. Be a stylish like Korean star could not be applied a half In addition to dress, hairstyle and make-up also should always support the appearance. Korean women are known total to always try to look my best. yap gals, that's the way to be a stylish like a Korean Star, i hope this article would be useful for u all, enjoy n see ya in the next article, stay tune in Fashion TrendHolic! ;D

Leave 4 Bad Habits in Dressing

1. A visible underwear line
Wear the proper clothing when deciding slinky. Clothing line in the visible or visible panty line (VPL) is a fashion mistake that is often done by women. Visible panty line when using tight skirts or pants are made ​​of thin fashion is a mistakes to avoid. In addition to unsightly, VPL makes you seem "selebor" and no matter the appearance. And if u decide to wear tight dress, make sure you wearing an underwear with seamless stitching design. and the other choice is wearing an underwear with G-string model or wearing a long underwear.

2. Forgotting the balance
To get a solid matching, should never forget the balance! do u know why gals?? please notice some of these aspects in order to avoid the mistakes of dressing.

- Except when you'll go to sunbathing or swimming, the balance formula length dress remains valid. Blending the mini skirt with a top which also very open or minimalist is not necessarily right for everyone. Notice your purpose away and attended the event theme. The combination of minimalist + mini is generally only appropriate for a beach party or similar. In addition, balance your mini under the dress with top dress a more closed, and vice versa.

- The balance of colour is important in dressing. also note the proportion of your body and combining the balance color The general formula that is safe is to combine a dark color with a bright color. If you are wearing orange blouse, you should avoid wearing bright green pants if you do not want to look like a carrot. Wear a under dress with a dark color to neutralize the light colors on top dress.

- Stripes, polka dots, or the flowers? We recommend that you select only one type of motive. Indeed, some famous people combine different motives in one outfit, but maybe they only Lady Gaga or Nicky Minaj.So also if wearing stripes, Avoid too many types of lines in a single occasion dress. Choose one, vertical, diagonal, or horizontal. Too many types of lines in outfit will make you look "heavy".

- Generally, using two elements made ​​from denim, let alone different colors, is a less appropriate choice. Only a supermodel or a cowboy who still look stylish with that combination. If u are planning to use a denim jacket, you should avoid wearing denim jeans. Denim is more attractive if used one at a time rather than be used at once.

3) Wrinkled and dirty
That's a big mistake are often made. Nothing is more attractive than a woman or a man who appeared harmonious and well groomed. Never underestimate the little things like handbags or shoes that are dirty. Clean up before you go. Try to wipe shoes or bag immediately if exposed to dirt while on the way. Going date with the toe and heel muddy, dirty, risky lowers your points in the eyes of him or her. If there's damage or stains on your bag immediately clean so as not to look dirty.

Wrinkled clothes is also one of the frequent mistakes made. There's no reason for this. You will not get any positive impression of the clothes are rumpled. Take time to iron clothes are dull to make it look more neat and attractive. With the appearance neat and clean, you certainly look more attractive.

4) Force yourself
Dressing well is all about harmony and balance. Therefore, do not ever force yourself, for whatever reason. Each body has the right type of clothing. Do not force yourself to follow the trend if it does not fit your personality and body shape. For those who have big thighs and calves, do not ever force yourself to wear a super tight jeans. Also with hair color, Blond is generally only appropriate for white women in Europe or America. Pushing yourself to follow the trend and appearance that does not fit the characteristics of the body will only reap scorn for you. Many ways to look stylish according to body shape and personality. Mix and match the appropriate body and instead will make you look more attractive. Do not plunged yourself only as a momentary fashion victim.

yap gals, that's the message for us to avoid mistakes in the dress to look attractive and behavior. i hope this article can help u all to avoid a bad things to dress. enjoy n see ya in the next article, stay tune in Fashion TrendHolic! ;D