Domestic miss...

Balenciaga

If Ikea were to make clothes, what would they look like? That question could definitely have been what led Nicolas Ghesquiere to create the collection he showed for Fall Winter 2010. If you've ever shopped at Ikea, you'll have no trouble conjuring at least a vague image in your mind; bright, pop-y colors, lots of plastic and other synthetic textures, and a huge dose of mid-century modern decor. Throw all of that into a blender and that's sort of what you're looking at with the clothes. At first the whole thing comes off as another one of Ghesquiere's explorations of technology and futurism, but once you know that he was, in fact, looking a items in a home like formica cabinets, kitchen supplies, and even sleeping bags, that ends up being exactly what you see. The opening cocoon coats in patchworks of techno fabric and shaggy fur brought to mind the inside of a microwave. The colorblocked knitted dresses or peplum tops looked straight out of a late 60s kitchen. A trio of sweaters worn with geometric jacquard mini skirts almost looked like machine-mad afghans, while two top/skirt combos looked like high-tech crocheted doilies. Several looks fused a top with either narrow quilted pants or a mini skirt, the top unzipping like a sleeping bag to reveal prints that were a like a collage of magazine clippings and road maps or, with the skirts, a puffy down coat . They were probably the most interesting looks in the collection because they simply defy description or categorization. I can't even tell if they're a single piece or separates, let alone how they're built and how they work. And finally there were three dresses in fabric that looks like packaging peanuts, printed with those same magazine/map collages. That's the best I can do as far as describing the bubbling, grid-like fabric.

At this point I still don't know whether or not I really like this collection. For sure it's one of the most unusual and technologically advanced collections that has been, or will be for that matter, shown this season. But whereas last season Ghesquiere used the incredible techniques that have become his trademark to create easy to comprehend clothing, this season the result is much more challenging. What struck me about this was the combination of very familiar silhouettes with cutting edge technique. The shapes aren't anything unusual, they're mainly straight, kind of boxy, and very Balenciaga, but the textures, fabrics and the way they're combined renders these clothes completely new. The almost chemically bright pastels and primary colors that are used only add to the boldness of the clothes. As with any of Ghesquiere's collections there is so much to look at here, and when it comes to pictures the higher the resolution the better, but honestly it leaves me a little cold. It interests me, that's sort of a given, and I always appreciate the vision that Ghesquiere puts forth. But there really isn't any emotional tug for me, no feeling of true excitement, no jolt of electricity. Since the two collections have quite a bit in common, I can't help but compare this and spring and for whatever reason I prefer that collection to this one. I think it might have achieved the mix of the familiar with the advanced better, and ultimately it was filled with familiar clothes that were amped up to become something more. By comparison this feels almost stuck in concept mode.

all images from style.com

The agony and the ecstacy...

When I had heard that Jennifer Connelly would be appearing in a Balenciaga campaign for the second time, I wasn't exactly jumping for joy. Given David Sims track record as the photographer of Balenciaga's campaigns since 2002, the resulting campaign thoroughly sucked, and seemed to rely solely on the fact that there was a famous face starring in it, as opposed to actually doing anything interesting with that famous face. But for F/W 2009 Ghesquiere enlisted a new lensman, Steven Meisel. That gave me hope, though not much.

My ambivalence about it only grew once I saw the first image. It was kind of awkward, the colors were dull, and the hair and makeup team took the striking Ms. Connelly and ruined her. Reclining on a chaise with fried, semi-teased hair and smudgy burgundy eyes she looked like the drunken aftermath of a Valley of the Dolls theme party. So I wrote the entire campaign off as a failure (having only seen the first image, but I'm like that) and didn't think much more about it. A few weeks later I happened to pop into the thread on tFS and the newest image posted did more than just catch my eye. Jennifer was sprawled on the floor, gripping the chaise which had toppled over, and her face was tilted back in a look that was somewhere between ecstasy and pain (the good kind, obviously) . I liked it. A lot actually. So much so that I wanted to see more. Now the whole campaign has been unveiled, and even though it's not perfect, there is some gorgeous going on.

First off, the girl can pose. Some of what she's doing looks intensely uncomfortable, but you'd never guess it by looking at her face, and I'd expect nothing less of an Oscar winner. The poses are really the most striking thing about the campaign. They're just not the kind of thing you see every day in fashion photography. I also love the rich, warm color of the set. Coupled with the lighting, the whole image has a beautiful painterly feel to it. I'm guessing that's the point here actually, because some of the seemingly random props (a guitar, a bust, unrolled bolts of silk draped across the furniture) are the kinds of things you would see in renaissance or baroque portraiture.

