Showing posts with label Alexander McQueen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexander McQueen. Show all posts

Green, Glam and Hair Gems Light Up The Met

Kate Hudson in Stella McCartney
Red carpet fashion gawking doesn't get much better than the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Gala. And since this year honored the late Alexander McQueen - the fashion-forward had a field day, turning jewelry style quite literally - on its head.


It looks like the Brits aren't the only ones with a penchant for haute couture headwear. Everyone from newly engaged Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba to uber-designer Stella McCartney and Fergie put icy diamonds on their tresses.

Stella McCartney



Jessica Alba in Ralph Lauren dress and jewelry


Although (and I risk the wrath of Campbell when I say this...) this isn't one of Naomi's better fashion moments.Yikes!

It appears green is still the 'go-to' color for gemstones, with Rihanna, Ginnfer Goowdwin, Mary Kate Olsen, Tory Burch, and many others channeling their inner Kermit for couture's sake.

Rihanna in Stella McCartney and Wilfredo Rosado jewelry

Ginnifer Goodwin in TopShop and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry

Mary Kate Olsen in Givenchy Couture and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry


Great statement earrings shined on the likes of Kristin Bell, Lea Michele and Cristina Hendricks.

Kristin Bell in Tory Burch and Amrapali Earrings


Ashely Greene in Donna Karan and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry



Lea Michele in Escada and Kimberly McDonald earrings
And, of course, diamonds still rule when it comes to red carpet sparkle. I was pleasantly surprised to see Madonna in this understated, spidery look by Cartier. And the "less-is-more" queens of diamond stud-wear wore just the right splash of sparkle (although, Michelle Williams? It's time to mix it up, sister.)

Madonna in Stella McCartney and Cartier jewelry

Taylor Swift in J. Mendel and Lorraine Schwartz jewelry

Sarah Jessica Parker in Alexander McQueen

Jennifer Lopez in Gucci and H. Stern jewelry


Who wore your favorite look of the night?

Royal Wedding Fashion: Kate Wears McQueen!

I'm over the moon. As I had hoped, Kate or CATHERINE Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, I should say, wore a dress by Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen! From Lady Gaga to the future Queen of England, it doesn't get any better for this designer.

"Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work," Clarence House officials released in a statement.

The design includes hand-cut lace flowers hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle that incorporates rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock silhouettes. French Chanitlly lace and English Cluny lace were used in the Irish Carrickmacross needleword tradition, according to the release.

Catherine also wore an ivory silk tulle veil held in place by the Cartier ‘halo’ tiara, lent to Miss Middleton by The Queen. (more on the tiara soon).

She's Audrey Hepburn meets Princess Grace! G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!

Alexander McQueen's Royal Frock Fest

Will Kate Middleton wear an Alexander McQueen dress to the royal wedding? If the rumor mill and today's Paris Fashion Week runway show are any indication, we may have an answer to the most buzzed about fashion question since the frenzy surrounding Michelle Obama's inauguration gown.

While the guessing game will likely continue until the event unfolds on April 29th, jewelry hounds and fashion fans can marvel instead at today's incredible Alexander McQueen offering - Sarah Burton's 2nd McQueen show as creative director, after his untimely passing last year.

The event was held at the 'uplifting' venue, Conciergerie, which was the antechamber to the guillotine during the French Revolution, holding thousands of prisoners, including one Marie Antoinette. It was also the site of one of McQueen's most memorable shows, where live wolves prowled the premises.

A series of black, bondage-inspired frocks opened the proceedings, followed by an angelic display of white gowns laced with pearls and bone china (!). Needless to say, a princess would look stunning in any of these creations with a little royal-friendly tweaking.

While jewelry was a veritable no-show here (and on most of the runway shows in Paris this year), McQueen shoes more than make up for our need for the 'lower jaw drop' couture moment.

I know one Monster Queen who's gonna want to get her claws into these....

Michelle Obama's State Dinner Sparkle


While green was the stand-out color at the Golden Globes, Washington DC was rockin in red as Michelle Obama stepped out at the administration's third State Dinner (with Chinese president Hu Jintao) in a dream of a dress from Alexander McQueen.  

