Dreaming of... Ice

Today's inspiration comes courtesy of an article in New York magazine, which highlighted public ice skating rinks in town, with the most famous among them, the Wollman Rink at Central Park and the super congested and small, albeit dreamy rink at Rockefeller Plaza.

I have many fond memories of time spent at an ice rink as a young girl, even spending a few years training with a private coach and placing third in a local competition. I still remember the outfit I wore that day-- a simple white chiffon dress with sheer blouson sleeves and hot pink sequin flower applique which my mother hand-sewed onto the bodice. Ah- the anti-fashion of figure skating style!

Sadly, I never made it to big leagues with my skating career, but every once in a while, I think about what might have been, and recall the strong smells of my childhood at the rink-- the hot chocolate and melting ice locker room smells (a uniquely wintry mix indeed).

This winter, I am going to try the pond at Bryant Park, where admission is free if you bring your own skates, and cold weather be damned, wear something appropriately glittery and borderline tacky.

Whether you are able to execute a triple salchow or find the prospect of gliding across the ice daunting, fashion offers the ice queen look for a look that's hot both on and off the ice (I'm feeling particularly pun-ny this week-- forgive!). Above, the famous nylon skater dress from American Apparel. And below, a wool/acrylic blend Louise Goldin skater dress from Topshop with a playful geometric pattern print skirt - on sale now!

What's your idea of a winter dream outfit?

Acne *hearts* Lanvin

above: looks from the Acne-Lanvin collaboration, available at acnestudios.com

I love Acne. I love Lanvin. But what to make of the Acne-Lanvin collaboration, which will be on offer starting tomorrow both at the online shop and at Barneys?

The louche shapes of Lanvin dresses are a brilliant match to Acne's Swedish laid-back cool. But the price points (starting around $500 for a pair of jeans) are a bit rich for my taste, especially given my more careful budgeting these days.

What do you think? Will you say yes to Acne/Lanvin? I may take a closer look. The denim on denim styling is a little too 1980s for me. But I will admit, I am a bit more excited about seeing the white denim line, which Acne will be releasing with Lanvin for Spring 2009...

London Calling!

above: Mary Katrantzou for Central Saint Martin's Fall 2008 show

London is indeed calling. Recently, I've been eyeing the shows at London Fashion Week with renewed interest. The British Fashion Council has been quietly nurturing some of fashion's brightest stars and this week, they announced the recipients of the New Gen sponsorship, supported by Topshop, for London Fashion Week in February 2009.

Eight designers are receiving sponsorship for a catwalk show, including Danielle Scutt, House of Holland, Louise Goldin, Meadham Kirchhoff and Peter Pilotto. Three NewGen designers will be making their runway debut for the Fall 2009 show: Mary Katrantzou, Mark Fast and Nasir Mazhar.

I'm looking forward to seeing Katrantzou's creations, as her pieces for Central Saint Martin's Fall 2008 show demonstrated her innovative printmaking technique-- giant necklaces in a digital trompe l'oeil print on brightly colored knit dresses. In addition to Central Saint Martin's, Katrantzou earlier trained at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Mark Fast is another interesting designer to watch, demonstrating that knitwear is the new "it-wear." Fast, who completed his BA and MA at Central Saint Martins, has collaborated with Bora Aksu and has sold his intricately webbed and body-conscious knitwear through Browns Fashion. I first noticed his hauntingly classic designs while browsing Browns online and look forward to see what he will offer for his first NewGen runway collection.

Nasir Mazhar is a name I am not familiar with, but according to his bio on the London Fashion Week website, he is a young ex-hairdresser whose headwear design style evolved from a natural curiosity about shapes and theatrics.

The British Fashion Council, in conjunction with TopShop, has been providing support to new and emerging designers since it introduced the "New Generation" or "New Gen" program in 1993. Recipients receive between 5-10k pounds per season and have an opportunity to show at London Fashion Week's Exhibition, for up to four seasons. Some designers also have a chance to do a catwalk show in the BFC Tent or the BFC New Gen venue.

For longer term support, the BFC Fashion Forward award assists more established designers with international business expansion. The BFC New Gen is a big deal and has a long and buzzworthy list of alum, including Alexander McQueen, Boudicca, Sophia Kokosolaki and Christopher Kane.

