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.
SS14
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…
HC: ATELIER VERSACE SS14
In few words about Donatella Versace’s ‘fantastic’ creation for SS14’s Couture season. Taking Azzedine Alaia’s biggest hits like the Grace Jones purple gown, and making it more Barbie by putting crystals and diamonds on it is not creativity. It’s copying. I understand young designers like Olivier Rousting orAnthony Vaccarello who are inspired by Alaia- they look for new in old. But Donatella? It’s even not Gianni legacy. The collection was so horribly #rich-bish-champagne-cool… that even Lady Gaga -who took photos with every guest like Abercombie&Fitch boys on the entrance to the store- couldn’t help it. Maybe less glitter puke but more… Real Versace couture?
Paris: Crazy About Dior
Paris is crazy about Dior! First of all, they opened a pop-up store on Rue du St. Honore with cosmetics and perfumes; then because of Christmas and New Year, they hang a huge, shiny chandelier above the entrance to Avenue Montaigne’s store… and also changed the store’s windows into Resort 2014! The windows show the models wearing the colourful dresses and bags with a backround made of cut-out texture, presenting the daily life of Parisians- through windows.
And if you feel it’s not enough, then here is your SS14 Campaign preview of Dior. Stella Tennant (the new star of the Parisian maison) looks as always amazingly good, and the dress, bag and shoes designed by Raf Simons… simply beautiful. Dior really got Paris in it’s hands!
Design & Culture by Ed 