Vogue Patterns lookbook for Spring 2020. Model: Tatyana Cooper. Photo: Jack Deutsch. Image: Issuu.
It’s nearly the equinox: time for my Spring patterns report. As I mentioned back in December, I’ve been busy with other projects. I’m happy to share that my campaign to save Hanrahan’s, a historic Hamilton hotel turned tavern, was successful! (Read my latest op-ed | front page news | local news coverage.)
Huge thanks to now-retired columnist Paul Wilson, who first got the word out about this fascinating Edwardian hotel.
Recently, there’s also been some major pattern industry news. More on that in a moment — but first, a look at the first patterns of the decade.
Vogue’s second pattern by Richard René, the new designer for Laroche, is an oversized, colour-blocked pantsuit from the Spring 2019 collection.
Guy Laroche by Richard René, Spring 2019. Image: Vogue Runway.Vogue 1687 by Richard René for Guy Laroche (2020) Image: McCall’s.
Last June, British Vogue’s Venetia Scott paired the Laroche jacket with trousers by Issey Miyake.
Pieces by Guy Laroche and Issey Miyake in British Vogue, June 2019. Model: Rianne van Rompaey. Photo: Theo Sion. Editor: Venetia Scott. Image: Vogue UK.
From Rachel Comey, the Agave pantsuit, as worn for the Spring 2019 lookbook by Guinevere van Seenus.
Guinevere van Seenus in Rachel Comey Spring 2019 – Agave jacket and Divide pant. Photo: Annie Powers. Image: Vogue Runway.Vogue 1688 by Rachel Comey (2020) Model: Amber Mitchell. Image: McCall’s.
The Divide pant also comes in cropped and colour-blocked versions, or embellished with sequins:
Rachel Comey Divide pant in black and white wool. Image: The Dresslyn.Rachel Comey Divide pant in crimson red wool with sequin embellishment. Image: Moda Operandi.
Comey’s licensing with Vogue Patterns began in Spring, 2010. A decade later, the company finally gave the popular designer a catalogue cover.
V1688 by Rachel Comey on the cover of the Vogue Patterns lookbook, Spring 2020. Model: Amber Mitchell. Photo: Jack Deutsch. Image: Issuu.
Dennis Nothdruft, Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion (Yale University Press 2019) Image: Zandra Rhodes.
The new Zandra Rhodes pattern is a boho bias dress with contrast sleeve and hem flounces. Fine finishing details include narrow hems and a bias-bound neckline.
McCall’s has a fresh new logo for 2020, when the company celebrates its 150th anniversary. But thus far, no new designer patterns.
McCall’s Early Spring 2020 lookbook. Image: Issuu.McCall’s Spring 2020 lookbook. Image: McCall’s.
And this month, Britain’s IG Design Group Plc completed its acquisition of CSS Industries, the parent company of McCall’s and Simplicity. (Details at Design Group’s site and Business Wire.) CSS acquired The McCall Pattern Company in 2016 and Simplicity Creative Group in 2017.
Will Design Group revive Vogue Patterns Magazine, a storied publication that dates back a century, or divest the pattern side of the business entirely? Stay tuned for more coverage of McCall’s 150th and other milestones for 2020!
Guy Laroche Spring 2019 in Schön! magazine. Model: Tetiuksha. Photo: Dylan Perlot. Editors: Sofia Giordano and Hugo Asensio. Image: Instagram.
Akuac Thiep in Alexander McQueen SS 2020 by Sarah Burton. Photo: Nick Knight. Image: SHOWstudio.
In memory of Paco Peralta.
SHOWstudio’s latest Design Download is an Alexander McQueen dress.
Akuac Thiep in Alexander McQueen SS 2020 by Sarah Burton. Photo: Nick Knight. Image: SHOWstudio.
A current-season design, it was the opening look in Sarah Burton’s Spring 2020 collection for McQueen.
Alexander McQueen Spring 2020 by Sarah Burton. Model: Vilma Sjoberg. Image: Vogue Runway.Detail, Alexander McQueen Spring 2020 by Sarah Burton. Image: Vogue Runway.
This romantic collection drew comparisons with the couture, featuring reworked old patterns and past-season fabrics, as well as Irish linens, damask or beetled, fine wool suiting from the north of England, and hand embroidery worked by the entire McQueen studio.
“I love the idea of people having the time to make things together, the time to meet and talk together, the time to reconnect to the world.” – Sarah Burton
The dress re-envisions its show-opening counterpart in Alexander McQueen’s Eshu, named for the Yoruba trickster god and presented 20 years ago in a disused Hitchcock studio. (See Suzy Menkes, “London Crowns Its Fashion Kings,” and Savage Beauty.) As SHOWstudio notes, Burton’s “articulated puff-sleeve dress [is] a reimagining of the Autumn/Winter 2000 Eshu dress, originally crafted in calico with a focus on the silhouette.”
