I have not seen Where the Wild Things Are.?I might, because I like watching movies, but I did not go crazy grappling for a ticket on opening weekend.?
It doesn't interest me, on principle, when a filmmaker appropriates a children's book for the purpose of adults' starry-eyed nostalgia. This is the same reason I have no interest in seeing The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
However, people are crazy about Where the Wild Things Are, and that's why, if you are a fan, you can choose from no less than eight graphic tees at Urban Outfitters.?
This is fine, but you won't see me lounging around in one.? I find graphic tees sort of boring (there are, of course, exceptions).? I'm much more interested in the Where the Wild Things Are collection done by Opening Ceremony.
Opening Ceremony is a boutique based in New York City, Los Angeles and Tokyo that specializes in young, hip designers.?Think Alexander Wang, Charles Anastase and Proenza Schouler.?
Opening Ceremony takes its name from the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, and as it says on its Web site part of its mantra includes focusing on a new "unique commercial and cultural character of a visiting city."
The boutique also often features and sells collaborations, and early this fall, the Where the Wild Things Are X Opening Ceremony collaboration came to my attention.?It was love at first sight. Scrolling down the offerings, we begin with your standard graphic tees that have quotes like "Inside all of us is a Wild Thing." Fine enough if that's what you want, but the real goodies make you a Wild Thing on the outside.?
Soft and awkwardly shaped (slouchy, boxy, bulky). Faux fur skirts, mini-dresses, vests and jackets were all inspired by the different Wild Things, and done in collaboration with the director of the film, Spike Jonze.
This made me raise an eyebrow. First off, what sort of credentials did he have to be designing? Secondly, now that Lindsay Lohan is designing, everyone seems to feel that they can! And finally, I wondered if he was just jealous of his ex-wife Sofia Coppola's incredibly luxe bag collaboration with Louis Vuitton.?
Nonetheless, I'm particularly obsessed with their K.W. fitted dress, a short sleeved mini dress with light brown long-haired faux fur.?
I could not think of many outfits that would be more fun to wear than this dress.?Fun and a sense of humor are aspects not always included in everyday dress, but they should be.?It makes those early morning classes a lot more enjoyable.
The pi??ce de résistance of the collection is undoubtedly the Max Suit, which seems to be sold out online.?
It's dress-up for adults, and as someone who spent several frustrating hours this October trying to find a T-Rex costume online that would fit someone over the age of five, that is a wonderful thing.?
I have written about the role of inspiration in the world of fashion before, and I will write about it again in the future, I'm sure. It's one of the most interesting and important aspects of fashion.?
A designer's inspiration can come from something as personal as memories of his or her grandmother's jewelry collection. It can also come from a common memory - something we all know, like astronauts' space suits.? Sometimes, the motif behind a collection is not realized until it's all done: Miuccia Prada only lightbulbed into the connection between post-war Germany and her beautifully tough Fall 2009 collection the day before the runway show, but it unlocked the meaning of the entire collection for her.
This Opening Ceremony collection just shows how important different points of view are in fashion. Something that does not inspire me did inspire someone else, and the end result is fashion for which I am lusting!?Maybe when I see Where the Wild Things Are, I'll view it as a cinematic travesty. A bastardization of childhood.?
But I will not hate the film because, if for nothing else, there is one really great thing that has come out of it: the furry and fun collection from Opening Ceremony.?
