Modes des hommes_ printemps 2012

ACNE
Highwaters mean that this man's down to dance, and I love that in a man.


ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Not going to lie, the composition of patterns and textures reminds me of the outfits you can pick and choose for your Sims character. Most of the individual pieces in this collection are great, though I think only someone like Matthew hitt could flaunt a plunging neckline like fresh money.


ANNE DEMEULEMEESTER
Someone took my goth love to the countryside and he got all romantic on me.


BALENCIAGA
Balenciaga's inimitable streamlined cuts = guaranteed sartorial orgasms.


BAND OF OUTSIDERS
The blue steel on this runway was so bright that shades were obligatory.


COSTUME NATIONAL
Before the boys become men. A playful take on menswear staples showing that you can't take the punk out of the boy.


DIOR HOMME
A few words: thank God for Kris Van Assche.


JIL SANDER
Not too sure how user-friendly the body bag would be in frantic times, but from the front slicked hair to the patent leather oxfords?! Sehr wunderbar.


LANVIN


MOSCHINO
CC'ing the Trouble and Bass DJ crew.


RAG AND BONE


RAF SIMONS
You think Simons was looking at Crispin Glover's "Clowny Clown Clown" video on mute and blasted Daft Punk's "Brainwasher" while making this collection? That aside, let's direct our attention to the PRETTY FUCKING AMAZING finale.



Mind-sweeping.(GQ's Tumblr has a better video.)


YOHJI YAMAMOTO
For editorial purposes, this is a pretty cool collection. Let's just say Yamamoto did an immaculate job with casting on this one.


YVES SAINT-LAURENT

My overwhelming affinity for menswear and beautiful men has made wonder why I am not a gay man. This visual recap of what struck my fancy is weeks old, I know. Couture week has passed and now we're sitting pretty at Berlin's week of mode, so I'm going to attempt to catch up then later flair my hands in the air, grab some coffee, and take a long drag of some of that adult candy.

All runway images from GQ style.

It's 1:36 a.m. and I'm sipping a cup of Silver Bridge coffee (Appalachia, fair-trade, locally brewed, yadda yadda... good stuff), blasting MSTRKRFT through a pair of anti-bass earbuds that are in dire need of being face down in a pit of fire, and cursing at a scratched DVD of "Weird Science" that Netflix sent me. Finally done with my last winter quarter of college and I'm doing what I've been longing to avoid during the week-long break. The joke's on me!

I've been floating in and out of all the fashion week coverages among the major cities. Been trying to tell myself to web surf as much shows (that I actually give two damns about) as possible this season, but I've rightfully diverted my attention instead to Egypt, Libya, the Ohio SB 5 debacle, running a radio station and 19 credit hours worth of school work. Most of what I did catch made me salivate, and off the top of my head: Theysken x Theory, Christopher Kane, Demeulemeester, Rad Houriani, Wang, and Ann-Sofie Back. Extreme silhouettes, draping, geo inspirations and prints... you get the pattern. I'm not one to trend hop on designers who simply don't cater to my style - in which cultural interest/lifestyle comes first, fashion just happens to be its echo.

In project wardrobe revamp, there's been a mass liquidation on all items of clothing and accessories I've seldom worn in the past few months. If you're a frequent eBay-er and have seen items pop up under seller parlezvousbrah, then you've seen my stuff. Spread the word/buy 'em, I don't want them. In exchange, I'm downsizing my wardrobe to basics - with the occasional ridiculous dress here and there. (Exhibit A: Topshop Unique shark sweater dress.) The runways have catapulted me into a pool of monograph prints à la Bauhaus artists like Anni Albers, and a craving to get a little naughty with skin exposure. Other than that I'll be cycling through three pairs of jeans, and my sea of band shirts and crop tops.

Dare I say it? Platinum blonde hair may be happening in my foreseeable future. It's been a feat I've been contemplating for months because a) hair's just hair and b) I think it could actually look pretty sweet, despite the potential beach bunny backlash. It's best to leave this job to a renowned professional, because I don't want to relive my sophomore year of high school's terror of pulling out blonde strands of hair in the shower. No thanks to Hot Topic dye.

And that's all that's been keeping me up until - shit, 4 in the morning. I'll be heading out to NYC Wednesday to cap off my spring break with a bang, but I'll discuss that in a later post.


Leaving this post with some records coming at ya - a.k.a., I figured out how to make animated .gifs.

Image sources: Jil Sander S/S 2011 ad campaign, Fashiongonerogue, and Vogue UK.