Sandra‘s Closet

Today, I received the breaking news that Raf Simons will join Prada starting April 2, 2020. Rumors had been out since quite some time and now it is official. The Belgium designer will join the Italian fashion house as co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada with equal responsibilities for creative input and decision-making. Their first runway presentation together will be for S/S 2021 in September 2020. «It’s a new wind,» said Miuccia Prada and I have to admit that I agree with Tim Blanks who wrote: «I cannot think of anything like this in the history of fashion.»

In 1978, Miuccia Prada inherited the label that was known for luggage making and transformed it into a global fashion brand with her creative designs. Prada has been a true trendsetter for decades, sometimes too fast thinking for the fashion world, she is often a few steps ahead of the game. Her iconic black nylon backpack launched in 1985 caused a real fashion frenzy and has been popular since then. In 1989 she added ready-to-wear to the offerings. Simons, who will continue to design his namesake menswear label, is the first designer from outside the Prada family to join the house since its inception.

Trendsetting: Prada S/S 2012 ad campaign photographed by Steven Meisel

Today at the Prada press conference, Simons announced: “Prada is a brand that I have been interested in my whole life. I cannot wait to express to all of you the dialogue I will have with Mrs Prada and her team. To be really honest, Mr Bertelli approached me right after my exit from Calvin Klein. Miuccia and I had a conversation about creativity in today’s fashion system. And it brought me to open dialogue with many designers, not just Mrs Prada. We have to re-look at how creativity can evolve in today’s fashion system.»

Power couple: Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada

Simons, who had worked with Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli before, when he was hired as creative director of Jil Sander in 2005. Prada had bought the German label and was looking for someone to fill the shoes of the namesake designer at that time. Simons’ seven-year tenure at the brand was an absolute success, and the Prada Group sold it to a London private equity firm in 2006.
Simons later worked at Dior and his latest venture was at Calvin Klein, where he was chief creative officer, and abruptly excited in December 2018.

Presented in Milan last Thursday: Miuccia Prada’s last single show for F/W 2020

Miuccia Prada has still a very strong view on fashion. Yet, it seems hard for her at the moment to translate this into sales. Rumors had been that the family is planning to sell to one of the big conglomerates. With the appointment of Simons, it seems that the Prada family will keep it a family business that also owns Miu Miu and Church’s.

Good luck, Raf!

They will have all my support – I have been collecting Prada pieces since a very young age and have always been very fond of the brand. Good luck to Raf, I am really excited to see what the two creative masterminds will come up with…

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Prada and © Sandra Bauknecht

I love Valentine’s Day – everything in red and pink, with sparkling hearts makes my heart leap with joy. Here you see me on my way to dinner yesterday, celebrating love and life.

My look: Ruffled embellished chiffon wrap maxi dress by Ashish, bandage and crepe turtleneck jumpsuit by Hervé Léger, vintage CC heart motif earrings and vintage camellia hair clip, both by CHANEL, bow-embellished patent-leather pumps by Saint Laurent, printed metallic leather box clutch by Dolce & Gabbana, and vintage white black rasoir cut-off cat-eye sunglasses by Miu Miu.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

I am sorry but there is one more post dedicated to Miu Miu today and actually I am not so sorry because the Miu Miu Denim Icons are just gorgeous – a capsule collection of six different denim trouser shapes, each inspired by and named after the decade during which they were first created and the spirited, stylish and ultra-confident woman best known for wearing them.

Few garments are more evocative of an era than a great pair of jeans, after all. By now a universal symbol of democracy in wardrobe, each person – and indeed generation – wears them in their own, entirely individual way.

Cut in heavy, dark blue denim, 40’s Lauren has the traditional raw work wear feel that characterised the then still largely functional garment way back when. By the Fifties jeans had become more of a fashion statement: 50’s Brigitte features a high waist, is cut in dark denim again and cropped at the ankle, referencing the feminine silhouette of Capri pants. 60’s Françoise is a straight legged, high-waisted white denim design: by then jeans were ubiquitous, signifying youth and emancipation; as their popularity grew so the colour palette, weight and washes of denim proliferated.

70’s Jane sits low on the hip, is in pale washed denim and flared: flower power was at its height, as were bellbottom trousers, and jeans were feeling groovy. The 80’s Brooke is a unisex design, in the dark denim widely favoured throughout that decade but now whiskered to ensure a contemporary feel. Finally 90’s Kate is a mid-blue, eased, borrowed from your boyfriend pair of jeans, as effortlessly stylish and minimal as denim throughout that decade decreed.

