A FASHION FAIRYTALE: HIS SIDE OF THE STORY

CHAPTER 18

Had Dana Lee heard Eli’s side of the story in person, had she seen with her eyes his true distress, and observed his dismay, her emotion couldn’t have been greater than it was from just reading his letter. Back at home, in the privacy of her bedroom, at home, before her writing desk, Dana Lee took out Eli’s letter from her Chanel purse to study for the fifth time. She still couldn’t quite believe how one handwritten letter, two sheets of mere paper (blue), scribbled untidily, could change her life.

This is what Eli wrote:

“I’m sorry Dana, I’m very, very sorry. It was very foolish and stupid of me, to be so manipulated by Bella. I see how this must be hurting you. When I recall the look of pain that night of the ball, it hurts me too. Deeply. I’m not making excuses, but let me explain my actions and maybe it will go a little way in making you feel better. This is what happened that day: Bella insisted on flying me back from Manila, just for The Ice Ball. I tried my best to reason with her about my work and everything, but she played the pity card. She said it would be damaging to her reputation and her career not to have a suitable date on so important an occasion, and that I probably won’t take her because she was nobody but a driver’s daughter.

Bella knows just how to punch my pity buttons. She has practiced for 20 years! Tired as I was, I agreed finally. But I insisted that I would have to fly back to Manila immediately after the ball. My album is the most important thing to me right now. For the first time in my life, I have some personal achievement, a serious career goal to work towards, and I wasn’t about to let my schedule be messed up just because she needed a date for a party. Please forgive me for the hurt I have caused you. I can only say that it stems from my ignorance, and my sad lack of confidence.

My older brother never gave me an active role in my family’s business, and I didn’t have any real ambition in that area any way. All my life, I’d nothing serious to engage my time, nothing to take me away from Bella; And surely she wouldn’t have thought herself attached to me had I been more distant to her, but we were close. I can’t deny that. Being my mother’s favourite, I never had much to do, and not much to occupy my time, except my music. I was indulged as the youngest son, and was allowed whatever I liked, which meant that I was at home a lot and saw Bella more than I saw anyone.

“But you see, Bella is like a sister to me. I’m certainly not in love with Bella, nor ever been, not even slightly. She was brought up, when her mother died in our family’s service, like the little girl that my mother had wanted after giving birth to us two boys. It was always joked that Bella would marry one of us brothers so that she would become a ‘daughter’ of the family – but I don’t think anyone ever took this very seriously – except, evidently, Bella herself. It’s probably cruel to say such things to children, even in jest, to raise any vain hope, but that’s all there was to it.

“Her mother was our nanny, her dad our family chauffeur, and she’s my childhood friend. That’s all her relationship is to me.

“I don’t have many friends, and my brother is too busy for me. I’m shy, so it was natural for me to be close to Bella. She and I spent our teens together, until she went to work at Glossy, for you. She always appeared nice, and she was always smart, smarter than me. Considering everything, I hope, unforgivable as my behaviour has been in every way, you can understand where I’m coming from. Please wait for me until I return from Bangkok next week; The last leg of my tour will end there, and then I will see you, and I will explain everything else to your satisfaction.

“I love you. Eli.”

The change in mood which this letter wrought in the mind and heart of Dana Lee was so great that it promised yet another sleepless night. And after Dana happily told her mother the contents of Eli’s letter, Mrs Tina Lee, went to bed with a box of candied ginger. She got more and more comfortable with visions of Eli Kee as a new member of her family, someone new to fuss over and gossip about. 

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: THE LETTER

CHAPTER 17

A restless night spent tossing and turning determined her resolve: Dana Lee decided that she had to go back to work, and at the next possible opportunity, refuse Adam Tan as certainly as cannot be mistaken. She had also decided that she would not be returning to Adam Tan’s Sentosa Cove refuge after last night’s little situation with the self-made multi-millionaire. She will not be pressurised that way, or any other way, and she was certain, because she knew Adam so well, that his next move would involve an important piece of jewellery. This will not do; Scenes were to be avoided at all costs. Well, at least the scene last night had galvanised Dana back to life - fleeing and escape is not something to be indulged in too often.

You’d think in this age of all things digital that Dana Lee’s accumulated mail would be somewhat less of a pile – but no. Back in her office, bills and bank statements in official, windowed envelopes; stacks of press releases in all their designer stiffness; Thick catalogues in heavy stock and invites in fancy lettering swelled her week’s mail to two cardboard cartons full, sorted into rubber-banded bundles by her loyal, if flighty, assistant Queenie. This was not to mention the pages and pages of e-mail, of course.

Everything, in short, but a word from Eli. 

Mary Cassatt

Dana Lee, anxious to escape her emotional turmoil, delved into the boxes of mail with something akin to gusto, scissors and silver envelope knife to the ready. What caught her eye at once was a square cream letter, addressed to her in handwriting – Eli’s handwriting. Dana Lee’s heart almost leapt from her composed Armani jacket at the recognition, and she took it up at once, and shutting the glass door of her minimalist office for more privacy, she opened the letter.  