Of course with the good comes the bad, starting with hair and makeup; it's just wrong. I can see what they were going for, but it looks like the screwed up, beauty school version of it. Plus, I just don't think that smokey eyes suit Jennifer very well. It's not her look. I'm also a little disappointed in the styling. They neglected some of the more striking looks in the collection, instead picking some of the duller pieces from a lineup that was extremely rich and colorful. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a firm believer in the collection itself, but I do think there were much more photogenic pieces in it to choose from than some of the ones seen here. I also think the lack of variety in the looks and colors that they chose, focusing mainly on the blurry, streaky prints in muted colors from the second half of the collection, ends up taking away from the individuality of each image. In the end it's a solid campaign that has a lot going for it, but just misses the mark on being really good. It has, however, made me far less cynical about the whole celebrity-as-model thing. I wouldn't have thought that possible.

all photos from Balenciaga.com

Back to the future...

Well, Paris Fashion Week is officially underway and yesterday, the second day of shows, was the real start to the excitement with not one, not two, but three of the most highly anticipated collections on the fashion calendar each season. Balenciaga, Balmain and Nina Ricci all showed today and with these collections, the 80s redux was firmly cemented as the message of the season. Even if the week continues and no other designer hints at the 80s, it won't matter, especially since the god-among-mortals Nicolas Ghesquiere has ditched his vision of the future for a vision of the past.

Balenciaga

To be completely honest I wasn't sure what to expect from Balenciaga this season. Ghesquiere was one of the first designers to begin bringing back shoulder pads, and has since left them for other things, so I can't say I was expecting him to get on the 80s bandwagon. And on top of that, his last few collections have been so forward in terms of the ideas. Even when his inspiration was coming from the past (and it usually does) the clothes always look towards the future. That's always been his thing. Last season in fact, the clothes on the runway looked so far ahead that they seemed almost unrelatable to the here and now, which is fine in concept, but leaves the racks in Balenciaga boutiques kind of bare. So as I said, I didn't know what to expect, but I do know what I was hoping Ghesquiere would do. Given that this season is shaping up to be about two major messages so far, the 80s and post-apocalyptic futurism, I had hoped that Ghesquiere would deliver an incredible take on the latter. It's a completely logical step when you think about it. You take the brightly colored, shiny pod people from last season, imagine some sort of natural or man made disaster and presto; the techno pod people become a tribe of survivors in a desolate future.

But sadly that was not to be. Instead what Ghesquiere produced was something that was pretty commercial (which could come as a releif to people) and pretty retro (which could be a disappointment). The inspiration seemed to be mid 80s-era Saint Laurent, all rounded shoulder pads, colorful prints, puff sleeves and tulip skirts. Of course, that's slightly oversimplifying it. The main direction of the collection was softness and draping, which completely replaced Ghesquiere's signature scapel-cut tailoring and stiffened silhouettes. The collection began with a trio of dresses, each of them with a smooth, fitted long sleeve bodice in tweed, a dropped waistband in tightly pleated satin and a heavily draped short skirt in satin that formed a somewhat round shape around the hips. As a silhouette it was kind of interesting, and the draping on the skirts was perfectly done, but as I said, it was heavy looking. There is a point when using draping to construct a garment when it begins to look torturously worked, and these skirts all passed that point. Those looks then morphed in dresses that had the look of a silk puff sleeves blouse worn tucked into a draped skirt. Worn underneath were lacey badeau bras that were exposed by the deep plunging neckline. In colors like creamy beige paired with pale pink and icy gray with lavender they were definitely some of the more overtly feminine clothes I've ever seen from Ghesquiere. Those then moved into pants outfits that paired smoking jackets with drapery worked into the chest, waist or hip area worn over heavily draped sarouel type pants. The jackets were actually quite pretty, and between their belted waists and fuller hips, they had a great hourglass shape. I could see them looking flattering paired with a slim skirt or narrow trousers. Then, just as the draped, colorblocked satin was getting to be too much, out came two wrap dresses made of sheared mink worked onto knit fabric, an extremely luxe take on a wardrobe staple.

Up until now the 80s vibe had been pretty minimal and then came a beacon of hope that Ghesquiere hadn't lost his touch; an ivory silk puff sleeve blouse with a sharp black tulip skirt trimmed in satin with a leather waistband. Paired with gold cuffs at the wrist and a lacey bandeau bra it was a very sexy look; chic, a bit 80s, but still contemporary enough to be worn today.

Unfortantely my enthusiasm over that look was short lived, because after it came a deluge of blurry, splattered print dresses. For the most part, they all came with some kind of accentuated shoulder, whether by use of a pad or due to a puff shape, and they were all draped, ruched, pleated and wrapped. Now, if the draped satin pieces at the beginning of the show looked a bit heavy, they at least had a very discernable shape to them. It was impossible to make out the silhouette of these printed pieces because between the busy prints and the busy detailing it all wound up looking like a shapeless blur of color. On top of that, they looked retro. Now, I'm not old enough to remember what YSL was doing in the mid 80s first hand, but I'm definitely old enough to have fleeting memories of the YSL inspired dresses that my female relatives wore during that era and I can tell you that from what I remember, these dresses shown today look pretty familiar. That's not to say some of them weren't pretty. Two beaded V-neck numbers both with a black and white splatter pattern, one in cobalt blue the other in jade green, were simple and conteporary enough that I could see them working with different styling. But even still, except for the beading they could easily be by Diane von Furstenburg. Ghesquiere did relent from the colored dresses a bit, sending out an all black ruched jersey number with a leather belt on Chanel Iman, a sharp black smoking jacket worn open over one of those lacey bandeaus with great gray and black striped trousers, and some printed tops and jackets with more variations on that sharp, straight cut trouser. Unfortunately though those looks were too few and far between, and by the time I saw pictures of them I had already started to feel like I hated the collection.

