Above H&M’s Margareta van den Bosch and New York designer Alexander Wang.

Alexander Wang (王大仁) is the next designer to collaborate with Hennes & Mauritz, with the announcement made on Saturday at the Coachella Music Festival in Palm Springs, Calif. Online above is video footage from the event, featuring interviews with Wang, Kate Bosworth and Emmy Rossum, along with highlights from the party.
   Wang is the first American to collaborate with H&M in a series that began in 2004, and has seen team-ups with Karl Lagerfeld, Comme Des Garçons, Sonia Rykiel, Roberto Cavalli. Stella McCartney, and Viktor & Rolf. The collaboration will be called Alexander Wang × H&M.
   A beaming Wang says, ‘It’s such an honour. H&M is a brand with so much creativity and they’ve done something so different with these collaborations, and I am so excited to be a part of it with the 10th year anniversary and also be the first American brand that they have collaborated with. It’s really exciting and we have a lot of stuff that’s going to be new for the collaboration that I’m just really excited to reveal in November.’
   In his release, he notes, ‘I am honoured to be a part of H&M’s designer collaborations. The work with their team is an exciting, fun process. They are very open to push boundaries and to set a platform for creativity. This will be a great way for a wider audience to experience elements of the Alexander Wang brand and lifestyle.’
   Bosworth says, ‘I’m so excited for Alex. I’ve known him for such a long time and been an admirer for just as long, and I just live seeing all the success at the moment. H&M is such an accessible label and there is something so inspirational obviously about Alex, and I’m really excited to see what he brings to the brand.’
   Rossum adds, ‘Because I love Alex and I’ve been waiting for so so long for him to ask me to do anything … I was happy that I could do something in advance so I could finally wear something of his. I think it’s awesome [he] is doing something for H&M and making it more accessible.’
   Wang’s label was launched in the 2007 and known for its contrasts. The Alexander Wang × H&M collection will have womenswear and menswear, and the Swedish retailer says he will ‘propose a new take on the lifestyle product offering that goes beyond fashion.’
   Margareta van den Bosch, H&M’s creative adviser, says, ‘Alexander Wang is one of the most important voices in fashion today. He understands exactly what people want to wear and does it with an energy and passion that’s infectious. It feels incredible to be collaborating with him this year.’
   The collection will be available in 250 H&M stores worldwide and online, from November 6.

Ultimo TAFE Sydney Institute of Fashion

The Innovators’ show featured the work of several recent graduates from the Ultimo TAFE school of fashion, carefully selected as promising future stars. I am always delighted to see fashion which is, like the name indicates, truly innovative and unspoiled by commercial reality. However, most of the garments were highly wearable.
   Irish graduate Ciara Nolan (above) opened the show with a very colourful collection including a bold use of cuts exposing skin and prints. These kids show promise, as they already demonstrate prowess in material manipulation, with expert draping and pleating seen in several of the collections, as well as innovative ideas—some of the dresses were held by translucent rods joining shoulders and other parts of the garment.

Ae’lkemi
Ae’lkemi was an ethereal show which opened with blood red outfits, followed by black and white. Lacey and translucent gowns sashayed down the runway, my favourites being a silver white gown with delicate vertical frills on the hip area, resembling feathers, and a white poncho worn as a dress with exquisite detailing on the back. See-through lace gowns and sets were present, and beautiful. My only comment would be that totally see-through garments on nude bodies are not really likely to be worn by many women, so I may have liked them even more if nude lining had been applied to the gowns in some strategic areas. By and large, glamorous, delicate, feminine.

Aje
Whenever I am going to see an Aje show, I expect an unforgettable experience and they never fail to deliver and exceed expectations. Aje’s show was an ode to the first woman explorer of Africa—an installation in the Theatre, with a central stage featuring a large safari tent and models languidly standing and sitting around. There were many highly wearable garments and a stand-out black lace trouser and blouse set that I want to own right now. Glamorous and sexy but with the right balance of coverage to make it highly wearable. A green leather jacket also stood out—beautifully cut and tailored. The designers were greeting guests at the back of the tent and they were their usual selves, relaxed, happy, warm, down to earth. The atmosphere was evocative of exactly the story they were trying to tell with this beautiful collection. Viva Aje! And may their dreamy creativity bring us endless collections to love and cherish.

