If there's anything one would love to wear during summer, it would be t-shirt and shorts and nothing more. I have to admit that casual does play a significant part in my 'wardrobe agenda' during summer and in Singapore, the most you can layer, even during the coldest of days, would be nothing more than a trench-coat (that is if you always stay indoors.) I'm not here to talk or defend about easy dressing but quite the opposite, I'm here to yak about Yohji Yamamoto new menswear collection that addresses the issue of 'dressing down'. I'm not particularly sure when the American way of t-shirt dressing started to dominate the wardrobes of people worldwide (probably the 90s, probably) but if there's anything dandier than the suits of today, then history would only prove better. 18th century dressing to be exact, that was the time Yohji Yamamoto looked back to. And because I'm a history student who is very much in love with history, my senses would only react with excitement to this collection. Pull up your stockings and hoses, put on your powdered wigs and make-up, because that's how Mr Yohji sees it.

If there was anything different about the line-up of models, it was that they were playing characters, one could spot an aristocrat, or a classic English Gentleman or a literary laureate from the Victorian era. A stark difference from the model clones we saw at Prada. Everything was very elaborate, from the powdered faces, to the mustaches and full-grown beards, and to sausage curls and ponytails on the head. At one point of the collection, we thought we saw Willy Wonka replicas come down the runway, complete with top-hats and felted millinery kookier than what Mr Willy Wonka would ever put on. At another point, we even thought we saw those court officials that wore powdered wigs in fairytales come to life, only that would be creepy and so something closer to real life, would be those who wear gowns and wigs in courtrooms. A digression, why would anyone try to act serious when they are in costume? (You get what I mean. I'm trying to be funny, but apparently not. Awkward laughter.)

Even if the hats and make-up and not forgetting the stockings stayed true to history, the clothes were anything but that. Eccentric would be the proper term to describe these garments, and 'clothes revived from the coffin'? Not quite so. The first part of the collection saw the use of florals, one that would probably be seen on the wallpapers of an old English house or on the armchair in an old antique shop. Unfortunately, style.com didn't provide any detail shots because that would add on to the excitement I'm having for florals right now, though it would take me lots of guts and a whole lot of bottles of tequila and vodka and gin for me to wear floral prints out onto the streets. Then again maybe I will, but I first need to find one that suits me. There were also some sort of cross-stitching/embroidery/patchwork on a few of the jackets, of what seemed to be teddy-bears and a christmas tree (?) and arrows of a compass (???), but a pity no detail shots were provided. Though a little kitschy, it sure would make for a great detail (that Tommy Ton would shoot for GQ) and not forgetting, very endearing too.

If you were expecting to see Savile Row suits when Yohji announced he was taking things a little formal for this collection, you obviously do not know Yohji Yamamoto well enough. When he said he was dressing things up, what he really meant was loose, long, even oversized formal wear-his signature proportions. But while keeping with his design DNA, Yohji also stepped away from the use of monochromes, and introduced a broader (and the first in a long time) palette of orange, turquoise, and purple. There were the oversized jackets and looser versions of tailcoats, but honestly, one could easily mistake one for the other if he hadn't look closely. The shirting was cut at the ends to resemble waistcoats and Yohji had very very lovingly and adorably included oversized bow ties in a few looks. Those with a keen eye for identifying fashion faux pas, would have noticed that collars and even the lapels of jackets were upturned, but then again these were very different from those who have the annoying habit of popping up their collars of their polo shirts. Perhaps these here were high-peaked, but nonetheless it made for a real interesting detail, and the way they were done, it was nothing pretentious but more of nonchalance and just that 'I-couldn't-care-less' attitude.

It was a great story that Yohji told with his clothes, one that crossed between history and reality, eccentricity and elegance, and the living and the dead. It was indeed a breath of fresh air, just like Spring and how Spring clothes should be. My favourite menswear collection for this season. Vuvuzela.

Hi guys, this is Tati. And Tati, these are guys.

