Clements Ribeiro Colection | yohana

Clements Ribeiro Spring 2012 Ready-to-WearA Clements Ribeiro show is always a glimpse into the deeply serious yet dreamy and creative minds of Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro. For Spring it was one better: a glimpse into their studio-slash-home. "It's kind of a journey through our house," Clements said backstage. "There's toile de Jouy. We have lots of botanical pressed things, lots of plants, lace curtains."

The close-at-hand inspiration didn't make for an enormous leap, but an evolution of ideas the designers have been pondering over a couple of seasons. That long midi silhouette to the calf became slimmer and primmer, the latter unavoidable when you're dealing with faded-wallpaper florals and lace. But something like a bright intarsia blocked twinset and striped lace pencil skirt was still far from being staid.

The duo seems to be in a happy and confident place. They know their strengths, and they're sticking to them. Topping that list: their techno-romantic digital prints. They figured heavily in the new pull-on-and-go athletic direction here of slim, printed silk pants and shorts with (chic) elastic waistbands and matching racerback tanks and boxy tees. "It's just what I'm in the mood for wearing," said Clements, sporting a version of the look from a recent collaboration with the Museum of Everything. That sort of easy separate is never a bad idea when you're looking to broaden sales. Still, pieces like a top with two florals engineered to look like raglan sleeves didn't seem like a cheap ploy to cash in. The show ended on a high note with a twisty op-art print thrown into the sweet mix: It had shades of Alice in Wonderland. Well, there's one girl who figured out that there's no place like home.
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Inspirate from Yves Sains Laurent | yohana

Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2011 Ready-to-WearIt was inevitable that the epic Saint Laurent exhibition, which recently closed after a six-month run in Paris, would make its presence felt in fashion this season. It certainly put the man who holds the reins at the house that Yves built in a reflective mood. In a blazingly focused, tightly edited show, Stefano Pilati revisited the Yves Saint Laurent codes one by one: beginning with a trenchcoat and building—naturally—to Le Smoking, in crepe de soir. In between came bowed blouses, blasts of color, cabans, paysanne ruffles, clouds of marabou, long forties lines, exotica, erotica, and more. It was a comprehensive guided tour of the YSL universe. And the location—a Rothschild hôtel particulier in the eighth—was a simpatico venue, its gilded, frescoed salons instantly creating a more appropriate, intimate mood than the cavernous glory of the Grand Palais, where Pilati had been showing for a while.

Speaking of simpatico, the clothes Pilati offered to an audience that ran the gamut from Janet Jackson to Florence Welch (minus her Machine for a fashion night out) underscored his instinctive connection to the fundamental ethos of the house. You could pose it as a face-off: restraint versus release. The specter of Belle de Jour hovers over such a notion, but here it was as simple as black and white, if you considered the pristine glare of that opening trench versus the inky blackness of the last jumpsuit. But Pilati also proposed a blouse that was proper bordering on prim, bar the fact that it was completely sheer, and a jumpsuit that turned out to be backless. The subtle baring of skin was something of a leitmotif, with the slit skirt or the exposed midriff. It fitted with the tribalism Pilati was talking about afterward: how fashion is a way for women to identify themselves, just as members of a tribe do. He made the connection explicit with a print that was—literally—thumbprints, or a texture that looked a little like scarified skin. The sophisticated, the primitive—again, restraint and release. It added up to a collection that should resonate loud and long for Pilati.
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For Men | yohana

Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2011 MenswearDefining the Yves Saint Laurent man: That's the challenge Stefano Pilati said he was meeting with his new collection. This creature is elusive, possibly because Yves Saint Laurent himself gave little direction other than the clothes in his own closet. It's not at all like the prodigious legacy the designer left with his womenswear. But Pilati remains determined to pin down his target. He was feeling a more body-conscious silhouette for Fall. Accordingly, almost everything about the collection, including details like lapels, felt elongated and slenderized. Even a felted blouson was drawn in to the body. The exception was the oversize outerwear, although its volume had the effect of emphasizing the slimness of what lay beneath. So did the very substantial footwear, raised up on ridged, camo-patterned soles.