That opinion hasn't changed yet. Hate is a strong word, and under most circumstances I would probably just say that I disliked or was disappointed by a collection. But in this instance, the collection being Balenciaga and the expectations being that much higher than they are for most designers, I'm going to stick with hate. While it's decidedly more wearable in conventional terms than anything Ghesquiere has put on his runway since F/W 07, as well as being more traditionally feminine, it's completely lacking the vision one associates with Balenciaga. Ghesquiere has shown that he can combine concept with clothing to make modern fashion that is easy to picture on flesh and blood women, notably with his fall collection from last year, so this is just a complete head scratcher. But more than that, more than not having the creativity one normally gets from him, this is just lacking in the technique. Draping is clearly not what Ghesquiere does well, and while you could applaud him for pushing himself into an area where he's not normally drawn, you could also ask why the hell he would abandon everything he and the house are known for at a time like this. And what gets me most is that almost everything that's contained in this collection, bold prints and colors, exaggerated shoulders, 80s influences, has been done by Ghesquiere in the past with much, much better results!

Who knows, maybe the risk of doing something unexpected will pay off. Maybe this collection will end up growing on me and maybe hell will freeze over. But I have my doubts.

Balmain

Sequins, studs, shoulder pads, leather and lots of leg, it could only be a Balmain collection (well, maybe not anymore since for three weeks designers have been using all of those elements in force). Christophe Decarnin's brand of 80s inflected trashy glam party clothes has proved to be one of the most influential trends of late. Though I tend to think that people give him too much credit at times, making it sound like he invented sparkly micro-minis and shoulder padded jackets, he does deserve credit for being at the forefront of their ressurection. I'm sure that my comments about the label make it sound like I hate it, and really, that's not the case. While I do hate how worshipped Balmain is, and how hypocritical it is that so many people that would criticize designers like Roberto Cavalli and Donatella Versace for sending out clothes that look very, very similar fawn all over Balmain like it's the most amazing thing they've ever seen, I do understand the appeal of the clothes. They're fun, and they don't require a detailed explaination of what they're all about. But still, that doesn't explain why they're worshipped the way they are.

Here's the catch though, at this point Decarnin has basically been sending out the exact same collection with a slightly different twist since he began. It's always got a popular music inspiration, the skirts are always short, the jackets are always sharp and it's always styled in a supposedly off-hand, cool way, i.e. minimal makeup, wash and go hair, and a slinky t shirt half tucked into whatever pants Decarnin is showing for that season. Bottom line, it's become a forumla. You can pretty much predict what a Balmain collection will look like each season. The only reason more people aren't bitching about that yet is because Balmain is having a huge moment. The 80s are back in full force, the Vogue Paris crew are the darlings of every blog dedicated to street style, thus every "hip" fashion acolyte dies over it, and celebs are catching onto the Balmain buzz now too. But what happens when things get old? Does Decarnin have anything else to offer besides overpriced 80s inflected party clothes? Does he even have any aspirations to take the Balmain image and expand on it? I have no idea, but I'll tell you this, with the 80s comeback at it's crux this fashion season, it's only a matter of time before what's hip now is rejected in favor of something else. Such is the nature of fashion. And when that time comes, it might not be so easy for Balmain to continue riding this wave of success. In a strange way that time may very well have begun as far as Balmain is concerned.

Decarnin continued with the 80s MTV inflected spirit he started pushing last season, and even though some of the pieces may as well have been leftovers from spring, the collections couldn't be more different. While spring was definitely tacky and trashy, I think it succeeded in not looking like garbage. It looked expensive, not as expensive as it actually is, but definitely at a higher level than the Zara and Topshop knockoffs. This season I'm afraid, the same cannot be said. The show really didn't start out on a promising note. The first look out was a loose sparkly black top with sharp pagoda shoulders and a loosely tied bow at the neck paired with hideous (beaded???) drapey zouave pants tucked into moon boots a la Napoleon Dynamite, but with a stiletto heel. The Balmain look has always been body conscious, so it's a mystery to me why Decarnin decided to cover a body in soggy, shapless glitter. A leather jacket with those same pagoda shoulders worn over a white t shirt with skinny black capris was a cute look, if a little bit Rizzo from Grease. Seriously though, you could get the entire look for much less elsewhere, and I don't just mean from high street retailers. Some of the leather jackets from the spring collection are retailing for close to $5,000 US, so I'm guessing that jacket will be around the same price. Considering that you could get two full priced Rick Owens leather jackets for that kind of money, you'd have a hard time convincing me to buy it even in the best economic climate. As for the denim capris, they're cute, but so not worth the price. There was a black long sleeved dress covered in grommets that was cool enough, but honestly, I liked the ones that Cavalli showed last week much better, and they'll probably be less money. After that came the only shot of color in the all black, white and silver collection; cobalt blue. The dress in that color was straight up ice capades; one shouldered with a sleeve, covered in contrasting bands of sequins with a giant ruffle running across the top. I don't care how cool the label has become or how many Vogue Paris issues feature it on their pages, the dress is ugly and extremely cheap looking.

