Archive for the ‘FashionWeek’ Category
July 16, 2013
Why are Valentino collections often so up and down? I have included only the looks I loved rather the the horrors of the outfit in head to toe latte coloured satin, the bizarre skirt suit in brown or the hard ankle length dresses which would be a challenge for anyone under 5’10. The pieces below are the highlights and they are truly beautiful: gothic, romantic, wintery, like a December afternoon in the Victoria & Albert museum. Add to that the riches of double cashmere, laser cut astrakhan, rivers of crystals and seed pearls. And although I’m not a fan of the Gretel hair plait, the simple make-up was perfection.
Source: Style.com
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July 15, 2013
I love clicking through Gaultier collections, they are always so out there y0u can only look and smile. This season was all about the female as predator, more particularly a feline one, hence all the spots and stripes, the feathers worked to look like fur, the lurex lace, the striped leather, and throughout the tights in a crazy leopard print that was replicated over the hair. There was big quilting like padded armour, a sort of amazonian breastplate shape that swirled out across the shoulders, neatly cinched waists, and I loved the big collared coats and the jaunty hats. The looks came in a huge range of colours too, including red, black, purple, cream and baby blue.
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July 11, 2013
I loved this Greta Garbo/Katherine Hepburn style collection. This was old Hollywood starlet travel wear, arriving on set with 30 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage. This was for a woman as confidant in a trouser suit as she is a full gown. Entitled Nude, the collection was all sensuous elegance, with a lovely light palette and beautiful details of lace, beading and feathers. Armani at his best.
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July 11, 2013
Elie Saab is Elie Saab: beautiful beading, elegant lengths and romantic colours. It is not breaking any barriers but if you don’t look at these dresses and feel their allure, then you are a colder soul than I. These dresses are perfectly made, perfectly fitted to the body and sumptuously decorated. I love the grey and blush tones in this collection and the wine and navy make a lovely accent in this grown up fairy tale.
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July 10, 2013
Deep breath, I actually like this collection!! Unbelievable, I know, because I’m not sure I’ve ever said that of a Chanel collection before. In the show he mixed it up with a background of a cityscape that was mythical and futuristic at the same time and clothes that reflected this in period details vying with 3D effects. Surprisingly it worked, and minus the usual odd model choices I loved the black, grey and white tones, the cool hats which are an original idea to me, and the coats which looked flattering and desirable.
Source: Style.com
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July 4, 2013
There has been a lot of talk in the fashion press about the future for couture, with the money moving from Russia to the Far East and with the ever present pressure to promote a brand and be in the spotlight rather in the more exclusive and subtle shadow. For me this shift is epitomised by Raf Simons, for whom this collection’s buzz word ‘Freedom’ meant carte blanche for a free for all of styles and cultural references that was not couture in the classic sense. Some people will applaud this but not me. There were some really unredeemable dresses shown: the full fur one particularly stands out, as does the full length white dress which looks like an undergraduate end of term effort. For all his avowed homage to the house of Dior, I fail to see the understanding of its history, quality or signature class. The staging against the slide show of stills from the collection may have been interesting, but I really didn’t like the crop of models they used for this show at all, and it makes the ‘firing’ of Jourdan Dunn for her unacceptable bra size seem all the more odd. I didn’t like the long gloves either, nor the one earring look; is this Paris’s best effort for the runway?
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July 4, 2013
It’s no surprise that this collection, despite being a return to couture, is all about the Versace fascination with the body beneath the clothes. There was a lot of skin on show, and when it wasn’t skin it was underwear, and when it was actual clothes it was with seams that traced the contours of the models as they walked. Pleasingly the sensual tailoring had a cool deconstructed edge to it with torn shoulders and asymmetrical lines. The palette was maroon, midnight blue, silver, dirty red, all wonderfully sultry and autumnal, and the mixture of leather, lace and tulle made it modern and intriguing. It could have been a sombre affair but Versace’s typical sexy allure made sure it didn’t get too dark.
Source: Style.com
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January 29, 2013
Flicking through a Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection is a yearly pleasure. Always interesting, inventive, often provocative, it’s everything I look for in a couture show. It won’t please everybody but I liked the way it moved from Spanish references to eighties shoulders, to cowgirl fringing, to Paris boudoir, to Bollywood. It’s theatre, refreshingly irreverent and just a little crazy.
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January 29, 2013
The beginning of this show had potential with the unimaginable amounts of hand-rolled piping creating wrought iron patterns over sheers but then went too quickly into rich little convent girl formality before descending into the predictable flowery, floaty, unremarkable dresses that for me have come to define Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli as the head designers of this company. Where you would have picked out a Valentino dress for its grownup sexy sophistication, now you do the same for something that is confusingly girly-matron.
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January 28, 2013
This collection was dramatic and chic. It has a Silk Route feel, with a possible narrative of the rich well-travelled woman with an outfit for every Sultan she meets along the way. The stick-toggle that was referenced throughout, apparently as some sort of sceptre, was used very imaginatively, suggestively barely holding a jacket together in one look, securing a dress on the collar or twisting a skirt at the waist. The reds, greys and black were sophisticated, if a little dark for spring and the jewellry was incredible… I can see this collection being used for editorials and red carpet which is the perfect combination.
Source: Style.com
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Valentino Couture Paris 2013 A/W
July 16, 2013Why are Valentino collections often so up and down? I have included only the looks I loved rather the the horrors of the outfit in head to toe latte coloured satin, the bizarre skirt suit in brown or the hard ankle length dresses which would be a challenge for anyone under 5’10. The pieces below are the highlights and they are truly beautiful: gothic, romantic, wintery, like a December afternoon in the Victoria & Albert museum. Add to that the riches of double cashmere, laser cut astrakhan, rivers of crystals and seed pearls. And although I’m not a fan of the Gretel hair plait, the simple make-up was perfection.
Source: Style.com
Posted in Fashion Commentary, FashionShows, FashionWeek, Photography | Leave a Comment »