The Manzie Report
Yes, there is a definite shift in the air since Spring, when nelly, prissy, fembots ruled the men’s runways. There is a butcher tone overall, but Lord knows not exclusively, as that would render me out of business. Surprisingly, Junya Wantanabe, Viktor and Rolf, and even Gaspard Yurkievich all had smart showings. It’s not like I am disappointed that I can’t find what to poke fun at, I would frankly rather not have ever started this Manzie business. I am a bit Pollyanna in that I want every designer to do well. Rather than leave a hole for yet another… Read More »
Manzies Marching On
Overall, the men’s collections in Milan are pretty great. Sifting through all the images to mine for Manzies was not quite as easy as last spring. Somehow I would like to go out on a limb and take some credit, that my Manzie Reports impacted some of the designers. Seems like many of them worked overtime to avoid making Manzie Faux Pas, for fear of being included in the Manzie Reports. What I can say about Fall 10 is that there’s much ado about nothing special, since quite a few collections played it really safe. Perhaps it is a no… Read More »
Manzies Are Back On The Runway
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 »
“Menswear should take cues from womenswear, and not just the other way around,” says Muccia Prada in BlackBook. Now, you all know how much I love to trash a good manzie (click to get official meaning). It has been eons since I did a session on that “look”, which confuses many of my readers, while providing many good laughs. “But, Muccia, what items in womenswear can men pull off without looking like big, nelly queens?”, I Mean…What!?! wants to know. Leggings for starters. Leggings have been on trend and a huge best-seller for the past few seasons. But on guys?… 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 »
Now we see that there is a global consciousness to dressing manzies. Sure, I mean…what?!? may have been the one to coin that phrase, but let’s face it… designers have been hell bent on feminizing men for centuries. Look no further than the French courtesans. As London Fashion Week wound down, it was not easy to find a lot of menswear designers until thanks to Zimbio, boy did I find a doozie. The show was called Man…which was to promote Topman. Let me say here that I use that term loosely because ain’t no man I know gonna wear this… Read More »
As I started reading Tim Blanks‘ review of the Thom Browne collection on men.style.com, I thought I must have landed in the Fashion Twilight Zone. Having read the Women’s Wear Daily review and judging for myself based on the images, I thought, “What is Tim drinking backstage…Thom Browne Kool-Aid?” There is little to say. WWD wrote, “The clothes were ridiculous.” Whereas Tim Blanks says things like, “Browne’s clothes felt refreshed, confident, and as upbeat as the soundtrack of Beatles songs.” Or how’s this, “He just loves polka dots and Darth Vader.” Fotz. You judge for yourself. This is a bi-polar… Read More »
Just when I thought that my Manzie Reports were getting read by all the right people, being viewed on all the right laptops, iPhones and Blackberries, comes the reality that I am not fully doing my job. I know that the Manzie Report has been a source of laughter and hysteria by many of the industry’s top taste-makers, creatives and editors. But clearly, there are several stylists and fashion designers that must be deleting the IMW Manzie Report and clicking to CocoPerez.com. Big mistake girl. He is not going to steer you in the right direction. Perez will just feature… Read More »
At the risk of being redundant to those of you who have been following my Manzie Reports for quite some time, I wanted to take this moment to review, remind, and introduce to the new readers, “What is a Manzie?” (pronounced man – zee) and why are we reporting on it? After reviewing the recent European Men’s shows, the overarching trend was something that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, actually ever. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until I came up with the term Manzie, therefore declaring Spring ’10, the “Season of the Manzie”. To clarify,… Read More »
Women’s Wear Daily Agrees With Me…Gina Lollobrigida Orange Is On
Ahhhh, what a feeling. Women’s Wear Daily proclaimed that orange is the new black for Spring ’10 from the mens’ runways, days and days after I MEAN…WHAT?!? spotted it and even labeled the trend Gina Lollobrigida Orange. Click here to see all the I MEAN…WHAT?!? reportage from Milan and Paris mens’ shows. The other trend WWD spotted was also, right up there in each and every I MEAN…WHAT?!? fashion entry known as Manzie, but they call it something else, “Boys of Summer”. Now, scroll down and tell me that: A) If boys wore these outfits, they would not be shit… Read More »