There were some off the shoulder and sleeveless minidresses worn with a single sleeve that were right out of a Bangles music video, high waisted crystal covered mini skirts and truly the most heinous thing in the collection, MC Hammer pants that were split down the front to show off some leg. There were also two sequined mini skirts, one in black, one in cobalt with industrial zippers down the front which begged the question "who would be stupid enough to pay for that when you could find the exact same thing in Topshop?". Seriously, they didn't look even remotely expensive. Two spacey mini dresses with sharp panels sticking out at the shoulders or hips covered in bands or triangles of crystal mesh were a skosh too drag queen for my taste, and jumpsuits with those hideous zouave pants or mini dresses with huge ruffled trains weren't much better as far as I'm concerned.

Overall this collection feels like Decarnin has let the coolness go to his head and has taken things a step too far while at the same time making the clothes look crappy. And the constant comparisons to Gianni Versace that both critics and acolytes are throwing around are really starting to bother me because a) Gianni Versace's clothes were revolutionary and therefore helped to define not on the look of the era when he came to fame, but also helped to define an entire aesthetic and b) because Gianni Versace's clothes weren't so one dimensional. There was thought involved in the designs, as well as a range in what he created. Like I said, I really think this collection will set some change in motion. It's not new and exciting any more, and this collection seems very self-consciously cool rather than genuinely so. That's what really sets the greats apart from the flash-in-the-pan types. Designers like Tom Ford, Miuccia Prada, Nicholas Ghesquiere and Marc Jacobs have managed to, if not extend that moment when their coolness is at it's height, then at least build upon that moment by knowing exactly when to change gears. I just hope that when the time comes for things to shift, that Cristohphe is prepared to offer us more than bedazzled minidresses.

Nina Ricci

Perhaps the last person anyone would have expected to be channeling the 80s this season is Olivier Theyskens at Nina Ricci, which is perhaps why I'm still not quite able to get my head around the collection he showed for F/W 09, rumored to have been his last. For a few months now, rumors have been going around that Theyskens was in trouble due to the poor reception his S/S 09 collection received with buyers. The suits at Puig (the company that owns Nina Ricci) had denied the rumors, but still they circulated. Now with this collection, which some weren't sure would even be shown, the word is that Theyskens has already been replaced and is only sticking around until his contract expires in October. But unbeknownst to the management, his collection would be extremely well received, if commercially, then at least critically. Perhaps in response to the blade hanging over his head, or perhaps just wanting to do something different to push himself, Theyskens delivered a collection that can only be described as being the exact opposite of his previous work at Nina Ricci; very structured, very dramatic and very bold.

According to Theyskens, he wanted to express a nocturnal mood, and I can see that in places. The largely black palette with occasional pops of color and glitter like neon signs in a city at night, a jacket that looked like wet pavement with those neon signs reflected off the surface, beading that looked like the night sky, but that's really all I got from it. If there was some sort of deeper meaning to the "nocturnal" elements of the collection, it went over my head. Balanced on huge platform boots (we're talking a good 6 1/2 inches) that had no heels whatsoever, the first looks out recalled Mugler during his late 80s heyday of big shoulders, sharp lines and plenty of drama. A black wool jumpsuit was worn over a black tulle turtleneck with a sprinkle of beading on the arms and a helmet on the models' head. It perfectly demonstrated the point of the ridiculous and honestly quite hideous footwear, to create the longest line possible. Between the use of all black, the fact that the jumpsuit was one unbroken piece and that the pants had a flare towards the hem, it made the model look bizarrely long and lean, very much like how designers draw their sketches. Then came a beaded mini dress paired with a cropped jacket that huge rounded sleeves and padded shoulders. It made for an interesting shape on the runway, but I doubt if many women want to look like they have the arms of a steroid junkie. There was a black mini dress with the hem dipped in teal glitter, sharp jackets and skirt suits with exaggerated points and swoops a la Mugler, full pleated trousers, beaded tunics and mini dresses, sculpted bodysuits in metallic pewter and a beaded catsuit worn with a corseted leather jacket. And that was only the first half of the lineup.

