Sonia Rykiel Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Enough of the frizzy red wigs at Sonia Rykiel! This time the models had cute pony tails and large pom-pom headbands. The models were happy about it. At least, they all put on a smile at the catwalk.

Sonia Rykiel herself proved she’s not involved too much anymore by sitting front row, next to Beth Ditto. Her daughter Nathalie had to do it all on her own. And she did a very good job.

She let Dutch model Mirte Maas (we say: excellent choice!) open the show. Mirte wore an XXX-oversized woolen suit and was able to make it work. The cozy knitwear that followed, had soft colors like beige, off-white and different hues of light brown. (What a relief after all the bright Sonia Rykiel for H&M colors we had to look at for months.)

There were dresses with knitted sleeves and woolen cardigans, worn with big belts. A long bright red coat with a huge safety pin looked very comfy. We saw pant suits, fur coats and military jackets. On a lot of the pants a diagonal shoulder strap was attached. It didn’t really hold up the pants, it was just a nice detail. In some designs the shape of the breasts was accentuated by the fabric. Yet it made the models’ tiny breasts look even smaller, but maybe that was the intention.

Halfway the show a pair of cycling pants, left behind from the summer collection, was shown. It was worn over a pair of white tights. Soon after that some colors were introduced. Three outfits had collared stripes all over them and a few other designs came in kobalt blue matched with black. Luckily the collection then turned back to neutral shades. Skirts, dresses and jumpsuits came by in satin, chiffon and a transparent sort of knitwear.

So according to Sonia Rykiel the trends for next winter are: natural colors, oversized suits, suitpants, large woolen dresses or cardigans and ladylike details. We can hardly wait!

The finale was, as always with Sonie Rykiel, a big party. All models came up in light-shaded marabou coats and dresses. They were smiling, clapping and dancing and seemed to have the time of their lives. And Nathalie Rykiel…, she just partied along.

Hussein Chalayan Catwalk Fashion Show FW2010

When we arrived at Chalayan’s fashion show the building was filled with the sound of busy city traffic. After everyone was seated (in the way too small chairs) smoke was blown in the air and we heard Chalayan paying a tribute to designer Alexander McQueen on his show soundtrack.

The first few models that were sent out on the runway wore some kind of fireman hats with long flaps at the back. Stiff, dark-colored coats, jeans and grey gym shoes completed their looks.

Then the traffic sounds changed into the sounds of birds, a church clock and a tram and models in different styles entered the runway. They wore headpieces like straw bonnets, metal antenna’s with a feather at the end and some face-covering silver Lurex.

A few pairs of glasses, which read ‘mirage’ (also the name of the show) seemed to give us some explanation on the crazy line-up. Were the diverse designs and headpieces made up in one of Chalayan’s fashion Fata Morgana’s?

While the ‘music’ changed to all kinds of radio channels (we even heard Justin Timberlake’s –  Rock your body) models in big ruffled jackets came on. The jackets were purple- and red-colored and had a lot of volume. The ruffles popped up on a pair of shoes too and some models even wore red clogs.

Raincoats- and hats, capes with matching binoculars and high-waisted woolen pants were part of the mirage too. They were followed by long glitter dresses, shown in black, white, purple and blue. At the end of the show several black dresses with black and pink hats came by.

Altogether we thought it was one messy collection. It was only after Chalayan explained that the clothes represented different states in America (New York, Pennsylvania, Dallas, New Mexico, Utah and Las Vegas) the whole show idea became clear to us.

We felt like Chalayan could have explained it all a bit better…But then again, yesterday even Jean Paul Gaultier didn’t manage to portray his different countries so well in his show.

Jean Paul Gaultier Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

At JPG’s fashion show influences from many different countries wore used in the designs. We got a taste of Africa, Russia, India and Mexico. The styles from those countries were represented by extravagant headwear and folklore designs. There seemed to be so many different influences, it was hard to tell which country they belonged to.

Colorful African turbans were combined with satin dresses with chinoiserie prints. Black trenchcoats or fur coats were worn on top. There were colorful printed headscarves, fur hats and metallic Indian headpieces.

