Frida Giannini, Gucci CEO to Step Down

Gucci Creative Director of 10 years Frida Giannini will be leaving the luxury Italian designer label after the Fall Winter 2015 runway show during Milan Fashion Week next year. (Image: Kering Group)

Her husband and CEO Patrizio di Marco will step down shortly on January 1, 2015.

News of the shake-up at Gucci stunned us at first. Frida was just getting good again as she tried her hand at pastel fur jackets and coats for Gucci's Fall Winter 2014 runway. Her Spring Summer 2015 collection was filled with furs in fiery orange and red colours but was somewhat confusing as to what the whole theme of the show was. We will discuss this, her latest and earlier creations for Gucci in further detail below.

Overview of Frida Giannini's apparel and accessories design work at Gucci from 2004 to 2014

Iconic Gucci womenswear and menswear pieces from runway shows: 2004 to 2014

Frida started off her career at Gucci with a big bang. At that time, the little-known fashion designer carved out a name for herself by introducing timeless pieces on the runway in a mix of beautiful bohemian prints in a cool rock and roll style.

Vlada Roslyakova walking the Gucci Fall runway in tall fringe leather boots, bohemian style top and an exotic Persian carpet print fabric bag.

What Went Wrong

Time for Change

For obvious reasons, it was time for a change. Even when Frida was struggling to find herself again in Gucci's designs, winning bit by bit and then losing again, it was time for change to happen for a designer brand with falling profits that had not experienced cutting edge designs or made fashion headlines in the past couple of years. 

Fatigued Fashion World
In a world where black is the new exciting colour year after year and ugly, boring retro-wear from the twenties, thirties, fourties, fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties pervade the mass marketplace in the form of hideous round collars, too-long granny skirts and ill-fitting pouffe skirts just to name a few, the demand for basic and boring black and white apparel and accessories has sparked the demand for so-called "minimalistic" designers such as Marc Jacobs, Givenchy designer Ricardo Tisci, YSL designer Hedi Slimane or Balenciaga's Alexander Wang.

Economy in Doldrums
Another sign of times when excitement and colour are deemed too much to have in life reflects the sombre state of affairs the lacklustre economy in recent years which has led most consumers to become soulless monochrome maniacs who are too afraid to stand out from the crowd. Dressing "boring", "normal" or "simple" seems to be the norm to gain wide acceptance from the general public.

Frida's Fashion Fallacy
A favourite of mankind is to go back to one's comfort zone, reminisce the past which was deemed "better" due to the challenging times at present. However seeking salvation in the bygone days of present-day's fashion reject trends can prove to be a catastrophe in all sorts for a brand to survive today.

Swinging sixties in the form of blotchy-coloured bad rabbit fur jackets as interpreted by Frida Giannini for Gucci's Pre-Fall collection that took place last week.

Frida went totally erratic for Gucci's Spring Summer runway show. Some notable pieces were an elegant beaded oriental inspired dress, a hippie-chic bohemian style patchwork fur vest and a disastrous denim dresses with huge shoelaces - a stark reminder of eighties rock and roll rejects.

The menswear collection for Gucci Spring 2015 centered around the overused theme of boring, standard nautical which was hardly anything special for genuine fashion lovers.

Besides a Buberry-esque python trench coat, Gucci's Resort 2015 collection was filled with nothing more than Gap inspired "normal" design stripe sweaters and unflattering baggy cargo pants from the eighties.

The saving grace for Gucci came along when Frida decided to update the sixties fashion look in a contemporary way using pastel colours and a mix of exotic leathers, fur and shearling for Gucci's Fall Winter 2014 runway.

Gucci's Fall 2014 menswear runway was filled with similar colours and textures borrowed from the womenswear show in more reserved tones. The model is pictured wearing a pale pink sleek leather shirt, eggshell blue blazer and matching pant-suit in a modern cut.

Conclusion

A brand new fashion designer who doesn't come from an established luxury label would certainly bring fresh ideas to the nearly century-old label and help reinvent Gucci's future.

