Who wouldn’t want to do it in style? Travel that is. After Mr. McQeen ends his turn as the captain of the Samsonite Black Label luggage collaborator, Viktor & Rolf will be bringing the travel heat with a collection of too cute to check-in luggage. The “Happy Travel with Viktor & Rolf” collection is set to be available this Fall 2009. The feeling is very retro, from the bag silhouettes to the jet plane motif, you’re sure to breeze through security in style.
New York Fashion Week also heralded the opening of FIT’s (Fashion Institute of Technology) Gothic: Dark Glamour, an exhibition at the school’s museum dedicated to
Gothic inspired Fashion, which contained myriad leather, lace, and corsetry, ranging from historical costumes, to theatrical gowns, and gothic street wear, many of which bear the marks of haute couturiers, like Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Jean-Paul Gaultier.
A lot of street wear tees are usually based around the idea of “playing” with a famous logo or piece of art. It’s not a new concept, people have been doing it forever. Everything from Tide (early Freshjive) to Warhol portraits (1/2 the brands out there) have been given a twist to further the message of small brands. The tees I saw in Vegas were no different - but I did feel like there was a giant increase in the number of tees touting very high end brands. This too is not new, but I felt that this time around there were so many more. Maybe it’s the economy crunch? Can’t afford real YSL but I can feel close to the brand by wearing a tee with it’s logo? Or, maybe it’s a t-shirt brands way of aligning itself with what it thinks is cool, for example, girls that like Chanel should like my brand. Whatever it is, there were a million (not quite, but almost) of these “designer” tees - I didn’t take pics of most of them but I’d be confident in saying that almost half of the clothing brands we looked at had some kind of designer reference - Chanel and Karl being the most used. We even saw a shoe that made a designer reference.
Oh, and by the way, word on the street is that Fucking Awesome is coming back and re-issuing the Karl Lagerfeld “Gangsta Situations” tee (Yay!) - you heard it here first. Check out more pics after the jump . . . .
We’ve posted about Darkhorse for some time now, but I finally got to meet Andrew, the designer, last week at Slate. Andrew has designed several solid collections but I can easily say that his was one of the best lines I saw last week. He’s really bringing it for the ladies with really clever graphics, embellishments and leather jackets. He’s brought back the beaded tees (yes!) and not only does it look (and sound) amazing, but it’s also a reference to Stevie Wonder and his braids - the shirt reads “Part Time Lover” - clever on so many levels! He’s also got one of the best “designer” t-shirts I’ve seen - a tee with a caricature of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Karl Lagerfeld (psssst Andrew, I NEED this shirt). That’s not all he has for the ladies who know their labels. There’s more Chanel and Louboutin references. I’m also a sucker for tromp l’oeil and Darkhorse has a really cute “purse” graphic. Last but not least, Darkhorse introduces some cut & sew pieces including a Paris hoodie complete with Eiffel Tower zipper pull and buttery soft leather jackets in candy colors and satin linings - I need one of those too. Check out the craziness after the jump.
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Samsonite Black Label and Alexander McQueen joined forces a while back to create a limited-edition collection of luggage. The pieces were incredible and featured black and white suitcases with either an enlarged croc-like pattern embossed on the leather or a faux-spinal column protruding from the front - very avant garde (or scary)! The collaboration was such a success that the pair are releasing a silver luggage collection for Fall. ”Created with Bayer, one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and high-performance plastics, the bags’ shiny silver coating feature a special UV resistant mirror paint that won’t crack or scratch. ” The luggage will be available for sale beginning in September and retails from $800 to $2500. With that price tag, it’s truly for the “jet set.”
Image & Info: WWD
