GUY'S CORNER

Fashion Rio (S|S, 11/12) - Part 1

It’s me here, I’m back to update you all with new info about Fashion Rio, one of the biggest fashion events we have here in Brazil. I decided to make 2 posts for all men clothes we had instead of make a post for each designer or a post for all of them, ok? I hope you all don’t mind it. I made it this way because I thought a post for designer was pointless (since they were all in the same event) and a unique post for all of them would be too much information in just a place, ok? Shall we begin?

• Alexandre Herchcovitch

I couldn’t start this post with another designer. Alexandre Herchcovitch has been such an inspiration for men fashion in Brazil. And I don’t know if you all are aware that he’s been praised at NY Fashion Week. I’m so proud of him, I really am. But let’s talk about the clothes here.

As we can see, Herchcovitch brought a collection based on jeans materials, from shirts to shorts. Also, the color palette is basically just blue, gray and black (but we can see some orange flowing at the end of the collection). I consider this Spring & Summer collection as something more available for every man, I mean, you can wear them as free as you want whenever you want it. It goes pretty well with summer time, doesn’t it? My highlight here, instead of the clothes, goes to the bags: yes, I loves them all and I want them all right now!

• BLUE MAN

No, it’s not about those blue guys that plays some instruments and such (HAHAHA!). Now I present you a swimwear collection for men. And I must point out this runway made the day here in Brazil because of two reasons: Lea T and a girl falling. Yes, we had the most praised transsexual model walking through the runway wearing bikinis. And yes, one of the girls fell down while walking, but another one helped her get up (which is something really rare on fashion business) and everyone started clapping for the both girls. It was nice to see.

This season is cheerful and happy. Also, we have lots and lots of different patterns on swimming trunks/speedos based on brazilian culture and environment. I think it’s better if you see some of it above. 

• Coca-Cola Clothing

A word for this collection: homemade. Yes. This is the vibe we get from this collection. We have lots of raw cotton, knit, fringes and embroidery. For men, we have a long silhouette (shirts and t-shirts going till the thighs), but with a slim waist. Also, we can see a lot of see-through shirts (which has been a trend for the last seasons, but comes stronger now).

Color Blocking: what is it?

I promised I’d talk about color blocking and here I am. Do you know what it means? If so, that’s nice, but if not, I’ll give a quick explanation about it and give some examples that I’ve seen so far on the new collections for this and next season. So, if you do know what color blocking means, you can use this post as a place to see how it has been used, ok? So let’s get it started.

Color Blocking: what is it?

This is a trend that came up again with huge strength on Spring & Summer 2011 collections, mainly applied to trousers (but we can spot this trend since Spring & Summer 2009 collections — Marc Jacobs, Christian Dior, and some others). It’s so clear that this has been going on a while since we can spot a lot of colored trousers (green, red, yellow ones). Here, in Brazil, people are not so used to wear these kind of clothes (and the ones that do wear it are taken as a joke, sadly).

It manly consist on wearing two or more bright solid blocks of color that matches, but they wildly contrast each other. But I’ve seen another kind of color blocking: the pastels color blocking. Yes, some designers are using this kind of color blocking on trousers, shorts, coats, ties, belts, bags, ties, and some other items.

When did it started?

It’s difficult to name a date for this trend. We can spot some color blocking roots on MOD style, which took place in London from the late 1950s to the beginning of the 1960s. Later, in the 1970s it regained life by Yves Saint Laurent’s collection and then spread to USA in the 1980s (basically Southern California).

Can men follow this trend?

I really think we can, but it’s up to each (and only each) of us to decide if we want to. We have to think “Is this showing who I truly am?” or “Why am I doing this? Because I like it or because I saw it somewhere?” — and these question don’t apply just here, but for every trend you may spot. You may wonder if men wear it, and as you can see by the images on this post, they do wear it. Brands like Calvin Klein, Prada, DSquared2, Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger are some examples of men collections that present color blocking on the last seasons. This season I’ve already spotted, here in Brazil, the brand Soddi showing color blocking (more info here).