Tati, as you all know by now, is Tati but she was born Tatiana Cotliar in Argentina. Tati was first discovered when she attended Buenos Aires fashion week (not because of her love of fashion but because of free tickets) and was scouted at that very point. To fund her college cinema/film degree, she agreed to do so, "though I was not very excited to do it at that time," as she says. She first made ripples in the modeling scene when she starred in the Vivienne Westwood Spring 2010 ad campaign, and has since been the face for Vivienne Westwood Fall 2010. Tati has then made ruptures in the fashion industry when Marc Jacobs appointed a fresh-faced, doe-eyed brunette, (also known as Tati), to open his Fall show this season and to close the Miu Miu show. Adding to her success, she has bagged the Valentino Fall Campaign, and has proved that no Lindsey Wixson can stand in her way in becoming the model among all young models. If you didn't know, Tati only made her debut during Spring 2010. And you know what they say, "When you have talent, success will come fast and furious." Ok I actually made that up, but it is true, no? Look out for Tati (Don't you just love her name. I could say it all day long, Tati, Tati, Tati....), she's already No. 44 on the models.com ranking list.

The beauty of menswear lies in the details, the choice, the colours and most importantly, the personality. Often, true menswear are found on the streets rather than the runways.

The choice of something so utilitarian like camouflage prints with something as decadent as purple and gold, genius.

Most of the time, it is difficult to find someone that is willing to make an effort to pull together a matching outfit. This man seems to be playing a character, which is very rare. It is very charming.

The details.

He is very charismatic, classic, and old school. This is someone that I would love and want to emulate.

Pictures are via Tommy Ton for GQ in Pitti Uomo

It could have been the Olympics, but look again and you will realise that the audience was in a better sartorial form than the usual sport-goers, the cyclists wore more than just brightly coloured spandex, and the flags on the cyclists hats (and not helmets) were that of Moncler Gamme Bleu. Or it could be France, given its uncanny resemblance to the France flag. But I was sure that the first stripe on the flag was black rather than blue so MGB it was. Moncler Gamme Bleu, as a country, we sure wouldn't mind its chic existence. This was a show by Thom Browne, and you wouldn't expect a fashion show of his to be a fashion show without the theatrical excitement. This time round, inspired by Tour de France, the models doubled up as cyclists and mounted themselves on racing bicycles and paraded (or raced, to be exact) round the Milan Velodrome. It sure was sportswear and that needed no more contention.

And we know you can't tell much from pictures, especially sports. So here is the actual video. Cycling included.

Moncler Gamme Bleu Spring/Summer 2011 Runway from LAT Videos on Vimeo.

At 1.00 am this morning, while half of Singapore was fast asleep, there was me, logged onto twitter, receiving updates from people across the globe who had sacrificed their Sunday afternoon/evening for this one Prada show. Right smacked in the middle of the Prada website was that same familiar black box flashing live video updates of the Prada show that was simultaneously happening just as I existed on this world. The only difference between this time and the last Prada show that the livestream was actually working, without the disturbances of pauses that never played (that is without clicking the refresh button). In fact, by the help of some miraculous holy beings, the days of being kicked out from your front row seat (in front of your computer) at an Alexander McQueen SS10 show or a Louis Vuitton SS10 show are gone. Here comes technology.......errr....and good old fashion. This time the only thing that could possibly distract you (if your attention span is as short as mine) from that black box at the Prada website is the background of what seems to be a cage surrounded by lighted green fluorescent tubes that looked freakishly eerie for a Spring show. That was the set and the last I logged into the Prada website (which was a minute ago), it was the same background but with white fluorescent tubes instead of the green. Did Miuccia Prada had a sudden change in mind that a green lighting would only make her clothes look slimy and gooey, rather than clean, smart and very very desirable? Yes, this collection was it and it was a revelation. A FUCKING REVELATION.

