Fashion for everyone

I remember when I used to work with Rue Jewelry, all of the pieces were rendered in a noirish palette of black and white, with shots of cobalt blue in the mix. There was something precious yet mildly grotesque about the microscopic fruits, vegetables, and plant matter preserved in a coating of matte paint that adorned rings, and the perfectly frozen statues of perched birdies that swung from necklaces. This season, many of the same flora and fauna themes appear, but this time they're covered in candy-coated pastel hues and metallic paints that remind me more of my childhood collection of My Little Ponies, or my niece's juvenile collection of peel-off nail polishes. The pieces seem sinisterly saccharine, deathly sweet. My favorite piece is a heart-shaped ring that's textured to look like hair; girly and gross all at once.

Last week, I stopped by Fiftytwo Showroom to photograph some of the Spring collections. I already got a peek during market week, and the first thing I did was take a look at the jewelry that E.M. made for this season. While there weren't that many new pieces, the few items they create are always incredible. I was instantly drawn to the plastic rings from their Tiptoe collection (designed for kids, but worn by childish adults like myself), featuring a menagerie of microscopic enameled animals. Each ring resembled a chunk of glacial ice, and alternatively featured a wandering polar bear, a pack of penguins, and two frozen sharks. So cute, and so well crafted--It's like wearing a tiny little universe on your finger!

Last month, I had the pleasure of stopping by the Issey Miyake store with Brandon for the launch of the 132 5 collection. I was in an unfortunate rush to get to my own party, so I didn't have time take photographs, but Brandon, being the Issey obsessive that he is (I've seen him stop women wearing Issey on the street to thank them for supporting the designer), was kind enough to email over the press images and photographs.

As one would expect, the collection is so high-concept it almost makes your head spin. When laid out flat in the store, the pieces look like gorgeous folded fabric origami ornaments, and are completely unrecognizable as garments. At the store, I made the mistake of picking up this perfectly shaped creation, only to have it to magically spiral out into a full fledged 3-D geometric garment that I could no longer restore to compact 2-D form, inspite of my desperate attempts, and my natural talent for origami. The garment, which looks somewhat like a buckyball rendered in fabric, is quite glorious on the figure, and it seem like quite a remarkable transformation from the flat shape.

Issey and company explain it far better than I ever could: "132 5 begins with 1 piece of cloth manipulated through 3-dimensional molding that can be returned to a 2-dimensional plane, and creates a 5th dimension when the garment is worn and comes to life." If that sounds a bit scientific to you, that's because the 3-D shapes are conceived in collaboration with computer scientists. I might not be able to understand or appreciate the math or science behind the construction of such of futuristic garment, but I think we all can appreciate the breathtaking final results.

Opening Ceremony x Q-pot ice cream cone and flag necklaces with assorted ice cream scoop charms. Photo by Opening Ceremony.

I don't know about you, but ever since summer started, I've been eating ice cream at a rate that puts me in danger of doubling in size by the time September rolls around. On Thursday I had a vanilla custard sundae with peanut butter and chocolate toffee at Shake Shack, yesterday I sipped on a raw chocolate smoothie at Quintessence, and today I gulped down a crushed malted milk ball shake at the Brooklyn Flea. Every time I promise myself to limit my intake to maybe once or twice a week, the temperature pushes past 90 degrees, and I find myself booking it over to the closest source of cold sweet comfort.

Possessing little to no self-control, I have no idea what I should do to restrain myself. I recently found these ice-cream cone charm necklaces at Opening Ceremony, a rather innocent looking symbol of my potential demise. Created in collaboration with Japanese jewelry company Q-pot, who are probably responsible for ninety percent of the food related charms and jewels on the market, they're all sorts of irresistible, although they'll cost you a bit more than your average double scoop. Like their real world counterparts, you build your own jeweled ice cream cone piece by piece for something perfectly customized to your taste. And if ice cream just isn't your thing, they also have a build-your-own hamburger option, with slices of cheese, tomatoes, pickles, bacon, and lettuce for your picking. There are also plenty of other tasty options on the Q-pot website, but you'll have to learn Japanese to figure out how to order them...


Opening Ceremony x Q-pot hamburger bun and flag necklace with assorted condiment charms. Photo by Opening Ceremony.

Chocolate bon-bon rings from a 2008 Q-pot x Amour du Chocolat collaboration. Photo from Q-pot.

More ice cream pieces from the Q-pot Summer 2010 collection. Photo by Q-pot.

Mother x Uniqlo oversize tee, Balenciaga vest, H&M tights, VPL boots, Devaki hat, Slow and Steady Wins the Race bag, Annti Asplund necklaces, Iossolliani ring, Triskaidekaphobia ring.

The thing I hate about Uniqlo is that they don't always publicize their many collaborations. Sure, we've all heard plenty about their Jil Sander collection, and even a bit about the recent collaboration with local favorites Costello Tagliapietra, but there's been barely a peep regarding their ongoing work with Japanese designers like furfur, mother, and G.V.G.V., which they've been releasing throughout the spring. I stopped by the store last week hoping to pick up something from the Costello Tagliapietra line, which was unfortunately mostly sold out, when I stumbled upon the small rack from their Japanese lines. It looked like they'd been sitting around for a while and were mostly picked over, but I still found the last oversized mother shirt, which I immediately fell in love with. The shirt definitely resembles hospital scrubs with ruffles attached to the sleeves, but no matter! I know that this baggy tent shape is just about the most comfortable thing to wear during a sweltering New York summer.

I'm also a big fan of the mother line, which I can only describe as the perfect balance of ugly and cute, looking somewhat like the deranged red headed stepchild of Cacharel. I love the way they take traditional floral prints and render them in off-kilter color combinations, boldly mix and clash patterns, and add plenty of unnecessary fringe and trim in unexpected places. Here are some shots from their Spring collection, but if you can't make it to Japan, I definitely suggest you stop by Uniqlo before everything sells out!