Fashion 1920

#SuzyPFW: The Magic of the Eclectic and Spontaneous from British Vogue http://ift.tt/2FEauzy

FASHION’s March issue is all about women who are in their element, from Big Little Lies’ Zoë Kravitz–who talks about embracing her natural beauty and surrounding herself with strong women in our cover story –to award-winning writer and editor Craille Maguire Gillies. Below, Maguire Gillies tells us how she overcame her aging anxieties. I’ve long been a keeper of quotes from books, from podcasts, from life—although not the cheerfully ironic sort found on Etsy posters or the inspirational ones in Instagram posts. For example, I once overheard a Montrealer say “I’d like to look like myself but better”—a sentiment I find absurd yet oddly appealing. “Yes,” I thought, as I scrawled it in my notebook. “So would I!” Around the same time, a Quebec friend shared a few wise words: “C’est un mal pour un bien,” which roughly translates to “It’s a blessing in disguise.” I’d jotted down these bons mots in 2008, weeks before I turned 30; I suspect my friend had intended them as a salve for the...

We can debate ad nauseam the perils of the internet, of social media, of being “connected” 24/7 but the instant connectivity of the web also allows for creative and cultural exchanges that would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. It’s how Livia Firth’s Eco-Age, the British Fashion Council, and the Commonwealth Fashion Council were able to pull off the ambitious Commonwealth Fashion Exchange , launched earlier this month at London Fashion Week . Bringing together design and artisan talent from 52 Commonwealth countries, this inaugural event aims to encourage cross-cultural projects and promote sustainability-focused design, with labels like Karen Walker from New Zealand, Behno from India, and Lucian Matis from Canada teaming up with artisans from regions like Sri Lanka, Namibia and Seychelles. (Fun fact: Behno’s founder Shivam Punjya was even present, via Skype, at the traditional blessing ceremony his partners, artisans from the Pacific islands of Tuvalu, held before sending off...

At the surface level, the trends coming out of Milan Fashion Week Fall 2018 were: power suits, flared pants, bright pops of primary colours, capes, anoraks and puffer jackets. But many of the designers also explored deeper cultural ideas and sentiments reflective of these #metoo times. It was all about women taking back the night and feeling empowered and safe at Prada and Missoni. Other designers delved into what our supposed post-human, post-truth and post-identity world might look like. (Or at least what we might be wearing!) In the midst of this futuristic outlook, the nostalgic inspiration at Fendi tethered these brave new world ideas with some old world charm. Finally, I included some of my favourite puffers to showcase how inspiring it is when designers transform a quotidien piece of clothing into something OTT fabulous. 1.  Ethnic futurism I love it when a fashion designer coins a term that resonates or captures a mood you’re sensing but perhaps don’t exactly know how to ...