Ann Demeulemeester - Spring RTW 2014

The first bite is taken with the eye; so say the Japanese about food. In fashion, that might translate into the impression generated by a designer's invitation. Ann Demeulemeester's was an expensive envelope, no address. The details of the show were printed on the inside flap. Totally interior. Just like the clothes, which were, according to Demeulemeester, all about a woman whose instinctive, utterly natural eccentricity inevitably finds outward expression in the way she dresses...

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013/PARIS/BY TIM BLANKS

I'dRather Be Wearing//Costello Tagliapietra//Fall RTW 2010

February 12, 2010//NEW YORK//By Meenal Mistry

A recent trip to Japan set Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra off: "We started thinking about traditional Japanese fashion, and early-eighties Comme, and Yohji, which we love," Tagliapietra said backstage the night of the show.

The duo are self-described math nerds who can spend hours poring meticulously over their patterns—they're not exactly known as avant-garde—but an admission of being in a Kawakubo state of mind is always a sure tip-off that experimentation will follow. Sure enough, you could see a more sculptural and off-kilter quality to their signature draping, even if it didn't hit you in the face. Spiraled and compressed folds added substance and weight to one look's waist, while on another the pleats seemed almost spontaneously draped around the body. The designers tried out an interesting new technique on their signature jersey dresses and tops, anchoring them with woven silk backs, usually in a contrasting color plucked from their beautiful palette of desert-sunset hues. But for all that, there was actually a gorgeous simplicity to this collection. It marked both a return to their founding vision and a step forward.

I'd Rather Be Wearing//Chloe 2009

a selection from Chloe, Spring, RTW, 2009