Money seems to be fresh on everyone's mind these days, and Jean Paul Gaultier is no different. The swoops, slashes, lines and dashes you'll see below are all his take on the intricate inking of cash.
Blending sweet antique lace with futuristic black-mesh sleeves and a bit of textile calligraphy on an A-line skirt, Gaultier finds a good balance of hard and soft. Anyone else feeling some sailor or stewardess action?
more after the jump
February 02, 2009
Roving Reporter: Jean Paul Gaultier
February 02, 2009
Roving Reporter: Christian Lacroix
Christmas has already passed, but Mom, if you're paying attention, take notes please. I. Want. This.
Like the rest of the Lacroix show at haute couture week, this gown has a bit of everything going on: bows, messy pleating, mega-metallics, one-shoulder asymmetry. That's before considering the earrings and hairdo. Never have I found a piece of clothing so appealing that looked like a candy wrapper.
more after the jump
February 02, 2009
Roving Reporter: Armani Prive (!)
Sigh…the snowy mess in London (along with the disproportionate amount of moaning about it) has me wishing I could find somewhere to hop on a plane, grab the girls (Cate Blanchett and a sans-Tommy Katie Holmes) and do a bit of shopping. Naturally, we’d be choosing from the latest Armani Prive haute couture collection – so let’s dissect, shall we?
Well, hello! Pagoda-peak shoulders and down-to-there jackets (closed with pleated bows like this one or frog clasps and tassels) teamed with double-slit skirts that hit high on the calf. The show screamed 1930s plus China plus grunge-lady-spacebot.
January 30, 2009
Roving Reporter: Find a Routine
I agree with Rivkie that the basis of London style is the freedom to wear whatever the heck you want, with some sense of direction, and to rock it like it's the latest thing Lagerfeld dreamed about. That was one of my favourite things about this city when I moved here from a place where a North Face and Uggs was a "cute look".
But no matter how much I love the fact that I can alternate between dressing like Kate Moss in the Doherty years, a depressed grandma as styled by Lily Allen, and sweet lil' Audrey Hepburn, there's something to be said for a routine. And where would one go to find the ultimate in style routines? That would be Paris, mon frere.
At haute couture week, I was particularly impressed by the Lefranc-Ferrant show. Maybe not as A-list name recognition as Gaultier, but this husband-wife duo has worked with the giants: Chloé (under Karl), Guy Laroche, YSL, Lanvin, Catherine Malandrino and Balenciaga.
more after the jump
January 29, 2009
Seen and Overheard: Skipping School
Naughty, naughty. Two side-by-side front-row seats sat conspicuously empty at the Lefranc-Ferrant haute couture show this Tuesday in Paris. What did the reservation cards say? Hilary Alexander from the Telegraph and Suzy Menkes from the International Herald Tribune.
Was it the lack of two guests of honour that held the show up 45 minutes?
Was it the lack of two guests of honour that held the show up 45 minutes?
January 22, 2009
I loved the autumn/winter 2008 YSL collection. Lots of black, very grimy feeling, coats that hide you from the world. Any runway show that can make it seem that drop-crotch pants are natural, and even flattering, has serious brainpower.
In Marina Nicolaidou’s master’s collection for the London College of Fashion show, I found the same train of thought take a new direction (and for menswear). Marina had it all – the leave-me-alone jackets, the jodhpurs with their crotches at knee-level – but with her looks all in white, she achieved a vibe that was so off-puttingly surgical that I loved it.
Marina played around with Mao collars, bow-in-back jackets and coats that feel more like robes than outerwear. But one of her most interesting pieces was subtle. Was that a high-riding cummerbund she put under one of her coats, or is she suggesting than men should belt their waists? Her experiment with length, as seen in the knee-length jacket that hit almost the same point of leg as her shorts, was pulled off well.
I’m not sure how many men we can expect to see wearing gauzy white shorts, and was that a male playsuit I saw? But overall, Marina gave me just what I was looking for – clean, well cut looks with flavours of the incomparable Yves.
Runway Roundup: Marina Nicolaidou
I loved the autumn/winter 2008 YSL collection. Lots of black, very grimy feeling, coats that hide you from the world. Any runway show that can make it seem that drop-crotch pants are natural, and even flattering, has serious brainpower.