Pilati also wanted to convey a new sophistication for YSL's menswear. He felt subtlety was key. So shadow plaids barely hinted at pattern in a couple of jackets, and the structured shoulder was achieved without any padding whatsoever. What the lean, boyish silhouette felt like more than anything else was Carnaby Street in the sixties. The high-closing, double-breasted, velvet-collared Edwardian jackets had a strong flavor of the London dandies of the time. But Pilati insisted the influence was closer to home. Rather than anything connected with London, he said he'd been dipping back into Proust, the virtual Bible of all things Saint Laurent.
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Yves Saint Laurent | yohana

Yves Saint Laurent Spring 2012 MenswearNorth Africa is the root of the Yves Saint Laurent saga. It's where Yves himself was born, it's the well he went back to time and again. Now it seems to serve the same function for Stefano Pilati. His new men's collection had a palette of sand and sky, while the mood of the clothes, alternately tribal and military, suggested a European gone native (it's the Paul Bowles reference again).

Khaki drill is a shade of the season. Pilati showed it in a trench or baggy pleated shorts that could have been lifted from the trunk of Rommel's desert rats. A double-breasted coat with a pleated back and a white blouson with a funnel neck also spoke to Sahara-based commando units. They even had their reptile in the dunes, in the form of a python-printed blouson and a pair of cargo shorts.

The show opened with a display of precise double-breasted tailoring, until Pilati introduced the threat that it could be literally undone with a swath of drawstrings and laces trailing up the forearms of a white shirt, on a drill tee and matching shorts, and linking the halves of a birfurcated jacket. The detail seemed a little incongruous. Was it an ambiguous implication of male corsetry? A reference to the lacing of nomadic tribes? A forced effort to inject visual interest? Either way, it would scarcely have been cause for comment if Pilati had cast his net wider with the collection. As it was, the 25-look show felt focused almost out of existence. There was one story here: a hold-on-fast feeling of self-control. Maybe that's why the shoes were so striking. Chunky python loafers were all about letting go.
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Sofia Coppola’s Robert Mapplethorpe | yohana

Gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac has a long history of collaborating with fellow creative types to showcase the work of Robert Mapplethorpe—Hedi Slimane and avant-garde director Robert Wilson among them. For his latest coup, the groundbreaking impresario—who has been showing Mapplethorpe’s work for decades—has brought a new light into the fold: Sofia Coppola and Robert Mapplethorpe.

For the new show, Coppola presents the photographer from her own perspective, bringing to light some lesser-known images. “When I was going through Robert Mapplethorpe’s archive at the [Mapplethorpe] Foundation, selecting the photographs for the show, it was interesting to discover images I didn’t know of his,” Coppola said. “For example, it was the first time I saw that he had done sweet portraits of children. It was a side of his work that was completely new to me.” Below, Style.com speaks with Ropac about Coppola and the unseen side of Mapplethorpe.
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Beauty | yohana

katy-perry-nicki-minaj.jpgIt's electric! Neon pink is the color of the moment, as demonstrated by the wacky hairstyles worn by pop divas Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry at the American Music Awards. Fashion chameleon Nicki livened up her satin and lace Oscar de La Renta gown with a cascade of cotton candy-colored ringlets, and she accessorized the look with a swipe of her signature lipstick, MAC's limited-edition Pink Friday. (With her taste for vivid colors, we can only imagine what her forthcoming OPI polish collection will look like!)

Fresh off of her California Dreams tour, Katy's twisted updo was reminiscent of a strawberry soft serve ice cream cone. She paired the supersweet coif with big, bold lashes and a pop of orange-red color on the lips. The end result? An eye-popping look that perfectly suits the daring singer.

Both Nicki and Katy are always willing to try new and unexpected looks, and we think both songstresses successfully pulled off bright pink locks. Who do you think should win this beauty battle?
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Beauty hair | yohana

wella-3d-hair.jpg
Everyone who colors their hair, listen up! I have been dying my hair for years, so I know the whole song-and-dance routine surrounding the coloring process and thought I’d seen and tried everything. Then I was given the opportunity to test out the Wella Professionals 3D Color Effects Salon Service at the Serge Normant Salon with Wella Color Ambassador Aura Friedman. My hair had been looking particularly dull and lifeless, so when Aura told me that the service would not only boost my color but also add definition and deepness to my sullen-looking locks, I was ready to try it out!
The service consists of the hair being sectioned off and layered with similar, graduated colors that go from dark to light. By incorporating this subtle depth of color, the darker layers of hair make the lighter parts look more defined. Yet these different hues seamlessly blend together too, creating a 3D effect that looks surprisingly natural. So though my new color is similar to my regular shade, it looks a lot better: There is a noticeable difference in the richness of the hues in my hair, which makes it look completely transformed. As I get ready to head into a new school year, I'm excited to debut my revamped hair!
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Next New dress | yohana

