#PART 3 #Riccardo Tisci

Riccardo Tisci, born in 1974 in Italy, has been the Creative Director for Givenchy womenswear and haute couture since 2005. In 2008 he also became the designer for menswear and accessories of men’s department.

His work was to relaunch and reconstruct this big house that is Givenchy and I believe at the beginning it might have been a big shock for some people to see him getting this position but for me it was a breath of fresh air for the Fashion Industry.

His first collections where very good but I think he wasn’t doing what he wanted to at least not at 100% because he was aware that people were not ready for it yet and also because he needed to gain the trust and respect from his team and the fashion world. Seeing his first collections in 2006 and the most recent one spring 2014 you can see how slowly he started to introduce his reality, emotions, the urban touch inspired from the street and sportswear. He slowly started to bring down the dividing wall that separates the luxury world from the rest of us, and that is what makes him so different from a lot of other couturiers of the moment. 

In his fall 2008 collection is where I started to notice that transition. I saw this big, rough looking leather biker jacket combined with a delicate silky dress with lace details and right away it got my attention. They were clashing, it was soft and raw at the same time but it just looked so right, so perfect, so tomboy chic. In the spring 2009 collection he slightly showed his urban influences. This sweater and varsity jacket are a pretty good example of it. I think he always tries to keep it feminine as well and the sheer detail on the sweater does that by allowing the women to show her curves and still feel comfortable in a loose fit. Fall 2009 he created a goddess look alike just by finding a very clever way to use a baggy jumpsuit, a hood and exaggerated amounts of jewellery. If it was made in another type of fabric and didn’t had all that jewellery won’t just be a jumpsuit with a hood on it? I would totally use that with my trainers. 

Givenchy | Fall 2011 Ready-to-Wear Collection

It was so hard just to pick 5 looks to put here because I could see Tomboy chic all over this collection. It is so amazing I wish I could dress like this every single day of my life. Loose fitting sweaters, varsity jackets, pencil sheer skirts, elegant and beautiful but still so masculine and sporty, perfectly combined.

Givenchy | Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear Collection 

Riccardo Tisci illustrations and outfit made for Rhianna's tour.

Spring 2011/ Fall 2011/ Fall 2012/ Spring 2013/ Spring 2014

His menswear collections varsity is also very inspiring to me. He often put women wearing the men clothes from head to toe and they still look really feminine, confident and strong. Right make up, hairstyle and accessories also play a big role in these cases. Is very smart of him too because by using women on his menswear collection he is showing us it actually looks great on us too and that makes his menswear market expand.   

Fall 2011/ Fall 2012 / Spring 2013

#PART 3 #CHANEL

I could never mention designers that relate to Tomboy chic without mentioning Chanel since Coco Chanel, born in 1883, was the one how brought suits, masculine style, loose fits, freedom of movement and sophistication to the Fashion Industry back in the days. Not only she created that choice for women but she also embodied the look herself creating her own persona making a statement that was often criticized by others designers of the era such as Paul Poiret which was a young vibrant designer very known at that time.

Her clothes wore informal, popular a very modern. She set free women for the tight corsets that were so prejudicial to their health and long skirts and gave them a fun and comfortable alternative which result in widespread copies of her designs around the world. Chanel style was known for its simplicity and practicality which made it easier for women to move and feel more comfortable back in the days. She used humble materials and mixed fake with real, something expensive with something very chip, which made the garments affordable for women to buy it on their own without the help of men, she believed that women should be able to work and pay for their things to win their liberty. She was also the first designer to mark a perfume. 

Pictures of Coco Chanel taken from Fashion & Modernity lecture slideshows

In 1983 Karl Lagerfeld took over as chief designer for Chanel and he's been there ever since. I believe he kept Chanel signature looks but also incorporated some modernity and innovation to it to keep it trendy, and even though Chanel clothes is not really my style because I’m not very fan of suits I have to admit he is doing a great job and is indeed inspiring. I read that he mostly finds inspiration for his designs by looking into the past, as she did too, so I believe that that and the fact he uses many different fabrics and materials and is always innovating using new techniques, is what makes the brand still so famous after all this years. 

chanel Spring Summer 2002 RTW

Lagerfeld mixed a biker outfit with a shirt, pearl necklace and trainers on this spring 2002 collection. In Vogue I could only find from this collection until the most recent one but it was enough to see that the Tomboy chic is still very present collection after collection, combined with punk, rock, goth, minimalistic and many others. 

SPRING 2006 READY-TO-WEAR

SPRING 2014 READY-TO-WEAR 2

SPRING 2014 READY-TO-WEAR 2

#PART 3 #KOKON TO ZAI (KTZ)

I pick Kokon to Zai because I think the way they make sports wear look so fashionable is amazing. By using different fabrics and prints combine with big amounts of jewellery and other accessories they created something beyond  just sports wear I would have to say. 

Balancing elements from the urban street and indigenous cultures is a Kokon To Zai (KTZ) signature. So you might expect from a line designed between London and Bali, where designer Marjan Pejoski and partner Sasko Bezovski first dreamed up the line on holiday, and where they still keep an atelier. "The street is an important part of what we do," says Pejoski. "I adore couture, but at the same time, the street is the platform. It's all about the mix. It's my vocabulary."

Pejoski trained at Central Saint Martins and had his own namesake label in the early days. But in the years that followed, the revolutionary decided to step away from the runway and the world of high fashion.

A partnership, in life and business, with former DJ Bezovski brought him back. Bezovski's store Kokon To Zai (Japanese for "east meets west") had opened in 1996 as a music store but over the years evolved into a fashion boutique, one that drew young designers like Bernhard Willhelm, Riccardo Tisci, and Peter Pilotto. In 2003, Pejoski created KTZ as its house line; he now designs it alongside Koji Maruyama. It is still heavily influenced by Pejoski and Bezovski's travels, but its references to the style of the streets, with its tribal-gang badges, oversized shapes, and military inflections, have made it a favourite of stars like Rihanna and Kanye West. Today there are three Kokon To Zai boutiques—two in London and one in Paris

Aaliyah my Tomboy Chic Muse

Aaliyah has always been for me the definition of Tomboy Chic. Born in 1979 in Brooklyn New York, she was a recording artist, dancer and actress who was very famous in the 90's for her signature looks, her girl next door attitude, voice and dance moves. Aaliyah made a name for herself in R&B and Hip hop after selling 3.7 million copies in the US and 8 million worldwide on her second album One in a Million. 

Her voice was soft but she could really make it stand out over hard beats, I think her style was just the same, a mixture of street and elegant, she knew how to be sexy without being exaggeratedly sexual or vulgar. She always had her cool ON like it was just natural for her because she wore what make her feel good.

Her music and her hairstyles, make up, outfits are still as modern as it were 12 years ago that how amazing she was. Aaliyah style, sound and attitude continues to influence many of today's celebrities such as Ciara, Cassie, Rhianna, Rita Ora, Miley Cyres and many more I believe. 

    

#PART 2 #TOMBOY CHIC