Gimme G.V.G.V.

I'm still surfing through my emails for posts as I've given up trying the proxy/website/hack tricks that people have kindly given me through Twitter, seeing as I leave for Tokyo tomorrow morning.  It seems like fairly good timing to get this hotcake of a collection off my hands for the sole purpose of screaming "I WANT THOSE SHOES" so badly as well as presenting one of the easier-to-digest collections from Tokyo Fashion Week back in October.

G.V.G.V. was a show that I missed as I flew in on the day it took place.  Looking back at the catwalk and lookbook imagery as well as visiting the showroom for a catch up, it's clear that G.V.G.V. represents a very different part of Japanese fashion – one that isn't about philosophical wabi-sabi-ing nor is it about complex conceptual thought.  S/S 12's tropical florals, Miami pastel shades and 50s pill popping housewives in suburbia that were conjured up in other collections (Maarten van der Horst, Jonathan Saunders, Rochas to name a few…) are all seemingly on designer Mug's mind (yes, I didn't mis-type there – that is indeed her name…).  The teddy girls that Richard Nicoll imagined for his first collection for Fred Perry also springs out.  All in all, it's a perfectly pleasing remix of all the trend strands that will be rife for S/S 12 with the added bonus of being beautifully made with fabric and texture given prime consideration lest you think they're trying to blind you with print placement and jazzy 50s styling. 

Alright, peplums aren't for everyone and I even know someone who is annoyed by the mere sound of the word, but I'll always look upon them as a surefire way of hiding my frequent food babies…

I like the cheeky leopard print injections here which blends seamlessly with palm fronds and tropical blooms…

The collection has a few hidden collaborations, the most interesting of which being these leather jackets and bustiers made in partnership with Japanese cult leather label Blackmeans.  Hardcorecraftteam is Blackmeans' moniker which should say it, as they don't have a website making it quite difficult to find out anything about them.  They know their leathurrrrrr and that was evident in the buttery jackets with quilted panels that carries on nicely from Louis Vuitton's own buttersmooth pastel jackets from their S/S 12 collection. 

The glasses are made in collaboration with Mr Sumio Yamamoto, who has 55 years of experience in producing eyewear in the Sabe, Fukui area.  I found it difficult to retain all the information about the specialist areas of production that are dotted all over Japan.  That's a craft porn tour waiting to happen, should anyone out there wish to sponsor me. 

Then comes the main raison d'etre of this post.  I honed in on these flatform beauties straight away making the whole showroom giggle.  Ok, so the shape may leave an overly familiar taste in your mouth but the colour combinations and the finish of the leather are really quite marvellous.  When I posted these on Tumblr, they got a lot of flatform love so I know I won't be the only one to appreciate comfortably clad feet that also look like candy wrappers. 

These Underground shoes are not G.V.G.V. but are here for the sake of running alongside all the powdery pastel goodness…

The final frosted note is this trio of nail polish, created exclusively for G.V.G.V. by Knock Out cosmetics.  Nails that will look like carefully dyed, Mary Berry-approved cake icing.  Nuff' said.