Yumi Lambert for Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2014

We love our exotic mixed models. This week's flashback friday feature is Belgian supermodel Yumi Lambert walking for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show ( VSFW 2014 ) in London.

The lingerie pieces were mainly in gold and was split into a couple of highly predictable segments focused on models such as Adriana Lima and Karlie Kloss and her passion for ballet in the last segment where Taylor Swift and Karlie all wore boring, black, unimpressive lingerie.

The 2013 VSFS was way better and more creative than this year's catwalk. We guess bulk of the budget was spent on the amazing floor lightings that looked more like the models were walking on high-display liquid crystal TV screens, than the actual lingerie. The usual million-dollar Victoria's Secret jeweled bras were mediocre and cheap-looking. However, this wasn't the fault of any one of the gorgeous supermodels.

Stick thin high fashion models that rule designer runway shows such as Magdalena Frackowiak  and Behati Prinsloo made normal sized women such as supermodel mum Doutzen Kroes look big.

Here are some of our favourite moments of Yumi from the Victoria's Secret fashion show and after-party.

Yumi backstage, excited at her very first debut at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Yumi is of Japanese and Belgian roots. The ridiculously tight start print T-shirt dress looked unflattering.

The metallic silver puffer vest reminded us of DKNY's Metallic Shell Padded Coat.

Girl Crush: Yumi looking sleek and svelte in a form fitting low V-neck halter cut-out dress that flaunted her washboard abs and incredibly slim figure.


Image source: yumilambert.tumblr.com

The Difference of Superficial and Stylish

What is the Difference between Superficial and Stylish?

There's an ongoing war between the stylish and the fashion-flops, haves and have-nots, geeks and geek-chics and the list goes on.

What creates this huge vortex of misunderstanding so much so that people detest each other to the extent of name calling and turning immature?

Superficial

The word "Superficial" can be defined as "occurring on the surface level".

Image of a "typical" fashion blogger from Glamour.com Just because you are carrying a brand name bag - black Celine luggage bag doesn't mean wearing a boring gray suit ensemble with an equally boring black bag that makes you blend in the background and in crowds makes you in any way fashionable.

Simply put, what it seems may not be what it is. Fashion is often considered superficial to the uniatiated or the majority that do not give any care to their appearance. Unfortunately, the appropriate word to describe these set of the majority who disregard fashion is sloppy.

Fashion has earned itself a bad name with the industry partly to blame dishing out overpriced junk from the bygone era to serve the mainly affluent elderly customers who were born in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Fashion became about being associated with brand name labels such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Gucci who spend millions on advertising and pretty much plastering their label or monogram in every corner of the world.

It does not help that "fashion-obsessed" or should we say "label obsessed" fashionistas and bloggers who would not have their photos taken without a Chanel handbag or Karl Lagerfeld Fendi bag bug or monster keychain, further add on to the stereotype of those who enjoy fashion being seen as superficial and self-obsessed.

Style

What happened to individuals having their own personal style?

Image of Bette Franke wearing an oversized candy pink goat hair coat on the Gucci Fall Winter 2014 runway show from Style.com

Humans have the tendency to congregate and form groups, feel the pressure to conform and overlook the importance of finding one's individuality.

Over the decades, popular media in the form of mass-market magazines, TV and other publications have pervaded the easily malleable minds of the masses and turned most people into nothing but mindless consumption robots.

Further down the line, priorities in life of a person gets influenced by family, friends and society (workplace and environment).

For most who fail to struggle away from conformities and question what the mass media feeds their minds, lack a sense of pride towards their individuality and of course - style.

People who don't conform start getting fitted into a category or labelled with something that helps other conformers easier understand what they are. People dislike unfamiliarity and uncertainty. They start forming conspiracy theories like the Ancient Aliens TV show on the History Channel.

In fact some people who simply don't fall into any category become labelled as weird, strange or crazy (ALIEN). - YES, IT'S UNLIKELY YOU.

Style is defined as a manner of doing something in a distinctive fashion.

No matter who you are, be it a computer programmer or an art-house director, there is always room for improvement in whatever you do just like finding yourself - not just internally but externally as well.

