the end of wanderlust

i can feel my initial excitement over having a blog waning a bit... this is dangerous; i hate when my enthusiasm dims because it leads to me forever abandoning something or leaving behind something for so long that i'll always feel trepidation at the thought of picking it back up again. 

instead of wailing more though, i'm pushing through this blog-block of madness.

i've multiple reasons to be giddy with anticipation, but it mostly revolves around my trip to 東京 on Sunday!! i hope the intensive 日本語 lessons i've been taking these past few weeks will not fail me when i get there...! regardless, my potent wanderlust is about to be sated, and the excitement is taking form in my sartorial choices.

i like romanticizing the idea of travel, even if it is really rather troublesome in reality. the best way to grow as a person is to experience as much of what the world has to offer as possible. for me, 東京 is like an ocean of newness. it is a constant surprise that requires intensive navigation and on-foot adventuring. which, luckily for me, is my favourite way to explore and get to know a city. 

to project said adventuring and navigating, apparently my style-ey senses equated it to seafaring and nautical themes! which is rather ironic, because i've only ever been a boat twice in my life and don't trust myself to go on one by myself ever.

bonus: an Instagram moodboard! (of sorts!)
/link to my account is right there c: >>

across the South China Sea: Hawkings McGill men's shirt // Louis Vuitton tote // JW Anderson x TOPSHOP denim // Church's linen slippers

whales! seafaring! (pre-Thom Browne & Jil Sander whales, too!)

~Instagram Intermission~

have a great weekend!♡

look back

i just had my first 日本語 lesson in two years yesterday. it's good to know not all of it has dwindled away into nothingness, especially since i'm going to 東京 on 17/03!! i haven't been back to my soulmate city since 2010, and honestly, i still can't properly put into words how happy i am to be going back (even if only for a week). 

y's by Yohji Yamamoto shirt // Uniqlo denim // Topshop socks // Underground UK creepers

i hate how cliché this is going to sound, but i'm going to anyway.

i've had this lifelong love affair with Japan for as long as i can remember. i didn't actually go until the first time in 2006, but it's only served to reinforce my admiration. i make myself aware of its societal flaws and downfalls but my feelings has yet to sway. aesthetically and in terms of work ethic, as far as i'm concerned, Japan is the leader at both.

here, i had this idea to simplify my favourite 原宿/ZiPPER~esque proportion into really, just the basics. 

これでは。。。

oversize top

+

cuffed boy-fit bottom

+

rubber sole shoes

i like to think that it's both rather simple and effective, which is the best, isn't it?

who run the world?

girls!

fashion month (new york > london > milan > paris) is a whirlwind of lots of ideas and even more clothes. there's not much i can say that has already been said about the fatigue that the overwhelming variety of designers bring, other than a lot of it is doomed to become noise. in fact, i haven't been paying much attention to the shows as i used to but there were a few that still captured my attention and even fewer had me swooning, hand to forehead and all.

as fashion month steadily draws to a close, i'm really pleased that most of my favourite collections this season are notably produced by women. in an industry based on a supposedly feminine pursuit, it does rather pain me a bit that the most celebrated designers are in fact, men. especially when i tend to disagree about some of their design choices and execution. 

alright, enough of my moaning. let's look at amazing clothes instead.

COMME des GARÇONS: The Infinity Of Tailoring

i think it goes without saying how much of a raging fangirl i am for the high goddess of fashion, Rei Kawakubo. watching her collections show each season is like watching her build a most irreplaceable legacy and empire behind for all other mere mortals of fashion to follow. 

her latest collection is aptly titled "The Infinity Of Tailoring", and what a rigorous, tremendous feat of exploration it is. with the sharp panache typical of Kawakubo's design aesthetic, some looks are splices (swatches???) of traditional tailoring fabrics that are sewn back together in what first appear to be haphazard Frankenstein monsters that resemble jackets, trousers, and the like. upon closer examination, however, the assembly is purposeful and notably impeccable; each "swatch" placement lending just the right amount of volume and movement. 

others are lengths of said fabrics twisted into never-ending 3-dimensional swirls on the body, like snakes curling up and metamorphosing into clothes. 

others appear to be tailored clothing literally come to life, growing themselves extra sleeves or dimensional knots and sneers - details that should overwhelm and strangle the bodies they encompass, but somehow don't. 

if the sheer majority of the collection didn't leave the viewer giddy, the kaleidoscope/rainbow/floral printed rendition of the looks that closed the show would most definitely do the job. splendidly. what a triumph!

