Matthew Williamson (also design head for Pucci) first landed on my fashion radar when I started living vicariously through Sienna Miller while living in my first apartment in the punky, St. Marks mixed with Indian row East Village tenement that could be mistaken for a camper or hippie commune. I even chopped 12 inches of my blonde hair off before her, the SAME week she did for Factory Girl, and I was convinced it was fate (ha!). Anyway - my fashion love affair with Sienna’s style was circa Fall 05-Sp 06, before & during all of the Jude Law nanny affair media blitz - and after that is when she started to get dull, unfortunately. Before that, however, she was one of Matthew Williamson’s biggest muse’s and celebrity endorsers. He was even supposed to design her wedding dress, ironically. So - thank god for Sienna’s youth because without her who knows who would have helped to curate Williamson’s talent. The boho chic look she absolutely coined and which made her an “it” girl, was due in large part to his designs.

That being said, there’s great news in that H&M is doing a designer capsule collection for Williamson - similar to H&M diffusions past of Victor & Rolf, Stella McCartney, & Comme Des Garcons -  H&M designer collections are like Target on crack. Picture the fashionista equivalent of Star Wars fans camping out, or even those crazy Filene’s basement bridal sale chicks and that’s what happens on regular city blocks in New York when a collection hits. So, keep these dates in mind and don’t think that just checking in on your lunch break is going to be sufficient - you’re going to have to claw through many a twenty-something flower child to get your hands on the goods!

First shipment hits April 23 - second May 14th.  I’m living vicariously through all of you with H&M’s, parting with New York is such sweet sorrow.

Matthew Williamson Fall 09 began like an ikat rainbow - the knitting was executed seamlessly - transitioning from lipstick red to cream to turq. Williamson is couture hippie - the adorable elbow sleeve, ballet neck dresses are perfect for any shape - easily wearable, on trend, but inconspicuous. I could die for the furs - they were stunning, bi-color pieces you would expect from Basso or another furrier. Williamson basically paired every pattern and texture under the sun - with silk paisleys, chunky knits, leathers, and even fairisles (usually confined to the RL runways) that gave his boho chic a refined yet still uncontrived beauty. Another favorite use of prints and patterns in the collection were the rick rack, zig zags and Morocco seen through a kaleidoscope layers upon layers of chiffon in the finale pieces. If I could maneuver any backstage pass, it would be Matthew Williamson’s so I could steal every last piece from this collection.

Rodarte fall 09 was the usual mix of S&M and futurisma that it usually is. So, not the most wearble - but definitely editorial, meaning we’ll see this over and over again. The materials looked like paper mache with complimentary, dominating buckles, chunky knits with many a loose thread that looked almost Mongolian - and common elements of past shows like the spiderweb-esque translucent arms, necklines, and sweeatheart bodices. Overlapping textures kept it fresh, even if the color story was highly monochromatic - and the silhouette theme left quite a bit to be desired as well, with absolutely no separate bottoms! The whole time I was thinking - where is the pant, where are the separates, how is this a complete collection? Apparently Rodarte can get away with that because you’re not wearing this to a charity benefit let alone the grocery store - so it really comes down to those shoes. Who could ignore the way more than thigh high boots that were, dare I say a little Trash & Vaudeville?