jeans

December 15, 2011

SS12 Previews: tuleste market, Azature, milk&honey, United Nude, Hyden Yoo and Mavi

As we continue to preview Spring/Summer 2012 collections, we’ll pick and choose what we believe you will love as much as we do! Enjoy!

tuleste market

California Natives Satu and Celeste Greenberg grew up traveling and compiling thrift store finds to create novel, modern jewelry; hence their own line dubbed tuleste market. With their love of taking something from old to new again, they have created pieces “meant to be linked together, layered, and worn numerous ways.” Versatile handbags (LOVE the Treena wristlets in red and grey above for $275) and footwear (diamond and draped heel shapes) followed suit in the second and third seasons respectively. Female super heroes inspired this SS12 collection, but I say power to these designers in their futuristic vision with its classic vintage feel.

Azature

Unique fine jewelry and black diamond specialists, Azature, take a sophisticated approach to jewelry with black pearls, platinum metal, and blue topaz in the SS12 Adamande Collection ($5,000 and up). After great success, designer Azature launched a 2011 diffusion line AZ by Azature (already worn by Rihanna), which uses semi-precious metals and stones and pure foils ($100-$500). Nothing short of exciting, the designer himself told me, “The sky is the limit.”

milk & honey

Design your own shoes! That’s the ingenious premise behind milk&honey; choose the toe, strap, heel height, color and material (they even do vegan shoes) to customize your own perfect shoe. Sounds like every girl’s dream, right?! Peeking at the swatches, I could already envision about ten pairs of shoes as I mentally tossed around silhouettes and color combos. The shoes take about 6-8 weeks, but the DIY feature is worth the wait.

United Nude

United Nude launched in 2003 with the “Mobius” shoe, but since then has played around with the intersection between sculptural design, fashion, and technology to establish its brand in over 40 countries worldwide. Architectural and artistic, yet elegant and cutting edge, the United Nude shoes for spring boast crazy bright laces, abstract clog-heels and more! I haven’t stopped thinking about the Eamz pump with it’s golden heel parallel to the floor or the Abstract Rome Wedges, ideal for any spring ensemble.

Hyden Yoo

For SS12, light fabrics helped play up the duality between youth and maturity, while longer maxi skirts and dresses kept the edgy downtown vibe of Hyden Yoo’s collection. Inspired by Romantic Neocolonialism, Yoo linked notions of taboo and subtle eroticism to explore nostalgic beauty. Cropped capes played with the idea of 1920’s societal angst, but for me, the true beauty revolved around the delicate maxis (pictured above).

Mavi

The fashion philosophy behind Mavi is simple: to build a brand around perfect fitting jeans that convey an exotic feel in terms of fashion and detail. Mavi means “blue” in Turkish, and Mavi was the first Turkish brand to go global. Mavi Denim, retailing at around $98 and Mavi Gold Premium Denim, retailing at around $138, continue to provide fashion-forward denim, both traditional and the more standout, the colored collection, for an eccentric global clientele.

-Alana Quagliariello

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December 13, 2011

Jeans for Winter 2011/12

by Julia DiNardo

It feels strange to write about jeans as a seasonal trend, as when are jeans not in fashion! However, like other wardrobe staples out there – the LBD is a good example – trends do vary around the theme of ‘jeans’. Who would have thought tight fitting ‘drain pipes’ would ever make their way back into the mainstream after they died out in the eighties? But they did and they are now one of the most popular jean styles out there. These and other reworked jeans are available from a huge collection at New Look.

There are ‘classic’ shapes such as straight leg and bootcut styles which never go out of fashion, however, they may not always be on top of a fashionista’s must-have list. So, what are those ‘must-have’ styles this season?

Coloured skinny jeans

Skinnies get a bit of a sprucing up in time for winter. The shape remains unchanged, but rather than various denim washes, skinnies now come in every colour of the rainbow, well, shall we say, the autumn rainbow. Emerald greens, mustards, burnt orange and burgundy are the key colours to look for. Add some rock chick detailing with studding and zips. Check out Jessica Alba in her bright red skinnies on Glamour Magazine.

Animal print skinny jeans

If you really want to be a rock chick, you need to get yourself a pair of animal print jeans. Mix in a healthy dose of colour too; don’t just stick with the regular mustard, black and black and white. Metallic snake print is also on trend, so add some killer heels and a band tee and start rocking out.

Metallic animal skinny jeans

Flared jeans

Seventies inspired trends have been resurfacing all year, but this season they have really come to a head both with disco inspired one-shoulder dresses and high-waist flared jeans. Flares are incredibly flattering and although the high waist styling is difficult to get used to at first after years of low-waists, together with the wide flare it greatly exaggerates leg length. Go for bright blue, mid-wash denim shades and pair with brown shoes and belts.

Boyfriend jeans

Relax and take it easy in boyfriend fit denim this season. Loose styles, either with turn-ups or cuffed hems are perfect for winter weekends relaxing with friends or walking in the countryside. The more worn out and ‘distressed’ these jeans are the better. They look perfect with pumps and the season’s must have, a knitted jumper with a Fair Isle print.

November 15, 2011

Levi’s SS12 Collection Preview Calls for Sustainability Above All Else

by fashion pulse contributor

Levi’s Spring/Summer 2012 Water, Earth, and Wind Campaign harks back to classical elements, elements that all speak the same language.

At the collection preview, beyond the season’s latest clothing, we also received a message of sustainability and renewal. Levi’s continues to drive profit through solid principles; the brand alone has saved 156 million liters of water around the world, or 60 million days of drinking water for communities in need, simply by producing “Waterless” jeans.

Now back to the clothes:Denim at Levi’s for the new season was mainly skinny; a tapered straight leg, but there were still some flares on occasion. Beyond the denim (blue and colored) there were crafty, effortless dresses, vibrant shorts and cropped tops for the girls.

My favorite jean is the Curve ID (find your perfect fit here), a concept that celebrates fit by addressing a diverse range of body types. The fits include Slight, Demi, Bold, Supreme and Ankle Skinny. The final, Ankle Skinny, is the newest innovation in Curve ID with a hip shorter length.

-Alana Quagliariello

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April 22, 2010

Coulbourne + Launches Spring 2010 Collection

by fashionpulse

Situated in Harlem, Rocky Coulbourne‘s designs echo the street-style aesthetic, reminiscent of American Apparel. He established Coulbourne+ in 2007 and draws his inspiration from the multifaceted sense of diversity in New York, acknowledging the array of ethnicities, religions, lifestyles, and fashion. The simple aesthetic of his spring collection is a reaction to the hordes of messages thrown at us by modern media and conveys one image at a time, letting the “+” imply the rest. His Spring 2010 Preview, held in a make-shift artist loft, was dec0rated with caution tape and a mobile clothing rack. The line features graphic t-shirts, distressed denim, cozy cardigans and swimwear which was admired by the press. Shop his collection here and follow the brand as it evolves.