They’re easy to walk in, make you feel taller and add a funky soul era edge to any outfit – which is why platforms will always keep coming back. 

The platform shoe trend is showing some serious staying power since its most recent reemergence on the fashion scene starting in 2007. Instead of being given its walking papers for next season, ever blockier footwear was spotted on the Fall 2012 runways of Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, Balenciaga and Miu Miu suggesting the sky’s the limit for the future of this trend.

Chopines from 15th Century Venice

The origins of the platform can be traced back to 15^th and 16^th centuries when both courtesans and patrician women would wear wood or cork overshoes that at 20 inches high, protected both their shoes and dresses from mud and street soil. Called Chopines, they were covered in leather, brocades and jewel covered velvets that often matched the wearer’s dress. Besides their practical uses, the height of the Chopine became a symbolic reference to the cultural and social standing of the wearer; the higher the shoe, the higher the status of the wearer. However, the modern platform – as we know it today – has its roots firmly placed in the emergence of the (Look At) “Me Generation” and 70s disco culture.

“You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes.” -Vivienne Westwood

Celine’s much copied Spring 2010 collection of wood-heeled sandals-cum-clogs

Today’s platforms are worn for both function and style. The footwear of choice for those seeking added height and leg lengthening in enduring skinny jeans styles, the weight of the shoe balances a delicate outfit and adds just the right amount of yesteryear gravitas when worn with vintage-inspired pieces.

Despite deploring the ubiquitousness of the dominatrix style hybrid of platform and stiletto pump in her recent On the Runway blog, Cathy Horyn, the fashion critic of the New York Times agreed that this shoe style isn’t going anywhere soon, declaring, “Women love platform shoes.”

Bianca Jagger’s Dancing shoes. Fashionable platform shoes first appeared in the 1930s and 1940s, but reached their greatest popularity during the 1970s. They were revived for the nineties club scene, the Goths, and now look set to stay as part of high fashion style.

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Top Image: Mui Mui’s Fall 2012 Platform Boots

The post Now & Then: The History of Platform Shoes appeared first on EcoSalon.

Kick start that spring feeling with fashion’s best new films.

Fashion lovers are generally a visual lot. As the growing interest in Pinterest, Tumblr and other image-based social tools demonstrates, more and more of us like to absorb information visually. So if you’re thinking its time to turn your winter wardrobe into spring style, take a look at fashion’s best new films for color trends, silhouettes and fabrications to look out for as the warmer months slowly approach.

Above. In the captivating 16mm film entitled, “She Builds Domes in Air,”  by acclaimed artist Catherine Sullivan, Kristen McMenamy stalks the intricate inner and sensory worlds of the Alexander McQueen spring/summer collection – designer Sarah Burton’s third and most celebrated yet.

Burton tells AnOther Magazine: “The McQueen woman doesn’t want to feel casual. It’s not that kind of world. When you put on the clothes, they make you stand differently, feel differently. It was about how to do that but make it feel light. I’ve always been part of Lee’s romantic side, that’s what I love. Although there are elements of this collection that are quite dark, even sinister, there’s always a romance to it, a delicacy. Empowerment and protection: Working here, you always have to bring it back to Alexander.”

Geren Ford Spring 2012 Fashion Film from Geren Ford

For those dreaming of clothing suitable for a springtime spent outdoors, check out the first in a series of fashion videos featuring the spring 2012 collection of lifestyle brand, Geren Ford.

Ford describes the film to Racked : “Echoing the line’s wanderlust for life and as-chic-at-noon-as-at-midnight ethos, the film is a visual recap of ‘the night before,’ a peek into late-night mischief of a get together where decorum and good manners went home hours ago and with each step unfolds epic house party lore, mischief and chaos, and the blossoming of young love.”

Lane Crawford: High Style on Nowness.com

A meditation on the ephemeral qualities of fashion, luxury store Lane Crawford’s “The Pinnacle of Style,” takes us behind the scenes of its spring 2012 campaign. Shot by powerhouse photographic duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and starring China’s biggest stars Li Bing Bing and Chen Ran, the animated short presents the store’s latest collections from the likes of Azzedine Alaïa, Céline, Givenchy, and Yves Saint Laurent.