The models wore Masai necklaces combined with Western motorcycle jackets. They walked in harem pants with fur waistcoats. Their neon colored leggings heavily clashed with the folklore prints on their clothes. But it was all part of JPG’s cultural fashion explosion. Words can not even describe how wacky it all looked.

While the clothes varied in almost every aspect (shape, size, fabric, color) not much was to say about the collection in general. Apart from the fact that it was a cultural melting pot.

Between all influences JPG’s famous cone bra popped up every now and then. Though we loved watching the crazy styled outfits, the coats were the best pieces of the collection.

And the message of this show might just have been about embracing the cultural differences in the world and turning them into something of your own. At least we think that would be a nice approach.

Manish Arora Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

I remember helping his models get dressed for a show he gave in the Netherlands. I was amazed by the colorful architectural designs he had created. I loved how his designs were embroidered with crystals and beads. It was all so different from everything I had seen before.

With his fall/winter collection Manish Arora proved he still had that ability to amaze people. We were wowed by an off white dress with eye-catching, padded shoulders and a strange print. A dress with a pink peacock pattern and a gray sequined top caught our attention as well.

Apart from the peacock influences and some floral details Arora used a lot of geometrical prints in every color of the rainbow (all made from beads and crystals). The emphasize of the clothes was clearly on the shoulders and upper arms. Rounded and pointy designs alternated each other.

As if there wasn’t enough color used in the clothes all model wore bright, short wigs and contrasting colorful eye make-up. The last three girls even had a luminous bundle of treads on both side of their heads.

Manish Arora’s show full was a lot of fun to watch. Not all designs will be very wearable, but when you show this much creativity in a collection wearability is not all that matters.

Nina Ricci Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

For the first time since Olivier Theyskens had left Nina Ricci the brand was on the official schedule of the Paris Fashion Week. That must have been a relief for Peter Copping.

With his second Nina Ricci collection he wanted to ‘appeal and relate to different types of women’, he said. Yet the ladies we encountered at his show were not that diverse. In their below the knee dresses they all looked like sophisticated, up-town girls.

The fall collection, inspired by the Belle Epoque/Bausch had the same romantic feeling as the Ricci spring collection, though there was more contrast visible this time. Woollen coats were combined with airy transparent tops. Tulle and leather were mixed in several looks as well.

Many outfits were decorated with flowers and had feminine details like ruffles, pleats and lace. It all looked very graceful. Still the flowers were a bit overwhelming on some dresses.

The final dresses were, apart from some cutouts and transparent parts, very winterproof. They touched the floor and were worn with large overcoats of the same length. Those dresses and coats surely will have to be shortened for the average women, cause even the feet of the tall models were not visible any longer.

Some say Copping still has to learn how to let his own voice speak after many years at Louis Vuitton. But we think he already did a good job. Some of the long dresses might just end up being worn at the Oscars this weekend.

Balmain Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Many of us must have thought it would be time for Balmain to say goodbye to the emphasized shoulders. But just when we thought there couldn’t possibly be any more variations to his pointy shoulders and military influences, Christophe Decarnin impressed us with his glittery, sexy, shoulder-emphasized dresses and military jackets.

The dresses were short and came in gold with black or purple. They had some Baroque-inspired floral patterns on them, made from shiny sequins. We loved the dresses and the whole eighties vibe around them, including Prince’s song ‘Let’s get crazy’, which actually proved to be a good catwalk song.

The pointy shoulders seemed to look the best on the short snappy dresses and on some slim cut jackets. We just didn’t get the same glam rock vibe from the three long dresses. But we suppose they had to represent the small ‘winter part’ of the collection, together with a few tight shiny pantsuits.

Apart from the glitters, the gold and the black Decarnin’s designs were colored purple. The color popped up two or three times: on a fur coat, a dress and a tight velvet jacket.

We can not say this Balmain collection was very renewing but it surely had some amazing success-items in it that will keep the sales as sky-high as they’ve become since Decarnin got involved. Never change a winning look?!

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

The Balenciaga collection we saw today may not have been the most wearable one. Yet we must give Ghesquière some credits for the experimenting he did.

His computer-age inspired clothes were rounded and stiff at the same time. The padded architectural coats added a lot of volume to the collection, especially the ones with the wings on the back. Different materials altered each other in the designs like patchworks. Some were shiny other matte. The skirts were short, the pants tight.

