Celine Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2011

Oh, oh, that was another beautiful, simple and sober collection Phoebe Philo created for Celine. Hardly any prints, except a wood-print in brown-tones, but muted colors ranging from black, brown, darkred, yellow, orange, creme and light pink.

It was minimal to the max: long straight coats, two-colored pants, sleeveless tops at pleated skirts and a graphic play with contrasting colors in shirts and turtlenecks. No jewelry, onlu twotoned pointed shoes, two new handbags – that’s it. The only indulging part were the fur-coats and deux-pieces in a soft furry fabric.

Jean Paul Gaultier Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2011

Jean Paul Gaultier likes joking around with fashion a little. And so he did yesterday, by taking La bourgeoise sans age as his muse. You know, those maturing beauties who dress their age but still want to shine a little. And they are sooo French.

Gaultier took the traditional dressing of the upper class – tweeds, tailored trousers, cardigans, blouses, deux pieces, pinstripe – and reworked them. The models came dressed as matrons in gray beehives and kitten heels and were totally covered up, no button was left unbuttoned. There were even turtlenecks worn under long, straight dresses. And during their walk the models liberated themselves from something, a glove, a shoe, a coat. It was fun to watch and the message was clear: mature women look great in Jean Paul Gaultier!

Thierry Mugler Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2011

The show of Thierry Mugler was the talk of the day, yesterday. Not only because it was Nicola Formichetti his first womenswear-collection for the house – but because Lady Gaga would also be part of the show. It’s great when a designer is supported by a star, but it also distracts you from the clothes that are actually shown. And that’s a pity. Formichetti designs for the stage, like Mugler himself used to do. These are extraordinairy clothes for extraordinairy women – popstars, clubgirls and stylists who can use some outrageous clothes.

The collection was mostly in black, white, pale beige and Mugler’s royal blue, and there were some molded plastic show pieces, as well as animal prints. The silhouette was minimal, with close-fitting dresses that sometimes looked like a second skin. I heard Lady Gaga already ordered some pieces. No wonder.

DSquared Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2011

The fall-collection Dean and Dan Caten sent oput this morning was the same theme their menscollection had: early American settlers mixed with tough biker chic. The basis: ultra tight jeans, leather bikerjackets or jackets with pouf peaked shoulders and nipped in the waist, white shirts, long coats and lace up boots set on iron-blades, ice-skating style.  There were also bustier tops, floor-sweeping leather dusters,  plaid hotpants, fringed blankets worn as capes or wraps and massive fur coats.

It was the styling that brought panache at the show and the collection, leaving that all behind what’s left is a jeans, a jacket and a shirt. Nothing new really.

Missoni Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2011

Angela Missoni went for soft colors for fall 2011 and a slouchy, fluid silhouette.

Please enjoy the pictures for now, our report will follow soon.

Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2011

It always makes a nice picture when designers use the differences and opposites in men’s clothes wear and women’s in their collection. Dolce & Gabbana used all the elements of masculine and feminine dressing in one collection. Black, grey and white were the main colors for both sexes, while yellow, pink, blue, gold and silver added energy. The masculine part of the collection contained slim cut tailored jackets and overcoats, lower-rise pants with slimmed down leg at calf. But also tuxedo shirts or shirts with large collars, jackets with cut off sleeves, vest jackets and vests. For evening coats and jackets were cut in lace, paillettes, herringbone and had with embroidered lapels.

The feminine part was all about body-hugging shapes, loose chiffon printed dresses with star motifs or musical notes, lace, paillettes, jewelled embroidery and touches of fur.

The result was an energetic collection, thanks to the music and colorful, shiny accessories, but it didn’t reach the high level of the anniversary-collections the designduo presented the last two season, where they focused at the quality of their  fabrics and design. This collection sometimes reminded too much of their second line.

Izaac Mizrahi Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2011

Is there a real difference between a fashionshow and a dogshow? Not much really,  a group of poodles parading around before an audience that keeps on commenting on everything they see. Isaac Mizrahi mixed these two shows and put poodles alongside his models on Thursday in a show he called “Cake.”

There were several varieties — French, standard, miniature, pink and blue, most of them matching the outfit of the model. According to the designer the dogs were borrowed from friends or were rescue animals. The models had big black poodle poufs attached to their head. The collection was about voluminous coats made of padded foam with big bows, in the pastel green and pink colors that matched the dogs that guided the models.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2011

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez  of Proenza Schouler took their inspiration from a trip out West, to Santa Fe actually. Earthy desert colors, like orange, golden yellow and brown, dominated, and were worked into a graphic pattern. That pattern was created by the computer using Native American blankets. McCollough and Hernandez manipulated them into a strong urban-chic look.

The designers played their signatures with rich, highly engineered fabrics. The kaleidoscopic results looked unmistakably theirs. The slouchy cut of their pants, the undone way the back hem of a black suede camp shirt was shown untucked over a slim pencil skirt, or how a party dress with an asymmetric neckline was layered over a black tee.  The fabric innovation made things look quite new. Two great patent shearlings, pressed flat and cut with clean, sharp lines, required a double take. Chunky, viscose and leather knits worked a cozy street effect.  What was most impressive about this collection was that Hernandez and McCollough’s took traditionally homespun themes and made them look sophisticated and even edgy. When did crafted clothes looked so cool?

Jeremy Scott Catwalk fashion Show New York FW2011

Jeremy Scotts fall winter collection sure will result in some rip offs in cheap fashion-chains. A parody on American symbols and cartoons is always a nice subject on T-shirts. The collection looked campy, sexy and was as light as Barbie and bubblegum. But that’s just Scotts message: Fashion should be about having fun. There was a bombast of Nineties-inspired clothes: furry neon dresses in angora, plastic jackets, and pigtails. Bold colors like red, yellow and blue, shiny fabrics and provoking slogans like Enjoy God? and Milk Kills.But in these times those slogans look funny and a bit childish instead of shocking.

Narciso Rodriguez Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2011

The collection of Narciso Rodriguez was pure Rodriguez: smart, chic and architectural.
The lineup was rather refreshing. His focus was tight on all things geometric, structured and clean, and his clothes offered a great alternative to all the reworked and revamped sportswear seen thus far. Rodriguez’s show opener was a long black vest — a wide stripe of gray down the front, followed by a canvas dress, very graphic in its simple big block patterns. And so it went — almost every garment, whether coats, dresses or  pants, was precisely patchworked with bold squares, rectangles and trapezoids.
Rodriguez let loose with breezy silk dresses that added some edge to the collection. As for the palette, he kept things fairly minimal: neutrals, blacks and silvers, with the occasional shot of deep red and coral.

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