CHIQ

Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008

Fashion icon and couturier, Yves Saint Laurent passed away in Paris on Sunday, according to the NYT.  He was 71 years old.  With a fashion career credited with changing the way women dress (i.e. putting women into pants), Mr. Saint Laurent was a revolutionary known to push boundaries. 

CHIQ celebrates the greatness of Yves Saint Laurent and his contribution to the world of crochet fashion.  Above is a photo of a sleeved crochet diamond mesh cape from the YSL Fall 2006 collection.

Oh Oscar!

This heavily embellished sleeveless black silk sleeveless crocheted top is the essence of simple chic.  From acclaimed designer Oscar de la Renta, the top costs $2,310.  Oscar is showing us what can happen when you stop using Red Heart Super Saver and make a switch for rarer fibers.  And before you send the editor hate mail--yes, CHIQ loves Red Heart Super Saver (especially in Earth and Sky).

Take a look at our close-ups so that you can see that this top was worked in a filet like double-crochet with (possibly) some popcorn stitching.

Moschino Raffia

Here at CHIQ, we are in love with this crochet raffia and leather bag made by designer Moschino.  Of course we would like if the entire bag were crocheted--but chocolate s bag runs for $1,840.  Whew.

Salvatore Can Crochet!

Apologies for our brief absence.  But to make-up for our lack of blogging, we have a high fashion treat from top designer Salvatore Ferragamo.  This cotton crochet bag with wooden handle is what happens when you combine simplicity with detail.  The two simple crochet flower motifs within the crochet squared border has loads of three dimensional texture--which is sure to be a super tactile experience.  Hopefully it will inspire someone out there to pick up their hook and make a version of their own.

We here at CHIQ are still getting ready for our debut summer issue.  Our first "petite" issue is due to go live the week of June 15th.

We´ll Be Right Back

We haven´t forgotten about you.  We are busy going over submissions and responding to e-mails for our upcoming June issue.  We will be blogging again over the weekend and be back in full force on Monday, May 19th.  Also, one of us has been sickey-poo (boo-hoo).  Keep crocheting!

Acknowledge The Queen

While she´s probably not the queen of crochet, CHIQ demands that its readers recognize the amazingness of Diane Von Furstenberg and the crochet pieces in her fashion collections.  Few high fashion runway designers (with the exception of Prada) utilize crochet in DVF´s soigne manner.   CHIQ has a love affair with DVF due to her support of models and designers of color (i.e., see her racially diverse runway shows and her love of Project Runway designer Michael Knight).  And if that´s not enough, she single handedly introduced the knitted wrap dress as a fashion trend. 

The girl is bad.

And to commemorate our love of all that is DVF we are highlighting this über-chic crochet dress.  A perfect example that you don´t need a lot of color in order to have a stunning crochet dress.  The texture and proportion of this dress is cien porciento (100%) on point.  What´s not to love?  Named the Zacharie, this gold cotton blend crochet tunic dress has scalloped edges and spectacular picot detailing.  DVF, we love you.

Want to write or design for CHIQ?  Visit our submissions page.

Crochet Chiq?

Is this crochet chiq?  Pictured above is a Susan Bristol Cropped Crochet Cardigan.  Clearly the piece is well worked and had an amazing amount of detail.  But here at CHIQ, the editorial staff is a bit underwhelmed.  Perhaps its the lack of color--or the boring buttons, or maybe the olive green blouse it´s paired with that just seems to mute the scene.

Maybe its the cropped nature--not short, and not long--but a bit stumpy.  Whatever it is, this crochet cardigan leaves us yawning.  And we also think we´ve seen this cardigan a million times in crochet pattern magazines over the past four years.  Now the neck edging is the hotness (as is the open work pattern)--but the designer needs to turn the volume up on this piece.

So we ask the question to our readers--do you think this piece is CHIQ?

Want to write or design for CHIQ?  Visit our submissions page.

Made With Hands

Made With Hands is the brainchild of east London twin-sisters, Carissa & Calliste Yeboah.  They taken their love of handmade and made it into a lucrative business.  They employ a number of techniques (including knitting), but what brings them to the attention of CHIQ is their use of crochet.  The duo has been featured by Vogue UK online and have presented a trend report to the London College of Fashion.

While their work is not particularly sophisticated, it emphasizes simplicity and 100% natural fibers.  They crochet chunky hats and skinny scarves, but they even knit men´s bowties.  We are always happy when someone puts crochet on the map.

Want to write or design for CHIQ?  Visit our submissions page.

PRADA Stripes and Bucket Hats

In Pradaś Spring 2005 runway show, there was a lot of crochet head action going on.  We start off with a rafia weave hat with a crochet striped headband of sorts. It seems a bit out of place, but hey, its high fashion and it´s crochet.

PRADA Scallop Hat

Prada seems to be the fashion designer with a love jones for crochet.  And we´re not mad.  Check out this two color scalloped bucket hat from Prada´s Spring 2005 runway show.

The material seems to be a shiny fiber like twine-a little different from the usual yarn made hat.  In the end, this design is inspiring and simply CHIQ!

Want to write or design for CHIQ?  Visit our submissions page.