Thursday, September 29, 2011

Manish Arora Gears Up for Two Shows

Yet another store opening this month!

















Chopard celebrated the opening of the new boutique at ifc mall with a fun-filled in-store cocktail event followed by an after-party at the Four Seasons Hotel, earlier this month.



















Roland Buser, Andy Hui, Caroline Scheufele, Karim Azar
Chopard Co-President Ms. Caroline Scheufele flew into town for the ribbon-cutting opening ceremony with Chopard Managing Director of Great China, Mr. Roland Buser, celebrity singer Mr. Andy Hui, and Assistant General Manager of ifc mall, Mr. Karim Azar. The after-party at the Harborview Ballroom at the Four Seasons was a riot with a catwalk to showcase Chopard’s baubles, dancers and non-stop entertainment.

















Andy Hui, Winnie Yeung, Wong Shui Fun

































Lisa S, Kim Robinson, Ana R
Who attended? The usual suspects including celebrities and models Andy Hui, Winnie Yeung, Ana R and Lisa S, celebrity stylist Celia Wong, socialites Ankie Beike, David Harilela and Feiping Chang.

A Model's Plight: Chasing Down Tearsheets

Getting new photos in a models' book is one of the most important things to the career and evolution of the fashion model. The book is like a CV, showing all the work experience and "level" of the model. Clients looking at the model's book can understand if this model is a working model, if she/he has enough experience to handle the job, and of course, what they look like on camera.
Many times models travel to a country and stay for 3 months, and then return to their hometown or move on to another market, leaving their past agents to collect any photos/tearsheets that they maybe have done, but had not published during their time in that country. This can often be a nightmare as agents have a new batch of girls coming into the country and have already forgotten about the last model. As their business is on turnover, they are not concerned with "the last batch", unlike in markets such as Europe, where the models may return periodically, Asian markets often have the models leaving and not returning again. So the question is, how does the model manage to collect their tearsheets?


First, as a model, try to get as much information about the client, the name of the client, or photostudio as possible. We all know it's not professional to take the contact information of the client, photographer, etc and may make your agent mad if you do so--they may think that you will work with them directly. However, in markets such as Asia, I would recommend most definitly to get the telephone number/email of the assistant, photographer, or the photostudio, and then if your agent doesn't follow up, I most certainly contact them. For example, I have been chasing these photos here for 6 months because I knew the shooting was so successful and great photos. Asking my agent repeatedly, he got no results for whatever reason. I finally asked him to give me the contact of the client so that I could try. The client finally gave me 3 photos from the shooting for my book.
                     
Persistance. The only way is to keep asking your agent. Keep it in their mind--they have so many girls to take care of you will need to send them a reminder. If this is not successful, then go for the client and write them a sweet note thanking them for the job and asking if you could receive any beautiful photos from the shooting. If they were to ever ask you to work with them directly, you can simply refer them back to your agent for any job booking. This way you avoid any conflicts and return the client to your agent for work matters and you still get the photos for your book.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Victoria Beckham Spring 2012 Collection: New York Fashion Week

Victoria Beckham Spring 2012 Collection presented during New York Fashion Week showcased dresses that were stylish, sexy, sporty, yet classy. Show started with a moment of silence in honor of the September 11 victims.
Then came a slew of models walking down the runway in Victoria Beckham designs that included everything a women can ask for, like hourglass dresses to long evening wear, form fitting to party dresses.
There were form fitting dresses with dropped waistlines, VB’s signature exposed zippers and figure hugging dresses and much more.
One trend that seems to continue with Victoria Beckham Spring 2012 Fashion Show is color block trend as Mrs Beckham presented orange with navy blue on both dresses and bags, soft patel blues and lilacs for jackets paired with white shorts and skirts.
Bringing sporty touch were oversized jackets with hoods and zippers teamed with short tennis style skirts and black leather newsboy caps, sportier styled parkas in dreamy lavender and gray hues.
Just like dresses, Victoria Beckham Spring 2012 handbags also grabbed a lot of attention. There were VB’s signature structured clutches, soft shoulder bags , chain-strap clutches, oversized totes and much more.
Models walked down the runway in VB’s designs paired with shoes including her first-ever flat sandal and leather ankle cuff pumps.
Highlights of collection were dress with wide bands of navy and safety orange, a shiny lavender parka and white mini. So, what do you think of Victoria Beckham’s latest collection? Share your thoughts with fashion trends in comment box below.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Victoria’s Secret Show 2011, a note for your calendar

Even though Daniel believes that in recent times Victoria’s Secret has been dropping the ball in regards to their advertising efforts you would find it an uphill battle to argue against their annual runway show. It’s arguably the most anticipated (by the public at large) show in the fashion calendar, and there’s very little question why. With the show still over a month away the marketing department at VS is already hard at work making sure you know the exact date to tune in. This poster featuring an un-needlessly ‘shopped Candice Swanepoel landed across our desk letting us know the show will be broadcast on the 29th of November, though the actual show will be on November 9th.

