`Olsens x Hirst' Pharmacy Inspired Backpack

"Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat", that's what Dylan sang to his Blonde On Blonde muse back in 1966. Nowadays, he should take into account to record a new version of his "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" and consider changing the title to "Crocodile-Skin Pill-Studded Backpack"; after all, this garment also "is really that expensive kind".

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have re-edited the The Row crocodile skin backpack that sold out  last year. This time they counted with artist Damien Hirst, who drew upon one of his most recurring motifs: the pills (view The Void, Pharmacy restaurant...). Doubled the price of the previous version, will this drug appliqué accesory priced $55,000 sell out this year as well?

MET Gala 2012

If you have been reading this blog for a year or so, you might already know I am a big fan of the MET Gala. Not only because it's like the fashion equivalent to The Oscars red carpet, but also because it is the chance to see flamboyant dresses that otherwise would be relegated and stuck in the catwalks for being too risky.

This year's theme was Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada's Impossible Conversations. Inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s satirical “Impossible Interviews” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, it explores the striking affinities between these two Italian designers from different eras,and their most innovative work. 

A lot of Prada, long dreses, shiny golden paillettes, feathers, transparencies and -shockingly- orange as one of the prefered colours of the night. Though as every year there were many attendants who didn't understand that "risk" is the dress code in this gala, there were some other many pleasant surprises and vibrant homages to the iconic designer women of the night. Here is the last night's review.

The White

Amy Adams in Valli Couture, Anja Rubik in Anthony Vaccarello, Amber Valetta in Prada, Claire Danes in J Mendel.

White had recently been chosen like the new black. A classic for those celebrities who want to get it right but think black is too safe. Last night seemed like it was losing its place as one of the most chosen colours for galas, but it still helped many look stunning, just look at Anja Rubik.

The Black

Cate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen, Mary Kate Olsen in The Row, Rihanna in Tom Ford, Linda Evangelista in Prada.

Black is black, and there will never be a red carpet without someone looking beautiful and elegant in black, right Cate Blanchett? It was one of the model's favourite (Gisele Bundchen, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Carolyn Murphy), and it was sported in several kinds of fabric: from rocker leather (Rosario Dawson) to delicate lace (Rooney Mara).

The Orange

Eva Mendes in Prada,Kirsten Dunst in Rodarte,Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhuilier,Kristen Wiig in Stella McCartney

One of the suprises of the night. Orange took over red and the red carpet. From Emma Roberts lovely tangerine Escada dress to Kristen Bell's Tommy Hilfiger choice or Katharine Mcphee's Elie Saab. It was the last night's star without any doubt. My favourite one? Kirsten Dunst.

The Golden

Bianca Brandolini in Dolce&Gabbana, Dree Hemingway in Philip Green, Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe, Jessica Pare in Versace

Nobody can resist a bling-bling dose of golden paillettes or lamé. Careful here, you can suffer a shiny overdose, just like it happened to Bianca Brandolini; or be compared to Kate Moss, or even worse, mix it with Greek inspiration and look dispensable (Jessica Alba). Dree Hemingway knew how to do up the look.

The Mini

Chloe Sevigny in Miu Miu, Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada, Stella Tennant in Chanel, Carey Mulligan in Prada.

I critised Alexa Chung last year's dress for not suiting the occasion, but it seems that short dresses are becoming a more acceptable choice in red carpets, and I have to admit there were some great choices. If we're talking mini dresses, we're talking some Balmain (Joan Smalls). Even Emma Stone's endless Lanvin alliance went short this time. Still, Chloe Sevigny and Gwyneth Paltrow were the best dressed ones in this category.

The Inner Style

MIA in Stella McCartney, Sarah Jessica Parker in Valentino, Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs., Florence Welch in McQueen.

 And there is always those people who don't really care about dress codes or what's appropiate to wear. They follow their inner style, choose clothes of their taste and pull off incredible looks. All of the ladies in this section looked stylish and individual, and that's something to admire.

