Vivienne, mon amour

The latest Red Label collection captures what I love most about Viv's designs. She takes the best of wholesome, classical tailoring then switches the center of balance in the garment: elongates a lapel, shifts a few buttons, tugs at the hem of the skirt, loosens up the collar. If I didn't know how much thought and calculation goes into making these clothes look effortlessly disheveled, I'd imagine it's all the work of a bunch of mischievous smurfs who regularly break into the studio of a hard-nosed British tailor and put their own spin on the finished products. Or maybe it's a willful trophy wife who does what she can to rebel against some dress-code.

As a bonus, this collection is a study in my favorite color scheme. A teal undershirt peeping from under a coral dress; ice-blue tartan trousers worn with burgundy boots and belt, and a soft camel coat to tie it all together; the shimmering, cascading lilac dress; the beige knit ensemble i could live in; the perfect yet stubbornly asymmetrical black velvet blazer worn with a jabot shirt and - oh Vivienne - torn skinny jeans; and possibly the look I'd most like to own: the gray sweat-suit style two-piece worn with a laid-back chambray shirt.

zero waste design

yep, this anorac can be produced without any waste. designer Andria Crescioni, a graduate of Parsons The New School for Design, took the width of the fabric as a starting point and re-thought the pattern of this one-size-fits-most anorac so as to use all the material (100% wool, by the way), without leftovers.

Loomstate undertook to produce the garment and it retails at 345 USD.

Makes me think of that old idea I had of taking a pair of discarded jeans and consume it for various projects to the last scrap. I think I've done that with a pair of jeans already without documenting the process: in the course of three years, 1 pair of jeans = two soft toys and a kindle cover. Perhaps it's time for a new cycle. Especially since I have old jeans galore, a new teddy bear pattern, and a couple of grungy ideas.