Mood Board: Midsummer Night's Scream

 

Kate Moss with a diamond in her mouth: some old French Vogue;  Jesus Christo prayer card;  Quite possibly the best coaster we've ever seen, stolen from my friend John;  Easy rider: "I felt like an arrow that could shoot out all the way." -- Keroac, On the Road;  Flyer for a Macbeth performance by the Redd Tale Theatre Company;  Postcard from Germany my Dad sent me ages ago;  Celine FW 2010 ad campaign;  Edward Gorey;  Postcard from an amazing show we saw a while back in Chelsea, featuring the work of sculptress Beth Cavener Stichter;  Liars album artwork from They Were Wrong So We We Drowned;  a kittenish Bardot;  Image from an Anne Taintor calendar;  illustration by Camille Rose Garcia;  collage we made featuring melted crayons;  Blondie rocking out in white on white;  Edie Sedgwick;  Invitation from the Erin Wasson X RVCA SS10 show;  kitty face we ripped off the wall in the subway;  Givenchy FW 2010 ad campaign;  Dead animal wrap from Lost Art; Stock car babe that would be right at home on this blog;  more Liars album art;  weird image of an insect that kind of looks like a skull with furry horns;  Stevie Knicks possessed by spirits;  The Miller High Life Girl -- the champagne of beer wenches.

After poring over these images, we wanted to channel some kind of sexy witch from the 70s, so we picked these red cross earrings from our collection at Vagabond NYC. We think it's tres apropos, non?

Oscars Best Dressed

Three of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards best dressed actresses may have dynamic persona's, but last night they let the flawless execution of their dresses take center stage. All three made the case for pure design stronger than ever.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Haute Couture

Michelle Williams in Chanel Haute Couture

Florence Welch in Valentino Haute Couture

Best of Pre-Fall 2011

We had been waiting on Prada/Miu Miu to put our favorite Pre-Fall list together and it seems that amidst a jam packed fashion calender, it honestly isn't going to happen. Fall 2011 has already been going strong over the past few days. That being said, there were still hundreds of must-have looks from all of our favorites, the usual suspects, of course. From sci-fi to minimalism to all out cool, there's plenty for everyone, including 360+ stand-out looks.

Celine(and above)


Adding a beautifully crafted air of cool girl nonchalance to her confident repertoire of slick luxury made Pre-Fall another hit for Pheobe Philo's expanding vision at Celine. Standouts included fragmented patchwork outerwear, subdued metallics and a re-working of Philo's now iconic color blocked sportswear.

Givenchy


A palette of neutrals injected with shots of lilac made for a clever way to highlight and even lighten up Ricardo Tisci's many signatures at Givenchy. Pre-Fall also included a fresh assortment of sporty references from riding pants to the perfect baseball jacket, making it one of his best outings as of late.

Balenciaga


Explosive wallpaper prints mixed with an 80's vibe and the return of Nicholas Ghesquiere's infamous dog print sweater made Balenciaga heavy on wearable separates full of personality.

Rochas


Relaxed separates in a moody palette with a restrained 40's and somewhat mannish vintage appeal were a smart addition to the retro dialogue Marco Zanini has flourished on at Rochas.

Thakoon


The clean focus of Thakoon's fuss-free Pre-Fall outing only further proves why it's quite possibly our favorite New York label to come out in the past decade, and our favorite label for Pre-Fall stateside.

Check out all of our favorite Pre-Fall 2011 looks here

Best of Couture Spring 2011

A look at the Spring 2011 Haute Couture shows only leads one to further reevaluate the basic relevance of Couture yet again. While half of the nine designers presumably attempted to maintain Couture's stale red-carpet appeal, the others managed to produce tepid extensions of their own banal signatures without a single inclination of moving things forward. That being said, the true wizardry of Couture at least lives on in the craftsmanship of the few stand-out collections. And while the few favorites we do have for the season couldn't escape there own banalities, there was still plenty to applaud and admire.


Givenchy(and, above)-
Ricardo Tisci's confidence at Givenchy continues to thrive beyond the need for exploration as he is becoming an increasingly indulgent master of his own domain. For him Couture may be an outlet for gratuitously highlighting his much beloved signatures with thousands of hours of treatments, but for the Chambre Syndicale, in our books, he is currently Couture's most important man.

Bouchra Jarrar-
Newcomer Bouchra Jarrar is currently the only woman in Couture and while there's need for improvement for this Balenciaga vet, she does have a handle on spare, sensible pieces with a graphic strength.

Valentino-


Like Ricardo Tisci at Givenchy, Pier Paolo Piccioli and co-designer Maria Grazia Chiuri have quickly assembled a strong vision for the Valentino girl and Spring's effort was an ethereal update to their many signatures. And like at Givenchy, while the shapes and neutral palette relied on soft simplicity, the true focus lie in rigorous craftsmanship.

Take a look at every one of our favorite Spring 2011 Haute Couture looks here.