HAIKALcium Lowfat

Maxime Simoens as French fashion saviour at Leonard

2011-11-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's been only a couple of weeks now since Maxime Simoens first started at La Maison Leonard as the house's creative director. I was so thrilled when I first heard the news. Maxime has always been dubbed as the saviour of French fashion. Not that Paris is sinking, but as the fashion music chair keeps playing, there's always another non-French designer took up the mighty position of creative director at Parisian legendary fashion houses.

Now, I know what you guys are thinking. What the heck have HL got to do with all this French pride thingy, he's not even French! Well, I'm totally aware of that but I've always had this curiosity of what it would be like had a French designer headed am old French fashion house because that's hardly happening today. Yes, there are Balenciaga and Balmain but look at the rest. Chanel is headed by a German, Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy are headed by Italians, Dior and Celine and Ungaro etc etc are by British, Paco Rabanne by an Indian, and the list goes on and on. Their points of view can't be the same. They must be in some ways reflect their origins(culture, upbringing and what not), no matter how neutral or international they deem themselves to be. One can always tell how French/Parisian Balenciaga and Balmain are compared to the rest. Well, Chanel perhaps, but Karl is a whole lot of different story. Yes, he's German, but look at the man. He could be French, American, Swedish, or even Chinese if that's what he decides to be. *how awesome, I know!*

American It-girl, Leighton Meester in Maxime Simoens (BuenosAyres-style)

That said, I just hope with Maxime at the creative helm of Leonard, we'll get to see a very edgy French-label-by-a-French in the next seasons to come, see if he can bring another dimension to the term French-chic. I still remember watching BBC's British Style Genius where Anna Wintour commented how very significant the presence of young British designers are in the progress of fashion world in the last couple of decades. She was also right about the fact that back in the days when Galliano and McQueen were first appointed to head Dior and Givenchy (respectively), people(mostly of French fashion) were hunting for young British talents in hoping for revitalising the mostly dead Parisian fashion houses. But now I feel like the fashion music chair is (slowly)becoming more of a fair game. Like an Indian(notably Manish Arora) can be just equally hip and edgy as designers from the other side of the world. Good sign of progress. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with today's east-is-where-the-money-is, but if that is what it takes to open people's eyes, then be it.

Speaking of French fashion, congratulations to Guillaume Henry for making Carven so young, hip and cool. And bonne chance to you, Maxime Simoens!

The Kitchen Musical: Bravo!

2011-11-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

Finally a south-east Asian musical drama tv that really give me chills. We've got quite a few of that thing here on local but tv, but simply tragic. It's sad but true, mostly just scream 'try-hard Asian' to me. I usually am offended by that stereotype, but boy, is it true.

However, I was really in awe, with all the good feelings when first saw The Kitchen Musical(of Singaporean production). I thought it was brilliantly executed. Everything about this musical just seemed so right. The acting was great, the choreography was smart, and the setting was hands down, very very chic. You know how you always get this over-the-top, tacky colourful thingy going on asian tv, be it the wardrobe, the setting or even the characters themselves? Well, I just couldn't seem to sense any of those while watching The Kitchen Musical. Yes, there were the wigs and all, but they seemed to be cleverly put together, not just some random props that came out of nowhere. Thus, I must say that this is one heck of a very classy musical to come out of south-east Asia. I think it's always about the question of taste, and this production simply just hit on all the right notes. So, bravo!

Men who cook dancing to George Michael's Faith, how can one possibly not fall for that? ;p

And Gayle girls, you guys rock!! Gosh, I love their characters. They have this little cheeky bitchy attitude going on, yet doesn't seem to overwhelm at all. And they look like they were born with that character, without any hints of trying too hard, that is. Extra props for team Gayle! :)

Of course, there's always a room for improvements. I really wish for this musical to have more seasons to come, perhaps more youthful ones*yes, this would be my only complaint so far*. And let's hope there will be more classy musicals like this on local tv! :)

New Girl: Naked

2011-11-01T23:58:00.000-07:00

Have you guys seen the latest episode of New Girl? Well, I can’t speak for everyone but I personally thought that it was so freaking relatable. I bet everyone has experienced some of the events, or should I say incidents in the house, and perhaps encountered all those characters. At least, I have. It really is what life in shared apartment is like. Especially when you rent with people you don’t click with very much.

