Michael Kors Fall 2012 Collection

THERE were lots of browns, blacks and reds in Michael Kors Fall 2012 Collection showcased recently in a private function solely for the media. Held at Whitebox, MAP Publika in Solaris Dutamas the collection was showcased on mannequins with two giant TV sets screening the catwalk, which was probably done in the States.

It was a simple affair – icy fruit drinks were served to guests. They helped quenched the thirst on a hot late afternoon especially when the weather has been so unkind. Valiram’s big guns were around to greet the afternoon batch of journalists and photographers. Their Manager of Marketing, Carmen Tan and her girls showed me around the displays as I was one of the early birds and was probably looking a bit ‘lonely’.

See anything you fancy?

Michael Kors does not believe in providing press release. A good move, I thought. Carmen provided some details of the collection. She actually pointed out this lovely simple dress, which she said looks even more stunning on a woman’s body than a stiff mannequin.

“The thing about Michael Kor’s clothes is that you don’t need to be super skinny to wear them,” Carmen said.

It seems the trick is in the fabric choice, which has the qualities to hide your love handles.  Looking at the pieces showcased I do not think body size is the issue. My curiosity, as with other journalists who viewed the collection, is how in the world does one wear the totally flimsy and see- through pieces made from the gorgeous Chantilly lace?

Mohair, fur, Chantilly lace and seduction.

“It all depends on how daring the wearers are,” said Joanne Teh, Assistant Brand Manager of Michael Kors, Malaysia.

Michael Kors has a good following among Malaysians and his collections are snapped up very fast with the jeans and jeggings being the hot items among Malaysian women. This season’s collection features some Bohemian feel to the designs and the “hard and soft combination” in material like the use of leather, lace, mohair and sequins. Though colours are earthy, bold stripes and checks are dominant in some of the pieces.

“Michael Kors love details like the visible stitching on the clothing,” said Joanne. “And Michael loves belts as they give a slimming effect to the waist,” she added.

The WOW factors - Joanne Teh shows us what they're all about.

Two of the pieces from the collection have been worn before by celebrities like Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada and Queen Victoria) and Liu-Wen, the new face of Estee Lauder.

In October last year, Michael Kors opened its Flagship store in Kuala Lumpur at the Pavilion. The store has been doing well since, embraced by the Malaysian market in a big way, says Deepak Sharma, Regional General Manager of Fashion Division, Valiram Group.

Before the end of this year, Michael Kors stores will open in 1Utama, KL Sentral and Johor before spreading its wings to the other states within Malaysia. New businesses will open in Jakarta, Indonesia between July and August this year while Sydney will see hers in November.

“Michael Kors is growing from strength to strength regionally and globally,” said Deepak. “It will open flagship stores across the world, in Madrid, London, Taiwan, Shanghai and the largest of it being in New York, housing the biggest selection of Michael Kors products.”

My favourite colours.

“Michael is always talking about being fashion forward but also making sure his clothes are comfortable. For those who follow Michael, and know Michael, know what his fashion is about and what his lifestyle is about, will know he is a very relaxed guy. He is really into having a life as well as a balance of work and family. A lot of his clothing has a fine balance between fashion being comfortable as well as wearable.”

“I hope you will also see these reflected in the clothes showcased today,” said Deepak.

Amidst the flurry of clothing all lined in rows on mannequins accessorised with stoles made of rabbit fur, long gloves and thick winter jackets, one cannot miss the beautifully burnish leather finished handbags, shoes and boots.

Love the look, touch and feel of everything in the collection.

Michael Kors’ collections come in several ranges, with each range carrying different pricing but quality is its biggest asset.  The flagship store in Malaysia carries almost 90% of what the stores in the US have. There is a good stock of Michael Kors’ retail as well as wholesale range. And when more Michael Kors’ store opens in Malaysia, fans can easily find a bigger selection of the more affordable wholesale range as well.

According to Joanne a plain Michael Kors top can cost about RM200+ and that’s not a bad bargain seeing that clothes these days, even those without significant labels, can easily go up to about RM180+ a piece.