Milan Fashion Week

Updated Monday September 26,9.12am: 
One of this season's most anticipated shows, Versus, took place yesterday evening with creative director Christopher Kane adding a sporty take on next summer's key Twenties trend. Set on a basketball court, we were given a cheerleader-meets-flapper girl look - featuring pleated sporty skirts, cropped hoodies and sheer mini dresses.
Updated Monday September 26, 8.35am: If Pucci's latest show this weekend was all about high fashion gypsies, then Missoni's summer muse is a flamenco-style version, with frills adoning every edge, hip and neckline. Blue was the colour of choice, from ink and aqua to royal and cerulean.
Updated Sunday September 25, 3.13pm: It looks like fruit and vegetables are becoming quite the trend following Moschino Cheap & Chic's dose of fashion five a day, as Dolce & Gabbana also presented a collection emblazoned with fruity motifs, alongside some amazing bejewelled pieces that adorned a finale charge of models.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

In Tokyo, Abercrombie Misses Its Mark

TOKYO, Japan — After several years of “will they or won’t they” speculation, American casual fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch finally opened its first retail store in Japan this past December. The 11-story shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza neighbourhood is just steps away from Uniqlo’s flagship store and Swedish fast fashion brand H&M.
As with every big retail opening in Tokyo, the first day of sales saw long lines of customers and swift business. The rumoured haul: ¥50 million (or about $550,000). Even without the benefit of an opening party or major press event, Abercrombie was able to rely on a small group of Japanese fans who had previously bought the brand’s products as souvenirs on trips to Hawaii or the continental United States.
But the big question is, will Abercrombie be able to win over new fans in Japan and replicate the unbelievably successful Japanese market entries of other mass fashion brands?
So far, the signs do not look good.
At the moment, Japan is in the midst of a low-price fashion boom. The only profitable brands are chain retailers like Uniqlo, H&M and Forever21, and the cheap domestic labels in the Shibuya109 shopping building. Yet remarkably, Abercrombie & Fitch made the decision to charge Japanese consumers nearly double its American prices.
In a poll of first-day A&F shoppers in Nikkei’s Marketing Journal, 61.7 percent of people found the prices “a bit high” while 18.3 percent declared them “too high.” Less than one-fifth of consumers thought the prices were on target. Once upon a time, American retailers made huge margins by setting higher prices in Japan, but today, gouging the Japanese consumer simply doesn’t work. Consumers are too smart for that.
Furthermore, most multinational apparel companies have found success in Japan by working with local partners to adapt their messaging, communications and brand image to fit the mature and sophisticated Japanese consumer. In contrast, Abercrombie & Fitch is pursuing an intensely American retail and marketing strategy that may alienate the vast majority of their potential sales base. The strategy is adequately well-done in terms of basic presentation and architecture, but their new Ginza store, in particular, clashes with Japanese fashion and shopping culture in almost every possible way.
For instance, most foreign retailers in Tokyo employ an exclusively Japanese staff, who behave according to the expectations of Japanese consumers, but Abercrombie & Fitch decided to make the brand experience so “American” that they have almost nobody working the shop floor who would be perceived by customers to be authentically Japanese.
