a little turn on the catwalk

>> While Valentino Garavani is preparing to tape an episode of The Martha Stewart Show to promote Valentino: The Last Emperor next week, his proteges Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli sent out their second try at his legacy this morning.  Their first collection for the brand in January was deemed too close to the designer's own style — perhaps done out of fear of having the same fate as Alessandra Facchinetti — so for this second collection, they needed to move the brand forward.

Unfortunately, they seem to have earned more rave reviews for their choice of venue — the Galerie des Moulages, with open windows to the Eiffel Tower — than for the clothes.  Los Angeles Times's Booth Moore deemed the collection the "same coat with fur trim a dozen different ways, yawn." Hilary Alexander thought "the clothes were just too much of a blast from the past," and Suzy Menkes was left wishing for Alessandra Facchinetti.  Curiously, with all the archival inspiration, there was not a single "Valentino red" dress in the bunch.
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>> WWD warned that Alexander McQueen was planning a wild time for his show this evening, and were they ever on the money. Attendees entered to red lighting, smoke, and a runway with a huge trash heap in the middle, full of metallic pieces and salvaged props from McQueen shows of the past.  The soundtrack, too, was a mash-up of past McQueen shows — all adding to the designer's inspiration, "reinvention"; it was no surprise when elements of past collections resurfaced on the runway, including a jeweled armor top from Spring 2000.  The models had on Leigh Bowery clown-like red lips, skyscraping heels, and headpieces made of empty soda cans wrapped in black latex with umbrellas strapped to the top.  But most importantly, amongst all the houndstooth and feathers, McQueen proved that in all the doom and gloom, fantasy still lives — to rapturous applause.
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>> Kate Moss caused a paparazzi scrum of a calibur we haven't seen much of this season this morning at Chanel.  As she emerged from backstage wearing the label, a frenzy of photographers four-deep surrounded her, which she apparently found hilarity in, embarking on a fit of giggles and wiping tears from her eyes.  She waved to Jefferson Hack across the way, gave Beth Ditto an enthusiastic hug, and then settled down between Mario Testino and boyfriend Jamie Hince, right down the way from Claudia Schiffer. The photographers ended up breaking off a section of the black-and-white runway in efforts to get a shot of Kate.

The set wasn't a monstrous tweed jacket or organ set this time — but rather, a simply branded split scenario; and as promised, the collection was dubbed "Belle Brummell," an ode to Beau Brummell, inventor of the modern suit, with plenty of black suiting, removable white cuffs and collars, and splashes of mint and baby pink thrown in.  Karl Lagerfeld pushed the limit with a few looks — slits up to here and down to there, plus a few printed leotard-and-legging ensembles — but for sales, he's really depending on that little black dress in hard times, just like Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Christian Lacroix.
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>> It's all about black at Yves Saint Laurent — and not just on the runway.  Owner PPR just announced that after ten years of losses, the brand finally broke even in 2008.  Appropriately enough, Stefano Pilati sent out a Fall 2009 collection that was — you guessed it — mostly black, quilted, pinstriped, and in leather; apparently Pilati worked with automakers to cultivate some pieces in materials usually used in high-end cars.  Spring 2009 face Claudia Schiffer was in front row, and just as suspected, Caroline Trentini finally appeared as an exclusive, closing the show.  Pilati, who notably is one of only two designers in the industry who works without a stylist — the other being Giorgio Armani — riffed on YSL's heritage power-dressing, and the message was powerful; maybe a little too powerful for Yulia Kharlapanova, who had to take her shoes off.
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>> Two very different designers, Alber Elbaz for Lanvin and Yohji Yamamoto, showed collections with a largely red and black color scheme today.  The latter said his red stood for “blood and crazy,” but it's not as terrifying as it seems.  In fact, the collection was quite beautiful: wool coats in all shapes and sizes — bunched, brushed with red or white, boasting asymmetrical flaps or gauzy overlay.  The Moment called it "poetic," which seems most appropriate; even with the punkish streaked hair, one-eye eyeliner, the soundtrack was still eery piano.  Neon pink and red flats and booties made their debut, part of Yohji's new collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo, and it all finished with a choreographed finale: five models, hand-in-hand, each wearing a tomato red coat, formed a circle, displaying a strip of hot pink down their backs.
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>> Martin Margiela may be to blame for the overloaded shoulders, shaggy coats, and sculptural necklines we're seeing everywhere else for Fall 2009, and his bellwhether abilities are really paying off — his Paris stores logged a 21 percent sales increase year over year in January.  Despite rumors last season that he was on the brink of leaving the company, "he's still in position," Margiela chief exec Giovanni Pungetti assures, although he disclosed that the designer recently reduced his day-to-day involvement and is seldom in the company's headquarters.  Instead, "He’s concentrating on more strategic projects. He’s still working with us in the key decisions of the company.  This is the spirit [Martin] wanted to create; that’s his philosophy.  He’s more consulting with us than designing every product. The team is more Margiela than him.”