Alexander McQueen Fall 2000 (Eshu). Image: Vogue Runway.
Steven Klein photographed Björk in a denim variation for Vogue’s September issue:
Björk in a distressed denim dress from Eshu, Alexander McQueen FW 2000, Vogue, September 2000. Photo: Steven Klein. Editor: Phyllis Posnick. Image: bjork.fr.
In the same issue, the designer portfolio opens with a group portrait of McQueen and his team for Eshu, including model Liberty Ross, Isabella Blow, jeweller Shaun Leane, and the young Sarah Burton.
Alexander McQueen and team, with Sarah Burton at near right, Vogue, September 2000. Photo: Annie Leibovitz. Editor: Camilla Nickerson. Image: Vogue Archive.
Burton’s dress makes repeated appearances in the Spring 2020 campaign:
Alexander McQueen Spring 2020 ad campaign. Model: Felice Noordhoff. Photo: Jamie Hawkesworth. Art direction: M/M (Paris). Image: Alexander McQueen.Alexander McQueen Spring 2020 ad campaign. Model: Vivien Solari. Photo: Jamie Hawkesworth. Art direction: M/M (Paris). Image: Alexander McQueen.
Also worn by Imaan Hammam in Masha Vasyukova’s campaign video (music by Isobel Waller-Bridge):
The pattern download comes in A4 sheets, with a test line to check the scale.
Size: Sample size. Update: Model Akuac Thiep is wearing the sample size. She is 5’10” and wears a size 8/36. (34″ bust | 25″ waist | 35″ hip) Source: Nevs Models.
Notes: Prints on 220 A4 sheets.
Notions: Back zipper.
Alexander McQueen Spring 2020 ad campaign. Model: Vivien Solari. Photo: Jamie Hawkesworth. Art direction: M/M (Paris). Image: Alexander McQueen.
Detail, Guy Laroche Fall 2018 by Richard René. Image: Vogue Runway.
My Winter patterns report comes a little late: I’ve been busy working to save a historic hotel-turned-tavern here in Hamilton. (Read my op-ed | #SaveHanrahans) Without further ado, here’s a look at the last patterns of the decade.
Vogue Patterns Winter/Holiday 2019 lookbook with V1656 by Badgley Mischka. Image: Issuu.
Vogue’s cover look is a white jersey gown from Badgley Mischka. As worn on the pattern envelope by new model Shaya Ali:
The new Guy Laroche — a minimalist pantsuit with contrast trim — is the company’s first by Richard René.
Vogue 1666 by Richard René for Guy Laroche (2019) Image: McCall’s.
René’s second collection for Laroche was inspired by art brut and the graphic potential of a blank sheet of paper. According to Vogue, he showed structured pieces for strong personalities, with details like “stand-up edging that adds a cape-like extra inch or two to the shoulders.”
Guy Laroche Fall 2018 by Richard René. Image: Vogue Runway.
From Cynthia Rowley, a pattern for the Eden dress and top.
Simplicity 9012 by Cynthia Rowley (2019) Image: Simplicity.
The original Eden dress in polished cotton. (The top version is a lightweight printed cotton: webstore | Rent the Runway.)
Cynthia Rowley’s Eden dress in polished cotton. Image: Cynthia Rowley / Pinterest.
This flounced dress by Cynthia Rowley is seen variously in the designer’s Inverness Fish print and bias-cut silk lamé.
Simplicity 9013 by Cynthia Rowley (2019) Image: Simplicity.
Rowley’s longtime collaborator William Eadon photographed the lookbook in her hometown of Barrington, Illinois. The lookbook was styled by her daughter, Kit Keenan.
For a subtle variation, close the front bodice seam.
Inverness Fish mini dress, Cynthia Rowley Resort 2019. Model: Sasha Belyaeva. Photo: William Eadon. Editor: Kit Keenan. Image: Vogue Runway.
These pleated trousers are adapted from Celine by Hedi Slimane.
Vogue 1661 after Celine by Hedi Slimane (2019) Image: McCall’s.Hedi Slimane for Celine Fall 2019 Model: Marland Backus. Image: Vogue Runway.
McCall’s chic cover look is a version of Max Mara’s hooded cape coat.
McCall’s lookbook, Winter 2019. Image: Issuu.McCall’s 8029 after Max Mara (2019)
Here’s the Max Mara original in cashmere twill:
Max Mara Pugnale cape in blush cashmere. Image: Matches Fashion.
