By Holly O'Neill
18th Feb 2016
18th Feb 2016
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 11: Kanye West performs during Kanye West Yeezy Season 3 on February 11, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3)
NYFW has us so excited for fashion collaborations of 2016. Last year we had an impressive selection from?H&M x Balmain, Kendall + Kylie for Topshop, Carine Roitfeld x Uniqlo, Charlie XCX for Boohoo?and more, and this year’s fashion collaborations are already overwhelming us. With the Yeezy Season 3 premiere at Madison Square Garden, the Fenty Puma by Rihanna show last week, the Olivia Palermo collection of our dreams, Jessica Alba’s perfect jeans and the news of Alexa Chung’s collaboration with Marks and Spencer, we’re getting very excited for this year’s collaborations.
YEEZY Season 3
We know how you feel about Kanye, but like the Kardashian/Jenners, his style and influence, and style influence, can’t be questioned. Anna Wintour knew it when she put Kimye on the cover of Vogue, and Adidas know it too. The Yeezy Boost 350s sold out in the US in 12 minutes. Last year, the Yeezy sneaker won an award for Shoe Of The Year. The Yeezy Season 3 Premiere (and The Life Of Pablo album reveal) was on in Madison Square Garden, with 20,000 in attendance. Millions more watched in global cinemas and music-streaming app TIDAL became number 1 on the App Store as fans downloaded it to tune in and check out the show. It is probably the most viewed fashion show in history. The fact that Kanye is widely hated hasn’t stopped his sales in music or apparel, and the last person who cares is Kanye.
Naomi Campbell, Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld, Olivier Rousteing, Gigi Hadid and Demna Gvasalia were all in attendance, as well as the Kardashian-Jenner crew, who were all decked out in Yeezy x Balmain custom exclusive pieces that Olivier Rousteing had created in just five days.
The collection featured similarities to other Yeezy seasons; the tattered sweatshirts, oversized proportions, hoodies and overalls in muted colours, bodycon?- but with a few pieces in rust, yellow and orange and incredible shearling jackets. There is?a range of catwalk shoes, including men’s trainer boots and women’s rubber knee-highs.
There was a sneak peak at the latest evolution of the Adidas YEEZY?program with an updated YEEZY?Boost 350 sneaker and the brand-new YEEZY?Boost 1050 boot. Kanye also promised prices would be lower than past seasons. ?Critics are hailing the Yeezy Season 3 Premiere as not just a fashion statement, but also a political and cultural one – 1,200 models were booked and told to channel the theme of a Rwandan refugee camp, crammed into a small pen and warned not to smile.
Check out some pictures of the collection in the gallery above.
Fenty Puma by Rihanna
We’ve been waiting for this day since August 2014 when RiRi filed trademark documents in her surname – Fenty – for categories including cosmetics, apparel, lingerie, and swimwear. We’ve loved her MAC and River Island collaborations; Dior has made her a brand ambassador – her style and influence can’t be touched, and the Fenty Puma by Rihanna show has been in our dreams since she became Puma’s creative director in December 2014. This is not a celebrity endorsed collection that has more to do with Rihanna’s celebrity status, everything about this collection feels like RiRi. The collection is a’reflection of?Rihanna’s personal aesthetic – sporty and sexy; fearless streetwear with attitude – if you wear any of the pieces, you will feel like Rihanna.
It’s more than athleisure; the collection is built on sexy, with nudity, cut-outs, lace-ups, mesh, dramatic proportions of?oversized sweatshirts with undersized crop tops. It’s?goth glam sportswear -?hoodie dresses, boxing boots, an off the shoulder bomber jacket, stiletto-sneaker-boots, thigh high lace-up sneakers, oversized fur jackets with sporty-thigh-high-shin-guard boots. Backstage, after the show, Rihanna summed the collection up when she said, “If the Addams Family went to the gym, this is what they would wear.”
The Fenty Trainer goes on sale February 26, the day after Rihanna’s Anti tour starts. Check out some of the collection in the gallery above.