The set on its own, seemed pretty normal as compared to last season's background of a mind-map of the decade's biggest happenings. But it was still enough for Showstudio (whoever is behind it, Nick Knight?) to make this tweet, "Wonder if Miuccia intended for it to look like the models were wandering through a multistorey carpark?" and Tim Blanks (oh hail the king of style.com's videos) to write ".....could have been an underground car park, or the foundations of a skyscraper, or the bowels of the Battlestar Galactica." I say it was Jesus walking on water, except in this case Jesus were 40 of the same model clones walking on a steel and iron catwalk, wearing the most-amazing mish-mash-of-soles creepers.

I hate to make sense of the concept and the intellectual thoughts that went into a collection, especially of such a beautiful one like this. It's simple to accept that this collection was beautiful because it needed to be beautiful for commercial reasons, but it cannot be said so if it was by one of fashion's great intellectuals. There had to be a message behind any or even every collection, even if it was Resort and Pre-fall or even the bags and the paper-bags.

As the light tubes on the floor flickered and lit up, the collection was well on its way. The show opened with the sharpest of suits, that came in buttons of three and three-pieced. The half-a-dozen or so two-pieced that next came down the runway centered around the colour of blue, or navy to be exact. Uniform, seemed to be the theme for this collection, and well so it was, that the models looked like carbon copies of one another. The only difference between the previous look and the next look was the different hues of navy used. Also, if you noticed well and hard, the silhouettes shifted from tight and snugged suiting to loose-fitting, oversized, baggy t-shirt shapes, sweaters and shorts. And that reminded me of what the uniforms that we wear to school here. Those of the lower grades wore shorts and shirts (due to the terrible heat over here) and those from higher grades wore long pants and the same white shirt.

Uniforms are of a code. Conformity or non-conformity, playing with proportions and breaking the rules, navy blue or denim blue? That was the question you would have to think about. Amidst all of the uniformity, there was that breaking away from the norm. Or you could interpret it as the other way round: amidst all of the different looks, there was that common thread that lines everything together.

The second part of the show still carried the theme of being 'uniform', but the garments were injected with shots of colours, adding a whole new dimension to the meaning of uniformity. It also seemed to suggested a different uniform of sorts, no longer a schoolboy but as quoted from my tweet (ok that sounded weird), "I'm somehow sensing a world cup vibe." After all, it's Italy we're talking about here. Anyway back to the collection, the only variation to the clothes were the colours. Rainbow collared sweaters and loosely cut shirts were to look the same if one were colour-blind. The shapes were limited, but the choice of colours and stripes could go on and on. Basically endless. If there was anything that suggested individuality, it would be the fabric bags that the models were carrying, each embossing a different letter in a varsity college-football-sports lettering (adding on to the sports/world-cup vibe.) Individuality or conformity, that's the question you would have to think about.

I loved the play of proportions, even the awkward ones (because that's how I am). The shoes were also killers; the soles were a mix of soles of wing-tips, espadrilles, trainers, something only the sickest of designers could think about. They were the equivalents of the Armadillos in menswear.

Whatever the concept was, this was one fine collection, even though many were fast to disagree on twitter immediately after the show ended. And did you see the bow that Miuccia Prada did at the end, it was enough to convert any haters (or make them like it a little more.)

I wouldn't say I really hated the Jil Sander Spring 2011 menswear show. The neon colours and the op-art stripes may just be a little difficult on the eyes, and you would need to have a lot of guts and feeling like a big happy kid who has not experienced how bitchy life can get, to pull off such bold colour combinations. Lest I get stoned for crossing into unchartered territories of menswear while making such unruly comments, errr....i guess we can say, "that was some awesome garden and there was some nice tailoring going on over there." But it wasn't a complete hate affair for me, there were some colour combinations that I liked and a few pieces that are worth mentioning here.

The pale peach and the stroke of bright purple is definitely a 'I DIE' combination, also the men's equivalent of this.

While I hated how this orange was shown on its own on a pair of pants in the first look, it was quite a different issue when it appeared again in the form of a suit.

These techno, slightly 3D, photographic floral illustrations are quite something. I need to see it up-close.

