Streetfashion Paris FW2010 Day 6

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Givenchy-heels, your latest Celine-coat or that vintage Chanel? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris.

Chanel Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Global cooling, not global warming was the inspiration for Chanel’s fall/winter collection. Now don’t think the show was about durable fashion or had something to do with eco-friendly production. No, on the contrary Karl Lagerfeld even flew in an iceberg from Sweden to decorate his catwalk. After the fashion show that iceberg was to be flewn back to Sweden as well. If you ask us, this kind of superfluous actions only increase global warming.

During the show the iceberg was slowly melting, so all models ended up walking in big puddles of water. What a pity for the luxurious clothes! Karl’s long pants, floor-sweeping coats & dresses and his fur boots all got wet.

His fake fur boots, we must say. Cause the whole iceberg-thing might not have been so politically correct, Karl did use fake fur for this collection. He commented: ‘You cannot fake chic but you can be chic in fake fur’ and explained that fake fur, nowadays, looks very realistic. Because you can hardly see the difference between real and fake fur Karl decided this collection was to be a ‘triumph for fake fur’. The fur came in brown, gray, white and black and was seen on the skirts, boots, pants, cuffs, coats, bags and collars.

Other fabrics were leather and the typical Chanel tweed. Tweed was, of course, used for some of the short jackets, but we saw it on some coats, pants and skirts too. The skirts were rather short, compared to, for example those of Marc Jacobs. They ended halfway the upper leg. The collars of almost all designs were high, as were the waisted pants.

Apart from a little bit of red Karl didn’t use any colors. The show ended with the last models all wearing white designs. Even the necklaces and the large rings were white (they were metallic during the first part of the show). It all looked stunning with the real, white iceberg in the background. Yet we think an iceberg from papier-mache would have been just as nice.

Yves St. Laurent Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

The Yves St. Laurent-show started promising with a variation on the Little Black Dress with cape and a black three piece suit. Such a clean and classic look would be just on trend, as more houses are aiming at the new sporty minimalism. And no other house has a history in tailored sportswear and classic Parisian sensibility as the house of Yves St. Laurent.

But somehow designer Stefano Pilati tried too hard to be classic and modern, it needs a creative talent to make conservative sporty chic look dynamic and not dated. The long skirts however looked dull, the white shirts were dowdy and the plastic capes and eveningwear sexless. It looked like the collection was made for a nun instead of a woman of the world. Also because of the caped black forms, the head-coverings, the white cotton and heavy chain pendants.

Stefano Pilati told reporters that the collection was all about protection and that is was partly an homage to YSL and the tailleur. Maybe he should take a look at the retrospective on YSL that soon will open in the Petit Palais in Paris – there’s still a lot to learn from the old master.

Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show FW2010

Kenzo’s invitation was a vacuum plastic ‘bag’ with different sorts of dead leaves in it. Kenzo’s catwalk was decorated with what looked like dead palm trees. Let’s just say Antonio Marras wanted to make clear he was showing his fall collection for the brand.

Bourgeois and bohemian styles came together in this seventies inspired collection. Long, wide, dresses were made out of multiple fabrics. Marras chose the most beautiful floral and graphic prints and let those prints come together in his patchwork designs. The autumn colors (light brown/terracotta, light green, yellow and faded pink) he had picked, looked lovely.

Not only different prints were mixed and matched, diverse fabrics were seen in one look as well. Airy floral dresses were combined with fur and sequined waistcoats. Next to the floral dresses we saw checked versions decorated with bibs of feather creations. They were followed by a few darker, striped designs.

The felt hats looked great. Together with the printed scarves, sunglasses and wegde-soled boots they were the perfect accessories for this boho collection.

We read Marras mixed the styles of iconic women like Maria Schneider, Tina Chow and Farrah Fawcett for this collection. But we’ve never spotted these women in such outstanding designs before. And although we liked the show, it wasn’t something we’d never seen before at Kenzo.

Emanuel Ungaro Catwalk Fashion Show FW2010

After a week of front row appearances Lindsay Lohan was a no-show at the Ungaro fashion show. She didn’t attend the show, she didn’t show her face at the end of the runway and according to the fashion label she wasn’t even involved in the collection.

Yet it is rather strange that at the one show where LaLohan was actually supposed to be, she didn’t even stop by to say hi. We’re sensing some kind of argument between Lohan and Ungaro. Cause, if Lindsay was just not involved in this one collection she could at least have taken a seat frontrow, like she did at all the other big shows in Paris this week.

We can imagine Ungaro wanting to end to collaboration. Last year’s collection was totally slated by the fashion critics, especially due to Lohan’s heartshaped pasties. Yet at this moment nobody knows if she’s still involved or not.