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: A SORT OF PROPOSAL

Chapter 16

In the slate patio of the villa, with the darkness of the jungle enclosing them in a glow of lantern light, Dana and Adam sit by the pool. Adam Tan had come to look in on Dana to see if she needed anything. He brought more champagne and Dana took out the Lalique crystal flutes she discovered the pantry. “Come, come,” said Adam. “You must not mope. You must preserve your looks and spirit – you are the queen of fashion, aren’t you? We can’t have you looking so droopy and sad – tell me how I can cheer you up. Some bubbly?”

Adam had said this in such a tone as to leave Dana in no doubt of what was on his mind. She immediately sensed that it would be wisest to get it over as soon and as quietly as possible.

“Listen to me, Dana,” continued Adam, “your reticence, and disappointment over Eli, actually adds to your perfection. Your little thing over that young man doesn’t affect how I feel about you, I certainly expect you to have had your romances. I’ve had my share. And your unwillingness now is understandable. Let me remind you that your beloved mother will certainly approve of my intentions, intentions too marked to be mistaken, even by Mrs Lee. Almost as soon we met six years ago, I had singled you out as the companion of my future life.

“My reasons for wanting to settle down are, first, that I think it right for any man in my success to set an example in society. I've always led by example. Secondly, I’m convinced you will add greatly to my happiness. I assure you there are many young women available to me. But no one that can compare to you. When we are married…”

Dana almost jumped off the canvas sofa at the word 'married', and felt it absolutely necessary to interrupt Adam before he went any further. The whole thing was coming off like a presentation, and had Adam Pang had a laser pointer, he would no doubt be using it.

"You’re rushing ahead of the plot, Adam!" Dana said. "You forget that I have made no indication as to my feelings. Accept my grateful thanks for the great compliment you are paying me. I’m truly honoured by your feelings and intentions, but things really are confused for me, and at the moment I…”

"I won’t be discouraged by what you say, Dana. I can make you very happy, and I'm convinced that I'm man for you,” answered Adam, stubbornly patient.

“Adam, I need time. I need the space to think of what I want. Please believe what I’m saying. I wish you to be very happy, and by telling you my true feelings..." And rising as she spoke, Dana would have bolted the patio, had not Adam quickly said: “Alright. Calm down. As long as it isn't a flat 'no'. When I speak to you next on this subject, I hope to receive a more positive response than you have given me tonight. I’m not unworthy of your acceptance: my circumstances are more than many men can offer you. My comfortable life, my connections, and my properties, are everything you can expect, and more.”

“Thank you once again for the honour, it's flattering and my ego certainly in needs a boost, Adam. But to accept your proposal now would be an insult to you. I'm truly confused. Please understand that I’m speaking from my heart.”

Adam immediately, and in silence, left the villa, not quite in a huff but not calmly either, and Dana felt more alone than ever in that empty vast space.

The champagne was untouched.

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: SUGAR PUNS

Chapter 15

Flight! 

Not for the first time that year did Dana Lee find herself in fleeing, packed away at Adam Pang’s Sentosa Cove hideaway. It struck Dana, even in her misery, that the vacant villa had the vibe of a high security prison. On one side was the South China Sea, now grey-green now white-blue, ceaselessly ebbing and flooding; on the other, was a glade of trees, in a dark tropical tangle, full of the sound of unseen birds and insects and things crashing through the leaves at night; a curving drive led from the tall security gates to the main door with its digital lock. “I could be the mistress of all this, and leave the fashion and publishing world behind...,” thought Dana, as she walked along the edge of the garden by the water, at sunset. In the distance, peacocks screamed. “Will I miss it? The artificial glitter of it all? The competition every which way I turn, the uncertainty, the stress? Probably not. If I had the time on my hands, I would really be able to spend all my time gardening, which I truly love, and reading all the books I’ve been wanting to read. Marriage will be like house arrest, but it would also mean a certain kind of freedom – and Adam, dear loyal Adam, he will be my warden…” 

All this might have been and the story must end here, except, of course, that Eli Kee was someone that Dana Lee had belatedly discovered she loved. The very peacocks seemed to be screaming her emotions out to the universe, and Dana had finally to admit to the powerful emotion. Her immense pain at the thought that Eli was claimed by someone else brought her feelings clearly before her, the intensity of which had never occurred to her before, not in the giddy, romantic phase of their flirtation. But was Eli Kee a figment of her imagination? Was he even the person that Dana loved, because so much was yet hidden and unexplained in his behaviour? That Eli Kee could have concealed from her all the details of his relationship to Bella Teo seemed incongruent with his profession of openness and warmth. And that he was in fact an heir to a sugar and tinned fruit fortune, and wasn’t the starving artist-prince of the ragged jeans and soulful songs, was a big shock to Dana. “He’s a completely different man from the sweet boy who picks me up in the broken down panel van. No wonder there was always an air of the kid in him; he’s born to privilege after all, wrapped securely in the bubble wrap of wealth,” reflected poor, heartbroken Dana Lee. "And I can't call him a sweet boy any more - it would sound like the most dreadful pun!"

“How could I have been so foolish, mother?” wailed Dana over the phone. The dismal thought instantly occurred to her: "It's inherited."

