The Lighthouse Keeper: Rock the fetish

Think what that money could bring

I'd buy everything

Clean out Vivienne Westwood

In my Galliano gown

This verse from Gwen Stefani's tune 'Rich Girl' pretty much sums up our adventure today. But briefly, in these times bringing up Galliano in conversation is pretty frowned upon, yet it's the first time I've brought him up since his drunken, anti-Semitic rant and subsequent dismissal from Christian Dior, which he helmed since 1997. If I may put my two cents into a story that is already making millions, I'm going to miss his vision and it is a sad time in the fashion world to have lost someone as talented as him. However, his behavior was absolutely unacceptable. Period. I've seen the shockingly sad video and I feel like there was some provocation involved and that we've only scratched the surface of the story but for now we'll just have to wait until his trial in May.

After the tangent, we move on:

I'd like to think that one day I'm going to be in a position to wear the kinds of clothes I blog about on a daily basis. I'm imagining opening my future closet, in which labels like: McQueen, Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Haider Ackermann, Givenchy, Balenciaga and many more hang. For now, I'm only slightly content to be the darkly clad, grunge-y, jean wearing and eau de chlorine smelling student that I am.

It should come as no surprise that Mary Katrantzou, pulled off another fantastic show for Fall 2011 during London Fashion Week back in February. And if you thought the woman wearing the room idea was cool, well she flipped everything and put the woman in a room of her own.

Well this girl, she's a bit of a connoisseur of all things fabulous and extremely expensive. Kantrantzou's influences for the show were:

Cormandel screens, traditionally carved folding screens made in Northern China that are lacquered and then painted to produce extremely vivid colors and scenes.

Faberge Eggs, the hyper embellished jeweled eggs made by the Russian jewelry house in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. They are usually enamel and covered in jewels, gold and pearls and are synonymous with luxury and aristocratic lifestyles.

Cloisonné enamel, an ancient technique where metal is made into compartments that frame either jewels or enamel or glass so as to create an edging around them. This enamel vase pattern is clearly visible in several of Katrantzou's skirts.

Ming vases, the iconic blue and white porcelain vases painted with traditional Chinese figures like twisting dragons, vines and the ocean. Also can be found in color and if possible they're even more fantastic.

Now if you took all these images and mashed them together you'd probably end up with something like this:

It is Katrantzou's attention to detail that makes her clothes so magical. Her shape innovations - from lampshade skirts to those resembling vases and bowls have now extended to diaphanous sheath gowns that billow in a cloud of beautifully engineered prints. The oriental trend that has been on the rise is uber clear in the Koi fish prints, Japanese village motifs and vase prints and the sheer amount of florals is mind-blowing. Colors have a meaning here too, an abundance of purple - a royal color, gold and silver - to gild prints and rich browns - to ground the wearer. If there is a moment where the eye is not busy flicking from one detail to another then the sheer brilliance of the collection has been lost upon you.
The most standout looks for me are the halter dress in a myriad of blues featuring a Koi fishbowl skirt and the earthy brown jacket and green skirt with three dimensional flowers blooming in pale pink.

And the shoes... well Louboutin had them covered with booties in patent leather and some in silk projected with prints from the show... yet all studded as though to reinforce the luxurious thread of the show. I think that even owning a pair of these shoes by themselves would be a magical experience... they would be the shining beacons in my closet, casting a warm glow over all my other clothes. I can dream, can I not?

It's been a while since I've brought up anything Chanel oriented and I've been having Karl withdrawal so this post was the perfect oppoprtunity

For his Pre-Fall show, he conjured up a magical scene in which models traipsed through a Turkish tea house den wearing designs that were inspired by the Byzantine Empress Theodora.

I was reminded of this collection when I was browsing Katranzou's as they both have a similar luxury though influenced by periods separated by time and space. Katrantzou was more liberal with her adornment whereas Chanel piled on the jewels and beads to dress the clothes up and give them a regal air. Here you can see the extreme detail that borders this collection on couture.