This Week in High Fashion: Hong Kong BABY!

This Week in High Fashion: Hong Kong BABY!

Today at 9:31am

It’s almost February, possums…and where the hell did this month go? It seems like only yesterday I was cleaning the remnants of New Years off the front deck and hauling the leftover Christmas cheer to the recycling bin…
But you know what this means… well it means a lot of things, but for the moment… it means HELLO RUNWAY.
I have to be honest with you, kittens. I did start this blog thing to record or somehow try to comment on or maybe even (I flatter myself) predict the trends in makeup coming from the runways of the world… I am a makeup artist after all. But I was sidetracked into commenting on fashion instead because I was so utterly HORRIFIED at the lack of makeup on the runways of the world. What are women supposed to follow to get their makeup trend tips?? FLARE???? NO NO NO. Flare would have you all wearing thigh high boots and frosty blue eyeshadow. I couldn’t let that happen. I have high hopes for the 2010 fashion season, I really do….and judging from what I’ve seen sneak peeks of… I might ACTUALLY be able to comment on makeup as well as fashion this year. *squee*

I’m going to start with Hong Kong Fashion week… why? Because aside from being one of the first shows of the New Year, Hong Kong also trots out some pretty hilarious stuff.
Hong Kong designer Guo Pei is my FAVORITE. Why? Because I’m pretty sure that if he doesn’t get his design ideas from reading Chinese Fairy Tales while on acid… I’m sure he MUST be on SOMETHING while wielding his design pencils. This isn’t a bad thing either… it’s fucking awesome. This guy’s tinfoil hat is the best hat ever as far as I’m concerned.

Shall we begin?
I don’t even have a whole lot to say about Guo Pei’s work that isn’t accompanied by gibbering foolishness at how supremely awesome his pieces are. This guy is a showman…through and through. Big collars, big jewelry, a skirt that looks like a giant silken cupcake wrapper, big MAKEUP! YES I said makeup. Shows like this one give me hope for the 2010 fashion season… I see makeup, I see pageantry… and I’m very very happy about it. This is also why I'm posting the most examples of his runway... because they're ALL different kinds of awesome.





Structured cupcake sleeve in gold studded green? Yes please.



I don't know if it's fashion, or an Ostritch's ass, but I love it!







I also don't know what this is about either... but the cones really make the ensemble don't you think? Haute Couture is so much fun.

Goji Lin’s designs during the 'Taipei 'IN' Style' parade (they actually said parade, I’m not making this up), part of the Taiwan Textile Federation... how can you tell it’s from the Textile Federation? I’ll tell you. Because it doesn’t look like it has any seams. It looks like they wrapped the model in a broadsheet of gossamer textiles, wrapped her in some ribbon, shoved a dead bird on her head and shoved her out onto the runway.
I know that Grecian inspired designs are beautiful and classic. I can also tell you that Grecian inspired designs enjoyed their largest popularity during Greece’s time as a Roman Province…so because I’m a History nerd… I’m BORED to death of Grecian gowns. It’s nothing personal, Goji… it’s just… gah.



*snore*

Chinese designer Frankie Xie likes feathers. I like feathers. My roomate’s cat likes feathers. I wonder how many birds were cobbled together to make this. I also wonder how many qualms this designer has about creating a fashion statement out of several dead avians. Because while I enjoy feathers that fell of the bird naturally… I don’t enjoy dead birds attached to them. Pelts freak me out. This is a pelt. Did they put shiny things out in a trap to lure in a couple of magpies? That’s what this looks like. How does PETA feel about feathers? They’re always on about fur, you’d think they wouldn’t discriminate for the poor widdle tweet tweets. I may write them a letter.



Oh William Tang. Designing for the STYLISH yet meditative in the crowd, he seems to be exploring the untapped fashion reservoir that is Tibetan monk robes. Is your dharma feeling weighed down… well then you need a dash of William Tang… spice up your wardrobe without losing your focus on inner peace. And the barbed wire accessories? Some suffering with your style I suppose. No one gets to Nirvana without a little hardship. Celebrate the Tao in style, with William Tang.



Ooooommmmm...



I don't get the wire... do you get the wire? Is it representative of something? Something cosmic perhaps? I doubt it, but it's nice to dream that there's a deeper meaning somewhere in there.

My favorite part of every blog is the classic WTF moment. This week, it comes courtesy of Japanese designer Tokshikazu Iwaya. WTF is this mess?
A sequined “I <3 America” thumbs up kind of thing? SERIOUSLY… did this REALLY need pockets? Like sticky-out pockets? REALLY?? And the poor model… she not only looks like she’s been slapped in the face with a rather large fish, but look at that HAIR…that is a lot of backcombing for very little effect… and it looks crimped too. Makeup, I don’t mind… it’s heading towards Ziggy Stardust, but not enough to actually be awesome…
So to sum this up, it’s a 4th of July accident played out in the late 80’s to bad effect. Ok that’s half-assed… but seriously… WTF Iwaya-san?



*movie scream*

I’m not even going to say anything about this next creation except… love the makeup…WTF is with the shower curtain bow?



Ready for the shower. Have no fear of ruining your makeup! Best invention ever... shower, get dressed, and go out... no need to remove protective headgear!

I’d like to point out that this model, is wearing leggings that are printed with pink stars, a romper that is made out of a thermal blanket and a hat that only DSquared2 could love. That is all.



It's reflective, and so is the model.

Another contribution from the Textile Federation… again… how can you tell? Too much fabric… that’s how.
It brings me back to a blog of months past where the party in the front, class in the back dress was TRYING desperately to make a comeback in the pages of Flare and the runways of Paris…I didn’t buy it, and I don’t buy it now. I just keep thinking of poor Gina Davis and all the flack she took for her white Oscar gown, so many years ago.
Gioia Pan... for the fail.





Oh Geena. This is the second time I've used your fashion faux pas as an example of how designers have changed their directions, and still inevitably come back to bury their heads in the manure pile of past mistakes.