Sandra‘s Closet

Just as you were all getting comfortable with your winter wardrobes and rediscovering the art of layering, the close of 2018 has got some of us thinking about our 2019 wardrobe. From bike shorts with blazers to head-to-toe bleached denim and scuba materials, these are the top runway trends from the S/S 2019 fashion weeks.

LoL, Sandra

There is a reason why Pantone announced it the color of the year 2019.

California on your mind? Then go for all that zesty tie dye and those endless wetsuits.

Lace sliced and diced, that is what the new season is about.

70’s crochet, fishnet fabrics and beaded macramé, a crafty theme swept through the summer collections.

The easiest way to energise your wardrobe? Take your tailoring in vibrant citrusy shades.

Decorate your looks with a supersized bow and take the streets with more fanfare than a trumpet.

One trend from the ’90s that I was convinced I would never see again… sorry, my fault! Cycling shorts are back!

Very beautiful! The designers used pleating to create a truly haute-couture silhouette.

It is a fact, the Eighties just won’t go away. This season, it is the acid wash denim that caught my eye.

My ‘it’ item of the season! An all-in-one suit is now your go-to wardrobe solution.

Next season’s partywear diktat is as frou-frou as they come: just add feathers and fringe.

Classy polka dots the transparent way, good girls gone bad!

Live up to the era of the hippie! Rock star and bohemian touches are still found everywhere.

This summer, you’re not fully dressed without a head piece that becomes part of your floral explosions. Wall flowers need not apply.

Have sequins ever ‘not’ been on trend? Perhaps not, but they were so prevalent at the S/S 2019 shows that we can’t ignore them. Personally speaking, I love the take of these designers above that love to work in general with the sparkling fabric. Those looks seem fresh and modern.

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands

«An animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.»

Personally speaking, I had lots of fun with Ultraviolet in 2018, but for 2019 I am ready to move on from the mysteries of the cosmos and dive deep into the ocean.

For 20 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home furnishings, and industrial design, as well as product, packaging, and graphic design. This year’s search, which was unveiled last night at Art Basel Miami, named «Living Coral,» a peachy shade of orange with a golden undertone, as the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year.

«Vibrant, yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment. In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature this color welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, it embodies our desire for playful expression.
Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.»

I am a big fan of this color found in nature. Displayed beneath the sea, this vivifying and effervescent hue mesmerizes the eye and mind and is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of color. With everything that is going on in today’s world, I am happy that Pantone chose such an uplifting shade and not a grey…

To shop LIVING CORAL, have a look at those fantastic pieces and get ahead of the fashion trend:

Saba satin-trimmed silk-crepe blouse by Roksanda

Jonatina 100 PVC-trimmed patent-leather sandals by Christian Louboutin

Camille reversible silk-crepe maxi dress by Karlita

Alana coated mid-rise skinny jeans by J Brand

Happy weekend!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Via Pantone and Courtesy of the Brands

Yesterday, fashion’s second most anticipated show took place, Hedi Slimane’s debut for Céline. Ups, first mistake. He took the «accent aigu» (acute accent) away and Céline is now Celine. The looks, personally speaking, were very much Saint Laurent at his time, as if he just continued where he left off. For me absolutely boring.

The Celine S/S 2019 show invite

I loved when he started at Saint Laurent and went crazy for his looks. But after some seasons, I had enough in my closet of his rock’n roll chic. Of course, the collection for Celine is good, very ’80s and sexy. It is also ok to stay to true to yourself. But as a designer, I find it important to go with time and to value a brand’s heritage. Hedi just repeated what he did for Dior and Saint Laurent. Instead of taking the Yves away, he went for the accent aigu. Instead of applying his aesthetics to the French Maison in a new creative way, he just did copy and paste. Boring.

Copy and paste

To be honest, for LVMH it would have been the smartest move to give Hedi Slimane his own label.

ABOUT CÉLINE

Céline was founded in 1945 by Céline Vipiana and her husband, Richard, as one of the first luxury brands in the industry to make a made-to-measure children’s shoe business. The couple opened a first boutique at 52 rue Malte in Paris. The brand was recognised by its logo, the red elephant created by Raymont Peynet.

