VIVE LA REVOLUTION...

EDIT* RE: the gorgeous shoes which were used in the A/W 07 show, which I and others loved; news from Phillip Lim is not hopeful. They say: "Our shoes were a collaboration with the UK shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood. Our specific shoes were runway only, and aren't for sale." Aah, Nicholas Kirkwood. That makes sense - all his shoes are like lil works of art/engineering. But still, can't have those exact ones. Poo.
...

Thank you Amy Larocca for this piece on Phillip Lim in New York Magazine.

As far as I'm concerned, Phillip Lim has completely usurped Marc Jacobs in the role of He Who Plugs Into The Psyche Of Women Who Love Fashion And Designs The Clothes They Were Just About To Dream Of.

In the article, the provenance of the 3.1 is explained as the age of both Lim and his business partner Wen Zhou when they started the label just two years ago. Auspicious. 31 also happens to be my age, so, really I should just buy the entire winter collection, or at least as much of it as I can get my hands on. (Yes, my thoughts have turned to winter - I give up on the hope of summer ever appearing.)

How is it that I want every single look, exactly the way it's styled in the lookbook? (Bloody flash player - click on "womens" at the bottom left, then fall p.1 and fall p.2)
Wouldn't change a thing to wear it myself. That has never happened to me before. I'm obsessed with the shoes and I can't.find.out.who.made.them. Anyone know?

My favourite quote from the article is when Phillip says: “I would direct my mother when she made my clothes,” he says. He liked khakis and denim work shirts, everything simple and clean. “I look at pictures of myself when I was 5 years old and I think that, yes, that is exactly what I like.”

A man with that kind of vision is a man you can trust to design Birkenstocks, (well Tatami/same thing) unlike someone whose name rhymes with Snidey Gloom.

And with a brand spanking new store in New York's Soho (and apparently scouting store locations in London) and another CFDA/Vogue nomination, I think we can safely say that auspicious 3.1 is doing its work.