Fashion Charts IV

1. Calvin Klein Fall/Winter 2014

2. Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2014

3. The Row Fall/Winter 2014

Longing for mall pyjamas and couchwear. The very best of luxury potatoe knitwear. So cozy (Francisco), so pedestrian (Marc), so miserable (Ashley and Mary-Kate). New York is dressing down for the 21st century.
/HORST

Anti-Me Society II

Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2013

The last hurrah by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton was a self-revolting revolution. Showgirl punk with graffiti lettering, ruffles, sequins and feathered bras. Not giving a fuck was never that delicately well done.
/HORST

Couples IV

1. Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2014
2. Claire Barrow Spring/Summer 2014

When menswear and womenswear go hand in hand, and - unknowingly - reflect each other. For Spring/Summer 2014, Claire Barrow and Marc Jacobs created a genderless, enhanced fashion experience. Fearless and transgressive, postwar power couples.
/HORST

Sherman Questions XIII

1. Cindy Sherman Untitled #473, 2008
2. Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2013

Isn't it ironic how both images as aspirations of 'luxury' result in something chintzy? Cindy and Marc present an exercise in fake fur and cheap perfume. Layering kitsch until it becomes rich.
/HORST

View all parts of Sherman Questions

Post Paris XXXII

A 'False Encyclopaedia' double feature with Matthew Lindgren, discussing:
Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013

As a child, my passion was dressing up and playing roles much larger than myself.
I would tie yards of red velour around my body like a nightie and recite Maggie's lines from 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'. Of course, I didn't understand the weight of the words I was saying or the implications of the character I was portraying, but the aesthetics were all there.

Laden with menthol and sin, Marc Jacobs presented a slinky hotel scene with characters dressing up and covering up. Women exited their rooms in silky lingerie and haphazardly-thrown on fur coats and walked through the dim hallway peering at the audience. It was a scintillating presentation, to put it mildly.

The clothes, however, lacked this stimulating. They seemed to be less Elizabeth Taylor sultry, more Lindsay-Lohan-as-Elizabeth-Taylor sultry; the fallen dressing up as the great. The plunging v-necks and lace-lined dresses almost felt forced, reminiscent of post-pubescent middle school girls showing off to potential partners at a homecoming dance; the child dressing up as the woman. The plaids felt heavy and the coats could have been pulled out of a moth-filled box from the attic. Somehow the silks felt dirty. If this is the aesthetic Marc sees the Louis Vuitton woman in, then he did a wonderful job. He should also be commended on some of the more structured coats and the craftsmanship on the red carpet-bound final gowns. The fur bags are beautiful and will have great success in the market. The true test of this collection will be in its sales. Will the Louis Vuitton woman want to dress up for parties in printed silk dresses and sequin-dipped coats? If not her, perhaps her children will.

/MATTHEW

'Girl, Interrupted' might be the best term to describe Marc Jacob's latest exploration of his Louis Vuitton signature. The negligée night crawl collection is perfectly tailored for a delusional 'real housewife' who'd love to promote her own person as a brand. From Betty Boop to Lindsay Lohan and Joan Rivers, selling 'herself' was never more emancipated, vulgar and self-ironic. Her look: silk pyjamas, lipstick and fur.
/HORST








1. Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013
2. Elizabeth Taylor Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, 1958
3. Edward Hopper Night Windows, 1928
4. Disney Pretty Pretty Princess Cinderella Edition
5. Betty Boop 1930
6. Joan Rivers What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most, 1997
7. Girl Interrupted 1999
8. Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013

More about Matthew Lindgren Three Shades Of Black

Golden Boy, 2012

or 'The Psalms Of Rei'




















Top Marc Jacobs
Coat Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
Jeans Acne
Shoes Raf Simons x Doc Martens

On the seventh day, she created gold. Her command shattered against an artificial earth: 'All that glitters must be gold'. He was naked. And as her creature, he followed an instinctive, universal will.
/HORST

A Short History Of Stripes In Popular Culture VI

or 'How Horst Influences Fashion'






1. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
2. Jonathan Saunders Spring/Summer 2013
3. Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2013
4. Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2013
5. Sportmax Spring/Summer 2013

Each season, at least five design houses follow the call and demands of Horst. Thus, a fine, black and white line became apparent throughout the collections. As graphic blocks or eye-flickering op-art. One better looks twice.
/HORST

Image credits Catwalking

Men On Stairs

1. Marc Jacobs by Ryan Pfluger for Time Magazine
2. Raf Simons by Willy Vanderperre for Fantastic Man

Male fashion designers as interior pin-ups. Please note the obligatory girl portrait in the background as well as the glass and steel rails. Adding to the seductive staging of an invitation 'upstairs'.
/HORST