Fashion Faux Paris

Questionable collections came from some of the most respected labels, and whilst this does not tarnish the entire label, it will definitely deter some from expecting the best from the designers in the future. Even the fashion capital of Paris produces some faux pas...

Oh how terrible it is to follow a wonderful Haute Couture collection with a outstandingly bleak and somewhat useless collection. Fashion legends Viktor & Rolf offered a disappointing colour palette, which was accompanied by the unnecessary attention to sheer fabrics, which is completely impractical in near freezing temperatures. Deconstructed cable knit details and printed bras, waistcoats and sleeve details were seen throughout, but was unable to cover the boringness of it all.

Obvious imitation seemed like the "in" thing to do, with Dries Van Noten's latest collection being too similar to Prada's Fall/Winter 2013 menswear collection, Nicolas Ghesquiré for Louis Vuitton's denim a mirror image of Olivier Rousteing's denim creations for Balmain, and Akris using oddly familiar photographic prints which stray too close to Dries Van Noten's Autumn/Winter 2011 collection. It's an awful cyclical process. I guess this fashion expert must be either uninspired or burnt out, which is not a good sign.

Nicolas Ghesquiré's collections for Balenciaga were undoubtedly glorious, but his debut for Louis Vuitton was inexplicable, in a bad way. Extremely muted colours, dismal styling, and generic designs seemed to have been indicative of withheld extravagance. The possible reason for this is the pressure to fill the shoes of Marc Jacobs, and favouring to take a safer direction and not toy with the reputation of Louis Vuitton. Who can blame Nicolas for taking that sort of move? I just hope his next collection does not push the label into dire straits.

I've adored every collection by Raf Simons for Dior since his debut, but his Fall/Winter 2014 collection has made me less than cheery. To boil it down, Raf's minimalist style is too apparent, and he must remember that he is designing for another brand, not his own, and injecting it with a sneaker-shoe hybrid that would usually be in his namesake label is just plain insulting to the history and integrity of Christian Dior. Although a more reserved collection, statement pieces such as the distorted layered dresses and those ghastly shoes just did not elevate the mundaneness of the basics within the collection.

Despite the outweighing negatives of the week, trends always shine through, and will never cease to be worn by fashion followers worldwide. An emphasis on shoes seemed obvious throughout the week, with the return of knee-high boots, ankle boots and the distasteful flatform shoe. The gladiatorial pleat has made a comeback, along with the '60s and '70s inspired geometric prints. 

Images courtesy of Jacques Habbah and Dazed Digital

The Positives of Paris

Human installations at the Iris Van Herpen show

Fashion month for the Autumn/Winter 2014 has come to an end, and the tedious work between now and when the collections will hit stores and boutiques worldwide begins. As Paris is the fashion capital, the trends that spurt out of the designer's collections are the most influential, but God only knows how or if designers from other streams of fashion will distort or glorify the trends. In every fashion week, there are the beautiful collections and there are the downright questionable ones, so let's save you the eye sore for the moment and explore the most pleasing.

The second collection from the resurrected Vionnet label was indicative of the naturalist fad that has come about in recent years. Goga Ashkenazi emphasizes the trend of the organic into this collection with the minimal floral motifs and brightly greens, and coupled with the structural form of the garments, makes the proposal of bringing pinstripe into some of the pieces welcome. The straightness of the collection, with singular block lines and blocky silhouettes, is somewhat a perfect contrast to the more organic elements. There seemed to be a balance of the positive and the negative looking back at the collections presented, so I took to analysing what made my favourite collections either of the two.

The pleats trend for the upcoming Autumn/Winter season is no doubt mastered by Yoshiyuki Maeme for Issey Miyake. The pleats in the collection are not produced in the usual up-and-down model, but flowed with the fluid forms of the garments. The juxtaposition of the curvaceous and the quadratic is apparent, with the squarish bags and prints diversifying this modernly beautiful collection. The cross-cultural and minimalist aesthetic of Issey Miyake has been preserved perfectly once again. 

