Blaak
LONDON, September 23, 2003
By Sarah Mower
Sachiko Okada and Aaron Sharif of Blaak make casual streetwear out of floppy, worn-in fabric. But what sets the line apart from a humdrum jeans collection is its deceptive simplicity—a lot of thought goes into creating that impression of easy, low-maintenance hipness.For spring, Blaak took pre-washed, overdyed cottons and made them into crinkly shirtdresses and circle skirts with crazy animal prints and zigzagging, African-inspired patterns. Okada and Sharif even tackled that most formal of classics, the Chanel-inspired suit, fraying the edges and running zippers up the back of the skirt. (Close up, what looked like lightweight tweed turned out to be hand-perforated cotton, run through the washing machine several dozen times to give it a great, worn-out, messed-up feel.) Another standout was a red-and-white printed anorak, with elastic creating bunchy effects through the torso and sleeves; it turned out to be made of paper. Okada described this season’s look as “Random—borderline mad!” But the collection made perfect sense for seekers of cool, one-off pieces to amp up a summer wardrobe.
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Spring 2004 Ready-to-Wear
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A
A.F. Vandevorst Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Andrew Gn Anna Molinari Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Anne Klein As Four -
B
Badgley Mischka Balenciaga BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Betsey Johnson Bill Blass Blaak Boudicca Burberry Prorsum -
C
Calvin Klein Capucci Carolina Herrera Celine Chloé Christian Dior Clements Ribeiro Comme des Garçons Costume National -
D
D&G Daryl K Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
E
Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emma Cook Emporio Armani -
F
Fendi FrostFrench -
G
Gianfranco Ferré Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
H
Haider Ackermann Hamish Morrow Helmut Lang Hussein Chalayan -
I
Imitation of Christ -
J
Jean Paul Gaultier Jens Laugesen Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Julien Macdonald Junya Watanabe -
K
Kenneth Cole New York Kim Jones Krizia -
L
Lagerfeld Gallery Lanvin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
M
Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs Marni Martine Sitbon Martin Grant Matthew Williamson MaxMara Michael Kors Miguel Adrover Missoni Miu Miu Moschino -
N
Narciso Rodriguez Nina Ricci -
O
Oscar de la Renta -
P
Paul Smith Women Peter Som Pierrot Prada Preen Proenza Schouler -
R
Rachel Comey Ralph Lauren Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Roland Mouret -
S
Sebastian Pons Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows -
T
Temperley London Tim van Steenbergen Tommy Hilfiger Tuleh -
U
Undercover -
V
Valentino Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Versace Versus Viktor & Rolf -
Y
Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto Y’s Yves Saint Laurent -
Z
Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
