Fashion: Paris Haute Couture S/S 2011

Nouveau Couture for the Now

Looks from Chanel Haute Couture by Karl Lagerfeld / From left / Mono-pattern crystal and pearl embroidered (slightly A-line) T-shirt paired with jeans / Semi-translucent embroidered top with a silk satin skirt / Transparent all-over embroidered black crystal trousers with A-line embroidered tunic dress.

There was a whiff of delicacy that ran through Chanel’s Haute Couture presentation on Tuesday with a clear message about future of couture: lightness and youthfulness.

Is it a coincidence that Mr. Lagerfeld had chosen Blake Lively, ‘Gossip Girl subject and starlet,’ as the official face of the “MADEMOISELLE” handbag line? She is spontaneous and fresh and her fictive television character always seems to be mixing the right amount of edge with heritage luxury brands such as Chanel.

In a day when people do not want to be told what is, and is not chic Mr. Lagerfeld chose to present a romantic – and above all – easy to wear (you could call the fit even roomy) collection, pairing translucent embroidered, slightly a-line, tunics with jeans and flats.

“She (Coco Chanel) didn’t like jeans — but you have to work for the future,” said Mr. Lagerfeld, referring to the founder’s dismissal of denim at the end of her career in the ‘60s when it was the fashion of the moment.

The clothing not only seemed light because of its use of dew-like pastel colours with shimmering beads hand sewn onto them, but also in maintaining a weightlessness and transparency of the fabrics despite the all-over ornamentation.

A glimpse of the atmosphere at Chanel, captured by Glass.

“I’m very spontaneous in choosing what I wear,” said Daphne Guinness after the show and when sharing a taxi with two very stylish Chinese haute couture clients, it became clear that they yearned for something modern and easy – as well as something obvious that showcase quality and real craftsmanship. “It’s for young ladies. The next generation of haute couture customers,” said Baptiste Giabiconi when greeted at the entrance.

And is that not true luxury or exclusivity? Being able to go to the grocery store in a Chanel crystal encrusted, semi translucent t-shirt and some blue jeans? 

Karl Lagerfeld with his models and Kristen Mcmenamy as the bride. The set reflected Coco Chanel's signature coromandel screens, while the models were grouped on a reproduction of the mirrored staircase where Coco famously watched her collections.

Fashion: Designer Update

PRADA Remounts the Spring Runway in Beijing

The Museum rooms had been revisited for the occasion by the New York multidisciplinary design studio 2x4, whereas the setting for the fashion show had been designed by OMA's research unit AMO. 

Amoung the revelers of this mega event, in which the Prada glamour came in banana earings and striped fox fur stoles, were chinese actresses Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Cecilia Cheung, Qing Xu, Korean actress Ha Ji Won as well as Chinese actors Geng Le e Liu Ye - all wearing Prada. The event was also graced by movie director Lu Chuan, Oscar winning art director Tim Yip, Chris Dercon and Jay Jopling. 

Photo: Courtesy of PRADA

Gong Li at the PRADA event held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Museum in Beijing.

As Paris men's fashion week drew to a close last Saturday, a fittingly glamorous bash was thrown at Carmen in the Pigalle district of Paris, to coincide with the launch of the third installment of the Six Scents Series. The series is a collection of six fragrances each created by an emerging designer and established perfumer, with a portion of the profits going to War Child International.  Among the designers involved, Rad Hourani and Juun J were present on the night, together with perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux as well as models Zoe Duchesne and Ole Jacobs. DJ sets were performed by Mike Nouveau, The Misshapes and Joseph Quartana - whose company Seven New York created the concept behind the Six Scents Series project.  Guests were invited to sample the new scents in a darkened room (supposedly to heighten their olfactory abilities) and revelled into the wee hours at the after-party at Le Baron.

The label's men's collection was showcased on Sunday as part of Paris menswear fashion week. The Autumn/ Winter 2011 season took inspiration from both nature and the idea of escape. The result included army green high boots, parkas and trench coats as well as bomber jackets and button down shirts featuring Japanese print. Printed sneakers were amongst the highlights of the accompanying accessories as were white Chelsea ankle boots. 

