Sandra‘s Closet

Personally speaking, I am hopelessly devoted to Mary Katrantzou‘s designs and her F/W 2012 collection is my favourite for the next season. During Paris Fashion Week, I went to the London Showrooms to explore her amazing creations. I love Mary. She is so crazily successful but still completely down to earth and took all the photos of me in her to-die-for dresses. We went for lunch and played dress-up afterwards. I have fallen in love with every single piece.

“A pencil, a spoon, a hanger, a chess piece, a hedge, a typewriter: For F/W 2012 Mary Katrantzou discovers the beauty in the everyday, elevating the mundane to the sublime in a collection where product placement becomes placement print.”

For the first time, Mary decides to match: To match everything. The collection is divided into seven distinct sections, each featuring prints composed from objects associated with a single colour in shades of white, blue, green, ivory, yellow, red and black, Models are saturated in a statement hue, from head to toe, working through a colour spectrum as graphic and striking as a Crayola crayon box.

Finally the wait is over! The new-season is here! Prepare to get lost in dizzying detail and sumptuous colour of the princess of print, with luxe embroideries and outstanding cuts that are all highly collectables at the end. Available from today at net-à-porter.com and matchesfashion.com.

Please enjoy all the photos below of my must-haves and see Mary’s love for detail!

LoL, Sandra

WHITE & IVORY

Gleam Coat

Ivory Dress with many layers of chiffon and painted leather sleeves

Powdy Dress with long sleeves, Powdy Biker Jacket and Powdy Scarf

YELLOW

Powder Gun Dress

The most breathtaking dress of the collection: Sprinter Fritz Dress
It came straight from the Ritz for me where Anna Dello Russo had tried it earlier that day. Those bendable pencils are absolutely divine! This dress is a piece of art!

Sweet Mary brought it to perfection on me!

RED

Typo Dress – Let me be your secretary!

Roseterrier Dress, printed leather with pleated skirt – amazing!

BLUE

GREEN

Expandit Dress with bolsters and embroideries by the famous French Haute Couture Embroidery House Lesage who collaborated for the first time with a London designer

BLACK

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

After you have seen the H&M Fall 2012 lookbooks for women and men, you might be interested in exploring what is coming up for the little ones.

For kids, it is, of course, all about colour and comfy materials. For girls, my favourite is the Dalmatian knit dress and for boys, those blue high-top sneakers. A very cute collection!
But everything small looks sweet, doesn’t it?!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

The S/S 2012 collections deliver us explosions of prints and ladies, get ready to throw any sort of caution to the wind. Your summer pants should be all about wild prints in bold colours, in cuts from slim to palazzo. 
Here are the best ones to shop at the moment, directly from the runway:

1 Printed stretch-silk straight-leg pants by Roberto Cavalli
2 Paisley-print silk pants by Stella McCartney
3 Printed wool and silk-blend straight-leg pants by Prabal Gurung

In the the ’80′s wearing floral print trousers was absolutely trendy. This summer, the floral fashion legacy is leading the runways and the streets. Designers plunged into a garden of Eden and have started to infiltrate our wardrobes with the most beautiful flowers.

1 Floral print cropped pants by H&M
2 Printed silk crepe de chine tapered pants by Gucci
3 Printed silk straight-leg pants by Tucker
4 Floral cotton pants by Céline

During fashion weeks, silk print pants have already been seen on the most stylish fashionistas all around the globe. Punchy prints rendezvous with standout shades this season.

1 Printed satin-jersey harem pants by Balmain
2 Sequin-print silk tapered pants by Lanvin
3 Pressage floral-print twill tapered pants by Sandro
4 Printed stretch silk crepe de chine pants by DKNY

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Tommy Ton, net-à-porter and style.com

Today something for my Swiss and German based readers: The new Weltwoche Style Edition 02-2012 is available now featuring my summer trend report and the captivating story about the amazing Mary Katrantzou. She gave me such a lovely insight into her life and told me so many interesting things about her designs. A must read!

And proving my passion for Mary’s designs, the May edition of German Myself magazine features my personal summer must-haves: Her divine prints, such as the fabulous Salamandra dress.

