MaryMe-JimmyPaul Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Marie Burlot and Jimmy Paul seemed to make fun of the fashion world big time today. Their collection JonBenet Ramsey (a beauty queen by which the designers were inspired) told the story of going to school for the first time, but felt more like an ode to Barbie.

All looks of the small collection were pink, purple and blue from head to toe. The shoes, the accessories, the make-up and the clothes all breathed Barbie.

The clothes had lots of volume and had fur and sequins all over them. The soundtrack of the show was the song ‘Gimme more’ from Britney Spears sang by someone else very false.

At the end of the show all curly haired models waved at the audience. The designers came on stage dressed up with masks and caps. It seemed like they didn’t take themselves too seriously. Yet they must have had a lot of fun making this collection and sure made the audience smile.

Heren van Koster Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Heren van Koster, the fashion label of designer Roos Koster presented it’s new summer collection today. It was the first collection that Roos presented under her own label as an independent designer.

The label, Heren van Koster, in which the silhouette plays a central role started it’s show with a short clip. In the clip we saw a man dressing himself in several Heren van Koster outfits. With every outfit he put on the name of that item appeared on screen (for instance the name ‘pikbroek’ – ‘cockpants’). A funny tune gave the video an extra comic twist.

The clothes Roos had designed were eye-catching, yet not very wearable. Male models with ponytails and black painted clown faces wore short top and jackets with pants that had remarkable crotches. They had tucked the legs of their pants in their boots. The clothes came by in red, white, brown-/purple-ish and yellow. They had all kinds of zippers and pockets.

Between the light summery stuff Roos showed some winter items as well. Several thick coats looked kinda cool, yet a little too hot for summer.

About Roos van Koster
Roos studied at AMFI and Artez. She presented her graduation collection in collaboration with FIA during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week in January 2009 and in Paris during the pret a porter in March 2009.

Iris van Herpen Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Iris van Herpen started her show with a clip of a naked woman surrounded by splashes of water.  That water appeared to be essential in her collection. Her ten looks represented ‘Crystallization’: the process of water turning into crystal.

Iris translated that process by giving water a determined form. Some outfits looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water over a model and time had frozen that water into an outfit. Exactly that opposition between fluid and hard materials was the starting point of the collection. There was also a strong contradiction between wearable and non-wearable items.

‘I’m fascinated by the fact that secret lines are hidden in fully transparent and fluid materials. At the moment this material freezes (when the crystal arises) this comes to life. It’s then that the symmetry and structure underneath become visible’, explains Iris.

Apart from the frozen water items Iris showed several strong handmade designs. Every detail of those outfits was perfection and must have taken hours to make. Yet those are the designs which define Iris as an artist.

One of the looks had a 3D print all over it. It was based on sculptures and made by the famous architect Daniel Widrig. Iris: ‘It took one computer hours and hours to make that print and it costs thousands of dollars, but it looks so good.’ So far Iris is the first fashion designer to work with this kind of 3D print.

Unfortunately Iris only showed ten looks today, but the clothes and the way she presented them made everything worthwhile. All models were filmed while they walked the runway. And as they moved a video was played on the catwalk in which you could see the models walking. ‘The models in the video were enlarged, so people could see the details of the clothes even when they were not sitting front row, says Iris.

The show was great and the reactions of the audience were wild. London is lucky to be able to show Iris’ whole SS2011 collection.

Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture collection was all about proportions. The designer accentuated the shoulders and the waists of his designs and therefore made his models look super feminine. His shoulders were not highlighted like on a regular eighties dress, they had extra (thick) fabric and even fur on them which was placed on a big part of the sleeves.

All models wore hat sculptures, which, regardless of their crazy shape, looked quite elegant.

The collection was an obvious fall/winter collection; lots of leather, lots of fur and lots of black. There were a few outfits in remarkable colors though, like a bright green dress, a yellow (almost neon) one and a purple jumpsuit.

With a few looks Jean Paul Gaultier was reminiscing his previous success items. He for instance emphasized the boobs and buts of one outfit by placing a cone of black mink on them to remind us of his already unforgettable cone bra moment.

The whole collection felt very Parisian chic; the models looked sexy and feminine. Dita von Teese’s appearance was the perfect match for this kind of fashion show. The burlesque artist walked the catwalk twice in a detailed lingerie look to promote the upcoming lingerie line of JPG and La Perla.

Jan Taminiau Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Next week we will have to miss him at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. But this week Jan Taminiau gave his audience in Paris a good look at his great couture collection.

His latest work seemed to be an homage to and a reflection of couture. No mass fashion but craftsmanship and attention and love for qualitative goods are the things Jan Taminiau sees in his future.

And with this theme Jan gives his view on the future, the past and the now. Therefore the collection was all about reflection. Jan played with classical silhouettes, accessories and poses and made them modern again. His silhouettes were tall, small and slender and gave the models a certain status.

His creations didn’t have a lot of color. They were made out of grey, light pink and nudes. They were never boring though; Jan embellished them with small sparkles. Sometimes only on the upper body, sometimes all over the fabric.

Like we see in fashion right now the shoulders of most of the outfits were highlighted. Yet instead of the sharp, pointy shoulders we now see in stores, Jan designed round shoulders in more of a couture style.

All looks were finished by large hats out of which slim ponytails appeared. They made the looks feel heroic.

Too bad Jan Taminiau doesn’t show in Amsterdam this season, his collection looked stunning.

Yves Saint Laurent Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Before the YSL show started today, guests got a peek at the latest short film No Way Back. It’s a short documentary about tattoo artist Mark Mahoney. It didn’t have anything to do with the YSL fashion house, but it showed yet another form of art.

