my end-all MONTREAL FASHION WEEK blog post

For me, Montreal Fashion Week is an interesting specimen. MFW feels like it could be so much greater. There is such a compelling energy that flows through everybody when it comes to fashion in Montreal. The media lounge is filled with people sporting their best dresses and shiniest shoes. It's quite the scene, lots of hustle and bustle and drama about who gets into what show and where everybody sits, blah blah blah, but the thing that kills MFW and that is holding it back, for me, is the actual quality of the clothes. After all, you can have all the scene and glitz, but if the quality of the clothes isn't there, what is actually driving the fashion week: the party scene or the fashion? A complicated, complex question for sure.


The clothes tend to be wayyyyyyyyy too commercial. Designers SELDOM push the envelope. And when they THINK they are pushing the envelope they aren't.  (case in point, the Helmer show. keep reading).


So here it is kids: THE PROBLEM WITH MONTREAL FASHION WEEK IS THAT THERE IS A DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE EXCITEMENT OVER THE FASHION AND THE ACTUAL QUALITY OF THE FASHION BEING PRODUCED. When you are in Montreal, you can actually feel that people on the street are enthusiastic about clothes and how they dress. The potential for Montreal to become a fashion capital is limitless. The problem is, if someone is a good enough of a designer, they tend to get sucked away to Paris or New York.


So by some act of God I received accreditation to attend the shows at Montreal Fashion Week. I guess I was pretty honored to have at least a little recognition that what I do here is somewhat relevant? Anyways MFW usually isn't my thing, I think it's a little too commercial and I actually question whether there are important people coming to the shows. Every person I met had received accreditation for their blog or for some campy website I had never heard of.


ANYWAYS I supposed it was cool just to get a vague sliver of a sense of what attending a fashion week is like. Lots of see-and-be-seen types, people dressed obnoxiously and reeking of failed attempts at being ironic. blah blah blah, everyone acting so casual and disenchanted and cool, but if you were too cool for school then why the heck are you at MFW?


OK enough of the snarky ranting, let's talk turkey.


The shows were for the most part crap. Someone needs to teach Montreal designers about proportions and how to make clothes that don't look cheap. I wanted at first to criticize msot of the shows for being too safe and commercial, but a lot of them were sending clothes downt he runway that at the end of the day just left me baffled.


Helmer, for instance. First of all, his show sold tickets for charity, so i have to commend him for that. But the charity was for handicapped people, and the clothes were inspired by Haiti. The clothes also had a lot of bizarre harlequin and even 1990s/Brooklyn references that left me wondering whether I was in a medieval court, cruising through Carroll Gardens, or stuck in some blighted third-world country. Here's one of my 'favorite' (barf) moments, very reminiscent of something one would find at an Osh Kosh BGosh sample sale: (this also feels vaguely like a failed attempt at a ripoff of Balenciaga Spring 2010):

ENVERS PAR YVES JEAN LACASSE: The only thing I liked from this show was the drop crotch pants that every male model seemed to be wearing.  Unfortunately, the man in charge of taking the photographs for which I was given access seemed to forget that this was a major element of the show. WHATEVER.


EVE GRAVEL: So cute, so wearable. Great show.

BARILA: For once, it feels like a Montreal designer is riding the same wave as the rest of the world. Barila had this great schoolboy look that felt fresh and exciting. Also lots of partygirl looks for when school isn't in session. This model's walk was killer, btw.

DIMITRI CHRIS: FAVORITE MENSWEAR OF THE WEEK. So great. Didn't really feel like the collection was following any sort of trend (which I still haven't decided is a good or a bad thing). Classic yet fresh menswear. Something I could see myself wearing. LOVED IT. Hellloooo velvet ties and sportcoat with hemlines like waistcoats!

And of course, both I and Montreal Fashion Week saved the best for last: DENIS GAGNON. This was probably the only collection I saw all week that I could envision being on the runway in New York. The collection showed signs of masterful craftsmanship and unique vision. He totally rocked these great draped zipper/metal/thingy effects I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PUT IT INTO WORDS! Made me feel like I was in a Star Wars fantasy (the Princess Leia hair styling wasn't helping) but smoething about how different and futuristic the collection looked just felt so right....

told you so!