How would you like to appear to others? Which is the best way to present myself to the world and most importantly myself (how I feel) to make me feel the best which I have yet to discover?

At Unlikely You, we always emphasise the importance of discovering your true self in your sense of style. Because one should aspire to be their best in whatever they do and in every aspect of life.

For a personal consultation to discover your style and personal best, experience a (perhaps life-changing) makeover, contact us today.

Vogue Paris Sexist Barbie Fashion Editorial

Magdalena Frackowiak in all-over gaudy bright pink Moschino enforcing a negative stereotype that women are nothing but surface-level, materialistic dolls.

In this Day and Age of gender equality, women empowerment where women wear suits and masculine apparel and men do the opposite, it's shocking or perhaps not that old fashion stalwarts such as Vogue magazine - in this case Vogue Paris would launch a fashion editorial depicting women in demeaning stereotypes such as a pink-loving, personality-lacking, materialistic Barbie mannequin doll who's mostly obsessed with shopping and looking like a typical Hollywood/ Kim Kardashian airhead stereotype.

Of course some European countries like France and Italy still do little for female empowerment and gender equality just like many backward countries in Asia where an archaic non-relevant culture and religion play a big role in the daily lives of whichever regressive designer brand owner and fashion editorial director.

Shot by Italian fashion photographer Giampaolo Sgura for Vogue Paris's December/ January 2015 issue, the editorial features supermodels Magdalena Frackowiak and Elizabeth Erm as lifeless dolls for otherwise ignorant or conservative traditional brands such as Gucci, Armani, Fendi, Dolce and Gabbana and Ralph Lauren who mainly cater for the filthy rich top 1% billionaires of the world who are mostly elderly folks with mostly bland or bad sense of style.

It may seem like an innocently "cute" idea at first but for the bigwigs at major fashion and publishing houses to approve such an editorial is obviously a real testament to how detached these so-called fashion leaders are to the real, modern world.

Magdalena in Gucci.



Really boring Emporio Armani clothing.




Life in black and white. Trendy sportswear? We think not. Adidas and Nike clearly do better in this arena.




Old school glamour or just another redundant polka-dot granny style? Magdalena tries to look old and stuffy in Dolce and Gabbana.

Would you pay thousands for a generic design? Elizabeth Erm is in Dior but looks like she's in a tropical print playsuit widely available from any high street store like Zara or Australian label.

Louis Vuitton head-to-toe pink suit resembles Gucci's Fall Winter 2014 collection. Waitaminit, you don't buy Louis Vuitton to look different.

If the clothings look boring, jazz it up in a flashy presentation. Totally impractical suit, neither dressy nor sexy. Again, Ralph Lauren enforces a negative stereotype of women in an air stewardess role - a job which requires little to no qualifications besides looking good; just perfect for women.

Saint Laurent thinks its Edgy? We think not. These are really ugly, mis-matched clothings, even if it's for butches/ lesbians.

Love the colours but Elizabeth Erm looks like she's wearing a Valentino coat that's made out of a mouldy old Turkish carpet. Nothing magical about it.

Looking back at decades what life was decades ago, we prefer the present. We share the same sentiments for this dated Mary Poppins Chanel look. 

Image source: Giampaolo Sgura for Vogue Paris

Seafolly Field Trip X Sonic Bloom Bikini

The iconic Seafolly Field Trip bikini featuring Martha Hunt for the Australian swimwear company's Summer 2014 campaign.

Left: Martha Hunt in Seafolly's Prismatic bikini with the sexy barely there Brazilian bottom. Right: Model in Seafolly Sonic bloom rainbow print frilly bikini with cute handkerchief-like ties on each end of the bikini bottom.

It's the Call of Summer with Victoria's Secret Supermodel Martha Hunt for Seafolly's Summer 2014 campaign.

Who can resist the temptation of beautiful beaches in Australia and around the world? What's more frolicking on the pristine coasts in gorgeous rainbow frilly or scuba-diving inspired floral print bikinis?