How to choose colors and create a color blocking look?

Since I’m not an expert about color blocking, I’ll just use some color theories to show how you can choose a color and then make it match by choosing and opposite type of color.

• The simplest approach is to select one color from a warm range (red, orange, yellow) or one color from a cool range (violet, green, blue), and then throw some greys, blacks and whites.
• The second approach is a little bit harder (but not so much): based on the basic color wheel, you must select complimentary colors, which means you must select colors that are opposite to each other (i.e. green and red, yellow and violet, orange and blue), and then they will look harmonious on your look. This is the way to work it well always. But you may try some “more difficult” mix of colors, like yellow and blue or violet and orange (you may get some “mistakes” this way or may get some huge successes, it’s all up to your sense of fashion).

Akihito Hira (S|S, 12) | Moda Hype

First, I wanna apologize for the lack of updates here: university is killing me, I’m so fucked up with it right now… But now I’m here to talk about Akihito Hira’s Summer & Spring collection for Moda Hype, the event that took place at Rio de Janeiro, here in Brazil. As I see him as the new shine of hope for men fashion here (besides Alexandre Herchcovitch, who I think is the most talented designer Brazil has).

This is the third time Akihito Hira presented his collection on this event. His true call, tailoring, was chose to be played with, I mean, he tried to play with men clothes and create something fun, new and (I must say) genius. He deconstructed the men wardrobe on his collection called “Botanist”, which took inspiration from the insects and their curious characteristic: mimicry.

He turned shirts into shorts, joined vests with suits into only one piece, brought cuts on unexpected places (like shoulders). Shorts gained some aspects of shirts, sleeves went to the neck to give volume to the collars. And now we have a large silhouette (different from his last season, where we saw some slim aspects on the men silhouettes).

The color palette can be taken as ‘environmental colors’, which means he used some whites, browns and blues. Also, the madras patterns came with strength on his collection: on the shorts, on the shirts and on the suits.

Moda Hype for Men (S|S, 11/12)

It’s almost the beginning of Fashion Rio here in Brazil, and an event that opens this fashion week here is Moda Hype. This event took place at Píer Mauá (RJ) on this last sunday, May 29th, and it contains only new designers that are gaining space on the brazilian fashion market. For men, there were five brands, including Akihito Hira (who I talked about here, but his collection for this event will be presented on another post).

First we have the brand Velt, from Rio de Janeiro. This collection was called “Get to Work” and it showed men wearing clothes that reminded us of worker from rough jobs. They tried to use the famous jeans combined with gloves, dirt and some other elements to give this ‘rough job guys’ feeling.

And then we have Soddi. This brand from Bahia (BR) developed its collection based on a single question “Will the world end? If so, this will be the best summer ever”. It goes from white, green and blue to lavender, pink, orange and yellow. We must highlight the cuts on the backs of some pieces and the use of color blocking idea (a topic I pretend to discuss later here on Guy’s Corner).

Dobra tried to bring both real and virtual world on the runway. We spot some maxi cardigans with hood, maxi t-shirts, two color pieces and even raincoats. The palette goes from grays to light and golden yellows.

Runway: Addict (S|S, 11/12)

Now, as a brazilian guy, I’m going to present you a brazilian brand only for men: Addict. Here there’ll be some of their Spring & Summer 2011-2012 collection, which, by the way, was their debut collection at Fashion Business (a fashion event here in Brazil).

This collection looks for comfort first. You can see some tailoring pieces, lightweight coats, some swimwear and, as the trend keeps going on, trousers following up to the ankle.

Since the first pieces, color is something that stands out. The palette is basically black, gray, white, green, yellow, blue and pink. Besides the fact there are no presence of oranges and reds, the collection still can present us a spring/summer feeling.

Also, we the faces of some rock idols on the clothes (Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin), whose effect is some edgy approach.