Remarkably, the staff greets shoppers in English, rather than Japanese. Indeed, the best a Japanese consumer can hope for is a kikoku shijo – a returnee from overseas – who can at least speak the local language. While most Tokyo shoppers may like imported, international goods, they do not want to be forced to surface their rusty English during a commercial transaction.
The staff also fails to follow widely recognized principles of Japanese politeness. They are boisterous and many sing and dance along with the songs piped through the Ginza store, making the relatively cramped sales space feel even more claustrophobic for consumers.
To make matters worse, many of the male staff members have their chests exposed. Sex appeal may be a big part of the brand’s charm in the United States, but this particular masculine ideal of a “ripped chest” is completely out of sync with current Japanese fashion culture and the constant presence of half-naked men is off-putting to the Japanese customer — especially when crammed into tight spaces like elevators.
Successful brands in Japan use their shop floor staff as brand leaders and styling mannequins to show consumers how the clothes look on real Japanese people. At this, A&F also fails.
Like its American stores, Abercrombie’s Ginza flagship also reeks of strong American-style cologne — this, no less, in a country that’s famously perfume-adverse. Indeed, back in 2005, perfume critic Chandler Burr wrote a New York Times magazine piece called “Display It, Don’t Spray It” on the universal Japanese distaste for strong cologne and perfume. Yet A&F seems to pump its signature cologne through the ventilation system in a way that permeates the entire experience — and whatever you were wearing at the time for days after. Of course, many successful Japanese brands incorporate scent into their retail experience, but subtlety is the key. The smell should not carry with the customer.
But it doesn’t stop there — there are practical challenges as well. Visitors to A&F’s Ginza store complained in TV reports that they could not adequately judge the colour of certain products in the store’s extremely dim lighting, which is designed to feel like a late 1990s New York dance club. And, the elevator only goes to the 7th floor, forcing female shoppers to walk up flights of stairs to reach the women’s department in the store’s upper reaches.
Finally, possibly the most fundamental problem with A&F’s Ginza store is that it offers consumers few options for integrating the brand into his or her own life. The clothing screams the letters A&F at a time when Japanese consumers are looking for much more subtle branding on their apparel.
It’s interesting to note that the most popular luxury handbag at the moment is made by Miu Miu and looks much less openly branded than those made by competitors like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. While at the high street level, as we’ve seen with the success of Uniqlo, young Japanese consumers are increasingly looking for brands that offer them ways to create their own individual styling. A&F, on the other hand, offers no room for adaptation. You are forced to either buy into the entire package or buy nothing.
At the moment, Tokyo fashionistas are obsessed with classic Ivy League style and heritage American brands like Red Wing. But despite these areas of opportunity to connect with the current tastes of local consumers, A&F has made no attempts to style or merchandise its “fratboy” clothing to fit the current fashion ecosystem in Japan. In contrast, Gap has gotten very good at this in recent years — enabling the company to market their merchandise to Japanese consumers who are not necessarily Gap fans.
So how did Abercrombie get everything so wrong? Is it ignorance or arrogance? It’s hard to say for sure. Either way, Abercrombie’s entry into Japan is a perfect case study in how not to localise.
W. David Marx is a Contributing Editor of The Business of Fashion

