Daphne Guinness is set to auction off part of her closet. Rescu. brings you all the gossip from what just might be the couture sale of the century…
Vogue UK reports that Daphne Guinness, fashionista extraordinaire, is selling part of her amazing closet at auction.
Forget sample sales, this is going to be the shopping event of the decade. Guinness is one of that rare breed, an actual couture buyer – who wears her purchases.
An heir to the Guinness fortune, she was a very close friend of Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow, shows up regularly on the fashion circuit and is renowned for her extraordinary, Gothic taste in couture.
She’s also prone to putting on a performance. For last year’s Met Gala, she ‘prepared’ – which meant putting on a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen feathered dress – in the windows of a New York store, making her fashion into a performance.
The auction, at Christie’s, promises to have pieces so one-of-a-kind the fashion crowd might have aneurysms.
The best part? The money is going to a good cause. All proceeds are going to the Isabella Blow Foundation, a new charity partially launched by Guinness herself in memory of the renowned hat designer, who committed suicide.
The Foundation will support young designers and fashion industry workers in need of a boost. Guinness bought up the entirety of Blow’s catalogue back in 2010 to stop it being auctioned off and disseminated around the globe. Now that’s some dedication.
The catalogue hasn’t yet been released, but you can bet it will be heavy on the showmanship – Guinness loves herself some intricacy, and likes to make a splash. Supermarket-friendly this collection isn’t.
Rescu. wishes we had a billionaire or two in our midst to make a few bids – but, alas, we’re watching on the sidelines.
Image: Daphne Guinness
Move over Australian of the Year – InStyle’s Women of Style awards are coming for your crown.
David Jones has paired up with the magazine to help host their annual Women Of Style awards, which celebrate women in all fields across Australian life, from fashion to business to the arts.
It’s not a surprising development, and David Jones is certainly giving very excited soundbites about their contribution. Kristen Linders, David Jones marketing manager, was quoted as saying: “David Jones is delighted to support the Women of Style Awards, recognising as they do the achievements of a diverse range of extraordinary and talented women across a broad field of endeavours.”
InStyle’s big award party also has the reputation of being one of the most star-studded in town, with luminaries from across the board dropping by to receive statuettes and dance on tables. And while some of the names were familiar – Kristy Hinze, Kylie Minogue, Lisa Ho – one particular area is closely observed for its penchant for new names: The Instyle Style Scholarship, which last year went to Gracie Otto, Miranda’s daughter, who is a young filmmaker.
Rescu. will bring you all the news from the red carpet when David Jones hosts the awards in May. Start thinking about your nominees now…
Image: InStyle and David Jones Women Of Style awards.
It’s a return to your student days. The satchel, with its connotations of libraries and late assignments, is back in fashion.
One of the biggest trends at the recent fashion weeks- among the editors, no less – was a satchel from the Cambridge Satchel Company, based in the UK. Ever wanted to look like a glam undergrad from the 60s? Here’s your answer.
So how do you make the trend work for you, without looking like a teen again?
Go for real leather. Unless you’re seriously strapped for cash, a real leather satchel – particularly a smaller one- won’t break the bank, particularly relative to the It Bags of yesteryear; it’s about a tenth of the price. Real leather beats up beautifully, lasts forever with decent care, and makes you look like an adult. Look for contrasting details.
Mismatched leather – a green bag with black or blue straps and details, for instance – are very in this season. Make it eccentrically your own.
Colour is a particular thing to watch out for. Neon is the height of bag fashion at the moment, with lurid pinks and greens on every fashionista’s wall, but this might not outlast the winter – so if you’re more the type for a classic look, go for deeper, richer tones, like ochre, scarlet or purple. If you intend to use it for work, a gorgeous brown or black with a few bright accents can look beautiful.
Don’t wear it strung across your chest like a student, either. Use it like any other handbag, slung over one shoulder, or carry it by the handle-strap.
Boxier models are very in – slouchier styles look a bit ‘young’. Look for something from Rachel Ruddick’s collection if you want to stay close to home.
Pair with a blazer and some funky heels and you’re ready for anything…
Image: Cambridge Satchel Company’s classic model in ochre.
Balmain is famous for two things – extraordinary, extravagant detail on their clothes, and astronomical prices.
It says a lot that the former took total centre stage at their latest show, showcasing pearl-like beading in intricate patterns over bodices with embroidery inlays. (Rescu. noted the embroidery trend a few weeks ago – it seems it’s more time to take out your cross-stitching kit than ever.)
However, it’s tricky to wear this much embellishment without looking like a rock-star wannabe or a piece of craft. Balmain kept it on the right side of taste with neat shapes and classic lines – putting that much 3D detail on an avant-garde silhouette is best left to couture models.
The collection, inspired by Elizabeth Taylor’s Faberge egg, produced a good set of rules for wearing gilded and beaded clothing.
Aside from silhouettes, they also kept the accessories clean. Black boots, plain hair, simple white shirts and black trousers – providing a blank palette against which the real ‘pop’ of the embellishment can work is the best way to make it seem modern rather than 80s.
Make-up was also very muted and youthful, rather than over-the-top or over-slick with lipstick and eyeliner. Barely-there is a good rule if you’re letting your clothes do the talking.
Pick pieces which are stiff and tailored, purely for comfort reasons. If the embellishment is heavy, which is likely, you don’t want to keep rearranging wilting pieces – you need fabric which will stand up to the weight and stand away from the body in the way it was designed.
Pick beading that looks good in close-up as well as far off, as people will likely want to examine it in awe. Also don’t mix sexy with embellishment if you’re not going to the hottest party of the year.
Pick covered up shapes- Balmain had very high necklines and long sleeves – to show off the intricacy to its maximum extent while not providing a distracting amount of skin. Always try to look modern rather than Marie Antoinette; pair a floral-embellished heavy blazer with a black turtleneck, or velvet embroidered trousers with a plain shirt.
Be aware of the costume qualities of beading. And if you do get lucky enough to get a piece of Balmain, send Rescu. a shot of your finery!
Image: Balmain fall 2012.