From there things moved into eveningwear, which is what Theyskens has become known for best at Nina Ricci. Ever since he sent Reese Witherspoon to the Oscars in a royal purple tiered organza mermaid gown he has specialized in fantasy evening pieces, from sculpted gowns covered in white ostrith feathers, pleated metallic ballgowns, Pre-Raphaelite empire dresses in the colors of autumn leaves, or ruffled Victorian inspired chiffon. This season however, there would be none of that soft-focus romanticism. Instead, Theyskens sent out gowns with molded shoulders and hips covered in beads, strapless gowns with dropped hems in the back that had scrolling edges built on boning in shades like teal, inky purple and one in an iridescent blue/copper color that looked like an oil slick, ruffled floral patterned lame mixed with a nude bodice and even an iridescent inky blue/violet taffeta pantsuit. The scrolling hems built out with boning did hark back to his work at Rochas, though the effect couldn't be more different. Whereas those gowns were about capturing an old world couture sensibility, these were more graphic and aggressive in spirit. Like some of the other looks in the collection, they definitely had a bit of a Mugler feel to them, though not in a very literal way. It was more in the overall drama and severity that they exuded.

While the reviews from the critics have so far been extremely positive, reviews from the fans on the Fashion Spot (which can sometimes offer a better look at things than the pros do) were more mixed. Some people loved it, some people hated it, and some people, like me, don't know what the hell to make of it. I'm still trying to decide if my unease about it is due mostly to the fact that this is so unexepected for Theyskens or if I really just dislike the clothes on their own. I'm definitely leaning towards the former though, because there are some things I like in this collection, namely a lot of the jackets. But as it stands, this just isn't the Olivier Theyskens I know. It's not like his work at Ricci has been, it's not like his work at Rochas was, and it's not like his namesake collection was either. So at the current moment, I'm more perplexed than anything else. The collection may grow on me in time, or it may just make for an impactful last collection from Olivier at Nina Ricci (should the rumors prove to be true). If the rumors turn out not to be true, or if the suits at Puig change their minds because of the way this collection is received, I'd be very interested to see where Theyskens will go from here. One thing is for sure though, this collection is bound to make for some great photographs come summer.

Video: Balenciaga Spring Summer 2009...

So, the sound quality is a little effed up, for reasons unknown on the Balenciaga website, but still, the visual is pretty amazing. This is definitely one of the most brilliant shows I've ever seen, up there with practically everything that Galliano and McQueen did back in the 90's. I definitely emphasize the word show here, however. Granted, it would hardly have the same effect if a bunch of LBD's and Oscar gowns were parading down the catwalk instead of the cyber suits and reflective dresses, but after seeing this video I think I've figured out why this collection didn't slam me in the gut as I had hoped. The clothes just aren't the most exciting factor.

Is it just me, or are the flashing lights a bit like Space Mountain at Disney World?

The rundown....

The Spring/Summer 2009 collections are probably not destined to be among the most memorable collections in recent seasons, and that was bound to be the case. Overall this season was defined from the start in New York by a sense of precariousness. During the Fall/Winter collections all you heard about was an impending recession which could account not only for the overwhelming amount of black clothing, but also the overall theme of the season; asserting power. Unfortunately, with the recession becoming a reality and a financial crisis arising half way through the show schedule, that message of power just didn't carry over into the the collections for S/S 09.

It has me thinking about the last time fashion was affected by major life changing world events. The Fall/Winter 2003 collections were marred by the ongoing threat of war between the U.S. and Iraq (not to mention the international controversy this created) with the U.S. declaring war not long after the collections came to a close. When you're forced to think about the cold, hard reality of things, fashion loses a lot of it's importance. But the interesting thing is that either in spite of, or perhaps even as a result of these issues, many designers delivered really strong, confident and directional collections. Maybe it was simply an attempt to lure in customers with exciting fashion. Maybe it was a collective realization that fashion does serve a purpose in tough times, the same purpose that glamorous movies served during the Great Depression and WWII. Like those films, fashion, and on a broader scale beauty itself, are an escape. Buying something that you love isn't going to change the world, but it could make you feel just a little better about things. But besides the escapist element of that season, designers were showing collections that conveyed a message of strength, empowerment and confidence.

Most of what was shown this season was exactly the opposite, perhaps largely because the worries are financial instead of political, which is bound to impact what people will buy. But it's still strange that so many designers played it so safe. Sure, it seems like that would be the obvious solution; deliver dependable, customer friendly clothes that people will want. But let me pose a question, if you were going to spend $1,000 of your money on what is essentially a luxury item in troubled financial times, would you be drawn to basic, dependable clothes that you could find elsewhere for a bit less money, or would you buy the bold statement piece that feels a bit special? Granted I'm looking at women's fashion as an outsider and something of an idealist as well, but I can't help but feel like if I was in the position to spend, I'd want that something special. That's why the few collections that really went out on a limb and fully embraced "fashion", the concept not the clothing, really stood out for me.

