- By Sara Micelotta -

If Indie group MGMT comes to mind when you hear the name MSGM, its most likely because designer, Massimo Giorgetti, is not your average fashion designer.  Yes, he may share his top influences with essentially every other fashion designer in existence (who doesn’t idolize Yves Saint Laurent and Coco Chanel?!) but that’s just about where his mainstream impression ends.  In addition to being skilled in designing contemporary women’s and men’s clothing, Giorgetti is both a modern art enthusiast as well as a DJ, which he brings with him into his workshop.  After years of working for retailers, wholesalers and designers, Giorgetti capitalized on an opening in the Italian marketplace and debuted his first solo collection in the Spring of 2010, taking the Milanese fashion industry by storm.  Although MSGM’s silhouettes are rather classic, their prints are anything but ordinary; if you don’t believe us, see the Spring/Summer 2013 women’s collection—one might even say that jaguars are the new floral! Still not convinced? Even MSGM’s menswear collection features unconventional prints, wide-striped button downs and camo-printed pants—must-haves for every male fashion enthusiast.

Despite being headquartered and entirely produced in Milan, MSGM’s wonderfully playful dresses, skirts, pants and tops can be found in more than 300 retail stores throughout the world. With a collection that screams glamorous, its obvious why Giorgetti has women everywhere begging for more.

Click to shop our favorites from Spring 2013:

 

-By Sara Micelotta-

For those of us who aren’t afraid of setting aside our new patent pumps and showing-off our inner-rockstar, we turn to Zadig & Voltaire. From sequins and metallics to Tunisian tees and skull-adorned cashmere wraps, the brand embodies urban luxury in every sense of the word. Think casual chic. The kinds of pieces you feel are almost too comfortable to wear in public, until you look in your full-length mirror and realize you’re at a ten on the scale of one to chic.

It’s no surprise that the man behind it all, Thierry Gillier, has his own thriving label—yes, he’s the son of Lacoste co-founder, André Gillier, which essentially makes him fashion royalty. Gillier embraced his designer DNA early on and launched his eponymous label in Paris circa 1997. With an appreciation for French philosophy—hence the brand’s name—and passion for all things artistic, Gillier draws upon his many influences to maintain the brand’s modern, rock and roll aesthetic. Fortunately for the rest of the world, Gillier didn’t keep Zadig & Voltaire a French secret for long. From the United States to the Middle East (and essentially everywhere in between), we can find photo-worthy women, men and children rocking the brand’s signature cashmere pulls and printed tees. Everyone needs a little Zadig in their life.

Shop our favorites off the Spring 2013 Runway:

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And check out the looks we love from Fall 2013:

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- By Stacy Igel -

If you’re looking for some whimsical and fantasy worthy accessories, let us introduce you to Sophia Webster. One word that describes her collection of party-ready shoes and handbags: FUN.  The kind of fun that makes all your other shoes seem pale in comparison.  The kind of shoes that make you ask yourself, “Where have you been all my life?”.   Why wouldn’t you want to throw on a pair of sunset printed sandals or circle stacked heels?

British born accessories designer Sophia Webster, who apprenticed for shoe wizard Nicholas Kirkwood (who continues to be her mentor and supporter of her line), launched her namesake collection of attention-grabbing shoes and accessories last year, and is already filling the trophy cabinet. Webster was named Emerging Footwear Designer of the Year by Condé Nast Footwear News, and one of the Top 100 People to Watch on The Times 2013 New Power List.   This is pretty incredible considering her Spring-Summer 2013 line marks her first official collection. Inspired by Brazil and artist Yayoi Kusama, Webster’s shoes are playful and imaginative, yet still remain chic and stylish. Bravo from one designer to another!

 Sophia Webster sits surrounded by her shoes and accessories.  Photo courtesy of Edmond So.

The best part is that each shoe and accessory makes a statement.  Whether it’s an ankle strap, sequin-sprayed sandal with a patent leather bow, or neon-splashed PVC slingbacks, one thing is for sure – these are not for those that take life too seriously.

