Most Wanted: Balenciaga's S/S 2011 Monk Straps

Flat shoes at Balenciaga? What? Yup, it's for real and Spring/Summer 2011's sci-fi iridescent variations on monk-strap trainers & brogues are unlike anything we've ever seen before and make us wish they were available much sooner than next spring.

Best of Milan Spring 2011

From Milan, don't expect studies on conservative minimalism, yet relish in the talent of some of the city's major talents & their bravado when it comes to going for the bold. For Spring/Summer 2011, striking colorways & prints, intellectual takes on femininity and superior craftsmanship made for an alluring mix of modernity that played on mundane ideas of the past for statements that are achingly modern. Here's a look at our favorites:

Prada(and above)


After Fall's bosom-buddy "balconette" dresses(which we can't imagine being easy to wear), Miuccia Prada delivered one of the season's best collections yet. Beautifully cut Japanese cotton suits that looked almost molded came in intense hues styled with bold contrasting fox fur stoles opened her show and the collection went on to elicit countless references while keeping in tow with contemporary fashion's need for a cleaner aesthetic and relaxed shapes. Only Miuccia can combine almost banal influences like Josephine Baker, 17th century Baroque prints, uniform dressing, stripes, tango shoes, and cherubs to create a collection that's bold but never too much. Dream pieces from this collection include a Baroque printed striped scuba shaped top, scroll molded sunglasses, striped crepe sole platform brogues and some of the striped separates with pie-crust collars.

Jil Sander




So many things come to mind when looking at Raf Simon's blockbuster collection for Jil Sander Spring 2011. For one, he is the right man for the job(in case you hadn't noticed before), for another, this may have been his best collection at the house ever. Why? Because it's clear that after five years, Simons is confident enough to take the house codes in a new direction while continuing to cater to it's most ardent fans. Now he can make both sides of the fashion world happy and that he did with a collection that took what Isaac Mizrahi did with evening wear in the early 90's(juxtaposing old-world couture notions with uniform pieces such as a denim jacket), mixing it with a hyper color palette that could rival Yves Saint Laurent's and his own knack for what you could call intense techno-couture. He opened with a passage of vivid variations on maxi skirts with attached white tee's that made a strong case for minimalism having the ability to make a big impact. He moved on to maxi parachute dresses, some in optical contrasting stripes, followed by a series of origami folded pieces(ones that could make Helmut Lang proud), and layered jackets, three at a time, all contrasting, all ultra-thin, over today's ubiquitous skinny pant. While the pieces retain the house's requisite codes for clean, cool sportswear, Simons may have just upped Jil Sander's status quo exponentially.

Antonio Marras


We love what Antonio Marras has been doing at Kenzo and so we naturally love what he does at his own eponymous line. For Spring 2011, he continued to display his deft hand at creating updated variations on the luxury minded arty/hippie girl aesthetic that he has mastered. Spring's muted palette of spices and khaki's, over blown floral prints, and billowy, relaxed shapes were generous updates to his well-versed perspective.

Bottega Veneta


Each season we find ourselves gravitating to a few pieces from Bottega Veneta, yet never an entire collection until we saw Spring 2011. Here, contrasting embroidered sack dresses with a chiffon midriff, soft, tonally decorated a-line dresses and sleek leather separates had an appeal that was less about delivering on the hype of the urban warrior at the height of minimalism's return and more about creating a collection that could take those now mundane notions to a heritage level with wondrous execution and that sometimes elusive gift of good taste.

V Play DJ: Vnyc's Playlist

Since discovering what an RCA cord does and being as obsessive as we can be over music, one of us has been using YouTube to make play lists as you can add & delete music from millions of choices and create play lists within seconds. Our first play list is one we've been listening to all summer while working away and clocks in at over 2 hours. Like our shop, it covers a broad range of what we like best, from songs we find nostalgic about to no/new wave, new-rave, o.g & current hip-hop, grunge, party anthems, punk and so much more. And it's source's vary from Frederic Sanchez's bad-ass runway mixes to classic videos & live performances. Enjoy!

Listen to Vnyc's Daily Play List

Channeling Dries Van Noten S/S 2011 at Vnyc

Dries Van Noten Spring 2011
We consider Dries Van Noten to be one of today's best designers when it comes to pragmatic sportswear and his opening look for Spring 2011 happens to have an uncanny resemblance to our 80's-era Yohji Yamamoto double-breasted jacket. Both share a confident ease and relaxed fit, and both are destined to give you a whole lot of coverage for season's to come. Lucky for you, ours is Yohji, a season early, from the private collection of New Wave icon Aimee Mann and is only $326.


80's Double Breasted Yohji Yamamoto Boyfriend Jacket-$326

Best of London Spring 2011

At the London shows you can always expect a generous helping of ingenuity & energy and many of our favorites did not disappoint for Spring 2011. They made a strong case on the need for new with collections that stand on their own while touching on the season's varied trends from Peter Pan collared school girl dressing to artfully ladylike to clean yet conceptual minimalism. London's promising young talents are growing up and their work is only getting more confident in realization. Here's a look at our favorite shows.

Meadham Kirchoff(and above)

What can we say, we are fond of the 90's, whether it's grunge-era, body-con or minimalism and we love what the boys at Meadham Kirchoff mulled from the decade for Spring 2011. Demonic kewpie dolls on acid mixed with a vivid sense of pop colors and a dark, romantic edge marked it one of the season's most cleverly fun shows to date. Their propositions may look as avant-garde as you can get, but their deceptive genius is in how many ultra-femme pieces you can pull apart from each look. Ruffled skirts, lace inserts, shocking neon brights mixed with muted violets, graphic tunics, bell shaped blouses and Peter Pan collars came together to offer a fresh take on the romantic side of Spring dressing.

Charles Anastase


We love the Charles Anastase girl's louche 70's French nerdiness and Spring's collection gave us a lot to indulge in with it's Peter Pan collared sheer blouses and midi length shirt dresses. It had just the right amount of studied sweetness, prissy Parisian formality and brainy sexiness without being too-cool, making it one of the best collections for girls under 30 this season.

Erdem


You can always expect an appropriate amount of femininity packaged in an Erdem collection mixed into contemporary shapes for a look that's as easy on the eye as it is on the wear. Spring's notes included a bold palette of painterly botanical hues, lace, digital prints, maxi lengths and Peter Pan collars for looks that could look just as good on royalty as they could on a 20-something.

Peter Pilotto


While it hasn't really mastered a recognizable signature, Peter Pilotto is in possession of the ability to keep on churning out modern sportswear unlike anything you've ever seen before without having to sacrifice on taste. Spring's mix of pajama dressing, subdued military, color blocking, sci-fi knits and origami folds made for a collection that was heavy on wearable options.

Richard Nicoll


At his own namesake label and Cerruti, Richard Nicoll continues to prove that he's mastered a minimal approach to clean, graphic sportswear for a confident woman. At his own label, he mixed his signature sheer knits & chiffon separates with patent finished pieces for a look that was strong & perverse yet full of pieces you could easily incorporate into an everyday wardrobe. Midi trumpet skirts, sheer layers, a juxtaposition of ultra-lightweight lengths and a passage of soothing ice-cream colors made it a winning effort.

Required Visit: AnotherAfrica

AnotherAfrica has to be one of the most beautiful & well-executed sites online dedicated to the beauty, people and journeys of Africa. It is "A contemporary vision of Africans, Africa and those related to the continent and its peoples in the areas of culture, art, fashion, architecture, design, music, photography and more…" And so inspiring to visit...

Check it out at www.anotherafrica.net