The models marched out on a unique catwalk that was made from an interactive treadmill installation, against a back drop of film footage featuring wide open roads and wild valleys. To further mark a decade of their work Y-3 presented a screening of Yamamot0's documentary This Is My Dream and an exhibition of adidas for Yohji Yamamoto footwear.

Images courtesy of adidas

Paris Fashion Week / Menswear

Rise of The Craftsman, Paris Men March On

From left / Lanvin pin-stripe puffer worn over an overcoat and slim ankle-length trousers, creating a long & short all-in-one silhouette / Raf Simons rounded shoulder duffel and latex blazer and trouser / Hermes shearling leather jump suit.

Besides the prevalent Amish hats that turned out to be the motif of the menswear season – and possibly Phoebe Philo’s functional and austere influence, while at Celine, there were two stars that presented soulful presentations, whose goal is to move fashion forward. Dries Van Noten was one and the other, Raf Simons.

Vivid colours and interesting materials were mixed into the collection, titled ‘Rise of the Craftsman, Fall of The Prince – Dead Prince College,’ which signaled Mr. Simons’ return to his early schoolboy roots by mixing and reworking duffle coats, anoraks and school boy sweaters with high collared latex vests and wide-cut trousers. There was definitely an appeal to the combination of fabrics – Mr. Simons not only showed creativity with this, but managed to make the silhouettes look wearable and not far-fetched.

Raf Simons

It is a shame that Mr. Simons has severed his ties with his manufacturing partner, leaving the fate of this collection’s sales to buyers uncertain. What is also uncertain is if the ‘urban collegiate’ is ready for (couture inspired) pod-like coats that close like hospital gowns in the back. The things that shone were the well cut, young mans suits, with rounded shoulders, and wide-shaped and patch pocket jackets.

Mixing technological and the sartorial seemed to be another big trend this season, adopted not only by Dries Van Noten, Kris Van Assche and Louis Vuitton, but also Lanvin. As the designer Lucas Ossendrijver, along with Alber Elbaz explained, their intentions were to meld the two together. There was even a tension in the soundtrack that even mirrored the clothing, Dionne Warwick’s Walk on by was mixed and cut off by a rhythmic tension building sound.

Lanvin

The Lanvin man always seems fancy without the old school, reserved connotations. What I particularly liked was a hooded puffer jacket, worn over a tailored wool overcoat and slim (and very urban) ankle length trousers that showed just a hint of a colourful sock.

The atmosphere in the room, the music and the clothes, signaled an ode to the young and the restless – at times playboy – type of guy. 

Hermes signature chain link knitted into two vibrantly coloured sweaters.

Veronique Nichanian gave Hermès more edge than one usually sees, with leather running throughout the whole collection – a few leather trousers here and there, two shearling one-piece suits and a shearling collared mid-thigh trench coat. Ms. Nichanian re-tweaked some suits to result in nice variations (in slate wool and a muddy Prince of Wales cotton) and had Hermès’ signature chain link knitted into a sweater, one in turquoise and the other in mustard yellow.

Book Reviews

Fashion Icons, Then, Now, and Online.

What makes a style icon? A well cut suit? Designer handbags? Or is it just personality? Simone Werle explores style icons from two perspectives in her recently published books.

Fashionisto: A Century of Style Icons documents past and present male trendsetters, from Johnny Cash, known for wearing black shirts, to John F. Kenney’s two-button jackets, that weren’t exactly in vogue at the time. Ms Werle provides short anecdotes with historical insight in double page spreads with glossy full colour pictures, and tries to get to the essence of her subjects’ stylistic signature that was ultimately an effect of a very strong personality.

Fasionisto explores the concept that an individual can have considerable fashion influence in more ways than just having great personal style. Ms Werle focuses on the influences that designers Hedi Slimane or the elusive Martin Margiela have had with their work, on fashion or the way in which Run-D.M.C. had a considerable influence on youth culture that wanted to adopt their style.