“You were always a dreamy, romantic thing, not, unlike me, always the best judge of character,” replied Mrs Tina Lee, from her chintz sofa. “Stay in bed, my dear, and turn on the security alarm. It must be terrible for you to hear this matter talked about; and as for myself, I won’t mention a word about it to anyone. I did not mention a thing all dinner last night. Except to Uncle John, and his two banking daughters. But they are all very thoughtful, discreet and considerate; especially since I gave them a hint, as to who Eli is! They had such a jolly time of it and all through coffee, you know, nudged and poked about how sweet the cakes were and was it tinned fruit they saw on the custard? Uncle John was quite beside himself with the jollity of the brown sugar cubes and said he never tasted such sweet coffee as in our house! But they were most discreet and never mentioned the Kee word! I do think the less said about such things, the better, the sooner blown over and forgot. And what does talking ever do, you know?”

“Mother you didn’t say anything to Uncle John and his two banking daughters! How could you, mother?” cried Dana.

But Mrs Tina Lee could, and did. 

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: AND THEN THEY SAID

Chapter 14: Phone Calls, Various

Queenie, Editorial Assistant, Flair, in a the fashion closet, sorting out shoes:

“And then Ms Dana didn’t say a word, turned, and all but ran out of the ballroom as if chased by a bear. Both Eli Kee and Adam Tan started to go after her. But it was sooo crowded you know, and I heard Bella the Bitch saying “come back here, Eli Kee!” 

And I said, “Take Ms Dana home, Mr Tan, please.” And he actually did what I said – I think I’m in love with Adam Tan now. I wanted to talk to Eli, I wanted to ask him, I had to see what’s happening - something dreadful between them. But Bella the Bitch stopped me, and pulled Eli away and do you know I nearly fainted? Not from the heat, but from the shock of seeing Eli drive Belle away from The Ice Ball in a 1950s Daimler Phaeton in Edinburgh Green. Imagine that! Ms Dana’s favourite green!”

Mrs Tina Lee, Ex Beauty Queen, from her sofa:

“She came back in one of her moods, you know, looking dreadfully white, and unable to stand, sunk into her bed without taking that mint green gown off; I was expecting every moment to see her faint, and asked her “why that face young lady? Is the gown too tight?” at which my dear girl burst into tears, and did you know while reviving her with some organic lavender water, I had to tell her to stop her hystrionics or I would get nightmares? Yes, Dr Chiong had prescribed me utter peace and tranquility after 8pm. I was not to ever even watch the news. “No, my dearest Dana darling,” said I, “your tears and explanations must wait only till tomorrow. Would you like some hot milk?"

Ritchie, Top Hairstylist, from a café table, dark glasses on:

“Oh y-y-yes I heard about the debacle, and I called Bella Teo the B-B-Bitch and said “w-w-what is the meaning of this?” And she laughed with d-d-delight and said that Eli Kee looked splendid in a t-t-tuxdo and was such a hit with the g-g-girls and I said “did you rent the c-c-car too?” and b-b-bitch said the car belonged to Eli Kee’s family, and rang off! Yes, Dana always said that Eli was a starving artist, and what s-s-starving artist drives a vintage Daimler Phaeton unless he’s the c-c-chauffeur? Impossible! So I made a f-f-few calls and it turns out that our Eli Kee is hardly starving; He’s the youngest s-s-son of the Kee Sugar Cane family! I swear to g-g-god I’m not making this up! Sugar. Cane. Plantation. Candy. Syrup. Tinned p-p-pineapple. Tinned bloody r-r-rambutan. No wonder Eli could afford to p-p-play the starving artist! He’s from the very o-o-oldest old rich with m-m-money coming out of their ears like sugar from the s-s-shaker, my dear.”

Snowdrops, President of the Eliments Fan Club, from her room, with the computer on.

“Our idol really, truly is from the Kee Sugar Family, and filthy rich. Got another older brother but divided by two the money still a lot. No, the brother not a singer, he eldest so have to run the business. I found out from my friend who knows a friend whose mother actually works in the family home – yes, imagine the sort of info that auntie can get for the website, can also take picture of his toilet – that the girl that he’s dating – yes, he’s seeing some girl – but my source, the auntie, says that it’s truly not confirmed if they really, really dating. Because they have known each other since they were in pampers and this girl Bella Teo, not the older girl I saw Eli with in The French Place, no it’s this Bella girl, who is actually the daughter of another family servant. She’s the daughter of Eli’s nanny, who passed away when she was only six and so the Kee family sort of adopted her and brought her up, and she lives with the family still, so they may get married because the Kee family already treat her sort of like family what.”

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: THE BELLE OF THE BALL

CHAPTER 13
Dana Lee resplendent in the Grand Ballroom, at The Heritage Hotel, 9pm.

Dana Lee took Adam Tan’s arm and they arrived in due time at The Ice Ball, dressed to the nines. The regal pair ascended the sweeping marble stairs (1910) and entered a room splendidly lit up by huge crystal chandeliers (Viennese), pressed full of the best (very few) and worst dressed (overwhelming majority) in society. Toes and trains were trodden upon, as was the custom. Many assumed that Dana and Adam were a couple – so compatible did they look, and in some minds, they were destined for each other. They certainly did go out in public together often enough.

