VidFlip: V Magazine #57

mondblog VidFlip: V Magazine, Issue 57 from Raymond Navarro on Vimeo.

V's Spring Preview issue takes a step up from its predecessor. In at about the same weight as V56, what makes V57

 dazzle is the delivery of Nick Night's photo shoot with Lily Donaldson held at SHOWstudio. The live photo shoot was

 a thrill to watch as Donaldson struck pose after pose, leap after leap in those highly coveted heels and her Sam (McKnight) styled hair.

Visions of Donaldson wearing all Balenciaga, Lanvin, Maison Martin Margiela to that

 sole Jil Sander earring, were ripped and rendered on painted cardboard sheets giving the editorial the

 entrancing and complimentary contrast needed to pull of a great studio shoot. You've got to see it for yourself.

The biggest bummer of the issue is the one and only new shot of Grace Jones on the inside. Following her cover-

moment on Dazed and Confused last year, I was hoping for a gripping Grace fashion editorial but instead there were

 rehashed file photos such as past promotional shots and album covers. Talk about a disappointment.

 Though the strange and cinematic editorial featuring the likes of Abbey Lee, Catherine McNeil, Eniko Mihalik and Andrés

 Velencoso grew on me, after an initial reaction of, What the fuck? I was stirred by the unexampled

 shoot begging me to question why I did or didn't like certain photos; I liked that I was challenged  — I concluded

I really was a fan of the Sebastian Faena concept shoot.

Thanks again to V for always bringing a variety of conceptions in glamour, style and grace.

Shopping is a Sport

Check out the pieces — buy one, some or none.

More importantly, become inspired.

Complex Geometries Sad Rainbow Sweatshirt, $139 @ CG webstore

Marjan Pejoski leggings, 29,500kr (Icelandic) @ Kron Kron

Balenciaga knit dress, £440 @ Browns Fashion

Henrik Vibskov drop crotch jersey sweatpants, $249 @ Boutique Reborn

Football leggings, $62 @ The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

YMC wrestling boot tennis shoes, $60 @ Gargyle

Bless baseball cap with attached scarf/hood, $499 @ Boutique Reborn

Kokon To Zai embroidered track pants, $289 @ Farfetch

Miu Miu sequined bomber jacket, $3,135 @ Net-A-Porter

Miu Miu over the knee socks, $289 @ Net-A-Porter

Fad-3 shirt, ¥15,750 @ Alley Company

Antipodium hole-in-one bodysuit, $139 @ MyCatwalk

La March Merveille green jeans, ¥15,000 @ Alley Company

Where Sports Meets Fashion

The blatant sportswear influence in Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu FW0809 collection — color-blocked jumpsuits, long-sleeve netted onesies and track jackets worn with cone-shaped heels and bright skullcaps — made some mixed reactions amongst friends and peers in the "fashion community," but I knew Miuccia's athletic expression in the hardly wearable clothes would serve as inspiration to me and many others.

The influence in design and function of sport is actually quite pragmatic and refreshing, two elements I'd believe to be necessary for selling clothes at a time when 1) economy's in the dump and 2) retail sales are down, way down. And while maybe none of the aforementioned designers' collections are exactly

"wearable," looks from designers like Raf Simons sleek, slim silhouettes for men, Balenciaga's austere, architectural forms and Undercover's spacey, tailored outerwear could be, has been, styled in sporty fashion in magazines. The look is more than believable, it's a reality. A sexy one at that.

And thank be to independent designers like Romain Kremer and Louis Goldin who on their own have integrated the aesthetics of sport making the surreal sleek linebacker-chic a reality on the runway. In them lies fashion's actual optimism; their exploratory trips on what's possible and "impossible" makes dreams played out in editorials and from your closets onto the streets.

Maybe you buy this, maybe you don't, but this is the first set of three posts dedicated to you finding an inspiration, or at least appreciation, for what's sporty in fashion. On the next update, find store items — new, vintage, slightly pricey and those comparatively cheap — from a list of international shipping stores.

There's so much to look to!

Shapes & Forms

From hats, belts, skirts and coats… Shoes, vests, pants...

and did you see those Louis Vuitton curved hairpieces?

Every piece of clothing has taken new and odd shapes this fall/winter season.

The truth is, the aspect in design for these striking, sometimes odd,

garments is always 'round; it’s just fun to focus on the scores of forms,

figures and silhouettes here and now.

And les’ not forget, one of the main forms for the fall was the “nude”

body itself. Bodysuits and comparable tight-figured silhouettes

ruled both the men and women’s runways for the current season.

You can’t not find a field to play in all the choices of sexy, playful,

exaggerative or structured forms all out there.

Pause for: FW/0809 Faves

Who were your faves for the fall/winter?
What are your opinions on the above looks?

Who was underwhelming, who best surprised you?
Wanna know — let's talk.

