reality check

And so here it is, the new Star Trek clothing category shop banner! It's been a long process and as always interesting to see what comes out after all the work. Post conception, make up, hair styling and shoot, pictures are cropped and graphics are added. And suddenly there it is, gracing the shop! It is a great experience for a designer to see their clothing on a real person, far away from the mannequin that it's been fitted on, not to mention the impression of an initial sketch. A picture teaches you a lot about a garment and its fit and purpose and a final photo shoot definitely belongs to the process of fashion making. To see your clothing on models moving over the runway is an equally satisfying and eye opening experience for a designer. One that makes you better in your craft over time. Because you'll start to design with the end picture in mind, you are concerning yourself with the 'big picture" early on. You may even already think about pairing it with other garments and all this preoccupation will undoubtedly lead to a better end result and concept, if you will.

...Jessica Calle wearing the Mr. Spock Peplum Skirt by IdilViceFashionRocks, photo by Carl Posey...

We have to keep in mind that photos communicate. Pictures can sell something for example, but not only that, they can be helpful to a designer in many other ways too. Once a piece of clothing is worn by a model it says a lot more about itself then if it would be on a hanger or laying flat. You can see proportions and fit and the visual even gives you ideas about how to wear a certain piece. So yeah, definitely go ahead and take lots of pictures... my advice is to have a professional photographer take them (you've got plenty of other things to worry about during a shoot), because they have an understanding of light and proportion as well as location and concept, trust me: you do want that taken care of. After all,these photos are also going to serve you as an incredible souvenir from the past.

being a step ahead by taking a step back

For a fashion designer it is already 2011. Yes it can be weird to work on designs to be worn in a year from now. You're always hushed to the next thing before you can really enjoy that moment. As an independent I can control the design schedule a bit more, but let's be honest, you've got to think ahead and sometimes that means to just really be in the now. Because people who do not worry about fashion (they could be your customer), they have to catch up first.



As much as it is shameful to be catching up on an ongoing trend, it can be frustrating to be ahead all the time. And sometimes I just wanna make a piece of clothing for right now! That could mean I've got to take a step back. "What is she talking about? It's confusing!" you may say. So let me show you a situation like this on an example.

I am rediscovering a print from 2 years ago. It feels right to me now.

It just happened yesterday when I was on my usual sneak peek tour through the garment district. Those of you who have been following some of my work, know about the cool Sunglasses photo printed fabric. Well, when I chose it for a dress 2 years ago, there was another print from the same manufacturer, the Sandals photo print. I preferred the Sunglasses one over the Sandals one then and never looked back, but on my stroll yesterday this print looked like now to me, I wanted to make something with it to wear this Summer 2010. And that is what I mean when I say: "Sometimes I have to take a step back to be ahead", which could be what I am feeling right now.

It's intuition I believe. Anyway, now that I have picked the fabric, I've got to get inspired to come up with the type of garment it is going to be and that - you bet - is a whole another story! It may inspire you or you may have a suggestion... please feel free to comment on it :)

karl lagerfeld spotted in manhattan

O.K. I am running the risk of a Karl Lagerfeld overdose! On my blog??! Jeez! Well, screw it, I've got to post this one, it's Karl Lagerfeld shooting the new Chanel campaign in Manhattan of all places! I thought he was a French designer??! So is he moving to Manhattan? Is he going to move his business to the Big Apple? Now?! I guess NYC has gotten bourgeois enough for him by now!?

Anyway I could not believe my eyes walking through the LES... You can see Karl yielding his camera atop an industrial lifter!



The question that poses itself automatically is: "Is he wearing his glasses while shooting?" "Yes, he is." Goodness I am still in shock! But, frankly, it's just another photography job lost in the city's fashion industry!!

it's on - gaultier vs idilvice...

This one's gonna be fun you know it. This should have been posted way sooner but it's been crazy lately. NY Fashion Week was on and with that the best parties in the world! Plus I've been busy designing new clothes and there was no time to write. As of late, I am additionally experiencing the corporate backlash of taking control of the internet. All sorts of companies trying to get a piece of IdilViceFashionRocks and all... I'll be talking about this a bit later. But now, on a slightly lighter note, I finally made it to put this one down. I planned it weeks ago, when I first saw the JPG men's show in Paris. Ironically both JPG and I were featured in the same TV program earlier this year.

