Dior Homme celebrates updated classics at Paris fashion

PARIS - Dior Homme designer Kris Van Assche on Saturday celebrated the updated classic at Paris fashion while Korea's Songzio jazzed up cool, summer looks with metallic print and big pockets.

On day four of men's fashion, Van Assche said he delved into Christian Dior's world for a collection in which the "bourgeois meets the artist."



"I wanted a sense of renewal and an idea of Christian Dior's artistic milieu to come through as well as his love of formality and tradition," he said.

The result was formal, navy suits with an emphasis on the tuxedo and traditional pinstripe.

Nautical touches, a reference to the Normandy-born Dior's love of the sea, came in the form of toggle fasteners and striped knit vests over shirts to create what Van Assche called "a new form of three piece suit."

The Belgian designer said he was also influenced by a letter dating from the 1950s he found in the Dior archives.

In the letter, Dior, who founded the Christian Dior fashion house in 1946, wrote about the importance of maintaining traditions.

"Traditions have to be maintained so they can be passed on to future generations," he wrote.

"In troubled times like ours we must maintain these traditions which are our luxury and the flower of our civilization," he added.

Van Assche turned the handwritten letter into a print which he used throughout the collection.

Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld described the clothes as "very modern classic, updated classic."

"Classic—if it is only classic—becomes boring. You need to freshen it with modernity," he told reporters after the show.

US actor Ansel Elgort and Asian actor and boy band star Vic Chou were also among those on the front row at the show.

Elsewhere on Saturday, South Korean designer Songzio took the "configuration and shape of wood" as the inspiration for his latest collection.

The designer sent out oversized coats, boxy shirts, and wide, pleated shorts.

Standout looks included a knit tunic ensemble and sleeveless, transparent shirt with gold-coloured metallic print.

Big pockets popped up on the front of shirts and the back of shorts.

As well as his signature palette of dark navy and tones of black, there was also white and cream, vivid orange and midnight blue.

Songzio picked up the gold in black leather sandals while other footwear had big straps high over the ankle. — AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

Designers mix streetwear with preppy, tap nature at Paris fashion

PARIS - Phillip Lim mixed streetwear with a large dose of preppy at Paris fashion on Thursday while Damir Doma and Issey Miyake turned to nature for inspiration.

Lim said his collection was all about mixing up influences to put his finger on what "boys are really wearing right now."

The US designer kicked off his show on day two of the men's collections with a pale blue and grey check suit teamed with white sports shoes and high-necked black shirt.

Other looks for spring/summer 2015 included shorts and an asymmetrical top in large white check and tartan worn with long white socks.

"It was street-prep. It was prep's influence on street urban clothes... I wanna really polish streetwear up," he told AFP backstage.

Lim said he drew on masculine codes and patterns for a "spirit of youthful elegance..

"Streetwear is permanent now in men's fashion. Instead of just making the street, you know, bring it up," the designer added, dressed in one of his own boilersuits.

At Issey Miyake, designer Yusuke Takahashi was inspired by a holiday to the Palau island chain in the Pacific to produce an environmentally conscious collection that delighted marine conservationists.

In contrast to Raf Simons' sombre, prison-chic collection on Wednesday, Takahashi sent out smiling models in joyous clothes.

Squids, jellyfish, pineapples and dragon fruit popped up on garments, giving the collection a playful, pop art feel.

'Polishing up streetwear'

"It's a nice present" from Issey Miyake, Claire Nouvian, founder of marine conservation organisation Bloom, told AFP at the show.

"The depths [of the oceans] are a very beautiful place, but also fragile and devastated by deep sea fishing," she said, adding that she hoped the collection would help to "sensitise" people.

Croatia's Damir Doma also turned to the natural world for inspiration.

The designer said nature and its "profound symmetry as well as its endless irregularities" set him thinking about pattern and texture.

The collection focused on the balance modern men have to strike between design and practicality, formality and casualness, he said.

"It's a kind of symmetry askew. It's something beautiful that you can find in butterflies and flowers... which we tried to transfer into fabrics with laser cuts and the dotted prints," he told AFP.

"It's about the everyday rearranged for the modern man... [who is] a creative sort, a very sensitive person," he said.

Doma added that his jackets aimed to create a relaxed silhouette rich in both fabric and colour combinations.

Examples included a "sea deep blue" and an "unusual violet" that looked like the sky at dawn, he said.

Elsewhere, veteran Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto's latest collection featured rich tapestry of floral patterned fabrics.

Jackets came with asymmetrical flaps or oversized white patches while trousers were voluminous, some with buttons down the side.

All were teamed with flowing scarfs, hats or headbands and very wild hair.