J. Mendel Spring 2011 Ready-to-WearGilles Mendel has prima ballerinas on the brain. Earlier this summer, he designed the costumes for the New York City Ballet's production of Call Me Ben; then he shot his Resort lookbook in the dance studio; and now his Spring collection finds him back at the barre.

Presumably, you won't hear any complaints from this designer about the tents' new location in Lincoln Center, the NYCB's home stage. Mendel's corps were dressed in Madame Grès-inspired draped silk chiffon and jersey dresses in powdery, neutral makeup tones of peach, blush pink, and icy gray. (To make the palette pop, they were shown with a bright coral lip and brilliant orange wedges—Louboutins wrapped with grosgrain ankle wraps, ballet-slipper style.) The dresses were all variations on a theme, but thanks to the exquisite hand-pleating and ruching, Mendel's uptown ladies shouldn't mind. No complaints, either, about those Mendel furs, here Tibetan lamb and shadow fox in heart-shaped dégradé boleros; they're mounted on tulle to make them semitransparent and featherlight. ("A new little summer sweater," according to Mendel.) The look overall was lighter, simpler than it's been before; "a little bit more easy," the designer acknowledged after the show. And there was a smart concession to downtown, too, in eveningwear, of all places: ankle-length pleated mousseline gowns shown with flat sandals, the way kids are wearing long these days.
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Ready to wear J.Mendel | yohana

J. Mendel Fall 2011 Ready-to-WearGilles Mendel's father was a collector of aboriginal art, and it was, of all things, the tribal body art of the indigenous Australians that inspired his son's Fall collection. The house's famously luxe furs in mink and fox featured "intarsia" patterning that looked like elaborate etched tattoos—or, Mendel noted, like the geometric patterns of Art Deco, or the architecture of Jean Prouvé.

The clothes themselves alternated between structured pieces that picked up on pre-fall's tailored theme, and flowing gowns. Those tailored jackets and coats, many with mixed-fur bodies and contrast sleeves, were unquestionably luxe, but with their exaggerated shoulders and hard-edged, slightly eighties glamour, felt a bit out of step with the moment. More on-the-money was a series of flowing gowns, particularly one with a plunging neck, in embroidered rose-colored silk mousseline, glittering with beads. It had red carpet written all over it. Beading is a house first, and it was indulged to good effect; the sparkle leavened the black-heavy palette. Nor was it the only new thing for the label. The high, "tattooed" boots were, for the first time, Mendel-designed and made.
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Next Christopher Raeburn | yohana

Christopher Raeburn Fall 2011 Ready-to-WearThere was something really fitting about the venue Christopher Raeburn found for his first London Fashion Week show. Raeburn's modus operandi is to source vintage and deadstock fabrics and garments, mainly military, and turn them into sharp parkas, anoraks, and coats; last night, the disused Aldwych tube station became yet another forgotten resource given new purpose by Raeburn. It's nice when a collection and the location where it's presented rhyme like that.

Let's start by stipulating that the look of Raeburn's outerwear is hardly revolutionary. He broke new ground for himself this season, expanding beyond his graphic parachute silk anoraks and patchwork parkas, and introducing a range of tailored pieces for men and women made from deadstock melton wool. But as good as those looks were—and they were really, really good—they don't exactly redefine the look of the now. With that said, however, it's not unreasonable to assert that Christopher Raeburn is the single most radical designer working today. In coming years, it's likely that innovation in fashion is going to revolve less around aesthetics and more around the way things are made—where materials come from and how efficiently garments are produced—and looked at in that light, Raeburn is a visionary. A detail-driven designer, he finds ways to shape the look of his clothes around what he can source, as in his toggle coats, with their leather patches (from old German military smocks) and vintage horn buttons, or his orange wool melton jackets, the fabric left over from beefeater uniforms, or his tweedy baseball jackets, made from military transit blankets that were themselves produced from detritus.

