Le Grand Finale

Louis Vuitton

 

The final day of an exhausting Fashion Month started with a remarkable show that a lot of us are going to bring back in mind for years and years to come...
   The train arrived at ten and models started disembark, followed by their porters carrying their precious leather Louis Vuitton luggages. Marc Jacobs has done a terrific job for Louis Vuitton all these past fifteen years he's been working for the label and so was this collection, too. The Stephen Jones hats, just like in the Marc Jacobs colection, just blew your mind and the oversized silhouettes reminded you of another times. The only thing that disappointed me was that, in spite of adoring the silhouettes, they were looking a lot to those at the Marc Jacobs show, still the textiles were more luxurious. Thus, the following queries have been surrounding my mind since then: Why would anyone use the same patterns for two different shows? Is it Marc Jacobs style that has invaded Louis Vuitton, or the opposite? Is it a lack of inspiration? And if so, why doesn't he quit?
   But that's just my own perspective. Some may consider it a good aspect, the creation of two slightly different versions of a single collection. However, Miuccia Prada played also with this aspect with her Miu Miu collection that took place some hours later. Though it was not the same, as what Miuccia used for both her collections was not the silhouettes, it was the 1970s' spirit  prints, those reminding of wallpapers. And of course both collections were based on pantsuits, after many years of skirts, but this is something totally different and, at the very least, we are talking about her own two labels, not her work for another label.
   As for the rest, they played more safely presenting cute, still non-innovative slim silhouettes, while the most interesting works were Masha Ma's constructive trompe-l'-oeil dresses, as well as Allude's burgundy, pashmina-belted pantsuits and Elie Saab's peplum skirtsuits.

Louis Vuitton 

Talbot Runhof

Arzu Kaprol

Allude

Miu Miu

Masha Ma

Elie Saab

Maison Rabih Kayrouz

Collette Dinnigan

Lie Sang Bong

TRIAS

Photos: various places

Futuristic Chic - Folklore Chic

Chanel  

 I'm terribly sorry for last days' ups and downs, but my life is a mess right now and I'm trying my best to keep posting as often as I can... So, today you are going to read the two last posts on Paris Fashion Week.
   On Tuesday 6th March shows started with the Queen of French Fashion, Chanel.
Karl Lagerfeld, after last fall's Interwar collection, turned to novelty this time with the highlight being the Czech Cubism-like polyhedron sleeves, inspired from the exhibition in Prague. However, they could also be inspired by the polyhedron shape of the crystals he used for the show and which have been another inspiration for him as "Nature's the greatest designer", as he stated. In addition, the tweed three-piece suits (trousers-skirt-jacket) he redesigned for this fall were as innovative and fresh as the Lesage magnificent sparkling eyebrows. As for the colours, they remained dark, despite the few unsuccessful coloured outfits.
   And while Lagerfeld was bringing Chanel to Today, Sarah Burton was working on a futuristic collection for Alexander McQueen, just to prove that Future can be beautiful. Thus, she combined totally feminine/ sweet decorated jacquard, lace, fur or large pompom dresses with sci-fi visors, continuing with grace the innovative tradition of the House. Kanye West has also been gazing the future with his first attempt to enter the fashion world and he has done well with his slim silhouettes in mostly black leather outfits, like 21st century catwomans with motorbike boots. However, he has done also well with the more feminine side of the collection, as shown by the initial salmon cape-dress.
   Alongside the futuristic inspired collections, there were others invoking the past, like Hakaans collection with the '80s references' lamés, Paco Rabanne's reinvented metal dress of Brigitte Bardot and Paul & Joe's english countryside inspired collection. Nonetheless, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's "Fire on Ice" collection with references on Iceland stood out from the crowd with the eye-catching yellow-black eagle prints and eagle heads on the shoulders.
   The real treat of the day though was Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's collection for Valentino. Folklore costumes cooperated with haute couture aesthetic and the result was a très très chic and austere collection of crafted feminine above-the-ankle-hemmed dresses and coats, fresh leather high-waist coats and jumpsuits and multicoloured folklore textiles.

Chanel

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Hakaan

Valentino

Valentino

Paco Rabanne

Paul & Joe

Alexander McQueen

Kanye West

Moncler Gamme Rouge

 
Photos: Style.com
   

Paris Fashion Week day 7

Giambatista Valli 

   The highlight of Paris Fashion Week 7th day was definitely Stella McCartney's hourglass figure, which escaped from the rest minimal styles of the collection.
   This figure brought in mind the sensuous '40s figures, but in a contemporary atmosphere, with beautiful midi knitted dresses and skirtsuits. Similar examples we saw also in Giambattista Valli's show and by Stefano Pilatti at his last collection for Yves Saint Laurent.
   On the other hand there were Chloé, with a fresh collection combining sportswear with elegant wear, and Pedro Lourenço with a two-dimensions based collection and sleek curve-patterned coats.
As for the rest, Vanessa Bruno presented a collection of minimal dresses and cosy knitted sweaters, Sacai girly knitted outfits emboidered with lace trims and Balmain's diffusion line was based on chic androgyne tuxedos...

