>> THE MODELIZER — Jessica Stam has worn wings down the runway, but now she's aiming for a whole different set of wings — she's in the midst of working on her pilot's license, and has already clocked a few hours in the cockpit. "It’s something I’ve always wanted to try." [WWD]
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>> Bruno wasn't the only one pulling antics during Paris Fashion Week — Karl Lagerfeld and Harper's Bazaar creative director Stephen Gan had a few tricks up their sleeves as well.
During the Fall 2008 season, the designer and editor remarked at how many unfamiliar names were on the Paris Fashion Week schedule. "There was Fifi this and Foufou that," Gan explained — so for Spring 2009, they added a fictitious label to the Paris Fashion Week List — Poupou Lapin. They gave the label a design brief, a gimmick in the form of a fur bikini, and started putting the word out that Poupou was "the one to watch." They even invented a more affordable line for the label: Poupou Lapin-au-Chocolat.
Apparently, "a certain number of people" fell for the story — and when Stephen mentioned the Poupou show to "a certain editor famed for being at the leading edge of every trend," she stamped her foot and replied, "Damn! I just threw that invitation out!” Silly.
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Tee hee, we've been so busy with the Spring 2009 shows that we nearly forgot to dress ourselves...all those Fall 08 deliveries have been piling up and we've not much to show for it! Sure we've made a random vintage purchase here, an online indulgence there, but overall our accumulation of fashion commodities over the last month has been next to null. Not to be insensitive, but all for the better, eh? Well, just as an exercise, if only for inspiration, here are our favorite Fall goodies that just might get us spending. At the very least, drooling.
>> INSIDER WIRE —After rumors reached a fever pitch last week, a spokesperson at Vivienne Westwood confirmed that Kate Winslet will play the flame-haired designer in an upcoming untitled biopic. Winslet will reportedly spend time with Viv to study for her performance once the script, which focuses on Westwood's rise from punkdom to international designerdom, is finalized. [Vogue UK]
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Call us boring fashion conformists but Louis Vuitton (by Marc Jacobs) and Marc Jacobs were two of our favorite collections from the Spring 2009 season--Marc Jacobs is king of creating an aesthetic motif that crosses both of his lines without so much overlap that they feel part of the same collection. Because he is so skilled at creating these threads between collections, and because his collections are so often well-received, it feel likes Jacob's dictates the fashion language for each season with Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton anchoring both sides of the spectrum.
What's lovely about his mood this season is that, unlike Fall for instance, there's a great deal of mix and match that consumers can continue to play with. This opportunity couldn't come at a more appropriate time as many of us, from all incomes, will have to swap out our more expensive purchases for more affordable ones.
Here's our shortlist of Jacob's key ingredients to the Spring 2009 season. Click on the link for an example of the look in either the Marc Jacobs or Louis Vuitton Spring 2009 show.
>> Over the weekend, Valentino confirmed that its accessories designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli will be replacing Alessandra Facchinetti as creative directors of the brand. This marks the second time Facchinetti has been replaced by accessories specialists, the first being when Frida Giannini replaced her at Gucci in 2005.
But here's the rub — Facchinetti found out she was being replaced at Valentino from the press, she said in a statement:
It was with deep regret that I learnt from the press that I would no longer be working with Valentino. This news came as a great surprise since the company’s top management has not yet seen fit to inform me of the above.
I would like to thank Valentino S.p.A. for showing their appreciation of my 'creative contribution and my sophisticated talent,' although I deeply regret the fact that this talent and contribution do not seem to have been adequately acknowledged. I find it extremely sad that a brand label of the caliber of Valentino, which has made history in the world of fashion, has been the subject of rumors for the past two weeks.
An appropriate analogy for the Spring 2009 season was the safe-to-wild ratio from Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, which helped close Paris Fashion Week and settle the debate on whether to be, to put it plainly, 'conservative' or 'fun' in our economic climate. What started with classic Lanvin pieces (pretty tailoring and elegant details) moved into something more fantastic, by way of color and embroidery. The idea seemed like 80% signature safety net and 20% creative statement and, overall, made for a collection that no one seems to be able to fault as having too much of one thing or the other. We think this also makes an appropriate analogy for consumers in this economic climate. Most of us, that is, will buy smart all year, relying on pieces we know will edit into our wardrobes with maximum impact at less cost, but there's always room for that last indulgent slip. We all make mistakes sometimes. That is, all except Alber Elbaz.
Marc Jacobs may love his adopted hometown of Paris but the French have more than a few adopted influences thanks to their colonial past and Jacobs made good use of said influences for a very global Spring 2009 Louis Vuitton collection. The collection had a strong Asian influence with more than a little African making it a veritable post colonial melangé of la vie Francophone.
A golden bamboo backdrop, feathers, bangles, big necklaces, astounding earrings, warrior sandals and plenty of detailing made for a collection that gave us more, more and more. That said, there were plenty of well merchandised wearable basics for an astute fashion consumer. It is yet another collection of both editorial perspective and commercial appeal for Marc Jacobs. It plays well on the cross cultural reach of Louis Vuitton's history as a travel oriented brand while playing to Marc Jacob's strengths as a master of the mix and match.
Last season, Miuccia Prada showed a Miu Miu collection that called up high fashion sportswear for the most adventurous of consumers but the season, on the other hand, the looks are more accessible. Scuba uniforms with personalized monograms and an ad campaign that could only have been inspired by Vogue's Grace Coddington; the Fall 08 collection was high fashion at its best. This season, as pretty as is this collection, it seems heavy on basics and lacking in a concept that articulates why Miu Miu is one of the most-watched brands. The concept for Spring 09 pivots on the blanket term "European History" and so we see historical prints and perforations in clothing (like moths have gotten to the garments) that are neat but not groundbreaking--and with much less panache than last season. We will assume that it is for the better and that showing collectable basics during an economic crisis is the wisest thing to do, even if it leaves something to want when it comes down the runway.
Fashion likes to play to the odd ball when it comes to picking out new body parts for reflection under the erotic gaze and Spring 2009 showed us the rise of the scapula. Two capstone shows, Kris Van Assche at the beginning of Paris and Lanvin at the end, highlighted the rise of the scapula and perhaps dare we say it the dismise of the clavicle as the new unusual body part for objectification. Perhaps the scapula is less perplexing than the clavicle but it is certainly more daring giving us all a chance to stare at a beautiful woman's back as she goes into her own powerful future. We saw variations on the theme as well at Karl Lagerfeld, Sonia Ryiel and Hussein Chalayan as well.
