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.

HC – Carte Blance. Dior SS16

January 27, 2016January 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Without a designer at helm, the house of Dior is a true carte blanché in many ways. For the summer haute couture season the studio staff (who were aesthetically trained by Raf Simons throughout his three-year tenure) tried to do their best. And to a surprise, unexpectedly they did a good job without a creative director (comparing to the disastrous collection from 2011, when Bill Gayten replaced John Galliano with his tasteless fashion). The collection had Simons’ minimal spirit present, just like it smartly played with Christian Dior’s legacy. Shoulder-exposing bar jackets, lace dresses with v-neck cuts and feminine suits looked breezy and fresh. The only major dissapointment is the lack of a beautiful, COUTURE ball-dress. I loved Raf’s couture collections because of his amazing dresses. This time, Dior feels pretty handicapped among the other brands without one, but that’s totally understandable – you can’t demand everything at a time from a studio-designed collection. Now, the question is – who is the person that will take-over the brand in the near future? Any guesses?

HC – Haute Foodie. Schiaparelli SS16

January 27, 2016January 26, 2016 | Design & Culture by Ed

Bertrand Guyon has his second season at Schiaparelli finished, but it still seems that he needs time to show his audience who he is. The signatures of Elsa Schiaparelli are so characteristic that it’s surely hard to make your personal style the first privilege – even though Marco Zanini, the predecessor of Guyon at the brand, was nearly there. The idea behind the haute couture spring-summer 2016 collection, or rather a thematic find from Elsa’s archives, was celebration of food and the family meal. The topic of food was significant for the legendary designer – in her autobiography “Shocking Life“, she stated “eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.” Indeed, the nearly minuscule details and bejewelled embroideries, created in collaboration with Maripol, looked joyous. The adorable cherry was hooked over one nipple, while an evolution of a “breakfast egg” had been humoristically presented in form of jacket buttons. Bertrand and his team proved that craftsmanship is the maison‘s specialty – the blazer above was ornamented with a wheat plaiting technique, known to the best Parisian ateliers only.

However, the collection had its bad site which couldn’t be fixed by all those nutritious finishings – in the overall, the collection looked unfinished. The closing looks weren’t spectacular at all – modest, scanty dresses felt not on the right place. Even the spider-web shoulder exposures were illogical. I suppose Elsa didn’t mean insects as her favourite positions in the menu. As it’s visible, the collection needed a more strict edit, and a rich, festive ending. I still felt hungry after the show.

HC – Great Beauty. Valentino AW15

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

In the heart of Rome, the Italian house of Valentino presented its haute couture collection which just showed us, that this specific season is all about eponymous splendour. In 1960, Valentino Garavani founded his brand in the eternal city – now, its a label which can be called a fashion empire. But what’s most interesting in this collection is the fact that the creative directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, had it presented in Valentino’s hometown and not as usual, in Paris. The venue of the fashion show was bulit on Piazza Mignanelli – the place where Valentino himself staged his shows in the past.

The colour of black is ususally misunderstood. But in reality, black is poetic, elusive and mysterious. These words precisely describe this collection for AW15. “Rome is just a little bit noir, a little sinister” said Pierpaolo before the show, giving us the idea behind the city and the collection’s connection. Leather flowers trellised a sheer tulle cape, while minuscule beads added character to a gladiator minidress. And the repeating arch motif on a floor-sweeping, wool and velvet cape? A treasure. This is one of these collections you are going to remember for a long time.

HC – Fourrure. Fendi AW15

July 10, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The last fourrure was presented 90 years ago. Two days ago, Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Fendi, showed the world what is the definite fur splendor. As the name fourrure might suggest, it is a haute couture collection which is utterly focused on… fur. Chinchilla, sable and mink were presented in form of long, floor-weeping coats, flesh explosing jumpsuit and amazingly detailed sweaters – and these were not only interesting because of the fact they were made from a fusion of cashmere and fluff, but because they were embellished with huge flowers, of course shaped from fur. The cape worn by Julia Nobis at the end of the show may have been all about feathers “transforming” into a silver-tipped skirt, which set our minds on a cross-species category search. PETA was set at bay during the fashion show – and all your furry fantasies became real.