Miu Miu Denim Icons capsule collection is available in selected Miu Miu stores worldwide from the beginning of February.
TO SHOP MIU MIU ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Miu Miu
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

I truly adore the Miu Miu S/S 2020 collection, one of my favorites this season. Therefore I couldn’t resist this beautiful shearling-lined appliquéd suede vest below.

The ad campaign captures the sophisticated and playful mood of the runway perfectly. Imagine an artists’ colony. The colony is all female. The claustrophobic dramas of this colony take place within a sprawling, labyrinthine property; part stage set, part installation, part gallery, part home. Here, the events are hinted at, intimated and obliquely observed in the S/S 2020 Miu Miu campaign.

The house of Xavier Corberó: Casa Corberó

The mythology of the artists’ colony and its place within the past, present and future, is conjured at the Casa Corberó. Built by the Catalan artist Xavier Corberó, situated in Esplugues, close to the outskirts of Barcelona, his ‘casa sublim’ is characterised by elaborate, playful forms that still adhere to a certain strictness, discipline and utility.

These notions are reflected in the S/S 2020 Miu Miu collection itself, where creative freedom and expression – at times spattered and hand-painted, with mismatched buttons, ‘collaged’ ruffles, done and yet undone – is contrasted with the discipline of form, silhouette and utility found in the examples of workwear and the uniform, motifs Miuccia Prada turns to once again. Here it is ‘woman’s work’ that is reflected, both domestic and artistic, in the shape of pinafores, aprons and overalls.

TO SHOP MIU MIU ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.
I hope you like it as much as I do…

LoL, Sandra

CREDITS: Photos by Call This Number, Liz Collins, Lynette Garland
Creative Direction and Styling by Katie Grand
Models: Tomiwa Adeshina, Pia Ekman, Bo Gebruers, Bella Hadid, Tang He, Lea Julian, Jordan Leftwich, Lila Moss, Patrycja Piekarska, Alexis Sundman, Xiao Wen Ju, Kaila Wyatt
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

For Resort 2020, many designers got inspired by the wild west radiated through fringe, beading, and even paillettes. Getting into the trend is as simple as choosing a suede jacket from Altuzarra or Balmain. I am invited in one week in the mountains for a western-themed party and cannot wait to transform myself into a cowgirl. Yee-haw!

LoL, Sandra

Cumberland fringed suede jacket by Altuzarra

Oversized fringed suede jacket by Miu Miu

Fringed textured-leather jacket by R13

Russell fringed suede jacket by IRO

Button-embellished fringed suede vest by Balmain

Belted fringed suede cardigan by Alanui

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

Fashion – this is my love. Classically inspired – masterfully staged – just like the beautiful Maestro Suite at The Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich that is an homage to music and Herbert von Karajan housed in the tower of the Main Building over two floors. My favorite part during my stay was playing the Steinway grand piano – the second of only three ever made jubilee replicas based on the first Steinway B211 grand built in 1836.

I hope you like my outfit that would be perfect for a New Year’s Eve party, don’t you think?

My look: Crystal-embellished printed velvet maxi dress by Paco Rabanne, New Year’s Party 2 appliquéd embroidered canvas clutch by Olympia Le-Tan, Silver-tone, crystal and satin choker by Miu Miu, and Edwige embellished satin sandals by Saint Laurent.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: David Biedert Photography

PANTONE has declared its Color of the Year for 2020 to be Classic Blue, or Pantone 19-4052. So it’s time to blue something as we’re all about to be incredibly blue. The high court of color has chosen a shade which is probably the truest of blue. The closest description might be cobalt or royal blue, but it’s a little calmer than that, not as bold. Yves Klein Blue or Yves Saint Laurent would have surely loved this anti-anxiety hue.

Dry pigment and synthetic resin on paper mounted on canvas 62 x 111 1/2 inch
Centre Georges Pompidou – Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, France
© The Estate of Yves Klein c/o ADAGP, Paris

«Blue has no dimensions, it is beyond dimensions, whereas the other colors are not. They are psychological spaces; red, for example, presupposing a hearth releasing heat. All colors bring forth specific associative ideas, tangible or psychological, while blue suggests, at most, the sea and sky, and they, after all, are in actual nature what is most abstract.» – Yves Klein, Lecture at la Sorbonne, June 3rd 1959, Paris

This artwork is showcasing the «true blue» pigment in perfection: the 17th-century painting The Virgin in Prayer by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato.

