Cuban Fashion: Tight, Bright and Sometimes Blindingly White

This month's travelling took me to Cuba, for a week of sunshine, museum visits and surprisingly nice beer. Whilst not everything was plain sailing, particularly as I was robbed on my first day in Havana, I did have plenty of time to check out Cuban style and try to define the looks that locals tend to go for. Here are the Havana fashion notes I came up with.

 

A street seller sporting a denim shirt.

• Showing how totally unaffected they are by the heat, locals wear loads of denim and quite often will be seen in warm hoodies or cardigans. Meanwhile you'll be struggling to cool yourself down in skimpy layers and looking for the nearest bar with air con - all part of the experience! 
• Despite the unrelenting heat, lycra and polyester make frequent appearances in the wardrobes of Cuban women. They favour skin-tight clothing and are not ashamed to show off their figures, whether they're a size 6 with a glaring thigh gap or size 20 with a little more to love. You're most likely to find leggings in candy pink or turquoise teamed with stretchy vest tops and boob tubes - think Jane Norman and Primark in the UK.
• In markets you'll see plenty of leather bags, sandals and belts, not just in tan but in a wide range of colours. If you've got money to burn then they make great souvenirs (or presents for yourself).

 

A striped headscarf makes an appearance.

• Headscarves are worn by both men and women and they tend to be very colourful and patterned. Hats are popular too, but headscarves are a better choice for surviving the often strong tropical winds that blow through the city and avoiding a ruined hairdo.
• Sweat doesn't seem to be a problem here - however synthetic the uniforms of officials, you're lucky to spot one moistened brow, let alone an emergency requiring copious amounts of Right Guard. However, if you're from the UK, you'll be the one doing enough sweating for everyone, so it's essential to invest in mattifying moisturiser, lightweight layers of clothing in cotton and linen, a decent deodorant and plenty of sun cream, which should be applied regularly.
• Unlike my visit to Thailand, where locals proudly showed off designer labels and recognisable brand names emblazoned on their t-shirts, from Jack Daniel's to Prada, Cuba is clearly less exposed to designer culture. Clothing may have slogans or intricate designs, but it won't necessarily have a brand attached; many items are plain or carry a simple pattern. As a visitor, you should be mindful of the animosity between Cuba and the USA and try to avoid packing items covered in blatant US slogans or logos, such as the US flag (plus you don't want to draw attention to your tourist status!). 

[Image via Coolhunting.com]. 

The scrunchie makes a comeback here...

•   Women wearing uniforms add a touch of personality through their tights, which can be anything from lace print to fishnet or leopard print; the only rule is that the tights have to be black. Another area of self-expression is their nails, where crazy colour combinations and patterns reign supreme, and their hair, which can be adorned with 90s-era accessories like flower-shaped clips and scrunchies in bold hues.
• Some ladies ditch the skin-tight bright outfits in favour of a blinding all-white ensemble in cotton, with tiered maxi dresses or wide skirts and lacy white vest tops, finished off with white pumps or sandals and a co-ordinating parasol. This type of clothing is widely available on market stalls and in the small shops lining Obispo.
• Wearing white for fashion is not to be confused with a national protest movement known as the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco), campaigning for the release of 75 political prisoners held by the government after voicing their views about human rights. The women wear white to Mass each Sunday and walk through the streets to promote their cause.

So, that's pretty much Havana style in a nutshell. If you've ever been to Cuba and you want to add anything to the list, let me know by leaving a comment below. I'd love to hear your tips!

Fashion Book Review: Coco Chanel - The Legend and the Life, by Justine Picardie

Coco Chanel was, like her fashion house's logo, a mass of contradictions. Just as the interlocking but equally opposing letter 'C's could have more than one meaning, their creator often had more than one state of mind, recollection or opinion, depending on who she was addressing and why. 

 [Image via Wikimedia Commons - credited to Time/Getty].

The designer photographed in 1920.

She demanded simplicity, yet was often surrounded by ceremony and grandeur, living at the Ritz when the mood took her, or building a haven on the French Riviera, heading to Hollywood and regularly partying on her lover the Duke of Westminster's yacht - so far, so glamorous. But her humble beginnings were more like a fairy story, as the young Chanel (known then as Gabrielle rather than Coco) dealt with her mother's death and her father's reluctance to be a parent. She was placed in an orphanage, along with her sister, though later she would describe this period of her childhood as being raised by strict aunts, rather than the nuns who actually ran the orphanage and taught her to sew. 

