Fall 2013 shoes: Church's, Car Shoe

There was a time, when I was a student abroad where I anticipated the autumn season with baited breath as the prospect of falling leaves provides us the opportunity for crunching/stomping the yellowed leaves with our feet. It's just a part of our 'tropical kids' mentality of watching American TV shows come Christmas season in Malaysia, where the setting would obviously be revolving around the fall/winter season and there was almost always the clichéd sight of falling maple leaves which is gradually replaced by the scene of pristine white snow. Of course the curiosity of experiencing the exact situation is only unravelled by traveling half the globe and finding out that there is actually more mud and slosh rather than pristine white snow. Ah, the naïveté of a teenager...

Moschino love

instagram image via @jeremylangmead

I love it when a fashion show invite is all quirky like the one from Moschino's AW 2013 Menswear, where a plastic plate is used to foretell a gastronomy-related show. Our prediction was indeed true when we arrived at the Giannino restaurant, just near the Milano Central Station. The venue is a continuation of unusual fashion show settings from their SS12 where the show was held inside an unassuming Italian hypermarket, unlike the typical majestic piazzas or villas every other major fashion labels are accustomed to.

The luxury of Tod's

To be honest I am not an avid follower of all things stereotypically categorised as 'luxury brands', especially the ones that are lagging in the directional front and revolve around preaching their so-called rich history, heritage and craftsmanship. But there's no denying of Tod's commercial role in today's luxury market: successfully selling expensive driving shoes, propelling this footwear style into popularity among young men (and women) resulting in the infiltration of cheaper high-street versions into the market. But of course no other brands (except Car shoes, maybe) can instill people's trust in these kinds of shoes like Tod's does. How do they do that?

Hogan men's shoes AW13 presentation

I learned about Hogan when I first visited Milan about five years ago when I friskily walked the vast high-street of Corso Buenos Aires in central Milan. Hogan is a mid-range shoe label under the Italian luxury company Tod's Group umbrella (which includes Fay and Roger Vivier, besides the popular driving shoes label Tod's - all presided over by businessman Diego Della Valle). Considered a lifestyle brand Hogan was founded in 1986 when the Traditional range was released, taking cue from cricket shoes. Handbags were added to the collection later in 2000. The label evolves into a full-fledged lifestyle name with the inclusion of ready-to-wear which further blossoms into commercial success, partly thanks to the collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld (beginning from 2010 till now).

Luxury stores of Milan and Paris

We have been scouring the streets of Milan and Paris for the créme de la créme of luxury industry - both renowned designers and obscured, unearthed gems. Window shopping and admiring the interior decorations and the conceptually dressed mannequins (and not just the goods on display) is part of the best indulgent activities whenever we are here. Here is our best selection, complete with the store addresses, in case you were inspired by this post and need to travel soon. But this by no means an exhaustive list of what these two fashion-centric cities have to offer - it is always good to be lost in the streets and discover the path less trodden...

Excelsior!

Forgive me as the inner paparazzi in me has been itching to sneakily capture images of boutiques that we visited whilst in Milan and Paris, where expectedly such photography is not allowed. But such is my commitment to blogging and exclusive coverage that I risked myself from getting thrown out by brawny security guards with these improperly-snapped images. First I'll start with the latest addition to the concept store scene in Milan - Excelsior.

Gucci Menswear A/W 2013 review

Time cannot be more appropriate as I wake up to the news of Gucci opening its largest menswear-only store in Milan in June this morning. To be honest I am not an avid follower of the behemoth label - in my eyes sometimes they can get a bit too 'mainstream' for my taste and the looks are relatively ubiquitous, thanks to (un)healthy rounds of high-street knockoffs (from Zara, notably). Aside from coveting a pair of their shoes or two in the past, and scoring a pair of penny loafers two sizes too big for my feet from DMagazine in Milan, I have nothing but generally a skeptic's view on this label. However I'm ready to eat my own words ever since seeing their latest offerings up-close... 

Punishable!

 A quiet street - Via Montenapoleone, Milan

I should be certainly punished for not staying true to my promises of exhilarating, non-stop fashion updates from the blog. But in my defense, (which is sounding more and more tired as I am right now) as I return to the work-centric phase of my life, it just seems less possible to have that ample amount of time devoted to reviewing the whimsical nature of fashion collections on a regular basis. 

Regardless the amount of hours I have put myself in for my 'proper' job (which is definitely much better than the hospital days), I still find it surprisingly difficult to muster that inner strength to zone out, discipline myself and start meticulously editing and resizing the hundreds of images I captured, on top of doing a light research on the topic I'm writing about in order to gain as much accuracy as possible. 