The buzz
Being one of the lucky ones that got to enjoy the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge, I had the outstanding opportunity to mingle with stylists, designers, celebrities and media. It was refreshing to hear stories from the designers themselves and also meet some of the people in the background who make their collections possible. Phoenix Keating is a warm and unassuming guy who welcomes you to talk and puts you at ease immediately. I had a nice conversation with him and also bumped into celebrity stylists Joshua Heath and Josh Finn (ex-Australia’s Next Top Model). Always great to exchange impressions with them—Josh Heath was, of course, epitomizing the manner in which a trendy male ought to dress, without crossing the Zoolander line of spoof fashion, and Finn was sweetly dressed with a great printed poncho by Camilla, which only Josh, as a guy, can do justice to.
   I was pleased to meet the leather man of fashion here, Juan Valdes, of Chilean decent and leather tailor to celebrities, high-end designers and a collaborator even to the latest Star Wars movies. We joked that South Americans are like God—they are everywhere!—Viviana Pannell

Viviana Pannell is the founder and designer for Basquesse, a Sydney, NSW-based label, and a correspondent for Lucire.

Michael Lo Sordo, via Instagram

Top Michael Lo Sordo, spring–summer 2014–15. Above Maticevski, spring–summer 2014–15.

Michael Lo Sordo’s show was interesting from the moment you walked in. It was an original idea to install a sculpture on the catwalk to add interest, around which the models weaved as the glided down the catwalk. The mood of the collection was one of effortless, easy but chic living.
   The catwalk opened with a predominantly white line-up, followed by pastel-duck yellow, soft blue, and pink, which was followed by black. A profusion of elegant layering, original lapel shapes, crop tops and combination of metallic over flat, flowing soft silks—my cup of tea. Lo Sordo showed garments that can be worn in comfort whilst looking elegant.
   Cameo’s show was well choreographed and presented a youthful collection with a mix of easy-to-wear garments in white, green and print, followed by dressier garments featuring peplum dresses, interesting panelling, lace and some very nicely tailored jackets.
   Toni Maticevski’s show presented some of the most extraordinary garments of the week so far. To the beat of immensely moody music, models wore sculptural garments, often fitted bodices adjoining skirts reminiscent of 1950s Dior; black, white, and black-and-white print, with bright orange also in the mix. Some of the cuts were highly original with the pièce de résistance, for me, being a black gown with dropped shoulders and a very unusual, asymmetric neckline and an ample skirt. See-through panelling in some garments was a feature. All in all, an exquisite collection.
   We Are Handsome presented a sweet swimwear collection with some resort wear thrown into the mix in an outdoors setting. Very Sydney.
   Other videos we have today are Gail Sorronda, NLP, Talulah, the WGSN retail edit, Galanni, Serpent and the Swan, Unif.m, and Romance Was Born; and interviews with Lo Sordo, Sorronda, Leroy Nguyen, Ginger & Smart, By Johnny, Ellery, We Are Handsome, Christopher Esber, Phoenix Keating, Talulah, and Strateas Carlucci.—Viviana Pannell

Michael Lo Sordo

Cameo

Maticevski

Gail Sorronda

NLP

Leroy Nguyen interview

Ginger & Smart

By Johnny interview

Ellery interview

We Are Handsome interview

Christopher Esber

Talulah

WGSN retail edit

Galanni

Serpent and the Swan

Unif.m

Romance Was Born

Phoenix Keating interview

Strateas Carlucci interview

Viviana Pannell is the founder and designer for Basquesse, a Sydney, NSW-based label, and a correspondent for Lucire.

Lucire features the first day of videos from the spring–summer 2014–15 collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, including Aurelio Costarella and Carla Zampatti, and interviews with Costarella and Alex Perry.
   An extensive line-up of Hollywood goddess-inspired frocks was presented in Solaris, Aurelio Costarella’s spring–summer 2014–15 show. Costarella, once again, dares to dream and create something utterly different, completely feminine and demonstrative of his mastery of the female form. Superb tailoring was shown in a palette of black and white as well as fuchsia and orange, lime and blue. The collection featured styles that were body-conscious and also floaty: a profusion of soft feathers, beading work and clever cuts. Aurelio Costarella remains my personal favourite and I expect to see him breaking into the international scene in a big way, as he deserves.
   The Kahlo show was pared down, in a black-and-white neutral palette, boxy shapes, metallic, and leather! I am not too sure of the practicality of wearing leather in summer but it looked cool.—Viviana Pannell

Aurelio Costarella interview

Aurelio Costarella

Carla Zampatti

Alex Perry interview

Viviana Pannell is the founder and designer for Basquesse, a Sydney, NSW-based label, and a correspondent for Lucire.