Of course, no one would bother about Raeburn's radical project if he weren't producing great-looking clothes. As the wool melton pieces prove, he's an excellent tailor, cutting a woman's coat close to the body, for instance, and giving its skirt a just-so flare. He has a fine sense of the graphic, using his trademark grosgrain ribbon both to help shape garments and as a high-contrast accent. And for all the utilitarian mien of Raeburn's patchwork parkas, you just have to spy the angled set of their pockets to understand that they were made for people who are incredibly fussy about the look of their clothes. It's hard to fathom how Raeburn will continue to expand the borders of his label—if he'll be able to find ways to do things other than outerwear—but perhaps the best compliment you can pay him is to say that you hope he does.
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Spring 2012 Christopher Raeburn | yohana

Christopher Raeburn Spring 2012 Ready-to-WearThere was a lot going on at Christopher Raeburn's presentation today. Raeburn presented his new collection at the Museum of London alongside a minute-long short film and an interactive installation of his new pieces; when you touched the clothes, they made a sound, and when all the clothes were being handled at once, it created a kind of abstract music.

All of that activity made it easy to distract from the fact that Raeburn continues to impress as he expands his label. Though his emphasis is still on sharp-looking outerwear, Raeburn has stepped a toe into ready-to-wear, introducing jersey separates for men and women made from an organic hemp blend produced in England. These included long, heather tees slashed through with bolts of primary color and sharp-looking cargo sweats. There wasn't much to read into these pieces, design-wise, but Raeburn has a tendency to start new projects small and then build in ambition.

The outerwear is a case in point. Raeburn debuted as a designer with a few elegant parkas made out of upcycled parachute nylon. At this point, he's sourcing a lot of kinds of materials, always with an eye toward local manufacturers and sustainable textiles, and creating a wider array of silhouettes. By casting a wider net with his fabrics, Raeburn has given himself the freedom to do outerwear in a riot of colors, a fact punctuated by this season's standout look, a color-blocked anorak in a rainbow of hues.
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Calvin Klein Collection | yohana

Calvin Klein Collection Spring 2012 Ready-to-WearAfter a week of in-your-face colors and dizzying prints, Francisco Costa served up a palette cleanser for Spring. Of course, the Calvin Klein womenswear creative director has never really gone in for over-the-top anything, so the collection's subtle shades of nude, pale yellow, silver, and black weren't exactly a surprise. What was new was the softness and the femininity. Occasionally in the past, Costa's minimalism has erred on the conceptual side. He's been slowly moving away from the sculptural constructions that used to define his work, but he said good-bye to them for good this season.

In their place were slipdresses that by their very definition had a real sense of the body. Curving seams on the rear end highlighted its round form; pleats tapering to a point near the tailbone served the same purpose. Many of the silk frocks had sheer details at the bodice or were made of such gossamer-light stuff that the models' underpinnings were visible. Lingerie being such a big part of the CK empire, it felt—deliberately or not—like a smart synergy between brands: Put more celebrities in dresses with bras peeking through—Uma Thurman, Naomi Watts, Ashley Greene, and Chloë Moretz were all sitting front-row—and sell more Calvin Klein Underwear.

The delicate look of the slips extended to the tailoring: Jackets had portrait necklines, and pants were cut so wide and cropped so high that from certain angles they looked like full skirts. For a long time now, Costa has practiced one half of the Calvin Klein brand DNA, minimalism; this season he nailed the sensuous part of the house code, too.
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Valentino | yohana

Valentino Spring 2012 Ready-to-WearToo ladylike, too precious, too little-girlish, too vulgar. Any of those outcomes could've befallen a show as laden with lace and flowers and embroideries as was Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri's latest for Valentino. But they didn't, not for a second. The designers turned out their best collection yet—one dress more seductively, calmly lovely than the next, many of them walking out on flat sandals or lace espadrilles that helped give the outing its fresh feel. "Fashion is a dream, and in this moment we need dreams," Piccioli said beforehand. The only thing that could poke a hole in the duo's fantasy is the fact that us girls don't have enough real-life occasions to wear these frocks.

