I know some people find them kind of boring but I really love doing these runway roundups. Since starting WR2BAM almost two years ago(!) and doing these breakdowns for every season, I feel like I've expanded my knowledge of fashion exponentially. There really is something to be said for scrutinizing every look that comes down every runway if you want to consider yourself a true pupil of fashion, so I'm going to carry on. (And yes, for the few of you who might be wondering, I am compiling a post on the menswear shows for Fall 2010; it should be up within the next few days.)
Anyway, the Spring Couture shows went down in Paris earlier in the week and I always find couture collections especially exciting because they really are fashion for fashion's sake. Designers have the opportunity to throw accessibility out the window as they create works of conceptual fashion art, and it's always exciting to see what they come up with when given free reign. Here are my favorite looks from this year's Spring Couture collections:
Alexis Mabille
Alexis Mabille worked with geometry and splicing for his couture collection; as evidenced by the models' hair many of his looks involved using two colors and splitting them down the middle, already a pared-down departure from his usual froth and frippery, but I best liked the even more subdued looks in black and off-white. The wedding dress, in particular, has a spooky-ethereal quality I'm really feeling, bringing to mind concepts of otherwordliness and ancient ritual.
Anne Valérie Hash
Couture is usually reserved for seriously established houses with a lot of money to throw around on things most people won't actually wear, which is why a collection from relative newcomer Anne Valérie Hash, who has only been putting out work since 2004, is a nice surprise. If the collection looks a little wacky, like a mishmash of conflicting ideas, it's because that's what it's created from -- Hash wanted to create something about the history and memory we associate with clothes, and she wrote to several icons, designers and celebrities alike, asking for items from their wardrobe to transform. Among the pieces from which she crafted the collection: a pair of pajamas belonging to Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, Daphne Guinness' Chanel jacket, a Vivienne Westwood t-shirt from Tilda Swinton, a military coat from Pete Doherty, and so on. Taking into account the sheer love of clothes from which this collection sprung, as well as the spirit of generosity evident from these established icons as they lent a helping hand to a fledgling designer, the looks take on a whole new, and wholly more personal, meaning.
Armani Privé
Georgio Armani explained that his couture collection is "about the moon" -- well, duh! More specifically, this collection brings to my mind Erté's '20s costume designs for the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, as well as the youthful romance of the 1958 musical Gigi -- the title character adorns her hair with a similar silver crescent moon in the finale. What I especially like about this collection is how evident Armani's sense of humor is -- especially in the literal interpretation of a full lunar landscape as seen on Vlada Roslyakova, second from the right. Couldn't you see Lady Gaga taking that look and running with it, though?
Chanel
When I read that Karl Lagerfeld was proud of not having used any black for the first time in his history with Chanel for this collection, I was nervous -- you know how I love my black! -- but then the collection was heavy on gorgeous, ethereal silver and white, and I was beside myself. Style.com calls the clothes "a mix of romanticsim and space age" and that's a pretty apt description, though Karl turns up his nose at the concept of futurism: "Fashion belongs in the now."
Christian Dior
Galliano went for an aesthetic informed by the turn of the century -- the turn of the 19th century, that is, with his sexy riding clothes and layers of lace and ruffles heavily inspired by the grand dames of the 1890s. I love how his clothes always throw a wink and a nod to Dior's history (silhouettes never stray too far from the New Look), and manage to maintain a healthy dose of sexiness in spite of all the frippery.
Thimister
Before you start wondering why this collection seems so much heavier than the above, allow me to explain that Josephus Thimister, after going ten years without designing, is back on the runway this season presenting his couture collection for Fall 2010. Once upon a time Thimister was celebrated by lovers of the avant-garde, and this collection signifies a strong return. He was inspired by Russia's history of war and bloodshed, hence the smart army greens, military sashes, and smudges of red throughout, but his most arresting pieces were his incredible evening gowns, which appear to have been crafted out of whisper-thin metal -- just beautiful.
There will probably be another post on the couture collections remaining (Elie Saab and Gaultier were posted as I was working on this roundup!), so stay tuned and check out the collections for yourself here.
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1 comments:
i love the armani privé, even with those incredibly obvious moons all over everything! :) so beautiful!
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