The Dark Lips

Kate Bosworth in Prada, Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren, Rachel Zoe, Lana Del Rey in Altuzarra

If we talk make-up and hair, we can point out most of the assistants went for natural looks, even though hair down is not always the best match for a gala dress. Diane Kruger's hair, for example, along with the Prada dress she chose, made her look far less remarkable than she uses too. Dark lips were the salient beauty detail. A bold pick that can make you look unique (Camilla Belle) or dangerously like a witch - I'm sorry Rachel Zoe and Lana Del Rey-.

The Wrong

Kristen Stewart in Balenciaga, Leighton Meester in Marchesa, Beyonce in Gucci, Scarlett Johansson in Dolce&Gabbana.

Before we check the best dressed of the night, a quick look to the worst dressed. Who adviced Kristen Stewart than she could wear that? The Balenciaga outfit is difficult enough itself, and she clearly didn't had what it takes to make it look good. Whatever it was, she didn't look comfortable in it. Leighton Meester and Scarlett Johansson didn't look better in those nude chiffon gowns. Let alone Beyonce's feathered nightmare.

The Fashion Insiders

Grace Coddington in Prada, Giovanna Bataglia in Dolce&Gabbana, Anna Wintour in Prada, Franca Sozzani with Adrien Brody.

These women know what it was all about. Giovanna Battaglia looked great in her Dolce&Gabbana total look. Franca Sozzani payed tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli wearing a butterflies headdress, but it was Anna Wintour who really mastered it. The Vogue US editor wore a Prada dress inspired in Schiaparelli and Dalí's lobster dress collaboration, refering the two italian designers in the same look. Brilliant.

The Surrealists

Chanel Iman in Tom Ford, Coco Rocha in vintage Givenchy, Elizabeth Banks in Mary Kantrantzou, Diane Von Furstenberg.

Modern art, particularly Dada and Surrealism, provided a significant source of inspiration for Schiaparelli. She worked with a number of contemporary artists to develop her imaginative designs. From these artistic collaborations, Schiaparelli’s most notable designs were born. So here is my top 5 best dressed according to the Gala's theme. Number one for Angela Lindvall's Prada dada look.

Posing Tips

Tired of saying over and over the standard "cheese" when somebody approaches with a camera?

There are some other options you may want to consider to change your visage
in the pictures who'll fill your albums from now on:

#1. Olsen sisters technique consists of saying "prune" when the picture is being taken.

#2. Photographer Irving Penn‘s advised his models to say "Thursday" right before he took their photo.

Sisters' Business

Is it just me, or are the couples of sisters taking over fashion?
Seems that lately, more and more siblings have been hoarding covers, launching clothing lines, or modelling.

You don't believe it? Let's try to play a little family's association game...

First ones are:

These sisters launched on 2009 the first Twenty8Twelve collection. Sienna said about it "When you grow up together and share a life as each other's half until you leave home, it's inevitable, or was at least for us, that you share an appreciation of a similar aesthetic." Actually, on the brand website you can find a Working Together section, where you can read that Savannah made Sienna's first fancy dress costume at the age of eight, and also even see the pic.



Ok, so sisters with their own couture fashion label... that bring us to:

The Olsens are questionless fashion icons; not only being always regular in front rows or magazines (last one has been Vogue's Best Dressed issue) or for being ambassadors of the boho chic style. They've also had always an interest in creating fashion themselves. They started by creating a clothing line in Wal-Mart stores across North America for girls ages 4–14 as well as a beauty line. On 2007, the pair also started a new line for The Row (their own brand), entitled "Elizabeth & James", named after their siblings.

 
Bonus sister. Lizzie Olsen, last one to arrive. She's also an actress as well but she's already made a Nylon magazine cover; and everybody is now keeping an eye on her.



So we're talking about sisters that are actresses but also with a presence on fashion, even lately having appeared in a magazine cover... I know who's next:

We've already dedicated a post to these sisters. They're not only all over magazines, on covers or articles (W magazine has been the last one), but also are very close to the designers. Youngest one, Elle, is been in The Curve of Forgotten Things, Rodarte’s newest short and covered Love Magazine on her own. Her older sister, Dakota, with a longest career, has already appeared in more covers (Marie Claire, Dazed, Flare, V...) and has  Marc Jacobs campaigns, the last one for the Lola perfume.

