Haute Couture | Twenty Three

Chanel

Let’s start with Chanel, shall we? Why? Because it was on a plane that’s why.

Yes, the show today was on a plane. Only Karl could think of a way to top the banquet tables laden with fruit and candles and Chanel trains of Pre-Fall. Yes, he put this show on a plane. Of course, not just any plane (it should be mentioned that the plane did not actually fly, nor where there bags of ~~peanuts~~ pretzels passed around), but a Chanel plane, which took five days to construct. Whoever can take longer to put up a fashion show set deserves an award.

The setting turned out to be perfect for the clothes, which seemed to have been infused with some 1960’s PanAm stewardessness. A little boxy and a little mod, with sculptural necklines and weirdly amazing pockets on dresses with elongated proportions. Well, the shorter, day dresses were like that. The longer ones, and the more ornate cocktail dresses were quintessential Chanel, all in shades of blue, 150, to be exact. (I wonder what this means for the next nail colors? Will they be blue?) Here there was more beading, more shine, more sheer, more glam, and more pockets. The glamour of Haute Couture was there will full force, and still with innovative necklines and interesting shapes. The jewels, however, seem to have fallen from the dresses and onto the models legs. A product of gravity, perhaps? How cheeky.

ok, moving on from The Kaiser…

Armani Privé

If anyone has embraced the neon/acid/chartreuse green thing more than Armani did with this couture collection, please let me know. Not that it’s bad, I actually am loving this color. There were a lot of suits, both with skits, egg-shaped, and trousers, slim, and of course the dresses everyone loves to wear on the red carpet (how fortunate that the Oscar nominations were just released, right before the show, as it seems from Jessica Chastain’s phone call.) Mr. Armani’s inspiration was ‘metamorphosis’- (think Kafka) which seems appropriate given all the iridescents and greens. More confusing were the spirally head things… His show also went through a process, a metamorphosis so to speak, of it’s own- from shiny suits to some bug looking creation to some reptiles showing up to feed on the bugs (that part is made up, by me.) Interesting clothing, though a little hit-and-miss, and some nice Oscar dresses, don’t you think, Jessica?

Looks a little Balmain, no?

Oh look, more croc.

Wait…is this the part where the models turn into bugs? Taking the inspiration a little far, aren’t we?

The reptiles have arrived to eat the bugs

Givenchy

Oh, don’t we just all love Givenchy? Riccardo Tisci can do no wrong, really, especially in his couture, which always has some of the most exquisite pieces from all the couture shows. This season, he went a bit darker, much darker, in fact. But the non-whiteness of the clothes didn’t make them any less beautiful. I fact, it was sort of refreshing to see him do something so dark for Couture. His inspiration came from two 1920’s films, making it clear where the art-deconess of it all came from. Though neither films were related to bugs, his models, with their giant nose adornments, almost looked like them. Maybe he and Giorgio conferenced on ~~colors~~ inspirations. A bit should be said about the crocodile (seriously, everyone is lovin this shit right now) which was, for a long and clingy dress, cut into the individual scales, numbered, belched, dyed, and resewn one by one onto a tulle body stocking. While Karl was busy erecting his plane with his free 350 hours, Tisci was busy making one of the most beautiful dresses he’s ever made (until next season, at least). I’ll be honest and say I don’t understand the basketballs, but maybe that came from one of his movies. Let’s all run and watch them now, then maybe we can understand too.

Now, there are some things to be said about the not-as-big-name-couturies…

Alexandre Vauthier

A ‘younger’ couturier (he debuted in 2009), his collection was quite the mix of crisp tailoring and draping. A little Calvin Klein, a little Halston, a little fur, fringe, and shine. While not totally cohesive, his clothing was beautiful and clean, and I do hope someone decides to take a risk on the red carpet and wear that shiny sequined-y tux like suit. Or, at the very least, one of those gold collars, which cover up the décolletage quite nicely (how excellent for preventing sunburns).

ooh..shiny!

Karl, are you missing a piece?

During the winter, you will be freezing, but at least your shoulders will be toasty. Or, during the summer, you will be nice and cool, save for your shoulders.

Iris van Herpen

Sculptured pieces rocked the runway at Iris van Herpen, a dutch designer known for creating costumes for Lady Gaga and interning at Alexander McQueen, and it shows. Her techy dresses are made on photoshop, then with the help of an arhictect, and probably there is some other magic in their as well. The result is dresses that indeed look like pieces of architecture rather than dress, which are definitely cool, and, unless you are Gaga, definitely unwearable. But those shoes would be great ice picks for those who want to stay fashionable and still be able to walk in the snow.

Shiny. Bug. Armani. Kafka. What? Just listing associations here.

This is wear your old cassette tapes go.

Stephane Rolland

While everyone else was focusing on how the could all do green, Stephane Rolland was focused on red, white, black, and..oh, and green, he did green too. An interesting choice in a collection with red, but it somehow worked, through sculptural dresses with sculptural sculptures coming off of them. There was little embellishment or bedazzling, refreshing, for couture, save for the case of a white dress with orange and red flames coming up from the bottom- no one can say the sparkle wasn’t beautiful in that dress.

This also could be titled:

“Why is everyone so into flowers and giant headpieces and giant flower headpieces?”

I don’t usually do a lot of fashion-show-reviewing, since there are so many other people that do that, and probably do it better. However! Couture time is my most favorite time of the year, and the clothes are too beautiful (usually) to not review. So I shall. And if you don’t want to read my opinion, then just look at the pretty pictures.