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Click to shop our favorites from Spring 2013:

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And a sneak peek at what we’re loving for Fall:

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Sophia Webster is available online exclusively at Net-a-Porter. 

-Stacy Igel is the founder and creative director of the young contemporary brand, Boy Meets Girl®.  She is also the host of Behind the Seams™ with Stacy Igel as seen on Lockerz.com & MTVu.com.  Stacy is a frequent lecturer on subjects including social media, branding and entrepreneurship in fashion, and she is deeply committed to a number of charities, including the Young Survival Coalition and BullyBust. You can follow her on Twitter @stacyigel or at her blog. 

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- By Lauren McGovern -

It’s 1973 and six-year-old Derek Lam is in a garment factory filled with humming machines. Born in San Francisco, he spent his childhood in his grandparent’s San Francisco garment factory.  Lying on a pile of fabric, kibitzing with the seamstresses, hypnotized and enamored by every stitch of the surrounding wedding dresses.

It’s fair to say that Derek Lam was destined for design greatness.  Parsons grad, assistant to Michael Kors – the fashion world was Derek’s oyster and in 2003, he debuted his first collection at New York Fashion Week. The Derek Lam label, as a whole, has a flair for feminine fabrics and crisp silhouettes. Signature pieces include silk sheath dresses with daring necklines, wide-leg wool trousers and perfectly tailored cashmere pea coats fit sharply but delicately to flatter the everyday woman.

Fast-forward eleven years. Meet RACHEL Rachel Roy, Michael Michael Kors and Marc by Marc Jacobs. These designers and many more have addressed the need for a more affordable line for all of us to enjoy.  Ever eager to shatter the fashion barrier glass, Derek created a diffusion line and titled it, 10 Crosby.  Why “10 Crosby” as his title?  Because down to the core, New York City is the apple of Derek’s eye.  He expresses his love of SoHo through 10 Crosby because after all, this is the address of his studio, the home of his inspiration.

“My office is facing the street, and on my cigarette breaks when I’m blowing smoke out of the window, there are so many great moments when I see a girl walking down the street and she’s super stylish and very inspiring. Crosby Street is so unique – it’s one of my favorite in New York City.” –Derek Lam

Derek describes 10 Crosby as the little sister of Derek Lam: free spirited and sometimes slouchy, with vibrant colors and edgy prints. To top it off, 10 Crosby garments will make you feel like you’re wearing pajamas. Added bonus? The price points won’t max out your credit card.

At this point, everyone (and we mean everyone) wants a piece of 10 Crosby by Derek Lam.  The latest venture for the diffusion line?  Oh, just an an online store through amazon.com.  While amazon will not only include an internal mini-site for the consumer, there will be an entire experience created for the user coming to the website to make purchases (including capsule collections).  We’d say that’s a pretty major e-commerce move.

In contrast to eccentric color combos and prints of seasons past, 10 Crosby delivers a more sophisticated look for Fall 2013. Call it 10 Crosby goes to prep school. But don’t get it twisted; Lam never fails to deliver an element of sexiness. We absolutely love the peek-a-boo sheer skirts and silk shorts, giving these otherwise ordinary fall sweaters some serious sex appeal.  Other favorites include a fur-trimmed wool coat and stripped dress, paired with pointy flats, and an exposed back sweater.  Be brazen and rock it sans bra – we won’t judge.

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1. Silk Maxi Dress

2. Lizard Tee Dress

3. Lizard Skinny Pants

4. Drop Shoulder Jacket 

5. Folio Mini Bag 

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Philly born but Brooklyn dwelling, Lauren Grace McGovern is a social media addict, lover of fashion, food, music and travel.  You can follow her on twitter –  @governorla

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There are few designers as iconic as Mr. de la Renta, so when I was asked to support his capsule collection for the Outnet.com, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. His designs – the feminine silhouettes, princess-like gowns, and couture-like refinement – what fashion dreams are made of!  Now, with this collection for the Outnet, everyone can have an Oscar de la Renta hanging in their wardrobe to treasure forever. Every single piece is timeless and definitively Oscar - in fact,the entire collection was created using fabrics and patterns from the Oscar de la Renta archives.

