NY Fashion Week: G-Star Raw Fall 2009 Runway Show Coverage

Jul 26, 2009 | Fashion

(Photos: courtesy of G-Star RAW; Blond model photo: by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images North America) 

On Tuesday, Feb, 17 G-Star RAW presented their latest collection in a spectacle of a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and yours truly was in attendance, courtesy of FashionTribes.com. The huge ballroom with its echoing ceilings and gilt pillars was packed with guests, including Micha Barton, Natascha Beddingfield, Miss J. Alexander, Robert Verdi, Shenae Grimes, and Tyson Beckford. On a stage separated by a translucent curtain, live classical music was played on two grand pianos, while male and female models alternated stomping down the W-shaped runway. The latter half of the show was marked by actor Benicio del Toro appearing onstage and reciting as spoken word poetry, the lyrics of Joy Division’s song ‘Candidate.’ G-Star chose the song based on its connection to the film Control from renowned Dutch photographer/director Anton Corbijn, who curated G-Star’s Spring 2009 advertising campaign. Del Toro’s art intervention transitioned the show from traditional catwalk to a G-Star finale, as ‘Candidate’ played in the background, reached a crescendo, and ended the show with all the models standing behind the translucent curtain. (More after the jump…)

The pieces showcased in the collection represented G-Star in its purest form as a luxury denim brand. NY Raw Fall/Winter 2009 magnified the brand’s signature detailing to an unprecedented level; each garment, created by the in-house atelier, blended the finest material, sophisticated design, and extreme utilitarian functionality. Though I‘ll personally be skipping the drop-crotch denim carpenter harem pants, almost every single coat (both men’s and women’s) was to die for. Innovative dying, overdying, and washing techniques had produced amazing denim fur (!) and varnished denim. Extensive bindings and buckles, high-stance necklines, oversized pockets and straps gave the collection a rugged, industrial feel. The multi-belted trenches, aviator jackets with goggles attached to the hoods, plethora of pockets, leather detailing, peacoats, high-shine denim, chunky knit scarves – all evoked an Aviator-meets post-apocalyptic feel that seemed on-trend and current in today’s market.

Below, see all the women’s looks and a few standouts from the men’s:

-Carly J. Cais

My Marc Jacobs Cuff DIY Featured on IndieFashion.com

Jul 26, 2009 | Fashion

Yup – when it rains, it pours. Yet another mention of my dinky little blog out there on the WWW. (This time I had nothing to do with it…they found it and reposted it on their own.) And this was on FashionIndie…one of the hugest fashion sites there is! I was so proud…but I can’t take all the credit! I wrote the original post for FashionTribes.com, and it was due to the wonderful talents of my editor Lesley Scott that my bumbling loquaciousness was crafted into a really slick DIY post. Thank you Lesley for all your hard work! Read the original post here.

James Murray Jewelry

Jul 24, 2009 | Fashion

Like beaded waterfalls draping the body, James Murray Jewelry ranges from the fun and flirty to the dark and gothic. Designer James Murray has been styling photoshoots since the early 1990’s, but couldn’t find the jewelry he envisioned while on set. This lead to him creating his own, and from there everything took off. He began making pieces for friends and family, and growing interest lead to him selling in a variety of retail stores and creating jewelry for runway shows such as Vera Wang, Rebecca Danenberg, and Gottex. Featured in Glamour and In Style magazines, he has also made pieces for pop star Nadia Ali, Cindi Crawford, Good Morning America, Jacqueline Smith, and Lara Flynn Boyle. The multi-talented designer is currently working on some jewelry for a film that is slated to begin filming in august.

“I am fortunate to have so much to inspire me,” says James Murray, “New York itself is an endless source of beauty – its glittering buildings, restaurants and the men and women who live here. I’m fascinated by the complexities and contradictions we see every day! The vegan who chain smokes, the hotshot lawyer who takes off in the middle of the day to finger paint with her child, the frenetic creative director putting doing a million things at once while her smile flirts to a man across the street whom she won’t see again – it’s great.”

“Women in New York pay a lot of attention to their accessories even when they are simple. Adding something that is classic, like glass pearls, but amping up the glamour factor is what I like. You can wear the Anna necklace to the ballet or with your t-shirt and jeans out to dinner. The “rules” for what is street wear and what is evening wear have become a lot more fluid and my designs are in concert with that. A crystal Burst bracelet may be worn next to a Cartier watch or a Sanskrit tattoo—and both are great.”

And not everything in the collection is high couture. Many of his pieces are now on sale for $25 and under, like these beautiful Swarovski Crystal and Glass Bead Earrings (Blue), $18 (above). See the full collection and shop at JamesMurrayJewelry.com.

Third Willow Clutch Build-an-Outfit

Jul 21, 2009 | Fashion

I’ve been meaning to post this outfit for awhile; I won the beautiful Third Willow clutch last month in a contest sponsored by one of my fave fashion blogs, FashionGrail. (I am in love with their Celebrity Copycat feature, where every week they find a lookalike to a celeb’s outfit – the whole thing! So inspiring – and compelling me to shop!)

The clutch is made from turquoise denim with a cognac croco-embossed leather ruffle to it…I pair it with stuff so that it’s purposely mismatched, but for this outfit, I decided to build it around the clutch.

I’m going to a party for a friend of mine who just landed this big job she’s been after for awhile. Kudos to her, especially in this economy! Woohoo!

So the dress is a little too big for me on the top…I was going to make this silky vest to go over it from this scrap of tie-dyed raw silk I’ve had laying around for ages…5 years to be exact. When I made my wedding dress I dyed some of the silk a light robin’s egg blue to make a ruched bustier, and this particular scrap ended up a mottled turquoise… not the look I was going for. I kept it trying to figure out what to do with it, and then I thought to make a vest to go with the clutch, then realized I didn’t have enough to make a back in the style I wanted, so just stuffed it down the front of the dress to give me more up top and add visual interest. Very Pride & Prejudice of me, I suppose.

I’ve been dying for a crystal bullet necklace from Unearthen Jewelry for so long (gorge website btw), but at $360+ a necklace it was unattainable. And then I found AnotherFeather on Etsy and snapped up this fabulous speckled quartz bullet pendant for only $38. (The quartz has a bluish tint and little flecks in it…it’s out of this world.) Every penny well-spent!

Sorry for the hideous lighting – just trying something different – shooting inside since it’s about 1000 degrees outside here in Portland now. Trying out the wide angle lens. Methinks I should stay away from this since this was an extremely unflattering angle. Pucker filter, you are a godsend.

-Carly J. Cais