Absolut Style by Tamara Radivojevic is the Autumn Winter Collection 2011/12.

We could say it was inspired by strong and sophisticated women, and even though the usual contrast elements are present, the prolonged form of the waist is what catches our eyes this time.

She used the mixture of classical colors adaptable for every season and occasion, but in the same time they represent the intriguing women’s nature in their real lives. Dominant tones are black, electric blue and beige. What makes the collection even more particular and special is the choice of the materials. We can notice the combination of leather, silk and cotton which gives the collection the aspect of both fragility and aggressiveness.

Beige- black leather jackets, simple jumpsuits and waisted dresses are just some of the parts of the collection that are ‘the heart’ of the story.

Models are quite coherent with each other, following the tale of the collection, expressing women’s spirit as warriors worth of admiration.

Balances of something modern and something traditional is what Tamara Radivojevic gave us with this collection, and we hope that she will continue her job of impressing us in the future.

In the past few years Serbia has been eating up more and more of the international fashion scene spotlight. Numerous fresh designers keep popping up at Belgrade Fashion Week each season, and lots of them actually succeed in grasping the attention of the industry, way beyond Serbian borders.

Iva Sokovic is one of our latest discoveries. With a hint of Thierry Mugler and a Gareth Pugh twist, this designer pulls off a pretty rad look. Even though her designs are more down-to-earth and considerably less shocking than those of the aforementioned mammoths, she still manages to send the imagination of the viewers on a fabulous journey. Her latest collection presented during BFW is centered on the allure of an elusive creature of the night; unearthly cuts shape a mischievous rogue, a feisty outcast. The pieces are tailored to complement the silhouette of this luscious individual, whilst projecting a sheer badass attitude! Ultra skinny trousers and miniskirts make up for the sexy, glamorous side, while Goth leather jackets bring in a seductive dark edge

Intricate details complete the looks, while all sorts of body constriction methods are employed in order to reveal the curves of an evanescent figure. Aside from these, embellishments such as oversized necklines, corsets, ruffles, lace patterns are used for maximizing the dramatic effect. An eclectic combination of luxurious textures such as leather, satin, sequins has a bewildering result. The colors employed are those of a clear night sky, with deep shades of blue, bleumarine and hypnotic silver. Just the right amount of glitter is sprinkled so as to enhance this dreamy feel.

As for the designer behind the collection, we can only say that she’s as mysterious as her creations. All we know is that she’s a young, passionate artist and nothing more. In her biography section of her website, there’s only a picture of her hand; perhaps, she prefers her work do all the talking. Kudos in any case; excellent work so far.

Inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s poems, Fyodor Golan S/S 2012 collection, entitled ‘Flowers of Evil’, is a dark tale about transformation and renaissance, showcasing a beautiful nymph struggling to find her identity and finally merging with nature, becoming an all one.

Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman are the designers under the joint label of Fyodor Golan, coming from very different ethnic backgrounds and using their diversity to enrich their vision of life and style: often defining themselves as ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide’, the duo seems to have a decadent romantic dna that can be appreciated at its most on the catwalk.

It is not just a dress, every outfit embodies a metamorphosis, the result of a fusion between a wood goddess and a not pruned nature embroidered on laser-cut dresses and pleated organza shapes. 

‘Be beautiful! And be sad!’, wrote Baudelaire: there is no clue of serenity and softness in this garden, far away from the English tea party atmosphere that blossoms reminds us. More than a floral leitmotif,  it’s the love story between a woman and her gothic nature.

Chaos, breathtaking colors, shocking cuts and show- stopping combos are starting to fade from the catwalks for next season, making room for everything pastel and sweet! D.EFECT, by Egle Ziemyte, brought in the desert to the Riga Fashion Week SS2012.

 The beautiful collection came as a breath of fresh air with its extra light textures, oversized tailored pieces and slight preppy feel. Vaguely redeeming the mood of 70’s tennis outfits and fashion conscious college girls, this sporty chic look is sweet and sassy. If you throw in a French turtleneck and customized trench coat, you are in for the win!

 The striking fact about this collection is how perfectly put-together and consistent it is, despite combining several clashing concepts. The contrast between the uber sharp, clean cuts of some blazers, and the playful folds and drapes of the trench coats, turned out to be quite catchy! Volumes take center stage through a funky mix of maxi pants, structural bubble coats and puff skirts. As for the color palette, D.EFECT keeps it nice and simple: beige, cream, white, sand, ice, mustard, mint and coral. In a sea of neutrals, few carefully selected items pop out; no patterns, just a limited number of items in pastel nuances enhance the lighthearted and carefree set aura.

 Last but not least, the details they envisioned do make a difference. Elegant manly shoes were chosen to complete the looks; coming in white, light salmon, baby blue or faded ochre, with subtle silver adornments, they also made great pieces of eye candy! Enforcing the college trendy image, a truly nice touch was the fake, silver, shirt collar/necklace, and the silver headband paired up with an unruly, messy ponytail.

It seems like Portugal is the new promise land in fashion! Aside from the few well-established national designers, numberless great talents keep springing up like mushrooms after a rain shower, enchanting the public with authentic, personal pieces; what got us hooked is simply how different the creations are from what one can regularly spot on the Milan or Paris runways. It’s something particular about fashion in Portugal and I can’t quite put my finger on it; maybe it’s the natural chic, the subtle beachy notes, the revealing cuts or the particular fabrics, I honestly don’t know!  