The tailoring, as previously mentioned, was extraordinary. Raf Simons can never ever go wrong in that department.

This collection was Raf Simons way of breaking away from the Jil Sander aethestic of a clean crisp white shirt. Perhaps it will be the same too for the womenswear collection, and somehow I'm looking forward to it.

I never knew what resort collections were for before I wrote this post. In a way, I always thought a resort collection was for the transition between fall and spring. Wikipedia states that it was originally meant for wealthy customers vacationing in the mediterranean (or wherever warm) during winter, but somehow this changed in the recent years. The May issue of Vogue writes that "the fashion seasons have become so out of sync with the season we're actually living", that in winter, you wouldn't be able to find a fur coat in stores but only bikinis and shorts." But essentially, as Vogue writes, "pre-fall and resort collections are now worth about 70 percent of a retailer's budget, the main lines just 30 percent. That's why pre-fall (and also Resort collections) are so powerful, they have a longer selling period before the season sales start as compared to the Spring and Fall lines." It's just for commercial sake, that's what most people say.

So enough about marketing strategy and economics, it's throwing my brain into a dizzy funk, and aren't resort collections supposed to be pretty and pretty and pretty and pretty and relaxing and stuff.

Thakoon

Can we start with Thakoon please, because it is the first resort collection I really loved. The starting point for the whole collection was photographer Malick Sidibe's portraits of African youths in the 1960s and in fact, the whole lookbook was made to look like the original photos. Which meant, yeah a photoshoot, but a photoshoot with the white cloth background visible and just looking very raw and maybe less scripted (though it's obvious Thakoon wanted it to look like this). Everything was perfect right down to the blue purple pink hair, to the use of seemingly random props like a plastic bag or a puppy on leash. The prints were simple, which reminded me of Louis Vuitton SS10 but of slightly watered-down patterns, the construction of the clothes were deceptively simple. And I place the utmost emphasis on the word deceptively. The jagged edges of the dress above do remind me of those found on cardboard and if meant to be so, the use of a plastic bag as a prop would just be sheer genius. The massive pleats, or that's what I can make up of, on the other dress are also quite amazing, somewhat giving the waistline a sculpted 3-dimensional volume (if you get what I mean). My favourite would have to be the one on the right. The whole mish-mash hair situation there is indeed quite mind-blowing, and so are the 90s nerd glasses (THE NERDS ARE BACK!), and the skirt length is pretty much very perfect.

While one part of the collection focused on the use of prints and colors, the other half centered around the use of sheer whites, which was light and frothy and just too fresh, which I think I'm comparing it to coffee foam. And that's pretty apt because that's how resort collections should be like in my book.

Stella McCartney

What can I say, I was never a Stella McCartney fan. Until this collection came along and I've been a McCartney convert ever since. There was the feminine, beautiful, girly frocks and there was the masculine quality in the suits but there was that feminity in that masculinity. Stella McCartney can do no wrong with a suit, and I've always had something for women in a jacket and pants. In this case they are just about the only thing, with the exception of Freja Beha Erichsen of course, that can make any straight woman be confused about her sexuality. There was also that attention to details in Stella McCartney's super sharp suits that you would find most common in menswear: the use of suspenders gave it a nice classic touch, and the slightest detail of polka dots on the pants, are exactly what make menswear so attractive.

Then there were the floral prints, if there isn't anything more spring/summer/resort-y than that. But technically it should be called floral paintings rather than floral prints, because these massive illustrations were unabashedly all over, making the lovely frocks a camouflage gear for an ambush among garden fields. Now wouldn't that be rad for a summer sport. And that blue floral laced dress that Tommy Ton took up close,  I DIE!

Proenza Schouler

Hmm...what can I say about the Proenza Schouler collection? Ethnic, tribal, nah that would be too kitschy, too Elle/Marie Claire-ish. So how should I put in a much more glamorised and sophisticated way (only befitting of Proenza Schouler ever since they became the kings of New York)? Let me sum it up for you, it was PRINT-EXPLOSION IN THE UTMOST CRAZIEST POSSIBLE WAY, AND OH-EM-GEE DID YOU SEE THOSE SHOES AND EVERYTHING! And the MODELS, can we please discuss the use of models here? How is that Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez always get the models right, I am Team Sun FeiFei (the best asian thing to come along ever since instant noodles and Hyoni Kang and Liu Wen) and Kate Kosushkina all right!