And well, if you want to talk about someone who's made loads of campaigns...








The English model Moss has had campaigns with major Italian, French, American, and British designers; she has been featured in fashion spreads in most major fashion magazines; she has appeared in music videos, provided vocals for songs... And as our previous couples of sisters, Kate Moss has as well released several collections for Topshop and four fragrances. And lately, she married Jamie Hince on 1 July 2011. Spotted at her half-sister Kate’s wedding as a bridesmaid, 13 year old Charlotte “Lottie” Moss is said to want to follow her supermodel sisters footsteps.


 Let me see, British models with a younger sister following their steps... Yep, I know more of those:

They were influenced by the fashion industry from a very young age, thanks to their mother, head of sales section in British department store Selfridges. Poppy has taken hold of the New York scene, imposing its delicate and informal style. Socialité and blogger, she was named ambassador for Chanel and has starred in ad campaigns for brands such as Mango and Laura Ashley. At 18 years old and with a Burberry campaign and modelling for Asos already under her belt, Cara is set for big things. With her elder sister already an established model, her social circle is filled with the youngest, coolest rising stars.

Fine, more sisters modelling, here we go.

Georgia and Elizabeth share tastes and profession: both are reputed models which is not surprising considering that they are daughters of Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger. Both of them began at an early age his adventure in fashion, clearly demonstrating that it was the way they wanted to go. The earliest one was Elizabeth, who just at 14 years abandoned his studies to take this path that has led to stardom. Georgia repeated this pattern but she waited until 17 to become the face of Hudson Jeans. These girls are typical of the covers and advertising campaigns and two of the names that promises them further in this sector



Mom was a model and dad is a Rolling Stone? Wait, this sounds familiar:

 

Daughters of Keith Richards an Patti Hansen, actually, these sisters appeared on a Tommy Hilfiger campaign alongside with Elisabeth Jagger. Theodora has guest-edited one issue of L'Officiel, modeled for Karen Walker label, appeared on the cover of Lucire and became the model and muse for New York City premium denim collection 4Stroke Jeans. Alexandra's face has appeared in established magazines such as Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, ID magazine, Harpers Bazaar...

And the list could go on and on... 

MET Gala 2011

Sincerely, i'm not a fervent follower of all the galas, red carpets and parties. I enjoy fortuitosly finding the most highlighted outfits and news, and envy all those wonderful gowns and dresses the celebrities wear.

Special case here is the MET's Costume Institute Annual Gala, i find amazing that they chose a topic every year (i guess i love theme parties) and i find it the perfect occasion to be more excentric, outstanding and wear all those dresses that, in another event, wouldn't look so classy and correct.

I had great expectations this year, being Alexander McQueen the honored one,
i was hoping to see an explosion of powerful outfits,
edgy looks and stunning people.

In other words, as the MET suggested,
i was expecting to see "Savage Beauty".

Image of the retrospective organised by the MET

Unfortunately, nothing so far. looks this year have been pristine:

a lot of white, nude, sequins, black, even colour block

but anything as prominent as the british designer deserved 

in his tribute party.

Don't get me wrong, i don't mean i didn't like the dresses and all that, i just thing they looked beautiful but forgettable, and i always expect this gala to bring out the most transgressor gowns.

[Click to see the red carpet beauties]

Chanel Iman

Natasha Poly

Diane Kruger

Gisele Bundchen

Jessica Stam

The Olsens

Miranda Kerr

I must admit there were people who tried:

Daphne Guiness

And people who didn't try much, like Alexa Chung,
who attended the event with a dress
that slightly reminded of the one she picked for Coachella.
(I'm sorry Alexa, but no)

Left: MET Gala    /    Right: Coachella

After all, i'll say i have two winners for last night,
both looking impressive and perfectly according to
what should have been the party's vibe,
drawing the line between a perfect gala outfit and a great fashion moment,
which was what the great McQueen did.

Hamish Bowles           &          Karolina Kurkova