Victoria’s Secret models Alessandra Ambrósio and Behati Prinsloo have added to the promotions for the brand’s 2014 Swim collection at the London West Hollywood.
   The press day for the swimwear line saw Ambrosio in a white halter-style bikini, while Prinsloo was impressed with her crop-top from the spring–summer 2014 line. ‘The biggest trends for this season [are] definitely high-waisted bottoms, the longer lined torso bikini tops, the crop-top that I’m wearing—I’m in love with it, I think it’s really fun and you can play sport in it, you can go swimming in it,’ she says.
   Ambrósio pointed out, ‘Another big trend is the cut-out. It’s all about the details that season.’
   Eight years separate the models, though one would not know it from the event: mother-of-two Ambrosio is 32; Prinsloo, the fiancée of Adam Levine, is 24.
   Ambrósio later visited Extra TV to talk to Mario López about the collection.

The Body Shop has become bolder with its the Colour Up collection for 2014. Now there is make-up—or should I say chalk—for your hair. The limited-edition Hair Chalk (NZ$25) is available in two shades, Tickle Me Pink and Falling for Blue. You can play with your hair colour by simply chalking with the colour pad, sealing with hairspray to finish and easily wash everything off with shampoo when you’re done. Sounds like fun? Sounds like a bright way to dress up for the weekend, without having to commit to the colour permanently.
   The new collection also launches sheer colour lip gloss (NZ$23) and Shimmer Cubes (NZ$42·50) to mix and match colours. Available in store from March 10. For details, check out www.thebodyshop.com.—Christine Min

Top Rembrandt is in a blue mood for winter. Above Wayward Heir takes on a indie musical inspiration for the season.

Rembrandt and Wayward Heir have launched their autumn–winter 2014 collections, available on- and offline.
   Rembrandt has a blue mood, with refined tailoring, including a blue dinner jacket to help men stand out this season. Designer Jonathon Hall says the blue ties in with the season’s key fashion colours of burgundy and earthy brown.
   The label says its other key pieces are the Cooper jacket and Lotus trousers, in blue Reda Italian merino, and the navy and red Caxton jacket. The emphasis is on warm, soft looks for the season, with a slimmer fit in the Lewis and Cornwall jackets, and the Astor trouser.
   Wayward Heir, meanwhile, has a musical inspiration from indie, garage, punk and contemporary music in its An Heirful collection.
   Its press kit included a cool electric guitar lapel pin from the range, and an LP with a Beatles-like logo—although playing the LP we were entertained to the sounds of Strauss waltzes for the afternoon.
   But it’s the fashion that speaks greater volumes and designer Suzanne Roff says there’s a Pete Doherty moodiness to her winter ’14 vision.
   There are vintage tweed checks in the Proto jacket and blue flannel for the peak-lapelled Milano-Punk skinny suit. Wayward Heir also has a slim-fit double-breasted jacket which it dubs Carnaby, and narrow is the order of the day with the Punk trouser and Garage jean. Prints feature images of cassettes and ghetto-blasters, and there’s under-collar guitar embroidery on jackets and suits.

Above Looks from Rembrandt’s autumn–winter 2014. Below Wayward Heir has a modern, youthful style.

H&M

Hennes & Mauritz’s Paris shows are becoming a regular occurrence on the circuit. Last night’s H&M Studio autumn–winter 2014–15 catwalk show during fashion week, with guests including Miranda Kerr, Jessica Alba, Jourdan Dunn, Emmanuelle Alt, Troian Bellisario and Solange Knowles, showed designs that mixed masculine and feminine, including slip dresses, aviator jackets and men’s blazers. Fabrics included silk crèpe, silk satin, cashmere, velvet and faux fur. H&M Studio’s collection not only contrasted feminine and masculine, but luxury (thanks to sequins and embroidery) and simplicity (with slim cuts and clean designs).
   Held at the Grand Palais, there were some 600 guests present, while a global audience watched online at hm.com with host Mademoiselle Agnes and models Andreea Diaconu, Joan Smalls, Izabel Goulart and Saskia. HollySiz performed live at the catwalk show.
   H&M Studio’s collection is a limited edition, created by a dedicated team within the Swedish fashion giant.
   ‘It’s so good to be at H&M Studio in Paris to see this limited-edition collection. H&M is such a wonderful brand—it’s affordable, wearable, and very fashion-forward,’ said Kerr.
   ‘I love H&M—it’s so exciting to be here, so much fun. The way I dress I mix things together, and I love to shop at H&M, I always find something new when I’m there,’ said Alba.

H&M