Vogue Couturier patterns are the original Vogue designer knockoffs. The new Vintage Vogue is a Couturier coat from 1949:
Vogue 490 (1949) Image: eBay.“Fashions for the life she leads” – Vogue, September 1949. Illustrations: Dagmar Freuchen-Gale.Vogue 1669 (2019) Image: McCall’s.Vintage Vogue 1669 on the cover of the Vogue Patterns Winter/Holiday 2019 lookbook. Image: Issuu.
The new Custom Fit patterns are also designer adaptations. View A of V1654 is after Gucci.
Vogue 1654 after Gucci (2019) Image: McCall’s.Gucci grosgrain-trimmed stretch-ponte mini dress. Image: net-a-porter.
And V1667 is a version of Prabal Gurung’s tulip sleeve jacket. (Trousers not included.)
Vogue 1667 after Prabal Gurung (2019) Image: McCall’s.
The tulip-sleeve suit comes in many variations, such as zebra print, sequins, and an ecru check. The latter is a very fine houndstooth in stretch poly-viscose.
Elle Macpherson, Vogue Australia, March 1995. Photo: Andrew Macpherson. Image: Vogue Australia.
It’s spring in the southern hemisphere, and Australian Vogue is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The festivities kicked off in Canberra last week with the opening of Women in Vogue: Celebrating 60 years in Australia (at the National Portrait Gallery to November 24, 2019). A special anniversary issue of the magazine will hit newsstands in December.
Fernanda Ly, Akiima, Charlee Fraser, and Andreja Pejić on the cover of Vogue Australia, April 2018. Photo: Patrick Demarchelier. Editor: Christine Centenara. Image: Vogue Australia.
The late Tania Mallet graced the cover of Vogue Australia’s first issue in spring, 1959. (Click the image for a history published for the magazine’s 55th anniversary.)
Tania Mallet on the cover of the inaugural issue of Vogue Australia, Spring/Summer 1959. Photo: Norman Parkinson. Image: Vogue Australia.
Vogue Australia editor Edwina McCann sits on the board of directors of the new Australian Fashion Council, and the magazine’s cover archive is a gallery of famous faces, especially Australians like Cate Blanchett.
Cate Blanchett on the cover of Vogue Australia, January 2006. Photo: Richard Bailey. Image: Vogue Australia.
Vogue Patterns counts two Australians among its current designers: Rebecca Vallance and Nicola Finetti.
A Rebecca Vallance design on the cover of Vogue Patterns lookbook, Winter 2016. Image: Issuu.A Nicola Finetti design on the cover of the Vogue Patterns lookbook, Summer 2018. Image: Issuu.
Vogue Australia was still in its first decade when Butterick introduced two Aussies—Norma Tullo and Prue Acton—to its Young Designers line.
Butterick 5126 by Norma Tullo (ca. 1968) Image: Etsy.Butterick 5617 by Prue Acton (1969) Image: Etsy.
In the 1980s, Carla Zampatti and Frederick Fox both signed licensing deals with Style Patterns. The milliner to the Queen contributed more than one bridal design in classic Eighties style.
Style 4438 by Carla Zampatti (1986) Image: Etsy.Style 1249 by Frederick Fox (1987)
In the 1990s, Richard Tyler briefly designed for Anne Klein. It’s possible that an Anne Klein pattern or two showcases Tyler’s work.
Nadja Auermann in Richard Tyler for Anne Klein, Vogue, February 1995. Photo: Juergen Teller. Editor: Camilla Nickerson.Australian model Gemma Ward in Junya Watanabe, 2005. Photo: Nick Knight. Image: SHOWstudio.Vogue coverup (Adolfo hat), Wanda Beach, Australia. Photo: Helmut Newton. Vogue, May 1, 1964.
Fall 2018 Balenciaga campaign image by Charlie White. Models: Eliza Douglas and Martina Almquist. Image: Fashion Gone Rogue.
Last week, it was announced that Demna Gvasalia is leaving Vetements, the label he founded in 2014. Vetements will continue under his brother, CEO Guram Gvasalia; the Georgian designer remains creative director of Balenciaga.
Martina Almquist in Balenciaga’s Pre-Fall 2018 ad campaign. Photo: Ilya Lipkin. Editor: Lotta Volkova. Image: Balenciaga.
Vogue 1638 after Balenciaga by Demna Gvasalia (2019) Image: McCall’s.
The godet draped skirt is a permanent design, seen variously in different wool checks with a partial raw edge, and in current-season stretch wool twill.
Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2018 by Demna Gvasalia. Image: Vogue Runway.
