Parisian Chic. Lanvin SS15

September 27, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

Beautiful. Simply magnifique! Alber Elbaz, the designer of Lanvin, celebrates 125 years of that old, Parisian brand! Jeanne Lanvin created this brand for chic women- Alber Elbaz continues her motif up to today. For SS15, we’ve got really beautiful clothes here. Pink v-neck slip dresses. Check. Non-chalant blazer. Check. Statuesque gowns. Check. Everything is sexy, but with taste. And lets also note, which amazing models were present (and all my favourites): Edie Campbell, Jamie Bochert, Natalie Westling, Mica Arganaraz, Malgosia Bela… it was a real model clash. I also fell in love with the kind of dark, melancholic atmosphere- the dresses were feminine, but with a typical, elusive mystery hidden in it. If talking of the king of chic, mister Alber simply takes the crown this season.

Romance. Lanvin Resort’15

June 15, 2014June 18, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

I observed that I usually prefer the pre-collections at Lanvin rather than the runway shows. Why? I love their mood! The resort for 2015 is just the real Lanvin thing- very Parisienne, non-chalant and romantic. The model Jamie Bochert matches perfectly to the slightly bohemique style of the pieces! Full of beige, red, brown and black, we had a lot of foulards, embroideries and fabulously decorated dresses and pants. Alber Elbaz made me again fall in true French love!

Real-Life. Lanvin Pre-Fall’14

January 7, 2014 | Design & Culture by Ed

“Women are looking for more reality” said Alber Elbaz, the designer of Lanvin after the trunkshow. That meant that a smoking jacket was paired with track pants boasting tuxedo stripes down the sides, and that a glamorous leopard-spot coat was actually made from a woven black-and-white jacquard. Elbaz did a lot of clever thinking about outerwear. A duffel built on a grosgrain ribbon base had the slouched-on ease of a cardigan, while what looked like a shearling was actually a jersey coat bonded with an outer layer of mohair, and thus superlight. Definitely, one of the most beautiful Lanvin collection for a decade.

Disco Party. Lanvin SS14

September 27, 2013 | Design & Culture by Ed

That was a very classical Lanvin collection- dresses, jackets, t-shirts with skirts- ant that all in energetic metallic fabrics! Well, that was surely not the best Lanvin, but it wasn’t bad. I loved the Great Gatsby inspired dresses- in reality, the collection was like a loud party under Jay Gatsby’s roof. Everything was kitschy and full of splendour… and what a bit suprised me, pretty warm as for Summer. But still, the collection was nothing spectacural, although cool. Very Lanvin!

Kitsch Vs. Neutral

March 2, 2013June 25, 2017 | Design & Culture by Ed

There is a new fight between two trends in Paris! Simple or Kitsch? Strong colours or beige and creme? Flowers, jewels, some kind of LOVE signs or shirling and leather? In this post I will cover four collections- Lanvin and Balmain that are classified as kitsch and Rick Owens and Nina Ricci as neutral and simple. So lets start maybe with something calm for eye, Nina Ricci. Katia and Marielle Labèque performed “Two Movements for Two Pianos” by Philip Glass on side by side grand pianos in the middle of a huge runway covered with old red carpets, giving a romantic feeling. Indeed, the collection was as romantic as the music that these two artists produced!The collection was a bit sporty but still very elegant. Everything was kept in simple colours hat are still eye caching- red, white, beige and black! My favourite look was for sure the dress with a bustier with mink fur on the top that gave a slightly different look!Now it’s the time for other collection are pretty liked, and was very simple in lines and cuts, Rick Owens. These hilarious hairstyles the models had were so great! I think that Owens is always winning with other designers, with we are taliking about hairstyles. Rick used a lot of creme and white shirling fur on jackets and coats. There were some minimalistic column like silk dresses, ruffles on tops, leather gloves. But it wasn’t, you know, much of it. Rick Owens showed this season a sensitive beauty of ready-to-weat clothes!And now it’s the time for kitsch in Paris. I think, Alber Elbaz was sick at the moment of designing the collection. Everything was so not matching. Without a form. A fail! Why did the Lanvin designer, put these horrible necklaces with hearts and pearls with a horrible signs like “YOU” or “LOVE” or something else? How is it possible to spoil a nice long silk beige dress with some kind of a furry scarf and jewellry that looked like from a petrol station? Why? It wasn’t even luxury. It was passe. Sorry Alber Elbaz, but that was a very poor collection. P.S. What the hell did these bugs were doing on a ruffled top?(This post is going to end soon :D) Balmain with Olivier Rousteing did a good job. Let’s say it straight- Balmain can’t be easy and minimalistic. It should be always luxury, ornamental and kitsch! This time Olivier chose new colours like emerals, red and violet. Most of clothes were velvet and had a really decorated details. I really liked all the structured tops and skirts. I liked the green suede jacket that M. Frackowiak wore. And the big belts were really eye catching! It was altogether sexy and sophisticated, just as it should be at Balmain! I’m clapping! So after these four collections I should say that I loved Nina Ricci and Balmain. Rick Owens was good, but a bit classy (for Rick of course) and Lanvin was horrible… So there is 2-2 for both of these categories! As we know from New York, Milan and london, luxury and ornamental clothing is back for good, but a little bit of minimalism is always the best!