Valentino was definitely one of the most beautiful collections of the season. With the SS14’s tribal influence, Valentino took us to South America, where Aztecs and Mayas decorated their temples in opulent and splendour way. The craftsmanship of the collection is impressive- all the couture embroideries on dresses looked like if were made by one of the local Mexican women, dying and threading each flower and shape into silk. There were also some inspirations with Latin explorer-chic- suede capes with frenzies, sandals, jewellery with zodiac amazing use of denim with Guatemalan skirts and tops. However, there was something about sexy 70’s of Hollywood and Byzantine luxury hidden in the looks- crowns, rich colours, sensual lace, ribboned shirts… Valentino not only took as into the beautiful journey to South America and it’s secrets, but also made it in surrounded with European qualities and chic!
Chic
Rock ‘n Chic. Saint Laurent SS14
That was the third Saint Laurent fashion show under the wings of Hedi Slimane, and it was… the best! I am still blown up after this collection that was presented in Grand Palais in Paris yesterday. On the entry, there was a big, LED lights installation that reminded of some abstract piece of art. And then the show begun of course with… Edie Campbell, with gloomy hairstyle and eye make-up. She wore a beautiful V-neck dress in black colour. Sexy and chic. Then the classical Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking shown in a much more casual way. The collection wasn’t punk itself- it was very chic and elegant, but had a rock ‘n roll twist too. Stripes t-shirts, sequined jackets, sharp hair-cuts, over-large sleeves and lips/fire print on few mini dresses. Hedi definitely got mad with all these grunge boots from Winter, but certainly he did fell in love with socks under stilettos… I think this is one of the coolest trend, while most people are totally on NO when they see this. But in the Saint Laurent edition, it simply looked great. The SS14 collection by Saint laurent was definitely one of my favourite this season!
New Alaia Store Opening
The long-waited store of Alaia have just opened close to the Avenue Montaigne in Paris. And this is a great occasion because within the day of the opening, Mr. Azzedine Alaia had his amazing exhibition too presented in the Palais Galliera on the same day. The master of perfect dresses that show the sexiest parts of women body, has a really winning year… Now wonder why- he is a real fashion icon, and it’s not a surprise that the designer who has a privilege to show his new collections whenever he wants, is having a second store in Paris opened. The first was his house/studio were you could meet him and see him work ( I was once lucky to have a chance of saying bonjour Mr. Alaia!) on Rue Moussy, and now it’s just next to all these big houses, few meters from Av. Montaigne. And the new boutique is amazing- the design, the colours, the CLOTHES… Simply, I want to Paris!
Masai. Givenchy SS14
Riccardo Tisci delivered this season something a bit more than prints. Just like the SS14 for men, the collection for women was strongly inspired with African and South American tribes of Masai, Aztecs and much more. Model wore jewelled masks, traditional, colourful jewellery and of course… Beautiful gowns made of silk and embroideries. What I loved about Givenchy’s SS14 for women, is that it wasn’t so trivial and a bit out of idea. Yes, there were some prints, but in closer look that was all made of sequins. The dresses and tops were too made with Haute Couture precission. The colours, forms… I don’t really imagine a woman wearing this on a party (note: there was no high heels in this collection!) but it’s still a great experience to see these clothes life. Riccardo Tisci, thanks God, came back to Earth, and again creates amazing collections!
Indie. Junya Watanabe SS14
The new Parisian fav designer that is known for a cool way of mixing sportswear with something “different” is definitely Junya Watanabe. Junya got really inspired with Indie rock and the tribal Americans, changing the typical head decoration of feathers into something more sophisticated… Maybe the new Parisian chic? There was also a lot of denim like last season and the grunge attitude- lots of holes, spiked boots and crazy hairstyles. In other words it was a great ethnical journey with Japanese designer in Paris!
Design & Culture by Ed 