Goodbye!

This will be my last post on this website. I have officially transferred my blog, along with some of my favourite posts, over to WordPress.com My blog will still be called Shades of Grey, and the new URL is almost the same as the old one. New posts will probably be up beginning tomorrow.

Click on the link below to follow the new, and hopefully improved, Shades of Grey.
http://www.shadesofgreyfashion.wordpress.com

Lots of love!
Nicky

I'll be back soon!

Hey guys,

In case anyone is wondering, I haven't abandoned my blog. I want to expand it a bit so that I can use it for school, and use it as part of my portfolio when I'm looking for a real job, so I'm moving it over to wordpress.com. It's a bit more complicated, but mostly I'm kind of challenged in the technology department so it's taking me some time to figure out how to get it to look how I want it to. I want to keep up with the fashion industry stuff, and the style/shopping guide part, and I'd like to add food and drink recipes too. I'll post the link here once I'm finished!

xox Nicky

Fashion Week Highlights

Now that fashion week, or rather fashion month, has come to an end, I thought I would do a recap of highlights from New York, London and Paris.

Starting with New York...

Imitation Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

After a 5 year hiatus, Imitation of Christ comes back with designer Tara Subkoff. I love the result, the set was a fantastic compliment to the contemporary line's romantic, whimsical line; the grass catwalk, and the twinkle lights combined with Subkoff's dreamy pieces created a kind of fairy wonderland. Well played.

Jeremy Scott Spring 2011 RTW

 Image courtesy of Style.com

Jeremy Scott is a designer who has been known to work with Lady GaGa, so after the pop star's meat dress stunt at the MTV awards last month, this ensemble should come as no surprise. I think GaGa said her motivation behind the MTV dress was to get the message across that she is not a piece of meat.  I wonder if Scott's inspiration behind the dress is the same? At the very least, it's not quite as stomach churning as the original, and PETA won't be able to use argue that the dress will be crawling with maggots.

Over to London Fashion Week...

Vivienne Westwood Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

The cartoonish makeup and stylish retro inspired suits make Westwood's spring 2011 RTW line remind me of a cross between french prostitutes in the time of Marie Antoinette, and a kind of 1940s Dick Tracy-esque sleuth in a graphic novel. It's feminine, edgy and quirky and I love it.

Mark Fast Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

The King of Knits, Mark Fast states that this season, the story he attempted to sell with his line was a utopia destroyed by acid rain. I was on board at first, the fringe in the piece above, for instance, makes the dress look as though its starting to melt, and all of the black pieces Fast showed at the beginning of the collection kind of fit with the dark story. However, he lost me a little bit with all of the florescents toward the end, it became less acid rain destroyed utopia and more cruise ship entertainment. This was a half-pass for me. Kudos to Fast however, on the use of plus-sized models for the third season in a row, it has made the choice of using more diverse women seem like a natural part of his show rather than a cheap ploy for media attention. Let's see if he keeps it up.

And finally, Paris...

Chloé Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

Chloé's Paris show was understated, with the use of simple-yet-beautiful fabrics, and rich neutrals. Particularly noteworthy was the use of flats, not a single pair of heels on the runway. Perhaps the decision was made after the multiple slip-ups the sky high stilettos caused at London's Burberry show.

Balmain Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

Anything but understated, the leather and metallic clad models seen at the Balmain show were the image of rock-and-roll. Not exactly a fresh or innovative collection from a fashion-as-art perspective, the line did offer a pleasing aesthetic, with wearable looks that were, judging by the hole-y tights seen on many of the girls, obviously street fashion inspired.

Zac Posen Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

Lace, lingerie and goth. Another rock-and-roll collection showing in Paris this season. I love the Interview with the Vampire aesthetic that Posen's line presents. Another bonus was the subtle use of diverse models, for example Crystal Renn. Stunningly beautiful, these girls were used quietly instead of being made a spectacle out of, giving some optimism to a new era of high fashion modelling. 

Alexander McQueen Spring 2011 RTW

Image courtesy of Style.com

After the tragic passing of Lee Alexander McQueen earlier this year, and the Gucci Group's announcement that the McQueen brand would live on, I am sure there was much anticipation for the first post-McQueen Alexander McQueen show.  The good news is that Sarah Burton's first womenswear show as creative director of the label did not disappoint.  It was, as promised, much lighter than what we've seen in the past, it was airy and feminine, and although the line has gone in a very different direction, it has not lost that McQueen spirit we've come to know and love. 