/edit: the stunning psychadelic prints are reinterpretations of works by Dan Michiels, an obscure artist that Kawakubo again seems to have plucked out of nowhere! trust her to shine a light on undiscovered talent. bless!

Céline.

i'm completely convinced that Phoebe Philo coming to Céline after her maternity leave in 2010 was the last real revolution in fashion. lauded for bringing strength and simplicity back to the forefront of fashion's vocabulary, Philo is the reason for minimalism's prevalence in fashion at present. her work wiped the excessive, pre-recession fashion plate clean and welcomed back a quiet chic that had been gone for so long.

of course, it brought about what i like to call The Age of The Camel Coat that never seemed to end, but Fashion seems to be cautiously optimistic now, reawakening its escapist roots once again... if the more fun, graphic looks at Céline this season is any indication. 

Philo is an expert at colour-blocking with her masterful, neutral seperates for Céline; so the delight of her plaid "laundry bag" looks were an even more welcome punctuation in the middle of an otherwise serene collection. 

she demonstrates once again a profound understanding of the needs of the modern woman. the clothes are simple, straightforward but with just enough of a playful twist to keep them from veering to boring. she knows how to process her influences well, as is reflected in the first look on the left, pictured above - there's a whisper of COMME des GARÇONS Spring/Summer 2012 in the faux sleeves and oversized pockets. 

this was another undeniable, irresistible success for Philo, sure to create a frenzy in her already devoted fanbase. who else, after all, could forgive the furry sandals from spring/summer? pre-fall was enchanting and inspired, though. 

Vivienne Westwood: Look back to look forward

a punk to the end of her days, Vivienne Westwood is an institution. for this coming autumn/winter, she proposes a collection full to the brim with ancient inspirations brought to the present and future. essentially balancing a myriad of influences to produce a chaotic collection of questionable cohesiveness is something only the Grand Dame can get away with doing.

i can wholly admit there were moments that made me furrow my brow in confusion (they mostly involved shoulder pads), but the looks struck a chord with me, they struck deeply. 

one of my best friends describes my style and aesthetic preference as "rich hobo" which... still sounds about right to me. i love the look of dishevelment, of destruction, unfinished-ness and ease... rendered and finished expensively. this is especially relevant to my love for this collection. i feel that it reflects a kind of worldliness and explorer's spirit that is in love with history, but living in the present.

Westwood is one of those designers who are all about telling a good story with her clothes, walking the line between costume and ready-to-wear. and she executes it with aplomb. the collection features a heavy use of metallic jacquards and custom printed silks, but my personal highlights are her intarsia knits and trademark experimental draping and proportions. most notably, the insane tulle petticoat look on the far right, above, which appeals very much to my inner Disney princess.

- - -

fashion month isn't over yet, so this post is likely to have a sibling. i hope to be pleasantly surprised by the end, though i usually am perfectly satisfied having seen my favourite designers' work revealed already.

i'm having some thoughts on the relevance of fashion weeks being city-specific. aren't clothes just clothes, at the end of the day? i mean, one can only go on and on so much about how each city has their own ~flavour~ but really. do they? i don't know, it's just a thought. 

lover of the light☆

sometimes, a Disney movie is better than Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer. 

sometimes, i prefer Anne Hathaway over Jennifer Lawrence. 

sometimes, dressing is an instinctual, organic process rather than being inspired by a specific muse/mood or heavier thoughts or ideas. 

what i mean is, i am rather... indulgent with the choices i make, sartorial or otherwise. i am both fickle and devoted with things i like love. when i grow obsessed with something, that's all that my mind will care to focus on and yet at the same time, somewhere in the background, i grow fond of its very opposite. 

i'm sure i'm not alone in this... right, fellow creatures who love too many things/too much at once?

i like examining why my brain works the way it does, because... because. my mind wanderings have led me to two things: 

this song is beautiful, this video is beautiful, Idris Elba is beautiful, everything is beautiful

and this essay by Junichiro Tanizaki i read for an art project back in secondary school, entitled "In Praise of Shadows". 

the essay was written in Japanese in 1933 before being translated into English in 1977. it discusses the differences between Western and Eastern aesthetics in pensive, highly visual anecdotes. Mr. Tanizaki's words continue to ring true to me and heavily inform both my wardrobe choices and my design work. 