As raw materials: cotton, nylon and linen were used to make them lightweight so we can survive the heat. I hope you all outside Brazil enjoyed this collection!! I’ll keep trying to bring brazilian brands to you all, so you can see some other views on men fashion.

Karl Lagerfeld for Men (F|W, 11/12)

Lagerfeld, the designer I talked about here as one of the brands helping the fast-fashion movement, is now releasing his new lookbook for this Fall & Winter 2011 collection. I’m not going to discuss here the details behind choosing Baptiste Giabiconi as the model (I think you all now this little fashion gossip — and if you don’t, google it, you may find it pretty interesting), but the guy is one of the most wanted faces on fashion industry. 

We may consider this collection as a view of formal clothes brought to 2011 year. As expected by the trends we see, Lagerfeld chose a palette of grays and blacks along with leather, one of the most used raw materials this season. What brought me some Lagerfeld-feelings on this collection is the presence of fur — I really think it was well used and it brings a totally different feeling, it breaks the formal aspect of tailoring and brings us to the 2011 fashion scenario for men.

As GQ Magazine pointed out (see more here), buck ties are coming next F/W season, as well as madras shirts and slim ties. Therefore, you can count them in as next season must-keep items.

The few colors we spot here are somber, like the burgundy leather jacket (which I think is awesome, really). Also, we can see some leather trousers, something I really think they are interesting (but I’d not wear them, I don’t think they fit my style, whatever), and some knit on cardigans and plain jumpers.

You may wonder: But you talked about Spring & Summer on the last post, now Fall & Winter? I can answer that: some designers are already releasing their collections for F/W as well as some are still talking about S/S. And also, as I’m from Brazil, we may differ on seasons: when it’s winter on USA, here it’s summer, so… I hope you all understand that!

What do you think of this collection? Keep me posted by sending me asks here on tumblr! Thanks for following me!

From Japan: The Rarities (S|S, 11)

This japanese men label is one of the hits at Japan Fashion Week this season, The Rarities. So, as we try to bring you the lastest news on men fashion, we could not forget to present you their Spring & Summer 2011 collection. It’s one of a kind.

As we can see, the clothes expose exaggerated proportions compared to the common fitted tailoring. Also, these modern silhouettes mix themselves with classis staples. Following the trends, we can see some lightweight cardigans, boxed cut trousers, white t-shirts and leather jackets. I must say this is a must-have collection for every man.

Besides the fact I loved all clothes, I must consider it pretty dark for a Spring/Summer collection. And there are too many jackets, they could have stick just with lightweight cardigans and also some lightweight jackets, so we could get away from the heat. But, I just loved it, I’d buy them all if I could.

Darren Criss for GQ Magazine

If you like TV shows (or read some news about it), you must know this guy: Darren Criss. On Glee, Darren plays Blaine, a gay student and boyfriend of Chris Colfer’s character, Kurt. And now GQ magazine presents us with a photo-shoot where you can get some ideas on what bring to a summer wedding.

According to the magazine website, these are options for any moment, since they won’t be “boring the bridesmaids—or shocking too many grandmothers”. So, bellow you can see what the magazine brings us to. The photos were taken by Kai Z Feng exclusively for the magazine, so we credit all these photos to them. No copyright infringement intended.

Despite the fact GQ points out white suits could be worn, I really don’t think it’s the best option you could go with. I don’t want to talk here about some rules about ‘just the bride must wear white’ and such speeches, but in my opinion it just doesn’t work in a good way. But Darren looks good here, so maybe I’m wrong, right? What do you think? The second look is what tailoring style in general brings us this season: brash ties and shoes without showing the socks.

The “geek look” is taking over all the runways these last seasons. Madras patterns on jackets are just the way to look ‘geek-chic’. But we must point out you should wear some solid colors on the trousers, shirt and tie. Also, now is the time to use buck ties, so if you do like them, go ahead.

Then we have the tuxes. If you’re just a guest at the wedding, you can choose madras shirts along with buck ties and midnight blue tuxedos (a fresh color to make you look less conformist). For grooms, we have the classic black tuxedo with slim lapels, a trend these last seasons. 