Moving on, Proenza Schouler felt very put together, the layers coming on top of another was quite perfect, especially the long sleeved t-shirt over a bibbed-sweater/dress combination. As Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez had put it "Resort is about real clothes for our friends. There's something about reality that feels fresh right now." And so there came the lovely frocks, but much more attention was paid to the fabrics than before: the textures and the embroideries; the metallics and the prints, were inspired by their trip to India. My personal favourite was the Baja hoodie over a long sleeved t-shirt that Sun FeiFei was wearing. I am not really a fan of street-wear but this was so cool and so slouchy, somehow perfect for hippie days during late fall or early spring. The open-toed sandals here are also too sicccckkkkkkk, even though it would be even more PERFECT if they were in heels. So, are you dying already?

pictures are via style.com and streetpeeper.com

I know it is a little late for me to cover the CFDAs. My computer's trackpad has been acting real strange lately and I've been sneaking out every night to use the family computer to catch up on fashion stuff. In case you haven't realise the gravity of the word 'sneak', my parents have no idea of the existence of this blog. And right now, I'm typing this on this HP (sorry, but I'm a mac fan) and the keyboard is getting too noisy for comfort, especially at 12 am in the morning when everyone is asleep.

Back to topic, if I ever decide to switch trades, the fortune telling business is definitely not for me. I got only ONE(WTF! HOW DID PATRIK ERVELL NOT WIN!) of my prediction for the CFDAs right. Big BOO HOO HU HU HU HU. And no, I'm not covering the awards because the red carpet is always a better avenue to direct my disappointment in my ESP abilitlies to. And you probably know that Patrik Ervell was robbed of his award, and that's the only result you need to know.

Iris Apfel in Balenciaga and Alexis Bittar

This technically should not work. I MEAN NO! How is this even possible that Iris Apfel, the worshiper of all worshipers at the altar of accessories, can look so perfect in a solar paneled jacket and in more jewelry that I even own. It's granny chic, redefined. For your information, I do not own any jewelry. BEST DRESSED OF THE NIGHT!

Sarah Jessica Parker in McQueen

So there was a tribute to McQueen at the CFDAs, Sarah Jessica Parker made a speech about Alexander McQueen, and there was a McQueen Fall 2010 presentation, and it was only right for SJP to wear McQueen. But oh holy shit, it's like the stars and universes collided for this pattern to be formed. Which explains why the world is gonna end in 2012. But back to the dress, GET IT HERE NOW, PLEASE!

Tonne Goodman in Michael Kors

Oh so what if I just came from work in my shirt, I couldn't care to wear a gown! But no wait, I'm receiving an award so let's put on a Michael Kors sequined skirt that looks deceptively like a gown from waist down. And so, grade for work commitment: A++++

Jason Wu and Richard Chai in suits, Alexander Wang in a dress shirt

HOLY FUCK! If only I didn't feel obligated to describe what these designers were wearing in the caption above, it would have been 'the gradient of suits". You see, enough about Jason Wu who practically wears a suit 24/7, and Richard Chai who is being all 'suits are for old people and Jason Wu, I'm young and cool and hip', Alexander Wang KILLS IT! JUST KILLS IT!  He's such a adorable (not cute, but adorable) guy, the kind where if you were to see his picture in a cinema, everyone would go AWWWW at the same time. And maybe a little of 'Bradley Cooper taking off his shirt' moment. Also, why didn't everyone drop and die when this photo was taken, because it looks like everyone's happiness was sucked out and transplanted into that exact moment? This photo also makes me like Jason Wu a little bit more, ok maybe 10% more, or how 'bout a whole lot more. Now Phillip Lim, GET YOUR ASS IN THAT PHOTO RIGHT NOW!

