When the news about the Marni at H&M collaboration was first announced, Consuelo of Marni was quoted as saying that everything has same level of quality, craft and attention to detail as a Marni collection.
At last, old and new Marni enthusiasts alike can test this for themselves, as the collection launches 8th March.
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I am particularly intrigued by J.W.Anderson’s approach to texture. How he took something old like circle skirts and houndstooth and made it feel new by adding depth with Swarovski Elements was interesting. Below is his quote on it.
‘I like to use Swarovski Elements as a texture. It adds depth and reflective elements to the clothing, in a less formatic way.” – J.W.Anderson
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“This season is about mixing stately shapes and couture details on strong warrior women. The Swarovski Elements help define the strong shapes through embellishments and luster.” – Jason Wu.
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These images give a closer look at Rocha’s vision of spring 2012. In the vulnerability of the lightness that she explores lies strength.
This femininity at its best, at its strongest.
More on Simone Rocha here.
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Photos via Style.com
Gold plates across loafers, red lips, bleach blonde brows and loose buns in gold tone casings.
It was all about the little details at Yves Saint Laurent spring 2012.
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Video via Style.com
Go behind the Roberto Cavalli ad campaign for the new fragrance. Model and actress Elisa Sednaoui embodies the glamour factor of the fragrance. More on her and the fragrance here.
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Video via Style.com
Tommy Ton has a truly encyclopedic reference knowledge of fashion. You’ve seen his street style images, now delve backstage as it were, into the thick of it with this Style.com video.
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Courtesy of Marni.
It is only when we go backstage that we see the stories behind the collections, for what they truly are.
Consuelo Castiglioni is the queen of balance. Her knack for making the trickiest design look effortless is second to none.
Clean lines balance out graphic optical prints and structure keeps brights in check.
60′s zany floral prints, fluorescent hues and chunky architectural accessories should not draw one in. In other hands they would make the case for the meeting place of bad taste. In Consuelo’s hands they create that light switching on, aha moment.
Here, balance clearly holds court, come spring and Consuelo reigns. Long live Marni.
More Marni here.
Come Backstage here.
Photography by Becky Maynes for Minx Nails.
In terms of supporting cast for a catwalk collection, nails have slowly become as important as the accessories.
If I had to describe Sarah Burton’s collection for Alexander McQueen in terms of sound, it would be a euphony.
Like the late McQueen, she is able to put the beautifully ethereal with the savage to form a harmonious whole.
Keeping that in mind, it is evident that its is no small feat that the beauty direction of this heavily detailed collection, holds its own without distracting from the actual garments. Case in point would be the nail art by Minx Nails as created by leading UK high fashion nail stylist, Marian Newman in collaboration with MInx co-founder Janice Jordan.
I asked Newman to share the inspiration and creative process behind the unique nail design. Below is her response.
“As last season, I was given a few words that described the collection: mother of pearl, shells, water and sea foam. From this I found some references that I sent to Janice Jordan (co-founder of Minx) and, together we came up with a variety of designs. When I finally saw the collection a few days before the show I put together about a dozen designs using an ivory base colour and a delicate pink base. On these were different combination’s of Minxlusion (a prismatic effect), matte silver, silver and gold in a variety of effects. The stylist (Camilla Nickerson) chose about 7 of the designs for different sections of the show. My team and I then set to work making the nails. The result were nails that complimented the exquisite ‘water world’ dresses with delicate colour and organic mother of pearl designs. The only exception were nails for a specific dress and these were an ‘old gold’ hue with delicate swirls of matte and metallic golds.
I adore every McQueen show and collection and I always end up loving the nails too. I feel very honoured when I see them on the catwalk as tiny accessories to Sarah Burton’s truly amazing creations and am privileged to see these creations up close with their astonishing detail.”
Thank you to Marian Newman for her quote.
More on her inspiring work here.
More in the Backstage Pass segment here.
