Alexander Wang doing Alexander Wang / Pre-Fall 2013

Alexander Wang, one of my ultimate Fashion idols and the recently appointed creative head of Balenciaga, just released his own Pre-Fall Collection for the 2013 Season. Masterfully composed of bulky knits, slickly-cut coats, and beautifully draped monochromatics in rich, tundra greys and crisp whites (in a way only Wang could do), the Collection is a brooding and sophisticated departure from the otherworldliness of Wang's typical aesthetic.

I love Wang's unique ability to play with youthful athletics in such a crisp way; adding really interesting textural elements in subtle ways that become bold when it pops away from all the minimalism. The slight drape over the collarbone, the blocked shoulders, the powdery, dusted sport coats, and the asymmetrical zipper. It's an edge that evokes an air of ultimate chic at the same time; something I absolutely love seeing in Fashion. The pieces are ideal for that spark of coolness that hits just before your Autumn coat needs to come out, and is the perfect Collection for the inner-city woman both professional and artistic. It's divine, and all I can say is that I really wish I could wear that sleeveless military coat!

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Ajak Deng is a Metallic Phenom #Obsessed

I've worshipped Ajak Deng for a while. The Sudan-born, Melbourne-based model is one of the strongest, boldest faces in the industry; and has walked for everyone from Chloe, to Lanvin, to Givenchy, to Marc by Marc ever since her breakout at Paris Fashion Week in 2010. She also happens to be an incredibly talented Editorial model and, since her launch, has participated in some of the best Editorial spreads in North America and beyond.

City Dweller features Deng in an industrialized landscape of intersecting lines, stark monochromatics, and reflective metals and textures. There is an obvious juxtaposition to the robotic nature of her imagery set against an evolving and ironically organic urban landscape; but what's more interesting is that she is the object rather than the subject. She isn't the human, she is the building. She is the architecture and the statue, and in that, almost alien. Shot by Julia Noni and Styled by Barbara Loison for Obsession Magazine, Deng is stoic and powerful in Couture Chanel, Balmain, Balenciaga, and Prada. 

Photos courtesy of Fashion Gone Rogue