Sunday, October 04, 2009

Paris Fashion Week Hits and Misses – Luxurious Paris, Minus The Avant-Garde

While Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga has returned to his roots, some avant-garde designers are cutting back amid their financial challenges. They want to SURVIVE.

Yohji Yamamoto is perhaps the best example. While the clothes are poetic as usual, the pieces are extremely commercial. It’s beautiful, but definitely uninspired. I later heard that Yohji has incurred some financial challenges, which explained the collection very well.

Junya Watanabe, whose collections usually raise eyebrows, is also playing it safe. Junya showed his (commercially) greatest hits: form fitting jackets and biased cut trousers. It’s another collection many retailers will be very happy with, but the hard core fans are hardly satisfied.

Comme des Garcons, Ann Demeulemeester and Hussein Chalayan also followed. There is nothing wrong with being commercial, but when the Belgians and the Japanese are playing it safe, Paris has lost half of its luster.

And here comes the other half: pure luxury.

Dries Van Noten showed his masterful skills mixing beautiful Southeast Asian prints and Ikat. All looks appeared to be styled perfectly with a unique Dries touch. His shoes have improved immensely in the past seasons and clearly that has brought more financial freedom.

Alber Elbaz wrapped all his girls with silk and leather, showing another ultra luxurious collection. It’s undeniable that Alber Elbaz spoils his clients to the max, yet the collection looks repetitive and I’m hungry for something new.

What blew me away is Haider Ackermann’s latest presentation. Haider has gained tremendous publicity after Tilda Swinton wore his clothes to award shows. Haider’s clothing is full of beautiful draping skills, yet it always comes with a bit of a dark mood. The only downside to me is that most of the outfits need a tall lady like Tilda to pull off, the clothes are emotional nonetheless.

The collection that moves me the most is actually Sophia Kokosalaki. She understands what a woman wants. A dress would beautifully drape around a model’s body, feminine, but not too soft. After wearing my Kokosalaki dress to a few special occasions, I’m ready to splurge on a cream color summer dress.

9 comments:

Mo said...

There are designers who would rather die than play it safe -- Viktor and Rolf did a fabulous show, which seemed more Haut Couture than Prêt-à-Porter. BTW, What's your take on Comme des Garçons and Vivienne Westwood for ss10?

Caffeine said...

I didn't see anything new from them...but I have been disappointed by CDG for quite a while so I'm used to it. On a side note, how do you like the McQueen show?

Mo said...

Those shoes,oh my~!Anyway, love the silhouette, but don't care for the print.

Caffeine said...

Oh my dear....the prints are the best. Lee is somebody who CAN cut a piece of fabric.

Mo said...

I know, I know, it's just me... McQueen show was especially well-received by buys this time. Don't get me wrong, McQueen is raw talent as a designer; he has been, and still is, my favorite designer. It's just that I cringe at the sight of reptiles, sea creatures, and worse still, either of these on computer aided prints.

Skin Care said...

I like the stuff have had put in and wanted to see more like these, thanks

Anonymous said...
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manolo blahnik madrid said...

oh ,i do think that the collection that moves me the most is Sophia Kokosalaki~
love these design
xoxo

louboutin chaussures said...

les concepteurs sont le génie et je ne peux pas tirer mon regard