Weekly International Fashion Column

khaleej times Friday, December 11, 2009

fashion16

LookoftheWeek

If a suitmakes theman, then Fall/Winter 2009 and Spring/Summer 2010 are thedefining seasons. From New York to Milan and Paris to as far flung as Japan,suits reigned supreme. There were double-breasted; single-breasted; three-piece varieties; casual cool offerings with suit jackets, shirts and ties pairedwith denim; patterned; classics; slimmer silhouettes; varying pant lengths and

fresh colour palettes.One of our absolute favourites? Bottega Veneta S/S 2010. One part Milanese gentle-

man and one part AmericanGigolo, with its sultry colours and refined tailoring and fit.stephanie@khaleejtimes.com

Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective for hire,conjured up by the imagination of Sir Arthur Ig-natius ConanDoyle, whose brilliant powers of de-duction and science spurred five novels, 50+ shortstories, TV programs and films, provided the cre-

ative backdrop for many F/W 2009 collections — notablyAlexanderMcQueen’smen’s collection.Doyle’s Holmes character had a penchant for wearing

suits, vests, a dual-bill cap, nursing a pipe, a Scottish high-lands-inspired cape/coat, as well as on occasion, sporting awalking stick. Many of these Holmes-esque pieces showeduponMcQueen’s runway inone formoranother.Therewere the bowler top hats thatDoctorWatson,Hol-

mes’constantcompanionwore,walkingsticks,gloves,threepiece suiting, layers, herringbone vests,watch chains, fitteddouble-breasted plaid suits and plaid separates, fur and anever-present ghastly palour and scowl.One surmises it rep-resentedHolmes’ seriousmanner and cool exterior, as wellashisnocturnalnature.McQueen modernised the Holmes character with head

scarves/do rags under the bowler hats; fingerless gloves re-placed the typical leather gloves that may have existed in the1800s; fur overcoats looselywornover the shoulders as capes;silver skull-tipped walking sticks that Holmes would surelyhave carried in The Hound of the Baskervilles; along with iri-descentmaterials;mohairwools; opulent sweaters; amodernmoodycolourpaletteandhissignature:tailored,cutandfit.McQueen was prescient with his SH F/W collection as

another remake is on itsway for 2010, this timewithRockn-Rolla,SnatchandLock, StockandTwoSmokingBarrelsdirec-torGuyRitchie at the helm. In this remake, Robert DowneyJr plays Holmes to Jude Law’s Watson, with martial arts,cunning, off-colour humour, feminine wiles andMcQueen-esque fashions in tow.Similarities between the runway and celluloid canbewit-

nessed in the bowler hats, the caps, the three-piece suiting,the vests, plaids, and themuscledAlexander vest playedoutin the fleshwithDowney Jr’s bare chest in a fight scene andWatson’sperfectly turnedout suiting.It is one of the best collections of the season, both in its

concept, tailoring and execution. The collection played toMcQueens’ dark,moodysidewithbrilliant effect, highlight-inghis innateability toentertain, captivateand titillate.

stephanie@khaleejtimes.com

StephanieRivers

The SherlockHolmesEffect

TheNattilyDressedDetective is theperfectmuse for suitinganddeduction forFall 2009

Awell-suitedmansets the tone forF/W2009

HolmesHolmes