Styling

Biker boy-girls



Thanks to Kingdom of Style, I discovered the studding work of No Discount whose heavy-metalled biker jackets (above) are causing a flurry of excitement in the bloggersphere. While this season may be all about the aviator jacket, SS11 is set to be a season for biker grrrls or, more accurately, biker boy-girls if Burberry Prorsum and Balenciaga are anything to go by. Hopefully, we all have a biker jacket in our possession by now so it’s just a matter of restyling (although I do love the proportions of the Balenciaga one *sigh*)…

[Images – top to bottom:
No Discount
Balenciaga/Style.com
Boo George
Burberry Prorsum/Style.com
Alasdair McLellan
Balenciaga/Style.com
Tommy Ton
Burberry Prorsum/Style.com
Paris Vogue]

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ASOS launches Marketplace



Pioneering as ever, Asos.com is poised to launch its brand new Marketplace just in time for the holiday season. A place where an individual can sell off their own unwanted fashion wares or a store can set up its online space, it’s a timely poke in the eye to Ebay and its increasingly unfriendly attitude to independent sellers. The only stipulation to individual sellers in the Marketplace is the merchandise must be photographed ‘street style’, so none of your dingy still life pics, these need to be styled on a human body, preferably in an interesting way in order to get the most exposure on the Asos site.

Taking its cue from sites like Lookbook.nu, Asos has tapped into the consumers’ desire for wearable styling ideas and personal context. Sellers are encouraged to shoot their pictures in photogenic scenarios to make them as ‘editorial’ looking as possible. The picture/item can be ‘liked’ which will place it highly in searches. The selling process is straightforward. A price is set and payment is made by Paypal with Asos taking 10% of the sale price.

A big draw of the Marketplace will be the ’boutique’ of vintage sellers. Selected vintage retailers can upload their logo and product (again, styled on people in situ) and merchandise their area as they see fit to make the space their own.

For designers and retailers, there is the opportunity to set up shop in the Marketplace. When the site launches (ETA mid-end November), Browns Focus and Faster by Mark Fast wil be among the first retailers/designers with a presence. “We want to help small businesses grow,” I was told by an Asos rep at the press day this morning. “This way we can build a platform that exposes small businesses to our vast database.”

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On Chloe, YSL, styling mishaps and cross-branding



Well, what a storm in a Café de Flore teacup about the use of a – shock horreur – YSL belt in a Chloe fragrance ad. Did stylist Joe McKenna mischievously throw the skinny waist-cincher in the mix or was it an intern mix-up*? Personally I see nothing wrong with a bit of cross branding. When Ines de la Fressange agreed to walk the Chanel ss11 runway, rumour has it that it was with the proviso that she wore Roger Vivier shoes rather than Karl’s creations. Ditto the ad campaign. Likewise, J.Crew was recently in the news for directing website visitors to competing brands alongside its own merchandise.

I would like to see even more deliberate mixing up on the catwalk and in campaigns – say a Comme Des Garcons jacket with a pair of vintage Levi’s or a Ralph Lauren coat with Gap khakis. Why not, isn’t this how people dress now, rather than head to toe in one designer? I think it would show immense confidence for a brand to show its own designs styled with another’s, although still in keeping with its overall aesthetic. After all, almost every name designer of note has done a high-meets-low high street collaboration, isn’t this just a continuation of that idea?

*Oh yes, when in doubt, blame the intern!

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