sheen of antiquity: Topshop t-shirt // Y's by Yohji Yamamoto suspender trouseers // Y's x George Cox creepers

#details

look #3 from "Ephemeral"

look #6 from "Wandering Souls"

at the end of everything, i like extremities and jump from one to the other or once in a while, simply settle down in the middle quite happily. you see, my life is rather unexciting, so i often feel like i have to project my excess energy into my aesthetic pursuits. 

don't you feel like that sometimes, too?

black crows and peacocks

"fake it till you make it" has been my mantra since i was about 15. 

i've since learned how to edit myself quite carefully in public spheres... because no matter how much i pretend to be otherwise, i think i'll always be the highly sensitive child i remember being way back when. 

making the decision to start a ~fashion blog~ is one i've been deliberating for a few years now, and have only acted on it now because i feel like my confidence level is at a point that it can take the inevitable hits now. i used to devour other people's fashion blogs ravenously, finding one after another constantly inspired me because it was like having an entire collection of muses at once. 

my collection has since been re-curated, and now i follow much fewer blogs (and their bloggers) that have maintained ~*quality*~. 

one such blog is Style Bubble. 

Susie.

Susie Lau needs no introduction in the world of fashion blogging. she is a splendid kaleidoscope of a fashion enthusiast whose wardrobe is as diversified and enchanting as her text. i came across this post which linked me to the original article by Suzy Menkes of T magazine, which essentially bemoans the general ridiculousness of street style stars/bloggers who lurk about outside show locations during fashion weeks in New York, London and Paris, starving for attention from street style photographers.  

essentially, i read it as an Old Institution refusing (or is too slow) to learn and adapt to this brave new world in which anyone, and i mean anyone, with an internet connection and is somewhat/arguably articulate in stating their opinion can work their way into an industry based on elitism and exclusivity. 

nostalgia is the most selfish but the most human indulgence, and Ms. Menkes went to town with it in her article. this is all fine and good, but the fact is that the state of fashion now is its monster growth is rooted in its democratization. the very moment this beast called Fashion decided that it would appeal to the masses, the snowball was already rolling itself down the hill. everyone wanted a piece of the pie and the fact is that the internet made it possible. or, at the very least, it creates a most convincing illusion of accessibility being possible. 

with the fact being what it is, the grown-ups of the industry need to learn to play nice and quit reinforcing the awful stereotype of fashion people being nothing but uptight elitists who can gush and coo over fabrics and silhouettes among themselves and not truly, sincerely, welcome anyone new (and therefore new ideas/thoughts) into the fray. 

Fashion was my escape from the terrible, mediocre people who occupied the population of my secondary school years. it invited me in, telling me i could love odd things and those influences could be made fun or beautiful or thought-provoking... or all of the above. i fell in love and i still am, but it is things like this that makes our relationship a tumultuous one. 

/as a side note, i think it certainly has to be said that street style has existed and thrived long before Scott Schuman was around to tarnish it with his incessant egoism and so-called "high taste". but that argument is a whole other post. 

fighting purgatory

i saw Cloud Atlas yesterday. 

it was a stunning, moving film experience that did momentarily steal my breath in the best possible way.

watching parallel lives run their course and threads of fate interweave with one another on film, combined with still-fresh pensive thoughts on life and death after my step-grandmother's passing... the two had me thinking about "existence" in general more intensively than i had done in a long while.

what does being alive (or dead) for that matter really mean, anyway? 

i'm an emotive creature, so to me, i feel most alive when it feels like my soul has taken a gasping breath of life from purgatory-like sleep. the trigger varies, but it feels no less true.

watching in awe, excitement and completely succumbing to the magical suspension of disbelief during my viewing of Cloud Atlas makes me feel alive

and so, my soul still felt elation when i woke up today

but it also felt remnants of the existential thought processes that plagued me before that

Comme des Garçons pour homme blazer // JW Anderson x TOPSHOP t-shirt // Vivienne Westwood ring // Zara trousers // Church's slippers

Memento Mori: "Remember that you will die."

I had the image of this ~charming~ character from Cloud Atlas in my mind when dressing this morning

it's good to be constantly reminded of one's mortality; because we'd waste a lot of life-time otherwise. . . which i think seems to happen more often than not.

i really do hate to say it but... you only live once and all that. so best make it count, right?

as CNY draws to a close . . .

"I have the scene but not the whole story."

My step-grandmother passed away today. 

I'm glad she went peacefully.