Simply Siriano

Christian Siriano's Tulle Overlay Gown

Do you remember how the winning looks on NBC's Fashion Star were edgy, cool and utterly desirable? And remember how they were "supposed" to be available to us online and in stores that very day? 

I remember it well. My standout memory remains, to this day, Kara Larick's floor length tuxedo and bow tails from Season 1, Episode 4 of the show. It was the first design I was willing to kill for, my jaw dropping as her models took to the runway. I'm a sucker for red and black, and I had never seen them used so well before.

I wanted it. And I wanted it now. I dashed online early to see if it was on any of the store sites - betting it would win the night before the night was even over. 

But I was right. Her design did win! Wait... Wha? Why did they...?

What I was faced with online was not Kara's design. It was a watered down frumpy, sad little thing. The long black and streamlined tails with sharp points that had plated a huge gorgeous red bow, its leaves sweeping to the ground, moving in incredible ways when the model walked.

That red bow was not only the centerpiece of the jacket, but a genius moment in time. The jacket, with its form, was a statement piece at the very least.

But that's not what I found on the store's website. They had changed the design completely. A sad little red ribbon was all that was left on a wide bunching black, billowy tail, which didn't look very tuxedo-ish at all, leaning towards the bustle end of things. 

I was more than crushed. I was indignant. All I could think was...  Are you kidding me?

After all that the show was hard to watch. All the hype and hoopla throughout the show to design the "right look," and then the big chains go and modify it for us, turning pearls into potatoes. Drat.

I didn't watch much more of the show after that. I stayed in touch, following Kara Larks until - yes! She won. Excellent closure, thank you! And then I moved on.

How Kara Laricks' Tuxedo Jacket Translated:
Long red tails turned accent instead of main feature.

Not that I didn't learn anything. I did. Green doesn't sell, for example. Huh. I wonder why that is? Nicole Richie is hella smarter than anyone gives her credit for- on every level. And buyers should never be allowed on reality shows. Period.

But here's my point: when it comes to fashion and reality shows, we little people never get the goods. You can get the 'real deal' dishes from chef shows, both at their restaurants and even in magazines where they share their recipes. We can experience the same expeditions in adventure shows and we can not just see the same homes featured on real estate shows, but meet and/or hire the people that star in them.

Same goes with everything else - money shows, talk shows, antique shows - it's all available to us and we love it. Unless it's a fashion show. Then... not so much. We almost always get a mushy replacement that makes us go 'blech.' 

Which is why I love Christian Siriano's new Tulle Overlay Gown, also available on Farfetch.com. It's the first dress of his I've seen that brings back such stark memories of his first collection. It was on Project Runway all the way back in 2008, but it still kicks major designer as*, ringing relevant and classic today, tomorrow and forever. Go ahead. Watch the collection. You'd want to buy it, wear it and even lick it - immediately. 

It was simply stunning, shocking and so high fashion. He didn't just make a collection. He made an experience. 

We all relive that first runway of his when we think of his name. He laid down his foundation. And now we have this:

It brings me memories of this:

No dilution here, folks. No dilution here.

Thank you, Mr. Siriano. You are a light in the darkness. May Vogue, Vanity Fair and W figure you out too. 

Because we have.

Signing off,

Katherine King

P.S.

Oh. My. GOD.

Christian Siriano F/W 2016

Links:

Siriano's Website: http://christiansiriano.com

Siriano's Twitter (AHmayzing): https://twitter.com/CSiriano

Siriano's Tulle Overlay Dress: http://store.christiansiriano.com/product/tulle-overlay-gown

Soriano's Original Project Runway Collection: https://youtu.be/fxJ91Kbn8kc

Kara Larick's Website: http://www.karalaricks.com/fw-collection.html

Tom and Lorenzo (Photo): http://tomandlorenzo.com/2016/02/christian-siriano-fall-2016-collection/

How Catherine Kallon will Kill Karl Lagerfeld: The Death of the Red Carpet Fashion Awards (RCFA)

One of the half million photo creations on Kallon's site.

You probably don't know who Catherine Kallon is, but you do know her work. Everyone does. No matter what Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour and Diana Von Furstenburg say.

They're going to miss her the most. They just don't know it yet.

Because Kallon is the one woman force that is the Red Carpet Fashion Awards - and she's shutting the whole site down. And when I mean down... I mean down. As in - you'll never see, read or view anything she's ever posted again.

A Beautiful Poem for Hermès

This is a song of poetry

to the kings & queens 

that are Hermès.

Not the owners,

not the creators,

but the makers...

...the makers themselves.

Some may call them the little elves

that are enchanted by moonlight

to make their perfect rings

and their purses sing

with the sewing that breaks the shadows of my mind.

Why?

Pourquoi?

The simple answer is the perfect piece

called

Hearts and Crafts.

It is a ghastly name.

It is the worst sin against

a perfect porcelain piece of a poem.

I say poem because

movies, documentaries, entries

on the cinema stages of our lives...

just aren't completed this masterfully.

this perfectly.

this well.

I shall blame it on the writer.