Stella McCartney

Sacai

Giambatista Valli

Chloé

Pedro Lourenço

Vanessa Bruno

Yves Saint Laurent

Pierre Balmain

Sophia Kokosalaki

Photos: Style.com

A polyethnic nine-course dinner...

Vivienne Westwood

    Saturday has been the most anticipated day of Paris Fashion Week, not only for me but for every "Techno Couture" fan, since the day's schedule included Junya Watanabe for a starter and  Comme des Garçons for desert.
    For starter we had Kani to Kyuri no Sunomono with Junya reserving for us an interpretation of men's garderobe with masculine suits, pinstripes, Prince of Whales checks, trenchcoat-capes and of course Oxford shoes, the ingenuity of which gained the audience from the moment that the bright colour-dyed haired models entered the runway. And for desert there was Mochi by another japanese label, Comme des Garçons. Rei Kawakubo chose this time to be limited to two dimensions, producing this season's most intelligent collection. And even though her intelligence came from a condemnation of today's fashion industry, with banal patterns and fabrics, like florals, polka dots and sequins on eveningwear, it didn't stop the crowd from getting enthousiastic.
   As for the main course, it remained polyethnic with Beef Wellington being the highlight. Who else could of course be more British than Dame Viv, whose "England" collection explored the english culture from seventeenth century style to classic tweeds and pure english punk details. Indeed, the atmosphere was so english with the british flag printed tights under jewel-embellished corsets or classic checked tweed jackets.
   However, the dinner included and the necessary french cuisine touches, since it was located in Paris. The best one was the starter, a french onion soup by Haider Ackermann, who wrapped the waists into large, molded, fine worked leather belts and alongside with peplumed jackets and pencil skirts he managed to create flirtatious hourglass figures.
   Unfortunately, the main course was not a Boeuf Bourguignon, but we contented ourselves with something less. The Ratatouille of the Japanese chefs Ling Liu and Dawei Sun was my favourite french main course. The designer-duo chose to concentrate on the Twenties for their second season at Cacharel,  with cloches, tapered trousers, white tights and a lot of zigzag prints.
Viktor & Rolf's Coq au Vin was also a well executed recipe with extremely bold, breathtaking sheer dresses of black tulle, decorated with emboidered flowers or fur and pieces of fabric covering the flashpoints. Alongside the almost-nude style, there were also masculine suits and eye-catching sculptured-shaved furs, paving the way for the profiteroles.
   The profiteroles of Jean Paul Gaultier wasn't meant to give the dinner a strong french finishing touch, as the several different elements -masculine suits, graffiti-prints, lace jumpsuits and trenchcoats turned into skirts- made it seem rootless. At the very least, the multi-coloured furs would be the only positive element of the collection.

Junya Watanabe

Haider Ackermann

Tsumori Chisato

Martin Grant

Viktor & Rolf

Cacharel

Véronique Leroy

Vivienne Westwood

Comme des Garçons

Comme des Garçons 

Jean Paul Gaultier

Loewe       

Photos: Style.com

From Renaissance to today

Carven

   There was a little confusion yesterday relating to the posts on paris fashion week, as I skipped the day three collections. But I'm gonna make up today, starting with the third day in Paris.
   So, on this day prints were the highlight of most collections. From Renaissance and Baroque aesthetic to graffiti, prints flooded the catwalks. Carven's Guillaume Henry preferred the Renaissance version, while Balmain's Olivier Rousteing was inspired by Fabergé's baroque aesthetic eggs and Sharon Wauchob chose the '70s background, as many others this season. On the other hand, Balenciaga and Manish Arora suggested prints of '90s aesthetic: city lights in a space background the first and graffiti themes the second.
   However, not all the collections were print-themed. Barbara Bui launched a tuxedo-based collection with '70s influences, while A.F. Vandevorst and Rick Owens were both inspired by art for their fall collections. A.F. Vandevorst suggested a Joseph Beuys-inspired androgyne Cold War look as Rick Owens' version was more feminine, inspired by brutalism, the architectural movement, translated to feminine through Marlene Dietrich-esque chiffon dresses.
   As for Ann Demeulemeester, her collection has been one of a kind, as always, emphasising solely on the constructive part and  with the models' hair being the only decorative element on the catwalk. I have to admit that the whole collection reminded me a lot of Edward Scissorhands, in a punk version.

Balenciaga

Carven

Manish Arora

Ann Demeulemeester

Sharon Wauchob

Balmain

Barbara Bui

Rick Owens

Nina Ricci

A.F. Vandevorst

Photos: Style.com