Five days of men's fashion for spring/summer 2015 wraps up on Sunday, followed from July 6-11 by six days haute couture collections. — AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

This crazy coat makes you electronically invisible

 

It's no Klingon or Romulan device, and it doesn't look a thing like Harry Potter's cloak. But this odd-looking garment does promise to render the wearer invisible, at least electronically.

 

Meet the CHBL Jammer Coat, whose manufacturer claims can keep online services like Google from finding the wearer.

 

"The piece is made of metallized fabrics, which are blocking radio waves and shielding the wearer against tracking devices. You are no longer reachable on your mobile phone and no information from your credit card can be captured," it said.

 

It added the "Wave Circle" pattern of the fabric "gives an illusion of strange multiple body parts, which hides and frees the individual physicality."

 

A separate report on tech site Mashable said Coop-Himmelblau, an Austrian architecture firm, designed the clothing to jam the wearer's phone, "effectively rendering him invisible."

 

"The code is basically a Faraday cage, with metals embedded in the fabric that reflect incoming radio waves, protecting the wearer from unwittingly sharing any information on any device beneath it," it added.

 

Mashable noted the coat's lumpy pattern "acts as a disguise for would-be phone hackers and thieves." — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Planet Sports builds fitness oasis for women

More and more women are investing in their health. It only follows that they invest in their equipment. One store they can check out is Planet Sports, which held a special event to showcase their women's selection at their flagship branch in Bonifacio Global City.

Women can choose among several brands, including favorites Nike, Adidas and New Balance. The second floor offers a wide array of footwear, clothing, and athletic equipment.

Fashion and fitness classes

Soon, the branch will also offer fitness activities to those who want to commit to getting in shape.

"For March we're gonna do yoga," said marketing manager JM Mina. "The customers can register here for free. It's gonna last for three months. After that we're gonna do running clinics and in the third quarter [of the year], we're gonna be doing dance. In the fourth quarter, we're gonna up one level and we're doing crossfit."

Present at the event was Kapuso star Bianca King, who is the brand ambassador of Adidas by Stella McCartney in the Philippines.

"A lot of the women, they mix it up," said Mina. "They run on certain days; they do yoga. If you talk to Bianca [King], she'll do it in one particular sweep. She'll run, do yoga and crossfit right after."



The athletic retail company recognizes that Bonifacio Global City is becoming a hub for runners and other fitness enthusiasts.

"The activities we're doing here, it's not just for getting people to come to our store. We encourage everyone to be active. Not even sporty, but active," added Mina.

Planet Sports aims to address the varying needs and issues women have to pursue a fit lifestyle:

"We see a lot of men's active wear but actually, women need more comfort, especially with sports bras, with bottoms," Mina said. "We really find that there's a need to provide women with choices. We really want it to be multi-brand. They can choose from Nike, Adidas, whatever brand they feel comfortable with." — BM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

5 Tips to Save on Baby Clothes

Research shows that it takes around $200,000 to bring up an 18 year old from birth. When resources are limited and the necessities such as education, health, etc, cost a lot, you have to cut down on avoidable expenses. Smartly clothing your baby can help you cut costs significantly. Try following some of the tips below. [Also See: What It Really Costs to Raise a Child]

Size Smartly

Shorter clothes might look cute and even chic on little toddlers but they don’t last long. Try buying sizes that you think will last longer. Also prefer clothes with elastics at the waist instead of belts. Add buttons or hooks in a horizontal row to belts if possible. As your baby puts on weight, the consecutive buttons or hooks can be hooked.

Color with Care

Needless to mention, select colors for tops and bottoms in a way that maximizes the number of combinations you could create. This is especially relevant for those who go frequently for outings with friends and family. Go for basic colors such as red, blue, yellow and green more often than other uncommon colors which might not fare well with other uncommon colors.

Be Cautious about Quality

There are times when you forget all the lessons learned from purchasing cheap clothing earlier. And then you re-learn those lessons when a disaster happens after you put those cheap clothes in the washing machine. Also, always look carefully for instructions at the back that explain how that clothing may be washed and ironed.

Material Matters

Choose materials that are more stretchable. They would be able to take care of your baby’s growth spurts. Also, choose materials that can be worn more even when seasons change. For example, instead of buying very warm sleeping suits buy a relatively less warm collection of suits. As the coldest of days approach, slip in warmer vests. This way the suits will be able to be in use for a longer while.

Style Slyly

Certain styles such as frocks, dresses and skirts for girls and overalls for boys last longer. Prefer such smart styles that your baby can wear for a longer period. Buy socks without heels so that they can be used for a longer time. And remember you can alter clothes creatively too. When sleeping suits start becoming a bit tight, cut off the portion covering the feet. That should make it last a couple of months more because your baby grows more vertically than horizontally.

source: financialhighway.com