I must agree I loved all looks, they are pretty amazing and I’d wear them all. Also, we must point out the fact all trousers follows up to the ankle, the trend we’ve been with these last seasons.

So what do you think? Maybe too edgy for a wedding? Keep us posted!

Pedro Lourenço for Riachuelo

After talking about fast-fashion here, now it’s time to show one of the greatest collections we have this season for a mega-store here in Brazil: Riachuelo. The looks are designed by the famous designer Pedro Lourenço and they’ve been at the stores since Monday, 24th.

This collection is period limited: just till Valentine’s Day. So, if you plan to gift someone or even yourself (yes, we singles can!), you cannot forget to drop by the store and pick something up!

These photos were taken by Gui Paganini (website here), who has already worked with Arezzo, Osklen, Rosa Chá, and others famous brands. Pedro Lourenço, himself, is the man behind the styling process, while the model is Henzo Hülle.

As we can see, the pieces are made of nylon and cotton, so they could bring a three-dimensional feeling to the clothes. Also, symmetric-cuts and slim tailoring are both elements included here.

I’m really dying for some pieces, I want them on my closet right now!

Fast-fashion: a new trend?

It’s well known that fast-fashion is a trend all over the world. Famous designers, such as Karl Lagerfeld and Jimmy Choo, are working with huge “popular” stores to make fashion universal and capable of reaching all kinds of people. So, before we talk about it to see if it’s good or bad and show how this trend is taken Brazil as well, let’s see what fast-fashion means and how it started.

• Fast-fashion: what is it, exactly?

First of all, we can say fast-fashion started a long ago with the change on some high-fashion maisóns to the concept of prêt-à-porte (which means, ready to wear). This change made possible for people to access fashion in a easiest way: there was no more need to wait weeks for some designers to develop the garment, you could just go to a store and buy it.

As time goes, huge stores started coming up on fashion market, such as H&M and TopShop (two of the largest stores in USA). It was almost a mass production system, clothes were being made in enormous amounts to be sold with low costs and high profits. And as the fashion world started growing, and the love for designers as well, a combination of these elements were made: famous designers started working with megastores. 

Lagerfeld and Jimmy Choo are two examples of this trend. But why do they do this? Isn’t it going to make the brand looks poor? The answer is no. These designers only show a piece of their creativity potential, and just this is able to make this partnership both profitable to the market as well as to the designers. Also, it reassures the brand image within people from all social and economic positions.

• Fast-fashion in Brazil: the beginning of a new era?

In Brazil, the first step was made by the clothing store C&A, which saw it as a potential gain of market-share after the partnership between H&M and Lagerfeld, in 2004, was really well-praised by international and national press. C&A invited Walter Rodrigues to create an exclusive collection for the brand, in 2005. After, the store worked with Reinaldo Lourenço and the brand Maria Bonita, as well.

This market-share is still being aimed by others stores, nationally and internationally. From within Brazil, we now have Renner and Riachuello fighting for this share. Riachuello is now working with Pedro Lourenço and released a men collection for Valentine’s Day, which I’ll discuss at some other post later. Internationally, TopShop (and its men brand, Topman) has already confirmed that they are going to land here in Brazil in 2012 with a megastore and H&M already discussed the possibility of introducing themselves here. Zara is a well-known internacional brand that came to Brazil years ago in look for gains within our fashion market.

• Good or bad?: A point of view…

I, as a guy that loves fashion but is not rich, consider this a huge breakthrough here in Brazil. We all know that these mass production stores have their problems, such as quality and authenticity. But I really hope these designers (I cannot stop thinking about Pedro Lourenço, I’m so excited about this!) won’t let anything that isn’t good and well-made reach the stores, since their names are tagged on it.

But what about you? Do you consider it a good thing? A bad thing? You really don’t care about fashion? As I always say, fashion is just a way of express who you really are from inside to outside.

Best wishes,
Freakster.