Balenciaga Mon Amour

I'm honestly conflicted about this season's Balenciaga. I've spent a few months going over the collection (obviously--Fashion Week was months ago), and something about it still bothers me.

On one hand, I'm ready to be spoon-fed anything created by Nicolas Ghesquiere because the man is brilliant. No question.

On the other, however, I wonder if he aimed too high for a single collection. I felt like this collection was an essay with just too many ideas contained in an all-too-short required page length. I, for one, could not truly follow it.

The collection started with 3 "Little Black Dresses" with only slight detailing at the cut-out shoulders and extra fabric at the waist; these dresses set an uncomplicated elegant tone for the rest of the show that was amplified by the thick eye makeup and the jewelry:

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Simple enough, right? From here, especially with prior knowledge of Ghesquiere's previous collections and their high level of coherence, one could expect a series of sleekly deconstructed looks featuring favorite materials such as shiny latex and silk. What we end up with, however, is a series of looks that feature the same technique as the spring collection--hand painted silks fused to rigidly structured garments of bra foam.

Certainly these were the most stunning looks shown during this show: visually fantastical jackets with a twinge of Orientalism that cut off to reveal the skirts of dresses with luscious knee-high beige boots. All elements brought to high, high fashion through the use of more jewels.




But how did we get from the little black dress, to this? These amazing looks come from a different world, a world that has no place for the little black dress.

For this collection, we actually have two different ones.

The first one, which features a sleek, clean, tight silhouette of solid colors and metallic stilettos ended with this look: a gray suit of sorts with what looks like a leather vest poking out the bottom:

The next collection starts with another series of three dresses that start to reminisce over the previous spring collection in cut and fabric, followed by a series of velvet tops that introduce color into the collection and then we get those stunning jackets.


Then the velvet:
Both "mini-collections" start off with a series of three dresses, and both are great (as always), but Ghesquiere should have kept with one single idea and deconstructed it all the way to eveningwear.

But then again, Ghesquiere always seems more impressive with every spring (Floral Armor, Robo-fashion, etc). Those collections are grand examples of taking a single idea and translating it over and over; in Fall 08, however, he took two different ideas and failed to reconcile them. Ghesquiere is such a intelligent, impressive designer; he simply might want to think about revision for the sake of coherence.

The Best.

1. Junya Watanabe--Fuck wearability (obviously). The man created 46 sculptures out of fabric and sent them walking. This show was devastatingly beautiful.

2. Ralph Lauren--Nothing but class. And Holy god, those hats!

3.Balenciaga--Nothing but beautiful, intricate, stunning garments.

4. Alexander McQueen--Stunning. Really.


Note: I just don't get Marc Jacobs. I think I started to understand him through this article in the sense of people wanting to belong to his playhouse, but I still don't get it.

The MoMA COLORS party--Where Better to Start Taking Pictures?

It certainly was a lovely night at the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday. My personal favorite was Walid Raad's "Let's be Honest, the Weather helped."

Raad took a series of pictures over approximately twenty years wherein he photographed sites riddled with bullets and shells. That is, he collected ammunition shells from sites riddled with them and meticulously documented their locations. Later, he used the color-coding system of the munitions companies to color his desolate, black and white landscapes:


So much fantastic irony! Such happy colors to represent such horrific violence. Stunning.

And now for the clothes!

These two ladies strike a stark contrast of color and black and white--interesting how the floral trend for spring even exists in black and white, no? But what I really love about the left look is that belt. Too bad I don't have a better picture (Damn open bars!).



This little lady took metallics to a very tasteful level; notice how the sheen of her jacket, dress and clutch don't seem gaudy at all. Tres chic.


This is the first of two block-flannel looks I enjoyed for the night. While not so colorful, the proportion of the outfit is sublime. The shirt and skirt meet at exactly the right point elongating the leg elegantly. Fantastic.


When she told me she'd gotten her entire outfit almost all at once, I immediately said "In God We Trust?" She laughed and said yes. That store is fantastic. Make sure to check out her socks to see the Gucci-esque horse-clip.


My favorite outfit for the evening (SO appropriate):



But let's not forget the dance party:

The Best of Mens '08 (men.style.com is wrong)

Some words on what makes a collection "good" :

While menswear is certainly harder to do interestingly AND beautifully--as opposed to womenswear, where a designer can heighten the drama, experiment more with cut, proportion, silhouette, and the story of the show--some designers still manage to tell a story though their clothes, and still make them beautiful; the menswear scale goes from Calvin Klein (boring, functional, well-made clothes), to Thom Browne (theatrical, well-made, but not so wearable) just as in womenswear it would go from Calvin Klein (the master of boring) to Comme Des Garcons.

Logically, therefore, the best shows would synthesize theatrics with form and function. Don't get me wrong, I love Thom Browne, but you just can't wear this:

... Unless you actually are a conjoined twin. Now there's a niche market.

So here you have it, the best of the best of Fall/Winter '08 (and their best looks):

4. Lanvin

While there's not too much story here, the connecting elements such as the flowered lapels and general air of dandy make the collection complete. Designer Lucas Ossendrijver has his finger on the pulse with the new looser silhouette, and experiments elegantly with what looks like a double-breasted blazer that ties in the front. But then again, Lanvin always shows nice things.