As the check reveals, the godet is true bias at the inner edges. (Also at Farfetch.)
Balenciaga asymmetric check skirt by Demna Gvasalia. Image: net-a-porter.Balenciaga asymmetric Prince of Wales check skirt by Demna Gvasalia. Image: Matches Fashion.
Here’s a fuchsia version from Pre-Fall 2019:
Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2019 by Demna Gvasalia. Image: Vogue Runway.
The stretch wool iteration was shown with a fluid silk blouse. (Also at Farfetch and net-a-porter.)
Balenciaga Vareuse logo blouse and godet draped skirt in rose bubble gum twill. Image: Balenciaga.
Vogue’s second Balenciaga-inspired design can be shortened from dress to top. (View A, not photographed.)
Vogue 1632 after Balenciaga by Demna Gvasalia (2019) Image: McCall’s.
This one’s adapted from Balenciaga Fall 2018.
Balenciaga Fall 2018 by Demna Gvasalia. Model: Amanda Hermansson. Image: Vogue Runway.Balenciaga Fall 2018 by Demna Gvasalia. Model: Sunniva Vaatevik. Image: Vogue Runway.
According to the Balenciaga webstore, the original was inspired by ice-skating. For knit fabrics with a lot of stretch.
Draped velvet dress by Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga. Image: Browns.
Ready for a cybergoth revival? The Matrix is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and Variety has just announced that there will be a Matrix 4, to be directed by Lana Wachowski and again starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.
The costumes in the first Matrix were hugely influential. Working within a tight budget, costume designer Kym Barrett (Romeo + Juliet, Us) placed the emphasis on texture and movement, using low-cost materials like PVC and a wool blend for Neo’s coat. The rebels were also outfitted in custom accessories, with boots by Barrett and bespoke eyewear by Richard Walker.
On March 31st the fight for the future begins. Poster for The Matrix (1999) Image: IMDb
The first Matrix film even inspired John Galliano’s Fall 1999 couture collection for Dior. Presented at Versailles, the collection mixed futuristic raver-couture with more fanciful references like “Gainsborough in Persia.” (“The dresses are evil, evil,” Galliano was quoted saying. “But you have to have the Romantic. They die for that, my ladies.”) As Vogue’s Hamish Bowles wrote, the couture clients warmed more to the 18th-century looks than to “Matrix cybervixen.”
John Galliano with models backstage at the Dior couture show, the Orangerie at Versailles, July 19, 1999. Photo: Jean-Claude Deutsch. Image: Paris Match via Getty Images.Dior haute couture by John Galliano, L’Officiel, September 1999. Photo: Randall Bachner. Editors: Bernât Buscato and Luciano Neves. Image: jalougallery.com.Dior haute couture by John Galliano on the cover of Vogue Paris, September 1999. Model: Molly Sims. Photo: Ruven Afanador. Image: Molly Sims.
It wasn’t until 2003’s big-budget sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, that Neo got his famous cassock coat.
Keanu Reeves as Neo on the cover of French Premiere, October 2003. Image: Famous Fix.
The first Matrix-inspired costume patterns came out in 2003.
Promotional image for The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Image: Foxtel Movies.
Simplicity’s Neo and Morpheus / “Men’s and Teen’s Duster” must have sold well: the pattern was rereleased with an updated envelope in 2017. (See top of post.) Now backlisted, it’s still available from the company website.
Thanks to the sequel’s higher budget, Barrett designed Trinity’s pieces for better-quality PVCs (then newly available), with patent leather used for closeups. For the women’s pattern, Trinity’s PVC bustier-coat ensemble effectively devolves into its separate elements: a princess-seamed duster, corset top, and pants. The pattern calls for stretch vinyl, leather-like fabrics, and synthetic patent leather.
The following year, Butterick and McCall’s released men’s and children’s Neo patterns, but none for Trinity. Both cassock coats share an authentic, if painstaking touch: lots of covered buttons.
It would be another decade before Andrea Schewe designed a more accurate Trinity duster. Released in Simplicity’s 90th anniversary year, the PVC duster was paired with a Kingdom Hearts cosplay coat.
Simplicity 8482 (2017) Kingdom Hearts and Matrix costumes. Image: Etsy.
Here’s S8482 with more sci-fi (Firefly and Rogue One) in the seasonal catalogue:
Find the Adventure – S8482 and S8480 in Simplicity’s Autumn 2017 catalogue. Image: Simplicity.
There’s no word on the costume designer yet, but production on the new Matrix begins in 2020.
The Matrix Reloaded Trinity character poster (2003) Image: IMDb.
