Dressful

With last week's news of Anna Dello Russo designing an accessories collection for H&M and revival of the brand Elsa Schiaparelli, I've been asking myself what is rotten in the fashion industry that the most exciting designers seem to be non-designers and dead designers.

Anna Dello Russo for H&M

I.
When the press release announcing the collaboration between Anna Dello Russo and H&M landed in my inbox, my initial thought was that these collaborations are getting old. While I had anticipated a number of them in the past with curiosity and enthusiasm, they no longer feel as exclusive and special because there is no space to breathe between one collaboration and the next. Once the hype in the media and online has subsided, you just know there's going to be a new collaboration tugging at your subconscious consumerist strings very soon. This cyclic course should really be linear because the way to progress is innovation, not repetition.

Though this is of little concern to H&M as their marketing strategy is collaborating with big fashion names – not even necessarily designers – to bring in tons of money, I would be infinitely more excited about high street brands employing young, emerging designers. It would reintroduce suspense and freshness, two elements almost all previous H&M collaborations have lacked (if you're familiar with the designer's signature style, you have a good grip of what the collaboration will be like) and contribute towards a less self-obsessed fashion industry.

Elsa Schiaparelli hats

II.
While H&M's decision to collaborate with Anna Dello Russo makes perfect sense in terms of appeasing the evergrowing online crowd of fashion bloggers, readers and commentators, the news about the revival of Schiaparelli took me by surprise. Diego Della Valle, CEO of Tod's, plans to open Maison Schiaparelli in Paris during menswear fashion week in June. His statement that "we won't be chasing the commercialism of the fashion world: this is a project that aims for the best in terms of taste and quality, and will provide all the calm necessary to achieve that" (source) indicates a possible radical shift in the brand's vision and aesthetic, much like revived Balmain. Elsa Schiaparelli was anything but toned down with her claw gloves, trompe l'oeil designs, walloping headpieces and lobster dresses. If she were alive today, her number one customer would be Anna Dello Russo!

The aim of the old-new brand is to revisit Elsa Schiaparelli's ideas in a contemporary style. Has fashion really become so dull that nobody has their own ideas? I don't think so. Besides, Schiaparelli's ideas were revolutionary in that moment in time. They would not have the same effect today, no matter how skillfully appropriated and turned inside out. It was easier to stand out in the 1930s than during reign of singers wearing raw meat to get attention.

III.
Refusing to employ new talent and ideas in the fashion industry is an enormous and deliberate waste of creative potential. As a creative person, you can achieve a lot by self-initiative, but you improve the most when you have to meet increasing demands that do not depend entirely on yourself.

The fashion industry is increasing its demands everywhere but in creativity.

H&M has announced a new designer collaboration with Marni. The spring collection designed by Marni's creative director Consuelo Castiglioni will be released in 260 stores worldwide and online. It will include womenswear, menswear and accessories with focus on the Italian label's signature prints and patterns. The Marni for H&M release date is March 8, 2012.

Just a few days ago I was talking to a friend about how the Versace for H&M collection was already passé due to the H&M collaboration process unraveling insanely quickly – much to my chagrin as I found the collaboration to be spot-on – so the timing of this announcement amuses me greatly.

The biggest hype surrounding H&M collaborations takes place a month before the collection is released and on the day of the release. It seems to me that collaboration pieces aren't nearly as interesting afterwards because the real challenge for fashionistas is to snatch them up (and be photographed wearing them) before the official release, made possible by early press launches, lending, clothes "incidentally" disappearing from showrooms etc. Hence the immediate need for a new hot designer collaboration to obsess over.

Additionally, Donatella Versace has also designed a spring collection for H&M. This second Versace for H&M collaboration will be released on January 19, 2012. I'm wondering which collection will get more attention; between the two, the label with more street cred is undoubtedly Versace, especially after the H&M collaboration made it even more famous.

Leaving Versace and Marni aside, as I tweeted earlier today, what I really want to see is a (possibly blasphemous) collaboration between H&M and Hermès. A girl can dream, right?

When I was a kid in the early nineties, Gianni Versace was one of the most talked-about designers, a name synonymous with striking, sexy glamour. Owning Versace pieces was considered an utmost prestige, even if it was only a t-shirt with "VERSACE" written across your chest. Yes, the t-shirt would be a status symbol, but it was worth more in people's eyes because it was Versace and not some other brand. Gianni Versace's collections and vision in the nineties were so outstanding that even today you will instantly recognize a Versace piece from that era.