Céline Vipiana

In 1960, the brand decided to change its positioning by focusing its business on a ready-to-wear fashion brand for women with a sportswear approach. Henceforth, the brand offered a range of leather goods such as bags, loafers, gloves and clothes. The trench became the iconic product of the house. In 1973, Céline, who remained at the helmet until 1997, redesigned its logo with the intertwined “C” Sulky canvas, linked to the Arc-de-Triomphe, which appeared as a symbol for Parisians. At that time, Céline began its expansion in the world with the opening of various boutiques in Monte Carlo, Geneva, Hong Kong, Lausanne, Toronto and Beverly Hills.

In 1987, Bernard Arnault decided to buy into Céline’s capital. However, it was only in 1996 that the brand was integrated into the LVMH group for 2.7 billion French francs ($540 million). LVMH propelled the brand to fame with the opening of a boutique at 36 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
American fashion designer Michael Kors was named the first ever women’s ready-to-wear designer and creative director for Céline in 1997. During his tenure at Céline, Kors brought modern femininity with a luxurious spirit. In 2004, he left the fashion luxury house to focus his career on his own brand. In 2005, Italian designer Roberto Menichetti was named creative director. A year later, Croatian designer Ivana Omazic directed the design studio. Omazic was a former consultant for the brand and previously worked with Romeo Gigli, Prada, Jil Sander and Miu Miu. Omazic designed for Céline until 2008, after further disappointments for the brand.

Phoebe Philo’s Céline changed your wardrobe (even if you didn’t realise it)…  she managed to predict what you want six months before you know you do.

On September 4, 2008, the fashion portal Women’s Wear Daily announced that Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, had appointed Phoebe Philo as the new creative director of Céline. Her tenure began in October 2008, and she presented her first ready-to-wear collection for S/S 2010 at Paris Fashion Week. Pierre-Yves Roussel, chief executive officer of LVMH’s fashion division, said that recruiting Philo was giving her the opportunity to express her vision. Philo brought a new touch to the brand creating functional clothes with a focus on materials and tailoring. In 2009, Vogue Magazine defined her style as the “cool minimal trend”. Philo studied at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design in London. Prior to Céline, Philo held the position of Design Director at Chloé. In 2010, she received the Designer of the Year award from British Fashion Council. In 2011, she was awarded International Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Both prizes were awarded for her work at Céline.

We all wanted it! Céline’s Boston bag – first seen on the S/S 2010 runway.

In December 2017, following increasing rumors in the press, Philo announced her departure from Céline after finishing the F/W 2018 collection, which is to presented in March of that same year. Thanking her team, Phoebe Philo stated “Working with Céline has been an exceptional experience for me these last 10 years. I am grateful to have worked with an incredibly talented and committed team and I would like to thank everyone along the way who has been part of the collaborations and conversations…it’s been amazing.”

Hedi Slimane

On January 21, 2018, LVMH announced the appointment of Hedi Slimane as Artistic, Creative and Image Director, set to join the house on February 1. He is to direct all Céline collections, extending the brand’s offering with the launch of men’s fashion, couture and fragrances.

Great news for me, I can dress next summer in my former Saint Laurent pieces and will look like wearing new Celine. Money saved for other things…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Céline, © Sandra Bauknecht

“I was thinking a lot about journeys as I started putting together my first Burberry collection. From my personal journey back to London 20 years after I showed my graduate collection here, to how far I have come. I was also inspired by how much London – the city that made me dream to become a designer – has evolved. This show is a celebration of the cultures, the traditions and the codes of
this historic fashion house and of the eclecticism that makes up the beautifully diverse United Kingdom.”
Riccardo Tisci, Burberry Chief Creative Officer

Yesterday evening, Riccardo Tisci presented his much-anticipated debut collection for BURBERRY with a show – of course live streamed on Instagram – that paid homage to the individuality, eccentricity and inimitable attitude of Britain with 134 looks.

The collection
In front of an audience of creative industry, friends and family, the S/S 2019 collection for men and women, called «Kingdom», was unveiled at a new show venue in Vauxhall, South West London. The new collection celebrates the diversity and the heart of England – the melting pot of creativity and style traditions from the punk and rebellious, to the formal and refined, all co-existing together.  It serves for all, grandparents, parents and the kids. Capturing the breadth of what British culture represents today, the collection defines the visual language and lexicon for Burberry through new house codes and accessories.

The space
As the first model took to the runway the previously dark space was flooded with light, symbolising a new chapter for the fashion house. British materials and textures including concrete, mahogany wood and critter glass transformed the interior with moving walls in tonal brand colours forming small intimate view points for the audience.

