CELINE – Phoebe Philo’s triumph
Phoebe Philo proved once again that she has staying power. After all the accolades she received for her debut S.S 2010 show last season… what could she conjure up to equal if not top her last collection? Not a worry on her part. She stuck to the “Less is More” aesthetic she began with for Spring and marched forward and produced a tremendously strong Fall collection. Ms. Philo has mastered the art of purity but interpreting it in her own way. There were names tossed about after the show… Jil Sander, Helmut Lang… as they were two huge influences throughout Paris fashion week. Influenced… yes, but Ms. Philo has her own signature she is tagging the world with. Pure in it’s foundation but there’s a strength and an essence of luxe that beacons from deep within the fabrics and details of the clothes. The collection reeks of confidence. Less and simple are such small words…. but when those words can be followed by the words sexy, powerful and hyper-chic… they become stronger than any of the adjectives so often used in fashion vocabulary that have a connotation of frivolity. This is serious dressing at its best. The color palette was based on navy, army green, ivory and a bit of black. The clothes were covered up for the most part, save a leg baring slit here and there, but they still managed to exude a sexiness that was very potent but at the same time measured and calculated. It didn’t happen by chance. Just enough…. a collection filled with strong coats, the must have skirts and the right dresses. The flourishes were achieved with a touch of leather and a metallic heel on the shoes. Such restraint…. but breathtaking at the same time.
all photos DChen
All in all… the spotlight has found a new favorite to follow in Paris.
Balenciaga : high-rise
Remember the amazing shoes from the runway presentation chez Balenciaga?
Here’s an up close and personal view of theses wonders created by well known and very respected Paris based shoe designer Pierre Hardy for Balenciaga. Pierre Hardy has his own eponymous shoe collection and is one of the hottest and most visionary shoe designers in the world. These high-rise brogues and sandals are works of art.
all photos DChen
the one that got away…. John Galliano
Each season, the schedule is pretty unforgiving. You work in advance to set your appointments on an itinerary that works alongside the runway presentations. I made my first appointment for this trip on 9 December 2009. The official runway show schedule is set perhaps 2-3 weeks in advance… so for Paris, that would have been mid to late February 2010. If I waited for the final word for the runway schedule to start making showroom appointments, I wouldn’t have any appointments at all. Near last minute, there was a change on the runway schedule. John Galliano moved his show up on the calendar and earlier in the day than his usual spot of 8:30pm. I had already schedule a showroom appointment at the time slot of 5:00pm on Sunday, 7 March. It was an appointment I could not move to another time slot and I did try…. so guess what? The Galliano show was the sacrifice. A big show that I hate to miss… ( if you saw my post from his show last season ) but alas, a working showroom appointment takes precedence. There, too, are sacrifices in fashion.
The invitation….
The runway show photos at www.style.com
Dries Van Noten – revisited
Many of you asked for more photos of the Dries Van Noten f.w 2010 show. My trusty little Casio Exilim couldn’t do it’s usual job from my vantage point at the show and the lighting was not very advantageous for quality photos. Instead, here is the link to the Dries Van Noten website and to the video of the runway show that took place on Wednesday, 5 March 2010 @ 3:00pm… in a grand hall of the Hotel de Ville. It’s like you’re there yourselves….
http://www.driesvannoten.be/movie.html
One quick photo I will include that I just found in my camera…. I was only able to get the back of the dress as it strode by. The print look familiar? I believe it is the same fabric and print of the beautiful gown that Maggie Gyllenhaal wore to the Academy Awards this past Sunday.
photo DChen
YOHJI YAMAMOTO – true to himself
Yohji Yamamoto managed to dust himself off amidst all his company’s financial woes and show a beautiful collection that was so true to himself. He chose to show at the Lycee Carnot, quickly becoming a fashion venue when all the students have closed their books for the day and gone home. This beautiful high school on boulevard Malesherbes has been the site of many a fashion shows as of late. Although it has a roofed courtyard, the cold was close to unbearable. The YY team provided fleece blankets, in black of course, on every seat to help keep the fashion flock from developing hypothermia.
Mr. Yamamoto presented all things familiar of his world that we have come to appreciate. The beauty lies in its simplicity this season. His classics recut and striving for a sense of purity . The color palette was his serious staple of navy, black and white. As always, there were the most beautiful coats and this season with exposed sculptural seams. He played with volume but in the most controlled way. He, too, was fascinated by the fuller skirt silhouette but again… so in control. The standouts were his strapless dress. He didn’t wander into new or unknown territory but sometimes, that can be appreciated as well.
all photos – DChen
BALENCIAGA – f.w 2010 – other worldly
Nicolas Ghesquiere continues his push into the future with a close regard to the heritage of Balenciaga. He intelligently launched into new territory with his tailoring. Remembering the shapes of the past and morphing them into shapes relevant to a modern woman’s closet. Some shapes bordered on boxlike but engineered to be more than flattering. Fur trim present and accounted for as the season has mandated. Mr. Ghesquiere’s use of color splicing and his choice of using pale grey, pink, pale green, apricot, aqua, white – a color palette more common to a Spring collection brought a unexpected but soothing appeal. His use of colorful embroidered knits were also a new element. The pant silhouette is still as narrow as can be and the skirt still mini short. Text was used as the new print. The one odd element that didn’t work as well for me was his white padded outerwear tops with black yokes. Nicolas Ghesquiere has once again pressed far further than any of his peers with this precise and beautiful collection.
all photos DChen 
Dries Van Noten – perfect dream
Now this is the way to open a season in Paris! I am more of a fan than ever of Dries Van Noten and his sensitive vision. A true mixmaster. The blending and layering was perfection and done with ease. He showed his collection in a very grand hall in the Hotel de Ville. The opulent and ornate space with its painted ceilings, gold trims and resplendent chandeliers was such a purposeful contrast to the very straight forward and graceful collection delivered by Mr. Van Noten.
His play of proportion and silhouette was interpreted from the 50’s and 60’s. Of note was the full skirt and how he modernized this 50’s silhouette as well as a few other very recognizable shapes from these decades. The contrast of prim and casual was his goal and it was achieved effortlessly. He shuffled it all together with elements of military, fur, sweat-shirting, prints and cotton utility basics. His contradictions were done so expertly that they appear to be the right look. An exciting start to another season in Paris… and now the Paris calendar has a new leader!
Photos: DChen
MARNI – f/w 2010
Marni designer Consuelo Castiglioni continually redefines the term “marching to her own beat.” The fall/winter collection that was sent careening out of control down the runway on Sunday morning ( and mind you it was only a bit past 9am ) was as off-kilter as we have ever seen. There are all the usual elements that Marni is known for… eclectic styling, stenciled fur, prints and patterns and beautiful color combinations one would never dream of.BUT… then we were confronted by awkward tops that sometimes appeared with exaggerated peplums paired with a Bermuda shorts, odd abstract face like prints, the knee high sock/hose with heels , upholstery prints in musty-dusty colors, an attempt to play with the pared down aesthetic that was flat. So many ideas… un-managed. Left a lot of us looking at each other as we exited the show with perplexed expressions, a bit of head scratching, some head shaking and a rush to find more coffee.
all photos – DChen
