Object of Desire

Considering that Eleven Objects started in Fall 2011 with a small but highly detailed collection of hand embroidered collars, it's quite amazing that a year later, they're presenting their first ready to wear collection.  I guess the quick progress shouldn't be that much of a surprise given the designers' impressive resumes: Christine Rhee studied architecture at Princeton and worked at BOYY, and Linh Thi Do worked at Alexander Wang and doo.ri.  The clothes bear all the luxe details of the collars, and the AW 2012 collection heavily features rich brocades, gold leaf, shearling, and Swarovski crystals.

The collars are still the focal point of all the looks, and in addition to the detached collar style, the designers have introduced the "collar sleeve," a floating collar with a set of short sleeves attached.  These pieces, along with the belted peplums, occupy a space somewhere between clothing, accessories, and jewelry, which might sound confusing at first.  However, once they're matched with the outfits, they complement the clothes beautifully, and everything comes together and makes perfect sense.

 

-Tiffany

Déjà vu

Having just started my Pinterest account less than a week ago, I've gone from being completely bemused and somewhat skeptical to totally obsessed within a matter of days.  I love the quick and simple ease of clicking a button and immediately scrapbooking the bits and bobs that you come across while trawling the internet.

This sort of personal library is exactly what inspired the designers behind Hernandez Cornet for Fall 2012, who drew upon a year's worth of collected references.  The collection returns to all of these ideas and sources of inspiration, and attempts to combine and reconfigure them with their own voice.  The sense of repetition and reinterpretation is reflected in the clothes, which are selection of classic garment types such as trench coats, biker jackets, and flight jackets, all reworked in different materials. While similar silhouettes and styles appear more than once, they look entirely different when they are made from PVC and when they are made from psychedelic printed poplin.  In this case of déjà vu, you might believe that you have seen the look before, but it appears entirely different the second time around.

-Tiffany

Joyful Noise

Jimmy, Me, Jacob and John backstage at Berns

Stockholm unfortunately is NOT on the top of most people's list of must-visit destinations, especially in the middle of winter.  Very few of my friends have made the trek across the Atlantic to visit, and I've only gotten to catch a few people who've ended up here on business rather than pleasure.  So, as you can imagine, I was ecstatic when my friends Jon and Jacob came through town last Friday on tour with their band The Drums.  Sadly, they were in Stockholm for less than 24 hours, as they had to head over to Oslo the next day, but we managed to squeeze in some time with them before their performance at Berns.  I have to say, I am not jealous of their insane schedule and nonstop-touring lifestyle, although they do get plenty of nice perks along the way. 


Anyway, I'm so incredibly proud of how far they've come, especially knowing how hard they work.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the show. Make sure to take a listen to their single Days, as well as these two remixes:
The Drums- Days (Trentemoller Remix)
The Drums- Days (Mates of State Remix)

-Tiffany

More Mary

I don't know how exactly I missed the Mary Katrantzou x Longchamp collaboration, but in all the fuss over the designer's latest collection for Topshop (which I also went a little crazy for, but more on that another time), I neglected to notice her less-hyped, and similarly priced new bags, which are also arriving in stores now.  The bags, which are inspired by an East meets West theme, are done in the same style as her interiors collection, and features digital recreations of fantastically imagined rooms.  Architectural elements are mixed with other signature Katrantzou motifs like cascading flowers, gilt ornaments, and brash color combinations.  One bag even includes the undulating wooden staircase of the Longchamp flagship store in New York.  While I'm not normally a big fan of the brand, I certainly wouldn't mind wearing the logo when it's combined with a fun Katrantzou print.

-Tiffany

Pin it.

All photos by depeapa

I am incredibly hesitant when it comes to signing up for all the various new social networking/oversharing sites that seem to be springing up by the dozen.  I generally feel overwhelmed by all of the activity on them, and rarely even check my Twitter feed anymore.  Nonetheless, being a blogger, I've decided to make an effort to become more connected, and I finally signed up for Pinterest today.  Even though I don't know how often I'll end up using it as a pinboard, I did enjoy seeing what my friends were pinning, and discovered a few new things I wouldn't have found otherwise.

For example, I came across depeapa, a crafty jewelry line from Granada, Spain designed by illustrator Veronica de Arriba. The concept is incredibly simple: a small piece of ceramic printed with one of de Arriba's illustrations.  The jewelry, as well as the books, totebags, and shirts that are also sold on the depeapa Etsy site, are meant to be a vehicle for de Arriba's designs, allowing people to walk around wearing her work.  Small and sweet, and priced at $29-$35, hard to resist.

-Tiffany