Another great example in the art world is by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. His famous work from 1665, Girl with a Pearl Earring,  shows classic blue as the only bold burst of colour – in the form of a headscarf – among beiges, browns and a dark background.

You might be asking yourself, how did PANTONE land on this color? The color authority looks at trend forecasts, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, political views, media, street art, travel destinations, new technologies, and new textures — to name just a few of the categories they consider. Then it’s time to narrow it down to a color family, in this case it was a blue mood, «a reassuring presence instilling calm, confidence and connection».

This enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.

Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, it re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.

As technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, it is easy to understand why we gravitate to colors that are honest and offer the promise of protection. Non-aggressive and easily relatable, the trusted PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue lends itself to relaxed interaction. Associated with the return of another day, this universal favorite is comfortably embraced.

On the S/S 2020 runways, Classic Blue was omnipresent in all sorts of variations. As we all know, there is not «one» blue. In the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly, gives a detailed speech about the varying shades of the colour blue, after Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs laughably questions how they could be distinguishable.

«… what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean.»

This year marks the first time Pantone has introduced a multisensory approach to its Colour of the Year, partnering with several brands to showcase the taste, texture, scent and sound of Classic Blue.

Below you can shop some beautiful pieces in the Color of the Year 2020 –  time to get ahead of the fashion game. Just click on the highlighted text to be transferred directly.

LoL, Sandra

The Rockstud Spike medium quilted leather shoulder bag in Classic Blue by Valentino

Two-tone patent-leather sandals in Classic Blue by Miu Miu

Viola cropped embellished chiffon jacket by Jenny Packham

Quilted shell down jacket by Moncler

Intarsia wool cardigan by Gucci

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands, Artists, and via NY Post

Last week was crazy. Monday Dubai, Tuesday Abu Dhabi, Wednesday London and Thursday back in Zurich for one night to celebrate my 10 year blog anniversary with LA MER at Jelmoli before leaving again for Frankfurt. The evening was fantastic and I cannot wait to show you everything!

In honor of LA MER, my outfit was inspired by the sea and I went for this wave-printed top and a seashell clutch in shades of the ocean.

My look: Grosgrain-trimmed printed stretch-jersey turtleneck top by Kenzo, embellished leather-trimmed pleated cady maxi skirt by Christopher Kane, Donna crystal-embellished leather sandals by Prada, faux pearl and satin clutch by Balenciaga, silver-plated, Swarovski crystal and faux pearl clip earrings by Miu Miu and Horsebit blue topaz diamond white gold ring by Gucci Fine Jewellery.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Sanjeev Velmurugan

«After rain there’s a rainbow, after a storm there’s calm, after the night, there’s a morning, and after an end, there’s a new beginning.»

When I was with my beloved Mary Katrantzou in Athens for her S/S 2020 show, I was reminded of this beautiful quote. The day of the event, we had a crazy storm followed by a rainbow, and then a beautiful calm afternoon and night. We shot the photos at my hotel, the Four Seasons Athens. that I can absolutely recommend.

For S/S 2017, Mary had looked back to her childhood visit to the ancient palace of Knossos, on Crete. I thought it is the perfect time to finally sport this dress with Minoan goddesses, Cretan murals and the silhouetted paintings on Greek vases and plates.

My look: Chariot print dress by Mary Katrantzou, platform leather pumps by Gucci, Vicky quilted patent leather wallet on a chain by Saint Laurent, silver-plated, Swarovski crystal and faux pearl clip earrings by Miu Miu, and crystal aviator sunglasses by Chanel.

My last weeks were quite «stormy», but now I can feel the calm coming… so much to show you. Stay tuned!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Such a magic weekend … yesterday, I attended the Kispiball 2019 (Kispi is an abbreviation for Kinderspital which means children’s hospital in German) that always takes place at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich. It is one of my favorite charity events of the Swiss social calendar that raises money for the city’s children’s hospital. I felt very honored to draw the four exclusive raffle prizes, such as a Chopard watch or a beautiful fine jewellery ring by Bucherer.

My look: Gena embroidered silk chiffon dress by Costarellos, Dionysus pink velvet super mini bag, and leather platform pumps, both by Gucci, silver-plated, Swarovski crystal and faux pearl clip earrings, both by Miu Miu and Horsebit blue topaz diamond white gold ring by Gucci Fine Jewellery.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © David Biedert Photography
A few photos in the collages © Sandra Bauknecht