A couple weeks ago I talked about how many feathers were all over prefall. (Celine's feathers my personal favorite. The house was able to create chic, wearable designs that took advantage of what it means to use feathers in clothing, but they also didn't lose sight of Celine's design aesthetic and soul)

And now, feathers are showing up all over the fall runways at Milan. I think of all the Milan shows, Pucci and Gucci used feathers the best, here are a few pics, respectively:

tommy ton much love

(You caught me. Guilty as charged. Yet again I am making a post about some other blogger's work and how much I love it. Some of you might call me unoriginal, some of you might call me lazy, but I think at the end of the day The Kingston Project is all about bringing together a variety of things from the fashion world that I find inspiring and relevant.)


Tommy Ton just posted his latest street style pictures taken from. Every picture in this album is so good, each ensemble is an inspriration to me in its own way.


CHECK IT:


http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/stylenotes/021110_Tommy_Ton_NYC/

 (oh heres a picture of Tommy Ton btw)

tragedy of the commons

So for the past week, in lieu of school being out of session,. I decided to take a trip south of the Canadian border and head back to my hometown for some downtime. And then I got back there, my small suburb 40 minutes north of Boston, and realized that I am absolutely appalled by the lack of fashion sense. I mean, obviously I can't expect avant garde dressing and fashion forward styling in a little town, but I was still grossed out at the complete lack of regard for what people wear.


And this is by no means supposed to be an attack on my hometown. I actually, deep down, somewhere in my little black heart, care about my town. There is an epidemic of style in our culture these days that goes beyond my town.


Why don't people care how they look anymore? When did bargain-bin, polyblend, poorly fitting, sweatshop made clothes become ok? What you wear says a lot about who you are. And I am not saying that you have to wear Balenciaga to the grocery store and Chanel to the library (although I am a huge supporter of doing so, for about 7635237 reasons we won't get in to). I'm just saying that whether you realize it or not, your slouchy sweatshirt and relaxed fit jeans say to me that you don't really take yourself that seriously. And don't give me that crap about you have to have a certain bodytype to dress fashionably. Or that dressing fashionably isn't comfortable.


I am also really over the entire argument that it is even too expensive to dress fashionably. Just think. A nice Prada sweater is going to be significantly more expensive than any polyblend disaster you find at your local chainstore, but it is
A. not made in a sweatshop, so you aren't supporting the oppression of working class women and children the world over
B. designed by artisans out of finer materials; you are supporting a cultural industry instead of non-environmentally-friendly-big-business-corporate-bullcrap
C. going to last you a lot, lot, lot longer than cheap clothing. well made designer clothing made out of high quality materials will ultimately be more long lasting than throwaway fashions. ladies: how many h&m tops have you picked up in, say, the last three years or so? add up the math and you would probably be shocked. cheap, throwaway, fast fashions simply don't last as long as higher end clothing. sweaters pill up, seams rip, etc. just think: no one ever says "wow! i found this great vintage H&M dress from the 1940's... it's in such great shape!" (I KNOW h&m wasn't around back then, but just roll with it). you only ever hear "i found this great vintage CHANEL sweater from the 1940s... it's so well made and so durable and in such good shape!"




WELL it seems like this post started out as one thing and ended up as more of an economic rant. Virginia Woolf would have loved my free indirect discourse. And you better love it too.

apologies

Loyal blog readers, my sincerest apologies for my lack of posts lately. I have had a hard time feeling inspired about fashion since Lee McQueen's passing. I also have been extremely busy with school and travelling to New York trying to set up some fantastic summer plans.

Just imagine how busy and what a wierd mood that I, a fashion blogger, must be in to have completely let New York Fashion Week go by without saying a word.

Again, my deepest apologies and more to come, I promise.

Lee Alexander McQueen, 1969-2010

There are no words to express how deeply saddened I am at the passing of my idol, Lee Alexander McQueen.