I used to intern at Jean Paul Gaultier. Many years ago. I adore this man. Does he adore me? Yes he does. Look, it's a fact that designers cross each others ways frequently, in a mental way. Creatives think alike. And of course we are all inspired by what we see. We are also pressed to come up with smashing ideas at least twice a year, a pace that can be deadly, especially for creatives who usually need time to "listen" to themselves and "marinate" thoughts, before they can take shape. So with this incredible time line chasing us, it is no secret that we can't always be original and if it happens that ideas get translated, transformed and reissued it should not be taken personally. That of course is not always easy to do, as we know that there's usually more to it than just a simple mind cross when established high end designers - which we "intern" with - dish out concepts from independent ones such as myself. But again, it's a fact we've got to live with for the rest of our lives. Check out JPG fashion presentation for Fall 2010. A similar theme originally staged by me in 1997 - almost 13 years ago - in Zürich at Kaufleuten. The name of the show: Vice Troop Body Culture S/S 1997.

So you think you get the real deal all the time? You probably don't. Not always. The interpretation of Jean Paul's "Body Culture" - or "Coutorture" - was of course as always impeccable and so I can't stay critical any longer. One thing though: I look better in the bath robe ;-) what do you think?

IdilVice in her brand new velvetine French terry two-tone colored Troop Vice embroidered cropped and top stitched bathrobe shown in her fashion show presentation in Zurich in 1997, left. And Jean Paul Gaultier in an old lumpy no name bathrobe... not sure where he got it from...at his men's fashion presentation 2010 in Paris.

Well, whatever you might think, stay with me and let's look at some other parts of the shows and compare them, if you will.

Left: JPG men's fashion 2010 hoods with towel around the neck and on the right: IdilVice photo shoot with hoods and towel around the neck in boxing position 1997.

Tough IdilVice Troop Body Culture boys with embroidered belted French terry bathrobe coats and suede leather shorts, in 1997.

...tough JPG boys with coats and boxer shorts, 2010.

Left: IdilVice Body Culture trompe l'oeil printed woman's body suit, 1997 and right: JPG men's trompe l'oeil printed body suit, 2010. I must state here that JPG is one of the pioneers of trompe l'oeil.


Classic black & white elements such as stripes and plaid mixed in with sportswear at IdilVice 1997, left and right: JPG, 2010.


Left: baggy shorts and wrist bands at IdilVice 1997 and right: baggy shorts and wrist bands at JPG in 2010.


From head to toe in sporty white at IdilVice Body Culture 1997.


From head to toe in sporty white at JPG in 2010.


Plus we even both put our men in wrap skirts...


But only IdilVice put her man in a bikini top ;-) .....


... and only IdilVice had piercings in her body suits ;-)

Thanks goodness Jean Paul overlooked some details!

R.I.P. Alexander McQueen

And just like that a life - this time around it happens to be the life of an über talented colleague of mine - is over. His creations have already made fashion history a long time ago.

R.I.P. Alexander Lee McQueen.

jeremy scott and idilvice

Yes, Jeremy is a buddy of mine as well as a very talented colleague (we've even got the same best friend: Cory Kennedy). I adore him and it happens that we frequently have a similar vision. We both favor color and share a love for pop art and prints for once, but there are other similarities, such as the fact that we consistently try to see fashion from a different angle. But how did he gain access to my look books from the past?!

IdilVice Mickey printed cropped blouse, featured in Vogue Italia, 2000, in a photo shoot by Steven Meisel.

Lady Gaga in a Jeremy Scott outfit in 2009.

A Mickey show piece from the IdilVice Spring '98 show in Zürich. Swiss/Turkish Singer Emel coming down the runway wearing a skirt on a roll held by 2 mini Mickey "servants", dressed in the same Mickey print outfits and sporting Mickey ears. The umbrella had Mickey ears!

There you go. You see what I am trying to get at. Not only do we favor the same icons, we do love a concept in addition. Hey Jeremy, I won't hold a grudge, you've been and always will be a hero to me. Unless of course you keep on steeling my ideas, honey, even if they are from the past, tz tz tz...

...I'm hanging out with Cory Kennedy, a friend of both me and Jeremy...

Well, of course I know, you my dear reader, you don't love "bashing posts", - we have barely passed the freedom and peace promoting MLK post - but they will have to keep coming as the battles of the designers are only getting more heated. And I like to get credit where credit is due (thanks to the Internet we now have the opportunity to spotlight steals such as this one). But I promise, I'll keep these things short and move right on along to design my next "copy-worthy" product.

the future of fashion

I am currently partaking in a great discussion on Linkedin about the future of the fashion market:

Is today's fashion consumer driven more by discounts or does unique, quality product still have a chance to sell at regular retail prices?

With fashion retailers and wholesalers dealing with a difficult global economy, increasing the challenge to move inventories, have they educated the consumer to seek out or wait for "the deal" and only buy off price, or is it just that there isn't much exciting being offered to entice consumers to spend at regular prices?
In today's fashion market there are more brands than ever before, but you could probably count on two hands the number of truly unique styles being created and offered by most brands.
It probably doesn't help that most brands are available at places like Century 21, TJ Maxx, Gilt.com, etc. for up to 75% off...all year long.
Have fashion brands and retailers created this dilemma?