It's clear very early on into the book that Chanel was like the classic unreliable narrator in literature, forever changing her story and her circumstances; she would regularly lie about her age and her origins, tailoring a fantastical beginning of her own that could induce jealousy or sympathy at the drop of a hat. Fortunately Justine Picardie replaces the unreliable narrator's tales with as many of the facts as she can muster, interviewing many people who were close to the great woman and her world. 

 [Image via Instyle.com].

Vintage earrings featuring the instantly recognisable logo.

Picardie's detective work and her fluid descriptions bring this biography to life, despite all of the twists and turns and the regular stumbling blocks of Chanel's little white lies that the writer encountered whilst trying to unravel the reality behind all those myths. One of the most bizarre anecdotes involves the designer's favourite childhood haunt - the cemetery at Auvergne. 'If Chanel's own account is to be believed, by the age of six she was spending as much time as possible in a graveyard... she became attached to two unnamed tombstones, decorating them with wildflowers' (p.16). Imagery like this stays with the reader and helps to peel back the layers in her personality. 

The graveyard ties in nicely with the love of wearing black that she brought to the public, taking it out of the state of mourning and into the everyday, 'wearing black as a symbol of strength and freedom' (p.85). Conversely, she also pushed white clothing as a trend, to suggest 'candid innocence' in the wake of the Great Depression (p.179), and her all-white collection of spring 1933 went down a storm. Chanel even wore white to one of her friend's funerals, though she never wore white as a bride, staying unmarried throughout her life, despite numerous all-consuming love affairs up until her 50s. She emerged from every broken relationship a stronger and more resilient person, often staying close to her ex-boyfriends (much to the chagrin of their future wives). 

[Image via Gawker.com]

Still glamorous in later life and getting the wear out of those pearls.

Of course, not every moment was a bed of roses, and Picardie does shed light on the most scandalous boyfriend of all - a high-ranking Nazi, albeit one who could have potentially been a double agent. Unlike many of her couturier contemporaries in the city, Chanel closed her atelier during the war, and the only German she was seen to spend time with was her lover, Baron von Dincklage, but still the rumours about her being a Nazi collaborator persisted. This was obviously a tricky area for Picardie to research, but it does feel like the weakest section of the book, given the strength of those rumours, which persist today. I would have loved to see more investigation and depth in this part of the  biography, as there are still so many unanswered questions about the designer during this period. 

Essentially, this biography provides a huge amount of insight into the complicated life of Coco Chanel, from her humble beginnings as Gabrielle, to her stellar reputation and her line of properties along the Rue Cambon in Paris. It explores the dizzying heights, but also the pitfalls that she encountered, such as the poorly received comeback collection of 1954 (the ever-strong Chanel 'faced the critics with her lips and nails in brave warpaint... the reviews were savage enough to have felled a woman less sure of herself', p.269-270). This is not a lightweight coffee table book, least of all because of its slim line photo sections at the expense of more text; it's a solid and engrossing profile of the great designer, written with Picardie's own insider knowledge and contacts in the fashion industry to hand. If you're keen to learn more about this fashion icon, The Legend and the Life is a great place to start your education.

Disclaimer: I was kindly provided with a review copy of this book, courtesy of the publishers, Harper. However, the views expressed in this post are my own.

Moda Lisboa S/S14: Portuguese Labels to Love

Yes, I'm turning my attention to yet another Fashion Week around the world, and this time it's Lisbon that has managed to catch my eye. There are some really talented Portuguese designers out there, and I spent ages poring over their work on Portugal Confidential and the official Moda Lisboa website.

Here are six of my favourites, as captured by photographer Rui Vasco; firstly, three designers who relied heavily on blue as an accent colour, and then secondly, three designers striking out with very individual styles.

 [All images via Portugal Confidential and Rui Vasco]. 

Pedro Pedro's tactile collection focused on texture, right down to the glossy hair of the models.

