Gareth Pugh’s Fall 2010 show had the audience in anticipation for the show to begin, the lights flashed as though they were lightning from the heavens.  Each look could have come straight from the future in intimidating black leather and chains, even if the leather were buttery soft.  Dare I say I felt a bit of fear and apprehension upon seeing the collection, but in the best possible way.  You know the way you get around the bad boy because he’s a little dangerous.  Well that’s the feeling I got from this collection, pure excitement and adrenaline.  At first I thought I would be bored with the lack of color, but that was not the case.  There was so much visual interest in the designs and fabric choices that the absence of color was a non issue.  Beautiful texture was all around and the origami folds, a work of art, especially on that fabric.  Some of the looks even managed to take on a futuristic Zen quality, but don’t be fooled because they look like they could still kick butt.  Weaving the linen and cotton fabrics in with the leather between looks softened the edge, and made the collection more approachable.  Though most of the pieces were  all black, the touches of gray brought a ray of light.   Arm length leather gloves and over the knee boots capped off this runway show.  It was so good that it was bad, and so bad, they even had a real life Bad Boy in the front row, Sean P. Diddy Combs.

Anne Valerie Hash

Gareth Pugh

Rochas

Today was the first day of the ready-to-wear shows for Paris Fashion Week.  Being the first day, it may be too early to spot trends, but I am taking notice of the colors for spring thus far.  A  few collections have color palettes that are more reminiscent of fall.  Rochas had colors like burnt orange, deep burgundy and brown.  Gareth Pugh’s collection offered a sea of gray in various shades, this was in contrast to the mostly white collection he showed for spring 2009.  Anne Valerie Hash departed from the soft neutral color palette of spring 2009 and opted for more charcoal grays and blacks this season.  Is this the trend for Paris next spring?  The answer will unfold in the next day or two.