Why we love Seafolly Bikinis

There are plenty of surf and swimwear brands out there - Roxy, Quicksilver, Billabong, but not all make Unlikely You's cut. It's just not quite the same when it comes down to quality, workmanship and details in the design. But of course Seafolly's bikinis are much dearer than most commercial swimwear brands but we can guarantee that they are well worth the price.

One drawback from Seafolly is the slow, unresponsive customer service we received when ordering directly from Seafolly's official website. The customer service team based in Australia services the local and international customers. Besides the 3 hour time difference, the Seafolly online representative is slow to respond to e-mails, facebook posts and even following up after phone calls. Hence we strongly suggest buying from distributors instead.

Why we love Swimwear Galore's Customer Service

Our experience with Swimwear Galore, one of the leading Seafolly online retailers was not exactly pleasant to begin with when we were informed that one of the items we ordered - a bikini bottom, had sold out despite the fact that the transaction was successful.

At first, we were taken back by surprise and were thoroughly disappointed. However, the customer service representative was quick to respond to our e-mails and provide us various options including immediate refunds if we were unhappy with our order. We did not need to get on the phone and actively chase the service staff with regards to our order status unlike Seafolly.com where our items were delayed by more than a week!

In the end, we received all sets of the gorgeous Seafolly bikinis we had ordered in just one working day via DHL express - the most highly recommended delivery service provider we completely endorse!

Swimwear Galore packaged the bikinis nicely in a see-through zip-lock slide-to-unfasten folder and the items were in brand new, tip-top condition. We were so pleased that we would like to recommend our trusted fashion swimwear online shop - Swimwear Galore to all our readers. We hope you too will enjoy top quality, beautiful bikinis from Australia at competitive prices, lighting fast delivery and wonderful customer service!

The Unboxing of Our Latest Seafolly Bikini Stash

A video posted by Fashion by Unlikely You 💋 (@unlikelyyou) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:39pm PST

Luxury for Less: Miu Miu Mac

It's raining coats this season but which style appeals to you most? Certainly not the Miu Miu raincoat for us.

Unfortunately Miu Miu has made the mac popular again in various materials such as PVC, fur, leather and jacquard.

The Mac-ro disaster took place on Miu Miu's Fall Winter 2014 runway and since then, a few copycats have emerged on the high-street or e-commerce market.

Occasionally, the interpretation from copycat retailers are far better than the original runway versions. However most of the time, we find it somewhat lacking especially in quality.

Behold the ASOS rain mac with high shine panel detail or basically faux patent leather. This interpretation of the Miu Miu Fall 2014 raincoat is by far better by leaps and bounds not just in the pricing arena but design, colour and texture.

In fact it looks more expensive than the cheap-looking Miu Miu version which we actually had the chance to try in store earlier in the year.

The jacquard mac style Miu Miu trench coat which we tried on was ratty and tattered in the corners such as the sleeves, coat endings and the button fastening area had jacquard threads sticking out of them.

Our verdict: Stick to the ASOS version if you like this sixties style rain mac coat.

Fashion Editorial: Snacking Good Paris

Pastel mint green jumper: Reiss UK

What's Paris without macaroons? These delightful little snacks made of ground coconut or almond pumped with exotic cream centres can be found in almost every corner of the world but Paris is the real deal for designer macaroons.

Glitter hair accessories: Marks and Spencer

The capital of fashion is perfect for shopping so we paired non-stop shopping with non-stop eating.. as much as we could of course.

Did you know that Galeries LaFayette, Paris' best un-kept secret holds free weekly fashion shows for visitors? The iconic stained glass,  steel dome reminiscing a cathedral and Art Nouveau staircases were finished in 1912.

Black sequin shorts: Forever 21

Who says Graffiti can't be Art? Art is everywhere in Paris if you look aound you.



Python print calf-hair tall boots: 10 Crosby Derek Lam

Paris has some of the best chocalatiers in the world.



French fries drizzled with mayo, need we say more?



Purple merino wool mix leggings: Falke

Luxury for Less: Dolce and Gabbana Fall Winter 2014 Boots

Dolce & Gabbana's coveted suede and leather studded over-the-knee chain mail inspired knight armour boots as seen on the runway can now be purchased for less if you really want this sort of design and don't want to splurge out on a pair for thousands.