The ballroom was insufferably hot, despite the “ice” theme, and the heat caused the ladies’ makeup to melt, so that they looked like characters from a Tim Burton movie. When they had paid their tribute of politeness to various dignitaries (His Excellency, the Swedish Ambassador was gracing the ball) in the VIP area, Dana Lee and Adam Tan went their separate ways to network in the crowd, and take their share of the heat and inconvenience, to which their arrival must necessarily added. Dana, with a flute of Dom Perignon (1995) turning quickly warm in her hands, had not remained circulating long, before she spotted Bella Teo, standing in the middle of the room, in earnest conversation with a model-tall, elegantly-clad and very fashionable-looking young man whose back faced the Dana. Bella caught her eye, and Dana nodded slightly in acknowledgement, but without attempting to speak. She have had enough of Bella over the many days of fashion shows, and had run completely out of politeness and patience. And for once, Bella Teo also failed to assail Dana, but continued what appeared to be an intense conversation with the young man, whose back faced the room, surrounded by a knot of trendy young things. "Bella," Dana thought, "looks like a mongoose hypnotising a young cobra!"

Suddenly, Queenie spotted Dana and swished swiftly up to her, his whole countenance glowing with delight and excitement. Dana said to him: “Queenie! Please get a hold of yourself! People will think you’ve never been to a ball. They’ll find out that I sneaked you in with Emma’s invite.” But Queenie clutched at Dana’s arm, almost panting with excitement, and gasped, "My goodness! He’s there - he looks so hansome - Oh! Why doesn’t he turn around and look at us? Why can’t we speak to him? Why won’t he leave Bella Teo’s side? Don’t you see him, Ms Dana?" cried Queenie impatiently, and would have moved towards Bella's black-clad male instantly, had not Dana caught hold of him.

Who was the mystery man that got Queenie all excited? Finally, the young man turned round, for Queenie had caused quite a little commotion. Queenie made such a fluster that everyone noticed, and the young man saw them both. Dana Lee turned cold, all of a sudden, and saying his name in a whisper, held tightly on to Queenie, to stop him from dashing forward. The model-tall man, wearing an elegant glossy-black tuxedo, and talking only to Bella Teo with his back to the room, was none other than Eli Kee.

Queens, Big Heads and Humour

If I could speak like Helena Bonham Carter, you won't be able to keep my mouth shut! I'd talk and talk and talk just to hear my own wonderfully posh, cut-glass accent. I want to take elocution classes!!!

Casta! Cast Her Faster!

"Laetitia has always bewitched us with her sensual and natural charisma: she is the perfect interpretation of  the Dolce & Gabbana woman of  today." - Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

Dolce&Gabbana Fragrances's newest face is French actress Laetitia Casta, 34, mother of three. Ms Laetitia’s unparalleled sensuality and femininity brought her to the attention of  Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who chose her to embody the Dolce&Gabbana the re-launch of their 1992 fragrance Pour Femme. She joins the long tradition of other curvy beauties favoured by Dolce & Gabbana in their iconography, va-va-voom figures like Scarlett Johansson and Monica Bellucci. 
“It’s not so much a re-edition as it is a fine-tuning. We altered the bottle a bit. The brand has evolved since the 1990s, and we’ve matured a lot since." said Mr Gabbana of the new edition of the iconic scent, which is refreshed with Neroli and Raspberry notes thrown into the classic mix.

The sensual, sun-drenched advertising campaign featuring Ms Casta was shot by the famous Mario Testino in Sicily. 

Top notes: neroli, bergamot, mandarin
Middle notes: lavender, sage, pepper
Base notes: sandalwood, tobacco, Tonka bean

Chi il Bel Sogno di Doretta

I'm really obsessed with this swoonsome Puccini aria right now! The best version is by Montserrat Caballe I think. I could listen to it over and over again all afternoon, and so can you: Turn up the volume!

Paris Notes

The Maillol sculptures in the Tuileries Garden.
The antique bookstore Alain Brieux, at 48 Rue Jacob.
The taxidermist Deyrolle, 46 Rue du Bac, with gardening tools. (pictured)
Unfussy lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. 
Karl Lagerfeld's Edition 7L, 7 Rue de Lille.
Nearby the Musee d'Orsay, with the lovely Gauguins.
Pomme frites at Le Voltaire is a must.
Bright and early on a sunny weekend, we go to the flea market at Saint-Ouen, zooming into Marche Paul Bert, Rue des Rosiers. Quintessence has some wonderfully weird stuff. 
The peaceful time-warped Palais Royal.

Fall 2012 Haute Couture

COUTURE IS IN THE DETAILS

What is haute couture? Elitist, elaborately put together (900 hours of embroidery by hand for one item is commonplace) and super expensive, couture is a cradle for extravagant clothes made individually, and to specific measurement, for rich women. It is still looked upon as a source of trends, but increasingly, this role is being usurped by fashion from the streets. But the beauty of haute couture is that fashion at this rarefied stratosphere can afford to be creative, imaginative and individual, in a way that mass-produced clothes can’t. Haute couture approaches art, and is therefore inspiring; it allows the imagination to soar.