Hands down, one of the highest of the highlights this season was Marc Jacobs' signature collection. His show was full of everything that makes fashion exciting; color, glamour, eccentricity, beauty and real creativity. This being Marc Jacobs, the presentation masked the fact that so many of the clothes, pulled apart and worn out of the context of a runway show, are bound to be fantastic. I mean, the clothes look like wearing them would make you feel good. I don't know what it is, but the collection just radiated a joie de vivre that was really lacking in most of the collections that were shown this season. More than that, it was a timely return to form for Marc, who in the last couple of years has strayed too far into the realm of experimentation and gimmicks (his F/W 07 collection being the exception to this). This collection was much closer to what he's always been about, and because of that it felt right. I kind of felt like it picked up where his Fall/Winter 2006 neo-grunge collection left off. So what if it took him two and a half years to get here?

The guesses as to what the collection was all about were endless; Cukor's "The Women", Saint Laurent's Broadway collection (which was inspired by "Porgy and Bess"), Sufragettes, Prairie women, Depression Era glamour. My own guess was George Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatt". But Marc summed it up concisely as "America". That has a nice ring to it, and it allows plenty of room for people to read into the collection whatever they feel. But forget all of that, the only thing that matters is that it was fashion, with a capital F.

While we're on the topic of Marc Jacobs, let's talk about his Vuitton collection. It was just as vibrant as his signature line, probably even more so, and the spirit of enjoyment in dressing up was present here as well. It was a delirious mix of so many different references, colors, textures and details that I can't even imagine what it must have been like to sit in the audience at the show and take each look in in a matter of seconds. Lucky for those of us who weren't special enough to be there, we get to see the pictures. Marc's collection was meant to portray America, and according to him his Vuitton collection was all about Paris, seen through Yves Saint Laurent's exotic lens of course. But just like with his own collection in NY, the idea behind it really didn't matter. It was, you guessed it, fashion with a capital F....multiplied times 10.

Who knows what had Marc in such a good mood while he was working on these collections, but clearly he was feeling optimistic, or at least trying to pretend he was. The thing is, the optimism here didn't seem forced, it felt real. And if someone like me, an ardent lover of all things black, slick and bitchy-looking, can wind up enjoying something so exuberant, upbeat and colorful, then he's definitely done his job well. After watching the video I'm hooked, and I can't get Edith Piaf off my mind. It's a must see.

Another strong, directional collection was Prada in Milan. As always with Prada, it was bound to garner polarizing opinions. She is one of those designers whose shows always end up in one of two categories: love or hate. You rarely see or hear people expressing indifference about a Prada collection. There really isn't much middle ground with her, and I think she's the type of person who likes it that way, which would explain why she tends to make very focused, very particular and very strong statements with her work. People always question the hold she had on the fashion world. The simple truth is, she doesn't seem satisfied to just make something that people will like. That in a nut shell is why she is so revered. She pushes buttons and makes people think, not only about the subtexts in her collections (of which there are many), but about what they think is beautiful. I admit, I'm not always a fan. Sometimes I'm intrigued and sometimes I'm repulsed, sometimes it takes time to grow on me and sometimes I start to like it quickly, sometimes I see the point she's making and sometimes it goes right over my head. But I always look, it's unavoidable. Even if you detest Prada, you still look.

This season it suprised me, in a very good way. I loved it instantly. Like I said in my review of the collection, I can't remember ever being in love with a Prada collection right off the bat. More than that, I can't remember ever being able to read beneath the surface with a Prada collection right away either. It usually takes looking at it a few times before I digest it. This season not only did I like it right away, but I got it too....or at least, I got something.

It was a fantastic take on sex, and in that way it reminded me of her work circa 2000/01. With Prada there's usually this hint of frustrated sexuality to it. For all of the directions she's taken off in, the fairies, the furry bathmats and the Forties pinups, Prada is, at it's core, about a vintage type of traditional feminity that's part mousy odd-ball, part sexually quirky slut. In this collection I saw Catherine Deneuve as Severine Serezy in Belle de Jour, the frustrated bourgeois housewife who lives out her sado-masochistic fantasies as a prostitute during the day while her husband is at work. It's not that there was anything in the collection that screamed "woman living a double life", but for some reason that's what I got from it. Thinking about it now, two weeks after it was shown, I can't help but respect how a designer, any designer, can make you think just by showing bra tops, wrinkled fabrics, pencil skirts and platform shoes. You can never underestimate the power of good styling. And you can never underestimate the importance of imagination when it comes to fashion. Not the designer's imagination, but the viewer's.

Balenciaga, as well, was certainly one of the most outstanding shows of the season. This isn't really news since a Balenciaga collection is always, for one reason or another, a standout each season. But to be honest, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's strange. It isn't one of those collections that I just plain hate. But I don't love it either. My ambivalence about it comes from the fact that I just don't see the point that Ghesquiere was making, and the actual designs don't seem as directional as his past collections have been. Creative and technically masterful, yes, directional and trendsetting, no. Maybe they are and the direction just eludes me this time around, I'm not sure. But if I put my frustration about that to the side, I can say that the clothes and the presentation really are beautiful, and memorable. Truth be told, the presentation is actually kind of genius. For Ghesquiere to use something as simple as light, color and reflection, things that are such an integral part of daily life that nobody even thinks about them, to create an entire collection is brilliant in my not so humble opinion. It's something you need to see for yourself, really.



