Lille

Last weekend was so busy.

Aside from working on my thesis and catching up with our families, my boyfriend, my sister and I went to see Alice in Wonderland. Maybe I expected too much out of it, but I didn't like it at all. The 3D-effects had no added value, and the story was quite boring. Plus, I missed that whole Tim Burton-vibe. So sad, 'cause I had high hopes for this one.

The following day my boyfriend's band had to play near the Flemish/French border, which gave us the opportunity to head to Lille for a shopping afternoon. We'd been there a few times and we've always loved this little town. It has many of the great luxury brands, a Printemps and the Galleries Lafayette. But the brand that surprised us the most was The Kooples. Belmodo.tv had mentioned their love for the brand, and when I saw the real deal, I couldn't agree more. Great basics with a rock and roll edge for him and her. And the brand's mission statement to dress trendy couples, seduced both my boyfriend and me. We each left the store with our new favorite fashion items. The following day, I already wore my new tulip-skirt to his dad's birthday party, and I think it would look great with my Alexander McQueen skull-shirt as well.

And planning a trip back in a few months, I really need those Marc Jacobs and Repetto-flats I spotted at the Printemps!

Alice au Printemps

If there is one subject I have been blogging about too much now, it has to be Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. The movie hasn't hit theaters yet, and I would already describe it as a fashion film, since so many top designers already have been inspired by Lewis Caroll's story.

My sister and I have mentioned the jewelry lines (Stella's and Swarovski's) and the editorial in Vogue's December 2003 issue. But do you remember the post about the Alice-window display at the Parisian department store Printemps? It's finally here -or there, to be more precise- until March 14th.

Nicolas Kirkwood's sketch has become reality. And I think the shoes are 'Alice'-inspired in an obvious way, but nonetheless very cool and clever. Both his and the story signature 'design' is incorporated in the shoe. Those window mannequins don't know how lucky they are to wear them.

The shoe designer states: “I think my favorite Alice character is the March Hare. You can see I’ve made his watch rather prominent. This was a different design process for me, because I’m not usually so applicative—typically, I’m thinking about line, silhouette. But this time, I figured, why not just pile as much as I can on top?”

And how I wish I could go admire the store's windows myself. Christopher Kane, Alexander McQueen and Haider Ackermann; I would go crazy.

Alice au Printemps des Merveilles.
Photos by Francis Peyrat.

For more wonderful Wonderland-designs, go to Style File.

Edit: Every time I see those last few pictures, I think of Donnie Darko.