ESCADA Fall Winter Fashion Show 2011
Vu Quynh Anh
So the show was held at the usual venue again, Press Club; but this time, it was totally packed with more than 300 guests. A front row seat was a diamond which every one fought hard for (some was ruder than others). The collection was not as vivid as the SS11 Collection, but those pieces were so ready-to-wear that many customers bought them home right after the show.

(photo: me and Bao Loc, designer of Boudoir Paris)

In this season, innovation pushes forward where tweed jerseys, cashmeres and micro-satins are accented with sliced leather, and colors are subdued, softer. A silhouette that hints at the trapeze and the triangle, while satorialist accents insist a modern dandy attitude. The masculine contrasts the feminine and the everyday, treasured and loved classics are reinvented in a new, refined luxury.

(photo: my favorite jacket from ESCADA Sport)
(photo: Thuy Huong - my favorite model)

The closing of Truong Ngoc Anh was a highlight. She has always been my favorite celebrity, and her successfully walking out as a vedette just lifted my passion.


The show was all crowded, sweating, and packed, yet it somehow made me feel this should be how all the fashion shows should be. It's not about drama in the setting, in the performance or in the slow motion of models. Fashion show should instead focus on the outfits themselves, and try its best to convey the message of the season to the mass audience.
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Comme Des Garcons
Vu Quynh Anh

Enjoyed the little training on Comme Des Garcons with Lindsey today. Wish I had this training before the shooting; could have done better in term of styling. But really, the more you get closer to the clothes, the more you want to play with them. Nothing structured, nothing expected, nothing patterned; you can just let your imagination and creativity flow...



(photo: Comme Des Garcons FW2011 - and yes, we do carry these kinda items)
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Comfort Zone
Vu Quynh Anh
(photo: backstage ESCADA Fall Winter 2009 Show, HCMC)

FW11 will be my 8th time doing an ESCADA show, at the same time, mark my return to the world of glam, beauty and all things finest. One year has passed; I have had opportunities to discover what are out there, who I can become and where I truly belong. I will never forget those days sitting idly, doing absolutely nothing as the job bored me out of my mind. Or some other days when I worked nonstop like a crazy horse, but knowing no one there to appreciate.

Perhaps, it's time that I stop looking around, and get back to where I can grow as a person and a professional. In this imperfect world, there will be up and down; and behind all the glam are more than dirts and sweats. But I am ready, ready to step back into my comfort zone, expand it, transform it, and then maybe create a whole new level of comfort. After all, it's just so touching to receive an email from your ex-boss saying "Welcome Home!"
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Birthday
Vu Quynh Anh
As far as I remember, my birthdays have always been well and surprisingly put together by beloved friends and lovers. One year, it was the whole Choir singing a fun rendition of Happy Bday; the other year was more than 30 Etownians gathering at TJ Rockwell; and of course, there was that year when Sex and the City themed-party was over thrown at HJ studio. All were beautiful memories that I carry and treasure each and everyday.

This year, with so many parties and events to attend, I decided to do something extremely simple, for example, a small dinner among close friends. After all, as people reach 25, shouldn't birthday be the occasion that one should avoid? My 10/10 therefore came without any plan or preparation, just a bunch of us having fun, dining outdoor at the cozy Goethe garden. Everything was nice, calm and easy, exactly what I had imagined, UNTIL we stepped in the world of SOWK.

As soon as we walked into that rusty door, they (my 12 super friends) suddenly became ridiculous monsters with crazy moves, horrible sounds, and weird gestures. Together, they made me burst out laughing nonstop for hours and hours. And just like that, as the night fell on the town and upon us, I lived my 17 again, singing, screaming and sport-dancing like no one was watching.

This crazy gang finally made me realize that sometimes, birthday is not all about being older, or having more candles on the cake. It's actually about growing to see this life from a much more optimistic point of view and hence, appreciate everything that you have been gifted. Birthday is indeed the one occasion to remind me about whom I truly wish to share, to hold, and to be with during these special moments, of not just this year, but many other years to come...

Somehow, on my 26th birthday, it was not the phrase "Happy Birthday" that was constantly repeated, it was instead the teenagers' "Sarangheo, Sarangheo, Sarangheo"(*)

(*) Korean for "I love you"

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Wine and Cheese
Vu Quynh Anh

(photo: sincerelybrigitte)

Shakespeare once wrote in his Henry VIII play: ” Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people…” So isn’t it the reason why I have been so bad lately? As there is no such good company, good wine, and good cheese in my recent life?

Having well prepared for the Nesat storm, Hanoi, or myself, still can’t help but shiver as the first wind blows straight into the face. Heavy rains, falling trees, slippery roads. Seems like everyone is rushing to get home, but me. Slowly, I am wandering along the street, peeking in every store, taking everything calm as if the storm hasn’t arrived, and never will.

On the very first cold day of the season, I suddenly realize that we haven’t done our wine and cheese sessions for the longest time. And somehow, I truly miss and longing for those. After all, winter is not about the cold, or the storm; winter instead reminds us of the warmth of the company that one person could bring…
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