The gorgeous 24 piece collection of brightly colored, full skirted dress, wide leg pants, and tie-neck blouses, are available now on Net-a-Porter’s sister site! Happy Shopping!

xo,

- By Nausheen Shah - 

In the jungle, the oh-so-mighty jungle, a kaleidoscope of exotic-skinned animals sleep tonight.  Albeit the pythons may be cerulean blue, poppy red, and chiquita banana yellow, but in the wild land of the shoe obsessed, it’s as if the gods have answered our prayers.

Let us introduce you to Aquazzura. A brand taking evolution into it’s own hands by creating striking footwear for fashion’s elite and every other lady with a shoe constricted fetish.

Edgardo Osorio, the designer behind Aquazzura, wants women to get back to wearing something more elegant, but in a new way.  His intensions to fill the niche of well-made sophisticated heels without the stacked platform, nor the sky-rocketed price tags, couldn’t have come at a better timing.

Based in Florence, Italy, the name Aquazzura comes from the Italian “acqua azzurra” which means blue water. While on a trip to Capri, Osorio felt the name to be perfect in evoking the finesse of Italian design in a fresh and positive way.

Perhaps the elegant details of Aquazzura’s shoes come from the designer’s extensive background.  Besides for being born in Colombia yet raised between London and Miami, Osorio’s taste of opulance may have something to do with his training at Central Saint Martins or on the other foot, it may have something to do with his experience working for prestigious luxury brands Salvatore Ferragamo, René Caovilla and Roberto Cavalli.

Either way, Osorio’s overall love for drop-dead glamour and modern design has insured each one of his madams that feeling ‘sexy’ is the norm.  And just to be 100% assured, Osorio went ahead and labeled his statement styles ‘Sexy Thing’, ‘Sexy Star’, and just straight up ‘Very Sexy.’   Did it just get hot in here?

Aquazzura Spring/Summer 2013 Collection

While you may be feeling seductive strutting around the Amazon in his colorful serpent scales, soft suede, laser-cut star details and string tie closures, Osorio also added a little extra hidden gem to the bottom of each and every one of his pairs to show off the fruits of his labor – a golden pineapple, an homage to his homeland Colombia.

So ladies, with 2013 being the year of the snake allow Aquazzura to inject some venom into your style. After all, beauty is only snakeskin deep.

Aquazzura Spring/Summer 2013 Collection

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- By Nausheen Shah - 

Pick a cover any cover.  Perhaps you are an avid reader and novels such as ‘the Catcher in the Rye’ and ‘Doctor Zhivago’ tickle your fancy.  Yet, what should be your library has become a makeshift accessories closet lining your ‘bookshelves’ with adorned handbags and clutches instead.  Yes, we all understand.  It happens to the best of us.  Well, we have found a solution that can combine the best of both worlds and relieve a smidgen of that guilt.

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Designer Olympia Le Tan

Meet Olympia Le Tan, a self-taught fashion designer, born in London and raised in Paris.  Combining her two obsessions, embroidery (a talent she inherited from her grand-mother), and literature (a passion she shares with her father, French illustrator Pierre Le-Tan), Le Tan creates one-of-a-kind handbags and minaudières representing, among other things, books.  The bags are handmade with love in France in very limited editions, but distributed in over 30 select shops around the world.

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Olympia Le Tan Spring/Summer 2013 "Macaroon" bag

Since the launch of her eponymous accessories label in 2009, Le Tan’s collections have included anything from a caviar tin inspired wristlet to a milk carton cross body bag.  For her Spring/Summer 2012 collection, Le Tan allowed her love for music to evoke a Jazz themed line.  Three new bag styles were introduced: the “Little 45″, a square box-clutch with embroidered reproductions of jazz and blues record covers, the 7″ bag, a square leather bag with a brass handle where you can actually put your 7″ vinyls if you still have any, and the Macaroon bag, a round clutch with brass sides, with embroidered reproductions of vinyl labels.