So before I carry on writing, I would like to first warn everyone of you who is reading this that these are my rants and thoughts because I'm feeling really emo (hate using this word) now and I need to get all of this shit of my chest. to feel better, that's something i usually do, except that used to be on paper a few years ago, and now I guess a blog would be much suitable. Perhaps this will be a teenage phase/mid-life crisis I'm going through and will probably laugh at way back when I'm older. I don't know. And pardon the grammatical mistakes, I'm in such a mood that I really need to get all of my thoughts out, so my brain is in a total funk, and doesn't really regard grammar as important.

Sometimes I do feel that writing on this blog is like talking to myself. I do feel that perhaps no one is even reading what I write. You know, what's the saddest thing that can happen to a writer? It is that of the feeling or knowing that no one is reading your works, the works that you have spent the entire night working on, sacrificing the time for your homework, for your studies. It just that simple. No one is acknowledging your works, no one is giving you recognition for what you have painstakingly done up. Sometimes I do have this feeling that why is this blog not getting the recognition it truly deserves. I've had mapped up all the reasons for this: I'm guessing all the successful blogs are about their style and outfits. Some of the most successful blogs are all about photos and pictures of themselves, someone else, something they see. I think that's what people actually want to read in blogs, no one wants to read your piece of junk, especially when you have no authority whatsoever in this field. Who are you to comment on whether a collection is good or bad, when you don't know how much hard work is put into every garment. I'm just too shy and awkward to post pictures of myself online. Maybe one day I will do so, but that day will be the day when I truly realise that I'm not doing all of this outfit posts just to get famous or what, I'm doing it because I know someone will look at these photos and get inspired in their own way, the way i do when I read blogs like StyleBubble or Fashion Bits and Bobs. I've to keep on reminding myself that what I'm blogging right now is not for the fame/recognition/fashion invites I could be getting. It's for my readers out there. I'm hoping that this blog will be a good source of entertainment, inspiration for you all and perhaps I will try to focus and work on this aspect.

Along the way of making this blog, I think I screwed up quite a bit. I've made unintentional mistakes that offended people on twitter, unknowingly pissed others off of what I wrote on this blog, and just offending and making enemies along the way. In a way, people start to ignore me, and just losing friendships when not knowing what happened. I'm thinking of closing this blog down and start all over again. But the thought of everything just gone to waste, all the hard work to make it successful it just too stupid. I don't know, I really don't. If people can start forgiving me and salvage friendships, perhaps my life will get better.

Oh god, now I think this sounds like a suicide note, but rest assured it's not. I'm hurt, but I'm still strong (but on the verge of breaking down), and I will never resort to means of ending my problems just that. Though I have thoughts of that before. I just don't get this competitive industry, everyone is vying to outdo one another. If only I could turn back time and go back to months back or even before I was born, and plead to God that I do not want to get into the fashion industry. Just anything else, just not something that can cause my life to turn upside down.

Sometimes in life, it's just too hard to grapple with things. It's just too complicated, too confusing, too stupid, too shitty and what not. Ok, journal entry is over. I do feel much better now and hope that dreams will make me happy. I guess I really do hate reality. Sigh......

I never did a CFDA post. I always wanted to predict the future. I like the feeling of me getting all happy and giddy in joy when my predictions come true. I want to do a CFDA post and so here goes.

Womenswear Designer of the Year- The award given to the women designer who has made outstanding contributions and has greatly influenced women's ready to wear. Or in short the best womenswear designer of 2010.

Nominees: Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan

Who will win: Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang won the emerging talent award for womenswear last year, and with all the hype going for more support for young designers, I'm predicting the CFDA will use this opportunity to give Alexander Wang even more publicity. The awards are of course also a great way of giving the designer and consumers greater confidence in his designs. And because buyers and editors have been hailing him as the next big thing, the award is perhaps a platform for Wang to up his game and take his brand to a whole new level. The CFDA had given Kate and Laura Mulleavy this award previously last year when they won the emerging talent award in 2008, so it is no surprise that there could be a double whammy for Wang too. And because Alexander Wang's Spring 2010 collection made me and many others fall in love with him, proving he can do much more than dressing teenage girls in model off-duty looks, it's only deserving to give him this award.

