Dressful

This fall I started wearing my mom's old veiled hat. The only piece that aligns with my signature mood of simultaneously wanting to hide and to stand out (the eternal struggle expanding far beyond fashion), it moulds my personality to feel at ease anywhere. I'm protected by the veil, but I'm not the same as everyone else. All I ever wanted from fashion.

Prabal Gurung Fall 2011 campaign featuring Julia Saner, shot by Daniel Jackson, styling by Tiina Laakkonen.

Are you in the mood for fall already? I opened the season with Givenchy haute couture and continued with Alexander McQueen to make use of these precious last moments before the Spring 2012 fashion weeks commence and make Fall 2011 oh so démodé just as it was supposed to properly blossom. Will we actually get to see Fall 2011 collections in the street or will we jump straight to Spring 2012? New York, London, Milan and Paris will be warm enough to don pieces fresh off the runway (if you have connections), they always are.

I thought the use of red in Prabal Gurung's Fall 2011 collection was very beautiful. Red dresses inevitably evoke Mr Valentino, so you must work twice as hard to give them your own story. Judging by frequency of his red dresses, this leaves Mr Gurung quite unfazed, which I like because surely it's not without due respect. I'm glad red made it to the campaign photos as well. Why should fall only be about neutrals? If we don't decide to fast forward to spring trying to catch fashion's frenetic pace, let's make Fall 2011 passionate.

Last week I was looking at photos from Moscow Fashion Week and discovered Alena Akhmadullina's Fall/Winter 2011/12 collection. Although New York, London, Milan and Paris are undoubtedly the most important cities for fashion, narrowing your perspective to only these 4 places is very limiting because fashion is also happening elsewhere, indeed to a lesser extent, but not in a less interesting way.

See the full collection here.

Alena Akhmadullina's F/W11 collection reminds me of Dolce & Gabbana S/S11 in the sense that it's honest and unpretentious, no complicated concept, just wearable clothes. When it comes to conceptual vs. non-conceptual fashion, I really love both, but I also think conceptual sometimes transforms into trying too hard. Collections like Akhmadullina's and Dolce & Gabbana's aren't trying too hard. They're not even trying. They just are. If they catch the right moment to just be, it's enough.

What I find the most appealing about Akhmadullina's collection is its different aesthetics, far away from NY, London, Paris and Milan. The clothes are actually so nice. She used a lot of prints that have the dreaded "granny" potential, but it's like they're evoking another world, not strange associations. The fur doesn't stand out (you can't take it too seriously either when it's gracing a sort of slouchy (but still super lovely) coat!), although other designers are always making a big deal out of it (most recently Prada with their S/S11 fox fur stoles) because it has to be seen.

There was this image-slash-stereotype of "Russian style" that us foreigners had (or still have?) some time ago; it was extremely BLING BLING, heavy fur coats, big diamonds, too much perfume or cologne, everything covered in logos. Then about 2 years ago everyone was suddenly saying Russians had started dressing classier. I can't vouch for any of this because I don't have connections with Russia, but if it's true, maybe it has something to do with the fact that the fur in this collection is rather understated.

Despite the different aesthetics, this collection resonates with me as much as the "Western" collections I like. It has this universal quality that's the essential part of good fashion no matter its origin.

Last weekend I took a quick trip to Paris because I was invited to the Hogan by Karl Lagerfeld Fall/Winter 2011/12 presentation and party. The event took place at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, a beautiful old building in Paris' 8^th district. I arrived there at 6, armed with almost all of my brother's photo equipment (... my shoulders) and wearing high heels.

It was as if Milan Fashion Week hadn't taught me anything, but hey, can't go against a special occasion!

Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild entrance

Before entering the dark, spacious room where the collection was exhibited, you had to go through a labyrinth of black walls and photos. Lagerfeld took black-and-white portraits of his 13 favorite people from the world fashion and art wearing pieces from the new collection. A little sneak peek to get us excited seconds before seeing the pieces in life.

The presentation room was full of stylish display cases and racks:

These jackets are going to be huge. They're ultra-light and very warm, which makes them appropriate even for the more severe winter weather. I love the asymmetrical diagonals on the white bomber jacket and all the different textures - undoubtedly the best thing about the presentation was that you could touch everything!

Many jackets are hand painted with ink to achieve an embossed effect. They used high-tech materials and leather for the collection. Its main idea is comfort; the pieces are practical and straightforward. I really appreciate that the collection is so full of details and unusual techniques. Jackets and sneakers, i.e. everyday wear, are often not very creative in order to stay practical, but the ideas and work behind this collection took these pieces to a new level.

Oversized detachable collar and mittens. Inspiration? Kitchen gloves. The collar is my favorite piece in the collection. You can see it with the white jacket above, but I like that you can wear it with practically everything, it's great for mixing and matching.

Black and white: signature Karl Lagerfeld colors

I giggled when I saw these platform shoes. Graffiti are often still understood as marginal in our culture. Considering this, the Hogan by Karl Lagerfeld graffiti logo can be interpreted as somewhat devalued. The genius idea behind this is that even a devalued logo is still a logo, so those wishing to let the world know they bought Hogan by Lagerfeld shoes will be able to do so nevertheless (it would be crazy not to give people this option in this day and age).

There were constantly changing holograms based on Lagerfeld's sketches for the collection in every display case.

The presentation was over at 8 when VIP guests started arriving to the party. I went upstairs for the photocall and the first celebrity who showed up was Karl Lagerfeld. I thought he'd be about as intimidating as Anna Wintour (who I'd seen the week before at Emporio Armani in Milan), but he seemed to enjoy the photographers' attention quite a bit, which was not intimidating at all.

Diego Della Valle (CEO of Tod's) and Karl Lagerfeld

Of course, Karl wasn't the only celebrity at the party:

Leigh Lezark

Elisa Sednaoui. Most photogenic person I've ever seen.

Paloma Faith

Elodie Bouchez

Du Juan

M.I.A. You can't see it in the photo, but her manicure matches the pattern on her romper.

Natalia Vodianova

Shu Pei

Lou Doillon

Jessica Stam. She kept making faux-bored grimaces, but she's so pretty not even that made her look weird.

Jessica Stam's amazing sandals

Elisa Sednaoui and Leigh Lezark

When I was leaving, I almost bumped into Leigh Lezark on the stairs. I've never seen more celebrities in one place - pretty much everyone who was in Paris for fashion week came to the party. It was exciting and glamorous and Paris at night was the perfect backdrop for the occasion.

I'm very honored to have been invited to this event. After Hogan and Emporio Armani, once the fashion week adrenaline has calmed down, I'll have many stories and photos to return to until the next season.