I’ve featured Vladimir Karaleev previously, but since then he’s designed two more collections and there are interviews and video of his shows now available. Courtesy of all of this new information on the designer, I’ve learned that he’s colourblind! Of course, when your concentration is mostly focused on draping and layering, colour tends to play second chair as is. He can see the colour blue, which is what initially attracted me to his clothing, and can be seen making another appearance in his Fall 10/11 collection. Anyway, each collection brings a refinement of his basic aesthetic principles and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the future.

I’ve posted pictures from the Fall 10/11 collection, but check out the video below to see a preview of Spring 2011

There is an opulent softness to Mandy Coon’s clothing that keeps me from dismissing it as more of the same gothic frippery that’s been dominating fashion circles for the past few years. Yeah, there’s lots of black and black leather, and chains but it’s nicely tempered with a milky peach toned silk, chunky knits, and humour in the shape of a crushed velvet bunny bag. Her silhouettes aren’t aggressively hard-edged and I think that’s what makes the difference

I was curious as to what Pelican Avenue was up to, and recently revisited the website. I’d caught the Hanging Garden collection/performance as it was posted about pretty frequently, but the collection just prior to it, Intakt (masked models made me think instantly of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away), I hadn’t seen much on. Anyways, apparently Pelican Avenue recently participated in some fashion shows in Shanghai and Vienna and pieces from both Hanging Garden and Intakt were presented. Really, what I love most about Pelican Avenue, and this will come as no surprise, is Lerch’s consistently singular vision. I still can appreciate pieces from her collection from nine years ago-she does what she does and does it well. Bravo to that, especially in a time of fast fashion and suffocatingly omnipresent trends

Generally, when I think about Australian designers I think bright colours and playful, trendy silhouettes, which I admit is kind of silly since I’ve featured plenty of Aussie designers who don’t really fit that mold. I am not going to lie though when I say I was surprised by the relaxed maturity of the brother/sister duo designed Alpha60. Maybe it’s my age, but I find myself increasingly looking for clothing that doesn’t make me feel like some sort of youth trend victim. This label appeals to my old lady ( ha ha ) sensibilities with a lovely balance of structure, draping, and clever prints.
Bear with the annoying flash based website to check out their collections, and you can buy their pleated scarves off their online shop

Here’s my little confession, Tuesday night when I was supposed to be browsing my bookmarks so I could make a post on Wednesday, I instead spent my time obsessively shopping siphon/vacuum pot coffee makers. So no Wednesday post. HOWEVER, I was very good last night and did my blogging duty so I’m posting! (Some day I will make a post about siphon/vacuum pot coffee makers here ’cause I’m kinda obsessed, you know, like I just said.)

So, yes we’re just plunging into summer, the rainy season has about ended, and the hottest months are still ahead of us but that doesn’t mean that I ever stop the hunt for jackets and coats and the like. I was pretty enthused to find these beautifully colourful raincoats by Danish label, MaxJenny. Yes, I love neutrals, but I am really feeling the colours here. Not to worry though, you chromaphobes, they have a bunch jackets in voluminous black, too. Oh, and I should probably mention that all of their pieces are made from recycled PET bottles and dyed with waterbased colours. You can shop the collections on the site, and all prices are in euros