Best Jackets of the Season

With the resort shows starting to surface, here at Albert Zoll, Inc. we decided to do a review of some of the best jackets of the last FW.08 season. Though some are more practical than others, we thought they were all quite relevant and we predict that there will be quite a few re-interpretations and unfortunately knock-offs of the look we have featured. We love the combination of intensely structured tailoring with the unexpected hints of drapery use to create the silhouettes of many of the jackets. And, or course, we had to include a few of the more avant-garde garments such as Chado Ralph Rucci with Rucci's use of line to create the dynamic surface of the jacket, which almost resembles a topographic landscape of sorts. Where Rucci used line, Giles used feathers in a big, big way with his enormous cropped version of a jacket. And finally, we have Balenciaga's eerie embroidered latex jacket which, as with most things that Ghesquiere does, is completely off and bizarre, but it works and is a beautifully designed garment.

Shoes: Funky, Fabulous...and a bit Freaky

Here are our choices of the best/most ridiculous shoes for the season. Though some are more practical then others we love the bold shapes and use of unexpected materials such as goat hair on Pierre Hardy's patent leather sandal.

Balenciaga
Patent and mirrored leather Escarpins bootie.

Pierre Hardy
Patent leather sandal with goat-hair detail.

Lanvin
Metallic bootie with lacquered cone heel.

Christian Louboutin
Leather and ponyhair patchwork bootie.

Prada
Leather ankle boot.

All photos courtesy of Style.com

The Unconventional Wedding

Balenciaga's Single Seam Wedding Gown - 1967

This wedding gown by Balenciaga was created in 1967, one year before Cristobal Balenciaga decided to officially close the house in 1968. The gown is created with only one seam which creates a simple and very intentional triangular silhouette. This is a prime example of how Balenciaga's work became further simplified and increasingly architectural as his career went on.

Yohji Yamamoto Wedding Dress S.S 2000.
Natural cotton muslin and ivory silk jersey with large laser-cut holes.
Images Courtesy of the Costume Institute

Yamamoto has a unique ability to deconstruct and reinterpret clothing like very few other designers, and this dress is a prime example of that. To view more information about this dress visit one of our favorite blogs blog.mode: addressing fashion by The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This gown can be recreated using muslin from Albert Zoll, Inc.

Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci
Lauren Davis's reception/after-party gown

Both of Lauren Davis's gown were designed by Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci, but of the two, this one remains our favorite. This is the feathered gown she changed into for the wedding reception, and later had Theyskens literally cut into a mini-dress for the after-party. The white feather gown is so beautiful in its simplicity with the allover texture created by the feather embellishment, and also in the clearly flattering silhouette of the dress, but then what else would you expect from Theyskens?

Albert Zoll's has an assortment of items to make any dress you can imagine from feathers, thread, trims and beads.