Long Live McQueen

Oversized Pixels

Simple squares with a magnetic backing that can be arranged to form murals which can also be changed on a whim were a hit last week in Valencia. Going by the name of Pixels XL and created by design studio CDRoig, the colourful squares are placed on walls treated with metallic paint of any colour.





The idea behind the "pixels" is that it should be easy to transform the walls of a living space without too much fuss or muss. By using magnets, there is no need for nails or adhesives that will damage the walls. All it takes is a smooth surface.

The Rapture of Maison Martin Margiela

The loyal fans of Maison Martin Margiela can rejoice again this time around. After a well rounded (no pun intended)collection from fall/winter '10, the design team is already starting to grab a hold of the reins and put avant-garde back on the map. Slowly, but surely. For spring/summer '11, they delivered a seemingly two dimensional collection that appears flat to the front, but radically squared off at shoulders, easily flowing in the back to contour the shape of the body. Extreme trompe l'oeil? Yes. Maybe it's a philosophical idea? One can only look at the front, but become totally unaware at the other side. Reference to how the Maison functions? We'll just let the clothes speak for themselves.

The catch this time: men's wardrobe better suited on women. That was the selling point, quite frankly, the only point. Blazers, trench coats, trousers and button ups are colored in the traditional Margiela code: black, nudes, greys, pale cerulean, and burning fuchsia, stretched over a cardboard form. Dresses become permanently embedded in the process (a cue in the history of Maison). The last several looks did require a second glance to what appears to be a model, vacuumed between stiff leather Hefty bags.

But real question remains: what will be on the shelves when the collection hit the retail stores? Rest assured, all this will evolve in the near future.

The Bone

Radically changing my artistic style is something that I shouldn't be blaming myself that I don't sell most of my works. In fact, I'm going to embrace this change. I graduated from "amateur, unfinished work" to "graduate artists' work" as one art curator put. Indeed I am. And this piece is the start.

In the lieu of the recycling and reusing universal theme of Eco-friendly, I reused an old cork board, a radically different experimentation. And the texture did prove otherwise.

Stop Buying, Start Saving.

Dame Westwood is never short of ideas, but if you come to think of it, she has so much ideas, it's really hard to pinpoint what theme she wants to be most important in her collection. She is ferociously fierce about saving the Earth's gloom future, the universal theme. Earlier this year, she made a prolific statement. She, as I imagined, shouted in protest, urging people not to shop for clothes. Whatever it may be, she clearly stated it loudly through her collection. She knows a way to have people wanting more.

For the spring/summer 2011 collection, models were smeared with a questionable white paint running from the eyelid to her hairline, brightly colored crayons naively scribble up the faces. Black tinted the lips in a Egyptian way. Clearly, there is a message through this playful makeup. But let's dive straight into the ready-to-wear. Taffeta, silk, and cotton, in every color and texture form heart shaped tops. Horizontal stripes, tie-dye effect skirts, flower prints, and her signature plaid molded spring/summer '11 into something that is deemed wearable. Let's face it, it's more about garnering attention.

I admire her political views, I really do, but sometimes when I'm admiring her collection, I think "how would this radically change politics and the environment? Could this be relevant?" Yes. It's more about being educated of Earth's gloom future in a feel good presentation. There is one thing to bear in mind, this is the future of the eco-warrior woman.

Here's To The Bleak Future.

Ann Demeulemeester is hellbent on making a woman the epitome of walking poetry, poetry that consists of geometric prints, bands of rectangular leather, serving to hold the top together. Well, it is damn good poetry I'd say. And she continues to do so every season with fresh new vibes.

There's something striking about this collection. She steered away into a sci-fi future, oozing with subtle sensuality, but isn't this what she always does? For the Spring/Summer'11, she's still going strong with monochromatic color palette and opting away from the 'If Patti Smith Were Goth' look. Model after model, quilted leather patchwork built into a funnel neckline, an element of military boleros and blazers spotted here and there. Asymmetrical skirts hiked all the way to the upper thigh, revealing a leggy woman. This all translates into a woman who knows where she's headed, taking no prisoners.

A Different Spring.

Come around this spring, myriads of colors will be the center of attention on the clothes of women. Not for the Spring/Summer '11 Dries Van Noten woman. She in fact is paying little attention to colors and shape this time 'round. On the menu this season, heavily muted down colors in soft tones of pale grey, a light crisp powder blue, and sand beige. These colors were accompanied by marvelous realistic prints of flowers and other botanical plants, offered on various fabrics such as silk, taffeta, cotton and wool. And this is just the beginning. On the pants and blazers, prints of the flowers are 'washed' over by the simple monochromatic colors, and that what makes the collection is strongest point. But that is not the least of it.

It wasn't the color that concerned me, in fact I loved the blended mixture of flower prints and neutral tones. Maybe a shopping trip to the mens department will vamp up your spring wardrobe. It does get a bit tiring to see the female's body form in all of its glory, in skintight leather, silk, etc. Van Noten did well at making a bit more street casual look. Perhaps, this is the new entrance to the 'woman in power.'