Beyond The LIM IT / 3.1 Fall 2013 #Womenswear

This post is long-overdue blogosphere! The incomparable Phillip Lim give us perhaps my favourite Fall Collection this year - littered with blocked and bright leathers, fantastic trenches, glossy pants, and urban knitwear. A Collection that boasts an aesthetic that is so Lim - with the right amount of streamlined chic and the right amount of youthful street style.

I am beyond obsessed with the coats in this Collection. Phillip Lim for Fall is always so architecturally pristine - with an 80's flare for the dramatic; the turquoise and beige overcoats exude a New York flair that is super-chic. Beyond that it has to be the pants and the boot wear - bagged leather, textured and cut with a bold shape. The lines, overlapped textures, and layered pieces are visually brilliant and an urban nod to a little but of 90's as well, if you can see it! The layering of line and colour remind me of a diverse cityscape; and it's held together by a fantastic, stark, and seasonally-sound palette of slate greys, whites, camels, and glossy blacks. A visual symphony of proportion, line, texture, and colour - I wish I could wear it all, especially that turquoise-on-a-teal-edge overcoat. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

I know I post a lot about Phillip Lim, but represent his work is almost a must for me. He is, as I've said before, one of the most impeccable and talented modern designers in the world right now, despite his young age and relatively short career thus far. His taste is consistently and elegantly on-point season after season; and the construction of his pieces, beyond just the tailoring alone, is always a masterful composition of form, colour, and texture. It's as if he is creating incredible buildings that you can both appreciate from a distance and right up-close, in terms of grandeur and presence as well as the finest detailing. I could own every piece in this entire Collection. Bravo!

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Givenchy / Pre-Fall 2013

I've been behind on my Runway! Well, not actually, just behind on my writing. The Blogosphere lives with or without me, and the last few months of prep and planning of some very exciting freelance work (the likes of which you have yet to hear about!) has most definitely kept me more than occupied. So I apologize! Regardless, Fashion is having an incredible start to the Fall Season for 2013. And what better way to break the cycle than a feature of one of the most celebrated Pre-Fall Collections of the Season? We love it, all of it.

Riccardo Tisci is perhaps one of the most brilliant creative designers to emerge out of Europe within the last decade. As head of Givenchy, Tisci's aesthetic is almost always a unique and characteristic mixture of romanticism and neo-modernity. There is almost a simultaneous softness and sharpness to his clothing that exist together in perfect balance; creating a new elegance even in the presence of bold, geometric forms or obtusely graphic prints - Givenchy for Pre-Fall 2013 is no exception to that rule.

We are nuts over these fantastic geometric forms. But it's not just the boldness and hardness of the lines; it's all in the finesse of the placement, the detailing of the composition. The way Givenchy pulls your eye from one corner to the other; a balanced movement accented by a field of bright, contrasting neutrals and triangular forms - on an immaculately tailored piece. The theme of the triangle is something that has caught me eye lately, and something that I've adopted myself for a while (check the logo!). There's a reason for the beauty of this shape, and it's emergence in Fashion again is something I can't help but celebrate. It's an incredibly powerful form - the three pointed shaped - balanced on all sides but always peaked on one at the same time, depending on how you view it. It's perhaps the most beautifully composed geometric form, and I've been seeing it take a strong lead on many designs this season; a prominent element, from the cuts of intersecting triangles on a pair of trousers to the heel of a great boot (above image).

Tisci's palette this Season was simple and quite neutral, which isn't any large departure from the rest of the Fashion world. I am happy about the Tan though; I feel Givenchy used Tan in a very powerful way this Season, balancing the Collection almost entirely and using the power of monochromatic Black and White as harmonious, balancing elements. The hardness of the forms again take centre stage - thick rectangular cut-outs, over-sized triangles, and even chevrons. I absolutely love the idea of taking these prominent elements from the 80's but re-creating them into a modern elegance, not necessarily something purposefully loud. Givenchy has done here with geometric forms what few other design houses could - creating hardness with softness. There is nothing quite as elegant, in my eyes, as a slick coat or a fantastic pair of trousers that hug just right.

Without getting too obsessed with the textural, geometric palette of the Collection; I should also talk about it's obvious and adorned play on androgyny. I've been saying it for a while, androgyny is Fashion, and Givenchy Pre-Fall is a perfect example. Feminine elegance and tailored, masculine forms. From the way the trousers cut off at the base of the heel, to the choice of footwear, to the duffle, to the Winter Jacket - this Collection is incredibly androgynous. But as I said before, it's masculine with a unique finesse; an elegant detailing and an unlikely balance. It's both at the same time, and it's insanely perfect.

Catch it! Those fantastic, white trousers under the gown! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. We love everything about. Givenchy Pre-Fall is ridiculously modern, with a finished edge that evokes a softness only Tisci could ever produce. Our favourite so far; if the rest of the Season is anything like what we've seen, then we have quite a lot to look forward to. Finally, my favourite Season for Fashion is back again! I'll be covering Toronto and even, just maybe, a little bit of New York this year (wait till you hear about it!) for Fashion Week. So keep it locked for the best, the bold, and the talented.

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