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.

While 2010 may be the year of minimalism fueled by Phoebe Philo for Celine, it is however (at least to me), so much better to see colours and prints rather than camel and beige for Spring. And it was exactly what Marc Jacobs was all about for Spring 09. There were so many references in this collection, so many cultures, so many different identities, so many characters, so much colors and prints. Mary Poppins goes to Dubai, Japanese artisan meets Parisian florist, King and I set in Calcutta, or a Yves Saint Laurent Ballets Russes collection redux, as Nicole Phelps put it, there were so many interpretations to this collection, all quirkier than the one suggested earlier. This collection was a perfect statement on how far imagination could take you.

While each look was styled (very perfectly) crazier than the last, the collection still felt very coherent. The mish-mash of different cultures were able to gel together: while layers and accessories were distinctly different, each look was topped (literally) with the craziest straw hat ever conceived.  It was just incredible to see the coming together of a variety of prints, fabrics, and colours for each look, and while it is usually not the easiest to pull off, the geniosity (is there such a word?) of Marc and his team of stylists managed to make it look so effortless. Take for example, the first look from the second collage: it brought to mind kimonos and geisha, but given an European twist and definition in the form of a jacket and knee-length skirt, and held together by a cummerbund-sash-obi-belt, accessorized with chunky necklaces (very artisanal, I thought), the dopiest shades and finished with a cute little straw hat. Now just imagine the story behind this look, or if you have the time, for all 53 looks.

The truth be told, it was very hard selecting the looks for this collage. I'm a hoarder, I guess and when I like something, I would love to get my hands, or in this case, show everything. There wasn't much thought when putting together the collages, but come to think of it, each could tell a story of its own. The first with the background of Paris (I imagine a Chinese immigrant in the City of Lights), the second a photo of Florence (to me, a place where art flourishes and originated, perfect for imagining any of these women strutting their stuff down one of the back alleys), the third a photo of flowers and bicycle (a bicycle, VINTAGE BICYCLE, HOW VERY APT! And flower complementing the metallic floral prints of Jourdan Dunn. HOW VERY APT AGAIN).

It was one of the happiest, feel good moments of fashion.

Background photos are from this amazing flickr album by an amazing photographer called Natasha.

This collage (if you can't tell) may not be as good as JR (who in my humble opinion does the most amazing collages), so just blame my photoshop skills.

I can never seem to understand the world's obsession over monograms, especially one with the letters "L" and "V" accompanied with flowers and what not. I think it's amazing how Marc Jacobs keeps on reinventing the monogram and the bags, as seen from the SS10 show which I think instead of models, bags should be put on conveyer belts and travel down the runway. It was practically a bag show. Come on, I don't think anyone was interested in the clothes (which I thought was ridiculously "cute", but I shan't hate it because of Marc.) More so of the bags, which has created plenty of buzz among the blogosphere (Bryanboy I'm talking 'bout you).

I can never seem to understand the world's obsession over monograms, especially one with the letters "L" and "V" accompanied with flowers and what not. I think it's amazing how Marc Jacobs keeps on reinventing the monogram and the bags, as seen from the SS10 show which I think instead of models, bags should be put on conveyer belts and travel down the runway. It was practically a bag show. Come on, I don't think anyone was interested in the clothes (which I thought was ridiculously "cute", but I shan't hate it because of Marc.) More so of the bags, which has created plenty of buzz among the blogosphere (Bryanboy I'm talking 'bout you).

If I'm not wrong, or that I'm hallucinating about Marc Jacobs (which shouldn't be because I only hallucinate about Riccardo, Miuccia and Rei), I remember him saying something that when one buys an expensive product, they want everyone to know. Hence the monograms.

Not that I hate the bags completely (there are some nice bag shapes and the Stephen Sprouse Graffiti is cute), I believe that one should not buy products simply because of the brand and the monograms printed on the leather. I mean out of 10 people, 7 would buy luxury products as a kind of 'victory prize', or a way to show off. And out of the 7, all are label whores. I'm not kidding. In Singapore, you see housewives in their 40s and 50s wearing what would be the crappiest piece of clothing and you see them carrying a Louis Vuitton bag. I mean, does a branded bag mean more than anything. The monograms are.....bordering on boring (woah that somehow rhymes) and the most common seen LV bags are actually pretty much bleh. The best bags coming out from the house of LV are probably from the runway collections. But even still, I think LV bags are ridiculously overpriced. Even a scarf can cost a thousand bucks, a keyring a few hundred bucks, hello I thought Hermes only sold their silk scarves for around 300 bucks.

I think the Chloe Paraty bag is a great example of luxury bag that sells because of the material and design behind it, and not because of monograms (and maybe that applies to most Chloe bags and some other brands). It's one of the few things that Hannah MacGibbon has done right with Chloe.

I simply do not see the point of carrying a branded bag because of the monograms/brand or as a means of showing off, but I guess LVMH knows that this is the only way for them to be the richest luxury conglomerate and Louis Vuitton to be the most successful luxury house. Bags do make the most profit for most luxury houses. Bleh.