In the age of fast fashion, style blogs and social media, haute couture is probably more necessary than ever before, not only because it is fashion’s laboratory, but also because it is the means of preserving dying traditional crafts. Minute beading, hand-weaving, hand embroidery, feather work, fabric flowers, lace and millinery by skilled craftsmen, many whose craft is passed down through generations in the family, still make clothes the traditional way, preserving the magic of fashion. This season, the couture houses showcase these crafts in collections that were not extreme in form or design, but in detail and embellishment.

Dior

An important trend this season was pants for both day and evening, shown by every couturier. Raf Simons, in his debut collection for Dior, kicked things off with black cigarette pants worn with smoking jackets or under elaborately embroidered bustier dresses that looked like ball gowns interrupted at the top of the thigh. Other couture details included silks woven (not printed!) to resemble an abstract painting. Simons returned to the flared hip of the Bar Jacket and the hourglass shape of the New Look invented by Christian Dior in the 1940s. His innovation was to add exquisitely embroidered buds and crystal petals, or individually sewn wafts of feathers, to these historic shapes. Such embellishments gave a surprise element in trapeze dresses, bustiers and gowns that are deceptively plain in front, contrasting sharply with the dense handwork in the back.

Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld showed a collection strong on the classic Chanel suit, marked by an easier fit and bolder shoulders. This might seem predictable, except that what appears to be the classic tweed texture and pattern on jackets and long skirts was actually embroidery on tulle, representing thousands of hours of handwork. Swing coats in pink and grey checks were made of woven then embroidered patchwork fabric. If the shapes were simple, the surfaces were not: a white tunic top and matching skirt beaded in a degrade design to form a border; an oversized coat was striped from collar to hem in thin gold braid. Needless to say, the bridal gown at the finale was a fantasia of white feathers and mink pom poms that defy description.

Valentino

It was all severe elegance at Valentino this season, with sobre navy dominating the palette, in navy jumpsuits or sheer cut-out gowns. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, impressed with their ascetic dark clothes with modestly high collars and long sleeves. These regal, if sanctimonious creations showed off the cut. The decoration escalated thereafter with a tulip-shaped cloak decorated with glitzy “tree of life” embroidery. The designers seem to like the medieval look of religious icons, and used couture crafts to turn  those historical references into outfits fit for a queen. Gilded unicorns, amongst other heraldic motifs were embroidered on jump suits and woven into richly patterned jacquards of jewel tones. Otherwise, fabrics blossomed with a garden of appliquéd thistles or florals, with gold beading and mink trim enriching severe jackets and cloaks. The liquid stripe on a tuxedo pant is made of jet sequins.

Givenchy

Couture technique is the key focus at Givenchy. Riccardo Tisci returned to simple lines, in only 10 monolithic gowns shown in a garden setting. The gowns looked like art installations, and had the stately feel of garden sculpture. After seven years at the house, Tisci’s signature is now obviously fringe. The beaded fringe was hand-strung to form a degrade pattern on a cape, glossy leather fringe was laced, and then hung in a gothic number. A geometric ethnic pattern on a cape was entirely formed by fringe. The black nappa fringe on a dress boasting intricate leather embroidery extended all the way to the ground to look like crow feathers. Lavishly beaded and fringed bell-shaped tops, a couple with mink trim, were shown with restrained column gowns, but these had oriental embroidery and tassels adorning the hips.

Giambattista Valli

A summer garden inspired Giambattista Valli to turn his society girls into flowers this season. A nursery worth of ruffles layered extravagantly made tops and skirts look like overblown peonies. On top of floral prints, which had the look of a Monet lily pond, fabric and beaded flowers were added to bodices and hips to reinforce the floral theme. The flutter of summer breeze is recreated with delicate lace leaves individually sewn on so they fluttered and shimmered. For accessories, gold ivy chokers draped over a shoulder or climbed up an arm, and a cloud of feather butterflies decorated strict upswept hair.

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: BAR NONE

Chapter 12

A Hotel Bar, quite empty, because it is too early for cocktails. The bartender is polishing glasses behind the bar, and someone is whirring polish over the marble floor. Dana Lee, exhausted and nervous, is having a pre-cocktail drink with Ritchie. Her meetings with Adam, for they had too much of that obligatory mood to be called dates, were now almost daily, a part of Adam’s heavy-handed courtship. They confused and tired Dana. A part of her was seduced by the comfort, familiarity and niceness of Adam Tan and his world, but her heart held out for the mysterious Eli Kee. She had declined Adam's gift of a diamond bracelet, as being inappropriate. It was a beautiful bracelet and would have gone so well with her Ice Ball gown, but Dana didn’t want to encourage Adam in any way, or give a false impression of her intention. As Dana spaced out behind her signature dark glasses, a frosty glass of champagne in hand, Ritchie talked:

“B-b-bella came in you know. She asked ‘how’s Dana doing her hair for The Ice Ball?’ and ‘what’s she wearing?’ and so I told the little b-b-bitch to mind her own b-b-business and did she want to know what s-s-size knickers you wore too? And do you know b-b-bitch laughed? She wanted c-c-curls my god!

