Riccardo Tisci, in his five years at Givenchy, has moved from cult status to obsession status: People want not only to wear his clothes, but also to read his mind. After earning esteem for his ready-to-wear (and have you seen those ads?), the designer has now come into his own for couture. Taking reference from the '70s for Spring/Summer '10, Tisci mixed masculine with oh-so feminine in a way only the Parisian-chic can achieve.
Take, for instance, the new Givenchy tuxedo jackets. A simple piece became striking when paired with ostrich-feather t-shirts (it's couture week, after all) and confidently loose but carefully tailored trousers. And evening wear? Tisci had everything a flamenco dancer could want, from billowing violet satin to intricate black lace. And there were even a few photograph-me-now pieces for the Gagas of the world: Think sheer-bodice jade-green playsuits with just enough sparkle for any fame monster. For those especially eager to catch the paparazzi on the street, Tisci was careful to include statement cylindrical hats - perfect for any impromptu photo op or carefully planned magazine editorial, of which we think there will be plenty in the future.
As sequinned, heart shaped pasties strode crudely down the catwalk for Italian born, French raised label Emanuel Ungaro, it became apparent that the recent addition of actress Lindsay Lohan as creative consultant had done them no favours. However, Lohan has defended her disastrous line, putting it down to “coming in so late and having not that much time to do a whole collection". It also seems that those distasteful nipple tassles, which unsurprisingly shocked on-lookers at the Paris show, were not her doing, as she told PEOPLE at Wednesday's Victoria's Secret Velvet Launch party "I wasn’t aware of the nipple tassels on the girls until they were walking out,” she explained “I am going back to Paris for the next collection….I am learning.” We hope so, and with January coming round fast she needs to learn quick, too.
Just as we're beginning to fill our wardrobes with the gorgeous AW09 collection from high-street superstar Gap, they showcase their collection for the coming Spring and give us yet more Pierre Hardy shoes to lust after, this time in the form of cutesy tie-up espadrille wedges. The collection uses florals, pastels and patchwork denim to get us thinking ahead to our springtime buys, making for a well needed break from Wintery darks and severe structure.
After suffering a rather brutal set of critique following the SS10Emanuel Ungaro show that she co-designed with Lindsay Lohan, it must have taken courage for Estrella Archs to hold her head high once more, and show her eponymous collection in Paris on Friday. Held in a parking garage in the chic Marais district, the collection was all together more grown up, with a minimalistic edge, sheer fabrics and soft drapery. Meanwhile, rumours from behind the scenes at Ungaro with Lindsay didn't sound too promising, as The Times newspaper reported - ‘[Lohan] picked up a black and white scarf and tied it around her head, then replaced it with a black one, and then clumsily stuck a red sequin-covered heart to the side of her head while a team of designers watched her...’ After proving herself under her namesake collection to be more than adequate as a designer alone, we're not sure how long Ungaro will be running under a design partnership.
Mark Fast certainly caused a stir at this season's London Fashion Week, after using three models size 12 plus, however Fast didn't think about the attention it would create. "I just thought, 'They're beautiful. Let's do it. Let's have fun'. The way I work is organic and on the body. With the curvier girls, I was able to make the clothes specifically for them. Seeing them walking up and down the corridor was such a moment. It was exciting to see their characters in my pieces", the Canadian designer told this weekend's Style magazine. Whatever his reasonings behind the statement show, Jemma Dyas, a focus buyer for Brownes - where Fast is exclusively stocked - told of the success it has brought the up and coming designer. "The show has opened up his customer base, after the show, we had a host of customers from size six to 16 coming in."
Spring Summer 2010 has definitely been the season of optimism. We've seen more playful, creative catwalks, with none of the worries that anything of this sort would be classed as insensitive to the current situation. So for Hermès' latest collection, Jean Paul Gaultier took inspiration from the world of tennis - with a collection that featured pleated minis, polo necks, and sweatbands - complete with a grass-lined catwalk, marked out with white lines, and even the occasional tongue-in-cheek rackets.
There is a new, youthful Valentino girl on the Parisian scene, and how we love her so. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli brought us a fresh look for Valentino's Spring Summer 2010 collection, complete with shorter hemlines, a sophisticated palette and sumptuous, sheer fabrics. Pieces were floaty, feminine without becoming weak - almost with a slight Gothic edge induced by spindly black lace trimmings, mystical swirls and gathers of fabrics and antique looking lace.
The collection was predominantly neutral with not a red dress in sight: the design duo opted for a chic choice of muted rose, lavender, nude, gold and grey, drawing attention to the detailing in the garments with feather-light layering and swirling hemlines. Nude ruffles brought a romanticism to the collection, which contained an array of knee skimming cocktail dresses - the whole collection of which was to die for. Chiuri and Piccioli brought us grown-up femininity at its best, with key pieces being the washed out grey lace trouser suit, the ruffled organza top teamed with black, textured leather skinnies and the sheer black, strapless jumpsuit. All in all, this was a simply beautiful collection. On trend, but classic at the same time, Valentino became the label that will be so relevant for SS10, and yet such an investment.
An oversized and over-masculine suit opened the Chloé show to a predominantly formal and mannish start, followed with boxy shirts and leather flats - which left us wondering where our floaty, feminine, yet edgy Chloé girl had gone. Colours were in-keeping with the brand's identity - an array of cream, camel, khaki, black and the occasional bright piece - and as the catwalk progressed, our girl got her identity back.