On the Ungaro website we can still read: ‘Lindsay Lohan is appointed as  Estrella Archs’ Artistic Advisor. They will work together using their combined talents, instinct and intuition to define and promote the Ungaro brand.’ Yet if you keep in mind what Estrella Archs said before today’s show: (‘You have up and downs and you learn a lot, more from the downs than from the ups. I feel that I have to work, work, work and work. I’ve been doing this for a long time, with different people and different houses, and I think this is the best medicine’) you know something’s going on.

We’ll keep you posted on this matter, now let’s talk about the new collection. And let’s see if it was any better than that of last seson….

Emanuel Ungaro showed some bright colors (green, red and pink) for fall. Those colors were used for the fancy cocktail dresses, the jackets, blazers and pants. On many outfits a colored waistband was added as well. We, for instance, saw a gold/yellow pair of pants combined with an animal printed coat and a red waistband.

A lot of the accessories came in red. A pink printed dress was finished by red shoes, a red clutch and a red waistband. Though you’d think the colors would clash it looked all right. Except for the black tights and the blazers, those items took away all the fun from the dress.

The collection had many strapless and asymmetric dresses. Some kind of dots in different bright colors were printed on them. The dots also appeared on a jumpsuit, but they never looked great.

Overall the collection was pretty save. There wasn’t anything new about it. The cocktail dresses may be cute, but I think we’ve seen enough of them already. The same goes for the blazers and the jumpsuits; there wasn’t a specific Ungaro style added to them either. Besides, it seemed the brand didn’t realize we were expecting a winter collection. Or maybe they just wanted a second chance at their (horrible) last summer collection, who knows…

Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Riccardo Tisci proved it is possible to translate a ski & scuba-theme into a dark, mysterious collection. There were some tight, cheerful knits with a snowpattern and neoprene pants, but it never got too sporty. The slim pants and skirts, unzipped and unfurled at the waist, referenced scuba gear for some, Seventies ski outfits for others.

It was just another collection with Tisci’s signature tailoring:  sharp coats, tuxedo suits, and lean black pants. Red glitter gloves, bags and lips accompanied the clothes, as did sexy scarlet, black and nude lace. One of the best looks were the black leather pieces — mini slips and skirts — mixed with lace.

Stella McCartney Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2010

Suddenly clean, minimal fashion is a hit. It started with Jil Sander and Raf Simons, then Phoebe Philo at Celine and now Stella McCartney got caught by it too. Gone are her sexy, flirtatious clothes with a classic touch, her fall/wintershow opened with a sleek gray cashmere coat just above the knee, worn with bare legs and slingbacks. Second outfit was a camel/blue  tunic with oversized stripes worn with slacks.

Gray, black, blue and camel were the main colors of the collection, with orange and fuchsia as shocking contrast. Graphic illusions were created with floating sleeves and geometric wool appliques on organza dresses. Cosy and comfortable were oversized cardigans in fishermen’s rib and a wrap coat in structural wool. Great basics were the stretch stirrup trousers, their slim silhouette paired effortlessly with the knitwear and tunics.

The eveningwear looked more glamorous with the draped backs and flesh revealing slits. The dresses had long train extensions.

The show was dedicated to her family, kids and team, but also to Lee – Alexander- McQueen. ‘You’re missed’, Stella wrote in a personal note.

Streetfashion Paris FW2010 Day 5

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Givenchy-heels, your latest Celine-coat or that vintage Chanel? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris.

John Galliano Catwalk Fashion Show FW2010

The models at John Galliano’s fashion show represented a tribe of adventuring nomads. They wore large coats with fur accents. Some of them wore enormous hats, others had their hair folded into some strange architectural shape.

Like Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano used different cultural influences in his show as well. Galliano’s nomads were in fact crossing imaginary borders in search of new land.

The show was a true spectacle. Silver glitter fell from the sky and even fireworks were used. We really had to focus not to let that distract us from seriously looking at the collection.

Galliano designed a lot of coats. They first came by in gray, but later on  we could also see some green, yellow, gold and printed pink. As always with Galliano many details and accessories were added to the looks, which all deserved some attention. Tight necklaces, waistbelts, fur cuffs, floral printed trousers, feather jewelry, striped leggings and colored shoes. Not to forget the crazy hats, wigs and bronze make-up. The models looked larger than life in their voluminous designs and oversized hats.

Towards the end the fabrics became thinner and more skin was shown. Light-colored and transparent fabrics were used for more feminine designs. The show ended with a few long, gold and silver-embroidered gowns. Although we think transparencies and fur are not the best fabrics to combine in an evening gown, it sure was fun to look at.

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.

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