“And then she settles in, and wants a nice long chat with M-M-Mother Ritchie, and it’s Eli this and Eli that… Q-q-quite came out of the closet about this young man at last, and I said isn’t this young man someone of Dana’s? And bitch said she’s known Eli since she was a t-t-teen and ‘was that in the 1920s?’ I said and she said that Eli had said that you, Dana, were like a b-b-big sister to him… ‘And what are you to him, p-p-pray tell?’ I asked. And what do you think bitch said? ‘I’ll tell you a secret Mother’. Bitch is always calling me b-b-bloody Mother even though I’ve told her a hundred times ‘please bitch, sister is much more correct. Mother is too f-f-far-fetched you know’! ‘Sister Ritchie,’ she said, ‘will you promise me to keep this a secret?’ W-w-what do you think I said? ‘You know me,’ said I, ‘you can tell me anything, I’m the soul of d-d-discretion. Mouth zipped, fingers crossed, now c-c-confess you little s-s-slut’. And I kicked the door of the cabin shut.”

“What did Bella say, Rich?” said Dana, sitting up, removing her glasses for the first time that afternoon.

Ritchie paused for dramatic effect, threw back the champagne in one breath and announced: “B-b-bitch said that she’s going to marry Eli Kee!”

HE SAID, SHE SAID

"Heaven? Who needs it? I want 20 more years on earth. That's my heaven." - Ellsworth Kelly

PARIS MENSWEAR SPRING 2013

EASY DOES IT

A new austerity prevailed at the recently concluded Paris Menswear Collections for Spring 2013, which was all about a stripped down aesthetic dominated by clean necklines, a loose fit, a lack of decoration and a monochromatic palette. This represents a complete break from recent seasons which saw menswear trends escalating towards the baroque in terms of elaborate detailing, heavy accessories and rich fabrics. Even a label like Balenciaga (left), which routinely shows challenging, conceptual fashions, showed just 21 pared-down looks which highlighted an easy volume in its tailoring in grey, black and white, with nothing more challenging than a big Hawaiian print to leaven the monastic mood.

It was plain sailing (and very plain clothes) at Louis Vuitton. Inspired by sea sports, Kim Jones was all at sea in his third collection for Vuitton (right). The most successful looks were actually the most traditional, like the deluxe double-breasted tailoring which were sharp yet relaxed. Pyjama-pants, sailor-style flares and wide shorts (micro to knee-length) were shown with scuba tops and patchwork shirts; Yellow hoodie slickers, T-shirts and sweaters, though undoubtedly luxe in fabric, looked predictable and safe. It was the accessories that saved the day: Unfussy and practical bags, shoes and sandals, looked utterly desirable.

The archetypal sailor of Jean Cocteau and Jean Genet is something of a house icon at Jean Paul Gaultier and this collection was completely dedicated to this figure (left). The sailor theme sharply clarified the designs at this collection which previously suffered from a wild heterogeneity of ideas and inspirations. Forthwith, Gaultier’s classic suitings shone — sharp jackets (some with short sleeves) and gilets were shown with high-waisted sailor's pants, a couple of precisely-pleated kilts, and a few overalls that looked elegant, not louche. Sailor stripes, a bold slicker red and sporty yellow supported the seafaring theme, which looked modern and chic, not clichéd or lazy.

Kris Van Assche used a strict palette of regimental blue and grey at Dior Homme (right). This superbly un-hyperbolic collection was anything but boring, serving up a clean-cut military discipline (the models looked like cadets with cropped, shellacked heads) in classic jacket in every variation: some cropped, some sleeveless, some boxy. These were paired with sweaters and shirts that were buttoned all the way up, and easy-fit pants, or shorts that had the look of a schoolboy. The military theme was subtly hinted at in the brass buttons that never looked costumey. Everything unnecessary was edited away, so that the cutting and construction of the jackets were brought to the fore, especially in a passage where the cutting lines were traced in a contrast piping. This collection presents discipline as charm, perhaps an antidote to an age of excess.

At Rick Owens, it was Owens Lite this time around. Owens’s refined his usual propositions into more accessible form. The gothic robes have become roomy coats, the ragged dresses have become ascetic tunics, the skirts look less ridiculous designed as kilts and flapping shorts, and paired with what looked recognisably like zippered blousons (almost Police Academy),vests and turtlenecks. There was even a traditional black suit! A new trimness prevailed, with very few excessive flourishes. This season’s trend for black socks worn with everything here became chubby leg warmers and the footwear, usually an exaggerated Flintstones platform boot was simplified into a clunky toeless slide - on platforms.

Shorts, which are everywhere this season, were the startling highlights at Raf Simons’s eponymous collection. Styled with black dress socks and black lace-ups, the daringly short shorts highlight the bareness and vulnerability of the legs on the pale models. The fact that the shorts were paired with beautifully austere, perfectly correct jackets and shirts brought home the point that they were, in fact truncated pants, shorn off where the jacket ended, and made more revealing with splits and slits. The simple colour blocking (a pale powder pink was especially memorable) of the outfits had a tenderness, and combined with a passage of fine floral prints made this collection a study of how the genders have balanced out in sexual politics.

