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Hermes signifies classic style and elegance. Yet on the Paris runway, I was thinking that JCrew was there rather than the iconic Hermes. The Hermes Spring 2007 collection hit the boardwalk-like-runway of Paris and delivered a less-than-stellar line up of beachy wear, and casual kickbacks, along with tracksuits. Yikes. What I paid attention to closely were the bags of course, and these bags were collapsible Kelly Bags that were strapped together to look more like a large clutch than a bag. Upond first glance, I like the bag looking this way. Then it occured to me that this bag is so impractical all tied up that it now officially has no use. Our Hermes enthusiasts can be the judges of these bags, a big Yay or over powering Nay?

{via Style}

When it comes to Jean Paul Gaultier, you never know what he may have up his sleeve. Celebrating his 30 year anniversary he made his prescense more than known on the runway of Paris. The Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2007 close up collection was fun and quirky and totally over-the-top. I will leave it to Style to discuss what happend on the runway 3 days ago.

This is Jean Paul Gaultier’s 30th anniversary year, and after Janet Jackson and other tardy celebs had finally taken their seats, he started a celebration that will continue at a big fête Saturday night by recapping his greatest hits. He began with a man’s motorcycle jacket with “76″ and the French flag painted on the back, breezed past the bustier dresses with cone-shaped busts that Madonna made famous, and finished with a trompe l’oeil sheath with just one built-in jacket lapel. Together, the 30-plus pieces—some of which looked broken-in, like his friends had just pulled them from their closets—showcased Gaultier’s incomparable visual wit.

It’s a gift he made liberal use of in the new clothes he showed for next spring. With Jane Fonda on the loudspeakers asking, “Are you ready to work out?” the curtains parted to reveal models sweating away on glittery gym machines. But his sport references went beyond jokey visors, wristbands, and tube socks with heels. Satin baseball jackets came in countless color variations, some with Japanese embroidery, others with “30″ emblazoned on their backs, and yet more rendered in sequined mesh. For day, these might be paired with leggings striped at the side or shorts; for night, piping was replaced by seams of crystals and cutouts at the shoulders and back. Pushing the concept to the limit, he closed with a halter gown cut to reveal a bikini top underneath, veiled by a sheer warm-up jacket.

John Galliano toned it down in Paris with the Christian Dior Spring 2007 Collection. While his line was nothing flashy, the simplicity and clean lines worked for me. Sometimes it is nice to look at something that is not too noisy or busy. The Dior Handbags were “gimmick-free chain-handled handbags” that sported the same shape but different materials and colors. Overall, this line makes my life a bit easier and makes it look easy to be fashionable. {via Style}

While the hair styles fit the feel of the collection, I must say that I would not smile if I was wearing this sort of boyish up-do either.

Fashion Week in Milan continues and the Missoni graced the runway with its memorable prints and sleek style. As described by Style.com, Missioni “reinterpreting and updating her own vocabulary, rather than grasping at flighty notions of retro futurism”. While the big bags with their exotic skin and colors makes me happy, the big shoes make me cringe. I would love to wear huge heels and platforms, but at 5′10 (really pushing 5′11) it just makes me too tall (and too tall for Vlad- BOO!) So I will stick to my lower heels and envy all of you that get to wear the big heels.

When it comes to Karl Lagerfeld, be ready to expect anything. Sticking to black, navy, white, silver, and hot pink, Lagerfeld gave the Fendi Spring 2007 line a futuristic approach with his implementing high-tech materials. On the runway materials like black silicone, silver leather that was laser-cut to resemble athletic mesh, and holographic paillettes were used to make a striking appearance for Fendi this spring. Lagerfeld said, “I wanted to use the most traditional craftsmanship with the most futuristic of fabrics”. While I am not into Matrix-esque fashion (like Gucci Spring 2007), Lagerfeld has kept his designs on the money using a futuristic touch on classic looks and colors. {via Style}

Looks to me like the Fendi models have been hanging out with the Prada models a bit too much

Fringe is in for Prada this coming Spring (which seems so far away right now). From satin scarves on the models’ heads to fringe bags and bold colors, Prada’s Spring 2007 line is reminiscent of the 1970’s. The bold colors took over the Milan runway, showing us that Prada wants the looks from their line to remain forefront in your mind this coming spring. Fringe bags have never been my thing, but Prada’s bags right now are such a hit that these fringe bags may also make their way to the ‘it’ bags of Spring.

Now if only the models would get a little more excited to be part of the Prada Spring 2007 Ready to Wear Runway Show.

… Literally. Gwen Stefani is no doubt known for her singing, her hot hubby, her baby Kingston, and of course her fashion line, L.A.M.B. Stefani has colleborated with Tim Schifter to introduce L.A.M.B Luxurious Line of Handbags that will hit Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel’s, Holt-Renfrew in Canada, eluxury.com, and in a select group of specialty stores like Intermix. The luxe line will contain 33 different styles of handbags. Schifter describes the bags as follows:

The bags themselves are closer to the European luxury feeling than the American contemporary handbag category. I think they’re highly differentiated but priced in the contemporary. Gwen’s unique personal take on fashion incorporated her signature elements like Rasta colors and the old English lettering. For spring, we’re incorporating velvet into the collection. For this first launch, there are two collections—the Signature collection and the leather collection which is called Love.

Stefani’s style is very edgy and colorful and I look forward to seeing more of what she has in store for us. Already sporting one of her new bags with Rasta colors, Gwen is making sure we all see how hot her new line of bags will be. Gwen is most likely using this bag to carry Kingston’s goodies while she spends the day with her little man and hubby.

{via The Daily Fashion}

Not so “phat” in my opinion.

It appears like metallic is going to be the new black next Spring/Summer season, yet again. Marc Jacobs presents a couple of crazy shiny fashion and accessories, I guess we all better get out the sunnies, otherwise all the glitz and shine will have us blinded.

via Glam.com

The only place I’d rather be right now is back in the Big Apple for New York Fashion Week. Many of our favorite designers have hopped on planes from around the world (nix their lipstick of course) and made their way to NYC to show off their goods. While I love looking at the clothes, my focus here is the handbags. A newcomer to New York Fashion week but not to the world of fashion is Karen Walker who hails from New Zealand. Her designs are sleek and her appearance garnered more than 500 guests, including editors from American Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Nylon, Interview and the New York Times. Her spring/summer 2007 line is deemed the “Victory Garden” collection – “inspired by the British land girls of World War II – featured floral prints, puff sleeves and baggy pants, reminiscent of the 40s, as well as neon nylon parkas.” The handbags for spring/summer feature long straps, can be worn across the body, and have a slouchy shape. On a whole, these bags are a total hit in my book- casual meets street chic. Stay tuned for more designs out of NYC.

Via Glam!