“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

“They’re baaack!” Remember Poltergeist II (see clip below) and to quote another line from the film here, “You are gonna die”, but only in the way that Rachel Zoe dies…as in I D-I-E. Manzies are back with a vengeance. Just look at what Marc Jacobs more to his Louis Vuitton after party in Paris. This updated Muu-Muu gown could very well be a Miu Miu gown, since he and Miuccia are palsies. But, hey, bless his heart for walking around as comfortably as he looks, complete with Priscilla Alden Pilgrim shoes, and not an ounce of flab. I’d kill to… Read More »

The Milan Men’s Shows are under way and we are off to a “two snaps up” start. The few looks by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen are very promising indeed. There is one trench coat (above) that is really great, but coupled with my father’s Long Johns, well, it’s her first outing so I will be kind. Today let’s just trash look at the new collection by Haider Ackermann, whose collection was inspired by the film Lost In Translation…only in that the models are lost in gobs of fabric. Lost being the operative word here. And we’re off. Stay tuned… Read More »

“It’s good to be the king.” So said Mel Brooks in History of the World, Part 1. The reason I bring this up is because the men’s collections for Fall ’10, between Milan and Paris and now in New York City, are really great…and very butch. So, my quote for this season is, “It’s not good to be the queen”. In what I am calling an immediate response to my Manzie Reports from last season, every designer on Earth quickly revisited their sketches for this season and chose to man up. Thank you all for taking note, but now what… Read More »

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 »

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 »

Mr. Browne’s collections featuring outfits so “shockingly wrong” that a new category of mens clothing was born…The Manzie. But all that aside, I have come to terms to say that I Love Thom Browne!… Read More »

For those of you who have been reading I Mean…What?!? for a while, you might recall in my many Manzie Reports from last year and my observation that Gina Lollobrigida Orange was the new black. Naturally, I was being facetious because the way they were showing orange on the men’s runways in Milan and Paris, you would have to be insane to be caught dead walking the streets in half of these get ups, rather, you would get the shit kicked out of you by a pack of homophobes. Fortunately, orange in regards to menswear, never really took off, but… Read More »

Hello my fearless flock of fashion following friends. What I love about World Fashion Week is that we get to see so many beautiful collections from all over the world such as New York, Milan, and Paris. Sure we also see lots of nonsense from other ports of call such as Madrid Fashion Week, Australia, Brazil, Lakme Fashion Week (India) and assorted Middle Eastern countries. But today, let’s discuss Paris. With the economy still in turmoil, many of the collections have been fiercely edited, and buyer optimism is reflected on increased orders. And frankly, the blogosphere is having a positive… Read More »

The biggest news after looking at the Fall ’10 Men’s Shows is Grey is the New Black. Period. Sure, black was all over the runway, too, and should always be a staple in everyone’s wardrobe. I don’t care (and nor should anyone) when the editors scream for “Color, Color, Color” like they did last season. Let all those editors walk around in horrendous shades of blue and orange (Gina Lollobrigida orange, to be exact) and leave the humans to wear what makes them look good, namely, black and/or grey. Now we have a whole new meaning to grey. Your job… Read More »