So maybe I don't get the point yet, and maybe I'm not dying from my excitement about it, but even still it was one of the most interesting and captivating shows of the season. Balenciaga is like Prada in that way, if you love fashion, you have to look.


Other than that, I can't really think of any collections that really made an impression on me. There were others that I really liked, like Versace, Jil Sander, McQueen and Rodarte, but even though those collections were beautiful, they didn't really move me. I didn't feel that electric buzz about many of the shows this season, and even though I was pretty much expecting to be underwhelmed, I still can't help but feel a level of disappointment about it.

Even the trends, which are essentially what defines a season, were largely untraceable. There were only a few major trends that I noticed, and most of them were carried over from the last few seasons.

One of the big trends I noticed, and you can see it at both of Marc's shows, was the color yellow. I know what you're thinking. In your best Miranda Priestly voice you're thinking "yellow, for spring...groundbreaking". Of course it isn't, not by any stretch of the imagination. Yellow is one of those quintessentially "spring" colors. It's something to do with sunshine and dandelions or whatever....I'm not usually a fan myself. But I found the timing interesting. Yes, on the surface yellow is a perfectly happy color. Those ubiquitous smiley faces are yellow after all. But symbolically, yellow means something entirely different. You've probably heard that old cowboy cliche of being a yellow-bellied something-or-another. That comes from the fact that yellow represents cowardice. Not to mention that, at least in States, many hazard signs are yellow. I highly doubt if any of the designers who used it did so because of it's symbolic meanings. More than likely it was forecasted as a color for this season and designers chose it because it looked fresh and upbeat, but you've got to love those rare moments when fashion is so dead on. Especially when it's not trying to be.

clockwise from top: Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon,
Louis Vuitton, Versace, Lanvin and Marc Jacobs

The biggest trend, however, was something I keep calling "3-D", clothes that utilize special fabrics, folds, seams and pleats to create sharp, angular lines that are molded around the body. This isn't an entirely new trend, designers have been playing with geometry for a while now, but this season it's much sharper and much more exaggerated than it has been for the past few seasons. It's actually a pretty interesting trend, though probably one that needs to be worked out a bit more before people fully embrace it. Even though the results weren't always entirely wearable, it was nice to see a bit of risk and experimentation in a sea of blandness. And besides that, it feels contemporary. Even though there's this sort of retro futurism feel to it, a bit like the way the future was interpreted in the 1960's, it doesn't look like it's borrowed from any particular time period. It looks like now, and that's becoming increasingly rare these days.

clockwise from top left: Calvin Klein, Christian Lacroix, Christopher Kane,
Dolce and Gabbana, Gianfranco Ferre, Giles Deacon, Marchesa and Versace

And who knows, with less extreme proportions this could actually yield some beautiful and flattering results. It's like Cristobal Balenciaga used to say "If you come to me, you don't need a body. I'll give you one".

Another trend that's also been brewing for some time now was transparency. It was everywhere last spring, continued into the fall and into the spring collections this year. Overall I don't have a strong opinion about this trend, at least not anymore. Last spring when designers began showing airy, vapory looking clothes over nearly naked bodies, I was definitely into it. There's something both romantic and sexual about seeing sheer silk layered over a body with nothing underneath. It's also just downright pretty looking, the epitome of delicate femininity. Of course, there was the whole "how is that wearable" reaction to it last year. Perhaps people lost sight of the fact that no one is actually expected to wear the clothes without a layer underneath, and that sheer clothes worn without a slip is nothing new on the runways. But a year on and people have definitely adjusted to this trend, and there are plenty of ways to make it work. As for me, I'm a little burnt out on it. It still looks beautiful, but it doesn't feel particularly interesting to me anymore.

Clockwise from top left: Calvin Klein, Givenchy,
John Galliano, Rodarte, Vera Wang, YSL

Overall though, I don't think this season was particularly directional as a whole. It was more like one of those times where designers work to distill trends that have been in the air into understandable fashions. For instance, when the futurism thing started up in the collections for Spring 2007, designers were using techno fabrics, extreme silhouettes and an overall aggressive feel to push fashion forward. It didn't seem entirely realistic at the time because the trend was still in it's raw form. Two years later and designers are now translating those extreme ideas into wearable clothes. The public's eye has shifted as well. What seemed unreal two years ago is slowly becoming apart of mainstream fashion. Right now fashion seems to be in a transitional period, the time after one movement has been proposed and another has yet to be created. I guess we'll just have to stay tuned to see what happens next.

all fashion show images from Style.com

A look at the future....

Balenciaga

Today was B-Day. For those of you who aren't me and don't know what the hell I'm talking about (which is most of you), that stands for Balenciaga day, the day when Nicolas Ghesquiere sent his models into battle dressed to the hilt in clothes that will inevitably effect the course of fashion history....for the next 6 months at least.

