The necessity of excess

There’s no other way. With clothes pared down to minimal lines and practically devoid of ornamentation, horror vacui just had to give in to embellishing accessories as a counterpoint to simplicity. The mood of austerity has also seen the virtual demise of the “It bag.”  Not that there aren’t so many bags to covet but the greed associated with those infamous bags of the past is just too distasteful and indiscreet for the current mood. This is the time to go for investment: classic pieces in fine leather and exotic skins as well as impeccably beaded clutches and minaudieres that will last for many seasons to come. Any excess energy for bags is now being channeled into “It” jewelry, bold necklaces in particular, but there are also fabulous cuffs, rings and even hair ornaments that are just too irresistible to pass up for a fall wardrobe. For shoes, stilettos are back, sky-high, so time to do that balancing act again if only to get that perfect line!

Shoes: The Higher The Better

There are so many gorgeous stilettos in store, you will probably have nightmares deciding on just one. Michael Kors has a classic gray croc with a stiletto decadently beaded in black Swarovski crystals. Jil Sander has tournesol mosaic beading with a sculptural thorny sole and heel. Rodarte’s thorns top the shoe, protecting one’s toes from those who overstep their boundaries. The stiletto heel itself is also emphasized with the color and even with the structure by moving it back a few millimeters to appear as a separate entity.  Probably a hangover from the chunky fetishistic shoes of the past, but at least they look sleeker. This streamlined look is most apparent at Balenciaga, where chunky has ruled for some time. Now, the shoes are pointy-sharp and stiletto-sleek to match the severe outfits. Heels have also tapered at Prada and Miu Miu from last season’s chunky art nouveau but with no less drama. Prada has the heels ruffled while Miu Miu’s sculptural heels are MoMa-worthy. 

For those who are still holding on to the comfort of wedges, Louis Vuitton has the perfect compromise of wedged stilettos. This hybrid has a gap in the wedge to simulate a stiletto heel, which is usually the more dominant color, giving a trompe l’oeil illusion of wearing stilettos with the comfort of the wedge. Calvin Klein still has wedges but opulent in matte gray alligator with black shearling in Anna Karenina fashion.

This is also the season of the boot. Manolo Blahnik went thigh-high with his stiletto pirate boots, raiding the South Seas in the process to stud them with pearls. Marni’s went lower to the knee, in taupe with a black heel and gold platform. Anna Sui cuffed her Bordeaux boots and added a buckle. Balenciaga had a cyber look with rumpled latex enveloping pointy cream boots. Givenchy’s black version had a pinched wedge that seemed to be morphing into a stiletto, another transitional device for those still holding on to the comfort of the familiar.

An easier alternative is the ankle bootie that goes with many of the fall looks. YSL has the tallest and thinnest stiletto heel in croc with a hidden platform to ease the pain. Marc Jacobs is much kinder to women with low conical heels and semi-wedges. Embellishment came in patchwork and color blocking  as well as gold and crystal studs. Chloe went green with leaves covering the ankle of its pointy booties.

‘I Will Not Be Ignored’ Jewelry

For fall, your jewelry has to be a statement piece. They need not be real but they have to look like the real thing that just came from the vault. They also have to be bold and interesting. Lanvin leads the pack with its Deco-dent rock crystal necklaces and cuffs.  Balenciaga’s Riviere necklace of multi-cut stones and pearls definitely spells opulent. For a geometric streak, try Burberry’s modernist gold bib necklace. Dries Van Noten kept color on the agenda with jewel-colored enameled bangles strung into a necklace. Erickson Beamon got inspiration from Beardsley with graphic looks that mixed black crystals with gold-smudged amber and moonstone.  Van der Straeten, meanwhile, journeyed to the Nile and did a geometric take on Ramses and Nefertiti’s jewelry. Heir to the Fendi fortune, Delfina Delettrez has a second collection of witty and intricate pieces like giant balls of green agate with charms of enameled fauna and large, surreal eye rings. Marc Jacob’s black pearl rings have heavenly rays of silver emanating from them. His cuffs were huge and sculptural, a noteworthy one having globular pearls tucked under as a surprise detail. Some of the biggest pieces were probably at Vera Wang, where they purposely over-scaled estate jewelry to fatal “I will not be ignored” proportions. A cuff came as a giant ball of stones while a necklace had an overload of twists and turns of crystals to make Swarovski happy for the rest of the year.

Mad Hatter’s Party

If there’s no time to rush to the vault for jewels, you can still make an entrance with some of the wildest hats to come around in seasons. Hitchcock’s fantasies come to life with a black crow spreading its wings over one of John Galliano’s hats created by Stephen Jones. Another one by Jones is an over-scaled crocheted beehive in green wool pierced by long black feathers. Jean Paul Gaultier used furry beasts with their ears adorning his hats. Faces are obliterated altogether and become part of the headpiece at Junya Watanabe, who uses charcoal fabric to sheath the head and the sculpture of objects constructed on top of it.

Bags:  Exotic Skins And All-Out Embellishment

For day, go for the luxury tote in croc and other exotic skins. A soft tote in python comes in rich dark colors at Jil Sander. Donna Karan has a Scorpio croc tote in red degradé with gold hoop handle and zippers. A patchwork of leopard skin and patent leather discs merrily adorn the Miss Edge Bag of Dolce & Gabbana. They also have a fur print tote for those who want to avoid the red paint splatter from zealous activists. 

The Kelly at Hermes has a new incarnation as a messenger bag for the busy gal. Yohji Yamamoto’s collaboration with Hermes is also a messenger portfolio that came out in croc on the runway but will be available in Hermes’ exclusive Barenia leather in three different sizes — a perfect laptop bag-cum-briefcase. Get on the list now as it is exclusively made to order only at St. Honore in Paris, Ginza in Tokyo, Madison Avenue in New York and Bond Street in London. 

For embellished evenings, you won’t even know where to begin.  There’s Alexander McQueen’s imperial Fabergé egg bags in burnished gold and red enamel. Christian Lacroix has Byzantine stone-encrusted minaudieres in gold and silver. Superhero dreams can be fulfilled at Pucci, where Kryptonesque shards of mineral stones become clutches. And there’s lots of beading from chunky amber at Burberry to a potpourri of semi-precious stones at Bottega Veneta and Fendi. Miuccia Prada, of course, continues her lace fixation with the bags. 

“Look At Me” Legs

The legs will not be ignored either as another spot for ornamentation. Patterned tights were an integral part of outfits on the runway. They were color-blocked in brights at Sonia Rykiel, perfect with the Mod frocks. Chloe’s floral print tights in black, gray and purple went with similar colored foliage chiffon dresses for a botanical print on print ensemble or with contrasting beige print frocks and Prince de Galles check jackets. Rodarte’s cobwebs extended to legwear for an all-out Goth horror theme. At Just Cavalli, there were flamingoes and leopards going wild with python skirts when they weren’t tamed by plaid. There has never been such a mix and clash of patterns and textures. Guess that’s what happens when the recession constrains designers to go minimal. Minimal in cut and tailoring maybe, but definitely not in accessorizing where excess still rules!