Read all these interesting comments and comment yourself - I did!

another one bites the apple

...the beatles bag from comme des garçons 2010...

Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons is usually not one to follow other people or jump on running train wagons, but this time - I am afraid - she is a bit behind :0
My collection "Fashion Rocks", which combines rock 'n' roll imagery and music style with couture fashion has mutated beyond t-shirts and bags long ago and now includes the whole gamut of rock 'n' roll icons, not just The Beatles, FYI. I say this with a smirky smile on my lips!

Then again - come on! - this bag is cute enough and why should Rei not get a shot at The Beatles? Right? So I am looking forward, impatiently, to see what she'll come up with!

Über fashion reporter and patriarch Suzy Menkes from the NY Times, whom I got to meet at the T party at the Boom Boom Room during Fashion Week, forecasts a collection of bags and shirts to look more basic than inventive. Well? Again, that doesn't sound like Rei. I wonder.

Now. Only one last thought before I am moving on with my life: the repetitive logo pattern feels a bit Louis Vuitton-ish, n'est çe pas? I just hope no one bites the dust, dear!!

...grateful dead bag from the idilvicefashionrocks collection 2007...

siouxsie and the banshees skirt

I love to see the photos after a shoot. Nowadays a rough edit may be available basically the next day, unlike just a few years ago, when we had to wait for weeks to get the mere proof sheets! I couldn't do that anymore, much to spoiled by now by the quick turnaround of the digital world! It really works out for the blog too, instant content, just as we like it!

So here another shot from yesterdays shoot: The Siouxsie And The Banshees Punk Skirt. I'd say: "Go for it!"

pink and the other colors

I wanna buy this vanilla colored 1976 Ford LTD Laundau - if you know what I mean...


...and I can't get enough of my purple Kiss Pants combined with my pastel, washed out pink blazer - just perfect to balance both colors out...

..yes, this was me tonight after a long day of photo shooting in the windowless photo studio. i did not have anymore smiles left...

..and heck yeah: I love my new Pink Skirt, which is black and was shot this weekend y'all!


It's not listed yet, but we will get this done tomorrow... man, I am real tired and have got to go to sleep now - Tschüss!

photoshop disaster

Ah, ha! I should mind my own business, but since I just bitched about the shabby baggy Ralph Lauren denim overalls, that were absolutely nothing new, it's only natural for me to wonder why do his models need to be this skinny? To fit those baggy pants?!


You think I'm kidding but I'm not: This is the brand new Ralph Lauren ad. Ralph admits that they did go a few steps to far in Photoshop retouching. Obviously!

Boingboing.net who commented on it: "Ralph Lauren opens new outlet store in the Uncanny Valley. Dude her head is bigger than her pelvis!" got in trouble and sued by RL.

What a world! But you didn't think you could believe what is said nor what you see, did you?

the new idilvice postcard is here!

Mesdames et Messieurs, Meine Damen und Herren, Ladies and Gentlemen:

The new idilvice postcard!


Want one? Send me an email with your address and I will mail it to you!

sick of fashion?

Yes mam, you can imagine it happens that fashion designers have it up to here (over the head) with fashion. Now is Milan Fashion Week and before it was London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week has not even started. I am just glad New York Fashion Week was first! I was all energetic for it starting out. Saw a great many shows, including my own and mingled at the best parties in town. Lots of inspiration at the end of a season to go right back to the drawing table and start designing Fall 2010!

Over the course of the last 3 weeks I have become a little numb to the fashion news, sorry to say. That feeling will last for a day or two, then I usually snap right back into it! It's that one bad day per year we're all too familiar with. The quick fall after the long high. Melancholy maybe. But holy cow and thanks goodness: My customers don't wait, they want more designs, new designs, freakin' every day! And I love it. I do. I LOVE what I do. I have a dream job.

I guess I just don't understand why everybody has to come up with new collections at the exact same time, thrown at you all in a span of a mere 3 weeks!? It's commerce. I got it. The season clearly calls for us to buy new clothes now, the ones from last season are no longer fashionable.
You know I don't believe in this. I always wear my old classics, that is what personal style is about. It's about not letting anyone dictate what you wear at what time. You decide.

Oh, let me be grateful to you, for just hanging in there with me, while I freely dispose into cyber space what's on my mind, all these scattered thoughts which may or may not make much sense.... Thanks for just going through this little personal evaluation with me!

