Bananas and Monkey, Stripes and Sequins.

Prada Spring Summer 2011 show in Beijing. Not just any ordinary trunk show, (the Show was in Milan in the Fall)but Prada's special version for Beijing. Exclusively. I love that last year I was in Korea for the Transformer and this time in Beijing to see a show. What vision.

On a very cold Saturday night, Beijing descended upon the new CAA, Centre for Art. One is greeted with an organised queue, not the kind of riot you see at fashion weeks in the fashion capitals, then a corridor of bright green palm trees (it was -10 degrees celsius)and followed by a cameraman . . . every step of the way, not had that before, a man, literally, shadowing my every step.

Once inside you are greeted with people, dressed in black, fur, coats, Prada and an air of anticipation in a dimly-lit museum foyer.

Arnold lit the space, by that, I thought he meant the show, what he meant was he transformed the normally neon space into a glowing interior with brighter coloured lights shining through at certain points in space.

Stephanie and I followed Arnold to see the pre-show set up. The set was identical to the show in Milan. Prada had literally rebuilt everything.

After more drinks downstairs, we climbed up the ramp to the show. The little orange plastic seats made me think of big football pitches and the tremendous lights that shine on it . . . there had to be connection.

After a wait, in this case for the ravishing Gong Li to arrive . . . the show started with a brightly clad model . . . all sharp lines, bright colours . . .classically sporty and minimal yet so quirky. The music which accompanied this suggested as much the colours a throw back to exotic Mexican, Latino vibes and the jungle, the monkey clasp on the purses an exotic tough. Then the banana print blouses. My fave look was the neon sequined stripe dress with the platform brogues, silver platformed brogues with pink rubber and rope braid. It was such FUN. So noncholant . . the boys too in the same brogues, bags with the varsity logo. The bits I also loved were the striped sombreros and fur stoles. Then there was that added maximalist quirkiness. The looks felt a bit toned down but we were informed before that they were specially made for China and would be available the next day - China-wide.

my fave look

It was like they were walking on the panels that enclose those giant neon lights. It was an ELECTRIC show.

Going back down stairs to dinner (I loved the mud chicken - chicken wrapped in leaves and buried in mud), I realised that it was seamless, the look, the feel. . . tropical cococabana meets Mexicana in a high tech super future rave set at a neon lit football pitch with monkeys in the audience throwing bananas and perfectly coiffed 1950's socialites laughing away. Litteraly, the place felt like this though the blasts of mega freezing cold air destroyed this illusion from time to time.

mud chicken

Then the next moment we were all waiting for. . . The Petshop Boys. So appropriate, so Prada - quite amazing that aesthetically, it felt completely compatible. The colours, the vibes. A slick, quirky, geeky camp-as-hell performance. I loved it.

A bit cliched but really, Go West with Chinese Gymnasts in the background was tremendous. So glad they are still around, a revival! And the crowd DANCED.

Go West

New York City Boy

King of Rome

Mrs Prada

After-party and more drinks, lofting around and taking it all in. I loved bumping into the Thai crew :), Ed and Victoria Tang who I had not seen in AGES and also making some new friends.

I was completely mesmerised by the graphics on the huge screen, by 2 by 4 from london, genius coming to life of the show's moodboard . . .seamless editting of Josphephine Baker, the Caribbeans, the three Caballeros, Prada models dancing and being a bit sily in a very strong graphic manner. Fab. The dj who spun as this visual feast went on was this guy Dan Lywood that Jan Kennedy brought from London, what he played went perfectly with that moving moodboard. I loved it.

I thought the night would end when the lights came on and but as we were getting into the car, Sebastian was leaving too and there I was confronted with whether to retire or stay out . . .and seeing as Beijing is just so HOT, I went along with Sebastian, the Prada crew and Mrs. Prada herself (she is an amazing, an amazing woman) to another new Beijing hot spot - D-lounge.

What fun . . .what a weekend . . . Maison Boulud recovery with Carol, Arnold and Alan Yau then off back to Bkk.

As Ed Tang said, thank you Prada for bringing us all together.

What next . . .I just hope those silver brogues are available soon . . . :)

Disaya Desire

The Finale show of Elle Fashion Week was Disaya . . .there is no doubt of course my loyalty to this brand, especially as Eddy (my ex-assistant/head designer) is now working there, designing for the one-of-a-kind extremely talented Creative Director, Disaya. Eddy herself, is a rare bird, from the days of nsha to now Disaya, she is raw talent. Full stop. Truth be told though, it is the strength of their team, having dealt with everyone from PR to designer that makes the brand. I love Disaya's work pre-Ed of course, but now, the silhouettes are now more streamlined, more layered and nuanced, more mysterious, more architectural and has me converted,fully.

Disaya is 5th to the left and Eddy is 2nd

This season, AW 10, (Elle Fashion Week is a trunk show) to me, is about metamorphosis from bunny to black panther, from day-to-night, from demure lady to femme fatale in the most seamless and elegant way. I would confirm that this is no bluff on the part of their marketing director that it is about transition as it was Disaya who dressed me from NY to Paris to Pusan and it was pretty seamless as I was truly able to move from day to night, and feel extremely comfortable doing so. They are clothes that enable one to still be oneself, not revealing too much at first sight, but just enough and that is in the detail and really only when one moves.

