Inspiration

One of the world's most acclaimed fashion designers, Vivienne Westwood's creation for Chivas Regal clearly illustrates Westwood's unparalleled reputation for design excellence and pattern cutting know how.

With the current design of the Union Jack flag dating back to 101 and Chivas Brothers roots also being traced back to this year, the distinctive bottle quite audaciously and proudly appears cloaked in Vivienne Westwood's Union Jack print, as first seen in a Gold Label collection in Paris. Westwood uses her expertise in tailoring and cutting, re-imagining the bottle as a figure to be adorned, to create a luxurious and unique four-piece coat in true Westwood style.

Layers and textures, Chivas Regal 18 by Vivienne Westwood reflects the rich flavours of Chivas' luxury whisky blend and Vivienne Westwood's exceptional ability to dress and design for any form. The design represents Chivas' brand, embodying:

Britishness

Creativity and independence

Boldness and audacity

Authenticity and heritage

...and above all luxury

The Bottle

The product is a combination of the following elements

The Coat

Vivienne Westwood's Union Jack has been digitally printed on woven tie silk twill to create a coat for the bottle. Using traditional craftsmanship, each coat is made from four hand cut pattern pieces and finished with delicate gold embroidery. All silk panels are fully lined and finished with silk binding.

The design of the coat has been carefully moulded to fit the shape of the bottle and is held together with white gold, orb embossed press-studs. Each coat displays the bottle's unique limited edition number on the bottom as a sign of authenticity.

With small gold embroidered orb and ornate satin detailing, each coat emphasis Vivienne Westwood's talent for overcoming the restrictions of designing for a difficult medium and shape.

The Flash

Recreating the detail used on all Vivienne Westwood accessories, each jacket is decorated with a complementing blue and gold flash, inspired by flashes worn with full Scottish Attire, and bearing the iconic Vivienne Westwood orb.

The Gift Box

Simple and luxurious, the gift box is matt finished with a discrete textured Vivienne Westwood Union Jack Chivas Regal 18 Year old blue. The discrete design hints at the bold design within.

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Fall Fashion Collection by Fogal is in store now,

A little history of Fogal

The beginnings

Léon Fogal, the son of a stocking weaver, created the FOGAL brand in 1921 and in 1923 he opened the first stocking store under the family name at Limmatquai in Zurich. Already shortly thereafter, other retail shops opened in Switzerland.

The Fogal logo

The 90-year history of the FOGAL brand is reflected most remarkably in the incisive brand logo. It was developed from the handwriting of campany founder Léon Fogal. The FOGAL logo has become a distinct symbol of high-quality, innovative hosiery and knitwear and will continue to signify these brand values in the future.

Some history

The invention of Nylon stockings (1938) ushered in a boom time at FOGAL. As the first importer of this revolutionary legwear, Léon Fogal once again proved his fine-tuned sense of innovation and elegance.

Women often queued up in long lines in front of FOGAL shops to get their own pair of the new ‘Nylons’. The faces expressed that much more disappointment when after just a few hours the stock was sold and the shop had to close for business.

Artists design for FOGAL

The successful co-work with artist Allen Jones in 1974 sparked subsequent collaborations, with an international array of renowned artists engaged by FOGAL to design tote/shopping bags and advertising materials. Among them were Donald Baechler, Erté, C.O. Paeffgen, Nicola de Maria, Sandra Chia, Mimmo Rotella, George Condo and Malcom Morley.

FOGAL -
yesterday, today, tomorrow

After the death of Léon Fogal the company came into the possession of the Zurich banker family Walter Meier in 1968. Balthasar Meier turned the six Swiss branches into an international enterprise. In 1982 he opened a store in New York and soon afterwards in Paris, London and Tokyo, to name just a few.

2009 was the dawn of a new era for FOGAL. Swiss entrepreneur Philippe Gaydoul and his Gaydoul Group secured the luxury brand with a cult character. Thanks to his commitment, Philippe Gaydoul has strengthened the brand for a promising future.

Materials that arouse desire

It is accomplished with the use of soft exquisite materials such as cashmere, silk, alpaca and baby camelhair – sometimes for a smooth and silky effect, sometimes to lend a cooling elegance. FOGAL has mastered the art of maintaining the unique identity of these materials, using subtle, delicate manufacturing precision to transform them into modern, highly feminine products.

FOGAL products bring a new dimension to seeing and feeling, allowing materials and design to meld harmoniously to form an individual, unusual, exceptional whole. Lightweight protection, longings and emotions meet in these unique garments. To wear FOGAL is to underscore one’s natural self-confidence and to give expression to one’s individual character – you can’t have too much of that.

A brand that moves

When the shape of a stocking lends perfection to a woman’s leg, shaping it advantageously and embracing it with sensuous materials and textures, therein lies the total FOGAL statement.