What actually amaze me everyday is the fact that one wicked incident keeps happening after the other, yet everyone seems to be very cool about and just get over it. Yeah, until someone decides to get out of the house, that is! ;p

Back to New Girl. They have FEELING STICK! Yes, feeling stick. I want one, like desperately. I think it’s very useful especially for people like me who’s afraid to get vocal about my thoughts when facing big guys. I think I’ve been in Jess’s position quite many times , though I just can’t remember when was the last time I met someone like Schmidt. That guy is insane! He does have a point about the identification thingy though. LOL~ But seriously, do best friends naturally do that? And all the time, really? LMFAO Gotta love Schimdt! ;p

Zooey Deschanel is the best! :)

Paganini Rocks: 24 Caprices after 200 years

2011-11-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Leave it to the Brits to make a brilliant 200 year old music piece appealing to the young and naive(as in me). A couple of centuries ago, who would have thought Niccolò Paganini's music would be played in clubs? Well, after a long line of reworks of course.

I was first introduced to this master-piece when watching Valentino fall 2011 pret-a-porter runway show, and got instantly hooked. The version played was Paganini Rocks by Tom Hodge.

Then, came this club anthem by Robortom feat. Au Revoir Simone, which made me wanna rock a tutu. :)

Another brilliant music that was played at the Valentino show was Missing by Everything but the Girl.

And Lotus Flower by Radiohead

The Tree of Life

2011-10-31T11:13:00.000-07:00

This film wasn’t really on my movie-junkie radar until mon cher ami, Mr Sailor suggested that I watch it. He had warned me though not to expect to just see ‘a movie’ and thought I could survive the couple of hours. It took me quite a while to finally see this film. As much as I love (good)surprises, I just couldn’t help but reading online reviews, hoping to get a peak of what goodies are in store. Turns out it wasn’t a smart move as I found out that people seemed to think that the film was trying too hard and a little tad too pretentious. That said, I still thought I should give it a go.

The Tree of Life started very beautifully with a very dreamy-like narration, kinda put me at ease. However, the vibe was very indie-ish which I have to admit wasn’t easy for me to wrap my head around such idea, knowing that there was Brad Pitt(who was/is so mainstream, so Hollywood) coming. Thanks to the kids’ natural expressions, I really felt a touch of reality that you could usually get from indie films. I don’t wanna sound so stereotypical or cliche but when I watch movies, especially the mainstream ones, kids always look so naive and clueless, which I thought was kind of ridiculous. I mean seriously, kids could have never been more rebellious. Let’s face it, they don’t have high egocentricity for nothing. I wanted to get out of the house when I was seven so that I could work at a local bridal store. That was ridiculous and insane, and I knew it was gonna drive my dad nuts. It didn’t happen, obviously. ;p

Well, kids are not naive, they may be easily confused but they certainly are not clueless. And I’m glad that this aspect of life was portrayed frankly in this film. But what made the portrayal even more brilliant is the fact that the rebel was not that in-your-face. I would say it was more subtle, like when Jack O’Brien (Hunter McCracken) agreed with whatever Mr O’Brien (Brad Pitt) was saying, yet he did it very hesitantly. I think we all do that, there are times when we seriously don’t agree with our love ones yet we just simply don’t wanna hurt their feelings by disagreeing, then all we do is nodding hesitantly.

The development of the story in this film might be a little too slow for some people(or me for that matter), but I guess that’s what life should be. No rush, which apparently is what’s happening today. We all wish things could go a little slower in life these days, but that’s just not how they work. Sad, but true. Perhaps The Tree of Life was a little break that we need from all that rush.

