Cleaner lines and forms for the Pre-Fall 2012 collection of McQ. Solid sturdy designs having a slight conservative feel to them deviating from the usual eccentricity.
Colors to note are wine, moss green, bright red and neutrals.
Prints are one particluar trend I am extremely excited about!
Below are a few favourites from the complete collection:










Photographs courtesy ldnfashion.com

When its Hervé Léger you have a definite idea of what the collection would look like but somehow im still always waiting for the new ones to come out, always hungry for more! Here is a quick compilations of my favourite pieces from the current pre-fall collection. I cant believe theres a gown too! This was meant to be!

The play of the horizontal stripes along the contours of the bust and also the thickness of the stripes along the curves of the body is any woman’s best friend for sure:

Color Blocking in the bandage dress. Fabulous!

A gorgeously androgynous body-con

As you can see, aquatic blue hues are still very much coveted.

Sand-dune to charcoal ombre bandage dress. There should be a legal limit to how much rocker-chic one can look!

That low-cut neckline is flattering for any bustline. Loving the leather coutout waistbands with zippers. Adds a sliver of goth-charm!

Carrot-red and maroon

Very racy number. Makes you wonder if its got a lining!

Black and gold is a forever glamorous combination. I love the fact that its not completely OTT since gold is not being overplayed here.

A pretty constellation a-line bandage dress. Its bandage but its still got flares in it waist down. Again the crystal embellishments have not been overplayed, giving it that subtle touch of classy glam!

Photographs courtesy nymag.com

Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012 Schedule:

Saturday, January 14, 2012
9.30 CET / 3:30am EST / 5:30pm JST – Corneliani, Viale Alemagna, 6
10.30 CET / 4:30am EST / 6:30pm JST – Ermenegildo Zegna, via Savona, 56 A
12.30 CET / 6:30am EST / 8:30pm JST – Costume National Homme, via Tortona, 58
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Dolce&Gabbana, Viale Piave, 24
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Jil Sander, via Beltrami, 5
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 15) – Frankie Morello, via Palermo, 10
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 1:00am JST (January 15) – Burberry Prorsum, C.So Venezia, 16
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 2:00am JST (January 15) – John Varvatos, C.So Italia, 21
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 3:00am JST (January 15) – Neil Barrett, via Valenza, 2
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 15) – Roberto Cavalli, via San Luca, 3

Sunday, January 15, 2012
9.30 CET / 3:30am EST / 5:30pm JST – Bottega Veneta, via Privata Ercole Marelli, 6
10.30 CET / 4:30am EST / 6:30pm JST – Emporio Armani, via Bergognone, 59
11.30 CET / 5:30am EST / 7:30pm JST – Ermanno Scervino, via Manzoni, 37
12.30 CET / 6:30am EST / 8:30pm JST – Salvatore Ferragamo, Piazza Affari, 6
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Pringle of Scotland
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Vivienne Westwood, C.So Venezia, 16
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 16) – Missoni, via Thaon de Revel, 21
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 1:00am JST (January 16) – Trussardi, Piazza Della Scala, 5
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 2:00am JST (January 16) – Prada, via Fogazzaro, 36
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 3:00am JST (January 16) – Moncler Gamme Bleu, via Clerici, 5
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 16) – Calvin Klein Collection, Viale Umbria, 37

Monday, January 16, 2012
9.30 CET / 3:30am EST / 5:30pm JST – Dirk Bikkembergs, Viale Alemagna, 6
10.30 CET / 4:30am EST / 6:30pm JST – Iceberg, via Palermo, 10
11.30 CET / 5:30am EST / 7:30pm JST – John Richmond, Giardini di Porta Venezia – Ingr via Palestro
12.30 CET / 6:30am EST / 8:30pm JST – Gucci, Piazza Oberdan, 2/B
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Etro, via Piranesi, 14
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Z Zegna, via Solari, 35
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 17) – Canali, via Savona, 56
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 1:00am JST (January 17) – Gazzarrini, via Tortona, 15
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 2:00am JST (January 17) – Moschino, via Cinco del Duca, 8
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 3:00am JST (January 17) – Nicole Farhi
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 17) – Versace, via Gesu’, 12

Tuesday, January 17, 2012
9.30 CET / 3:30am EST / 5:30pm JST – DSquared2, via San Luca, 3
10.30 CET / 4:30am EST / 6:30pm JST – Giorgio Armani, via Bergognone, 59
11.30 CET / 5:30am EST / 7:30pm JST – Diesel Black Gold, via Savona, 56
12.30 CET / 6:30am EST / 8:30pm JST – Ports 1961, via Tortona, 58
13.30 CET / 7:30am EST / 9:30pm JST – Enrico Coveri, via Bugatti, 9
14.30 CET / 8:30am EST / 10:30pm JST – roccobarocco, Palazzo Valsecchi – via Santo Spirito, 10

Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2012 Schedule:

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 19) – Y Project by Yohan Serfati, Maison des Metallos
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 1:00am JST (January 19) – John Lawrence Sullivan, Maison des Metallos, salle noire, 94 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Paris 11e
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 2:00am JST (January 19) – Mugler, BETC, Passage du Désir, 85-87 rue du faubourg Saint-Martin, Paris 10e
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 3:00am JST (January 19) – Gaspard Yurkievich
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 19) – Christian Lacroix Homme
21.00 CET / 3:00pm EST / 5:00am JST (January 19) – AMI by Alexandre Mattiussi, 24 rue René Boulanger, Paris 10e

Thursday, January 19, 2012
9.30 CET / 3:30am EST / 5:30pm JST – 3.1 Phillip Lim, BETC, 48 boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris 10e
10.30 CET / 4:30am EST / 6:30pm JST – Kolor, Espace Commines, 17 rue Commines, Paris 3e
11.30 CET / 5:30am EST / 7:30pm JST – Issey Miyake, 5 place des Vosges, Paris 4e
12.30 CET / 6:30am EST / 8:30pm JST – Rick Owens, POPB, salle Marcel Cerdan
13.30 CET / 7:30am EST / 9:30pm JST – Viktor&Rolf, Galerie de Minéralogie, Jardin des Plantes, 36 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Paris 5e
14.30 CET / 8:30am EST / 10:30pm JST – Louis Vuitton
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 20) – Alexis Mabille, Le Meurice
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 1:00am JST (January 20) – Jean Paul Gaultier, 325 rue Saint-Martin, Paris 3e
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 2:00am JST (January 20) – Yohji Yamamoto, 155 rue Saint-Martin, Paris 3e
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 3:00am JST (January 20) – Dries Van Noten
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 20) – Adam Kimmel
21.00 CET / 3:00pm EST / 5:00am JST (January 20) – Steffie Christiaens, TBA

Friday, January 20, 2012
10.00 CET / 4:00am EST / 6:00pm JST – Junya Watanabe
11.00 CET / 5:00am EST / 7:00pm JST – Yves Saint Laurent
12.00 CET / 6:00am EST / 8:00pm JST – Julius, Maison des Métallos, 94 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Paris 11e
13.00 CET / 7:00am EST / 9:00pm JST – GustavOlins, TBA
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Juun J., Espace des Blancs Manteaux, 1bis rue des Hospitalières Saint-Gervais, Paris 4e
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Kris Van Assche, Les Beaux Arts de Paris, salle Melpomène, 13 quai Malaquais, Paris 6e
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 21) – Boris Bidjan Saberi, BETC
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 3:00am JST (January 21) – Comme des Garcons Homme Plus
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 21) – Givenchy
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 5:00am JST (January 21) – John Galliano
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 6:00am JST (January 21) – Henrik Vibskov, TBA

Saturday, January 21, 2012
10.00 CET / 4:00am EST / 6:00pm JST – Maison Martin Margiela, TBA
11.00 CET / 5:00am EST / 7:00pm JST – Kenzo
12.00 CET / 6:00am EST / 8:00pm JST – Walter Van Beirendonck, Espaces Commines
13.00 CET / 7:00am EST / 9:00pm JST – Ann Demeulemeester, Les Beaux-Arts de Paris, salle Melpomène, 13 quai Malaquais, Paris 6e
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Bernhard Willhelm, TBA
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Dior Homme
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 22) – Wooyoungmi, Palais de la Femme, 96 rue de Charonne, Paris 11e
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 3:00am JST (January 22) – Cerruti, 3 place de la Madeleine, Paris 8e
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 22) – MiharaYasuhiro, La Maison Rouge, Fondation Antoine de Galbert, 10 boulevard de la Bastille, Paris 12e
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 5:00am JST (January 22) – Damir Doma, Espace des Blancs Manteaux
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 6:00am JST (January 22) – Hermès
21.00 CET / 3:00pm EST / 7:00am JST (January 22) – Raf Simons