The music
Models including Kendall Jenner, Irina Shayk, Stella Tennant, Jourdan Dunn, Lily Donaldson, Freja Beha Erichsen, Natalia Vodianova, Anok Yai and Cat McNeil walked to an exclusively designed soundtrack by Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack.

24-hour capsule drop
Pieces from Riccardo’s first collection for BURBERRY are now available to buy for 24 hours exclusively on Instagram, WeChat and physically at BURBERRY’s London flagship store, 121 Regent Street.

Personal opinion
I had been very curious about Tisci’s approach to BURBERRY and think he had a good start with the focus on tailoring. Although he has not fully arrived yet. Probably because he tried to cater for every taste, many looks were definitely on the commercial side and too much of a mixture between Prada, Céline, and of course Givenchy during his era.

I spotted a detaching waist on a couple of outfits which I quite like. The fabric combination of flowing materials with leather for skirts was definitely amazing. Many details were outstanding, like the umbrella harness or tie fixture. It is a collection where you have to look twice.

But personally speaking I preferred the second part of the presentation as it showed what Tisci can do best, mixing high and low. The print, that is echoing a Sex Pistols song, reading «why did they kill Bambi?» is fun as well as the portraits on pants and dresses.

Am I the only one or did anybody else see a resemblance between these lamp shade-inspired fringe- and crystal-adorned evening looks and Mary Katrantzou‘s designs?!

Nevertheless, as I am a dedicated fashion collector, I will surely get some pieces from this collection. But not from the 24h Instagram sale, as I find the choice pretty disappointing. Too commercial for my taste.

Enjoy my favorite looks below…

I like this combination of different animal prints.

The sleeves are divine, the tailoring immaculate.

The Burberry stripes newly interpreted.

I like this one but somehow it has a little Vuitton touch for me.

Love this skirt!

My favorite look!

This shirt has a really cool twist. A real Tisci signature piece.

Not the biggest Kendall fan, but this Trench is amazing.

Cool umbrella harness

The fixture of the tie is totally great.

Favorite men’s shirt. I adore this pocket detail.

Such a cute dress.

Even though this could have been a typical Givenchy/Tisci look, I adore it for Burberry.

A must for every Swiss :-).

Second favorite look!

My next travel outfit.

Last look of the show – very elegant.

Looking forward to the next seasons to come! The more I look at the outfits, the more I like them. What about you?

TO SHOP BURBERRY ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Burberry

A few days ago, Burberry announced the launch of limited edition products through a series of 24-hour releases across its Instagram and WeChat channels, as well as in-store at its flagship on 121 Regent Street, which will be the only physical place in the world to house this collection.

The move is to mark the inaugural S/S 2019 collection for Burberry from new chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci which he will show on the 17th of September 2018 at 5pm as part of London Fashion Week. Surprisingly, Riccardo Tisci has announced this morning via an Instagram post that the first piece will be already dropping today – a black Thomas Burberry Monogram logo T-shirt which Riccardo wears in the post himself along with other celebs (see below).

It’s a new step in the see-now-buy-now era and it will be the first time the brand has created a bespoke digital selling experience for their social channels. This kind of «drop» culture is similar of the strategy applied in the streetwear market, whereby new pieces are released on given days, mostly for a short amount of time. The reason behind it is to drive hype around their exclusivity. Nowadays, the luxury industry is trying to jump in this same direction in order to increase the consumer appetite.

For Burberry, the initiative also marks another step towards a complete brand remake under Tisci’s fashion sense. The Italian designer has also recently introduced a modernized logo.

121 Regent Street reimagined:
Opening Saturday 15 September, Burberry’s London flagship store will be completely reimagined by Riccardo Tisci. In addition to the ephemeral, limited-edition product releases, the store will also be home to individually themed rooms which collectively celebrate the past and future of Burberry through product.

At the heart of the newly transformed space, will be «Sisyphus Reclined», a three-floor scaffold immersive and interactive commissioned art installation by British artist Graham Hudson. The Installation will remain in store until the beginning of October.

The #ThomasBurberryBear at Marble Arch, London

Last week, Burberry also confirmed that it will no longer use real fur starting with Riccardo Tisci’s debut runway collection for Burberry. The fashion house also announced that it will stop the practice of destroying unsaleable products, with immediate effect as part of its five-year responsibility agenda.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Burberry
#ThomasBurberryMonogram #TheBSeries#mytshirt