West End Girls

Love the skirt

GORI DE PALMA DESIGNER

BARCELONA, Apr 8, 2009 / FW/ — Gori de Palma began his studies in fashion at the Institut Català de la Moda (ICM) in 2000, graduating in Fashion Design and Pattern Cutting in 2003, and furthering his training through courses in fabrics and printing, modeling and styling.In 2004, he created the Gori de Palma label, under which he has produced eight collections.

Besides creating designs for his own label, he has also done design and production work for brands such as Swarovski, General Óptica, Friter, On, New York Dogs, VANS, Shoko, Pacha and Art Shoes.

In 2005, he opened the Sinuñasestilistas fashion consultancy, from which he has contributed to music videos by Andrés Calamaro, Sidonie, Pastora, Sergio Rivero and El Guisante Mágico, and to advertisements for brands including Volkswagen Polo, American Cars, Opel Corsa, Nutella and OCB.

During his career, he has received the Art Jove Mallorca award for best collection, the Basque Fashion award for best collection and the jury’s award for best collection at MerkaFAD.

Gori de Palma’s impeccable career has enabled him to work with Swarovski, Vans, American Apparel and General Óptica, as well as to take part in a number of exhibitions at the CCCB (Barcelona) and Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), demonstrating his critical vision of art, fashion and consumption.

Photo by Biel Sol

Contacts:

Sales
Joan M.Solana
Tel:+34 670 224 906
grunge@activain.com

Press and Showroom:
PressRoom
Anna +34 93 488 08 43
anna@34pressroom.com

Design
Gregorio F. Romero
+34 622 123 304
goridepalma@gmail.com

Giorgio Armani Privé - Haute Couture Spring Summer 2010 Full Fashion Show

COUTURE SPRING 2010 ARMANI PRIVE

COUTURE SPRING 2010 ARMANI PRIVE

PARIS 25 JANUARY 2010
BY SARAH MOWER


"It's about the moon," explained Giorgio Armani before his show. "I always need a hook to get into a collection, and that was it—thinking about something romantic and dreamy, far away from our everyday life. Something less harsh." The lunar references, he pointed out, were poured into luminescent fabrics, curviform cutting, embroideries made to look like the craters of the moon, and a crescent-shaped updo for the hair, which, he smiled, "is also a bit of a joke."

It made for a lightened-up Armani Privé show as he cut skirts from overlapping semicircles and worked curves into the peplums of jackets that were fastened with half-moon mother-of-pearl pins. At times there was a slight touch of 2001: A Space Odyssey uniform about it (see the leg-molded flares), and it was surely an intentional moment of humor when Vlada Roslyakova advanced along the runway impersonating the full moon in a giant disc of milky sheer-white organza.

For evening, there were many renderings of sparkling silver beading, pale metallic pinks and greens, synthetic moiré treatments of organza, and paillettes shot with flashes of electric blue—an Armani merging of haute dressmaking and high tech. The serious chic—the looks certain to be most ruthlessly competed for pre-Academy Awards—all came from the dark side of the moon. There were three of them, slivers of black constructed with various asymmetric deployments of white or cream in the back or along the flanks. The result: lengthening, figure-narrowing illusions that will have the A-listers jostling to eclipse the competition at that event, soon as poss.

Summertime Sales

As the sunshine has been replaced with grey clouds and drizzle in recent weeks we have often found ourselves day dreaming about dressing for the season ahead, Autumn. With exposure to look books and press days it is quite easy for us to get ahead of ourselves. However, we should remember that sunshine lurks behind even the darkest of skies and there will be opportunities to dress accordingly. We should all be used to the great British summertime and we should not fall in the trap of purely dismissing it as a wash out every year it rolls in to town. There are glorious moments where we remove our coats and jumpers to allow our pasty white skin to turn a shade of reddish pink as we celebrate with childlike enthusiasm in the wonders of summer...

A moment in Broadstairs in summer but it could be any seaside town in the UK. Any hope of sunshine attracts the hoards who soon fill up every inch of sand.

An ice cream begins to melt in front of a Broadstairs beach scene.

We are only in mid August so these moments will surely come again. There will be moments where our toes get sand in between them and ice cream will melt unbelievably quickly to leave us in a mess. These are the summer's that we love to moan about but always wring out as much sunshine as we can from every beach towel. We also love a bargain. Now, is the moment to take advantage of the plethora of reduced items on offer, online and beyond, that would add so much to any summer wardrobe. We have selected just a handful of bargains to reinstate our own sense of excitement over the current season...

Clockwise from top left...Mattalini 2 jacket by Post Overals (Garbstore), Jupiter striped t shirt by Velour (Steven Alan), Red swim trunks by Steve Alan (Steve Alan), Reverse seam shirt from Steven Alan (Garbstore), Joe trousers by Hentsch Man (Garbstore), Selvage stripe launch bag by Bill Amberg (Bill Alberg), Sky blue espadrilles by Hentsch Man (Hentsch Man), Recycled flat pack leather slippers by unu (Beyond the Valley), Spinnaker tote by Woolrich Woolen Mills (oi polloi), Hartford striped shorts (Liberty).

