Avant-Garde Sites For Your Black Soul
If you’re over the vintage and mainstream looks from high fashion, you might want to turn thy self to the dark side. I’m not sure if it’s politically correct to say “avant-garde” anymore according to the Kaiser on Twitter. However, I’ve seen it enough to be able to distinguish it from other fashion styles. Mainly because it sticks to the monochromatic look with the occasional flash of bright colors, with funky cuts giving it an “edgy” look. Whatever the case, designers who design these non-mainstream looks are coming out of the wazoo.
Here are three stores that that I found to have a large selection with photos so bareboned that they remind me of sexless Terrie Richardson photos (is that even possible?). I’m planning on visiting Oak this fall on my Labor Day trip, I’m setting my expectations high.
Reborn - Montreal
Though this store has probably been covered to death in local Canadian magazines and newspaper, it’s only with good reason. This tiny Old Port boutique has an eclectic and very black selection, selling equally black and gunmetal gray accessories such as laptop cases, handcrocheted bracelets, and leather bags. Among the brands are a couple of homegrown designers like Rad Hourani and Complex Geometries, and man-of-the-moment Alexander Wang. Expect to pay an ultra shiny penny for these pieces though.
Oak- New York
I found this store online while perusing for Alexander Wang outside my usual Net-a-porter playground, and discovered some pretty rockin’ accessories with equally amazing shoes (too bad they’re all sizes 6 and up). Even better was their impressive list of 50+ designers in the same genre. And what about those amazing editorial shoots? Très chic mes amis.
Dover Street Market - London
Ok, so their best arsenal isn’t quite available online, but it’s worth a mention since Helene from TheLuxeChronicles had told me about it a couple of months ago on my trip to London. It is perhaps the mother of all avant-garde stores, curated by none other than the Queen of Avant-garde fashion, Rei Kawakubo from Comme Des Garçons. Here you’ll find coveted pieces you probably won’t find anywhere else and find bewitching pieces by the likes of Azzadine Alaïa, Hussein Chalayan, and Gareth Pugh. Spread across 5 floors, you’ll be swimming in heaven from top to bottom. A must-see for anyone traveling to London.
Image credits: Oaknyc, Reborn, Dover street market
Vegas, California, Zoran and Alaia
My trip to Las Vegas was wrapped up by taking a stroll around the ritzy hotels of The Wynn and The Palazzo. Both were highly luxurious hotels to stroll in with the biggest names in the industry with some unique boutiques such as Oscar de la Renta, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Van Cleef & Arpels, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. Needless to say, all the stores were out of my price range, but still walking through these beautiful hotels was worth the trip.
It’s a beautiful smoggy morning in sunny California
Yes, smog is a huge problem in the state of California. An hour away from LA I could already see the smog hazily hanging over the rolling golden California mountains. The traffic is incredible, I’ve never seen so many cars in one area. However, spending much time here can easily make you forget that there’s smog in the air since you have to really be on the outskirts of the city to see it.