Who should win: Marc Jacobs

However if it were the spring and fall collections that this award is based on, Marc Jacobs would have an obvious edge over Alexander Wang. No doubt, Marc Jacobs has won this award before (way back in 1997) but because his collections for this year has been very consistent and very very good (overall better than Alexander Wang, it's just my opinion), maybe it's time to solidify his title as the best womenswear designer in New York. Well come to think of it, he is recognized and widely known as one of the best designer in the entire industry. There's no need to give him this award, after all he doesn't really care about the CFDA awards, doesn't he. And that's why he won't get the award. But he should.

Menswear Designer of The Year

Nominees: Michael Bastian, David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, Tom Ford

Honestly, I don't really talk much about menswear on this blog, and I think this is my second time or so doing it. It's true that I do not have much authority and my opinions on menswear do not carry much weight (like anything on this blog really matters, but back to topic), but I do follow menswear religiously every fashion week, though not as much as womenswear. For this award, I have my eyes set on David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone.There's no doubt that David and Marcus of Rag & Bone and Michael Bastian are both great American menswear designer but perhaps, because the aesthetic of Rag & Bone resonates better with me, my hopes are placed on the former. Rag & Bone collection feels much more put together and they have a much more interesting, fresher and perhaps younger take on menswear. Which makes menswear a whole lot less repetitive and boring, which I do find it sometimes. But it will sure be sad for Bastian, who has been nominated three times including this year, if he doesn't win. (Tom Ford has won this award in 2008, and with his lack of showing during fashion weeks, I don't think he would win it this time round.)

Swarovski Womenswear Award - or otherwise known as the Emerging Talent Award

Nominees: Joseph Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung

I'm predicting Joseph Altuzarra to win this award, HANDS DOWN, no doubt about that. Honestly, Jason Wu is boring (like old gowns and cocktail dresses boring), Prabal Gurung needs a little more time to get his goods together (but he is definitely good). Altuzarra on the other hand is quietly making waves in the industry, and his clothes are quickly gaining recognition among editors and following among buyers and the fashion peeps. He has been hailed as the new big thing and perhaps this award will be the American way of agreeing with this undeniable fact.

Swarovski Menswear Award

Nominees: Patrik Ervell, Richard Chai, Simon Spurr

Patrik Ervell Spring Summer 2010

Patrik Ervell Fall Winter 2010

The reason I'm placing all my hopes on Patrik Ervell is simply because, I like him. Yes, I like him. Isn't this what all these predictions are all about? It's hard to imagine that Ervell is a political science graduate from UC Berkeley, having fell in love with design after his stint at V magazine. I like his clean minimalist looks, but always with some sort of eccentric, creative streak in his garments. For example, his choice of fabric each season is always one to look out for. His spring collection saw the use of copper and rust (I think) as prints against an otherwise humble color palette of baby blues, mint green and khaki. For fall, Ervell chose to work with synthetic latex (with a buttery texture that is seriously quite insane) and transparent vinyl, seen on raincoats and scarves, fusing the minimalist designs of his with a soft unexpected gracefulness of these utilitarian fabrics. It was sweet controlled insanity. But let's not overlook his spectacular tailoring (which I like) and his aesthetic which is consistent throughout the seasons (which I like). It's something I would love to wear.

Accessory Designer of The Year

Nominees: Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler, Marc Jacobs, Alexis Bittar

Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough for Proenza Schouler. Hello? Seriously does the PS1 and the upcoming (and I'm sensing a cult following) PS11 not mean anything. Who cares if they won the same award last year, I mean really?! And did you see those shoes for both Spring and Fall, KILLER!!!! I wouldn't mind wearing them even if I look like a tranny.