Sorry, Tim...

above: image of Tim Gunn from TIME magazine website

This morning, my friend, Melissa, an accomplished investment banker and seriously stylish shopping buddy of mine, sent an urgent email to me from her BlackBerry: "QUICK! Can you tell me something? Is champagne satin a pastel or jewel tone?"

After careful consideration, I shot back my reply: "I think the answer is neither. Pastels are generally light pink or yellow or blue, whereas jewel tones are deeper, rich colors like sapphire or emerald... May I ask why you want to know?"

Melissa was evidently in the dressing room at Miu Miu, trying on a strapless champagne colored dress. "On sale!" She wrote back triumphantly. "But..." (and this is where I could almost here the hesitation in her typing) "Tim Gunn says petite women shouldn't wear pastel."

"Ah well you're lucky it isn't! And if that dress is on sale, do buy!" (What can I say-- I'm trying to stimulate the economy in my own roundabout way even if it's through vicarious shopping!)

After the quick round of emails with Melissa, I started thinking about Tim Gunn and people like him, who host popular television shows about fashion and style (in his case, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, as well as Project Runway, both on the Bravo television network), and started resenting the fact that well-educated, stylishly confident people like Melissa fall over themselves to abide by certain "fashion rules." As if the "fashion gods" would shake their heads in heavy judgment over a "misproportioned" jacket or an unflattering hemline.

I've watched a few episodes of Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, which consists of an hour-long journey into a guest's closet, where Tim Gunn and his female sidekick, once played with faux gusto by supermodel Veronica Webb and recently replaced by a petite stylist and entrepreneur, Gretta Monahan, who brings more real world warmth to the show. Who wouldn't feel a little insecure about getting dressed next to a supermodel, anyway?

After Gunn scouts out a guest's threads and gently teases them about their messy ensembles, he proceeds to point out the woman's body type by developing a computer image of her shape and then coolly highlights her best features, assessing the best way for the woman to dress, essentially, for her shape. There is nothing wrong with breaking down an outfit according to fit, proportion and silhouette. But adhering to such strict "fashion rules" can be stifling to a person's playfulness and creativity when getting dressed.

I love Tim Gunn. He seems like a really nice guy. And don't get me wrong-- I would love to spend the afternoon drinking champagne with him and visiting ateliers of fashion designers such as Yigal Azrouel to get a custom-made dress (as he did with a guest on a recent episode). Sorry, Tim, but rules are meant to be broken! If we all stood in the same place, with the same level of taste and strict rules about what we wore, fashion, too, would stand still, and we would be stuck in that same silhouette forever. Luckily, fashion does not listen to its own "rules" and wears white after Labor Day, and paints skinny jeans on women, yes, even petite women with pear-shaped curves.

The show itself isn't a terrible affair. I even found myself a little damp around the eyes at the end of one episode, where a harried doctor, who had no time nor the inclination to spend time on her wardrobe and styling, learned to fall in love with clothes and wear them with confidence. That part of the Eliza Doolittle transformation was pure magic. I only wish Tim would turn to the lucky woman at the end of the episode and decree "First learn all the rules, then, break them."

Dear Santa

What's on your wishlist for Christmas this year? Will the recession affect your holiday spending or do you think you'll indulge, given all the great premature sales?

Dear Santa,

I've been good. Very good.

OK. Maybe not that good. But good enough for one of these. (High on my wishlist is a cozy grey cardigan and this one by Simone Shailes is spectacular.)

Shailes, the Central Saint Martins grad and knitwear sensation has come to Topshop and her loopy style is almost special enough to take the splurge for $510. But why so pricey for a high street collaboration?

Art Basel Miami Beach

It's been over a week since the art world, celebrities, socialites, glitterati and those who just live for the party touched down in Miami for Art Basel Miami Beach, the American sibling to the venerable Swiss art fair. This year marked the seventh year for the fair, which has quickly risen to prominence as an important barometer of the contemporary art market. While some critics have likened the stampede of deep pocket private and institutional collectors at Vernissage, the VIP-laden preview day of the fair, as a high brow garage sale for multi-million dollar artwork, there is something undeniably glamorous about the events that take place during the whirlwind week, even in a more sobering economic climate. Given the chance to escape the chilly weather in New York and sneak a glimpse into how the other half lives, how could I say no to my first time at the fair? Here are some of my top highlights of my trip from December 3rd through the 7th.