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In addition, Le Tan recently launched her first ready to wear collection in March of 2012, displaying classic clothes with a twist.  The line is mostly a mix between Olympia’s British and Paris heritage using velvets, tartans, college stripes and Liberty print fabrics to create dresses, jackets and a few leather pieces.

Olympia Le Tan Spring/Summer 2013 Collection

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Adored by dames across the globe, this is one collection you have to go straight to the source to obtain. Exhibiting unparalleled, lavish details, Le Tan’s pieces are crafted in a way no other designer is able to duplicate.  So next time you notice the literary-loving fashion elite cradling a piece of text, don’t assume the obvious.  Haven’t you already learned?  Never judge a book by its cover.

Olympia Le Tan Spring/Summer 2013 Collection

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- By Nausheen Shah - 

Throughout history, man has been known to reinvent all walks of life.   Some have chosen to reinvent the automobile, while others have chosen the bicycle.  Well meet the man who has taken the most basic means of transportation and reinvented it into a constant transforming piece of art.  His name is Nicholas Kirkwood and his specialty is the heel.

Whether it is abnormally curved , plexiglass, metal waves or donning a ruffle, Nicholas Kirkwood has become a master of evolving the heel in ways unimaginable.  But to limit Kirkwood to the heel would be frivolous as he is also the master of platforms, covering it in anything from contrasting metallics to lining it with pearls.

As a graduate of Central Saint Martins, Kirkwood jump-started his career by working as a salesman for legendary British milliner Philip Treacy in 1999.  Here, Kirkwood took away the philosophy of always staying true to himself and never designing to appeal to the masses.  He would rather “mean more to less people than not very much to a lot of people.”

In a constant effort to be original and new without referring to past vintage styles, Kirkwood’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection is a symbol of this mantra.  He was largely inspired by Hokusai’s famous giant wave painting “The Great Wave of Kanagawa,” which is displayed on platforms and built in the shape of his overall architectural design.  His color-happy hues are soaked in isle colors ranging from aquamarine and cerulean blue to lime green and poppy red.

In addition to his customers, it seems that Kirkwood fans also lie in the form of other designers themselves.  Peter Pilotto, Erdem, and Prabal Gurung are just a few of the designers who collaborate with Kirkwood for their own collections.  In addition, Kirkwood serves as the Creative Director of Pollini, having single handily revived the Italian brand with his avant-garde touch.

Nicholas Kirkwood may not produce the most fundamental footwear for our everyday needs, but he does provide us with a pretty little specimen suitable for an art gallery.  Afterall, his intention is not to reinvent the wheel, but rather reinvent the heel.

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- By Nicole Castagneto -

Translating to “Blonde Brunette” British shoe brand Bionda Castana has been catching our eyes; its mix of femininity and edgy details, making for glam yet ultimately wearable shapes that span any and all occasions. Created by Londoners Natalia Barbieri and Jennifer Portman, Bionda Castana begins the design process in London, before coming to fruition – handcrafted in a family-owned factory – in Italy.

At a recent intimate candle-lit cocktail party, we sat down with designer Natalia Barbieri. A woman of grace and beauty, as well as a welcoming presence, we asked what inspired her Fall 2012 collection; her response was like a mural that attracted even the most skeptical of buyers.

“… inspired by the strength, beauty and mystique of film noir heroines, this collection is timelessly confident, effortlessly sexy, and utterly irresistible. The sensual, unspoken sexuality of the Forties and Fifties beats at the heart of the collection – each shoe the footwear equivalent of a knowing glance or subtle smile.”

“A women’s shoes give away her mood,” and Natalia’s collections paint this broad image ranging from a masculine studded loafer to a perfectly arched heel with a romantic body. With roughly two months of actual designing, the process always repeats itself starting with a blank canvas. Inspired by anything and everything that makes one’s life so fulfilled, it is predominantly her gut feelings that motivate her. Quality is what always stays consistent throughout each collection by only using the finest skins, handcrafted workmanship and, as always, being made in Italy.