In Marina Nicolaidou’s master’s collection for the London College of Fashion show, I found the same train of thought take a new direction (and for menswear). Marina had it all – the leave-me-alone jackets, the jodhpurs with their crotches at knee-level – but with her looks all in white, she achieved a vibe that was so off-puttingly surgical that I loved it.Marina played around with Mao collars, bow-in-back jackets and coats that feel more like robes than outerwear. But one of her most interesting pieces was subtle. Was that a high-riding cummerbund she put under one of her coats, or is she suggesting than men should belt their waists? Her experiment with length, as seen in the knee-length jacket that hit almost the same point of leg as her shorts, was pulled off well.I’m not sure how many men we can expect to see wearing gauzy white shorts, and was that a male playsuit I saw? But overall, Marina gave me just what I was looking for – clean, well cut looks with flavours of the incomparable Yves.
January 22, 2009
Runway Roundup: Yun Ju Ko Kate (Take 2)
Rivkie - I loved her! It's the sequins I wasn't sure about, but that's another story.
One of my favourite Oscar dresses of all time has to be Hilary Swank’s long-sleeved, navy blue number. You know the one I mean. That Guy Laroche dress was simple, almost to the point of being boring from the front. Then Hilary turned around and BAM – no back. Guy Laroche set up the most interesting point of his dress to be seen when walking away, and I think LCF’s Yun Ju Ko Kate had a similar philosophy.At her runway presentation last night, Yun played around with some of the trends we knew should be coming: sheer, lots of chiffon, asymmetry – you get the idea. But her added touches, like a floaty top that became a cape from the back, or a dress that had a cowl back instead of the typical cowl neck, made her something special.
That’s not to say Yun’s looks don’t wow from head-on. In palates of mocha, buttercream and gunmetal grey, she offered the most flattering empire waists and the sweetest baby-doll dresses. And I would love to take home a pair of her high-waisted capri pants for the days when I try to feel like a Hepburn.
To stand out at LCF’s master’s show – which featured 19 talented students – takes real potential. Rivkie and I agreed Yun has that, and we hope that a rack at the Laden Showroom or a guest collection at Topshop is in her future.
One of my favourite Oscar dresses of all time has to be Hilary Swank’s long-sleeved, navy blue number. You know the one I mean. That Guy Laroche dress was simple, almost to the point of being boring from the front. Then Hilary turned around and BAM – no back. Guy Laroche set up the most interesting point of his dress to be seen when walking away, and I think LCF’s Yun Ju Ko Kate had a similar philosophy.At her runway presentation last night, Yun played around with some of the trends we knew should be coming: sheer, lots of chiffon, asymmetry – you get the idea. But her added touches, like a floaty top that became a cape from the back, or a dress that had a cowl back instead of the typical cowl neck, made her something special.That’s not to say Yun’s looks don’t wow from head-on. In palates of mocha, buttercream and gunmetal grey, she offered the most flattering empire waists and the sweetest baby-doll dresses. And I would love to take home a pair of her high-waisted capri pants for the days when I try to feel like a Hepburn.To stand out at LCF’s master’s show – which featured 19 talented students – takes real potential. Rivkie and I agreed Yun has that, and we hope that a rack at the Laden Showroom or a guest collection at Topshop is in her future.
January 22, 2009
Runway Roundup: Emilia Bariamova
Emilia Bariamova, have you been sneaking off with Giles Deacon?
The bigger-means-better approach to knitwear he took a few seasons ago was fully present at the LCF student’s runway show.
January 22, 2009
Runway Roundup: Hsiang Ju Kung
Remember the soap Dallas? Ever been in a hospital? Put the two together, and you get Hsiang Ju Kung’s master’s collection for LCF ’09.
Strong shoulders and lots of clinical white (white jackets, white skinny-leg trousers, white skirts, white tights, white shoes) formed the basis of Hsiang’s women’s wear looks. Sound boring? Not so much, when you factor in the student’s obsession with plastic-y feathers, spilling down sleeves and swinging from jackets and ruffling across dress hems.
Just when you think she’s gone soft with all those “feathers”, the designer brings in a tough-edge surprise. It’s funny how well a white blazer, padded to look as though it has an exoskeleton, fits in with something a little frou-frou.
Hsiang should get ready to pack up those boleros and halter dresses: The directions a stylist at an indie fashion mag could take with her are endless.
Strong shoulders and lots of clinical white (white jackets, white skinny-leg trousers, white skirts, white tights, white shoes) formed the basis of Hsiang’s women’s wear looks. Sound boring? Not so much, when you factor in the student’s obsession with plastic-y feathers, spilling down sleeves and swinging from jackets and ruffling across dress hems.
Just when you think she’s gone soft with all those “feathers”, the designer brings in a tough-edge surprise. It’s funny how well a white blazer, padded to look as though it has an exoskeleton, fits in with something a little frou-frou.
Hsiang should get ready to pack up those boleros and halter dresses: The directions a stylist at an indie fashion mag could take with her are endless.
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