?Archive by Alexa
Fashion icon Alexa Chung is collaborating with the long-standing icon of the high street, Marks & Spencer.
Archive by Alexa will?bring pieces from the M&S fashion archives back to life for 2016, using Alexa’s unique approach to style. The 31 piece womenswear collection has been carefully curated and handpicked by Alexa and the M&S design team. This project is the first of the ?M&S &? series, which will see the high street retailer collaborate with some of today’s most exciting designers, brands & fashion icons.
The 31 piece collection will debut in April 2016 and will be available in selected stores and online at?www.marksandspencer.ie.
H&M Loves Coachella?
For the second year in a row, H&M are teaming up with Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
H&M will have a pop-up shop on-site where festival goers can buy the “street-savvy collection infused with playfulness, ease and a sense of belonging.” The H&M Loves Coachella collection features iconic festival fashion; mixed prints, embellishments, fringed and beaded tops, denim cut-offs, floppy hats, flat boots, folksy blouses and print jumpsuits for girls, and denim shorts, Bermudas and printed t-shirts for boys.
The collection will launch in stores on 31st March.
Rodarte x & Other Stories
& Other Stories are good at collaborations; the H&M owned brand have worked with the likes of Sadie Williams, Lykke Li and Rachel Antonoff, but the Rodarte and & Other Stories collaboration is the high-street meets high-fashion stuff of dreams. Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte are collaborating with & Other Stories for a capsule collection of clothing, shoes, and accessories which will be available online and in stores this spring.
“Through this special collaboration with & Other Stories, we are excited to translate the Rodarte narrative into a new environment,” said a statement from the sisters behind Rodarte, Laura and Kate Mulleavy. “& Other Stories’ unique positioning in the fashion landscape has allowed us to create a truly special collection.”
According to Vogue, the collection will range in price from $29 for tights to $325 for a sequin dress. We can’t wait for the Dublin & Other Stories store to open.
Olivia Palermo + Chelsea28?
The collection of dreams – an affordable collection by one of our favourite icons, reflective of her personal style and it works like a whole wardrobe. There’s statement coats, classic shirts, knits, vests, tailored jackets and it’s all so Olivia Palermo.
We were so excited to learn that the quality of the collection wouldn’t be constricted by an affordable price tag – Olivia mixes high street with high fashion herself and kept this in mind during the creative process. She told Vogue, “everyone knows I love high-low dressing. Mixing and matching is a part of fashion, and when I started work on the collection with Nordstrom, I thought about how I like to shop. I want to get both the suede vest and the amazing knit instead of choosing one over the other. I wanted prices to be?accessible?enough?that?our shopper could buy both and pair them how they want.”
Prices range from €64.70 for classic shirts to €426.25 for a sleeveless suede trench dress. See some pictures of the collection from Nordstrom in our gallery above. Shop the collection online here.
Riccardo Tisci x Nike
Two years ago, Riccardo Tisci joined forces with Nike to remake his personal all time favourite sneaker, the Air Force 1s. Now the self-professed sneaker addict and creative director of Givenchy is back again to collaborate with Nike on revamping The Nike Dunk.
The reimagined NikeLab Dunk Lux High x RT is an all black high-top boot with new embellishments; an upside heel tab, a high collar and an embroidered leather Swoosh crowning the tongue. ?Speaking of his choice of, Tisci said, “The Nike Dunk has a fascinating legacy. It’s been both mainstream and niche, adopted by communities of varying size and influence. But no matter the model, the Dunk has always had a cultural cachet that, as a designer, I’m quite drawn to.”
Jessica Alba x DL1961?
Jessica Alba has collaborated with denim brand DL1961 to create the perfect pair of women’s jeans. She’s currently the face of the brand’s spring collection, and she’ll be designing between 8 to 10 jean styles for the brand.
“It’s my first foray into fashion design, but I know I want to design for women of every body type,” Alba said in a press release. “Feeling beautiful and confident in a pair of jeans is what every woman wants, and I want to be able to give them that.”
The JAxDL capsule collection will launch in August and ship to Ireland.
Also Read