There was an interesting clash of femininity (delicate layers, long hair, little satchels) and masculinity (flat grey caps, overcoats, the face as a blank canvas) in the clothing here. I feel that these are the kind of ensembles worn by a Burberry devotee who seeks something a bit more individual and pared down; something more authentic than the sleek trench coat.

 Ricardo Preto went for practical pieces emphasised by folds, with iridescent sheer layers underneath.

Unlike Pedro Pedro's bare models, the ladies at Ricardo Preto sported washes of gaudy eyeshadow in purple, blue and red, worn against a muted colour palette of blues, greys and greens in the clothing itself. I loved the different silhouettes created by the changing volume of the outfits - cocoon coats and slimline waistcoats vying for attention on the same catwalk.

SayMyName had an Avatar-meets-Gaga feel to its S/S14 line.

According to the notes, SayMyName was inspired this season by the robes of a Senegalese brotherhood, but (to my untrained eye) I felt like there was a distinct note of Gaga to the proceedings. I loved the oily slickness of the dresses, clinging in places and glossing over the figure in others. There was a real sense of craft and playfulness that I couldn't resist.

 Nuno Baltazar made an impression in black.

How much do I want to be a Nuno Baltazar woman? She's like one of those effortlessly cool types that I always clock at Fashion Week, strutting through the courtyard at Somerset House in vertiginous heels, without a care in the world. I picked these black and white pieces to show you, but there was some colour in the collection, however my stand-out picks reflect the power of simple pieces to really make an outfit. Barbed wire print and clever drapery? Yes, please.

 Os Burgueses delivered a collection inspired by '1960s wallpaper'. 

The power of print was evident from Os Burgueses' range for this season. A humble banana became key to the quirk appeal of these outfits, topped off by punk-lite belts and precisely wrapped head scarves. These looks had the feeling of playing in the dressing up box at first glance, but you just know they'll be worn by fashion leaders who never put a hair out of place. I'm envious.

Ricardo Dourado's range was called Drop the City and blended simple street wear with intricate dinosaur prints.

If you're seeking something a bit more streetwise from Fashion Week, you can't fail to be impressed by Ricardo Dourado's vision for Spring/Summer 2014. His ideal customer seems to be a woman who isn't afraid of fashion's chameleon potential; she wants to be someone else and is happy to experiment with ballooning fabrics, off-the-wall prints and man repelling dungaree dresses. What's more, she's proud of the way she looks.

I've definitely been inspired by the work of these designers; Lisbon is clearly one to watch on the global fashion stage.

Saint Laurent S/S14: The waif chic look has gone too far

There's a point at which the banality of seeing size 0 models on the catwalk goes too far; when it stops being banal and starts being a cry for help. For me, that point came when flicking through the images of the Spring/Summer 2014 Saint Laurent (the brand formerly known as YSL) collection by Hedi Slimane.

Slimane, it's fair to say, loves the waif chic look through and through; he champions Pete Doherty, grunge and the faux-punk rebellion of the over-hyped Cara Delevingne, and he's previously created a book of rock photographs in his spare time. However, whilst I'm willing to accept the flannel shirts and rock 'n' roll attitude he brings to the brand, I am not at all comfortable with the aesthetic that his models are simultaneously bringing to the table. 

[Images via Style.com]. The Saint Laurent look for next season: worryingly thin.

The skeletal figures are not only upsetting, but they're also distracting, to the point where I can barely see the clothes because all I can picture are the jutting collarbones, alarming thigh gaps and paper-thin arms. I know that these models have walked other shows this season, that they look like hundreds of others on the circuit, but I've never seen their shape - or lack of shape - emerge quite so disturbingly from the catwalk before. This is not femininity or girl power; it is plain and simple deprivation.

Perhaps it's the slimline aesthetic of Hedi Slimane's designs, with the deliberately skinny ties and the asymmetric tops and dresses designed to highlight the shoulder and the collarbone? Whatever it is, it's not making me feel good about fashion or the health of these poor girls. Yes, they lead pressured lives and may 'accidentally forget to eat' sometimes or 'have a really fast metabolism', but at some point shouldn't the people around them intervene for the sake of their wellbeing?

Somebody please take these girls aside and give them a hug.