Up First: Versace

While everyone else has been busy freaking out about Versace for H&M, Donatella has been busy freaking out over her new Atelier Versace show (I use the term freaking out loosely, I’m sure she was not, by any means, freaking out in the same way the public did for what she did at H&M). Atelier Versace is nothing new, Angelina Jolie made sure we knew that at the Golden Globes last week. But there has not been a couture show in Paris since 2004, and for the first one in 8 years, Donatella did a good job. Quintessentially Versace, with the right mix of sportiness and sexiness. Lines were exaggerated with the help of some sort of metal something, which brought a little 80’s back into it. Colors ranged from a subtle light grayish-purple to neon yellows, oranges, and greens, and of course, some gold. Though these dresses are meant more for a red carpet than a runway, and the shoes were a bit chunky, the presentation was still a fabulous return to the Paris Couture Shows.

This, um, piece, though not a red-carpet-worthy dress, is awesome if only because of Lindsey Wixson’s pose. Which almost redeems her falling on her last Versace runway.

Alexis Mabille

I am a big fan of Alexis Mabille, particularly in his couture collections. But this couture season around, my eyes got so distracted by the ginourmous poufs of a flower on top of the models head, which was painted the same color as the flower, which was the same color as the outfit. I commend him for really going into the whole color thing head on (literally) but I found the headwear to be too distracting and the face paint a little jarring. Once I got over that though, I did like what he did, especially seeing as he used basically no black or white in the show, which is pretty impressive. Looking at all the outfits together, it looks like a big, fashionable rainbow, which is not something we see a lot, especially in couture. My love of the color aside, I wasn’t too fond of all the shiny fabrics, or fond of some of the more matte fabrics either, and some of the dresses I found a little overdone. But the clothing was still beautiful, and those colors still dazzling.

I’m super loving this color.

Save for the lace at the bottom, I sort of like this.

Christophe Josse

Christophe Josse has been quietly working in couture since the early 2000’s, first as assistants at various houses, then showing couture under his own name in July 2005. In January 2006 the designer was invited by the Chmabre Syndicale de la Haute Couture (or, the lawmakers of couture) to show during the official Haute Couture shows, but only as an “invited member”. At this time last year, the federation promoted him from guest member to permanent member, which allows his brand to bear the exclusive “haute Couture” label. (Side Note: as I’m sure we all know, being a couturier under french law is extremely difficult, as they have such rigid standards).

His show today was full of black and white and pink and purple and little cocktail dresses and floating, beautifully draped fabrics and stiffer fabrics and some shininess and some draping and some structure and some longer gowns and some sheer panels and green and yellow and ponies and rainbows and unicorns. The clothing, while so beautiful, was a little all over the place. There were gorgeous flowing gowns in all colors, including one purple and white printed number, which didn’t really seem to fit in, though it was one of my favorite pieces. Some dresses were a little stiffer, more structure and tailored. There was one that looked like tinsel. There was a light blue number with pockets and jewels (one of only a few dresses to use gems) and another light blueish number strangely reminiscent of McQueen in terms of technique, silhouette, and decoration. The clothing, again, was beautiful, but the collection was a little to small to showcase such a wide range; the pieces jumped from one to the next instead of flowing smoothly. But I would wear about half of the collection, even if it doesn’t go together all at once.

Christophe Josse photos from nymag.com

Dior

To say Dior’s first post-Galliano show was a little bit of a disaster is putting it mildly, but Bill Gaytten’s success this season almost makes up for it. After Galliano was dismissed with little time left before the couture show, the responsibility fell to Bill Gaytten, who, after working under Galliano for 16 years, would presumably know how to do things. However the result was not a good one, and Dior is pretty hard to mess up. The silhouettes and shapes are so ingrained in the minds of the fashion world that it is nearly impossible to think of Dior without thinking of those silhouettes originally created by Christian Dior himself back in 1947. Perhaps it was this old knowledge that allowed the fashion world to see past the theatrics of the show and still love Dior, giving Gaytten another chance at stepping up to the plate of couture.

And it’s a good thing they did (well, it’s not like there was much of a choice, as no replacement for Galliano has been found thus far). Gaytten brought Dior Couture back to it’s roots with a bang, or in this case, an x-rated bang. The full skirts and fitted tops were back. The crazy prints, extra fabric, and geometric head things were gone, and in their place stood the classic silhouettes and ladylike beauty of the Dior we all know and love, but with a saucy twist. Sheer fabrics gave a glimpse inside the clothes, showing their machinery (and the models machinery as well). Past the sheerness though, were beautiful, classic clothes brought up to date a bit. Gaytten’s collection had the feeling of a designer who has just shown his first show at a new house, when he works more cautiously and takes less risks than he might in the future. A promising ‘start’, he left the fashion world wondering just what’s going to happen next.

It should be said that this is not real crocodile, but ostrich skin irregularly cut and hand sewn to organdy and tulle.

Giambattista Valli

For the label’s second couture show, I’d say job very well done. Sophisticated, clean, lady-like, polished, and beautiful are all words that come to mind when thinking of this collection. Though mostly black and white, the textures made it seem as though it had more than just a handful of colors. (Though the flowers did bring about all-too-recent memories of his first couture collection, which could be a positive or negative thing…)The mix of said textures was incredible, between the lace and the flowers and the sparkles and the patent leather, there was no shortage of black and white excitement. Not to discredit the ‘simpler’ pieces, in fact, some of the most successful outfits, were only one color, but they still stood out for their shapes and materials. There was a hint of naughtiness (perhaps he and Bill Gaytten conferenced and decided that now was the time to show underpinnings, for if not now, when?) in the sheer materials and black panties, but the effect was chic instead of cheap, a hard thing to achieve with visible underwear. But Valli did it, and did it well.