The Kingston Project had been on my mind many months before I began writing last fall, and it was with a lot of thought that I decided to make my first post about "Why McQueen Matters"


There is no one like him, there will never be anyone like him.


His work was some of the most fashion-forward and inspiring to ever be created.


His runway shows were incredible. I challenge anyone to watch one and claim that he was not an artist.


My heart is broken. Rest in peace.

EVERYBODY READ THIS NOW

So umm I do not really know as a blogger I feel about throwing out links to my readers and not saying too much about them. Could just be me being lazy. But I came across this article on style.com and it is, well... perfect.


Cathy Horyn has so many important things to say about the industry and where it is headed. This article is required reading for ANYONE interested in fashion. I also really reccomend it to the nay-sayers who think fashion is on its way out the door.


Here it is:
http://www.style.com/stylefile/2010/02/the-future-of-fashion-part-two-cathy-horyn/

Rodarte eats my heart out, once again

So. I was just perusing style.com's feature on upcoming exciting things in the next couple of weeks. And I saw the words "Rodarte" and "exhibition" in the same sentence. I died.


Anywhoo, I poked around a little bit more and saw that they are having a "Quicktake" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum on the Upper East Side of New York City. All the website had to say was this, and I was sold:  "The installation offers a glimpse into the Mulleavys' unique process and inspiration at an important point in their career."


This sounds sooo exciting. Anyone in the New York area should totally stop by. My spring break is coming up in a few weeks and I'm going to try really hard to skip down to NY for a day or two and catch a glimpse of the exhibition.


What: Quicktake: Rodarte
Where: Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York City, 2 E 91st St,
When: On show from February 11 to March 14
Why: Because Rodarte owns your soul, you just don't know it yet.

shoesies

Montrel winter is horrible on your shoes. I have been reduced to wearing the same old tattered and salt stained Nikes because I have simply given up on keeping shoes stylish throughout the frigid season. When Spring comes around, I plan on investing in some new pairs of shoes...


Here's what I am thinking of getting...maybe.....


I totally love the oldschool hand-tooled Blucher vibe. Really feeling the throwback aspect of tossing on some of these babies, maybe going Urkel-style and adding a bowtie and suspenders into the mix??  (Mark McNairy New Amsterdam)

And of course, what is the use in going Urkel unless you are going to bring the transformation full-circle and do the sexy-Urkel look (remember when one season Urkel all of the sudden becomes... hot?) I also realized that I need a pair of dressier sneakers (if there is such a thing) These Creative Recs are pretty good, and on sale for 67$ at Barneys right now.... INSANITY.

These blue ones are a lot of fun, these would look great with my light mint green Vineyard Vines shorts and a crisp oxford with rolled up sleeves and nautical belts/bracelets/yougettheidea. A wishywashy pastel dream with a shock of color....  (Florsheim by Duckie Brown) Also, this blue seems rather McQueeny SS2010 to me. I guess this means that this color blue is in this season??? I dunno, ask Pantone.

I also think it's abourt time I hop on the boot-wagon. Frye's are the best, apparently. I've heard so many people rave and rave and rave about how comfy and versatil they are. It's true, just like a leather jacket, it's a great way to dress up or dress down a look, adding a little hardcore chic into the mix. I like these ones with the harness detail.

over the moon

The Armani Prive Haute Couture Spring 2010 was the most beautiful couture collection I have seen in a while, by far my favorite of the season. The collection was inspired by the moon. While I didn't necessarily agree with some of the moon motifs, this dress totally made up for it. I saw this on video and lost my breath, the way it moves on the runway is so elegant and graceful. Looking at this dress move felt like staring up at the moon. And whatever naysayers say fashion can't evoke an emotional response, I challenge you to look at this dress and feel otherwise:

Lady Gaga wore a dress from the collection to the Grammys the other day. So perfect, so Armani, so Gaga, so great. I especially love the starburst she's holding in her hand. It clearly has no function other than an aesthetic one, but it perfectly balances out the dress and completes the look. Oh, and I just want to know how she got in and out of her limo wearing this dress.

Note: her shoes appear to be deyfing gravity...