Alexander McQueen
OK, the award for Most Completely Batshit Fucking Crazy Runway Show for Spring 2010 goes to Alexander McQueen, hands down. Truly, this collection is beyond. Really, the silhouettes here are nothing new for McQueen, but the prints, the styling, and the overall otherness of what's going on here are pretty much blowing my mind. Please feast your eyes on these fucking shoes:
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Like, no way in hell (even for a platform addict like yours truly), but amazing to look at, right? There's an obvious nature motif at play here -- butterfly, reptile, and undersea themes all took the runway in turn, and the computer-generated prints are spot on and crazy good. On a more subdued silhouette (or possibly even just styled way down), they would really be something. Kudos to Mr. McQ for doing something wild.
Chanel
Karl Lagerfeld went for a roll in the hay this season at Chanel, tricking his girls out in a sexy French country coquette thing complete with a straw-strewn dirt runway. Some of the pieces were too literal for me -- it could get a little too Swiss Miss -- but overall the clothes were surprisingly sophisticated. I especially liked the looks that didn't take the theme too seriously; the chic black skirt suit (very Maria from The Sound Of Music) to the far left about and the evening gown to the far right were standouts. But the two best dressed people on the runway weren't the models, in my opinion: surprise performer Lily Allen and Karl himself had the greatest, most covetable looks:
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Loving Lily's feathered frock, but the Casual Karl look is what I'm really into -- check out that necklace.
Collette Dinnigan
Riffing on an Alice In Wonderland theme that started off austere before her models fell down the fashion rabbit hole, Collete Dinnigan played with a lot of color this season (check out her ruffly, explosive floral prints by viewing the complete collection), but the looks the appealed to me the most were the pre- and post-Wonderland looks, rendered in a sophisticated palette of black, white, and gray, with a lot of feminine details. I love the look of the metallic pieces, and the sheer Swiss dot stockings are a cute touch, but my favorite piece is the steel gray lace maxi shown farthest to the right.
Elie Saab
Style.com put Elie Saab on blast this season, claiming the collection was cutting a little too close to Balmain territory, but in my (admittedly biased, Balmain-loving) opinion Saab's foray into Christophe Decarnin's aesthetic, which is so overreaching at this point it's hard not to riff on it, was right on. The heavily studded cocktail dresses were really good -- I especially love the look of the soft nude offset by tough gunmetal hardware -- but overall my favorite pieces, the ones that felt freshest, were the bright pixelated prints shown center above. Really cute.
Givenchy
Riccardo Tisci showed a really strong collection of looks this year, creating both graphic black-and-white prints that vibed off traditional ethnic patterns (the zig-zag skirt and blazer above are a digital riff on the keffiyeh) and chic, femme white lace pieces (the second look from the right is my personal favorite). The shapes here feel sharp and give off a little bit of a '60s mod vibe, and I love how the waists are cut a little high to make the legs look miles long.
Karl Lagerfeld
For his eponymous collection, as per usual, Karl went tougher and more rock 'n roll than at Chanel, but the clothes still feel overwhelmingly ladylike and smart -- nothing messy here. I loved his work with metal, particularly on his bubble-shouldered party dresses, and I'm really into the slightly full, rounded shape he used for shorts and skirts. As Style.com put it, the collection is metal, but it's not heavy, and (although I am a huge proponent of heaviness in metal) it really works -- playful and girly but still edgy and cool.
Only five more collections to go and we're done for the season! So sad. Coming next: Lanvin, Miu Miu, Requiem, Rick Owens, and Yves St Laurent.
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