Steve's legs on a rare outing in Westgate-on-sea. This shot was taken by his eighty six year old nan. It is framed perfectly.

Take advantage of the sales and then...to the seaside!

London Street Style: Vyner St, Hackney...

Albam AW10

We might not have reached mid August yet but my sweaty, aching limbs are longing to be protected by soft, texture rich fabrics as the hot, stagnant air is replaced with something a little more fresh and biting. During the press day madness back in April I encountered a dream rail of autumnal essentials at Cube. For AW10, Albam have gone back to their starting principle of creating the essential items within a man’s wardrobe, from the classic white t-shirt, through to the Italian made suit and an English crafted Pea Coat and from August to December, each month will see a capsule collection dropped into store. The first of which is imminent and to provoke a little excitement the guys posted the first batch of look book images over on their 'Behind the Scenes' blog.

Shawl collar knit. A perennial brand favourite

Knitwear is produced by a factory for which this AW10 collection will sadly be the last collection they make. The focus is on pieces inspired by the factory’s archive which counts the 1980’s America’s cup yacht team, the military and the Royal family as customers. Styles include the ‘Submariner’ roll neck and the shawl collar cardigan (a perennial favourite of Albam).

Each piece, when released, will be a numbered piece of one hundred produced.

Artisan waistcoat and chambray shirt.

The Albam signature of white details has been revisited to make them more integral to the garment itself. Highlights of this are seen in the linking of the knitwear in ecru yarn, only visible when the garment is opened up. This can also be seen in the taped seam garments creating an internal framework to the pieces.

Artisan pea coat.

Outerwear has become a focus of Albam since the release of the Fisherman’s Cagoule in 2007. Key pieces include the Workwear Jacket in a bonded cotton weave with polar fleece on the inside, which gives a more structured garment whilst being light and warm. Wax fabric also remains key with a workwear style that is crafted from wax cloth as a lightweight casual rain jacket and a Pea Coat, made from an oiled duck canvas from the USA.

Trail parka

The key pieces that embody the ‘Modern Crafted Clothing’ concept are the taped Ventile styles of the Alpine Jacket and Rain Mac. Designed and crafted in England these are waterproof garments, which combine Albam’s love of the outdoors with the forgotten expertise of one of the factories used.

Ventile mac and backpack.

This is just a handful of the styles that are coming through this winter at Albam. Throughout the ‘Essentials’ the styles remain cleanly designed with a focus on fabrication and construction. A number of the developments have arisen following discussions with customers about what they are wanting and where they themselves want to go with things. I love how the guys have remained true to their founding concept, slowly developing and growing their range all the while letting the right customers find them. I'm looking in stocking up on a few new season essentials.

Bikini Party! Nikki Beach WMC 2010

Fashion Know it All: Bustiers

BY ANNE SLOWEY

I’m not a fan of this season’s ’50s redux trend. I just don’t believe women want to wear anything that resembles a Mad Men costume and so literally calls to mind an era when women were marginalized as sex objects. We’ve come a long way, baby, but fashion will never be free of historic context. The only way to change the meaning is to render it ironic, and I’m not sure designers have succeeded this season. Of course, it might be possible to work bustiers without looking like you’re trying too hard to rock the latest trend—but it won’t be easy. Miuccia Prada always riffs on the feminine with a full measure of wit, and her take on this come-hither undergarment is perhaps the most arch. Her Gina Lollobrigida–style ruffled bra tops, A-line skirts, and dresses that smack of the naughty nonchalance of a smarty-pants Lolita are perfect as statement pieces, but it’ll take a girl with a lot of cheek to pull off this look. It’s an attention-grabber that may leave a lot to the imagination but offers little in the way of versatility. You won’t be able to pull apart these looks without losing the irony, and that relegates the ruffles to the costume shop.

Marc Jacobs’ entire show for Louis Vuitton was dedicated to a woman who has little to do but dress her curves. His interpretation of
who this woman might be was rather simple and decidedly not ironic.

Still, his bustiers in florals and exquisite fauvist solids were gracefully done and could be paired with tailored pants or even jeans and look tasteful. The bustier has been one of Dolce & Gabbana’s signature pieces since their first collection in 1985, when they brought the Sicilian postwar widow simmering onto the runway with body-conscious skirts and sweaters. Never ones to stray from their bombshell DNA, this fall they whipped up their bustiers in silks and lace-trim satin. My fave was their leopard-print version. A peekaboo print like that under a cardigan or jacket is your best bet. If you’re going to don innerwear as outerwear, make it overtly amusing.