Protective Gear

 All photos by Nikita Karizma

While harnesses and restraints hardly raise eyebrows these days, I do have a high appreciation for the ones that London based designer Nikita Karizma creates.  Not afraid to take on provocative subject matter, Nikita designed her first collection with female abuse in mind.  While the harnesses and restraints play on the idea of restriction and a lack of agency, other elements, such as protective headgear, spikes, and armor act as a form of physical protection.  Nikita even designed a rape/SOS alarm embedded in an accessory that sends a Bluetooth signal to the wearer's smartphone, which then sends an emergency messages to a family member with a GPS location of the wearer. While I sincerely hope none of us would ever have need for such a device, I wouldn't mind having such an accessory, or any of the others Nikita designed, to wear home on a long walk home late at night.

-Tiffany

Put on a Pedestal

Scandinavia has been well known since the midcentury for its innovative and forward thinking architecture and furniture design.  Within the last decade, Scandinavian fashion has also gained traction and become increasingly influential, and is similarly aligned with a minimalist design approach.   Still, I have never seen midcentury modern so fluidly applied to apparel as with FINSK, the line of architecturally structured, extremely high heels.  It makes sense.  Finnish born and London based designer Julia Lundsten was born to an architect father and an interior designer mother, and cites furniture and buildings as major sources of inspiration for her shoes.  Set on elegantly carved wood platforms, they look a bit like Constantin Brancusi's sculptural pedestals. I personally can't imagine a better thing to stand on.

-Tiffany

Knots and Cords

I am always on the search for new knits, and I was immediately struck by Derek Lawlor's intricate creations. Lawlor, who is known for his unique technique of incorporating waxed cord onto his knits in patterns, designs sculptural and visually striking pieces.  For Fall 2012, he incorporated a loose ladder pattern, that resembled a refined version of the shredded knits that spread across blogs like wildfire a few years ago.  These ladder knits differ in that they are very carefully applied, and even if they have a deconstructed and slightly dishabille affect, they're juxtaposed against very structured and refined knit patterns.  There's a striking contrast between the two elements, and the overall result is somewhat wabi-sabi.  Everything in this collection is perfectly imperfect.

-Tiffany

More Mary

I don't know how exactly I missed the Mary Katrantzou x Longchamp collaboration, but in all the fuss over the designer's latest collection for Topshop (which I also went a little crazy for, but more on that another time), I neglected to notice her less-hyped, and similarly priced new bags, which are also arriving in stores now.  The bags, which are inspired by an East meets West theme, are done in the same style as her interiors collection, and features digital recreations of fantastically imagined rooms.  Architectural elements are mixed with other signature Katrantzou motifs like cascading flowers, gilt ornaments, and brash color combinations.  One bag even includes the undulating wooden staircase of the Longchamp flagship store in New York.  While I'm not normally a big fan of the brand, I certainly wouldn't mind wearing the logo when it's combined with a fun Katrantzou print.

-Tiffany

Sophia Kokolsalaki AW 2012

I actually haven't kept good track of Sophia Kokolsalaki for the past few years, and though I remember her signature Grecian draping, I lost track of her progress since leaving the house of Vionnet in 2007.  While touches of her fluid forms are still present in her latest Fall 2012 collection, they're juxtaposed with more structured silhouettes and sculptural shapes. Kokolsalaki, who has always experimented with materials, incorporated lurex tweed, leather patchwork, and silk treated to look like leather, which has a sophisticated yet edgy look that perfectly encapsulates what Kokolsalaki's brand is about.  The clothes provide an elegant balance between the desire to appear timeless and classic, with the drive to look modern.

-Tiffany

Space Is The Place

I remember one of my favorite rides at Epcot center was a slow moving trolley that took you through scenes of "The Future."  As a child, everything seemed mystical, unfathomable, and impossible far off.  Now, Christina told me they had to update the ride, as one previous scene included people having a video phone call, something that is common rather than farfetched nowadays (by the way, will someone teach Christina how to use her Skype already?).  It seems the future is moving ever closer, and those wild visions of the 21st Century aren't nearly so far away anymore.

Andrew Majtenyi's new Fall collection draws extensively from this idea of the future, bringing it very much into the present.  Inspired in part by the last shuttle launch, which incidentally took place in Florida not so far away from Epcot Center, Majtenyi infuses his garments with a distinctively space age feel.  The collection mixes hexagon geometric prints and cool metallic colors with powerful shapes and angular cuts, and though the direction is forward thinking, the feeling is very contemporary. Perhaps the future is now.

-Tiffany

Last of the English Roses

All photos by Hermione de Paula.

London based designer Hermione de Paula's elaborately printed garments may be bursting with florals of every plant species known to man, but they're hardly designed for shrinking violets.  Her spring collection, appropriately named "Darlingtonia's Obsession" (who wouldn't be obsessed upon first sight), is a prime example of her work. The designer rarely strays from her favorite blossoming subject, and the florals that she presents are more likely to evoke a trippy, Alice in Wonderland-style Audubon-redux than a casual summer stroll in the garden.  The vivid and fantastical prints are slightly reigned in by the refined tailoring, which is sensual, soft, and decidedly feminine, without being revealing or overtly sexual.  While your eyeballs do double duty trying to take in all the visual information, make sure to take a good look at the shoes: a collaboration with Nicholas Kirkwood, for whom de Paula consults on prints.  I'll take one of each please.

-Tiffany

Dreams of Electronic Sheep

I'm always keeping an eye out for fun knitwear lines, and Electronic Sheep is a new favorite.  Designed in the U.K. and produced in Greece, the colorful and illustrative patterns manage to convey entire stories using the medium of scarves, hats, hoods, and knit capes.  For the fall collection, the theme was "The House of Many Mansions." The patterns, including overflowing fruitbaskets, distorted tartans, and roaming peacocks, are meant to evoke a life of plenty, as well as the sense of the shabby glamour of a reclusive eccentric along the lines of Edie Bouvier Beale.  I'm particularly obsessed with the knit capes, which were made in collaboration with the awesomely dressecd British DJ duo, The Broken Hearts (make sure to take a peek at their photo gallery).

-Tiffany