Guinevere van Seenus in Rachel Comey Fall 2018. Photo: Annie Powers. Editor: Samira Nasr. Image: Vogue Runway.
This season, Vogue patterns have a new format. For Fall 2019, illustrations are out, and photography is in, even for the company’s house line. Also consolidated is the line branding and numbering, which used to differ between licensed and internal designs. Paris Originals, Designer Originals, even Vogue designer knockoffs — they all have the same new look.
Vogue Patterns Fall 2019 lookbook. Model: Tatyana Cooper. Image: Issuu.
Autumn means outerwear, and Laroche comes through with a chic trench coat with interesting details: a storm flap, arm band, and oversized belt carriers.
Vogue 1650 by Adam Andrascik for Guy Laroche (2019) Model: Amber Mitchell. Image: McCall’s.
The coat is a design from Fall 2017, Adam Andrascik’s last collection for Laroche. The original also sports a collar hook and jumbo belt buckle.
Guy Laroche by Adam Andrascik, Fall 2017. Image: Vogue Runway.
Vogue noted the alternate version in tobacco leather — also seen in the Swiss magazine, Annabelle, which has a nice view of the shoulder dart.
Guy Laroche by Adam Andrascik, Fall 2017. Image: Vogue Runway.Guy Laroche leather coat in Annabelle, October 2017. Image: Guy Laroche.
From the late Paco Peralta, a cropped jumpsuit with Custom Fit sizing (for multiple cup sizes). The contrast insets are a signature touch, also seen on the bestselling V1550.
There are two new patterns by Rachel Comey. First, the coat ensemble at the top of this post: a collarless, raglan-sleeved coat and the Oscillate skirt, a gored, high-waisted skirt with notched waistband detail.
For Pre-Fall 2017, the designer showed it layered, jumper-style, with a blouse.
Rachel Comey Pre-Fall 2017. Image: Vogue Runway.
As worn in white by the editor Giannie Couji:
Steadfast jumpsuit in white Italian Foam. Model: Giannie Couji. Image: Rachel Comey.
Vogue’s latest Gucci adaptation includes a jacket, dress, and pleated skirt. (Also sized for petites.)
Vogue 1643 after Gucci (2019) Model: Lauren Buys. Image: McCall’s.
Some will recognize the long, tan Gucci jacket from Peter Schlesinger’s photobook for Pre-Fall 2018 (last seen in my Summer post). Pair with a print dress and coronet for the full maximalist effect.
Gucci by Alessandro Michele, Pre-Fall 2018. Model: Unia Pakhomova. Photo: Peter Schlesinger. Image: Vogue Runway.
Gucci’s red, cardigan-style jacket and pleated skirt were a key look for Spring 2018.
Gucci by Alessandro Michele, Spring 2018. Model: Sarah Wilson. Image: Vogue Runway.
As seen in the brand’s digitally painted Spring ’18 ad campaign:
Gucci Spring 2018 campaign. Illustration: Ignasi Monreal. Image: Gucci.
Vogue’s other Custom Fit design for Fall is a version of Roland Mouret’s Royston dress.
Vogue 1631 after Roland Mouret (2019) Model: Amber Mitchell. Image: McCall’s.
First presented for Resort ’18, the Royston is an update of the hit Galaxy dress. For an even more faithful copy, serge the sleeve edge and add an exposed zipper. The dress is currently available in navy, white, and red through Roland Mouret’s webstore, or at Selfridges in new-season pink:
Roland Mouret’s Royston dress in new-season pink, 2019. Image: Selfridges.
The Royston dress is also the basis for Mouret’s Clovelly bridal gown.
And rounding out the Fall collection, a version of an Alexander McQueen coat reminiscent of Spring ’99 Givenchy. (Includes petite sizing.)
Vogue 1649 after Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton (2019) Model: Tatyana Cooper. Image: McCall’s.
Metamorphosis was the theme of Sarah Burton’s Fall 2018 collection for McQueen. Military touches in red and black referenced the Household Cavalry, the Queen’s bodyguard. Exhibit A: Burton’s asymmetrical blanket coat, as worn on the runway by Stella Tennant.
Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton, Fall 2018. Model: Stella Tennant. Image: Vogue Runway.
A closer look at the fringed edge reveals a meticulous finish on the reverse:
Detail, Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton, Fall 2018. Image: Vogue Runway.
Those military colours are also seen in this season’s ad campaign featuring Kate Moss. McQueen Fall 2019 was inspired by the textile mills of Northern England, where Burton grew up.
Alexander McQueen Fall 2019 ad campaign. Model: Kate Moss. Photo: Jamie Hawkesworth. Art direction: M/M (Paris). Image: Alexander McQueen.