This turns out to be a bit taxing to a person who cooks for himself occasionally, takes a medical book to revise out of guilt now and then just to be in the know, lazes around watching marathons of downloaded popular American series like Sex and The City (almost at the end of the final season six now!), and more often than not have choose to work more than twelve hours a day, just to save more cash for more whimsical fashion buys which in turn, can potentially be the next feature in the blog. And so the vicious cycle never ends! Let the pictures of the beautiful streets of Milan let me make up for it for the time being...

Beautiful flooring detail near Prada at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan.

The Ideal House at Prada

What would one do without a good runway show or two? Even though a primary objective of fashion shows are to bring focus on the clothes, there is no denying the necessity of a captivating runway set to generate press and interest. Who can forget Chanel's runway sets for instance, that are frequently elaborate and memorable (from gigantic glacier to oversized carousel to humongous Chanel No.5 perfume bottle), or, Dior's flora-infused walls during Raf Simon's debut for A/W12 haute couture show? 

The relatively recent Prada menswear A/W13 runway set has left me (and many others, I believe) in awe, as far as runway sets are concerned. Thanks to the genius work of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas' OMA and AMO, which have been collaborating with Prada since over a decade ago, the think tank have created a succession of memorable backdrops for Miuccia Prada's men's and women's collections. Debuting at the S/S04 menswear show, OMA first designed a series of posters to line the runway in the Prada Fondazione. The collaboration subsequently evolved into a Bauhaus-style decor for men's S/S07, a spiralling orange structure (men's A/W07), an underwater world (men's S/S08), a metal elevated stage (S/S11) and foam cars (women's A/W12).

CAMERAderie: The last bit of Milan

I have safely arrived in Malaysia two days ago and in between dealing with jet lag, post-shopping depression and mustering strength to return back to work, I am trying my best not to slack off from blogging. I know you guys are anticipating for more Paris updates, but examining a collection of images from the entire journey it turned out that there are certain Milan photos, that I think will be interesting for this final CAMERAderie segment of Milan Fashion Week.

I'm borderline stalking Scott Schuman as I bumped into him creepily saw him from afar - not only at almost every show in Milan, naturally, but in the train, on our way to Paris as well. But of course my awkward shyness deterred me from saying hi (although Arman and other individuals have reserved comments about his attitude, I still find images from The Sartorialist inspirational and have been among one of the guides for Dunia Fashyon since the blog's inception)... 

I accidentally papped the Sartorialist at work outside Emporio Armani show. I'm waiting for the image of the man photographed to surface in Schuman's blog so I can feel pathetically in sync with him or something.

Emporio Armani AW13 experience

Even though a classic brand like the Armani empire does not necessarily appeal to us at Dunia Fashyon it is still a privilege to witness the fashion powerhouse's more commercial ready-to-wear line in action. The venue - the official Armani runway I suspect, is spacious and fits multiple levels of seating. In fact, it does feel like a mini indoor stadium at a first glance. The collection (comprising ninety-five looks, no less) seems like classic Emporio Armani, but with a twist - the overall look feels young and current, and it's not just sombre tones of grey dominating the colour palette. In fact, I particularly like the addition of different shades of yellows and blues, and at the accessory forefront, the backpacks are a winner. 

A standing position means less-than-worthy runway images but I did manage to capture Mr Armani and his throng of models at the end of the show. Finally my petit Asian frame serves me well whereby I maneuvered myself in between the European photogs for considerably nice photos of the designer. And, at least a model or two did look at my camera. Okay, now I'm going to print out the images with the models and crop the ones who looked at my camera, and make a bookmark out of it...

Prada Menswear AW13 Review

Forgive us for this entry's overtly excited tone but it seems so futile to contain it. And for the risk of sounding shamelessly superficial may we exclaim, "It's PRADA!", after all. At the time of writing we are already in Paris and thanks to an overload of shopping (we had less shows to attend in Paris, boo hoo...) this post has been sitting in 'draft' mode for quite some time. Nevertheless it goes without saying that the experience attending Prada Men’s Autumn Winter 2013 collection has got to be the highlight of the week (honestly every event is a highlight but this one is monumental!).

As we were not that busy towards the end of the day (Prada show was slated to start at 6 p.m), we decided to move out from the hotel earlier just to check out the venue, plus it is a significant label as we know it; so we want to be fully prepared and avoid all those bad contingencies as Milano traffic can be very unforgiving at times.

What are you wearing?