The FOGAL brand stands for unparalleled expertise in the hosiery sector, a reputation earned by over ninety years of experience in the business. From the very beginning, FOGAL focused on its customers’ demands for a reliable product. The skill and knowledge in the manufacture of its products – hosiery and legwear – represent the extraordinary potential the brand possesses. FOGAL has also used its unique expertise to establish exceptional renown in the areas of knitwear and bodywear. Emotionality and perfection: the result of the stance the FOGAL brand takes towards its product.

FOGAL – Where Emotion meets Perfection

For inquiries about Fogal please e-mail info@sien-antwerp.com

Hussein Chalayan, récits de mode
5 July–13 November 2011

The Arts Décoratifs has given ‘carte blanche’ to one of the most innovative and creative fashion designers of our time: Hussein Chalayan.
Born in Nicosia in 1970, he moved to London as a child traveling back and forth between Cyprus and England until he went to university. He earned his degree from Central Saint Martins College in 1993.
Following his own unique approach to design for seventeen years, he stands on the frontier of fashion, architecture and design. His work is characterized by an intellectual rigor and a quest for technical perfection that often defies fashion stereotypes. Chalayan stood out from the start of his career through his highly inventive exploration of various mediums, including sculpture, furniture, video and special effects, which he uses in his fashion shows, drawing inspiration directly from the political, social and economic realities of his era.
The exhibition showcases this rich, complex world, in which clothing, installations, fashion shows, projections and research are shown by side to illustrate Chalayan’s distinctive process.

Last night Iris van Herpen showed her Couture Fashion in Paris, a fashionista`s dream!

Shop Vivienne Westwood Gold Label now online

Roberta Furlanetto Sandals

Roberta Furlanetto Sandals   

Proenza Schouler Sequins

Sequin skirt by Proenza Schouler

Sequin t shirt by Proenza Schouler

Iris van Herpen Shoes

Congratulations to all the CFDA Award nominees and honorees, named at Diane von Furstenberg’s studio in New York.
 
Womenswear Designer of the Year:
Alexander Wang
Marc Jacobs
Proenza Schouler
 
Accessory Designer of the Year:
Alexander Wang
Proenza Schouler
Reed Krakoff
 
Menswear Designer of the Year:
Simon Spurr
Michael Bastian
Patrik Ervell
 
Swarovski Award for Womenswear:
Joseph Altuzarra
Prabal Gurung
The Row
 
Swarovski Award for Menswear:
Alexander Wang
Phillip Lim
Robert Geller
 
Swarovski Award for Accessory Design:
Alejandro Ingelmo
Eddie Borgo
Jason Wu
Pamela Love
 
Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
Marc Jacobs
 
Board of Directors' Special Tribute
Arthur Elgort
 
International Award
Phoebe Philo
 
Media Award
Hilary Alexander
 
Founders Award
Hal Rubenstein
 
Fashion Icon Award
Lady Gaga

Last week Sandra Backlund was in Antwerp for the Unravel, knitwear in fashion exhibition at the Momu Antwerp. She also dropped by our store for a special project.

During this project we present a special Sandra Backlund Archive Collection. These pieces are from the collection Perfect Hurts.

These beautiful hand made pieces are being sold by special order for the first time, in our shop and online.

Sandra Backlund

Fashion designer with an exam from Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden. She founded her own label directly after graduation in 2004 and has been working full time with her collections since then. The handicraft process has always been very important for her work. Sandra Backlund has been experimenting with a lot of different materials and techniques, but it is her three-dimensional collage knitting that is most significant. In 2007 Sandra Backlund was the grand prix winner of Festival International De Mode& De Photography in Hyeres. Sandra's work has recently been selected for exhibitions like "Hair du Temps" at laGalerie d'art du Conseil General in France,"Paper Fashion"at MoMu in Antwerp and MUDAM in Luxembourg and "Swedish Fashion -Exploring a New Identity" at Fashion andTextile Museum in London and Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. In 2008 she was selected by Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia to be her protégé for the Protégé Project presented in Florence and in 2009 again for the Cittadelarte Fashion B.E.ST project together with Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto. Except from her own line Sandra Backlund has also done some special knit wear pieces for other brands like Louis Vuitton and Emilio Pucci.

WHAT does Vivienne Westwood stand for? Rebellion; glamour; attitude; attention; noise. Add to that line up a big dose of chaos and you’re getting close to what happened on the catwalk in the Tuileries today.

There were herringbone tweed suits draped and caught around the body as we have come to know from Westwood – exaggerated proportions, muddled up fabrics and eccentric styling all part of her charm. Feathered war helmets, gold sequinned Mary Janes worn with bulky ribbed burgundy socks and gold splattered black leggings drove home the anything goes attitude – while mussed up hair and make-up that became increasingly nightmarish, as if the models’ faces had been dipped into it – or even as if they’d been forced to eat it – made sure nothing was ever light-hearted.

