Martin Margiela Spring 2009

Martin Margiela has made his final curtain call at the house of Margiela.  It comes as no surprise because the rumors have been rampant about his impending exit for over a year.  He leaves his fashion house after 20 years and there are no plans to replace him.  Margiela will now have a creative staff instead of one creative head; this team benefits from the designer’s creative nurturing over the years.  Only time will tell if this new effort will be successful.  So far the last applauded collection at the fashion house was the elusive designer’s ‘backwards’ collection in spring 2009; both the fall 2009 and spring 2010 collections received luke-warm receptions.  It is believed that Martin Margiela did not have a hand in either collection.  Can a group be as successful at communicating a cohesive vision as one creative leader? That remains to be seen and we’ll be watching.

Karl Lagerfeld has directed a new short film starring Edita Vilkeviciute as a young Coco Chanel.  The backdrop of the film is Shanghai; a bit of an homage to Chanel’s Pre-Fall 2010 collection aptly named Paris-Shanghai.  In keeping with the name, the collection took its inspiration from the city in China with beautiful coats, embellished dresses and accessories.  Most notable among the accessories are the hats which are authentic in shape and embellished with beadings and other appliques.  Paris-Shanghai made our Rollcall list this week.  The presentation is 22-minutes in length, watch and enjoy.

Part 1

 Part 2

 Part 3

The ‘Sonia Rykiel Pour H&M’ event will take place in Paris on December 1st.  Preparations for the launch have been underway for over week, and the excitement is palpable.

Fantasy-land is the party theme, a “fairy tale for grown-ups,” says Etienne Russo, the fashion event planner at H&M.  Sonia Rykiel and H&M’s collaboration is being celebrated with a grand Parisiene event at the Grand Palais.  There will be floats to transport the models, and giant bunnies, ducks and balloon trees on hand to complete the fantasy. 

All of this will culminate in the official launch on December 5th, that’s when the lingerie collection hits stores.  The collection will also be sold in Sonia Rykiel’s boutiques.  Pretty and feminine accurately describes the lingerie, which are the hallmark traits of Sonia Rykiel.

The winter 2009 collection is just the first collaboration between Sonia Rykiel and H&M; the second collection due out in spring 2010.  You’ll be treated then to a knitwear and accessories collection.  Until then, enjoy the lingerie for the holidays.

Lady Gaga does it once again, she manages to titillate in her “Bad Romance” video.  The video has a very futuristic vibe, and not surprisingly, Alexander McQueen’s spring 2010 collection is sprinkled throughout.  The opening scene showcases one of McQueen’s metallic gold looks for spring.  His shoes are also prominently featured, and rightfully so, they’ve been the talk of Paris Fashion Week and beyond.  Watch with caution though, you might find yourself caught in the madness of Lady Gaga, and love it.

It was a tale of two Paris, and now that the shows are over, fashion critics and journalist are asking, ‘does sex sell’?  The easy answer is a resounding, ‘yes’, but it’s a little more complicated than that.  Sex does sell, but who’s buying it?  There were some very sexy collections in Paris this season, but the shows that gripped the fashion world most were the ones where we were offered innovation and fully clothed models.  Of course Alexander McQueen’s show comes to mind with a look to the future, so does Louis Vuitton.  Both streamed their shows live and opened up this seemingly secret world to everyone.  Karl Lagerfeld even got Chanel into the act with a theme of farm and hay as the backdrop against the refined and polished looks of that house.  Contrasting the collection with the scenery made the clothes pop out.  The sexier collections used the clothes to do what McQueen and Vuitton used technology to do, get us talking.  Let’s face it, one of the purposes for the fashion weeks is to generate buzz.  Did this strategy work?  Maybe the sexier houses were betting that women wanted a change; that gamble would not have been too far fetched, but was translucent clothing the solution?  Dior and Giles Deacon took a calculated risk, but only time and sales will tell the full story.  For now, the strategy has proved itself effective because we are still talking about them.

At Paris Shows, Designers Hope That Sexy Sells [WSJ]

What Professional Woman Wants to Wear Lingerie As Clothing? [The Cut]

I’ve seen a glimpse of the future and it is well.  The Alexander McQueen spring 2010 runway show was one of my favorite shows of Paris Fashion Week.  It was high tech and high drama.  The collection was stunning; the lavish fabrics and prints were reminiscent of the days of the Czars of Russia.  It was a fabulous production, yet the the production did not upstage the clothes.  The models were almost robotic in their stilt-like shoes that lifted them to superhuman heights.  I was reminded of the autobots of Transformers, sleek mechanical visitors from outer space in the most fabulous pieces.  It would have been appropriate to ask them to take us to their leader.  Even the hair got into the act with a Bride of Frankenstein meets Princess Leia vibe.  Take some time to see the runway show here, and see for yourself.

Imagine a collection where the pieces are so translucent that you could see right through, you may say that’s unthinkable, but I’d say that’s Dior.  Lingerie was on the agenda in Paris, and the slip has made a definite come back.  The sheer fabrics did just what they were supposed to on the runway, they shocked and awed.  The Hollywood inspired collection was not only beautiful, but desirable.  Yes, it was a runway of Hollywood sirens, from the well coifed hair to the ruby red lips.  It would take a pretty daring woman to don some of those pieces as is; let’s hope linings will be placed in them by the time they reach the stores.  I’m just saying!

Balmain wowed us with a collection that appeared to be inspired by the Roman army for spring 2010.  The first thought upon seeing the models on the runway was of Mark Antony, of Cleopatra not Jennifer Lopez.  Some of the looks reminded me of the protective metal suits worn by the Roman military; they were shiny and festive in metallics of gold, pewter, and rust.  The metallics were paired with leather and that made for an explosion on the runway.  It was so explosive that most of the looks were torn and tattered, but in the most stylish manner.  One of the best thing about fashion is that it is subject to interpretation, and this collection really got us thinking.  It is a youthful and rocking collection.  Who wouldn’t want to be a Balmain girl come spring? 

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.

Meet Alexis Mabille, a French fashion designer who is the new couturier in Paris.  He is only 30 years old, and has already worked with John Galliano and at Yves Saint Laurent.  His style is very romantic and feminine, his signature is the bow tie.  Mr. Mabille has his sight set on the younger couture buyer.   That is a good way to avoid direct competition with the older more established houses, but I wonder if the younger buyer will have the buying power to sustain this venture in the present economy.  Even so, his designs are fresh and pretty, and will be coveted.