ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
Demeulemeester dreamed up a wardrobe of an adventuress, inspired by French poet and child prodigy Arthur Rimbaud. His best poems were written before he reached the age of 20; 'Le Dormeur Du Val' (The Sleeper in the Valley) is particularly chilling.
Demeulemeester dreamed up a wardrobe of an adventuress, inspired by French poet and child prodigy Arthur Rimbaud. His best poems were written before he reached the age of 20; 'Le Dormeur Du Val' (The Sleeper in the Valley) is particularly chilling.
CHANEL
Karl Lagerfeld's underwater world of wonders hinted at bedtime reading of Shakespeare's The Tempest . Not technically a book, but still worth a read, just so you can spout lines about pearls while embedding them in your hair.
Karl Lagerfeld's underwater world of wonders hinted at bedtime reading of Shakespeare's The Tempest . Not technically a book, but still worth a read, just so you can spout lines about pearls while embedding them in your hair.
CHRISTOPHER KANE
Citing sources of sticker books, "the girls you hate at school" and "peeling wallpaper", Kane can only have been reading Nabokov's Lolita when he designed this spring collection.
Citing sources of sticker books, "the girls you hate at school" and "peeling wallpaper", Kane can only have been reading Nabokov's Lolita when he designed this spring collection.
ERDEM
Erdem looked to the French Riviera and the 1954 overnight sensation Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan for inspiration this season, imagining a young girl trussed up in Wedgwood patterns and boaters (presumably the headstrong seventeen-year-old Cécile of the novel).
Erdem looked to the French Riviera and the 1954 overnight sensation Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan for inspiration this season, imagining a young girl trussed up in Wedgwood patterns and boaters (presumably the headstrong seventeen-year-old Cécile of the novel).
HAIDER ACKERMANN
Ackermann channeled the "rockabilly Lord Byron" spirit for SS12; make sure you read Byron's long poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage to get a feel for the Byronic hero that inspired the collection.
Ackermann channeled the "rockabilly Lord Byron" spirit for SS12; make sure you read Byron's long poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage to get a feel for the Byronic hero that inspired the collection.
LANVIN
Alber Elbaz claims he was initially inspired by an angel in hell, but as he drew and drew, the angel returned to earth. This can only mean that it's time to dig out some Milton and get to grips with Paradise Lost.
Alber Elbaz claims he was initially inspired by an angel in hell, but as he drew and drew, the angel returned to earth. This can only mean that it's time to dig out some Milton and get to grips with Paradise Lost.
MICHAEL KORS
Kors' termed his spring collection "afriluxe", but we're more inclined to read a "You Tarzan, me Jane" message in his glamorous khaki separates and in-your-face animal prints. Trying to get hold of a copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes could be tricky, but reading it will imbue your leopard print with new literary significance.
Kors' termed his spring collection "afriluxe", but we're more inclined to read a "You Tarzan, me Jane" message in his glamorous khaki separates and in-your-face animal prints. Trying to get hold of a copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes could be tricky, but reading it will imbue your leopard print with new literary significance.
PREEN
Virginia Woolf was the rather unlikely starting point for Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton this season: "She was such a strong woman in her time," Bregazzi said after the show. "But like Orlando , we wanted to time-travel a bit and modernize it." All at sea? Get thee to a Waterstones.
Virginia Woolf was the rather unlikely starting point for Thea Bregazzi and Justin Thornton this season: "She was such a strong woman in her time," Bregazzi said after the show. "But like Orlando , we wanted to time-travel a bit and modernize it." All at sea? Get thee to a Waterstones.
RALPH LAUREN
If you haven't read Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, now's the time to do it. Ralph Lauren caught Gatsby fever for spring, citing Daisy Miller as his 1920s heroine, and the whole world is set to turn Gatsby-mad come December, when the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan is released.
SONIA RYKIEL
Sonia Rykiel's Left Bank gamine is immortalised in Jean Rhys' short story collection Tigers Are Better-Looking, about down-and-out women spending their last pennies on fabulous outfits.
Sonia Rykiel's Left Bank gamine is immortalised in Jean Rhys' short story collection Tigers Are Better-Looking, about down-and-out women spending their last pennies on fabulous outfits.
VALENTINO
Designers Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri had Mexico in the early part of the twentieth century on their moodboard, but more as a "state of mind" rather than a geographical place (despite the fact that the campaign images were then shot by Deborah Turbeville in Mexico). Read Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, about a priest on the run in 1930s Mexico, to tune in to their way of thinking.
Posted in: Ann Demeulemeester,Fashion,Preen