To me this was Bunuel's Belle de Jour, it was Catherine Deneuve dressed by Yves Saint Laurent, and one is not quite sure if the woman is a doll or vixen or both. The colour palette moved from a snowy grey to a slate, to plum, to fuschia, to turqouise and back to black and cream. We always believed that coulour needs to tell a story, Ed and I used to spend hours trying to name the colours that we would use from the Pantone chart and at the end be pleasanly surprised that the actual names fit our moods and the theme. This to me was the case with this collection, it was balanced. The snow was a nice touch. I cannot help but think of Catherine Deneuve going to that manor in the middle of nowhere in that cape in that movie, tragically beautiful, asking for trouble.

A definite move into the future for me and assurance that there is a future is the way that the references did come through and a pastiche was created where one could see bits from Disaya's archives and techniques are also mixed and matched to create something distinct. Fashion does not exist in a vacuum for anyone, clothes are to be worn and what this collection was to me was testement from a Thai brand which is truly international that it can be thoughtful and subtle yet sell. This makes sense. Lastly, what was great with the collection is that it saves enough room for the woman to make up her own story and her own mind, I am not entirely sure, as gorgeous as she was that I would want to be stuck one-on-one with a Japanese sumo wrestler-type as Catherine Deneuve was in Bunuel's story.

No Way Back

The genius of Stefano Pilati of YSL . . . the creative director of a super-brand that is able to draw inspiration and his own vision from Mark Mahoney and his tattoo institution The Shamrock Social Club in LA. Ari Marcopoulos is amazing - as usual - he gets down beneath the skin of it (literally) . . . love Mark Mahoney's natural style and grace and I bet that's YSL's s/s 2011 he's rocking. Thank goodness for a return to some kind of authenticity . . . if the boys rock that waspy/Ivy League boarding school look again next summer, I think I will run away to Los Angeles. . .




and get a tattoo at the Shamrock Social Club.

Reminiscence - Kloset AW 09

Vintage inspiration, great accesories, fun prints, good colours - a couple vintage moments in the guise of Grandma - literally (P'Boyy's grand mama) and P'Boyy in a little cameo.

Grandma

P'Boyy

Great fun, A LOT of information, good styling, great choice for a finale . . I especially loved the all peaches, art-deco inspired look totale.

Candy colour-coated synchronicity - Sretsis AW 09

Fun Fun Fun - from the get go with the revolving doors . . .the formality of the black with the tail coats and ending with the synchronised candy coloured models shuffling along the stage in huddled groups was very very cute. Sooo cute.  Vintage reference, fantastic colour palette and really really good fun.  

Loved it . . .  a different quirky girl, but a very charming one indeed.

I stumbled along also to the Sretsis after party - yes, these girls, the three Sretsis sisters do not know just how to put together a collection and a show but they also know how to have a very good time - free flow Hoegarden and champagne at their little bistro Minibar . . . the old record player and eclectic fun sing-a-long music - I thought I was in the West Village for a second. J'adore - especially with Note running around with "Vote Note" the panel, which seemed to take upon a life of his own -

2 of the sisters, Note, and P'Boyy

Vote Note and Note

 Boyy in Sretsis

Note was filming the last installment to his HP competition film- rather sad as our impresario will be leaving for AGES - hopefully we will see a Trustfun X Dudesweet party very soon.

Note and I

Ice Cream Man

Hermes Ice Cream! . . . I loved the little gelati ice cream truck which was right alongside the Hermes scarf booth . . .how terribly chic - it was confirmation for me that if there is anything one should queue for - it is ice cream and nothing else . . . especially Hermes x ice cream . . .that is rather something.

Hermes ice cream 

ice cream man - Kongpat eating ice cream

Follow Me to the Stars - Disaya A/W 09

Last week was Bangkok Elle Fashion Week which unlike the shows in New York, London,Paris and Milan which are a season ahead, this was more of a showcase for Thai designers and a lovely social affair.

The highlight for me without any doubt was Disaya, her show called Celestial Goddess . . . inspired by the stars and the galaxy.  

The mood was definitely sombre, a stark contrast to last season's happy smiley faces yet the cheeky elegance and subtle sophistication of the Disaya girl remained - this time as a princess of the stars.  

It was smokey in its palette, the dull matte tones highlighted with diamante, rivets, embroidery and in some parts the most intricate crochet work, cut out flowers and the silver chain belts reminiscent of Princess Leia and at the same time a Siamese lady warrior from the past.  The darkness was sometimes highlighted with the odd fuschia. 

 A focus on tailoring and also on draping. . . More about what you can't see.  I liked the navy with black, and grey with brown, navy and more sparkle. 

I adored the Follow Me star print (seen above as a blur) - and how she manipulated the printed chiffon, a murky blue with off white stars and the zodiac.  The very high gladiators made the girls more fierce, I personally would not always pair them together but it completes that statement which she would like to speak and it is one of strength and the search for a new frontier.

I want to buy this dress, long black satin silk piece with just enough sheer , just enough pearls spoke very clearly about where this girl is going and where she has been.  

 

And of course the white crochet that sparkles the way the stars do. 

Disaya (Aom)is unique as a designer, her designs are as subtle as she is and just as cheeky yet at the same time extremely elegant and its complex. She does speak a language where less is more, the clever structures and simple lines allowing for clever detail and a certain strong feminine touch and a story to be conveyed.  Here we were taken along with her to her childhood obsession with the stars and the galaxy in a coherent, together collection and as much as I love yellow smiley faces, I do prefer the stars and shall definitely be following her to the store very soon.

Note the woman putting her hand up on teh other side - at Elle Fashion Week - photos are STRICTLY forbidden, for what reasons I am not sure as with the lights that shine on teh runway and at first row - flash is unnecsary anyway.  These are moonshine, smuggled pictures so do excuse the quality . . .I hope you do get an idea though.