Of course, one of the most anticipated shows of the season, Karl Lagerfeld unveiled the Chanel Shopping Centre - a pseudo-supermarket right in the Grand Palais and the sight of the Autumn/Winter 2014 show for the parisian pride label, Chanel. Amongst the shelves and piles of faux Chanel groceries, the models walked out revealing a continuation of the urban x high fashion look shown in the Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2014 collection. Pairing iridescent metallic sneakers with classic Chanel tweed is a a reflection of women today and of the past - chic yet fashionable, wherever they are and whatever they're doing. The glory of women has been personified in one collection - oversized coats reminiscent of the power dressing era of the 80s and an ode to the sudden rise of feminism amongst the youth recently. But, even though this symbolic collection emerged as the best of the week, the trend of mixing high fashion and urban trends is not new.

Now, don't be fooled, the beauty of these collections were much overshadowed by the preposterous collections by other respectable designers. As most of us know, fashion isn't always beautiful, and sometimes even the best of the best make mistakes, and I will explore these in my next post....

Images courtesy of Style.com, Louise Damgaard, Dazed Digital, Metro, Marie Claire, Chanel and Fashionising

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2014

The Dior Greenhouse, the set of the label's Spring/Summer 2014 show

It's time to say goodbye to another busy fashion month, and what a way to do so, with the shocking news that Marc Jacobs will be leaving his position as Creative Director for Louis Vuitton after a 16 year reign of the historical label. Of course, the discreetly artistic show by Chanel, the plastic hat parasols of Chalayan, the surprising turn of aesthetic for Gareth Pugh and Givenchy and the revolutionary, non-conformist sorority style show of Rick Owens topped it off. 

The "runway warriors" at the Rick Owens show

Marc Jacobs at the finale of his last show for Louis Vuitton

Despite the abundance of well-known names and labels showing, there seemed to be an unwelcome bleak streak, which may have been cancelled out by the sudden changes within the fashion industry. Three designers stood out to me, simply because of their abilities to show diversity and renewed skills in design...

Gareth Pugh

I still believe Gareth Pugh's Spring/Summer 2013 collection and show is one of the best I have ever seen produced by a designer - it was a collection born from the scorn and ravages one can experience in life... but this time around it seems the darkness has been averted to a welcome change in aesthetic. A softer silhouette is seen throughout the collection, drawing inspiration from both traditional Asian and Mediterranean attire. The usual harsh colour palette of black, grey and red has now been replaced by one with metallic shades of blue, bright hues of green and even luminous gold. Will Mr. Pugh keep with this new found change in his coming collections? I certainly hope so.

Christian Dior

Raf SImons has well and truly earned his place as the Creative Director of Dior, and there was a feeling that he has decided to show a darker side to the Dior woman. Raf has managed to keep the undoubtedly sophisticated look of Dior, but has tweaked elements to represent his struggle to enmesh into the label - especially the deceivingly friendly florals. The reflective detail is present in every necklace, bangle, pattern or appliqué, being and/or featuring poisonous flora - poison ivy, wisteria or the romantically dangerous rose. The vividness of the collection is undoubtable, but this discreetly dark addition to the garments is what stands out beyond the silhouette, colours and flawless styling.

Givenchy

The ever-rebellious Riccardo Tisci has decided to take a turn of aesthetic for Givenchy. Riccardo Tisci has made himself known via his outlandish injection of youth culture into the historical label, his selection of prints including rottweilers, dobermans, birds of paradise and the cartoon character Bambi, just to name a few, being his signature. But now, he has gone back to the roots of the label and shown his ability to embody and appropriate the distinct aesthetic that gave Givenchy its fame. Of course, he has not done this without twisting the feminine silhouettes with worldly approaches to draping and overlaying in the dresses, a visual story continued from his menswear collection. 

Karl Lagerfeld at the finale of the Chanel Spring/Summer 2014 show

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE COLLECTIONS, HEAD TO FASHIONISING AND NOWFASHION

Images courtesy of Dior, Vancouver Sun, The Business of Fashion and Fashionising

Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 - Street Style

At Paris Fashion Week, the runway shows are of high standard and the expectations are through the roof, and guess what? So is the style and presentation of those who attended the shows. The Fashion Capital of the world demands no less, so here, I give you the best of Paris Fashion Week street style!

The effervescent Karl Lagerfeld

One of my favourite designs by Dries Van Noten finally on the streets

All images courtesy of High Snob Society, The Sartorialist, Louis Vuitton and The Telegraph