Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #29

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #28

Louis Vuitton Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Marc Jacobs introduced flossy clogs (and moccassins, pennyloafers, kittenheels) at his ss-2010 collection for Louis Vuitton, and tasseled satchel bags. Cute print dresses were layered over T-shirts and bikershorts. It seemed the show was all about hanging out with your friends in the summer.What else can you do when the world’s recovering from the crisis? The models wore big afro-like wigs in different colors with a cute little bow – they looked like  dolls in their cute  mini-dresses with puffy shorts peeping out. Graphic African inspired prints played with stripes and different checks. Colors went from browns and khakis to pastelpink, red, green and blue. Indeed youth has the future and the fantasy, only not the money to buy any of these LV-stuff. So I guess it’s the grown ups who have to return to their childhood again. Who’s first?

Alexander McQueen Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

It was an extra-ordinairy Alexander McQueenshow, streamed live onto the Internet. Nick Knight was the director of this presenation – called Plato’s Atlantis – and did a great job. The staging was impressive: two cameras mounted on rolling cranes in the middle of a sparkling white, bio-lab runway. On a screen in the backround, the models were projected, with the cranes being part of the image. It looked like another planet.

Inspiriation for this dazzling collection came from Darwin, the natural world, underwater aliens and technology. In a pressrelease the designer explained he was casting an apocalyptic forecast of the future ecological meltdwon of the world. We may be heading back to an underwater future as the ice cap dissolves. McQueens fantasy goes beyond borders . The dresses were molded and shaped, had engineered (reptile)prints and jacquards and came in breathtaking whorls of colors (greens, browns, aqua and blue). The platform-shoes were alienating. In a section in which it looked as if McQueen was envisaging a biological hybridization of women with sea mammals, there were trousers whose bulbous flanks mimicked the skin of sharks or dolphins. Some dresses and tops looked like large bubbles of water.

The way McQueen is embracing new computer technologies and the drama of the moving image puts him at the leading edge of change.

Chanel Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

As soon as the audience noticed the stage at Chanel – a barn and a haysteck were Lily Allen performed – it knew what the Chanel-show would be about. Ultrachique farmergirls in playful dresses, swirling skirts and tough jeans wearing Chanel-clogs and scarves around their head. Colors were classic-Chanel: white, marine, red and pastelshades of pink. The famous Chanel tweed was woven as there were little pieces of hay sticking out, the jeans looked old and repaired, some dresses seemed handknitted. This was a very cheerful Chanel-collection, young and upbeat and far away from the classic two-piece suit.

Yves St. Laurent Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

The YSL collection was about  the urge looking for “a natural and honest chic, an aesthetic paradigm of new minimalism”, according to the program-notes.  That means a stark, monochrome pencil-skirted suit and an austere tuxedo. Or a pair of conceptual lederhosen and a romantic, strawberry-scattered dress. The YSL collection of Stefano Pilati had two sides: seventies peasant-influences and a more modern city-look with linen dresses and belted pantsuits. There were lots of ideas and great looking clothes but it never became cohesive. The consumer probably doesn’t care, as long as she finds wearable clothes. And she will.

Paris Fashion Week Impressions #17

Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Off course Viktor & Rolf’s ss2010 collection had everything to do with their new perfume Eau Mega. Their new scent – fresh & elegant – was not only a gift for the audience, the motto “megafy yourself’ also underlined their collection: mega-dresses, mega-make-up and mega-hair – all with a nodd to the eighties. The designers are attracted and inspired by what they call mega-women: strong women who follow their own path and are uncompromisingly themselves. For that reason the duo invited Roisin Murphy to perform live at the show. Thick layers of tulle played a major – mega – part in the collection, appearing as colorful ruffles outlining black jackets and dresses or as wide long skirts in eveningdresses with holes cutout by a laser. Tulle was also draped as a thin layer in a different color to black (one shoulder) dresses. Viktor & Rolf also had their boudoir-moment – as seen in Milan and at the first days in Paris – and translated that in silky pyjamalike suits, loose jackets and softly draped trousers in pastelshades embroidered with a patchwork of flowers. The impact on the public was, well, mega.

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #8

Nina Ricci Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

For the Nina Ricci SS2010 collection a new designer was in charge. Peter Copping, who has worked for Louis Vuitton, showed off his designer skills. As seen in many more collections for next spring/summer Copping used lots of nudes. There were some very cute frilly dresses made from tule, which had a lot of volume. Many of the dresses had multiple layers and collars adorned with tule. Those details gave the designs a romantic feeling. Prints were shown in only in one outfit. A floral printed dress was combined with a more subtle transparent cape. Also silky and lace fabrics were shown. The models carried perfectly matching clutches. They wore their hair in knots with some strings  all over their face. At the end of the show Copping combined the nudes with black and navy blue. Overall he designed a wearable collection in line with what Nina Ricci stands for. (Tess van Daelen)

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