The Convention Center
The main fair itself was a labyrinth of over 200 galleries set up in white booths like a vast warehouse style tradeshow, only the attendees were dressed to impress, flashing designer bags and statement-sized jewelry pieces. The crowd was very international, with an emphasis on spoken French and Italian. There were museum-quality pieces from Miro and Warhol on display, and it was thrilling to see the pieces, albeit a bit intimidating and at least for this writer, vastly out of reach. Jenny, a friend I met this week, told me that her boyfriend asked about a small graphite print and was quoted by a cool art dealer "Oh that's just twenty" (as in $20,000!). My advice for first-time goers at the convention fair? Wear comfortable shoes and be aware that cameras are not allowed, although we did spot iPhone cameras snapping away on the floor. If big name artists don't impress, the Art Positions section of the fair may be more your speed. A dozen or so emerging galleries showed works in shipping containers which were set up near the beach, lending a more casual vibe to the experience.

The Satellite Fairs and Side Shows
While the main event was definitely worth checking out, I found myself enjoying the low key vibe of smaller satellite art fairs, such as the Ink Art Fair, which took place in a small hotel courtyard across the street from our hotel on Collins Avenue. The success of Art Basel Miami has encouraged the proliferation of smaller art fairs, with more affordable pricing for mere mortals, this writer included. I purchased an inkjet print from a San Francisco gallery at the Bridge Fair and was impressed by the New Art Dealers Alliance fair, which is a revered nonprofit organization of new art dealers and had an exciting youthful energetic pace at the Ice Palace, which was once the site for Miami raves. One of the most buzz-worthy shows during Art Basel week was a collection of 48 new artworks from artists, curated by a young Whitney curator and an artist, entitled The Station, held in a grungy, Williamsburg-worthy half-finished office building in midtown Miami. Another standout this year was In Fashion Photo, a photography exhibit in a covered parking lot near the Design District, which, in its second year run presented a retrospective of fashion photographs of Naomi Campbell.

above: Ink Fair courtyard

above: the scene at The Station

above: In Fashion Photo

The Parties

above: The Sunset Bar at the Mondrian Hotel

above: the blazing bonfire at the Vanity Fair party at the Raleigh Hotel

Of course no pilgrimage to Miami during Art Basel week would be complete without making a round at the parties. Though this year was supposedly more low key than years past on the party circuit, we enjoyed the poolside scene at the Raleigh Hotel for Vanity Fair's Free Arts NYC/Tommy Hilfiger fundraiser, which featured a cozy beachside bonfire and picturesque sand, which didn't bode well for my stilettos! The opening reception at the new Morgans Group hotel, the Mondrian, featured a hedonistic open bar where Miami socialites were spotted double-fisting glasses of Veuve Cliquot. Another highlight of the week included a GrandLife party held at the temporary Le Baron space at The Florida Room of the Delano Hotel, fusing New York and Paris nightlife party scenes into a rollicking closing night finish.

The Beach

Let's not forget the beach! Where many priceless mornings were spent contemplating the shoreline and the art-centric activities of the day ahead. My first experience at Art Basel Miami Beach was truly memorable, and so long as they continue the fine tradition of satellite fairs and off-beat parties, I will try to make my way down south for the festivities... Bravo, Miami!

Miami: Mad for Marni

Miami's first Marni store opened in the Design District during the annual crush of activities for Art Basel Miami Beach. I had a chance to visit the outlet recently and noticed a healthy flow of customers browsing the Italian designer’s bold-patterned clothing and accessories seemingly suspended from undulating silver racks. Sybarite, the UK-based architecture group that designed other freestanding Marni stores, including flagships in Milan and New York, handled the art deco-inspired design of the Miami outpost. A sales associate reported steady business and confided that “people [here] seem to get [the design concept],” which is encouraging news in these slower economic times.