Stay tuned to see me wearing more of them!
You can shop a large selection of Mary Katrantzou at net-à-porter.com, farfetch.com, matchesfashion.com, luisaviaroma.com and mytheresa.com (Great news for Swiss customers at mytheresa.com, you pay from now on in CHF with all customs duties included. No more unpleasant additional payments.)

LoL, Sandra

S/S 2012 is all about print, especially floral and ikat print, but how far are you willing to go?

Think head-to-toe as seen at the Matthew Williamson S/S 2012 show and add a colourful standout clutch for the ultimate fashion statement. 
If you nod to the look confidently, the compliments will be all yours.

Shop the look:
Floral ikat print blouse and floral ikat print trousers by Matthew Williamson, Falabella fold-over clutch by Stella McCartney and textured-leather platform sandals by Rochas.

The perfect outfit for a nice spring day.

LoL, Sandra

The beautiful sunny spring weather has put me in such a good mood and inspired me to wear bold prints and vibrant colours.

My look: Salamandra printed silk-crepe dress by Mary Katrantzou, neon-pink wool-blend crepe biker jacket by Christopher Kane, blue scarf by Gucci, lace pumps by Christian Dior, bracelet by Anselm Reyle for Dior, handle bag by Versace and statement necklace by Gabriele Frantzen.

The  neon-pink wool-blend crepe biker jacket by Christopher Kane is such a versatile piece, one of my season’s favourites.

I am in love with Gabriele Frantzen‘s statement jewelry pieces that take every outfit to a new level of style. Her creations are now available at Saks Fifth Avenue and in Zurich at Gassmann among others.

Tropical fish, fields of flowers and crushed car sculptures were the inspirations behind Mary Katrantzou‘s highly acclaimed S/S12 collection, which took her signature aesthetic to new fashion heights. This precision-cut Salamandra printed silk-crepe dress is the perfect canvas for the designer’s explosive and unforgettable prints. Don’t you agree?

This bracelet is a collector’s piece. Designed by Berlin artist Anselm Reyle for Dior.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Here is my first look from the LuisaViaRoma Styling Lab: GYPSY VIBE and I can finally reveal the secret which pug dog I have adpoted: It is the cute Emilio Pucci one which is inspired by the house’s iconic Marquise bag.

You know already that I am a huge fan of the Florentine house and the Pucci S/S 2012 collection is definitely on my shopping list.

To shop the look, just click on the highlighted text:

Printed lace top and long organza skirt, both by Emilio Pucci, platform sandals by Versace, neon-coral PS1 small leather satchel (amazing colour) by Proenza Schouler, straw hat by Borsalino and Mirador crochet earrings by Carolina Bucci.

I hope that you like it as much as I do!

LoL, Sandra

Today is Swiss National Day that is celebrated with fireworks and a public holiday.
August 1st is to the Swiss what July 4th is to Americans, or July 14th to the French. This day was chosen because August 1st 1291 was the date on which three Alpine cantons swore the oath of confederation, an act which later came to be regarded as the foundation of Switzerland.

So for me a good reason to honour our well-known Swiss designer Albert Kriemler (who is loved by Charlene de Monaco) and his Akris collection for F/W 2011. He seeked inspiration from the Vienna Secession movement which was best seen in the beautiful fall colours he used, from a golden yellow to caramel and russet.

My favourite is the photo print of architect and Vienna Secession founder Joseph Maria Olbrich’s Wedding Tower (Darmstädter Hochzeitsturm) that Kriemler put on dresses, shirts and a floor-length cape.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Vienna Secession movement, here is some more information: Also known as the Union of Austrian Artists, or Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs, the Vienna Secession was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists, among them Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann, Joseph Maria Olbrich and Max Kurzweil. The movement included painters, sculptors, and architects.

To all Swiss, Happy National Day!

LoL, Sandra

Have a look at Prada`s new Print Collection, a limited-edition line that will be in stores mid-May. The vintage-inspired dresses, an ode to the fifties, will be available in cotton and silk materials with selected prints from the Prada`s archives starting at €490.-. Also very charming are the colourful chain strap bags (€790.-) and the bow embellished ballet flats.

What a lovely way to welcome spring…

LoL, Sandra