Tonight, Josephine!

Reasserting its place at the forefront of the fashion world, this season Paris' pride seems to have channeled the spirits of two faces of Frenchness — Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josephine. In previous seasons that reference would have been obvious with frogging, braiding, officers' coats, and Empire-line dresses. But this was the season of subtlety. The Emperor's influence was everywhere in fine, narrow little jackets (a season essential): with a curling collar atop a loose white dress at Stella McCartney; cut away into swallowtails with a Havana vibe at Lagerfeld Gallery; with a cute thrift feel at M+F Girbaud; in subtle stone shades at Akris; and with telling striped lining at Ann Demeulemeester. Martin Margiela subverted the theme with varsity motifs and Chloé, Balenciaga, and Keita Maruyama used strategic seaming and buttons to take the Napoleon-at-sea route.

Josephine's influence lay more in the use of soft tones from the time she was empress of Napoleon's doomed domains. A play on tone was a major feature as two or more shades of the same color, especially non-colors like sand, smoke, and eau de nil, played out on the same outfit. Vivienne Westwood draped two tones of gray on a skirt, developing the idea into a ball gown replete with two shades of gray and pink side by side. Viktor & Rolf, in the second half of their runway extravaganza, bounced sweet shades of party pink off each other and Véronique Branquinho's muddy shades in flannel and jersey flowed along sensually. Alexander McQueen and Chanel did opaque on sheer in the same color for a similar tonal effect, Jean Paul Gaultier conjugated brown in big skirts, and Akris, Sharon Wauchob, and Chloé worked on tone-texture amalgamations.

-Karl Treacy

Sartorial Platypus

Kwamee by Francis and Alienoctopus are two hot sportswear brands from Melbourne working a patchwork trend that's a kind of sartorial version of a platypus.

In 1999, along with AG and Roy, Kwamee by Francis shook up the Melbourne streetwear scene by introducing ethnic inspired designs and wild color combinations to a field of monochromatic sun wear and tropical printed board shorts. Born Ghanaian, raised in London, and transplanted to Australia at age 12, Francis' design signature is a pastiche of multiculturalism. In his latest collection, he combines Rastafarian motifs, random patches of suede, African fabrics fraying around the edges, and textiles like tweed and cords, and other unexpected doses of chaotic, tribal detailing that echo Cross Colours (the '90s urban wear brand) and Coogi, another Aussie export.

Influenced by a different region (and arguably planet) lies the crazy Japanese eclecticism of Alienoctopus. True to the seemingly magic-mushroom styling of Japanese streetwear labels like Undercover or Beauty: Beast, Alienoctopus boast otherworldly meanderings as design motifs. This Nipponese imagination manifests in strange hand-drawn monsters vaguely resembling genies and robots randomly cut-and-pasted on all corners of clothing to evoke surreal fantasy worlds. There is a more stripped-down version of Takashi Murakami meet Louis Vuitton sensibility. Superflat vérité, if you will. Not unlike its contemporary Vicious Threads a dose of wabi-sabi is found in the label's deconstructed sport coats, boasting oddities such as a series of vertical embroidered lines on the sleeves or vintage rough-ups around the edges.

True to the multicultural cauldron of Australia, these designers are on the edge of Melbourne's marsupial scene.

-Kenneth Yu

Skinny

The menswear tailoring trend that landed big in stores this fall is credited to Hedi Slimane's influence at Dior Homme. The skinny jacket, the fitted pant, the slim three-quarter length coat and other sartorial Slimane signatures are definitive of several collections with the best renderings coming from the Japanese. Masaki Matsushima, a JC Report favorite, has shown two consecutively strong collections in Paris underscored by the skinny cuts of a master tailor's hand. Beneath the punk kilts and rock 'n roll grunge of (N)ine's spring presentation were super tailored, lived-in denim and perfectly worn and fitted T-shirts.

The Viridi-anne, another Japanese line that we recently discovered selling exclusively at Atelier New York (formerly A Boutique) is the latest entry to the skinny fit club. The strength of the three-year-old the Viridi-anne (selling for the first time outside of Japan) is that the collection is a sort of leitmotif for menswear. There's the iconic bomber, the blazer, the biker jacket, and the dress pant, all of which are put through a rigorous tailoring process with nary a thread of excess fabric unaccounted for. Precisely proportioned looks include a Prince of Wales check suit with the tiniest lapel, belted single button blazers, and a three-quarter length wool coat with a zip away sleeveless vest beneath. The effect is clean and sublime, but never stiff.

We're not only seeing skinny cuts in tailored clothes, one of the big looks for men this fall is a long skinny scarf or tie à la Roxy Music. The skinny scarf was proposed at Gucci, Paul Smith, and Dior Homme for spring and boys seem to have already embraced the trend if we're to go by the numerous sightings in New York, Milan, and Paris. Burberry, Calvin Klein, Dries Van Noten, and Jil Sander all showed very thin ties. And yes, the silhouette is more effective when everything is worn skinny.

Model of the Week: TJ Moore

Agency: DNA Model Management

Hot Wax

A Diptyque Candle resting on a hostess' mantle is the long-standing barometer of a fashionable sense of scent. The haute list of candle stylists: Alexander McQueen, Tocca, Julien McDonald, Votivo — and now D.L. Co from Douglas Little, a Los Angeles based alchemist, is set to burn up the category as the coveted room accessory with a line of Victorian-inspired candles.

Frustrated with the lack of romanticism and seduction with new brands and products, D.L. & Co's candles are presented "like getting a love letter in the mail," says Little. No ordinary love letter, this sender has gone to great lengths to make the recipient feel each exquisite layer nestling the mysteriously intoxicating thorn apple (drink the tea and see visions of your lover goes the lore of this flower) and angel's trumpet fragrant candles. No need for wrapping: D.L. & Co's flawless packaging is a silk gift box with Victorian font topped with a satin ribbon tie. Its content is a vessel — more accurately an objet d'art — cut from black amethyst glass replete with spider web edging. This description may echo images of Halloweens past, but the delivery is a dark, timeless elegance.

If you're lucky you'll receive a nightingale printed handkerchief invitation to one of Little's travelling events at stores such as Bergdorf Goodman and Maxfields. This modern dandy takes his perfume carriage and candles on the road, tailoring scents for clients and educating them on his lifelong fascination with Victoriana.