It is Tallinn Fashion Week time again.
The fashiony events were kicked off with H&M Beauty presentation and shopping evening at H&M store in Rocca al Mare shopping centre on Tuesday, October 20. I grabbed some drinks and bought some basics — pyjamas, underwear and gloves.
Wednesday, October 21, night started the shows. Here are my humble thoughts of the fashion that I saw. There were ups and downs. I try to be as constructive as I can in the few lines of thoughts I’m going to share with you guys.
First up was Kirill Safonov.
Let me point out in the beginning that the style is not my cup of fashion tea. I’ve seen people wearing that style of clothes, so I’m not going much into the fashion part of it. But one thing that I want to point a finger at is the sloppiness of the production. The clothes looked like they were just finished minutes before the stage, some seams were unpressed, girls had unintentional pointy boobs and pieces of thread floated around. That made me cringe. C’mon you are presenting yourself through your work — be a little more professional. Open your pockets and hire extra assistants so the fashion that goes on stage is ironed, pressed, steamed and lint-rolled.
Show and clothes themselves for me lacked a little focus and substance. Basic slavic influenced dresses from materials that felt a tad curtainy, for whom I not exactly sure of. Though, I have to be honest, that I liked the demure neoprene dresses with a little sparkles on the pockets and the toned down flowy pieces— something fresh from Kirill Safonov imho.
Here are some shots from the show, judge for yourself.
Second show was set of shows presented by Tallinn Creative Incubator.
I’m sorry to say but this was the worst styling of the night. The outdated broken stockings, rough boots and rock-chick dresses, models with not-in-the-good-way nineties makeup and hair distracted me a lot from the fashion itself. Trying too much? This all made me wonder who is the target client of the Raili Nõlvak brand?
If you just take the clothes then they have some youthfulness and playfulness hidden in them. The overall feel would have been much more trendier and fashionable with some classy styling. If the clothes are already a little wannabe rebels then they need to be balanced out not to look too costumy. Natural make-up, sleek hair and some heels would have made it look more feminine and appealing for a much wider audience.
My suggestion for next time is styling, styling and more styling! Keep it current!
This was a nice surprise. First brand that I felt had defined her target client and the life she has. The styling felt on spot, a little lazy but professional. I see many business savvy 25+ women filling their wardrobe with pieces from KÄT. The collection had a commercial production value to it, which in my opinion is a really good thing. I believe that designers should build their customer base and focus on design and selling not only couture one-off pieces. I’m little sad that there’s not more photos.
This is a strong competitor to KÄT. Whitetail clothes seem to cater to a similar audience. The easygoing everyday modern work apparel would be appreciated by many modern young professional women who feel that the glam and glitch is more for the night out than for the board room. Whitetail felt a little more loose and relaxed with hints of playfulness which maybe aren’t the best for the stagnate business environments – but how long these system will remain is already questionable. So it is nice and fresh to see clothes for the modern woman.
Little tip: next time use a little more upscale footwear. If using tennis shoes or sneakers go for a little more modern-luxurious versions.
The evening ended with the Golden Needle Gala (Kuldnõel). This year’s nominees for the Golden Needle were Piret Ilves, YEAR and Aldo Järvsoo and the nominees for the Silver Needle were Jo Nurm and August.
Jo Nurm (won Silver Needle)
I have liked #jonurm’s stuff from the beginning. I think she’s in her own league with her functional outerwear. Unfortunately in the Needle show she presented a little boring collection. Don’t get me wrong I loved the raincoat and the dark overall feel but the detail differences were too subtle and made the collection feel repetitive and less exciting as I would have expected.
But all in all, if she continues to develop her style and doesn’t let her to be persuaded into the olden system of seasonal fashion design but remains in the effortless and functional fashion design world she has a good chance for long-term international success. I hope she has some PR and business people in her team to make it a reality.
And showing some menswear gets always a big thumbs up from me!
Here are some pics for you.
Love! This was I think my favourite modern show of the night. It is clear that Äli Kargoja, the designer behind the August brand, appreciates the effortless comfort. It was like Scandinavia meets Asia meets the real everyday world. I know many women who would grab these pieces off the racks. The branding, the styling, the clothes felt really current and modern. The fabrics seemed that they feel nice to the body. Sense of natural beauty was the overall feel of the collection. I was a little sad that the menswear wasn’t represented – I know she does some :).
I see a bright future for August. The tiny steps to gender neutral clothes that I have seen from other collections (check out studio-august.com) give reason to believe that we have only scratched the surface of what this girl can do. I’m gonna keep my eye on August.
Piret Ilves (won the Golden Needle)
Pastel femininity. Piret Ilves has always produced feminine wool dresses and skirt suits. This time around it wasn’t much different. Pretty womenswear. Some more flowy pieces added some freshness to her collection but at the same time felt a little out of place, but that might be because of my impression and presumptions of her signature style. Congrats on the needle!
Classical outerwear moment in midst of the gowns and dresses. I was positively surprised that Year’s style has developed many steps toward more modern touch. Though, there’s still much room to grow.
Online magazine’s catwalk.ee audience voted Year (by Raivo Holm) as their favourite which is understandable in our region of constant cold. I can see masses liking the warm outerwear. And yet again kudos for menswear options!
For me the style is a tad too mature and in that sense a little dated. But overall good effort.
Aldo Järvsoo (Embassy of Fashion)
Hello neoprene fabulousness! Love! As always Aldo showed how to do present an effortless fashion-forward collection. I love that he stepped out of his typical gown world and played with the hot material and new silhouettes and shapes. The geometric patterns stitched to the nude neoprene were fantastic. Such a simple idea with so much impact. Kudos!
This is it for the day one. Lets see how the day two, three and four will span out.
Will share my thoughts as usual.
Cheers! Long live Estonian fashion!
Photos: Erlend Štaub
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