Tue, 05/05/09 — 01:38:20 PM
>> Despite all the drama before and after, the Costume Institute Gala itself furnished plenty of notable and quotable moments; for those who were wondering, Carine Roitfeld did attend, even though it was reported that Julia Restoin-Roitfeld would not.
Gisele Bundchen pulled out of John Galliano's table at the last minute, choosing to ride in with the Versace camp instead; it sounds like she might be returning as the label's Fall 2009 face — the New York Times reports that her custom Versace dress "was conceived while she was modeling for [Donatella’s] next ad campaign." Helena Christensen, meanwhile, joked of her Zac Posen dress, which read "Vogue," the V formed by a plunging neckline: “It’s so I can remember whose party I’m at."
And while Kate Moss was on hostess duty (and presumably her best behavior) for Anna Wintour, she still managed to be herself, pulling a big wad of gum out of her mouth when asked about being a muse: “I’m amused. I think it’s quite interesting for somebody to go outside of the box and think that a model actually has had some input into fashion. A lot of the time, the models don’t really get a say.”
But they do have a bathroom fascination »
Thu, 03/26/09 — 04:37:07 PM
>> Stella McCartney is synonymous with vegan fashion — she's a member of PETA and has been known to get upset when her pieces have been used in conjunction with fur. Next Monday, she's being honored in New York with an environmental award, because her commitment to ethical fashion goes beyond just a stance against animal cruelty, as she explained recently to Suzy Menkes:
Well I don't do leather and I don't do fur and it's not just because I don't eat animals or that I think that half a billion animals a year shouldn't be killed for the sake of fashion. It's because I also believe very much in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There's a huge connection. Now, I think more and more people will start to take notice of that — the use of water for tanneries, the chemicals that are used — there's a huge impact environmentally.
Which is why she's anti-disposable fashion »
Thu, 03/12/09 — 06:17:55 PM
>> Despite the prevailing '80s mood of the season, at his private show today, Azzedine Alaia only looked forward: "I don't believe in looking back — I don't want to revisit the 1980s." Both Suzy Menkes and Cathy Horyn were present for the unveiling, the former describing:
"Signature knits and leathers, woven into bouncy skirts that might have open-work decoration or intricate embellishment. Cut-out feather effects were hand-painted with streaks of white, while white cotton blouses also freshened up the tough side of black leather. Coats cinched at the waist and small leather jackets, whether in classy crocodile or pony skin treated to look like miniature leopard spots. The same pattern appeared on the knitted dress, form-fitting but kicking out at the hem."
And then there was velvet »
Thu, 03/12/09 — 12:24:29 PM
>> Marc Jacobs's signature collection started a minute early, and Louis Vuitton started just seven minutes late — which according to the way most fashion shows run, is still early, causing loads of people to miss the beginning — Suzy Menkes climbed over the runway after the first model walked out — and many to be locked out. Lucky for them, the show was staged in a clear tent in a Louvre courtyard, so late editors and passersby could watch the show.
Bunny ears topped heads — show stylist Katie Grand was inspired by "a black doe rabbit in the pet shop on the corner" — necklaces were modeled after paper garlands, ruching was everywhere, and Rose Cordero finally made a Paris runway appearance. Marc Jacobs said he was inspired by "all the great, elegant Parisian women, like Loulou de la Falaise," and the LVMH-Gareth Pugh connection continues: Pugh sat front row, two seats away from Bernard Arnault, still denying the Dior Homme rumors.
*image: source
Wed, 03/11/09 — 01:53:13 PM
>> After Hannah MacGibbon's first Chloe collection, critics seemed ready to give her a bit more time to settle in at Chloe, as if they wanted her to succeed in the brand. And although she sent out a similarly pegged pants and muted colors in her Lauren Hutton-esque Fall 2009 collection, she's still getting encouragement — WWD noted that while MacGibbon is "still finding her way at Chloe," the collection "showed progress." Suzy Menkes was even more laudatory, hailing MacGibbon's coats as "some of the best outerwear in Paris," and writing that the designer made "a strong show that looked like she was taking the brand forward." Now, if she could just harness some of the excitement that surrounded the brand under other regimes . . .
*image: source
Wed, 03/11/09 — 12:35:15 PM
>> No one fainted this time around at Alexander McQueen, but the show could win this season's Prada award for torturous shoes — even over Nina Ricci. Numerous inches were added to the festishistic heels, and the girls took every step with care — some even broke their runway stare to glance down momentarily, and Sigrid Agren looked around like she's frightened of the next step. Karlie Kloss, below, had to stop and fix her dress to keep from tripping over it. Suzy Menkes was discomfited by the display: "the models were tortured into dresses that hobbled their feet, making each runway step treacherous and giving a discomforting misogynist feel to the show."
Meanwhile, this morning at Hermes, another painful scene: supermodel Tatjana Patitz seemed to be out of practice on the runway. She almost tripped and fell three times, including when she closed the show. When Jean Paul Gaultier came out for his bow, he gave her a hug, and apparently she looked like she was about to cry.
*image: source
Tue, 03/10/09 — 05:33:38 PM
>> 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.
*image: source
Mon, 03/09/09 — 02:07:24 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE —There's been confusion a number of months about whether Martin Margiela has withdrawn from his brand, and even though Margiela execs assure he's still in place, after last week's collection, critics seem convinced he's not. As Cathy Horyn put it, "Just about everything at the show tonight — the hokey starlight projections on the ceiling, the empty design techniques, the use of beautiful young models instead of older, interesting-looking chicks — said that Mr. Margiela is no longer involved in his label, as editors have speculated for some time." WWD agreed: "Where in the world is Martin Margiela? Judging from the house’s fall collection, the designer has finally left the building." And Suzy Menkes implored a fix, fast: "Of Margiela's rigorous exploration of a personal vision, there is no sign and Renzo Rosso, chief executive of the 'Only the Brave' company that owns his Diesel empire, needs to do something fast." [NYT, WWD, IHT]
*image: source
Thu, 03/05/09 — 12:38:22 PM
>> Christophe Decarnin has launched the fashion set into Balmania in just a few short seasons with his ripped jeans, strong shoulders, and trashy chic approach, and with Fall 2009, he's not ready to change the formula. Apparently, the big shoulders were so prevalent in the front row that it caused a squishy situation — and on the runway, two models almost got gridlocked due to their hulking shoulder pads. Christophe, who stopped by the Prada party last night, admitted he was "a bit nervous," and rightly so — all eyes are on him.
He worked with a simple color palette — black, silver, and white, with a few pops of electric blue — placing the attention on the short, short skirts and the rhinestoned everything. Erin Wasson, Angela Lindvall, and Carmen Kass all made appearances on the runway, and Giuseppe Zanotti did the shoes again, but was it enough? I'm hearing a lot of disappointment and frustration with Decarnin's decision to stay so formulaic; as Suzy Menkes put it, the "show looked very familiar — not least because new ideas were as short as the models' brief, buttock-grazing hemlines. Since every other house copies his approach, Decarnin will have to find a way to move Balmain forward. But for now he remains, at this sobering-up moment, the last designer to leave the party."
*image: source
Wed, 03/04/09 — 04:48:44 PM
>> INSIDER WIRE — Raf Simons unsurprisingly finished with one of the top — if not the top — Milan collections for Fall 2009, and Suzy Menkes scored a rare video interview to chat with him about his newest Jil Sander collection. She points out that until he came to Jil Sander, he was solely a menswear designer, and he comes off as one would expect — very real and down-to-earth; when Suzy asks him, "Do you feel yourself as an artist?" He quickly replies: "No, I'm a fashion designer." [The Moment]