Indeed, the Fall 2009 collection — whoever designed it — seemed the essence of Margiela.  The show was about "morphing," and models walked the zigzagged catwalk, starting with a woman wearing only a bra and nude tights, graduating into greater states of dress — slashed trenches and tops, looped capes, and Margiela's newest answer to the highlighted shoulder — clear plastic shoulder pads held by black bra straps.  One model wore a cotton cloud.  The crowd was left speechless at the end, and a muted applause broke out amongst the bewilderment.  But it is here that the seeds of future seasons are planted.
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>> The runway at Lanvin was watered down to look like wet pavement, but the collection was anything but washed up — Alber Elbaz formulated dresses in a modern ode to the '40s power woman, frame bags their accessory of choice.  Largely black with a flash of red or nude, the collection was sensual, glamourous, but appropriately sober — filled with the kind of pieces that will encourage women to bring out their pocketbooks, even in these tight times — those necklaces!  A testament to his devotion to the collection, each outfit was baptized with a name — Arlette or Violette; Alber always knows how to serve it up — whether it be the chocolate cherries and cherry rum cocktails white bow-tie-clad waiters offered pre-show, or the clothes themselves — and this is no exception.
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>> The PETA protesters who haven't shown up much this season were out in full force outside Christian Dior this afternoon, brandishing bloodied pelts and yelling "Assassins!!" at the showgoers.  Backstage, the models were feeling pain of their own — everyone's eyebrows had to be dyed blonde, and 200 hair pins had to be secured to their heads, causing some to cry and call their families and agents to complain.  Inside, John Galliano took a trip to a faraway place — somewhere between Persia and the far East, sending harem pants, jumpsuits, medallioned jewelry, and even a bare bottom down the runway.  The collection came in a rainbow of colors, and in between all of the exotic there was plenty of the commercial — as one Times UK twitterer put it, "Suits suits suits and the Lady Dior bag."  Galliano said his intention was to restore a sense of fantasy to the world, but why does his Fall 2009 strategy — even the shoes — look so much like his fantasies of recent seasons past?
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>> Rick Owens traded in his Spring 2009 nuns for Fall 2009 swans, with feather headbands and ice queen pastels intermixed into his usual black palette.  Apparently, a good number of the models showed up backstage — including Sasha Pivovarova, who teasingly complained about her jacket causing people to touch her — wearing at least one Rick piece, a testament to his fashion following; another testament: Anna Wintour chose his show as the last to which 60 Minutes's Morley Safer would accompany her.  But when you've got jackets and boots like these, what do you expect?
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>> Olivier Theyskens's position at Nina Ricci is confusing, to say the least — it's generally viewed that the Fall 2009 collection is his last for the brand, and supposedly Peter Copping is already lined up to succeed him when his contract runs out in October, but the company declines to comment.  Now, rumors are going around that management actually already fired Olivier, but he won't leave — he does have the option to do one more collection for the brand, so maybe he's hoping to change management's mind?

Needless to say, Olivier admitted to reporters that today's show was an emotional one, and he took a long bow at the end of the show to a standing ovation.  Gone was the Olivier who shows in the Tuileries Gardens and thrives on romantic gowns; instead, he sent out pieces with Mugler-inspired shoulders and a harder edge in a warehouse setting.  And let's not forget the insane shoes — stilt-like — some say 8-inch, some say 10-inch, platforms with either no heels or conventional stilettos dangling in the air — close-up here. Surprisingly, there were no falls, only a couple of wobbles.  All in all, a return to Olivier's fetishistic roots — the sheer pieces were most successful — but will it be enough?
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