Lara Stone and Joan Smalls: Risky Business

Addicted to Love

With her big blazer and matte lipstick, model Lara Stone channels the airbrushed perfection of an early MTV girl—but she pulls her pieces together with a sophistication you never saw in any Robert Palmer video. Stella McCartney wool jacket ($2,195) and wool-twill trousers ($845); Stella McCartney, NYC. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci earrings. Céline leather scarf and pumps. Yves Saint Laurent cuff. Tom Ford bag.

Lady in Red

Scarlet and black—the one-two punch of old-school power dressing—look “hard chic” in the polished materials that have captured our interest lately. Proenza Schouler woven-leather top ($3,775) and leather trousers ($2,575); Proenza Schouler, NYC. Tom Ford cuffs and belt.

 

Goody-Goody Two Shoes

Who would have guessed a dress-for-success double-breasted blazer and prim spectators could look . . . avant-garde? Balmain leather jacket and jersey skirt ($2,800); Maxfield, L.A. Tom Ford cuff. Céline pumps.

Hungry Like the Wolf

Model Joan Smalls wears big hair and leather on leather on leather (a 1983 Duran Duran combination if ever there was one). But this nuanced color palette? Shades of 2013. Céline leather top ($4,400) and scarf; Céline, NYC. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci leather trousers, $4,480; select Barneys New York stores.

Manic Monday

The coat has soft-tailored, classic proportions, yes, but the looser, cropped trousers and chunky heels add up to an entirely different—previously unseen—workweek silhouette. Céline wool coat ($4,400) and trousers with zipper detail (1,550); Céline, NYC.

 

She Blinded me With Science

There’s something about the blasted-flawless, flattened, slick surfaces of this look that reminds us of New Wave fashion illustrator Patrick Nagel. Yves Saint Laurent leather top, chain-mail skirt, and silver lily bracelet; YSL, NYC. Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière gloves.

Hip to be Square

In today’s reductive minimalism, simple geometric shapes (triangles, circles, squares) are the logical embellishments. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci bicolor bonded-leather coat; Bergdorf Goodman, NYC. Tom Ford bracelets.
Beauty Note: Focus your look with a matching lip and nail—like Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Lipstick in Scarlet Siren and Nail Lacquer in Pure Red.

Men at Work

In the eighties, padded shoulders were meant to make women look more mannish (read: powerful) in the boardroom. Today we wear a bold shoulder because we’re comfortable (read: powerful) enough to dress creatively at the office, too. Lanvin wool-and-felt coat; Bergdorf Goodman, NYC. Tom Ford necklace.

Frankie Say Relax

This has an air of elegant authority, but it’s actually a jumpsuit (a supereasy, comfortable alternative to a pantsuit). Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière iridescent silk coverall, $4,650; Balenciaga, NYC.

In this story:

Hair: Christiaan

Makeup: Lucia Pieroni for Clé de Peau Beauté

Produced by: Lalaland

Set design: Gerard Santos for the Magnet Agency

Fashion Editor: Camilla Nickerson

Photographed 
by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot,

vogue

Carven on Wheels at Pitti Immagine Uomo

 

Could there be such as thing as palazzo fatigue? Guillaume Henry, Carven’s creative director, appears to think so. A renaissance rebel, the French designer steered clear of the predictable Florentine pile as a guest of the menswear trade show Pitti Immagine Uomo, opting instead for a rather unremarkable velodrome in which to showcase his 2013 collection on Thursday evening.

“Jacques Tati meets Fellini” was how Henry described the evening’s theatrical hijinks as models ran, cycled, and speed-walked their way around the cycling arena. A traditional French waiter race simultaneously weaved its way through the Carven-clad spectacle, with trays laden with cocktails precariously threatening to dampen the collection’s crumpled madras shirts, natty all-over-printed shorts (and shoes), and zesty knits. But if you were watching only the clothes, you missed the point.

“The idea is not that people leave here thinking about the color of the shoes or the design of a belt, but they enjoyed the experience and got to know the Carven man,” Henry said. As such, he wanted the evening’s mood to reflect the quirks of Gallic culture and recreate a sense of congregating to celebrate national holidays, “when the weather is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the wine is falling” (or, rather, flowing—his French accent can be at times wonderfully misleading). And, indeed, he succeeded. The fashion crowd was on its feet (and their iPhones) for a Fellini moment when an Italian Bersaglieri (military) troop jogged around the tracks playing their bugles.

While fitting models earlier in the day (after they’d finished an impromptu soccer match on the runway, that is), Henry explained that when he initially visited the venue, he didn’t even consider sport as a theme. “When I arrived, I said to myself, this is the best place to have a picnic,” he said, which may explain the new backpack collaboration with Porter. “I just find the venue beautiful.”  And it was. Silver platters brimming with basil, Sicilian tomatoes, and plump cherries decorated tables positioned on the pitch, while couscous, quiche, mozzarella, and charcuterie plates reflected a mix of specifically chosen French and Italian food.

And yet despite the performance on the pitch, the collection is no homage to sports. “The Carven man is healthy, he’s fresh. He’s the type of guy of who would enjoy this place, but will never practice any type of sport. Like me!” laughs Henry. A comment that leaves us guessing as to where his debut line of Carven sneakers in pop brights is destined.