Japan’s Premium Pricing Problem

                                          Coach Kristin Leather Hobo Bag | Source: Coach
TOKYO, Japan — In the United States, the Coach Kristin Leather Hobo bag retails for $298. In Japan, the same bag costs $711 (¥59,850).
This disparity in pricing is not unique to Coach. Premium and luxury fashion brands based outside Japan have long charged Japanese consumers a significantly higher price than in other markets for the same goods. But today, due to a strong yen and greater visibility of global pricing thanks to the internet, Japanese consumers are growing weary of this systematic markup.
As Mariko Sanchanta notes in a recent Wall Street Journal piece entitled “Web-Bargain Luxury Comes to Japan,” Japanese consumers are becoming accustomed to “discounts” at outlet malls and online sales, which, ironically, make prices equivalent to what much of the world pays at standard retail.
So why is it that premium and luxury brands have been able to charge nearly double for their products in Japan — a practice which on the face of it looks like price gouging?
While industry observers were highly sceptical about Abercrombie & Fitch’s overall strategy for Japan entry, CEO Mike Jeffries is right when he says: “We are premium brands, and we get premium prices in these markets.” It just so happens that premium prices are very high in Japan, because standard prices are very high.
Even with a relatively low consumption tax, the Japanese spend 13.4 percent of their income of food alone, compared to 9.9 percent in the United States. A five kilogram bag of rice — the Japanese staple — is often priced at around ¥2000 ($24), while CDs are priced at ¥3000 ($36).
The high prices are mostly a direct product of government policy. Protectionist tariffs not only increase the costs of imports, but keep domestic producers insulated from having to compete on price. Informal cartels are also at work in setting high prices.
In the fashion and accessories market, retailers like Beams, Ships and United Arrows maintain pricing for basics at around the same level — and in the process, set what consumers perceive to be standard price levels.
Usually, when foreign brands enter the Japanese market, they position themselves as “premium,” which usually means pricing at a higher level than the Japanese price for standard goods. For example, the price of a T-shirt by skate culture apparel brand Supreme, which costs about $25 in New York, was set at approximately $60 in Japan.
The rationale for this is simple: companies set prices as high as the market allows — and since the Japanese market sets prices higher than elsewhere, brands were able to indulge.
This worked when Japanese incomes were high and steadily growing, as they were from the 1960s to the 1990s. But when incomes peaked in 1998 and then started to steadily fall, the situation became less tenable, creating major opportunity for a clothing brand like Uniqlo, which set up production in China and was able to deliver high-quality goods at standard Western pricing levels seen overseas at Gap or H&M.
Today, the notion of undercutting standard Japanese pricing has spawned an entirely new strategy for entering the Japanese market. H&M and Forever21 have both generated significant revenue by offering product at a much lower price than what has traditionally been considered low. Indeed, nothing has scared domestic Japanese apparel brands more than the challenge to the psychological perception of what constitutes standard cost.
Beams and United Arrows, which have weathered the recession relatively well, responded to the recent fast fashion boom by creating their own lines of lower-priced Chinese-made apparel. Even designer brand Comme des Garçons has launched lower-priced lines like PLAY, alongside Chinese-made basics.
But as the rest of the fashion industry reorients itself and becomes much more competitive on price, Western luxury brands find themselves in a difficult position. Today’s Japanese consumers are less wealthy, pessimistic about their economic future and becoming accustomed to paying less. They no longer understand the 1990s-era logic of saving or going into debt in order to buy a luxury handbag. And thanks to Yahoo Auction, grey market arbitragers and a giant network of resale shops across Japan, there are much cheaper places to buy new or near-perfect luxury items than flagship stores. Indeed, consumers are also turning to industry offerings like outlet malls and sale sites like Gilt Groupe and Yoox.
Chinese tourists will help bolster demand, but as middle-class Japanese consumers flee the luxury market, brands may not be able to continue to keep charging artificially high prices. But for luxury brands, simply slashing prices is not an option either, as their pricing has been an important part of their strategy for communicating value and importance to customers. The question going forward is whether they can surf on the deflationary swells to slowly readjust pricing in a more stealth manner.
The U.S. price of $298 for a Coach handbag may actually be perfect for today’s Japan.
A version of this article first appeared on Néojaponisme, founded by W. David Marx, a contributing editor at The Business of Fashion.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Fashion Shoes in new york fashion week

I know we're only one week in, but if New York's fashion week was anything to go by, I have a feeling it is going to be a good season for shoe lovers. Here are some of my favorite shoes from last week!
I have fallen hard for the playful translucent spectator heels at Oscar de la Renta--they're so sexy. I can't decide if I'd choose the pink or the black if it ever came down to it.
Charlotte Olympia did some amazing shoes for Peter Som last season and this season did not disappoint! I love the serious clunky shape juxtaposed with the cotton candy colors. What a pretty hint of purple on the pinky.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Red is the trend colour on Fall Fashion 2011




Since I blogged some of those trend collection rather season collections on this blog. it is fine on me then to blog on what is the trend colour for the Fall fashion 2011. As you can see the colour was so bright and often sees on some of the summer collection and since the fashion is evolving by time to time, the colour red was used on the fall fashion which the outcome is really cool and dope.
Now, you can see a lot of pieces are in the colour red because liked what did I said that this colour was the trend on today’s fashion. Actually, I really loved the colour since then because red can maximize your skin tone that can you look for stunning and gorgeous because its blends perfectly on your skin as long to your outfit. So yeah, that’s it for now and will update you more soon as I got time. Thanks folks.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Dresses for a modern fairytale

Ever wondered what would Red Riding Hood wear if she lived in the present times? Would her cape still be red or would she wear a revealing lace dress?
To save us from making hypothetical presumptions, Russian designer Ulyana Sergeenko gives us her modern-retro version of the fairytale character. Except, this one is far more confident, daring and isn’t afraid to face her own fears.
For a debut lookbook, what would have been a safe and typical collection for other designers, Sergeenko branches out to create stunning vintage-inspired pieces. With floor-grazing maxi skirts, corseted waist-belts and woollen headgear, she blends in ’40s aesthetic with the discipline of the Victorian era. But the sheer blouses and above-the-knee dresses are a subtle cue of its Russian sexuality.