The gem and stud faceted boots may look nice and bling-ey on the runway but cheap-looking in a close up view.

The quality of Dolce and Gabbana items nowadays are questionable. We had a leopard print calf hair bejewelled chain strap handbag in our possession which has mysteriously shed all its hair as if it had been burnt. When we brought the bag down to the Dolce and Gabbana boutique at ION Orchard in Singapore, the manager was unable to explain anything to us or worse still, do anything about it.

We have since rest our case and decided to recommend our readers to avoid buying leather and calf-hair skin products from Dolce and Gabbana in fear that one may end up with the same defective product and served with the same lacklustre customer service that we experienced.

One very good reason why people generally choose to buy luxury designer goods besides its quality, is the quality after-sales service that usually follows. Sadly, it seems this is not the case for most designer brands nowadays. 

A similar studded over-the-knee boots by Jeffrey Campbell.

Which do you prefer? The Dolce and Gabbana version or the Jeffrey Campbell?

Hollie-May Saker's Old Modelling Job

British model Hollie-May Saker, 19, who was famed for punching a topless feminist protestor from FEMEN during the Nina Ricci runway show. FEMEN is a Ukrainian feminist movement group. Hollie-May now covers many fashion magazines and is looked up as a model style darling amongst teenagers.

Before gracing the covers of top fashion magazines, Hollie used to model for ASOS like fellow British supermodel Cara Delevingne.


Cara rose to stardom due to her quirky personality - something most top models seem to lack.

Here is our best wardrobe pick from Hollie-May's ASOS modelling period.

Hollie-May Saker rocking an Eleven Paris coat over shirt layerings, faux leather leggings, oxford shoes and a beanie.

Grunge-rock cool. 

Celeb Style: Fergie's Military Chic Look

The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie sure loves her fashion as she saunters out of the airport in something more than a white tee and black pants.

Fergie worked military chic from head to toe with a girly twist - sparkly sweatshirt coupled with ripped and distressed denim cargo shorts with a cool peekaboo sequin layer underneath.

Military chic style with combat inspired leather boots and an equally sexy, messy, tousled beach bum hairdo; who would have guessed Fergie's a mom?

Twiggy Sixties Round Sunglasses by Miu Miu

Image source: TIME magazine

One of our all-time favourite sunglasses from Miu Miu is inspired by none other than the sixties British style icon Twiggy who was famous for her short hair and doe-shaped eyes framed with an excessive amount of mascara on both upper and lower eyelashes.

Twiggy is seen here in a rare unpublished photo by TIME magazine on her first visit to America.

Image source: mytheresa.com

Close up of the Miu Miu round sunglasses in yellow. We tried the glitter versions and found them much darker in colour than the non-glitter ones so we opted for the tonal yellow tinted sunglasses for that funky retro feel.

Wearing the Miu Miu 60s inspired gradient yellow round sunglasses on a road trip. Look out for the upcoming fashion editorial we worked on during the road trip!

Dolce and Gabbana Fall Winter 2014 Crystal Hood

Dolce and Gabbana's Fall Winter 2014 runway show's stand-out pieces had to be the crystal and metal embellished knight chain mail hood that evoked a tough, medieval feeling yet remaining feminine with swarovski crystal pieces and gunmetal sequins for that hardy steel effect.

British Liverpool-bred scouser model Hollie May Saker famous for retaliating against FEMEN protestors on the Nina Ricci runway, wears an elaborate gold tapestry chain mail hood studded with colourful crystals.

Ondria Hardin spots a black beaded chain mail hood with fish-scale like patterns with a rather boring coat.

A model wears a chunky bejewelled chain mail head piece with lovely calf-hair, studded over the knee boots complete with reinforced knee paddings - a spectacular piece for matching with fall winter coats. The luxurious Italian Renaissance style brocade dress unfortunately cut in a conservative squarish design however, is not so flattering.

Image source: style.com Free xml sitemap generator