But here’s the sad news, well for the guys at least, there is no Michael Kors gents’ selection in Malaysia as yet. So if you’re a guy and a Michael Kors fan, you can shop till you drop for your women instead.

Hide your bulges in this stunning piece, girls.

Earth Hour at Charles & Keith

Get ready, guys. March 26 is coming and you know the significance of the day.

It’s Earth Hour and Charles & Keith West Malaysia is calling for a show of support from all concerned Malaysians.

On this date, all Charles & Keith stores in West Malaysia will observe partial darkness for an hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

All non-essential lights will go off in its show of support towards this global movement in creating awareness of climate change.

If you are in any of Charles & Keith outlets – 1Utama, Empire, Fahrenheit88, MidValley, Pavilion, Sunway Pyramid and Gurney Plaza Penang, you stand a chance of getting the brand’s customised environmental friendly candles with your purchase. However, these candles will only be given out to the first 50 customers at each outlet.

Be at any Charles & Keith outlet on March 26 to join in its Earth Hour partial darkness moment.

Netizens will also get to participate as the official Charles & Keith website, CharlesKeith.com and its social media sites will also go on a “darker shade” at that hour to spread the message of energy conservation.

A message from Charles & Keith – “Join the worldwide initiative against global warming before it is too late; make the switch and go beyond the precious hour”.

Curvy Beauties Go With Flow

ON March 15 I ran an announcement on the opening of Flow, the latest boutique owned by the Valiram Group catering to full-figured women.

If you’ve Googled you might have come across several other Flow brands abroad, which I don’t think are in any way associated to Flow in Kuala Lumpur.

The launch of this new fashion label was a grand affair, held at Teeque Brassiere in Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur.

There were several full-figured women at the event, anxious and excited to discover the brand’s Spring Summer 2011 collection.

The brand has this tagline “You got curves?” Provocative? Maybe but what attracts me more is the idea of bringing more trendy stuffs for our more voluptuous girlfriends. And all these while I thought only skinny women have problems looking for the right fit.

The boutique opened on Tuesday, March 15. I’ve not been there but would love to check it out. Looking at the selections featured on launch day I bet Joanne Kam and several other sexy lady friends of mine would love to get a few pieces from the brand.

 

A collection of contemporary, casual, career and evening wear are available at the boutique and the collections do not stop there. Accessories come in all sorts of designs and styles so the boutique is basically a complete fashion house. I'm not sure if footwear is already in the collection but if they are not let’s see whether they will in the future.

This season’s collection carries the themes Urban Resort and Concrete Jungle. So there’s a combination of nice muted tones to go along with the bright colours.

There’s already a possibility that Flow will penetrate markets outside of Malaysia and the brand is already planning its second and third boutiques. Well, let’s see how it rates in popularity with its first.

And it already has a website but last I checked, a few hours ago, it’s not up and running yet. So for now, do enjoy the images posted her. If you like it then go shopping at the boutique this weekend.

Flow is at Lot 135B, First Floor, Suria KLCC.   

Go with the Flow

Hi all...

Check this out. Flow boutique, which stocks clothes for bigger sized women is officially opened for business today. If you wear a size above 20 or 22 you might want to have a look at the selections avaible at its outlet at Suria KLCC. NFM will be featuring a post on this newly launched brand anytime soon. Enjoy your shopping!!!

Salvatore Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2011 Collection

My kinda look! Bravo Ferragamo!!!

THE colours black and white and dashes of red were favourites of Salvatore Ferragamo in his Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection showcased at the Milan Fashion Week. But this season is all about going earth for Ferragamo’s Creative Director, Massimiliano Giornetti.

Second to none on my list.

Models draped in Ferragamo’s Spring/Summer 2011 Collection walked the short runway constructed just outside of the brand’s exclusive two-floor boutique in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur during the launch late last month.

The ultra-cool baby chic look.

The Women’s Collection captivates with simple lines and minimal fuss on skirts and tops making me want to have several pieces of this gorgeous free-and-easy look.