Sunday, January 22, 2012
10.00 CET / 4:00am EST / 6:00pm JST – Bill Tornade, TBA
11.00 CET / 5:00am EST / 7:00pm JST – Lanvin
12.00 CET / 6:00am EST / 8:00pm JST – Agnes B., TBA
13.00 CET / 7:00am EST / 9:00pm JST – No Edition, TBA
14.00 CET / 8:00am EST / 10:00pm JST – Songzio, Espace des Blancs Manteaux, 1bis rue des Hospitalières Saint Gervais, Paris 4e
15.00 CET / 9:00am EST / 11:00pm JST – Rynshu, Hotel Westin, 3 rue de Castiglione, Paris 8e
16.00 CET / 10:00am EST / 12:00am JST (January 23) – Paul Smith, Couvent des Cordeliers, 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine, Paris 6e
17.00 CET / 11:00am EST / 3:00am JST (January 23) – Qasimi, TBA
18.00 CET / 12:00pm EST / 4:00am JST (January 23) – Thom Browne
19.00 CET / 1:00pm EST / 5:00am JST (January 23) – Arnys, Ambassade du Paraguay, 1 rue Saint-Dominique, Paris 7e
20.00 CET / 2:00pm EST / 6:00am JST (January 23) – Acne, Garage Vaugirard, 165 rue de Vaugirard, Paris 15e

C.A.N.N.O.T W.A.I.T! eeeeeeeeee!!!
Thanks to fuckingyoung.es

Its a new year and a very new and fresh season of the design reality show – Let’s Design by CCI (Cotton Council International).

With almost 1500 enties to boast of, a final of 12 participants had to be short-listed. Not such an easy task for the judges – Designers Rina Dhaka and Shantanu and Nikhil.

For the announcement of the final contestants, the very charming Neha Dhupia as well as Ms. Agnieszka Fijol(CCI India Representative) had also been invited. Ms Fijol also mentioned that the quality of the entries this year was much superior as compared to the previous seasons and that she could’nt wait to see how the contestants would incorporate cotton into their designs and come up with new and innovative applications.

For those of you who do’nt know what Let’s Design is about, its essentially a reality show where the 12 contestants stay at a common ‘Design House’ to compete in a series of challenges especially designed to highlight the many facets of cotton while showing their own skills and creativity.

Neha Dhupia in a playful mood while presenting the measuring-tape look alike bracelets to the final 12 contestants.

The final team:

There was even a friend of mine from NIFT(National Institute of Fashion Technology), New Delhi, Laalit Sengar who easily breezed into the final 12. Very proud of him!

Rina Dhaka

Let’s Design will soon be aired on Zoom Entertainment Channel.

I could’nt help but also mention this quirky neon colored watch worn by Designer Nikhil Mehra

So I decided to change my finishing powder and try the new Revlon one that has been launched recently in India.
In its packaging

The good part about this powder is definitely that its got minerals in it – good for your skin! AND that the powder has coconut water molecules incorporated into it!
The directions for use are ofcourse simple enough:

Swirl brush into powder and tap off excess. Blend powder evenly all over face in short, sweeping strokes.

And heres the most exciting part which actually freaked me a bit the first time I applied it: When you apply it on your face you can actually feel the fresh cooling sensation like putting water on your face! You get used to it soon enough and its fun!

It does minimize the appearance of pores, gives a good feeling of hydration and lasts quite long. All in all its a good finishing powder. However I would not recommend its usage by itself as it does not give coverage on its own. You have to use it over a base.

I bet this powder will do even better during the summers on Indian skins because its matte finish is impeccable!

I know its been what seems like an eternity of blogging about the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 but theres just so much material I have, and the last thing I want to do is let it just sit in my hard drive. So heres what I hope will be the final post on trendspotting at the Fashion Week 2012. Besides theres two fabulous marriages that I will be attending in Pune over the next week so till then this should probably hold!

Bubble Gum Boots
Adorable rain boots which will make any gloomy rainy day super cheerful and fun. And no these are not for children. They are for the children in us! There shall be no dull ever!

More than a neck-piece it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie! There is wood, steel, nuts and extra hooks.The stitch-line details on the wood and the neon make it seem very special. Great find!

I recently read somewhere that high-head buns are back. Though I would not easily agree, I have no problem whatsoever with this particular one because firstly it suits her and secondly lets face it, its burnt orange. Full marks for keeping the hairstyle the center statement and going for a minimal cream dress, a tan belt and nude shoes. Everything seems to be in place for this look and that makes me a very satisfied person somehow.

The neck-piece is a fabulous one and no doubt she has tried to focus all the attention towards it by wearing solid top and bottom pieces. However, the drawstring certainly does draw your second glance which is not required at all. A slightly more distinguished tuck in of the shirt and tie-up of the drawstring would have really pulled the entire look together. But nonetheless, the neck-piece is rather wonderful!

Im wondering why this bloke isnt at the beach right now rather than at the fashion week! Such a summery breezy look. Easy-going and laidback. The lovely delicate red printed scarf, with the blue cotton shirt and that jute bag, all speak of effortless style.

Models being shot! I didnt feel like leaving behind my drink so I clicked from where I was sitting. Yes…..sometimes…..I am lazy, moreso in the winters.

A very bedhead look but still chic!

Okay so I said this was gonna be the last post but its seeming to be quite large. Theres going be just one more after this one and then im done. Promise! Stay happy!