Lane Crawford Fashion Director Sarah Rutson explains to Nowness: “The power of fashion to help an individual express themselves is central to the store’s ideology. As Mark Twain said, ‘Clothes make the man, naked people have little or no influence on society’. Clothing is an outward expression for someone to show their individuality, as the essence of who they are.”

The post Fashion Feeling: Spring’s Best Fashion Films appeared first on EcoSalon.

The pullover with a high collared neck still has a powerful allure that communicates, “I’m different.”

The Gap revived this imagery in their 2006 “Keep It Simple” Campaign.

More familiar to the British as a polo neck, English polo players first wore turtlenecks in the 1860s. Their adoption by Noel Coward in the 1920s turned turtlenecks into a middle-class fashion trend, and early feminists made them into a unisex item. Since the middle of the 20th century black polo necks have been identified as the uniform of radical academics, philosophers, artists and intellectuals.

Stone memorably paired a gray mock turtleneck from the Gap with a Valentino skirt and Armani jacket for the 1996 Oscars.

As an anti-tie, smart form of dress for those who reject formal wear, the turtleneck – also available in a simpler variant as a mock turtle neck – was surely a deliberate fashion choice made by Apple visionary, Steve Jobs. Communicating a desire to stand apart from others, his ubiquitous black turtleneck became an essential part of his uniform as the leader of those who think different.

Jil Sander Turtleneck Sweater, Céline Leather Strap Bag

Enjoying a revival this season, the winter staple was seen anchoring looks on the runways of Ralph Lauren, Celine and Jil Sander. A fantastic layering piece for when you want to wear dresses year round. They’re at their best worn with skinny jeans, slim fit trousers or a pencil skirt. In this age of so-called fashion democratization, the pullover with a high collared neck still has a powerful allure that communicates, “I’m different.”

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The post Now & Then: The History of Turtlenecks appeared first on EcoSalon.

If in doubt at how to wear the midi skirt now, look to London’s Ossie Clark who first introduced the midi skirt in 1967.

No one was very happy when U.S. designers first introduced the conservative midi skirt to counter ultra short miniskirts in the early 70’s. Activist groups like the mini-loving GAMS (Girls Against More Skirt) and FADD (Fight Against More Skirt) organized into groups such as POOFF (Preservation of Our Femininity and Finances) to protest the new look and denounce the designers who pushed the style.

In contrast, when designers like Fendi and Celine confirmed their preference for spring’s long, ladylike skirts with a repeat showing in their fall collections – this time the look was universally embraced and adored. But while the new length is everywhere for fall, it can be tough to pull it off without looking like you’re playing a bit part on HBO’s Big Love series.

Take a lesson from Ossie Clark, the British designer who managed to persuade boutique babes in London to ditch the mini in 1967, and keep the volume up high and the waist defined. Contrary to the fear that the longer length will cut your leg off in a strange spot, the calf-grazing skirt actually makes legs look longer and slimmer. For a modern look, pair with ankle boots, cropped sweater or bomber and a fun accessory like a floppy hat to keep that cool 70’s vibe going.

The post The Midi Skirt: Then And Now appeared first on EcoSalon.

Fall/Winter fashions are finally here. But before you splurge, orientate yourself to the essence of the season with Royal Blush’s Weber bracelet.

Made from recycled leather that softens and deepens in tone with time, this knotted cuff perfectly captures Fall’s minimalist zeitgeist with its snug fit and the satisfying clunk of its magnetic closure that softly says “luxury.”

Celine‘s Fall 2010 collection was the touchstone for this season’s biggest fashion story – the return to sleek and wearable clothes. Phoebe Philo‘s classic design elements – clean, simple lines in a muted palette of camel, beige and white and subtle equestrian details including leather trim and patch pockets – are charmingly distilled into Royal Blush’s bracelet.

With fashion editors heralding the new season’s classic utilitarianism as a godsend to women tired of fast fashion and ecologists arguing the need for slow fashion, what could be more au courant than an accessory formed in the shape of a love knot – symbolic of the bond and bind of a fashion love meant to last.

The post Love you. Love you Knot. Royal Blush’s Weber Bracelet appeared first on EcoSalon.