Although the two-piece ensemble with tops that give a good view of the midriffs may look cool and trendy on the catwalk, it might not go down well with the locals if I am seen in the malls dressed like that. But where fashion is concerned I can learn to mix and match while remaining true to the Ferragamo essence.

Simple elegance.

Thirty-two pieces from both Men and Women Collection were highlighted at the launch. At least five were my favourites. Donning a headscarf works for me too as it adds flavour to the overall look.

I am all for earth tones and Ferragamo gives it in reasonably huge doses in this collection.

Crisp and fresh but not matronly.

The shoe collection is just as impressive, complementing the Women’s Collection well. This season’s footwear has been kept closer to ground level, stressing on pumps and lower heels as compared to the usual six-inch stilettos.

I love smart sophistication in men's dressing...

Salvatore Ferragamo Spring Summer 2011 Collection tells of Giornetti’s inspirations, derived from Jacques Deray’s late 60s movie La Piscine and influenced by his sweet memories of summer in the South of France.

...yet casual enough to look hot like this!

This season is all about the marriage between the Bohemian and the aristocratic lifestyles – “the birth of an eclectic and unpredictable wardrobe”.

Now bring out the credit cards!

No Right Or Wrong In Fashion

Do you hate the Fashion Police - the officially appointed ones by fashion magazines as well as people in general who just love commenting on the way other people dress. I hate them and I hate what they do.

Whenever I come across a fashion spread anywhere that has a Fashion Police lurking in some corner I wish I could just catch them by the neck and shake their bones till they rattle. That’s how much I hate them.

My reaction was triggered off after reading an article on OMG which ran a short piece on Jennifer Aniston’s new hairstyle. No, there’s nothing wrong about the article itself but the underlying message in the story, which I’m very aware of – people just can’t mind their own freaking business!

While these look right onstage, will it be easily accepted when someone decides to dress in one?

By «Slava Zaitsev» Moscow Fashion House (Provided via email by) 

[http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html">GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Why does anyone want to care how another person dresses? What makes the Fashion Police, experienced or otherwise in the so-called fashion business they are in, think that they have better fashion sense? Half the time I noticed the very person who comments on another person’s “wrongly” put-together ensemble actually have them “wrong” on themselves as well.

I’ve watched several of these makeover reality shows and I balked all the time when the “victim” appeared at the end of the show looking worse than a Barbie.

Can you imagine putting ultra feminine clothes on a hardcore rocker simply because her friends want her to project the more feminine side to her? But what is exactly feminine in anyone’s eyes? Do two sets of eyes always agree on the same thing?

While everyone wants to look this stunning, not everyone is capable of it.

Pavel Ševela [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

In one of the series in one particular makeover reality show, the host, who is some kind of fashion Guru coaxed this female rocker to put on stilettos instead of her knee-length boots, tight knee-length skirt and vest and splatter madness amount of make-up on the poor woman.

Towards the end of the show you see this strange looking woman tottering about on the stage to “present” herself to her audience, who clapped incessantly at the “new” person. Right - new, fake and ugly. They completely stripped her off her identity, making her not even close to what she really is like.

Something as simple as these may not be as simple to put together for everyone.

Pavel Ševela [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A makeover isn’t about stripping the person off her identity and transforming her to something she isn’t. My advice to fashion Gurus is to do their makeover according to what will work for the person and what that person aspires to improve. The "job" is to add and subtract where needed and not remove everything completely until the person feels lost about herself.

Gurus - do not make the person into what YOU want her to be but what the person wants herself to be.

Do your makeover on the rocker but give her stylish boots instead of 6-inch stilettos she can’t walk in. Give her some sexy, leather pants instead of tight skirt she feels uncomfortable in. Make her believe she can look just as attractive as any women in a body-hugging LBD by giving her the correct mix-and-match ensemble rocker-style.

Imagine if someone were to wear a similar skirt such as this but matches it with a different top, what do you think the Fashion Police would say?

By Roberto Santorini (originally posted to Flickr as FASHION) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

If Fashion Gurus can't have any common sense in dressing up someone then it's high time producers of makeover reality shows introduce a show that says Dress The Fashion Guru instead.

Now that would be fun!