Dressful

This morning I had the honor to be among the first guests of the Sens(n)ation exhibition showcasing a historic overview of Maison Martin Margiela's first line (défilé) collection from 1989 to 2011 (23 looks), as well as garments and accessories by renowned Slovenian designers. The exhibition, a joint effort of multibrand designer store Wolfova 5 and Projekt27, is curated absolutely comme il faut; fashion-wise, this is the event that finally put Ljubljana on a global scale.

There's quite a Margiela cult in Slovenian fashion circles, making Sens(n)ation even more sens(n)ational. In a way – though if you asked people in the street who Margiela was, I don't think you'd get many sensible replies – this exhibition will cater to the widest of tastes. Fashion people will love it (or at least appreciate it as usually you'd have to go to another country to see an exhibition on this level), passers-by (i.e. the uninitiated into the Noble Art of Conceptual Fashion) will be provoked by what fashion can be – fashion that is not stripped to strict functionality, fashion beyond trends.

I should note that the historic overview is actually very general public-friendly. There are no covered faces and other more or less bizarre facets that often alienate people from the complex world of Margiela; it's more about playing with sizes, materials, inspirations and humor. When you see the exhibition, I suggest you pick up the little booklet with details about each look so you won't miss out on Margiela's clever tricks.

1. Polka dot print dress, S/S 2006
2. Setup
3. Shirt with front made out of leather gloves, S/S 2001
4. Theater costume-inspired jacket, S/S 1993
5. Sleeveless "tailor dummy" jacket, S/S 1997
6. Setup
7. Size 78 coat and jeans, F/W 2000
8. Pink shouldered jacket, "destroyed" jeans, S/S 2008
9. Velvet dress, mohair cardigan, F/W 1995
10. Double-breasted sleeveless jacket, S/S 2004

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Regarding the second part of the exhibition, I cannot help but wonder how (Slovenian) designers feel about their work being displayed in the same space as Margiela's; it's an enormous challenge, yet the selection is careful enough that the Slovenian designers' part feels like a logical continuation of the Margiela part. Each designer has contributed two looks, the dominant color being black. Three accessories collections have been designed especially for Sens(n)ation: bags-sculptures by Marjeta Grošelj, jewelry by Srečko Molk and glass hats by Ana Lazovski.

1. Dress by JSP Jelena and Svetlana Proković
2. Dresses by Sanija Reja
3. Bag by Marjeta Grošelj
4. Sweater and dress by Dajana Ljubičić

Most of the designers are part of the younger generation; I miss humor in their otherwise beautiful, well-constructed garments, the same humor Margiela has in his little finger. On the other hand, I understand that creative insouciance can only be achieved after you have fallen and risen again a thousand times. A quality of the masters.

The exhibition will be open from November 25 to December 4. Free admission.
Galerija Jakopič, Slovenska 9, Ljubljana.

I owe an explanation to many of my Slovenian readers who have been asking me why I haven't published any reports from Slovenia Fashion Week. I wanted to attend fashion week, but I wasn't invited to the shows. I would have loved to cover them for Dressful the same way I reported from events at New York, Milan and Paris fashion weeks earlier this season and compare the collections I saw there to those of Slovenian designers. My conclusion is that the organizers were not interested in broader perspectives and putting Slovenian fashion in context, nor do they realize the importance of (global) online coverage of Slovenia Fashion Week.

I hope this sheds some light on the confusion.

Yohji Yamamoto straw hat with clear plastic overlay | Photo by Irving Penn, 2004

The season of spending my time between Ljubljana and seaside has opened. It is so soothing to get away from Ljubljana sometimes, the Ljubljana of too strong perfumes, unsanitary obsession with money, connections and brands, faux intellectuals and uncultured parvenus from towns and villages so small you won't find them on the map*; they waste their lives trying to impress other similarly depthless individuals with money, connections and brands, though they don't even like those people. Mix a little fever with my post-teenage angst and you'll find me confiding in my moleskine how, once you get back to Ljubljana, all your problems you didn't think about while you were away crush upon you in an instant again.