The name glares like a cheap replica of a 

Michaels craft store sign, unhinged

and orange red against a sad woman's

old draperies... 'Hearts and Crafts' indeed.

So do not let this name fool you.

Do not.

The filmmaker is silk.

The subjects refined

and

handsome, artistic,

eloquent and knowledgeable.

I do not own a scarf, a book, a label,

nothing from this name of Hermès.

But I own their soul.

They stay with me always
in my mind
refreshing and repeating
time after time after time.

So stay.
Watch.
Watch with me.

Just for a moment.

Give your mind a refreshing drink

of spring and of right and of rain

and let yourself be doused in the magic

and the mystery that is...

hiring the masters

of the young

and of the old.

and see a timeless classic,

hidden in the folds

of webpages and webbrowsers.

A little piece, a little leaf that is,
was and always will be
gold

just hidden

in the folds

Hidden.

Right Here.

xoxo,

Katherine

To see this short film about the history and craftsmen behind Hermès in France, Click here: Hearts and Crafts (Les Mains d'Hermes).
Note: The original French title of the film is called Les Mains d'Hermes. Better, yet not close enough. Enjoy.

We Will Never Forget

I know we're in the middle of all the hubbub of Fashion Week.

Maybe it's because I'm over here on the West Coast

where it seems easier to forget everything and anything

that is reality based...

but I haven't forgotten 9/11.

It seems like most have.

I don't hear about it on the news,

I don't hear about it even IN the news ever - never

ever at all anymore.

It's not referenced.

It's not remembered.

It's just documented.

Documentaries are all that is left. Oh, they are 

good ones - so good we feel we can set them aside

and alone. Without re-living it.

Well. I remember.

And I think you do too.

So let us not allow Fashion Week to slide right

by without a shake of the head.

Let's shake it, stay quiet,

still

and

listen.

Because they are still out there.

Their voices still call.

The muffled room that

became New York that day

still exists. Underneath the new structures and the old.

The grey dust still lingers, if you hold still enough to taste it.

Let's remember.

No matter where we are.

xoxo,

K

Photo credit:
Tobias Everke

Olympic Torch Strikes Gold

Thomas Heatherwick's 2012 Olympic "Cauldron"

Yes. 

I know about the controversy surrounding the Olympic Torch for this year's Summer Olympics in London. 

Since I do have a thing for fire and flames, I suppose if I was there I'd be massively disappointed to have it hidden... 

even dismantled at times... too. 

But still.

C'mon.

It's brilliant.

First of all, this picture is just a model of the actual torch, or "cauldron," as they are calling it. It's a bit too much of a Harry Potter term for me, especially considering the UK connection, so I'm sticking with 'torch.' 

Or 'Magnificent Torch.' Maybe 'Torch of Kings'? Ah. I have it:

'Olympian Torch.'

'Natch. 

Model of Actual Petal - to Scale

The brilliance of this Olympian Torch design lies in its petals.

Thomas Heatherwick took on an enormous task with this design.

As a major in Brit Lit,

let me just say...

I know.

But with these petals, 204 of them, mind you,

he transcended the normal Olympic torch experience.

In a world of ever-increasing global connectivity and "one-ness," 

this design not only fulfills its usual purpose of representing the ongoing centuries of Olympic Spirit and Tradition, but it also, 

at the same time, shows the other side of the coin... 

the lines that do make us different, 

the borders that do separate us, 

the differences that make us each a nation of one people.

This picture, showing the torch from within its stems, illustrates my point perfectly. 

It was devoutly taken by a British Blogger by freezing her BBC channel and snapping this shot with her iPhone. I love my iPhone too... that 'connectivity' I mentioned.

The stems and petals at all times represent each competing team's unique spirit, while the flame above is that power which only develops, grows and emanates when we all come together.

Powerful, isn't it?

My many thanks to London.

My many thanks to Heatherwick.

And my congratulations to all the teams.

May your inspiration create a fire that is not easily quenched.

xoxo,

Katherine

Sources:

DEZEEN.COM

THEVIBES.ME

Going for Gold

Thank you Flare.com for bringing these cuties to my attention.

Okay.

So they really aren't "cute."

But dang, they are gold perfection.

I don't know how Mr. Louboutin managed to avoid any 70's retro flavor with these...

...but he most certainly did. 

Well done, Christian. Well done.

Who needs a gold medal? Okay, I wouldn't pass one up...

but yeah. These'll get me through instead just fine.

Just fine indeed :)

xoxo,

Katherine

Downton Hits Downtown

2012 Met Gala Favorites Series

"Elegance is refusal."

-Coco Chanel

This look has a special kind of brilliance.

Editing, for any artist, in any field,

is the one thing that stands between a good artist...

and a great artist.

The gloves.

The length.

The gold.

Her skin.

Her brows.

Her hair.

"Elegance is refusal."

If this look can only be summed up with a quote

from Coco Chanel,

then perhaps I saved the best look for last.

To my dearest Met Gala, Au Revoire!  

I'll see you next year...

xoxo,

Katherine

Actress: Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey)

Designer: Ralph Lauren (I know, right?)