The collection Veronique Nichanian showed for Hermès (left)was colour blocked in monochrome outfits of blue, griege, tomato, absinthe and black but the effect was a youthful, unambiguous masculinity. The collection has a brisk, breezy feel that mirrored the season’s general vibe of ease and simplicity. These were simply elegant clothes that you can stride out in with great confidence on a sunny untroubled day. The high luxury of the label and its fabrics was made fresh and light by subtle design and tweaking of the proportions, so that the menswear classics like blazers, windbreakers, parkas, and coats looked athletic, clean and cool without looking staid or boring. There were shorts here too, but these, sensibly, reached the knee.

Perhaps the collection that best crystallises the season’s key messages was presented by Lucas Ossendrijver for Lanvin (right). Ease is in the generous fit of the tailoring: the jackets have a softness and movement and the pants have fluidity and waft. Shirts with wide sleeves, and wide necklines, were cut big, so that they drooped a little at the shoulders, and bloused at the belt. The volume is anchored at the (very) high-waisted, for some shape and sensuality. The silhouette is admirably clean, as every item seemed reduced and precise, shorn of details and embellishments. The palette too is reduced to a monochrome black and white, with a passage of futuristic shine right at the end, a pinch of florals, and sparks of blue as accents. The athletic sandals, which owes something to traditional Tevas, have a space-age shine and elegance. The pleated pants do not look back to any era past, thankfully. Instead, this fiercely modern, forward-looking collection gives the new austerity a positive spin.

HE SAID, SHE SAID

“We want to make essential clothes, clothes where you understand what the value is and why you pay more. ’’- Jil Sander

Milan Menswear Spring/ Summer 2013

A BEAUTIFUL ESCAPE

Where does fashion go when the going gets tough?

With the world in financial meltdown mode, with the traditional order in gender, politics and media gone topsy-turvy, with the planet’s natural resources challenged as never before, menswear for Spring/Summer 2013 is headed for the nearest exit. The Milan menswear collections took flight to a simpler, more innocent time: childhood.

All the key trends seemed to be inspired by the obedient schoolboy and the lost innocence of the playground: eye-popping colour, nursery school florals, the T-shirt, shorts, a simple, stripped-down aesthetic, and an easy fit dominated.

Jil Sander

Jil Sander’s much-heralded return to her eponymous label (after seven years) was a re-stating of her trademark minimalism, but softened. Sander’s scrubbed schoolboys were de-sexed in prim little collars, wide sleeves and billowing shorts. The deconstructed jackets and coats, though precise and boldly coloured, had the cosy fit of a granny’s cardigan. 

Prada

The Prada man was also dressed in a child’s androgynous clothes which had the graphic, flat pattern of paper doll separates. The tick-tock sameness, like an assembly line of uniformed students, is another form of retreat from the times into the order and discipline of a Utopian age. Square, oversized tunics, and cropped straight pants are decorated by wide white stripes; a contrast border outlines a clean neck or a cartoonish placket or hem; Sharp lines emphasise reduction and simplicity. There is a 1970s (the decade of peace and love) note, the wide stripes bringing to mind the athletic clothes of that era. The shoes were unisex athletic sandal from beginning to end, unsexily styled with black socks.  

Bottega Veneta

Tomas Maier's collections, usually gritty, had an ease that said flight-from-the-city. The overall trope seems to be the freedom of the open road, hinting at the all-is-well hippie movement. The suede fringe and exaggerated eyelet closings (lacing was used rather than buttons) for collars are childish features, and have a Robin Hood quality about them. Are we playing Sherwood Forest today? The matching fringed booties immediately recalled the happiness of playing at cowboys and Indians. Little boys grow up into jocks in the athletic separates, a hot teenager off to a game perhaps, with the sporty panels and zip-fronts. In the mix was a dreamy floral, in ensembles of gauzy floral print, that is as feminine as it sounds, rendering straightforward jackets a cute ‘play-date’ quality.

Dolce & Gabbana

Nostalgia and an escape to a more innocent era (here Cinema Paradiso 1950s) marked this collection. Domenico Dolce's and Stefano Gabbana Sicilian roots were shown in rose-tinted splendour in a recreation an entire village. The cast of urchins, salesmen, sailors and piano-tuner were actually drawn from Sicilian towns and villages. It said authentic and felt emotional, a rare and beautiful thing in fashion.
Although Dolce & Gabbana have carved out a business making clothes mined from fashions past, the appeal of this season has a lot to do with a rustic simplicity and innocence, obvious if you compare this collection with the gilded opulence of the last one (Fall 2012). The high-waisted, pleated shorts, the faded colours and antique prints, the oversized shirts, the awning-stripes and pyjama tops, the sailor tees, all spelt summer, sun and sea. The escape is from the formality of the city and the cares of the adult. The tightly belted hand-me-down pants, and three-piece suits do not say ‘slick banker’ but have that well-worn look of something worn by a country doctor.

Ermenegildo Zegna

The banker was also in retreat at Ermenegildo Zegna, the bastion of traditional masculinity. Instead of the dour shades of wool from their famous mills, the suitings were made in colour-saturated, glossy silks. Silk showed up in every look, from sensual knits to shining shantung suiting, to softly wafting shirts. The use of bold print was unusual at Zegna as well, not just the traditional pinstripes or checks but botanical, organic repeat patterns. The silhouette had the narrowness of youth, with tapered, high-waist pants, a nipped waist and strong shoulders.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo, another bastion of the classic, was doused in blinding Marvel comic colour. Creative Director Massimiliano Giornetti completed the looks with vibrant-coloured sneakers instead of sober leather, which had more than a dollop of Osh Kosh B’gosh.