Burberry Prorsum S/S11 Womenswear

So, lucky me, I won a ticket through my school to go see the Burberry Prorsum Womenswear show. I was so excited for my first real fashion show that I spent the day before trying to think of what to wear, and shopping for said outfit. After much deliberation, I finally settled on a nude-rose kind of shift dress from Top Shop, but once I got to the show it really didn't matter. Nobody cared what I was wearing (except, obviously, for me) when there was a room full of fashionistas who were far more interesting and famous than myself. It was fantastic. Let me paint an image of what I experienced at the show...

The Before

I arrive in the enormous queue of people waiting to get in, and there are ticket checkers every two meters to prevent any gatecrashers. The room is all white, with a glossy black catwalk and a mirrored Burberry pattern on the backdrop. When I get inside, I'm herded to the back of the room with all of the other standing ticket holders. Apparently, I wasn't the only nobody concerned with what I would wear, the room was full of die hard fashion fans and bloggers who haven't reached Tav'i fame, especially the standing row were I was placed. Let me tell you, they all cared what they were wearing. Never have I seen such a big place filled with so many well dressed people. Not to mention the amount of designer bags, big sunglasses (in a very dim room), and crackberry addicts--I include myself in the last. Watching the crowd was definitely worth arriving a few minutes early for. As I looked around, waiting for the show to begin, I noticed that most eyes in the room are on the coveted front row seats and the people filling them. Most were editors, some were celebrities whom I failed to recognize but overheard people whisper about, and of course there was Anna Wintour. I froze a bit when I saw her. Apparently I missed out on catching a glimpse of both Sarah Jessica Parker and Alexa Chung, for which I am very disappointed.

The Show

The lights dim, the whispers stop, glitter falls, and the heavily emo music starts. The models start walking out. To start, the models wear neutral beige trench coats, biker jackets and leather trousers with pops of orange, sky blue, and lime green accessories. The coats and trousers are very motorcycle inspired with quilted detailing. One in particular caught my attention, it was a mid length beige classic trench with quilted and patent leather sleeves, and I wanted it. Then we saw a few vividly coloured dresses and skirts. A model wearing one of them had the worst walk I have ever seen. It was shocking, I couldn't figure out what she was doing. It was as if her shoes were two sizes too big, and four inches too high, and she was trying desperately to keep them on her feet while staying upright. I soon realized that there must have been a problem with the shoes, as two models took their shoes off mid walk, one model tripped, and the poor girl with the awful walk took a tragic nose dive just seconds before being off the runway at the very end of the show. Pity, I was really rooting for her, and she came so close. The pieces at the end of the show were kind of romantic/rock and roll. Softer colours, more textured fabric, with a rock and roll edge in the form of a leather jacket or a trench coat with studded sleeves. The show was full of classics with a very modern twist. It was the Jetsons, motorcycle jackets, embellished trench coats, neutrals, bright colours, and a dose of animal print for good measure. Yet with all of the variety the show still maintained a sense of uniform.

After

The lights turned on, and people started filing out. This part took forever, as there were paparazzi crowding every exit. I saw Fashion Television doing some interviews on the way out, and I got so excited that I had to resist from jumping in front of the camera and saying "What up Canada?!" Thankfully, I did not, it would have been really embarrassing for me. All in all, it was a great show, my first time was special! It did make me question how well-suited I am to work in the industry though; for a bunch of people who love fashion, and who I heard say good things as the show was ending, I've never seen so many seemingly unimpressed people before. I don't think I'm cool enough for this!

Model fall at the end of the show. Photo by Ben Stansall, afp/ getty images

Lady Gaga at VMAs

Never one to be outdone, Lady Gaga chose 3 outrageous things to wear to the VMAs. I love the giant black gown, and coordinating Mohawk. It must be difficult for Lady Gaga to out do her own outfits, so she went for an all meat dress. Shocking. Obviously this pissed PETA off, who released a statement to remind people, unnecessarily I might ad, as it is doubtful anyone would try this look at home, that within a very short period of time this dress would smell of rancid meat and probably be crawling with maggots. YUM. When asked about her reasoning behind the flesh dress, Gaga responded by saying;

“Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgement-free human being on the earth. However, it has many interpretations. For me this evening, if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights pretty soon, we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on own bones. And, I am not a piece of meat.”

I feel almost blasphemous for saying this, but although it was obviously meant to shock, it's almost predictable, as is her explanation for it. I love me some Gaga, but the meat dress made my stomach turn just a little.

Superdouche?

Looking more like he's going to Comic Con than the VMAs, Will.I.Am opted for this plastic hat/wig thing to cap off his ensemble (please excuse the pun). He also painted his face black...er, which I equate with me wearing a spray tan, but some people got all uppity about it and compared it to black-face. Go figure.

Taylor Swift VMAs

It might be an unorthodox outfit choice for the VMAs, but this glamorous retro look is working for me. The finger wave, the dark lipstick, and the romantic dress all work without being too fussy for such a relaxed show.