Features of 2011 Annie Hall Fashion

Designer Jennifer Waters wears canvas trench and model Sheila wears a pleated dress in silk tie-dye — a sneak preview of Waters' House of Groves collection to be unveiled Thursday at LG Fashion Week.

DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR

Tracy Nesdoly Special to the Star

If crowd reaction is any indication, fashion lovers will be poised to pounce on the House of Groves spring 2011 collection to be showcased in the tents Wednesday at LG fashion week.

House of Groves, designed by Jennifer Waters, was the heart breaker earlier this year at the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s New Labels competition. The $35,000 prize was won by Montrealer Anastasia Lomonova, a perfectly capable designer of draped and ruffled frocks, but bloggers and commentators on blogs quickly moved into high gear lamenting the loss for Waters.

“She (Lomonova) may have won the competition, but another winner was present in the form of House of Groves, which was, I think, actually the superior collection,” wrote Briony of blog-to; many of her readers quickly concurred in support of House of Groves’ edgy equestrian-themed collection of slickly tailored dresses, pencil skirts and jackets in materials including leather, vinyl and silk.

That “classy carnality,” as Briony put it, that so revved the crowd last season may well have gone the way of the cherry blossoms in this next collection. While Annie Hall and the Duchess of Windsor might seem like very distant relatives, these disparate icons blended in Waters’ imagination and, voila, the prim and proper spring 2011 collection for House of Groves was born.

“My inspiration came from a felt hat I found at a vintage store, which reminded me of Annie Hall,” says Waters. The Annie influence is clear in the high-waisted trousers and a relaxed seersucker suit, but goes nowhere in explaining the number of ladylike dresses she’s created for the season.

“It is very ladylike, sort of what Annie would look like if she dressed like a girl. Or Wallis Simpson. Or what you might wear to a garden party,” says Waters. “Annie Hall was the jumping off point, married to the lady who lunches or goes to garden parties in the Hamptons.”

The overall effect is that of the country-club set., where there is a long history of some looking like they’re wearing Daddy’s old clothes grabbed from the mud-room, while others are ladylike and unflappable. Waters calls the clothes “the perfect veneer to a troubled world.”

Her focus is on careful tailoring and fit, high-quality fabrics, and silhouettes that not only acknowledge but celebrate the fact women have waists, curves and bums.

Waters calls this her second “real” season; she launched a year ago with a few styles for spring ‘10. She is also largely self-taught, though she’s been in love with fashion since childhood. “Whenever I read a book I imagine the wardrobe of each of the characters. Fashion is my calling.”

How she will present her newest collection is a secret until tomorrow. She’s doing an “installation” rather than a runway show, riffing on the idea of the garden party. She promises a surprise or two. “There are a few special things I have planned, but “I’m keeping them under wraps,” she says.

Given the “classy carnality” of the last season, there might be special surprise lurking in the collection, too.  

A/W 2010

S/S 2010

A/W 2010

S/S 2010

Fashion most of the work is tedious and repetitive, time is not continuous throughout the year, while the results are short-lived fad can not see out. Therefore, practitioners need to fashion great confidence, patience and care. I even want to say, in the fashion industry needs to stand the loneliness.

Readers and customers often ask, “I envy you can do the things you like (refer to shop). What is your principal what?.” I do not know what to say asked a sentence can only be answered honestly: “Kate Zhou Prada handbags AAA business is my full time, from morning till night time is not enough, there is no other career out.”
For various reasons, many people think that opening a bag shop is things take a ride not so suitable as a woman’s hobby than a serious career choice. You better have a stable and relaxed heads, or more gold and considerate husband, then you can be a happy little woman, about self-pleasure to open a shop.

Happy little woman, of course is yes, but not me. The hobby into a career is very lucky, and the career development and growth is extremely difficult. Example, at present, we have just finished their day’s work orders for spring and summer 2011, followed the holiday sales season, as well as ordering and shelved due to a number of projects.
Nearly three years as a fashion to join the practitioners, I would like to share an experience. Because all beauty, fashion industry is a high visibility, and therefore an attractive industry. Who do not want to dress up every day, bustling flagship store at the opening ceremony, or sitting in airplanes all over the world to see catch on show? Actually far from it. Whether you are brand buyers, marketing or logistics management, fashion most of the work is tedious and repetitive, time is not continuous throughout the year, while the results are short-lived fad can not see out. Therefore, practitioners need to fashion great confidence, patience and care. I even want to say, in the fashion industry needs to stand the loneliness. Carefully think about what the industry is not in fact the case?

Gossip Here, we preview next year’s spring and summer bags. Each year we explore new designers, this is a great pleasure of our work, although to judge whether the new designers will be accepted, and the balance of old and new designer styles, materials and colors, is also a challenge. Today I will introduce several new brands, old and brand new look at the next bag.
I personally like the non-leather bags, such as canvas and nylon, love their light and lively and rich colors. Unfortunately, many customers associate the non-leather and cheap with, so we tried several times, only the 2010 spring and summer camp with sheepskin Kate Katherine Kwei series, with no doubt that the elegant and luxurious style, began to be accepted. Next spring and summer, we will once again challenge of non-leather, this time is a luxury brand known for nylon MZ Wallace.

Back in 2007, I started to pay attention a New York brand Chia, the designer is from Taiwan, June Chang. Few years, seeing more and more mature atmosphere Chia design, brand to take shape from the little-known, I really was the petite and lovely, amiable smile, sincere, humble and low-key attitude of young designers happy. Farah top of the bag, next spring and summer we will have a navy blue and olive green.

The third new brand, is from Los Angeles Hammitt. “Gossip Girl” in the third quarter of the Leopard Vanessa Westwood handbag, so I first noticed this brand. Angelina Jolie was a woman fighting to mention the children mother Shifan package also comes from Hammitt. Hammitt bags distinctive, fairly well recognized – the junction of leather and leather, all rolled out and lined with rivets, giving a pungent sense of bold, sexy and also that unique Hollywood straightforward. Brand slogan says, “to each bag sewn in Los Angeles.”

CC Skye is the most all of our designers adventurous. Of the CC, innovation more attractive than the profits. Hot models Lucy Bag and Niki Clutch, designers decided to be aborted. It was disappointing, and some even angry, CC Shuaishuai pigtails, smiling, said, “Sorry honey, we’ve got to move on.” CC Skye very exciting 2011 spring and summer, so I am most excited about is Annie Hall. The Woody Allen movie in the seventies heroine named small backpack, a nostalgic plot, but not antique feel; a loose style, but there is no hippie of the gas. CC high-profile elegance, invariably written on each bag.