I personally approached this collection both with a sense of excited anticipation and nervous aprehension. Would it be good? Would I love it? How on earth could it possibly live up to F/W 08, which won me over instantaneously with a one-two punch of sex, glamour, strength and above all, Fashion with a capital F. My reaction was pure adrenaline while looking at it, and in case enthusiasm doesn't translate in type, that feeling has yet to wear off. It was the kind of fashion show that only comes along so often, that hits you right in the gut and leaves a mark, I'd call that a fashion moment. I've only experienced a few in my short lifetime, Balenciaga F/W 08.09 was one of them. In a way it's similar, and yet opposite, to how I've been approaching Dior lately. With Dior my expectations have dropped to the point where I don't expect much anymore.

So you can understand why I felt the way I did about seeing the collection for S/S 09. In a way I was prepared to be not entirely blown away, I mean I knew it would be good, but I realized that the chances of me reacting the same way twice were slim. This collection didn't excite me, or at least it hasn't excited me yet. I've been feeling that a lot this season, and in a way it's not so unexpected. We're living in unsure times, it's only natural that designers are feeling unsure, and that it rubs off on the people seeing it.

That's not to say Ghesquiere failed, because he didn't. The show was a technical marvel right out of the best kind of Sci-Fi film; cold, precise, alien. In that sense it was classic Ghesquiere, and classic Balenciaga as well. But for me, it didn't make as powerful a statement as his last collection did. Instead it just further elaborated on things he's already done. I can see beauty in the collection, in the strangeness of it, in the tiny pleats on a metallic jacket with rounded shoulders, in the shine of pale sequins under the dim space age lighting that cast a robotic glow on the runway. But once I look past the surface beauty and interest, I'm left wondering what this really says about where Ghesquiere, or fashion, is going.

A short seven look menswear collection was placed about midway through the lineup. It had a Hedi Slimane sharpness, but cleaned up and de-trendied thanks to Ghesquiere's rigorous eye. Overall though, it was a bit jarring to just place a handful of men's looks in the midst of a women's collection, especially given that Balenciaga isn't especially well known for it menswear. One thing's for sure, if I had the limbs of a praying mantis and the body of a junkie, I'd be all over this partiular look. But the fact that I don't have either of those things could be why I've yet to buy into the super slim menswear that seems to be the only thing that matters in mens fashion anymore. God forbid you have discernable shoulders or a broad chest, you're shunned quicker than a slutty gay Mennonite.

As the show progressed, it did get stronger, with the evening looks being particularly beautiful and managing to capture some of the glamour that Ghesquiere gave us last season. I also love the geometric skinny cropped trousers, which are sort of a continuation of the black, gray and white cropped skinny trousers of fall.

I think the thing that bothers me most about this collection is that it doesn't let you know where Ghesquiere plans to take fashion next. It's not like S/S 08 where he showed structured, anatomically exaggerated and protective silhouettes smothered in flowers, both of which would influence the fashions that came after it. Nor is it like F/W 08 where the futurism was so finely distilled as to make truly modern looking, wearable clothes that seemed destined for powerful women as opposed to trendy girls. At the end of the day, Nicolas can do this sort of hyper modern futurism seen through a retro 80's lens in his sleep. It's nothing new from him, and it's nothing new for fashion, no matter how technically accomplished or captivating it is.

Comme des Garcons

Comme des Garcons is one of those houses that you need to grow into, or at least I did. Rei Kawakubo's aesthetic isn't for everyone, which is probably why it's so appealing to people...not that that makes any sense, but you get where I'm going. This season she abandoned the insanely exaggerated boudoir femininity and Amy Winehouse tartiness in favor of predominantly black 3-D shapes cut from hexagonal pieces of fabric and huge pompadour wigs that look a bit like the ash that explodes out of a volcano. Sound strange? It is, and it's not the kind of collection where you can see where the inspiration came from, or even make something up in your head to explain it to yourself....like with Prada. The thing with CdG is, my guess is as good as anyone else's....and it's never right anyway so here's to guessing. Who knows, between the boulder like shapes and explosive headgear, my volcano idea might not be so far off. There was a first time that I loved a Prada collection right away, imagine the first time that I'm right about what a designer was thinking. It could happen.

One of the major trends I've been noticing on the runways these past few weeks is three dimensional cutting, which has produced some extremely angular, interesting and no doubt challenging shapes. None the less it's an interesting trend to see, and Kawakubo's collection represents the trend perfectly. It's strange given these insane financial woes all over the world that so many designers, Francisco Costa, Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane among them, are proposing such daring and potentially alienating shapes. Sure, there are showroom collections to cover the financial needs of a label, but you have to wonder, what's the use of all of this innovation and newness if it isn't likely to impact what people wear?

all fashion show images from Catwalking.com via MulletProof and thoth at tFS.