If I could read a message from TToL in a sentence, it would be something like ‘don’t rush, take your time, and learn about life’.

p/s: no one should take things too seriously when watching this film especially during the twenty minutes psychedelic footage of world’s evolution, otherwise it might drive you crazy. and don’t get too analytical about it because I kinda did just that, definitely was not a smart thing to do. but then I was like, ‘what the heck, screw Brad Pitt, let’s have Christopher Kane’s mood board’. :)

Christopher Kane galaxy frocks (Cheap Chic Obsession)

C’est magnifique, non?

Diving for McQueen: Cathy Horyn meets Sarah Burton

2011-10-30T03:34:00.000-07:00

Diving for McQueen on Nowness.com.

This is one of those moments when a short fashion conversation can be so meaningful that it simply goes way beyond 'will-that-gold-lame-dress-work-on-red-carpet'. I thought this video was very beautifully insightful, that anyone who actually cares about fashion should watch. There's just no word to describe how amazing the details of the dresses really are. It's insane. I'm not really sure how fun it is to play drag queen, but those dresses are indeed worth putting on! Enuff said.

"...it is actually quite mathematical to do this..."

Sarah Burton

Love you so much, Miss Burton!

Valentino Spring 2012 Menswear by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli

2011-10-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

Chic sporty wardrobe for stylish young professionals. This collection was no doubt a breath of fresh air for Valentino menswear. We were so used to see Valentino men looking so grown ups, almost a little too matured. They used to be all about uber-rich private-jet setters heading for meetings around the globe, so this collection definitely was a big move. Kudos to Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli for revamping the line.

Valentino menswear spring 2012 was definitely more relaxed, more laid-back, yet so clean and neat. I’m not much of a sport person but I really dig the sporty element of this collection. It really took any rigidity or timidity away from the structural silhouette and gave an energetic feel to the collection. The sporty element also made the collection very youthful. I thought this was very interesting since the collection hardly had any flowy pieces, yet the collection felt so light and fresh.

The earthy colour palette, with lots of beige also made this collection my instant favourite. There was just simply no single look that I didn’t look. The quilted jacket especially was not usually my kind of thing as I thought it could easily look like what a lost exchange student would wear, but here it looked really sleek and stylish. And what a smart idea to pair it with blue pants and white lace-ups. Extra credits too for those modern safari jackets. J’adore!

HAIKALcium Lowfat

Maxime Simoens as French fashion saviour at Leonard

The Kitchen Musical: Bravo!

New Girl: Naked

Paganini Rocks: 24 Caprices after 200 years

The Tree of Life

Diving for McQueen: Cathy Horyn meets Sarah Burton

Valentino Spring 2012 Menswear by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli

Balenciaga Spring 2012 Menswear by Nicolas Ghesquiere

Vier5 fashion department (V5FD) Spring 2012

MR. by Roland Mouret Spring 2012

Lanvin Spring 2012 Menswear

John Galliano Spring 2012 Menswear by Bill Gaytten

Givenchy Spring 2012 Menswear

Walter Van Beirendonck Spring 2012 Menswear

Gustavolins Spring 2012 Menswear

Dries Van Noten Spring 2012 Menswear

Alexis Mabille Spring 2012 Menswear

Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 Menswear

Rick Owens Spring 2012 Menswear

The Patient Gardener: Jardin à la Grace Coddington

Barnabe Hardy Spring/Summer 2012

R.I.P FRANCESCO COMINELLI

Midnight In Paris

Costume National Spring 2012 Menswear: Hands down, my most favourite Milan collection of the season!

Dsquared² Spring 2012 Menswear: Tailored Beefcake

Versace Spring 2012 Menswear: Back To The Root

Alexander McQueen Spring 2012 Menswear: English Rock

Z Zegna Spring 2012: My Abstract Sunday

Missoni Spring 2012 Menswear: Knit It All

Neil Barrett Spring 2012 Menswear: Generation Rebel

Roberto Cavalli Spring 2012 Menswear: Italian Deluxe

John Varvatos Spring 2012 Menswear: Rock Softly

Daniele Alessandrini Spring 2012 Menswear: Moodscape

Burberry Prorsum Spring 2012 Menswear: Handcrafted Heritage