Heat is the only thing Ljubljana and seaside have in common in summer, and in heat what a girl needs is a good dress and a good hat. I have a glamorous black hat reminiscent of Sofia Loren and Brigitte Bardot on the French riviera in the 1960s, which means it's a sacred object and stays in the closet all the time, unworn and almost untouched. When I bought it, I promised myself I'd wear it to the French riviera one day, but before that? It would have to be a truly special occasion. My dresses? Too precious to be exposed to direct sunlight (not to mention sweat marks, the least desirable accessory), except when I'm feeling extravagant and I just go out dressed all in black at noon. This is not rare, so unlike the hat, my dresses do get some summer lovin'. Otherwise I'm promenading around in Zara shorts (one button missing) and tank tops. I am the very definition of fashion.

The one hat I would absolutely wear right now (despite its preciousness "must-not-touch!"** factor) is the Yohji Yamamoto straw hat with plastic overlay, pictured above. I love how it protects not only your head (so your thoughts don't boil), but also your shoulders, the greatest indicator of whether you've been prim and proper and stayed indoors from 11 to 5 every sunny day. For the first time in years I am going to cheat on my aristocratic pallor by sunbathing just a little to cover swimsuit-induced tan lines. Fate has brought me a new floral dress with completely open back; at 21, you don't let such an opportunity go, you own it.

* In fear of being taken wrong on my own fashion blog, I must immediately note that being cultured has nothing to do with where you come from; I just find it fascinating how the aforementioned uncultured, once they've become Ljubljanites and therefore "en vogue", will never mention their origins again ...

** Why do I get so intimidated by inanimate objects is the real question here

Meet Miss Eva Ana, my fellow blogger and the most exciting style icon I know right now. Ljubljana, my hometown, witnesses severe abuse of the term "style icon" on a daily basis. It gets attributed to every young lady toting "it" items and/or very basic outfits that one or another self-proclaimed "fashion critic" (i.e. sycophant) has deemed "fashion", or to people who work in fashion - regardless of what they're wearing. If you want to be a style icon (TRUTH: it's usually not something you achieve by trying too hard, you simply are a style icon), it helps immensely if your style is not generic. I also appreciate the ability to see past "it" items and trends and most of all, being different.

I think a true style icon always challenges people around her. Not only concerning fashion (though, of course, your visceral reaction to a style icon might just be to delve into the depths of your closet and adorn yourself with those exquisite and eccentric pieces you've been neglecting recently), but also in manners and knowledge. Eva Ana, she's just all that.

P.S. I am sorry for sparse updates. Literature and university have consumed my life - the first part isn't so bad (I've always been ridiculously enamored with literature, and for me reading late at night in bed still has that beautiful escapist notion) unless you have blogging duties to attend to. I will be updating normally again next week, I can't wait to be back.

At Mojca Makuc, Gregorčičeva, Ljubljana

The world of fashion thrives on change. The opposite can be said for my personal fashion world.

When I was about 15, I noted in my moleskine (it was when moleskines were just becoming cool, not that I harbor too much resentment when what I'm into becomes mainstream though) that I liked my clothes and accessories to be eccentric, cute and practical. I've since worn a fair share of pieces that can be described with entirely different adjectives. However, is it a coincidence that even after all this time "eccentric, cute and practical" is still an ongoing theme in most of my favorite pieces?

My fashion places of fascination remain the same for years as well. There are four: Mojca Makuc (clothes) and Marjeta Grošelj (bags) shops in Ljubljana, Kobali (hats) shop in Zagreb (all of which I'd like to write about some more in the future) and Giorgio Armani headquarters in Milan, Via Borgonuovo. (Like many other buildings in the center of Milan, the headquarters have such a mysterious feeling to them you cannot imagine people actually go inside every day and work there. It's too ordinary. The walls and doors inevitably make you think of secret courtyards, marble, gardens and fountains and suddenly you catch yourself wishing you were a part of that world too.)

Sometimes I think still enjoying wearing things I bought in my mid-teens and getting the same thrill about my favorite places is kind of sentimental, but really it's an anchor. It's how fashion doesn't get overwhelming for me though it's changing at the most frenetic pace.