Besides the lack of professional concern for the models' physical and mental health, what concerns me is that these girls will be seen by the fashion world, and everyone interested in it, as perfectly normal, right down to the pre-teens who idolise them. Surely there is something wrong with the message being sent out here.

Considering the legacy of fashion shows past, I guess it shouldn't even be shocking to see such emaciated figures strutting down the runway, as the size 0 phenomenon has stayed with us since the 90s and shows depressingly little sign of disappearing. Maybe I was naive to hope that we'd get a bit more diversity in modelling in the 21st Century, with the healthier figures used by Mark Fast and, most recently, championed in the form of step dancers at Rick Owens' S/S14 show. But change is what we need, before we really do get stuck in a rut of terrifying proportions for the next generation of women seeking beauty validation from the catwalk.

Whatever Slimane might think, I do not believe that these girls should be modelling and I do not believe they should be part of his look. I really hope this show isn't the shape of things to come.

Photo Essay: Exploring Czech Labels & Friends

A little while ago I was lucky enough to step over the threshold of one of the coolest shops in Prague, during a city break there, and suddenly I was thrown into the achingly cool world of home-grown design talent from Czech Labels & Friends. Just moments from the Old Town Square, this boutique is a breath of fresh air.

 With accessories as good as these, it's hard to narrow down your selection!

The shop's window display was hard to ignore, with a cute replica of the tower on Prague's Petrin Hill being used to great effect. I was also tempted by the range of Melissa shoes in the window - the Brazilian shoe company is the only non-Czech designer stocked here, and her minimalist footwear really compliments the clothing on offer.

 Melissa shoes on display in the window.

 My changing room choices - there's nothing like a bit of cobalt blue.

 The gold detailing on this dress makes it even more memorable.

It's by Libor Komosny, from his m.ona collection.

 Whether you want humbug stripes and florals or bold orange fabric, there's something colourful here.

 This terracotta skirt is irresistible.

 What grabs your eye?

 An asymmetric silhouette and wooden jewellery: I love the combinations at work.

 Clean lines and evergreen basics like these will always be popular.

 Another peek at the windows.

This is the dress I bought, in just one of its many forms; it can be worn in several different ways (even more than what the designer's website suggests - Katarina, who works here, showed me six options).

Not only that, it's by an eco-friendly designer, Odivi.

If you're ever in Prague, I'd urge you to set aside some time to visit this shop, where the team - Katarina and Martina - are really knowledgeable and have a passion for style.

Czech Labels & Friends

Zelezna 12, 11000 Prague.

London's on Fire for S/S14: Meadham Kirchhoff, Giles and Vivienne Westwood Red Label

The catwalk was set ablaze this season by three great designers in London, each with their own slightly different fan-base. Meadham Kirchhoff is the brainchild of two talented young upstarts with a suitably edgy following, Giles has his endless celebrity endorsements and  mainstream fans from his brilliant New Look diffusion line, and Vivienne Westwood's Red Label boasting its incredible price tags and customer elite sitting not-quite-comfortably alongside her protestations that we all cut down on the number of clothes we buy. Ahem.

Controversial comments aside, these three shows had a lot in common; they all showed models looking empowered and fiery, whether channeling the Lolita look or going for something significantly more dishevelled. 

 L-R: Meadham Kirchhoff, Giles and Vivienne Westwood Red Label showed expressive styles with fiery traits - lace bras, bat-like headpieces and fierce make-up coordinated with a masterclass in layering that shouldn't work but somehow totally does. [All images via Style.com].

Both Meadham Kirchhoff and Giles chose to braid the hair of their models, whilst at Westwood it was all left to hang out in glorious waves, as though just undone from its plaits. The colours may not have been glowing at all times, in fact they could be pretty muted occasionally, but the prints and draping created lashings of drama to help things along.

 The boys  at Meadham Kirchhoff brought us a gold-tinged vision of summer with the prospect of raiding the dressing-up box for those accessories. 

Red satin princess-style gloves: check. Edwardian jacket fresh out of Downton: check. Gold jacket from that 80s fancy dress night: check. Finish it all off with strappy gold shoes and a piercingly bright orange wig and you're good to go.