Oh, how we wish we did, but in fact there was a lot more here than the red-carpet confections that attracted Jessica Biel to the front row. The designers opened with short frocks in off-white or black in a cotton lace fabric that made them into everyday sort of propositions, or they inset lace into paper-thin leather for a halter dress and a snappy trench. Other short styles in away-from-the-body tent shapes had a dressier feel.

A quick peek at the designers' mood boards revealed pictures of Georgia O'Keeffe and Tina Modotti and photographs by Deborah Turbeville. Piccioli and Chiuri mentioned Mexico in the early part of the twentieth century as a source of inspiration, "but not so much a geographical place as a state of mind." The notion came through strongest for evening. The puffed shoulders, the long sleeves, and the hems that fell above the ankle, along with the dresses' hand-painted floral prints and velvet flower appliqués, gave them a slight folkloric feeling, but it wasn't overpowering. "Beautiful" is the word we heard over and over as we left the show.
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new spring 2012 . | yohana

Barbara Bui Spring 2012 Ready-to-WearOn the face of it, Barbara Bui was ably ticking off the trends. Sporty? Check. Bold blocks of color? Check. Thirties drop-waists? Tribal motifs? Check and check. But her collection had its own crisp bounce. She cycled through all of the above and came up with a cohesive, commercial translation with pieces that garnered notice. Take the first look's jacket, made of thickly fringed leather—Bui called it "fur of leather"—that caused one oft-photographed young editor in the front row to lean over and express her stamp of approval. Elsewhere, Bui presented the unattainable brought within reach, like the creamy and crafty hand-knits and racing-cum-tuxedo-stripe trousers you saw on a major designer's runway last season, here made suddenly earthbound.

As is her way, Bui had good merch for miles, like a leather mini-duffel that came in a still-wantable rainbow python. And you imagine Bui's youthful customer will go gaga over those boxy sweatshirts with Latin American-inspired embroidery, and the second-skin nylon boot-cut track pants with vents that open over strappy sandals. The aforementioned editor might want to consider adding those pants to her list, too; they'd be just the thing for running from the street-style paparazzi when the fun is done.
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The $2,000 Budget | yohana

A Lacey BodysuitI've been the lingerie editor here for years, and I wish women would would think of undergarments as more than simply bras and underwear. I'd use this bodysuit under a semisheer blouse.
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New Soft Sweaterdress | yohana

A Soft SweaterdressThis sweaterdress is the perfect transition weight for early fall. And you don't often find one with such romantic detailing.
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My Fall Inspirations girlie | yohana

My Fall Inspirations

 

My style is girlie and romantic. I'm attracted to vintage items with feminine shapes and anything with a dreamlike quality.

From top to bottom:
I've had this film still of Anouk Aimee in Lola on my office wall forever. I've been obsessed with her since I was 18.

With her soft pink clothes and jeweled headpiece, this Nina Ricci model could have walked straight out of a fairytale.

I took this picture of a carousel in Paris on my way to a fashion show last season. I always stop when I see a carousel. Vintage ones have such a magical quality.
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A Spikey Necklace | yohana

A Spikey NecklaceWhat a bang for your buck! You'd expect a necklace with his much visual impact to cost a lot more.
Metal necklace, $18
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Leather Leggings | yohana

Leather LeggingsThese leggings look like leather and fit like a glove. I'll wear them under dresses instead of tights on cold days.
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My Fall Inspirations | yohana

My Fall InspirationsFall is by far my favorite season. I like getting cozy in jeans, sweaters, boots, and socks. And autumnal hues are easy to work with.

From top to bottom:
I'm just so into birds and feathers right now. I'm searching for a taxidermy peacock for my apartment. They're so beautiful.

I loved the layering at the Haider Ackerman show—and the colors, especially the dark peacock blue.

One of my best friends lives in Turkey, and I'm dying to visit her again. I can't wait to search for kilims in the Istanbul markets.
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$400 Budget | yohana

Three InStyle staffers give us the lowdown on what they're craving for fall. The catch? Each one has a limited amount to spend ($400, $2,000, $4,000). Over the next four months, you'll see just how they strategize to round out their wardrobes.
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