Some outfits looked familiar, but they were always different from what Ghesquière’s has done before. For example the clothes with the colored stripes (pale blue, tangerine, brown, and aqua) showed some resemblance to Balenciaga’s last show. Only this time the colors were less bright (more pastel) than the ones Patricia van der Vliet and Mirte Maas wore in the ad for Balenciaga’s summer campaign. (The two Dutch girls did walk in today’s show, by the way.)

We thought the coats with wings on the back and the dresses with the multi-font slogans were very renewing and fit in with the scientific, computer- age collection just fine. It is with such pieces that Ghesquière’s showed how a designer can push his fashion boundaries while staying true to the values of his brand.

Rochas Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

The Goldie Hawn movie ‘Cactus Flower’ from 1969 was the inspiration for Marco Zaninin’s third collection for Rochas. And so we could tell. Most of the outfits could have come straight from Goldie’s wardrobe for that movie..

The clothes were colorful, very retro and as Zanini put it himself: ‘smiley and joyful’. Every look, with unexpected combinations of shades and fabrics, made us more excited.  And suddenly a turquoise skirt, a yellow lace top, a gray coat, a purple ribbon bow and deep red gloves didn’t look all that bad together. Woolen cardigans with elbow patches formed a good mix with small belts and long gloves as well.

Everything had a great sixties/seventies vibe:

The golden lame, used for some pants, dresses, skirts and tunics.
The pink, brown and beige color combinations.
The ruffled collars and wide sleeves.
The metallic fabrics.
The pant suits
The tunics
The cropped pants.
And not to mention the model’s big hairdo’s!

This Rochas collection might have been very diverse, yet Zanini’s craftsmanship held all pieces together perfectly.

Antonio Marras Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2010

Antonio Marras didn’t just chose a theme for his show, in fact a real classic story was the inspiration for his winter collection.

Marras told the story of Paska Devaddis, a female bandit who ruled the Sardinian mountains around 1900. Devaddis was renowned for her mixing of men’s and women’s clothes. She used to ride on her horse a lot, so to the sound of galloping hooves the show started.

The version of Devaddis Antonio Marras presented wears floral lace dresses in bright colors. Yet she hides these feminine dresses underneath several different thick layers. She puts on all these layers to keep herself warm.

One of the items Devaddis likes to combine with her dresses is a heavy sleeveless coat in tweed or fur. She wears the ones that have been disassembled and are sewn back together. Capes and military cloaks with epaulets also fit her clothing style.

Every now and then Devaddis shows her feminine side by revealing some body parts through a very transparent dress or some see through lace. She also wears pleated skirts and her capes have many jewel embroideries.

Although Devaddis is no longer with us, she might just become the next style icon. The combination of clothes was really great and refreshing and with the Devaddis story in mind it all looked even better.

At the end of the show the window frames that were hanging at the beginning of the runway were lifted and all models appeared again. To the sound of trampling hooves the 43 Devaddis look-a-likes strolled down the runway one last time.

Giorgio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2010

With his winter collection Giorgio Armani promoted ‘The new chic’. According to the show notes this meant the whole collection was ‘precisely stated in shape and color’.

The new chic surely wasn’t represented in the black ‘wigs’ the models wore on their heads. It seemed as if they’d just attached a mop to their hair that covered up a big part of their faces.

The new chic did have a lot to do with shape. A-line and asymmetrical shapes dominated the runway. Just like in Giorgio’s summer collection their were more than enough one-shouldered dresses. A lot of looks formed a mix of a skirt and a (black velvet) jacket. Armani in fact introduced ‘The new jacket’, fastened by the hooks at the side to create a ‘wave effect’.

Coral red, Tibetan orange and a hint of green were the new chic colors. They were combined with black and white and corresponded with the colors of the lights on the catwalk.

They even popped up in Giorgio’s sleek evening wear. The dresses had a lot of shiny details. Jewel embroideries – mostly floral shaped – were placed all over some pink and red designs. Large brooches were a nice and chic addition.

We loved the new chic idea, but though the collection was pretty chic it might have been a little more renewing.

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