Goga Ashkenazi, the owner and “creative director” of the old Couture label Vionnet, just hired a new designer- Hussein Chalayan, the men who did LED gowns, table skirts and all other crazy fashion you can imagine from the 90’s. This SS14 collection for this Parisian house was about decision- new or old? Hussein made it of course futuristic. The runway was very industrial with car elements lying all around. While the forms of this pretty minimalistic collection were modest, but sharp, the detail nailed it. Aluminium plugs used as belts; chargers as necklaces; and huge, hand embroidered keys on the gowns. I really like this move of Vionnet- taking new into old and another way round. What do you think of this “unexpected” collaboration?
Haute Couture
HC: Ulyana Sergeenko SS14
Ulyana Sergeenko, the Russian designer in Paris that thinks she will bit the world (unfortunately) already bit it up badly. The wife of a millionaire once thought, that she wants to be a fashion designer. A COUTURE designer. So her dream come true. And here is her forth collection. First of all, I don’t have anything to Kazachstan- indeed, I think their culture is beautiful just like their country. But… a collection that was inspired with traditional Kazachstan clothes and Parisian boudoir is a big mistake. Reminding cheaper looking Anna Karenina, Ulyana made her ideas come to life with a shiny collection full of hand-made Russian fabrics, ugly colours and red satin. AND THAT WEDDING CAKE GOWN. That’s too much. The model looked like a meringue! However, good news are here: male funs of Sergeenko can feel priviledged. Ulyana Sergeenko designs menswear… without footwear. If you feel brave, just have a peek how the collection looked like.
HC: CHANEL SS14
Karl Lagerfeld again cleared it all straight away- he is the innovator of Couture as every season. The SS14 was so… Feminine. Soft. Girlie. Innoncent. There are hundreds of words that may describe this amazing collection. First of all- no more heels on couture. ONLY SNEAKERS now count. Just like at Dior, but in more cooler way. Cara Delevigne was a beautiful bride in a white wedding gown (that was unexpectly very modest and comfortable!), hands-to-hands with a small boy who looked cute in a tiny Chanel suite. The collection was inspired with sporty chic (that’s why the embroidered trainers and knee defenders) and the simplicity of beautiful dresses- forget long gowns. Now it’s time for mini-dresses and sheer bodysuits. That was a really lovely collection.
HC: DIOR SS14
The Dior couture show for SS14 was a perfect marriage of modern elegance and sport chic. The sheer, flawless dresses made out of high-tech fabrics looked simple and comfortable, while they were worn not with classical stilettos, but with… trainers. Yes. The haute couture show was accompanied by sporty footwear. And I must admit- I am insanely in love with this idea. The new vision of couture created by Raf Simons is about paying attention to detail, but making it all comfortable… but still expensive and luxurious. As always, the collection was presented in Musee Rodin, that was for time being transformed into a white, hand sculpted room where the show took place. What I loved was the 60’s approach of prints and colours. And of course the feminine touch Raf Simons challenges every season at Dior!
HC: SCHIAPARELLI SS14
Elsa Schiaparelli created a super succesful couture label known all around the world before World War II. Known for abstractive prints, surrealistic shapes and strange head decorations, Schiaparelli was the IT brand. But, unfortunately fashion industry got so useless within the war, that even beauty of her creations stopped to make people smile. Till now, when on 20th of January of 2014 in Paris the first runway collection was presented, being designed by ex-Rochas designer, Marco Zanini. And it was a circus. The designer made Schiaparelli more a… ready-to-wear collection than Couture. Seriously- white shirt with a black blazer. Nicely decorated gowns. This is all standart for RTW. The collection was between past and now- the same prints and head-covers from Elsa’s time and the modern part, so more minimalistic- done by… well, as I remember Marco wasn’t a fan of minimalism at Rochas. So why the blast of creativity, beauty and fairy-tale couturier dreams were so tamed? Only Stella Tennant in blue hair positevely shocked me…
Design & Culture by Ed 