Couture – Giles, Maison Margiela, Valentino AW16

July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Giles – If you think of Giles Deacon and his fashion, first thing on your mind is his “fire burnt” gown or Kristen McMenamy in a white dress with extremely big shoulders – in other words, his most fantastic and surreal creations, which are on haute couture level. This season, forget about Giles’ ready-to-wear, as the designer decided not to show during the last London Fashion Week. Instead, he went to Paris for couture week to prove that he’s incredibly good in his love for “big, special pieces for the show“. Because, why not? Life’s too short to do something that bores us.

For his first couture collection, Deacon went eclectic, allowing his imagination take over the control. Voluminous ball dress in hand-painted, palm leaves print; purple mini-dress covered with three-dimensional petals; yellow, jacquard cape-like gown with embellishments. Should I list more? Oh, yes – the stand-out piece, so a regal velvet neckpiece in an Elizabethan style, which is of course detachable. As the queen wearing Giles wishes. There’s also the imperial ‘Faberge’ print gown, all covered in a variety of egg illustrations. Yum. That’s a wardrobe for a modern-day monarch – it’s not over-the-top kitsch, but adequately fancy. It’s visible that Deacon loves seeing his biggest love – couture – become a reality!

Maison Margiela – I’m again on fence with John Galliano. To me, everything he does at Maison Margiela is haphazard, without any order. It’s not ecleticism. It’s a play with random textiles and textures. But this doesn’t mean that John’s chaos doesn’t have its own appeal – it does, intimately. Wherever you look, autumn-winter 2016 collection focuses on the tiniest detail. The bright yellow, ‘artisanal’ cocoon coat was worn with an embroidered drape at the back, while the dramatic veil on models’ head reminded me of a perfect day-with-the-bees option. There was an adventurous, bared-shoulder dress; a plastic construction layered on a red mini-dress; a show-stopping muslin gown with a red lace boy embroidered on. The attitude of the collection was quite revolutionary, and as the show-notes suggested, French revolution period is the main reference. Anna Cleveland, who wore a Napoleon-esque hat, looked like she was ready for the fight. Still, I doubt wellies and a tweed skirt with feather applications are best choice for a “military” gear.

Valentino – You surely know that this Valentino show is the last one designed by the duo of Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. At least, only one half of this pair stays; the latter, Maria Grazia, leaves for Dior. Which is quite unexpected, noting all these great collections (even if there were some ups and downs) and even greater couture presentations they did together. But on the contrary, Dior is really in a need for a designer with a strong vision after Raf Simons’ depature. Chiuri’s feminine point of view will surely match the ‘new look’, while her dresses are going to boost the sales (a new designer is always a gust of fresh air for a brand with heritage). Moreover, with her big step forward, she’s making history – she will become the first female creative director of Christian Dior’s maison.

Time will show what’s coming for Maria – for now, never mind, let’s take a look at Valentino’s latest outing. An old chapter should be ended with a bit of drama, and this Elizabethan wardrobe of puffed sleeves and clerical robes matches the slightly melancholic mood. The collection was presented on the occasion the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, so no wonder why there was a lot of Renaissance Italy feel in these theatrical clothes, origining from Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. Richly embroidered and oozing with romance (as hot red as the closing, aristocratic gowns), the designer duo proved once again that they are (or rather were) the masters of elegance. However, ignoring the fact it’s the last collection designed with help of Maria Grazia, I guess it would be simply considered as another beautiful, enchanting, and so on… Valentino couture. I confess – I hoped for something more.

Couture – Atelier. Chanel AW16

July 9, 2016July 9, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel venue productions are always over-the-top fancy, and always too unreal. But for autumn-winter 2016, Karl Lagerfeld decided to make his haute couture show an actual haute couture atelier. The legendary petites mains from Rue Cambon were transported to Grand Palais with all their sewing machines, becoming a living and breating setting for the models.

“Behind the girls in the show, there are 200 more who make what they wear—that’s quite a lot, no?—and I thought we should show them to the public too.” For this season’s couture, Chanel praised the women who are behind all the coveted tweed pantsuits, duchesse satin dresses and floriform embroidery. However, it seems like the heart of the house was exposed to the crowd; the intimacy of couture-making was disturbed for good, being suddenly photographed and tagged for social media. And surely, producing such venue is a desperate move to steal the spotlight.

But let’s not forget about the clothes, or rather wearable pieces of art. Although first looks were very classical and very Coco, the gowns which were emerging from the “atelier” oozed with drama. Black, tulle gown worn by Molly Bair with an exaggerated collar looked spectacular, while Edie Campbell’s closing look, so an embellished, pink coat with feathers on the back, was ethereal. The concept is ambiguous; the dresses are great. Quite average, as for Chanel.