Karlie Kloss undresses. Testino unimpresses

I haven’t come away from an encounter with Karlie Kloss without being somewhat gobsmacked by her beauty – whether it was encountering her on a train between Paris and London or watching her dominate the catwalks of New York Fashion week, Kloss has never once failed to leave an impression. But where other models of her calibre might radiate cool confidence or knowing sexuality, Kloss radiates classic beauty – she’s the Grace Kelly for the current generation.
Which is why her photo shoot for Allure’s October 2011 issue surprises me.
We’re certainly no wallflowers to fashion and nudity (even when it’s only implied) at Fashionising.com, in fact we’re oft accused of being precisely the opposite. But that we’d see an exploration of the form involving Kloss caught me off guard.
And perhaps it shouldn’t have. After all, Karlie Kloss is now 19 and has been avidly watched as one of the next-big-things for the past 4 years. For a model such years often mean that sexually charged photo shoots are the rule and not the exception. But with Karlie Kloss I expected it to be different and for the exception to not occur at all for quite some time.
Sensual photo shoots, yes. Sexual photo shoots, no.
And why? Because Kloss’ current commercial value lies in the fact that she is the classic beauty – the classic beauty set to be considered the world’s number one model as the likes of Natasha Poly move further into their own careers. Mario Testino’s implied-nude photo shoot with Karlie Kloss doesn’t play to that classic strength. There’s no allure to it and, frankly, it’s not that much better than what you’d expect to find in a whole range of low-brow men’s titles. Sure – Karlie Kloss looks stunning in the photo shoot; with her features, how could she not? But the technical work that went on behind the lens doesn’t play to her strength. The strength of the allure that we love about her simply isn’t there.
That allure is what Karlie Kloss really brings to the fashion industry – Testino’s photo shoot with all its half nudity and sultry looks offers up something that is merely hot. Most any model can look hot in a photo shoot – Kloss has way more to offer than that.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Louis Vuitton: Fall 2011 Shoes

There’s a special pair of Louis Vuitton shoes this fall that have really caught our attention for all the right reasons! Check out the pair of gold beauties that come with a metal fastening on the front and a sculpted shape to the back of the heel that’s simple yet very seductive.

Here’s the rest of what you’ll find in the shoe section this season:
Where to buy?
  • G/F, Shop 7-17, Landmark Atrium, Central, Hong Kong. Tel:  8100 1182
  • Shop 351A, Level 3, Pacific Place, Hong Kong. Tel: 8100 1182
  • 5 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Tel: 8100 1182

Sixties Scene

GO back in time this autumn/winter 2011-12. Leave fashion's summer obsession with the Seventies and look to Sixties style icons Mary Quant, Twiggy and Julie Christie to inspire your new season look.
"Two-piece ensembles in fabrics that really hold structure, like felt and wool, bridge the gap between ladylike and mod perfectly," says Vogue's Calgary Avansino. Look for coats with sloping shoulders and bracelet sleeves and wear with polonecks, miniskirts, knee-high boots or a pair of Bottega Veneta's dainty heels.
On a beauty note, beehives were tall and proud at Jean Paul Gaultier and Bottega while, elsewhere, a side-parting that swept across the forehead kept things neat. Try a headband for some Brady Bunch preppy appeal and made-up eyes that flick at the sides will add some va-va-voom to the look.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Hollywood In London

  DREE HEMINGWAY will star in Matthew Williamson's show on Sunday night - she's flying in especially from LA, where she's currently filming Starlet - just to keep a promise she made to the London-based designer in June.
  "She's become a really good mate - I love her as a person but her style is really up my street too," he told us yesterday, amid last minute fittings, surrounded by his gorgeous new collection and hundreds of multicoloured Charlotte Olympia shoes to go with it. "She's kind of like Sienna and Poppy combined - she's just sickeningly stylish."
  "I'm pretty much styling the show around her - she's gorgeous but she's also really sweet and genuine. It's incredible that she's kept to her word - she told me back in June that she'd come if she could - and here she is."
  And with big name models expected to be in London for Tom Ford's show earlier in the day, who would Williamson really like to star with Dree? "I guess the fantasy model line up would be Lara Stone, Natasha Poly, Daria Werbowy, Freja Beha Erichsen and Lily Donaldson," he says. "But they are incredibly expensive and nobody knows until the last minute if they'll be in London - but there are lots of great new girls in London at the moment so we'll see."