Yes. THE Alexander McQueen - the design house known for reptile shoes, garbage can hats and runway shows that have tongues wagging long after the models go home to nurse their champagne hangovers.


I applaud her decision - not only because it was a risky choice (there were many designers of Chinese descent that could have been selected). But because she looked so darn good!

But enough about the dress (read more excellent McQueen/Michelle analysis here on the Daily Beast). I also loved her jewelry choice - a pair of ruby and geode teardrop earrings in 18kt gold from New York designer, Kimberly McDonald according to the Mrs. O blog.


Geode is having a huge moment, with Kelly Osbourne and Michelle Pfeiffer wearing the stone to the Golden Globes (both by McDonald), and the demand for jewelry made from more 'natural' materials still going strong for 2011.


The stone has a science fiction quality to it, I think - which is why it was the perfect compliment to a floor-length red hot Alexander McQueen masterpiece, whose reptile influences we all know and love (especially these shoes from a few seasons ago).




OK. I'll stop gushing. I'm just so pleased we don't have to endure another pants-suit-pearl-strand-laden First Lady fashion snoresville. Am I right? Somewhere, Jackie O is smiling....

SATC2 Premieres in London with Hair Extensions, Hats and an Homage



It's baaaaaccck.

Staying true to her SATC London premiere look from 2008, Sarah Jessica Parker wowed the Brits with yet another Alexander McQueen frock topped with a stunner of a Philip Treacy, ummm, hat I suppose you would call it.

While the look she sported in 2008 fell on the wrong side of 'ridiculous' in my opinion, this choice I have to admit is wonderfully whimsical. Perhaps because it's paired with her diamond-studded arm-band homage to the deceased Alexander McQueen, whose untimely death will surely cause a vacuum of envelope pushing in the fashion world (he is the designer responsible for everything Lady Gaga wears to wow these days).



The other leading ladies - probably used to being upstaged at this juncture - didn't disappoint with a stunning Kristin Davis in vintage Norman Norell from Decades and simple diamond studs:


Kim Katrall in vintage Thierry Mugler accessorized with a great Fred Leighton brooch at the waist and that classic Hollywood hair she seems to love of late.


And Cynthia Nixon in teal Narciso Rodriguez with gorgeous vintage diamond teardrop earrings that are hidden by those unfortunate hair extensions (ladies, you're not fooling anyone).



So I'm dying to know if you agree with me. Do you love or hate the SJP hat choice? What do you think of the other looks? Again, Kristin Davis does not disappoint, but I have to give this one to the scene stealer. Thoughts?

Spikes, Stilettos and Soda Can Chic


Alexander McQueen may be the only designer in Paris who refused to bow to the conservative malaise blanketing the fashion industry like a lingering rain cloud. Words like ‘sensible’ and ‘accessible’ had no business on his runway yesterday, folks.

Instead, McQueen dazzled the crowd with chain mail suits, lampshade hats, shiny hooded dresses and soda can accessories that screamed to the world, “You can take your economic woe and shove it!”

Think Grace Jones on ‘shrooms.


















According to Style.com, the crowd got in a heated debate after the spectacle – the older folks felt the ‘blow-up doll make-up’ and uncomfortable ensembles were misogynistic. The younger crowd – tired of all the sense and sensibility - couldn’t get enough.

Yet despite the over-the-top headpieces, unwalkable stacked heels and spikey jewelry, there were some incredibly made clothes on display.

Boxy jackets, airy dresses and fiercely tailored coats made a glittering appearance, and biker jacket chic and big shoulders also made an impression.



















But it was the sheer bravado of the line that made the program such a show-stopper. You have to wonder how many seamstresses were needed to make all the feathers and soda cans combine into this freakish display.

We may not see another runway quite like this for a while – so regardless of your sartorial sensibilities – perhaps we should get while the gettin's good.

What do you guys think? Would you wear any of this - or is that not the point?