At Ease: Designer, Label Sites with Webstores

Australian label Ksubi has made finding their threads a little easier when they opened up their onsite webstore this year. Find a collection of menswear, womenswear, sunglasses and more at ksubi.com. Their round-world availability provides a selection of seasonless clothes ranging from tank tops, denim jeans to parkas, dresses and jumpers.



Sorry to the folks outside of the States but Balenciaga's webstore is US-only. Accessories such as handbags, shoes and sunglasses are available direct from the Balenciaga house. The 60s-archive inspired sunglasses presented above come in six different colors, and aren't as pricey as I thought they'd be, no? See them all at balenciaga.com.



NYC menswear label THECAST recently opened up their own shop in the city after selling their clothing to a variety of stores around the globe for years. With slick pieces like leather jackets with removable sleeves, seersucker suits and denim jeans, the very wearable THECAST should propel the label to great notoriety in the independent NYC designer scene. Check out THECAST's current collection and previous collections at thecast.com.

Footwear for All

Marni flat jelly shoe £75 

Alexander McQueen crocodile pumps $,1440

Balenciaga Moroccan shoe £1,025 

ACNE flat birkenstock style sanda £185

ASOS leather boots £45

Christian Louboutin Yasmine cork wedges $795

Maison Martin Margiela shadow mark high-top trainer £205

Sneaky Steve black Hank Highs $106

Jil Sander sandals $188

Jonathan Saunders for Gola leather high-top trainers £110

Fiorintini+Baker pull on boot $410

d.co Copenhagen soft black bootie $182

Random Accessories... For Her

Humanoid knotted shawl $125 @ La Garçonne 

Balenciaga scarf £195 @ Matches Fashion

Comme Des Garçons color embossed zip wallet $272 @ Tobi

3.1 Phillip Lim "hombre" rope belt $145 @ La Garçonne 

Chloé leather alligator fold clutch £656 @ ASOS

ASOS stitched wrap belt £12 @ ASOS

Yves Saint Laurent brooches £175 @ Collette

Cavallini cut-out contrast socks £6 @ ASOS

Random Accessories... For Him

Karen Walker Deep Freeze Pinks $170

Balenciaga fringed scarf £100

Filius leather ties $75

Natalia Brili ruby leather geometric pins $165

Comme Des Garçons tartan wallet $179

Karen Walker Xtra Ray Visions $200

Eugenia Kim satin headband hat $57

Eastpak printed backpack £30

Menswear for SS/08

Details and subtle touches to basics make pieces more unique and desirable this spring. (That's right — goodbye to basics.) Graphic art and broader color swatches make t-shirts and shorts more fun to incorporate into warm weather ware. Visit Mintshop, an online-shopping store in Australia for tees and singlets with graphic art prints.
Art and broader color schemes are exactly the distraction we need from the more conservative menswear reflecting upon our... "challenging times." (Good luck trying to stretch your dollar in overseas webstores, though.)

New York menswear boutique BBlessing comes in from the shorts end with navy, "fire" and khaki cut off shorts by Obedient Sons. The shorts have a price tag of $120 at Bblessing's webstore.
Those on the other southern hemisphere moving into fall/winter, a 100% cotton Raf Simons "lime special" sweater surely pops a unique color to your outerwear; the sweater goes for $365. The Raf Simons SS/08 collection piece fits true to size and can also be found in orange and purple in the webstore.



Conservative pieces have seamed their way into spring looks. Jackets, vests, hats come together with shorts in cool new ways by Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Miharayasuhiro; the trickle is evident down at ASOS with trilbies and fitted jackets.

Shine On

images scanned from gap press, l'officiel; balenciaga photos: getty images

At Paris Fashion Week, Nicolas Ghesquiére debuted a collection aimed at making everything — fabric, cut, mentality — "light," says Cathy Horyn in a New York Times Review. Ghesquiére described the show as "minimal, very austere, strict but sensual," to the International Herald Tribune. Laser-slit skirts, shoes accented with rubbery latex and thick wool crepes carried the modern cocktail dress-look. While the patent leather and latex fabrics were new in Balenciaga pieces, the use of patent leather and synthetic fabrics is a trend only transcending and diversifying.

photo source: getty images

Just last month, the gleam of Miuccia Prada's men's fall-winter collection was no eyesore. Shine was not incorporated in just boots and pieces but entire suits. The collection that Tim Blanks of style.com describes as ignoring all traditional masculinity concepts, comes with different colored patent leather boots and shimmering mini-tutus. Yeah, "tutus." 

The use of synthetic fabrics has trickled down a shine trend; moving away from the hard metallic sheen of past seasons, pieces made of light nylon, plastic and latex are a whole new kind of flashy. Patent leather and liquid-latex dresses may hit a pricey end but nylons and plastics won't have to.