Word Vomit: ss13

It's some sort of cruel joke from the gods that my finals always have to coincide with fashion month. It's the reason why I look 5 times more harassed than the average college student. I used to write such detailed posts about the collections but now I'll be condensing it to one post. Besides, I'm doing this during my one hour study break. How typical is it that I'm exerting so much more effort into this than my Economics review?

I can't form an objective opinion on this season, because, by the time Milan rolled around, I was just so damn exhausted. Definitely enjoyed all the drama that this season was just full of! I missed Stefano for YSL, though. Hedi was such a flop! Ruffles were all over the shows, but it was only Givenchy that made me a believer in them. There were some excellent collections from new labels. Eudon Choi made great boxy jackets paired with sexy slit skirts. Thomas Tait is a newcomer that I have loved since his first show and he continues to deliver. Dion Lee always brings in his excellent draping, but this season, he combines it with more structured pieces. Markus Lupfer's presentation showed how to make shiny chic-- I would wear every single piece. Dries Van Noten revived plaid in see through fabrics. 3.1 Philip Lim did the same in a few of his pieces. I never thought plaid could be something other than just grungy.

There were also a lot of disappointments this season. For one, Hedi's debut of YSL or SLP was a huge let down. I do not know of his work in womenswear prior to this season, but I know he is lauded for his menswear in Dior Homme, so I expected a lot-- at the very least a good androgyny themed collection. It ended up being a dark boho cowboy mix that would pass for a Rachel Zoe collection. I did like the pants, though. Raf's RTW debut for Dior was also not as great as I was hoping for. I would give it a 7/10. The models kept tripping on the runway, which made for an exciting show. I also did not like Lanvin. Alber consistently makes great clothes, and he did make good pieces this season, but it seemed messy. I wish he had left the boxy trend alone and stuck to what he does best. Margiela was more commercial this season (probably to ease people into their H&M tie up). It was actually the good kind of commercial: clean and subtle. Proenza Schouler did nothing for me. I found the leather patchwork to be abhorrent, but the digital print dresses were very good and almost saved the show!

To conclude, I think my favorite things from this season are that there was so much drama and also the fact that there were a lot of surprises when it came to which collections I liked and didn't like. I'm glad to be taking a break from the sleeping late to watch livestreams and rushing home to look at runway photos!

Top 5 Collections (in no order):