“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Dame Vivienne Westwood is a force of nature. She presents her avant garde collections in virtually every market on Earth. Mens’ in Milan, women’s in Paris, combo platter in London, Hong Kong Fashion Week and, if I’m not mistaken, she has featured the Anglomania collection in the United States. Last season her theme was “The Homeless” and judging by some of the looks from Spring 11, that message carries through. Homeless or perhaps even a bit crazy? You tell me. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BBbVdiqK20… Read More »

Vivienne Westwood gave us the poor thing. The New Colossus Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!  – Emma Lazarus 1883 Who would have thunk that these beautiful, prolific words would one day come to represent the menswear fashion shows in Europe circa Fall ’12? Jean Paul Galtier gave us the tired. Adam Kimmel gave us a hudled mass person. Umit Benan gave us the homeless quotient. And Nicola Formichetti for Mugler gave us… Dracula?… Read More »

It has been a while since the last round of men’s shows where we first met The Manzie, which we sometimes refer to as “The Manz” or “La Manz”. You newcomers need to be brought up to speed. What is a Manzie? (pronounced man – zee), hence, What is a Manzie Report? At last season’s men’s fashion shows in Europe, the overarching trend was something that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, actually ever. I came up with the term Manzie to capture the moment. A Manzie is not a Dandy, nor is he a Pansy, hence the revised… Read More »

By this phase of Word Fashion Week having seen two million looks from (what seems like) six thousand runways on two million models having sipped eighteen thousand glasses of champagne…phew. I am sure glad I am not a fashion editor or Anna Piaggi…which begs the question…does she still work at Italian Vogue? Anyhoo, doesn’t matter. She needs a nap. My point is: that is a lot of dresses to sift through and surely the eyes must be glazed over and I’d imagine the judgment is questionable by this point. For instance, I see plenty of blunders in such wonderful collections… Read More »

The Paris shows are where we loook for the answers to: What is fashion? What will we be wearing next season? What length will skirts be? Color palette? It’s really way to much pressure to put on one city. Especially when so much of what is shown is borderline nonsense. I wonder no more why so much of the editorial in Vogue centers around the main French houses, well, that because they are the ones worth featuring. I saw Jane Campion’s Bright Star last night and sobbed through the sheer beauty and majesty of her direction and costumes. The bright… Read More »

World Wide Fashion Week. That’s what we are in right now. Soon the fashion editors will feel like they are in that movie from the 60’s. “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium”. The poor dears. Gallivanting to and fro…London, Paris, Milan, New York. Oh, their aching feet. After a seemingly interesting and mild New York Fashion Week, the next stop is London, currently celebrating 25 years of quirky nonsense…sprinkled with a few good designers. In 1984, George Orwell’s dystopia, as predicted, was under way. Today we increasingly experience shades of this nightmare world. The thing is, London has a… Read More »

Several weeks ago, I noticed a trend in men’s fashion that goes beyond metrosexual (a.k.a. frigid bi-curious), which was screaming out for its own moniker…hence…Man-zies. Man-zies are categorically “quirky”, which in men, is never a good thing. From the “quirky man-hat” to overly printed shorts to neckie scarves worn for no reason, like in warm weather, the Man-zie can be seen everywhere these days. It’s the evolution of the men’s fashion industry, I guess, but somehow, even on the runway, it doesn’t work. As the Milan Men’s Shows are in full bloom, one couldn’t help noticing that there was a… Read More »

When I say, “Now I have seen everything”, I am not lying.  As the runways are now being influenced by the real world…which used to never be the case…elements of fashion are creeping onto the runways that defies my perception of runway chic. Especially out of Paris. There was a time when fashion was the unachievable goal. To play in the sandbox of fabulosity meant being part of the exclusive, illusive dream machine. Now that fashion has been democratized…gross…we see now that the fashion houses are buckling under pressure to deliver the people, that which will make them feel special.… Read More »

The Spring 11 shows came to a close in Milan, and overall there were great, sexy, safe collections sprinkled in with those few designers that love…and are committed to…Manzies. There were noticeably less mandals than last year, more blue than black and less quirky man-hats, which makes me very happy. Yes, there were Mad Men, but more along the likes of Coo-Coo, rather than Jon Hamm lookalikes. The Milan Maznie Report ends by featuring these few designers who we can live happily ever after…without.… Read More »