Thursday, October 7, 2010

Paris Fashion Week recap.

So the last week of the season and we save the best for last as cliche as it may sound, I adore all the fashion cities for what they contribute to the seasons. But there is just nothing like Parisian style on the streets and definitely on the runways. Its where Galliano, McQueen and Chanel show for god's sake while watching the videos of the shows I think I became a little soaked at moments. Here are some of my standout shows but if you know me you know who were my faves.





Karlie Kloss opened the Hermes show in a second skin leather dominatrix equestrian harness contraption and it set the tone for the whole show.This was Gaultier's last show for Hermes and it was done in true Gaultier style, expert tailoring.He bared skin in Jackets and banded chests as if they were in harnesses. Tops that crisscrossed, the luxurious suede shorts, the super high waisted pants, the leather fronted cardigans and very buttery leathery goodness of accessories. It was a fabulous last hurrah.






 
Oversized blazers, drab 90's washed denim, muted colours and that tacky fruit print but not one girl looked like she should be driving a minivan.Stella McCartney delivered a stella  collection. There were box pleats in the back and not one but pairs of hip bone high slits. That one dress with in that print that came alive because of the slashes at the waist and back a must have dress for the summer. The denim tunics and shorts in the boxy shapes but yet with such strong tailoring.With those power suits set apart by the high waist cut of the trousers,cuffed and slightly high above the ankles with just a hint of a flare.She didn't show any red carpet looks but I was satisfied with those double breasted vests in a sheen tuxedoesque fabric.







Psycho goth was present at Riccardo Tisci's show for Givenchy.The chiffon and fishnet overskirts on pants and shorts inspired me so much I immediately created my own and wore it out to buy smart water earlier.The zippers that were used as decorations scantily placed on hips or pelvises or down waistlines and sleeves and they were compounded by bondage flaps and straps. Zippers and leaopards aside he draped everything in sheer layers that added a sort of volume that reminded me of an elegant ghost which softened the zippers. It was a dark and imaginative collection that had me imagining myself in every look.





We wouldn't expect anything less of a show from John Galliano and thats exactly what we got. Loved how slow and dramatic and feline like the girls came down the runway, also using vets as Yasmin LeBon, Angela Lindvall And Audrey Marnay just to name a few if you glimpsed real hard at the gold mirrored runway you might have thought it was the late 90's and how well styled every look was with that Galliano touch. With inspiration stemming from the 1920's Paris art scene the stage was set and he painted a beautiful picture. Often criticized for more drama than fashion, there were tons of drama and impeccable fashion.The biker soft leather jacket with the oversized pants and the white dress that was appliqued with an almost butterfly effect and Empire columns with constructed bustiers and cascade of embroidered petals or feathered trim.A stand out look was on Audrey MarNay the sheer organza falling from her head spilling out of her alligator suitcase which also carried tons of fur stoles. There were day wear trench coats in lace edged leather and sheer organza, epic, died,thnx.








 Beth Ditto opened and closed the Gaultier show in a laser cut silver dress, the strips falling over all those curves.He put a couple of bigger models in his show, Crystal Renn being one of them. The girls wore Joan Jett  wigs, rock 'n' roll attitude influenced the show's styling.With lace body stockings and Dr.Martens with the backs cut out. There were jackets with strong squared off shoulders, vampy lingerie, jumpsuits, palm print dresses, leather biker jackets, a rose print cape, metal breast plates and nautical stripes, accessorized with 3-D glasses.








Viktor and Rolf sent out for their first look a striped button down turned into a shirt dress with four collars and four pairs of cuffs going up the arms and ended with a wedding dress the size of the runway the skirt made from shirt tails and the bodice from starchy pearl studded collars sticking out everywhere past the models earlobes.As show stopping the looks might have been you cant deny some of those street ready looks like the shirt dresses that were fitted one side and draping off the other shoulder or the poufy dresses that had lace at the waist, down the side of the torso or on the sleeves. But my favorite look was the white shirt cropped at the waist with its tails extending into a train paired with black pants. Perfect outfit for wedding season.





Christophe Decarnin delivered new millennium punk at Balmain this from the guy that bought us the strong shouldered trend a couple seasons back with that exaggerated shoulder on a bejeweled band jacket. The models wore studded safety pinned biker jackets, tight bleached jeans skinny and stopped right or above the ankle and cut off shorts and holey T-shirts to match their torn fishnets. Gone was the glamour of his collection last season and reintroduced was the DIY trend we all knew and loved in 2000.






The first thing we noticed at Nicolas Ghequiere's show for BalenciagaValetta, Carolyn Murphy, Stella Tennant (one of my fave girls from the late 90's) and a preggo Miranda Kerr. It was a shy boy meets punk masculinity infected collection with wet looking, plasticized textures, and very odd for him but mediocre flats. The last dress on Gisele was finished with couture techniques near the neckline but a laser machine made the precise cut that separated the bodice from the skirt. The houndstooth  outerwear with a graphic punch are items that can be worn over and over again. Standout pieces were the sleeveless, backless button down shirts spliced together from mismatched neon lace to the simple tuxedos to quilted leather biker jackets to the closing with technically complex dresses.













Oh Chanel, be still my heart. How does Karl Lagerfeld continuously reinvent such an old house and tweed suits to become so young and fresh every season?Genius that's how, the man is a genius. I remember always borrowing my mom's Chanel tweed jackets as a teen and her telling me don't spill anything on em one in particular was a black and white number with shoulder pads. It was then my obsession for Chanel started. The show in itself without the clothes was epic, add the clothes and it was a fashion orgasm. It was as though he took scissors and shredded the iconic tweed ensembles leaving edges unfinished and pairing the jackets with hot pants in tweed at that or mini skirts perfected with leather thigh high leg warmers. And in the slew of black burst out Carmen Kass in that wonderful apricot feathered dress and the accessories of two toned chain mail and gigantic rings and fingerless leather gloves.There were over eighty models all just somberly walking along an enormous garden decorated with a gigantic water fountain in the middle to an eighty piece orchestra that played tunes by Bjork and the verve. If you haven't seen the entire show in play find it get your hands on it and be prepared to want to wear those tweed jackets with Balmain's shredded cut offs. I'm definitely on it.













Anticipating Sarah Burton's first collection for Alexander McQueen is an understatement.We all wanted to see if she could live up to the McQueen aesthetic and boy did she. There were strong tailored suits and jackets and blazers that would have a structured shoulder(very McQueen) and then they would be slashed right a the shoulder blade softened at the edges, unfinished and some with white hair just going all the way down the back of a blazer.She was definitely inspired by nature the story went from white blank canvas never boring with design and then enveloping things such as that butterfly dress or the leather leaf dress just hugging the body.The gown with the breast plate and skirts of feathers or the gown of pleated organza that just looked like an ocean.Burton's 15 year protege relationship with McQueen showed in this collection staying true to his aesthetic but allowing her own femininity to play a part by softening the looks just a bit. During my viewing of the show I died, came back alive, died during sex, came back alive then died again. One of the best of all the cities this season.-your Dealer

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