“Fashion is the expression of all ones inner self.”

Shortly after Bionda Castana was launched, all of Natalia’s hard work and inspiration paid off by winning the Vogue Italia ‘Who Is On Next’ competition. With the future at hand (and a goal to work on a collection with Chanel in the offing), Natalia has paved a path that surly will succeed.

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New York based, Nikki Castagneto is a jewelry designer recently launching Nikki Cast Jewelry in 2011. Nikki’s line is a fusion of masculine and feminine creating a truly unisex experience. Nikki Cast derives inspiration by the facets of our everyday lives as well as her love for motocross,“From Tools to Jewels.” Make sure to follow her on Twitter @byNikkiCast  

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- By Nausheen Shah - 

Brunello Cucinelli, a man who has found a way to take the ‘ordinary and make it extraordinary.’  Even with 27 years under his marrone python belt, Cucinelli maintains a brand that defines timelessness based on 3 simple points; luxury, comfort and most importantly, cashmere.

Therefore, it is no surprise that his latest collection doesn’t stray far from the past, sustaining the classic Cucinelli aesthetic.  Silk and cotton are the stars of his Spring 2013 presentation, together with impalpable, flowing wool which appears dry, sablé, and fringe-like.  Cropped jackets and tops demonstrated the predominate use of this treatment.  They are used to offset lustrous, glossy surfaces that resemble molten metal as their appearance is quite opaque and crisp appearing on shoulders and peplums of t-shirts.  But as in any Brunello Cucinelli collection exemplifying contemporary sporty-chic elements, femininity must be accentuated – and this season it is highlighted through layers of ultra-light organza, muslin, and gauze.

Brunello Cucinelli Spring/Summer 2013 Collection - Photos courtesy of French Vogue

Brunello Cucinelli’s desire for simplicity is also expressed through his color-stories, which often cater to monochrome neutral and soft color palettes.  This season, his refined nuances range from nude and stone to warmer shades of terracotta, copper, and coffee with seasonal hues in slate, coral, and malachite green.

In addition to reviewing his latest collection, we had the honor of spending some time with Mr. Cucinelli himself in which he was able to elaborate about his brand, his clothing and himself.

Brunello Cucinelli Spring/Summer 2013 Collection - Photos courtesy of French Vogue

How would you define your brand?

“It’s a lot easier to get dressed well for the evening, but it can be more challenging to get dressed properly for the daytime.   Therefore I think it is important to make chic, luxury sportswear.  It should be light and attention to detail and workmanship is extremely important.”

What is the reasoning for the brand staying in a soft, earthy palate season after season?

“Our culture is not about strong color. It has never been.  For us it is a matter of taste and lifestyle.  I will do color but in my way.  You can find a lot of different shades of neutral.  It takes a lot of study and dedication to find the right palate, but through color research we are able do a lot of work in color combinations.”

What is the inspiration for the girl this season?

“Young, rock, chic.  I like women with style who know how to carry clothes well so I design clothing that can be worn by a 25 year old or 50 year old. The clothing always feels simple, but has impeccable craftsmanship.  This season I used a lot of texture.”

What are your top 3 passions after designing?

1.     I have a great love of philosophy;

2.     Architecture; and

3.     Sports.  Especially soccer.

I am very inspired by sports in my collections.  I will make a windbreaker, but in cashmere. For me, sweats are also made in cashmere. 

In menswear when you are a certain age it is important to wear a tailored jacket, but I prefer it with cargo pants.  It is sporty but still luxury.  It makes you feel more youthful.

Tonight I couldn’t wear my cargo pants because it was not that kind of evening, but if I always had it my way, I would dress in cargo pants, a tie and blazer.

Brunello Cucinelli Spring/Summer 2013 Collection - Photos courtesy of French Vogue