Sparkly brocade frock coats, shearling jackets over messily draped pinstripe skirts, blue dungaree dresses over lumberjack checked shirts were the edgy but wearable clothes Westwood lovers will buy next winter – or perhaps the more eccentric of them will go for gold sequinned thigh high boots with matching mini dress and make-up, who knows?

One blanket shawl had her King’s Road address emblazoned on it, while orange and green printed jumpsuits had a sexy Seventies appeal and taffeta dresses promised all the shapeliness her label is so famous for.

But Vivienne Westwood never wants you to relax and dream about wearing her clothes – these shows are more of an assault to the senses, with shockingly loud music and apocalyptic styling doing all it can to distract you from the fact that she’s created an iconic and lasting brand in spite of, or more likely because of, her determined non-conformity. (vogue)

One of fashion’s great intellectuals, Hussein Chalayan is also one of Fashion’s Week’s greatest showman and, having presented his collections by way of a film for this and last season, he has decided to go back onto the catwalk for spring/summer 2012.

While we look forward to a spectacle next season in Paris therefore, it can’t be denied that seeing Chalayan’s clothes close-up is the only way to appreciate his determination to bring his ideas to life in clothes. Still working through Japan as his inspirational source (last season we saw Sakoku = closed country; this season it’s Kaikoku = open country), he takes what he called the “surreal aspects of Japanese culture” and moulds them into clothes that are eminently wearable but extravagantly unique.

For now, Hussein wants to focus on designing clothes for women to wear to avoid people focusing on the conceptual aspects of his presentations and his interest in technology – that’s what this collection tells us. Though his film this season says different: “the floating dress” is made of gold, is remote controlled and expels Swarovski crystal “pollen” as it moves.

We can’t help but hope for some dresses growing from tables, an LED-filled robe or two and maybe a model chipping the dress of another with a hammer on the catwalk next season – but more of these perfectly executed clothes will do, too.(Vogue)

For Fall, Proenza Schouler was inspired by a road trip they took to Santa Fe, where they were hipped to the beauty of Native American blankets, they hit the computer to design their own prints. And if that doesn't sound crafty, wait till you hear what happened next. "Then we exploded them and we pixelated them," McCollough said backstage, pointing out the geometric embroideries of a long-sleeved jacquard sheath and the hand-painted panne velvet of other dresses.

And as vogue.com said `This, surely, is a modern approach to couture—thoughtful, inventive, and desirable`

The Row, the ultra-luxury line by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, opted out of a runway show, and instead showed off its collection in intimate one-on-one interviews throughout the day yesterday. The Olsens used the animated films “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Triplets of Belleville” as a jumping off point  for the collection’s luxurious fox fur coats. Be sure you will be warm in blizzard days with the Row`s coats next fall.

The Row also previewed its first handbag collection. Ladylike clutches came in crocodile, while a delicate little satchel was covered in long black ostricth feathers. There was also a so-called twin purse, which features two small bags in different colors sewn together, so women can flip around the sides according their whim. We can`t wai to see them!

That`s not all

First, it was the perfect T-shirt; then, the iconic sunglasses, and now, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are delving into shoes.

Set to launch for fall, the Toms + The Row collection will feature espadrilles in plaid, wool-cashmere, and herringbone.

Also included? The chance to help impoverished children.

“We feel it’s really important to spread awareness of the Toms One for One mission,” Ashley says.

“For every pair of Toms + The Row shoes sold, a child in need will receive a new pair of shoes. Toms + The Row customers will have the ability to give back and create change with a single purchase.”

Jason Wu`s fall collection was `baroque meets sportwear` as style.com perfectly said it. The Collection was inspired, as Jason Wu said by Robert Polidori book on the 25-year restoration of Versailles.

A chic and totally feminine collection, with an addition of masculinity in perfectly tailored looks (like last season). The collection was filled with color, amazing patterns and beautifull lace detailing throughout his collection. Not to be missed was his gold lace gown embellished with thousands of metallic sequins and paillettes.

We can`t wait to see the collection up close in his showroom.

This week Iris van Herpen once again amazed the international fashion crowd with another great collection. She presented her new series of twelve outfits, for the first time during the Paris Haute Couture Week.

Iris van Herpen was inspired by the increasing digitalization of the world around us. She used the sculptures of American artist Kris Kuksi as an important inspiration and used a very special printing technique for her dresses. The designs were fully printed in 3D, not a single stitch was needed. Iris developed that technique together with architect Daniel Widrig, she used this technique in her previous collections too.

The white, black, grey and beige creations were made out of unconventional material like a mix of metal and silk, burned woven metal and shiny hair threads.

And there were more collaborations… For the shoes of the show Iris worked with Rem. D Koolhaas of United Nude again and she was honored to have British hat designer Stephen Jones working on her hats. They were made out of technological bits and pieces. Remnants of computers and speakers were turned into modern hat pieces.