Stefano Pilati gave his models a very clean look today. Their hair was tidy, their skin looked good and their eyes were focussed. The clothes also had a clean cut and all the fuss was left behind. What we saw, were well-tailored designs. Those weren’t necessarily very trendy, yet gave the men a sophisticated look.

Pleated pants and fully buttoned blouses were combined with suit jackets. Over those jackets wide bands were placed, around the waist in some looks. In other outfits the male models wore small waist-belts.

Their were multiple shorts, which amazed us at first sight, while they were high-waisted, wide and short. They had small classic prints on them and were worn with sandals.

Overall there were no unnecessary accessories, prints or extra layers. Also, colors were absent; instead Pilati used natural shades like beige, grey, dark brown and black.

Less is more.

Junya Watanabe Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Breton stripes are Watanabe’s main trend for next year. He used them throughout his whole collection. At first they popped up from under some suit jackets, later we saw them in combination with some toggle coats. Towards the end the models wore striped sweaters (with big front pockets) on white shorts.

Although Breton stripes are already a hit right now and therefore are not renewing at all, they did gave the collection it’s extra sailor’s twist. The sailor hats, the rolled up legs and the toggle coats matched with that perfectly.

By the way, the models looked like a bunch of sweaty sailors. Though they wore some high quality clothing, they were a mess. Their hair was all wet and their faces looked red and tired.

Watanabe’s coats and jackets were the highlight of the show; well made and with a proper fit. Especially the multiple variations of the toggle coat were a strong part of the collection. The white and blue jeans will also do well in stores next spring. Yet the Breton striped sweaters were kind of corny, since we are getting tired of this trend already.

Jean Paul Gaultier Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Today Jean Paul Gaultier presented the future. His runway show was 3D! All guests attending the show (including singer Kelly Rowland) got special 3D glasses to watch the special effects JPG had added to his show.

JPG’s models were as diverse as they could be: pale, bronzed, bearded, shaved, blond hair, brown hair. A few had glasses on and some had afros. Some were young, others looked older. Even a blond haired girl popped up twice at the show.

The clothes for spring were like the models: a little bit of everything. They seemed to be Moroccan inspired so we saw some see-through fabrics and a few caftan-like blouses. The set of the show was a steamy hammam.

At first JPG showed some transparent black. Two tops were closed with laces at the front. Then some beige looks came buy; jackets with lots of pockets and big scarves (for a cold summer night?). Some printed creations followed. Those prints looked as if they were made out of paint splatters. The models wore a strange kind of bonnet to go with the printed outfits.

To stick with the Moroccan feeling JPG had added some embroideries to his blouses matched with pants that were tight at the bottom and loose around the crotch. We then saw an overall, a suit jacket matched with shorts, a skirt, one black caftan that reached the floor and a see-through black one-piece outfit.

Though JPG mostly used brown, black, beige and white in this collection, he did add some cobalt blue towards the end. Not to speak of the finale, when models entered the runway in bright, shiny, printed designs that came to live with 3D glasses.

The collection maybe was a bit messy, but there were some good items in it. And the fact that JPG was the first designer to use 3D in his collection is worth some extra credits too.

Giorgio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

If someone would have said Armani showed his pre-fall collection today, we would have believed that person. The summer inspiration was hard to find in the Giorgio Armani show. Almost every look existed of a pair of long pants and a jacket. No shorts, no Tees, no airy fabrics.

Besides Giorgio chose to use very dark colors like deep blue and black, only once in a while alternated by a hint of light gray, green or yellow. No summery prints or colorful excesses, just one or two stripes and checks. Many of the models did wear sunglasses (with circular and yellow glasses) but that was not enough to give us a feeling of summer.

Jackets really were the hot item of the collection, double breasted, waisted, more sportive, leather and linen. They had striking buttons and sometimes a handkerchief popped out of the front pocket.

Another item Giorgio introduced was the waistcoat. Maybe that was the reason he invited Ricky Martin to the show. Waistcoats and tight Tees have become this singer’s signature throughout the years.

The Armani models all walked with their hands in their casual trousers. The loose pleated trousers didn’t look spectacular, yet seemed very comfy.

And that’s exactly how we would describe this Giorgio Armani collection. As a good mix of comfortable, wearable clothes with some amazing well-tailored jackets. It’s just that for summer we would have loved to see a little bit more light colors.

Pringle of Scotland Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

New Wave seems a trend this Milan Fashion Week. After two soundtracks of Talking Heads, today the British rock band Franz Ferdinand was playing at the Pringle show. Alex Kapranos and Nick McCartney were present to play an acoustic set.

Yet there was a second reason why the boys were at the Pringle show. They appeared to both have designed a piece of knitwear for the label. The singer and the guitarist were among several Scottish artist who’d designed a limited edition design for the 195^th anniversary of Pringle.

McCarthy’s sweater was named Sign for Strength and had the artist’s handwriting on it. Kapranos named his design The Execution of the perfect swing and replaced Pringle’s logo by a golfer swinging on a gallows. They didn’t wear their creations themselves today.

Apart from the limited edition sweaters the rest of the very small collection (of 16 pieces) had more good knitwear pieces in it. The woollen cardigans will be too hot for summer. Yet the almost transparent knitted tops will do just fine.

Furthermore we saw stiff shirts, bright blue coats and the brand’s signature (the Argyle pattern) in a top. It was not really a full collection. Sixteen looks is a bit thin and we actually thought the show was rather boring.

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