INBAR SPECTOR
London will always be my favorite place to attend fashion week. Not because it's the fanciest or the most perfectly managed, but because it gives new designers the opportunity to showcase their work alongside the already established greats. I couldn't help but feel that I was witnessing something magical at this show.
Most people cringe at the thought of going backstage before a show.
The atmosphere tends to be incredibly stressful - space is precious and people are on edge. Every person adds to the madness and there are already so many people (make up, hair, stylists, PRs, models, designers, photographers, assistants) that any extras run the risk of tipping the whole operation into chaos. Oh, the fear of accidentally bumping into someone's arm as they apply mascara.
When I showed up at Freemason's Hall to shoot backstage at the Inbar Spector show the atmosphere was completely different. Everything seemed to be perfectly organized. No one was yelling or pushing and people knew exactly what they needed to do - the dramatics were entirely removed from the operation. Inbar even had time to plop down and get her hair done. Fingers crossed that next season there's time for me to have mine done too...
It wasn't until the models started getting dressed that I realized just how amazing the show was going to be. Sure, you can tell that an outfit is awesome just from seeing it on a rail but it doesn't really come to life until you see it on someone.
It was the Lara Jensen face jewelry that made me really excited. There was such a buzz and secrecy about it backstage that when I finally slipped out to take my seat I just about exploded onto the person next to me with giddy joy. 'It's going to be so good.' - was all I managed to say.
London will always be my favorite place to attend fashion week. Not because it's the fanciest or the most perfectly managed, but because it gives new designers the opportunity to showcase their work alongside the already established greats. I couldn't help but feel that I was witnessing something magical at this show... especially with being backstage beforehand. Inbar is clearly destined for great things and her autumn/winter 12 collection is just the start. I recently discovered that her previous collections are available to buy online. The metal tattoo dresses start at £350 and, while I realize this isn't pocket change, it isn't completely outside the realm of possibility either. They might not be the sort of pieces you'd wear everyday but they would look amazing for a special occasion or any occasion where you want to knock-the-socks off of everyone that sees you.
While I’m all for fashion that people can afford, there is something wonderfully alluring about investing in clothes that double as art.
Massive thank you to Susie at Trace for inviting me backstage and to the show.
HAUNTED BY A DRESS...
It's Saturday morning and I have friends visiting from London. I'm lying in bed hoping they don't wake up.
Not because I don't like them, of course, but because I've got to get this off my chest. It's been over a month since the Inbar Spector show and yet the collection is still at the forefront of my mind. This dress in particular has started to become a bit of an obsession. Compare it to Inbar's other work and you might call it simple, even rudimentary. Regardless, it's the reincarnation of a childhood fantasy - a grown up version of the sugar-coated dress I always imagined I'd wear on my wedding day.
It's modest and refined but, at the same time, achingly alluring. The high neck and long sleeves lend a feeling of austerity and formality. The sheer fabric is painfully pretty. It's so intricate and lightweight that it looks as though the slightest breath would make it fall apart. The body, by contrast, is full and exaggerated. Layers upon layers are stacked to the point of concealing the wearer. Her figure is hidden but she retains confidence and charm.
This dichotomy between seduction and strength isn't a new one. It is, after all, what many men will credit as making a woman most appealing - she is beautiful and yet independent. This is at the heart of 'masculine' dressing and exactly why so many designers this season have blatantly mixed hard elements with soft ones. It draws on the multi-dimensional character that exists within every woman. Conflating seduction and strength by making clothes that appeal to both aspects of one's personality makes for clothes that are far more interesting than those that cater to just one side. This dress does exactly that, it is concealed and yet also revealing. It is bold but at the same time discreet. It isn't everyday you find a single item that symbolizes everything you love about fashion but this dress does just that for me.