Anyway - so no - of course we are NOT sick of fashion just yet and I am confident once the last show goes over the runway and the curtains finally close, the lights are turned off, life goes on. We will come up with our own styles and we might buy a new dress or a coat. It's all up to us.

To my customers: Thanks! I adore my customers. Some of them send me pictures of themselves wearing the clothes they bought, sometimes they look great, sometimes not so great, but it's all good. Sometimes they look just stunning!

...karen and artist tyler jordan...

So to end this season on a really great note, here's the shot of Karen, the original hippie chick in the Woodstock Dress (the absolute bestseller of my season) and Tyler Jordan as Jim Morrison! PEACE.


O.K. I am on to Fall 2010!

t magazine party

...carey mulligan gracing the covers of the style issue of t-magazine...

I have been on many rooftops in this city and I certainly appreciate the feeling they evoke: breaths of fresh air and a chance to shake off tension by gazing onto the busy city streets, seemingly never empty of yellow cabs! The rooftop at Standard literally tops everything though. The building is so high and since it is located in the middle of the Meatpacking District on the West side - not known to be a skyscraper neighborhood - you have a unhindered view of the NYC skyline up close. Fantastic! Well and who do you think would reserve this amazing new space in the city during Fashion Week? The New York Times.

After Anna Sui's show at the tents I headed straight down to Standard, where my Swiss friend, music designer, DJ, journalist, design insider, entrepreneur and my former manager Olivier Rohrbach was conveniently staying during his Fashion Week assignment. Tommy Hilfiger is on his plate tomorrow for an interview, the show and dinner. But tonight we are invited to the T Magazine party.

Everybody was there. Suzy Menkes, Terry Richardson, Courtney Love, Simon Donovan, Jonathan Adler, Robin Thicke, Helena Christensen, Carey Mulligan, Jeff Koons, Cecilia Dean, Waris Ahluwalia and so many more. A night to remember.

...carey mulligan checking out the many pictures of herself in T-magazine...

...robin thicke and olivier rohrbach chillin'...

... waris ahluwalia...


...terry richardson with his girl and friends...

...me posing? dancing?...


...i am simply enjoying myself...


...olivier rohrbach...

And I think I do get slightly better at taking bathroom pictures... n'est ce pas?

susie bubble in ny

...susie bubble in ny...

Heyah! I haven't slept tonight, because I was worried - while feeling slightly excited about the prospects of a 20 inch display iMac with a mighty mouse and a brand new keyboard - that I might have to purchase a new computer this morning, after I discovered - upon my return from the Dress Up Soiree, last night - that my laptop was blank, stuck, gone dark - - - Yikes!

Well, I've managed to get it to work again and so the new Mac will have to wait, oh well! Sigh!

O.K. so what was it like last night? Four words: Susie Bubble in NY.
A bit ahead of time, not fashionably late, I was one of the first to enter the back room at 171 East Broadway and I spoted Jennine Tamm, blogger, entrepreneur, creator of Independent Fashion Blogger par excellence, putting the finishing touches to the table center pieces. You'd come to expect a mogul, if you do not already know her quirky, girlie appearance from the pictures on her blog The Coveted.

...jennine tamm of ifb...

I recognized Susie Bubble instantly, by far the most famous panel member here. She thinks that blogging has reached the peak and says that no one knows what the future brings and it will depend on the bloggers who keep creating content. Why was I surprised to hear her thick British accent??! Well, that was an interesting discovery: we are indeed roaming through blog cyber space daily where we have no personal contact at all and only read about a person, while getting insight into their world. Well, with the fact that I heard her voice and am in the know now of her careful choices of words, I've added another dimension to Susie!

When an attendee pointed out that he never had imagined her to have this casual t-shirt style (he had expectations of the style-savvy blogger) - Susie wore a simple vintage t-shirt dress and flats, although she was sporting a frilly bow tie headband with that - she mentioned, as if excusing herself, that she just came from the shows - which in my book would call for dress up - but maybe as an employee of Dazed & Confused, shows are just work and require comfort in order to do the actual work. Anyway, I was not in a great mood my own self to dress up for this dress up soiree - after all we are heading into the 5th night in a row of Fashion Week and I am glad I have a clean outfit! I thought she best would have sticked to her follow up that maybe her take on casual is different from his.

...everybody wanted a picture with ms. bubble and so did i...

Afterward I had some fun in the bathroom, trying to photograph my outfit... without much luck, I should have asked someone to snap it for me...

... anyway - no hard feelings - but I just felt a bit awkward surrounded by all these bloggers in person (aren't we online networkers?) and thought maybe I like them as bloggers more than in person anyway and so I left Chinatown and the smell of it behind me. I take one advice though, I will stay true to myself and keep creating good content. Thanks for a lovely evening Jennine!