Luis Buchinho, illustrious Portuguese designer, was the one to bring a sexy, exotic feel to the Paris Fashion Week. With a collection centered on drapes and fine, feminine silhouettes, he revived the myth of Greek and Roman Goddesses. Knee-length flowing dresses, exposed shoulders, delicate embroidery, empire waists, represent the artist’s unique take on the theme. Leaving aside the faint ruffles, ethereal figures and body-hugging translucent fabrics, the designer also featured a few statement pieces like super low-cut blazers and low-waist draped trousers. One catchy detail were the zippers scattered throughout the collection in the most unexpected places, leaving skirts or dresses lusciously hanging half-open around a girl’s waist, for instance. Another quirky touch was pairing up silk with sequins… The roughness of sequins is not toned down by the precious fabric, but enhanced; the applications become mysterious and alluring. Last but not least, the color palette is a beautiful combination of ivory, coral, and nude, sherbet yellow, black and white.

The gentle transition from one color to the other is achieved through the use of a very special fabric featuring a pattern of color splashes and degrades of beige, salmon pink, peach, yellow, grey. The selection of fabrics makes these pieces truly luxurious; nothing is more flattering than silk, the softest jersey, sequins, and comfortable light cotton.

The Italian duo took the first steps in 2007 under the name of Leitmotiv, which is meant to explicate the connection between art and fashion that they pursue in their collections, through Fabio Sasso’s tailoring skills mixed with baroque elements and Juan Caro’s passion for gothic. This link is clearly expressed in the prints and in the accessories conceived as mini-structures, but is also the spirit of their creative process, rich of cultural references.

Thanks to the designers’ fresh imaginary and their universal language, in few years, Leitmotiv already showed in Florence, Rome, Milan, Moscow, Tokyo and gained international recognition winning such awards as Fashion Incubator and Italian Vogue’s Who is on Next.

Their collections are always characterized by vivid colors and playful, ambiguous compositions and the one that hit Colombiamoda’s runway was no different.

An appropriate slogan for their clothes, as suggested by the designers themselves, might come from a quote by Rem Koolhaas: “in the while I’ll make you dream”. Their collection, in fact, seems to follow the stream of dreams with unpredictable developments marked by the poetry of unknown. Each outfit tells a different story fraught with escapism from the metropolitan chaos, they are postcards from a parallel universe where utopia and surrealism coincide.

While the silhouettes vary throughout the collection, the verbose decorations and pop allusions mix with otherworldly landscapes connect shirts to dresses, menswear to womenswear, defining an eclectic wardrobe where the past meets the future.

See the whole collection here

After a week of high fashion delirium and surreal extravaganza, the Paris Haute Couture Autumn Winter 2011/2012 Week came to an end yesterday. The majestic event left the streets of Paris roaming with all of fashion’s trendsetters, the hottest models and the most eccentric designers. All fashion and couture aficionados gathered up in Paris for a few days of visual royal feast! The runways, invaded by spectacular creations and hypnotizing muses, left the crowds in awe. Aside from all the big names of fashion, several exquisite emerging designers managed to grasp everyone’s attention with their unearthly creations!

In the aftermath of the event, Iris van Herpen is to be found on everybody’s lips. The young designer, aged 27, surpassed all expectations at her debut on the French catwalk and was labeled as being a ‘true visionary’! After graduating from the renowned ArtEZ Art Academy, she worked several years for Alexander ‘The Great’ McQueen and Viktor and Rolf; these experiences left a deep mark on her technique and style, as it is easily noticeable from her creations. Aside from this show, she exhibited her work during several other Haute Couture weeks the past years; however, her last showcasing was by far the most successful. The collection was actually an introduction of her work and was considered to be a ‘Best of’ of her work. The show encapsulated 19 outfits out of which only 5 were entirely new pieces, while the others were subtly upgraded versions of her most impressive designs of her past collections. Even just the mere names of her collections incite the public and make them wonder about the concepts and the hidden meanings of the creations: ‘Radiation Invasion’, ‘Synesthesia’, ‘Crystallization’, ‘Fragile Futurity’ etc.

During the few minutes of the ‘Best of’ presentation, the audience was transported to Iris’s fantastic world of plastic, rubber, metal and leather. The looks featured solely mini dresses and bodies, paired up with few, blunt accessories. The futuristic outfits, as the designer confesses, reflect her inner questions, doubts, personal challenges, to which she believes that the answers lie somewhere beyond the limits of time and space, in the boundless realm of imagination. Iris builds her designs on these pillars, drawing inspiration from everything futuristic, strange and avant-garde, making use of intense craftsmanship and special materials in order to materialize her visions.

The artist has already developed a signature style based on the extensive use of synthetic, rigid textures, on which she has to employ unconventional techniques in order to shape them the way she wants. These processes usually require special machinery and equipment which is not normally used in the fashion field, like a 4-D printer for instance. Hence, another trait of her designs is the paramount attention to details. We can notice in all her creations an incredible refinery and delicacy, despite the materials used. Who would have thought that a chunk of plain, white plastic could be turned in a breath-taking, lace-resembling dress? Or, that a piece of metal piping could ever be welded into a vest?

A newcomer to the fashion world. Yet, seems to be a settler. Whom I am talking about:  Boris Ćalić from Podgorica, Montenegro.

He completed his studies in Megatrend University, School of Art and Design in Belgrade, Serbia. Recently, he made a sound with his first individual collection “Nadja“ in Belgrade Fashion Week. He named this collection after the inspiration of André Breton’s novel.

Geometrical touches and pastel color, forming together just like pieces of architecture, reflect a rigid urban style. His message is rather rebellious and minimalist. We can see his minimalist approach especially in his choice of neutral tones in most of his collection. Besides, he combines the asymmetry and symmetry in a single piece.

He thoroughly reflects himself in this collection and it seemed to be that he has already taken the attention of fashion referees’.  Good job Ćalić , we are excited to see more of your work!