We have been extensively scouring for affordable bargains whilst in Paris and that includes WALKING from one department store to another, going to certain multilabel stores (not just Colette) and the high street is not spared either. But what would this blog be without a good old outfit post?

Whilst Arman has brought about six winter-appropriate jackets/coats or so I've been limiting myself with three outerwear (well, four including a reversible H&M x Margiela piece). It's always a bit of a conundrum when it comes to selecting proper winter clothing (the sizing and pricing issues, of course). But luckily those women's Undercover x Uniqlo quirky stuff came to the rescue. Anyhow I still did not manage to maximise the clothing part and I'm blaming this entirely to my not-so-spacious American Tourister suitcase which basically tilts to the side when packed full. I guess that is the peril of travelling on budget...

Arman is wearing something appropriate for the Burberry Prorsum show - he's wearing trench coat by Burberry Prorsum (obvs), Prada bag (in front of Prada Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele II, how appropriate x2), Raf Simons jeans, Carven boots

Backstage at Prada Mens AW13

Never in a million years I would have thought to see the works of a legendary design empire taking place in front of my very own eyes. I'm grateful to think that this actually happens and it might even be a chance of a lifetime...

 We entered Fondazione Prada compound on Via Fogazzaro 36 and subsequently I was escorted to the backstage area, while Arman patiently waited outside for the show to start. The backstage is an all-white space with bare walls, except for photographs of previous Prada collections and images of bag/jacket craftsmanship in progress. The area was filled with models lounging outside the makeup room, makeup artists, stylists, crews, bodyguards and photographers like me. My maiden attempt taking photos inside the space was initially awkward due to my newness but as I started to feel at ease I could feel my index finger excitedly clicking away for photos...

CAMERAderie - Milan Fashion Week (Mens Autumn Winter 13/14)

‘CAMERAderie’ is a column on DUNIA FASHYON where we try to encapsulate an event in a concise form of photographs. A collection of photos is compiled together to best sum up the whole occasion that took place, in our own perspective.

Bottega Veneta menswear AW13 review

The Bottega Veneta show was scheduled at 9.30am on a Sunday morning, located inside the brand headquarters in the industrial part of Milan. We managed to arrive very early albeit the freezing and drizzly winter weather. Ashley Thng, the brand PR from Singapore greeted and brought us around the complex. Model-looking ushers approached and held a large black umbrella for us as we made our way into the building - an experience which felt very much like a Downton Abbey moment to us. Once inside, we headed to the cafeteria in the showroom-turned-lounge space for a quick cup of freshly brewed Italian espresso.

Burberry Prorsum menswear AW13 review

We kicked off our Milan Men’s Fashion Week with Burberry Prorsum runway show last Saturday. Hafidz was granted the elusive Front-Of-House pass which means he is allowed to enter an hour prior to the show. He managed to secure a spot amongst seasoned global runway photographers (albeit having to squeeze through the comparatively large-built Europeans)! The show started rather timely (15 minutes late in fashion means 5 minutes early, you see).

As we all know, Burberry Prorsum is the conceptual high-end fashion line of the house. Nevertheless the importance of skillful craftsmanship and luxurious fabrication in producing each and every piece, akin to its classic range, is very clearly stressed. This is evident during our re-see session where we had a close-up look at each item, thanks to the PR representative who was there to bring us around and explain the whole collection.

Prada AW13!

Images by Hafidzudin Zainal

We are so excited to witness the Prada AW13 menswear in person! And yes, the GIF is amateurly made from my images. The experience is incredible so far.

There will be also backstage coverage and in-depth details. Hopefully you guys will be patiently anticipating our personal experiences that we'd love to share!

Walking on cloud nine

The excitement has elevated once again in the ever mundane life of mine, as I will be in Milan and Paris for Men's Fashion Week AW13/14! I've never imagined this day will come (as you might have known I'm a fashion outsider with a contrasting day job which does not involve fashion/retail at all) and am eternally grateful for the chance to witness runway shows by globally successful designers. If previously I could only ogle at the images and videos on the Internet, now I will finally have the chance to enjoy them in-person and even partake in covering the shows/presentations for Dunia Fashyon, together with the ever-resourceful Arman.

We arrived in Milan on Friday morning at the comfortably spacious junior suite at Four Points by Sheraton which is conveniently located just a few blocks away from Milan Central Station (long gone are the days of backpacking, hopping on and off public transportation to reach my place of accommodation). Since the runway shows will only be commencing the next day, we took the opportunity to explore Milan's luxury retail center for people watching and of course, some serious (window) shopping…