Dandy plain and simple:

Here we see the new silhouette, cinched at the waist:


Here we have a highly structured, serious look offset by the playful exuberant blue bow tie. Fantastic:

Lucas Ossendrijver, himself, modeling his take on the double-breasted blazer:



3.Fendi

As previously discussed (See, Trendwatch 08' MEN, below) Fendi gets the new silhouette right, but also, there's some more experimentation with fur and cut. Everything is well done, simple, yet interesting.

Slouchy sweater with fur. So warm. There's nothing more to say:

The heavy fur trim gets all the attention, but one should not miss the neck of that shirt and the way that coat billows (not to mention that bag):

The cut of this coat is intensely interesting; I wonder how it opens/fastens:

2. Jil Sander:

We always see very basic things from Jil Sander, so it's very exciting to see very basic things go crazy: ridiculous patterns with the same old cuts. The show started with a few basic looks that one would look at and yawn, which preceded the upward spiral of ridiculous pattens for the rest of the show (The order of the looks provided narrative, coherence, sophistication):



Click on the picture to enlarge. Everything about this suit is fantastic. The high-neck shirt, the slim fit, and the moving-mable-rock affect. Stunning, really:

Here, We get humor with the very basic suits of various seasons contrasted with the new shirts inside (also, observe how the colors pop):

I just liked the way this leather coat was so ridiculously slim:



1.Burberry

While there's not too much story here, there are theatrical elements in the set; the leaves definitely fit with the clothes (and the season). The collection does, however have a sophisticated level of coherence through its use of pattern, bags, and hats. Also, I would wear EVERYTHING from this collection, and I would encourage you to do so as well.

A gorgeous pea-coat in brown:

The color combinations of this look are soft, harmonious, and look at that cardigan!

Of course, there has to be a suit:

I'm not sure what kind of material this coat is made out of, but it interests me. It seems almost plastic, especially in the way it crinkles:

This sweater. That bow tie. The hats. Amazing:



The best: Emanuel Ungraro

The best synthesis of drama, innovation, coherence and taste. Ungaro, we salute you!

The gypsy wanderer with the cane starts and ends the show (coherence!). Also the draping in this look is key.

The layering in this look is amazing. In addition, every garment this model wears is gorgeous.


Here we have an answer to the return of high-waisted womens pants. And they're done so well! This look works because of the short jacket, and the cravat. Nothing but good things:

Again, we see the strongest, most sophisticated articulation of the new Silhouette with Ungaro:


Here is our gypsy friend to finish the show in his cloth belt, still carrying his cane, modeling those fantastic high-waisted dress-pants. Nothing but ecstasy, here.




Most Dissapointing: Dior Homme

Cathy Horyn (god bless the girl) said it best:

"[The clothes] showed, in fact, a lack of expert judgment. If the purpose in using high-collared shirts (with dickies sometimes under them) was to extend the line of the black suits — to make the models look taller — why, then, did they look short and rather squat? The answer is the jackets stopped short of the belt line, squaring off their bodies, and the slim trousers were made of a stretch fabric, exposing musculature in a way that wasn’t, well, couture."

Gross, squat-model-making jacket pictured below:

Might I add, this butterfly motif was never readdressed throughout the rest of the show (poor coherence!):

I guess Van Asche didn't get the memo on how to tame the new silhouette (If you're not sure either, see previous post "Trendwatch '08 MEN") :

...Huh?

Is there any reason for this?

Hedi Slimane, we miss you.

See Horyn's full article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/fashion/shows/22PARIS.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=quote+the+classics&st=nyt&oref=slogin



But let's end on a pleasant note, shall we? Our gypsy friend will send us on our way:

A Trend to Avoid: a tampered-with classique

DISCLAIMER: Upon further observation, I've realized that those are actually arm-warmers in the Dell'Acqua collection--Damn men.style.com for not having the "detailed shots" page for each show. The double standard in fashion: tsk tsk. Either way, I've decided to keep this entry because I think it provides good guidance as to how NOT to ruin a classic (and if you so choose to ruin it, ruin it with some taste and judgment).

DISCLAIMER 2: The rest of the Allessandro Dell'Acqua show is great. Look at it.
Original text:

Who thought it would be a good idea to cut the sleeves short on a blazer?

Sure, genius menswear designer Thom Browne featured them in his Spring 2008 show:


But then again, he also featured this:


...and this:
Point being, a majority of that show--codpieces, swim caps, shredded suits, flowered jackets--was slightly unwearable.

So what made Alessandro Dell'Acqua think it was a good idea to feature it as a serious staple in his collection?






And why the hell would Zac Posen wear this atrocity to sit as judge on Project Runway (Oh, how I wish I had a picture). Oh the excruciating irony!

Now, IF (A very large "if") one chose to attempt this look tastefully, one should look to Comme Des Garcons, spring 2008:


Observe how the sleeve doesn't cut off exactly at elbow length, making the garment look mature, less playful. Browne and Dell'Acqua's collections' blazers both cut off exactly at the elbow. Also, think of HOW to layer this look. There is a huge difference between the awkward space between the end of the blazer sleeve and the cuff of the shirt and a layering and thus soothing the harsh gap created by that space. Again, Comme Des Garcons:



Again, the sleeve cuts at just below the elbow. But where we see the second blazer there, one would roll back his shirt cuff to soothe the harsh cutoff--IE no French cuffs. Again, this is IF one attempts to pull off this... thing. And if you do; well, good luck.