As one book documents the already famous and notable, time transcending figures, Style Diaries: World Fashion from Berlin to Tokyo addresses a more modern phenomenon. The book features the individuals that have been shaking up the past decade in style and which will continue to shape the next: fashion bloggers. This book documents the NOW. It is less an iconic reference book than Fashionisto, and more a collection of biographies and visions of the (not so) famous individuals that are finding followers online, through posting their no rules to style approach.

Fifty of today’s most compelling fashion bloggers share their view on (personal) style by answering questions such as  ‘What is something that you would never wear?’ ‘What is the best purchase you ever made?’. They, however, will still have to endure the test of the vast changing times surrounding fashion, social networking and documenting style.

Both books focus on individuals and what is apparent is that these characters, famous or not-yet, have stayed true to themselves and have their own voice. Whether it’s Marlon Brando’s jeans and t-shirt look with a hint of swagger to fashion blogger Adrián Cano’s smart look with a vintage touch, both books provide good examples of styles one can adopt and hopefully transform into one’s own signature.

Simone Werle is a freelance fashion journalist, whose articles have appeared in publications such as Elle, InStyle and Max.

Fashionisto:

A Century of Style Icons

By Simone Werle

Hardcover: 175 pages

ISBN-13: 978-3-7913-4476-8

Product Dimensions:  19.5 x 24 cm

Price: £19.99

Style Diaries:

World Fashion from Berlin to Tokyo

By Simone Werle

Paperback: 384 pages

ISBN-13: 978-3-7913-4474-4

Price: £16.99

Publisher: Prestel

www.prestel.com

Flowers for Spring? (Groundbreaking)

Posted on 24/01/2011 at 15:31:02 and reworked at 19:13:05

Liberty Woven Dress / The front of a flower-printed silk crepe dress is slowly transforming into a degrade weave from various Liberty prints to plain red. / Dress: 48 hours / 

Paisley-printed scarves jacket / Multicoloured paisley-printed scarves are cut into strips and shaped into flower buds. They are then sewn on a taffeta jacket.

Left / Dress embroidered with plastic sequins / Right / Leather flowers silhouette

Liberty flower-shirt / A sky blue cotton poplin shirt is cut in a way to form flowers in volume. Other flowers from several Liberty fabrics are added to become a degrade from a plain colour to an all-over motive.

Paisley-printed scarves cable sweater / Wadded tubes are braided on a mannequin. Over dyed paisley-printed scarves are then applied to look like a cable sweater.

Flower fur collar / Blossom flower garlands are dismantled. Once re-assembled in a degrade, they are applied on an oversize collar.

Ribbon-petal cat-suit / A cat-suit is entirely embroidered with ribbons in volume. In the shape of petals, these ribbons form a degrade from nude tones to red and neon orange.

Iridescent paper-draped dress / Foils of iridescent paper are draped on a mannequin and stapled to become asymmetrical dresses / All images by Donovan Tjon

Paris Fashion Week / Menswear

The Resurgence of Sobriety

A silhouette from Dior Homme and Kris Van Assche.

Stripping away ornamentation? That seemed like the prevalent theme in Dior Homme’s a/w presentation. Set against a grand chandelier-lit room, which seemed like the interior of an empty luxury apartment Dior Homme presented the most straightforward – Amish inspired, collection of the season.

Details from the Dior Homme showroom / Slim lapels stitched into the jacket with canvas linen detailing / right / Canvas linen used as lining on the right interior panel and which is detached on the left interior panel as a vest.

What the collection lacked was crispness – the trousers were full pleated and the top volumes were anything but figure hugging. There was little to contrast all the fluidity and above all, the real beauty of the collection was in all the detail, which was not immediately apparent at the presentation successfully melded together austerity and luxury. 

Silhouettes from Kris Van Ascche.

At his own label Kris Van Assche chose to continue focusing on the casual with wools that were again left unlined and raw edged with bias ‘finishings’ on the inside. There were a lot of over-sized, rib-knit sweaters and suit jackets with metallic zipper closings. The designer used a palette of charcoals, black and navy blues and, here again, pushed the cape idea, this time done in camel.