I grew up with the Versace fame and hype, so after Gianni Versace had died in 1997, I often thought about what the fashion industry would be like if he were still alive, or in what direction Versace would develop with him still at the helm. We will never have answers to these questions, but 14 years after his death, the designer is about to get an homage as extraordinary as his work. The Versace for H&M collection (release date November 17, will be sold in 300 stores worldwide) is inspired by Donatella Versace's favorite pieces from the Versace archives. Through the collection as well as advertising, the spirit of Versace will reach millions of people all over the world.

Of course, there will be people buying the collection who have never heard of Gianni Versace and his influence on fashion and popular culture. For those of us who know, though, it's a moving story, and it's why for me this collaboration is more special than others. The womenswear pieces featured in the ad campaign are quintessentially Versace and simultaneously youthful enough for H&M. I am trying very hard not to think about that blue-green tropical print with chunky gold accessories and badass rockstar makeup all the time.

The full lookbook will be released on October 20.

P.S. For my Slovenian readers: post-New York Fashion Week interview with me at rtvslo.si.

Zara top, circa 2005

I like it when clothes from H&M, Asos or Zara look like Dior. It pokes fun at high fashion's exorbitant cost* and proves that the impression given by clothes (expensive/cheap, put-together/random) depends entirely on the wearer. So actually, I like it when people wear clothes from cheaper brands like they're Dior (I'm using Dior as example because recently someone said my old Zara top reminded him of this brand, an outstanding compliment both to me and the top). It denotes a true understanding of fashion spiced with self-confidence and desire to make the clothes your own. To let yourself be the princess or prince at all times.

I'm sure most of us know instances when, say, this girl at school wore a scarf around her neck and pulled it off so well she made it a trend. In just a couple of days other girls started wearing a similar or even the same scarf. Of course, the scarf never looked so great on other girls. The secret was not in the scarf but in the girl and the way she wore it. Other girls couldn't achieve the same magic with the scarf because it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.

On the other hand, even an exquisite Dior gown can look very much unlike Dior if you're not in the right mental place to wear it. Remember those thousands-of-dollars red carpet outfits that didn't work despite the best celebrity stylist, the most precious Harry Winston jewelry, the beautiful Louboutin pumps? You'd think it's impossible to go wrong with such sought-after pieces at your disposal. Wrong. Fashion can help immensely, but it cannot guarantee you that you will look amazing.

Since I know that how I look depends more on myself than my clothes, I don't believe in stratification of fashion. Zara tops and Yohji Yamamoto blouses are equally important in my closet. What I seek in clothes is not an expression of love for a certain brand or style, but a refined, dignified manner and character, the same qualities I wish to exude when I am wearing them.

* not to say the prices are always too high, though the crazy hole-ridden Balmain top will always remain questionable

H&M stripe top

1. Stripe top. I can't get away from varieties of sailor chic at the seaside, probably because it doesn't require any complex renditions. The city inspires (challenges, provokes ...) me to dress up, seaside not so much. I think the secret of sailor chic really is that it's so versatile, it doesn't look out of place on the beach nor when you're out on the town in the evening. It saves you when you don't want to spend too much time getting dolled up in the heat, but you still want to look nice. And it's neutral enough to suit everyone, though it's up to you to decide whether that's good or not.

2. Books. I've read more than 200 books in the past 2 months for university, but after I had taken my last exam, I went straight to the library to borrow more. Summer vacation is always the perfect opportunity to catch up on those books you didn't have time to read through the year. Currently on the menu: The Picture of Dorian Gray for the n^th time.

Alain Mikli sunglasses

3. Sunglasses. My love for sunglasses stems from the fact that you can use them for so many occasions, out of which their primary purpose - protecting your eyes from sun - is actually the most boring. Sunglasses are for when you don't want attention, when you want a ton of attention, when you want to cover up the consequences of last night's partying, when you're too lazy to put on make-up, when you'd prefer somebody doesn't find out you've had your eyes on them all day, when you feel like a celebrity and wear sunglasses indoors.

With this particular Alain Mikli pair, the uninitiated always tease me I'm wearing them upside down.