Couture – Rhapsody. Schiaparelli AW16

July 8, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Being a creative director of Schiaparelli is hard, noting Elsa Schiaparelli’s extremely idiosyncratic and characteristic legacy. We’ve all observed how Bertrand Guyon struggled with the splendour of archives and references during his last two seasons, simply re-designing Elsa’s famous gowns and costumes. But for autumn-winter 2016, it seems that Guyon decided to sit down in a calm place while designing the new collection, which, in fact, isn’t a laid-back topic.

Schiaparelli’s famous summer 1938 circus show was in Guyon’s mind throughout the creative process, keeping it toned and, at a first glance, simple. The first looks were quite surprisingly elegant – black dresses with Old Hollywood style cuts and shoulders, hand-painted smokings. So chic. Then, it got even better, as the cocktail dress with a Picasso-esque bustier emerged. Back in the times, Schiaparelli expressed a true rhapsody of surreal beauty in fashion, and this collection proved that Bertrand can do Elsa’s thing, too. A velvet, butterfly-wing shaped jacket; colourful mink jacket; sequined ball-dresses. It’s a circus inspired collection, so naturally it was impossible not to spot meticulously embroidered peacocks and other animals. Every piece from this collection is a work of art. Indeed, that’s haute couture.

HC – Eclectic Candy. Valentino SS16

February 1, 2016January 31, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

I must admit – this time the haute couture week in Paris dissapointed me. It distinctly feels that the designers are frustrated with the speed of fashion industry, and such time-consuming, uncommercial collection like couture seems to be missed with the point. However, the only brand that made me sigh was Valentino – and that’s strange, because I have always ignored Maria Grazia Chiuri‘s and Pierpaolo Piccioli‘s pastel-pink-princess-dress vision. BUT, few of their last collections are great and absolutely different – and it’s visible that this designer duo push their boundaries, putting their Insta-famous rockstud stilettos and camo bags aside. The couture spring-summer 2016 collection is indeed a candy for the eye. There was an exotic, “Venetian-pagan” romanticism about this collection, from the sculptural, golden harnesses to ornamental gowns with meticulous floral embroideries and monarchy-like coats with fur-linings. I loved the sensual, sheer gowns with delicate Victoriana collars as much as the body-dresses which were more built-up and excessive. This bi-polar and eclectic outing, covered with white rose petals, was also all about the barefoot models, which looked like Grecian goddesses in their snake-themed crowns and neck-lines. Totally into this one, Valentino.

HC – Chanel, Bouchra Jarrar & Margiela SS16

January 30, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld presented a utopian vision of his ecological world – a wooden, sauna-like pavilion was built inside Grand Palais, and the catwalk was cultivated with grass. The collection was indeed all about organic textiles. The geometric lace gown, which was worn as a wedding dress by Mica Arganaraz, is actually embroidered with such materials as wood shavings, breads, rhinestones and chiffon. Moreover, it’s entirely “made from wild cotton” and as the designer said “this is high-fashion ecology. It must not look like some sloppy demonstration!” To make it even more sustainable, all the wedges were made of cork, while the signature Coco Chanel bouclé jackets had the illusion of a bark texture. But let’s not fool ourselves – this collection is a bit like the politically labeled SS15 ready-to-wear outing, where the models pretended to demonstrate women’s rights with their Chanel banners and 3000 euros bags. In case of this couture collection, the significant topic of ecology feels like a one-season, shallow trend. Last season Lagerfeld was over the top with neoprene, a textile which can’t be obtained in any possible, biodegradable nor organic way. So doing an eco collection feels like an idea which came out of the blue.

Bouchra Jarrar

The French designer, Bouchra Jarrar, reinteprets couture each season, making it look effortless (and usually too ready-to-war). But whatever they say, her elegant and calm collections ooze with Parisian chic. For spring-summer 2016, Jarrar focued on the pants, which are surely the most sleek and well-tailored of all. The coats with fur collars make me drool up to now, while the delicate velvet dresses in ecru are all about the toned, couture details.

Maison Margiela

“Is haute couture falling apart? No, it’s just Maison Margiela by John Galliano”. I agree with you, Suzy Menkes. Margiela under Galliano‘s wings starts to look like a low-budget sham of luxurious textiles which are waisted on an “artisanal” drama. The recent collection is a mess and it’s not an art expression. Martin Margiela was known for his signature clothes deconstruction and the “out of the studio” effect, where everything felt raw and unfinished. But in John’s hands, it all looks like a “fashion” junk.