>>  Their collection did kind of remind me of Lucky Charms -- there were rainbows, stars, hearts, and lots of magically delicious colors.  But don't worry, Eley Kishimoto's collection wasn't so overdone that it was tacky.  Rather, it was the perfect fusion of the Japanese fashion-inspired and the sixties-inspired, making for a cheerful spring/summer collection to contrast all the drabness that has prevailed thus far. 

On the rainbow dress, right, we see the tiers that were all over in NY, but this is definitely the best treatment I've seen of them so far -- probably because the print is fairly busy, so it draws some of the attention away.  Very cute, and I love the buttons down the front. 

The heart dress (left) is one of my favorites of this collection -- I love the simplicity of the shift dress shape, embellished with a big bright-red heart and a ruffle at the bottom that alludes to a tutu.  Very simple, and yet unique.

It looks like big sunglasses are here to stay for another season, if this collection and Luella have any influence.  Again, I love this top, with the big smacking red lips against the darker background.  Playful?  Check.  Cute?  Check.  Graphic qualities?  Check.  Add 'em all up, and what do you get?  My resounding approval. 

More photos of the collection available at yahoo.

>>  Alexander McQueen, son of a cabbie, has made himself into one of the most powerful designers in the world.  And it doesn't look like he's going away anytime soon, considering the success of his Hitchockian Fall/Winter collection.  I have the utmost respect for this man, who has always lived by his own rules, at times flipping the world the bird.  Like the time twenty years ago, for instance, when as an apprentice he wrote "I am a cunt" in the lining of a jacket destined for the Prince of Wales. 

In anticipation of his new collection's debut in Paris, The Guardian did a wonderful article on McQueen that made me respect him even more.  One of my favorite excerpts:    

McQueen has always been more about psychology than clothes. He is not particularly interested in pretty faces or pretty clothes simply on a superficial level. ("David Beckham is vainer than the veins on my dick," he once said, with consummate delicacy.) Psychological themes crop up time and again. As well as shows based on Hitchcock and Picnic at Hanging Rock, there have been collections inspired by Lord of the Flies, chess games, and asylums. McQueen calls his shows "my own living nightmares", but part of the power of the shows is due to the fact that they have an emotional resonance with audiences as well, McQueen having the outsider's ability to take a clear-eyed look into the fashion world. Sometimes he feels like the fashion industry's therapist, he jokes.

**sources: nymag.com