This is what I call Lolita meets Little House on the Prairie (with a touch of Wednesday Addams). The Meadham Kirchhoff woman isn't afraid to wear her inner child on her sleeve, but that doesn't mean you should mess with her. She mixes decades and patterns better than you, and she can also drink you under the table.

 After reappropriating famous paintings and working with beautifully burned fabrics to set the mood of a smouldering country pile, Giles Deacon has finally created his own relics using these moody photographic prints by Glen Luchford.

There's a brilliant behind-the-scenes studio piece on Giles fresh on the Grazia website right now, explaining loads more about the creative process behind this collection. Amazingly, Giles spotted the photos being posted on Instagram by Luchford, many of them previously unpublished, and he was able to use them in the designs. There's an interesting cross-over with Prada here, as some of the pieces in the collection use prints from Glen's test shots for a Prada campaign back in 1997. 

What I love about the shapes of this part of the collection is that they flatter most figures and don't seek to exploit the women wearing the pieces. There's that all-important draping and forgiving volume that allows you to breathe underneath, rather than be constrained.

Westwood's combination of Pre-Raphaelite hair and distressed layers of clothing with slight Victorian and Edwardian nods (braces, muted florals, sharp masculine tailoring) was totally absorbing.

Being a Vivienne Westwood show, there were always going to be elements of punk spirit tied into all of this extravagance; the Climate Revolution t-shirts and the childish doodling of the make-up certainly added to that, along with the vertiginous multi-strap heels, but having Lily Cole steal the show in a beautifully simplistic and feminine beige dress made sure that this collection would be remembered for its balance of anger with feminine wiles. Trust Westwood to make beige look empassioned instead of bland. 

These three designers definitely lit up the catwalk for me, and they made a strong impact. I'll be watching out for the high street's interpretation of these looks.

Hellen Van Rees' S/S14 Presentation: Fuzzlayerglossbox

And so to London Fashion Week, where I began my adventures with the presentation from innovative Dutch designer Hellen Van Rees. I've previously covered Hellen's work here on the blog, and also for Running in Heels. It was fascinating to see how she's developed since then, especially as she's been garnering praise for her eco-friendly fashion stance (hello, Humanity in Fashion Award) and taking on the challenge of holding a TED talk on the theme of sustainability. This was her first solo presentation at Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Freemasons' Hall, giving her the chance to really shine.

The 15 looks she created for the collection had been influenced by 1920s-30s dressing, Boardwalk Empire and Coco Chanel. They showed a more mature side to the ideal Van Rees woman, with floor-length dresses and delicate chiffon pieces complemented by 2D cuboid panels, replacing the 3D cubes that were so prevalent in her earlier ranges.

 A minimalist all-white top and mid-length skirt combination in look 3.

 Wedge heels finished all of the outfits and really brought the looks together.

 The varying dimensions of this belt created drama at the waist. They also reminded me of city skylines, with the blocks like skyscrapers.

 The models' wispy backcombed hair and red lipstick was one example of the juxtapositions in this show.

 Here you can really get a feel for the different textures as they sat alongside each other.

 The oil slick effect here worked really well against the chiffon.

 As you can see, the setting of the Freemasons' Hall and its dark portraits added that bit more drama.

 Multiple panels made up these dresses. The bolero jacket on the right continued the cube-shaped theme.

 Just look at those threads. My instant reaction was to connect the diamond pattern to the quilted panelling of a Chanel 2.55 handbag, but also the coloured threads remind me of Bridget Riley paintings.

 Pure polished glamour.

 This was one of several halterneck pieces, with frayed hems.

 The presentation allowed press and bloggers to walk between the models, creating shots like this when us mere mortals were stood alongside the creations.

 Wandering around the room gave a great opportunity to see the designs from all angles and in different lights.

 The white fraying looked like feathers.

 Glossy white vs. multicoloured threads, and high necklines all round.

 An open back balanced out the high neckline of this dress.

 Simple buns were the order of the day when it came to hair - nothing that would be too distracting.

More of those Bridget Riley-esque threads? Oh go on, then.

Fuzzlayerglossbox shows a definite growth in Hellen Van Rees' work and I'm sure it will be a hit with buyers as well; personally I'd love to see UK stockists introducing her to their customers, so we can show our support.