Calvin Klein Collection

Creative director Italo Zucchelli recalls Calvin Klein’s heyday in anachronistic ‘youth cult’ looks that seemed to come straight out of 1982. The iconography of American sportswear, a Never Never Land of jeans, khakis, bomber jackets and some of the shortest shorts of the season (printed with pansies to boot!) seemed taken directly from the boys’ department. (See the three looks above.)

Conclusion: The flight from troubled times has taken shape in easy fit clothes that can be pulled over heads, like most children’s clothes, such as T-shirts. The majority of tops were in fact collarless and based on the tee – with short, wide sleeves for easy movement. A curious sexless note is evident in the many Eastern inflections, including tunic shirts, draped overshirts, and loose, pleated pants that hid the crotch, an obvious sign that the virile alpha male has gone on retreat. 

A FASHION FAIRYTALE: ALL NERVES AND PINS AND NEEDLES

CHAPTER 11

The Fitting Salon at the Tom Tam’s Atelier, 9am.

Was it destiny or merely coincidence? Perhaps it was all for the best that Eli Kee, the subject of Bella Teo’s stunning revelations, and the object of Dana Lee’s emotional turmoil, had just then embarked on a whirlwind tour of the region to promote his jazz album. Apparently there was an enormous market for new jazz acts in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City. But who would have known this? Certainly not Dana Lee, who simply assumed that jazz was more niche than a Givenchy kilt for men. Dana was not musical at all, you see. Was there really a rapt audience in Vietnam for a new Singapore musician? The entire music business was such a mystery. Eli was such a mystery. Mysterious Eli had concealed his relationship with sly Bella from Dana for months! How could he? And why would he? And then Dana remembered how Eli had always left large chunks of his family life vague; Dana didn’t even know where exactly Eli lived. Eli had sometimes offered that he was bunking over at a friend’s – Dana had assumed it was a male buddy, a chum, another starving artist, perhaps, a poet. But now Bella Teo is saying that she, Bella, was that friend! Dear Eli texted and called but Dana had thought it best to wait for him to return from his promotions before she confronted him with what Bella had been saying.

Meanwhile there was The Ice Ball to think about. 

Yes, into each life some Ball must fall. And The Ice Ball was the hot ticket of the fashion show season, depite the "Frosty Chic" theme. And as the main figure of the fashion scene, Dana was keenly aware how important it was for her to make an impressive show – to which end no effort, or expense, must be spared. You think a ball that when a ball is announced, a stiff, elegantly-worded invitation with gilt embossing delivered, and beautiful people just turned up in their glittering best? No! The invitation on the mantle was but the first of the many, many arduous processes before the limos rolled up to the red carpet to disgorge its precious cargo. As for Dana Lee, perhaps it wasn’t such bad timing that there was The Ice Ball to think about now. Unproductive to endlessly ponder and question Eli that Bella’s relationship until Dana could talk to Eli directly. “I’m sure he has a perfectly logical explanation for the pictures,” decided Dana. “It’ll just have to wait until Eli returns after The Ice Ball.” Eli had called Dana a few times and with daily text messages came pictures of the exotic locales of his tour, but Dana didn’t bring up what was uppermost in her mind as being inappropriate.

This morning, Dana is in Tom Tam’s Atelier, where she stood being fitted for the gown for the ball. Calm reigned in the atelier, as always. Or rather Tom Tam, the couturier reigned, with a pair of scissors hanging from a ribbon round his neck, a pin cushion as a watch, and plenty of sharp words to go around. Tom Tam had started life as the dreamy Thomas Tam Tuck Teck, but had shed all the alliterations for the elegant two. Standing now on a felt covered podium before a three-screen mirror, and having five different people studying her every angle, and every fold and crevice of the pale mint duchesse satin gown felt oddly reassuring. For the two hours Dana was to be pinned and tucked, she didn’t need to feel the pinpricks of her emotions, nor the misery of her doubts that perhaps, Eli might not be the artist-prince that he she had thought him. “How can I be so wrong? Not again! And at my age too!” thought Dana. 

Dana Lee, never lucky in love! She briefly thought about the first boy she had fallen in love with in school. 

“Tom Tam,” sighed Dana, in her own clothes at last. “I hope this will be the last of the fittings. I seriously can afford no more time and now we must finalise the shoes and things – probably not gloves. Pretentious, you know,” said Dana as she placed on a vast muslin-covered table, which displayed ranks of gloves and silk flowers and lace collars her galuchet Asprey jewellery case. Unlocking it, she showed the grizzled couturier black velvet trays of jewellery that she intended to wear.

PUCCI PRINT

Gucci Spring 2013

MIRROR IMAGE PRINT/ PATTERN

Givenchy Spring 2012

Gucci Spring 2013

SPRING 2013 MENSWEAR: RED SUIT, GUCCI

ck Calvin Klein Spring Summer 2010

Givenchy Fall 2012

Gucci Spring 2013