Friday, September 16, 2011

Anna Sui Show Report

  FOR spring, Anna Sui loosened her grip on the rock ’n’ roll-bohemia she’s made her signature to make way for a new and impressive aesthetic – Forties burlesque glamour via Studio 54.

  Gone were the audacious mod-driven knit and print ensembles of autumn/winter 2011-12, and nowhere to be seen the angelic prairie girl of last spring - instead, we saw one of Sui’s strongest collection’s in recent years, featuring knock-out feminine pre-war-inspired cuts in sumptuous chiffons and crepe-de-chines, with playful and endlessly cool prints. It was clear Sui had no intention of fitting in with the prevailing looks of the season, rather staying true to what she does best – showcasing her own unique and whimsical viewpoint, and setting new trends
Sui has gained a reputation for cultivating specific and exclusive left-of-centre references, but transforming them into collections of modern, accessible clothing that has over the last 20-plus-years proven a favourite both cross-culturally and cross-demographically. his season was no exception, with the designer focusing her attention on the intriguing Club Sept, the creative melting-pot and definitive place to be of Seventies Paris fashion - in particular focusing on American illustrator Antonio Lopez’s impact on the scene. This vision was expanded to involve a little disco fever, in the form of turbans atop frizzed-out hair, flared trouser ensembles, sexy lacquered lips, flowing skirts and long hemlines, and just a little sequin and shimmering embellishment.
  As usual, a glowing Karen Elson opened the show, this season stepping out to a wildly enthusiastic crowd, broadly smiling in an adorable Forties-style dress, with a black and white marabou shrug. Other key looks included a knock-out black tulle kimono, atop silk shorts, sailor-inspired romper with sailor hat, a high-waisted skirt paired with a super-cute bustier top and sculpted waist-cinched blazer, a butterfly winged sheer silk dress and insanely sweet heart-print dresses in both black and peach. The collection was well-edited and well-conceived, and all wonderfully Anna Sui - guaranteed to win over her adoring fans yet again.

Outside The Fashion Show

2012  Fashion trends will be keep  Restore ancient ways,now,please take in follow pic.
This season dust coat will be must have ,if you
have it ,everywhere you will be a focus,believe me.


Red appers luxury,sand appers mature
























Love fall season,love dust coat

One Of The Boys

WITH transsexual model Lea T and "femiman" icon Andrej Pejic among the androgynous models who strutted on the autumn/winter 2011-12 runways, audiences were primed for a gender shake-up. This season, all the coolest girls will be borrowing from the boys, with pinstripes, felt suiting, white shirts and trousers providing a fresh riff on tailoring, while silk ties, cummerbunds and overcoats pack a manly punch.
Feminine curves were literally enveloped under this masculine aesthetic, as the super-sized, slouchy cuts and jackets and overcoats shown at Stella McCartney, Nicole Farhi and Alexander Wang proved. For a feminine twist, add a plunging silk shirt or sparkly trousers and heels - as seen at Michael Kors.
The trend showed its more sensuous side at Dolce and Gabbana and Moschino, where monochrome was broken up with flourishes of ornate sequins and gilded embroidery. "The rigid line of tailcoats, tuxedos and riding jackets has been toned down with precious fabrics and decoration," explained Rossella Jardini, creative director of Moschino.

Turtlenecks for Spring?


Growing up, turtlenecks were a winter wardrobe affliction—a parental stipulation that was almost always uncomfortable and hot. So imagine our surprise when these pesky neck ringers started popping up on fall’s runways, sending a torturous off-season message: We’re Back. Cathy Horyn named the style one of this season’s five must-haves, and J.Crew’s littered their catalog with colorful versions. And now, based on the spring runways we’ve seen thus far, the turtleneck appears to be in it for the long haul. But the question is, will you still want to wear them when the sun comes back?
A handful of New York’s darling’s included turtlenecks in their shows, some girly, some androgynous, and others meant for a sort of refined hipster. Alexander Wang’s interpretation was ultra-violet with Aztec detailing while Joseph Altuzarra’s chartreuse croptop looked destined for Lara Croft in Tomb Raver. Rachel Comey was beach-bound on an alternative vacation—her intarsia knit was paired with a bikini bottom and sand-friendly straw accessories. Jill Stuart’s was the most girly. Her rainbow color blocked option, peeping out from underneath a gold lurex jacket with hotpants , but with shorts that short it’s probably just best to conceal your neck. Maybe that’s what this trend is all about—an antidote to summer’s uncontrollable amount of nakedness? In that case, job well done.