Trip the light fantastic
MANILA, Philippines - On July 20, 1969, NASA landed the first men on the moon. It affirmed endless possibilites for the future of mankind, but also for the individual — if they wanted to. Whether across the globe by plane or inward with the Sony Walkman, in the new era, anyone could go anywere. That future is now, and this YStyle woman has been waiting for it all her life. She woke up Saturday mornings to The Jetsons; her favorite movie was Back to The Future; she grew up in the ‘90s, but always found herself wishing she’d been born at a time when it really felt like sky was the limit.
All grown up, she is a woman of today, always on the cutting edge of fashion and technology, seizing the power of the worldwide web at the tip of her manicured digits. It is also important to note that she was wearing metallics long before it became cool — again.
The late ‘60s and early ‘70s are having yet another moment. The Woodstock hippie queen has had her time as a mood board fixture; for spring/summer 2016, the space age and all things shiny are ready for takeoff again.
Nobody does it better than André Courrèges. The civil engineer grad-turned-fashion designer lays claim to inventing the miniskirt, and his passion for space travel and textile technology translated to futuristic streamlined construction and wide use of bright primary colors, angular seaming and plastic and metallic materials for his “Space Age” collection in 1964. It was a collection that changed ready-to-wear as we know it — until he just stopped. The Balenciaga-trained designer’s next project was creating special edition scooters for Honda, and in 2005, he gave up his ready-to-wear license to Japanese megacorporation Itokin.
So when LVMH Prize finalists Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Valliant (of temporarily on-hold fledgling line Coperni Femme) revived the label, fashion insiders couln’t help but ask, “Does Paris Fashion Week need another heritage brand?”
Meyer and Valliant took on this challenge in a contemporary approach this YStyle woman just couldn’t stop Instagramming about. The Courrèges Spring 2016 ready-to-wear show had no total looks; it was a novelty in and of itself. The foundation for each piece was a white ribbed body suit, suggestive of the uniform-dressing that this YStyle woman already lives by.
Suddenly, life breathed anew into boxy cropped jackets and miniskirts. There were also A-line shifts and cropped pants — 15 iconic Courrèges items tweaked and developed into materials such as crinkly patent, suede, techno knits and patchworked leather. Futuristic, yes; but it is also what the duo envisioned these pieces to be: to be worn by “lots of different women, lots of different lives.” Fashion is fun again — and it’s for everyone!
Makeup: Pat McGrath Gold001
If the beauty looks of spring/summer’s fashion weeks are any indication, eye shadows are back in a big way. So what does superstar makeup artist Pat McGrath do? She — with her team of 35 makeup artists — worked her Midas Touch at the Jardins des Tuileries last Wednesday between shows at Paris Fashion Week to debut her first original product Gold 001, a high-impact, gold foil dust on model pals Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin and willing male and female passersby who all looked stellar in the surprisingly universally flattering shade.
But it’s not just eye shadow. Those gold lips at Prada? That’s Gold 001 in action. Search the hashtags #PattakesParis and #Gold001 for the participants’ selfies or look up Patrick Demarchelier’s documentation on Vogue.com for all the ways McGrath went for gold.
This is just the jolt of inspiration the YStyle woman needed from an ennui with neutral makeup, and she’s getting her hands on one of the 1,000 limited-edition units to be released later this month on patmcgrath.com — or she found a dupe from a theater makeup brand.
Shoes: Chanel spring/summer 2016
Having envisioned women clad in white boots in the future, imagine Courrèges’ disappointment when he finds out dust is still very much here, there and everywhere in the new millenium. All aboard Chanel Airlines for footwear with similar touches, like light-up Velcro sandals; but these see-through lace-up boots also protect your feet from dry, central air-conditioning while still making the process of checking in for air travel hassle-free.
Accessory: The Apple Watch x Hermes
On Monday, Apple and Hermes launched their luxury leather collaboration, and it’s not just buttery soft leather straps.
The hardware itself is based on the stainless steel Apple Watch, only with a sleeker face in the Hermes branding, also etched into the back. You can mix and match the watch and straps to 10 different styles and size combinations.
As a pop of color to complement her sleek, space age-inspired looks, this YStyle woman is going for the 38mm stainless steel case with the Double tour leather band in Bleu Jean.
It is only available in-store and at select locations. Your closest bet is at the Hermes store in Scotts Square, Singapore.
Music video: Lady Gaga, I Want Your Love
In case your feeds didn’t inform you yet, Lady Gaga, together with Nile Rodgers of Chic, put a jazzy spin on Chic’s 1978 single and it’s the soundtrack to Tom Ford’s spring/summer 2016 presentation. In the age of social media and viral videos, Ford ditched the traditional show in favor of the three-minute music video clip, directed by Nick Knight. Ford explains that the collection itself was “designed from its inception to be presented online.” No fancy invitations, everybody gets a front row seat. Shimmying down the Soul Train-like runway were Ford’s model pals, giving the clip some megawatt fashion star power.
Scent: Black Opium eau de parfum by YSL
Don’t expect it to smell like the oriental perfume of the ‘90s. Black Opium, in its glittery, starlit sky-like black bottle, is the opposite end of the spectrum. Its heart is coffee bean accord, in a high quantity never before used in a feminine fragrance. Its bitterness wakes up jasmine sabac and absolu of fleur d’oranger, rounding up the ambrosial appeal of vanilla, woody cedar and patchouli. It’s a scent that sticks close to the skin. Once someone gets close enough, it draws them in.
Movie: Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
What do Courrèges and Daft Punk have in common? They’re both French, and they both have an affinity with Japanese anime and the space-age.
In 2003, the DJ duo released this feature-length anime as a visual realization of their album “Discovery.” (You might’ve seen bits of it in the music videos One More Time and Digital Love.) Each track from the album has been animated as an episode in the story of alien abduction and rescue of an interstellar, blue-skinned pop band who wear skin-tight PVC jumpsuits; looks straight out of Courrèges’ style book. It’s a visual and aural treat of intergalactic proportions.
Hair: Rick Owens spring/summer 2016
Gravity-defying, electrified hair is the look; humans controversially dangling from suspenders optional. It’s the right kind of textured contrast to this YStyle woman’s steady rotation of metallic duds, making the overall look a bit glam rock.
To achieve this look, you’ll be needing a teasing comb and a steady supply of Elnett hairspray by L’Oreal. She swears by it, hairstylists have been relying on it since the ‘70s, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s in her favorite shade of matte gold.
