groupielove, the end

In his time away in New York, Williamson learned something about putting on a show. Honed by exposure to that city’s demand for brevity in design, his show in London was a much more focused, slim-contoured collection consisting of leather-inserted polished-linen sheath dresses, super-skinny pants, and paper-bag-waisted shorts.

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A piece of paper displaying eco-slogans greeted guests on their seats at Vivienne Westwood. The same messages (“Act fast, slow down, stop climate change”) appeared on the clothes, sometimes pinned to the models’ chests as if they were competitors in a running race.

This is nothing new for a Westwood show; Dame Viv has been spreading her anti-consumerism and pro-green beliefs via the runway for years. The collection trod mostly familiar ground as well. There were the clingy intarsia knits, the wrapped and draped dresses with odd volumes, the bustiers with the deflated bra cups.

The unfinished edges and hems on almost everything reminded you that Westwood did them, if not first, then decades before this season’s manifestations.

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After Fall’s long, almost clerical lengths and the fifties ball skirts of the season before, he went short and leggy for Spring. The recurring silhouette was a drop-waist frothy minidress reminiscent of the twenties. Smothered in dense fringe or feathers (both real and represented in trompe l’oeil prints) or swirls of jeweled embroideries, these jazzy numbers were interspersed with the egg-shaped dresses and cocoon coats that have become a signature of Valli’s nearly five-year-old collection. This season, those came in graphic color-blocking or overscale prints and embroideries inspired by antique carpets. Bold leopard-stamped ponyskin was also in the mix; a short-sleeved jacket and shorts suit in the stuff seemed to attract particularly strong interest from his socialite fan club.

Beautytrends ss2010: frizzy hair

While we’re spending millions on hair straighteners and anti-frizz products the frizzy hair look is promoted big time on the catwalks.

In many shows the models’ hair was messed up and looked frizzy. At the Etro, Westwood and the Sonia Rykiel show the hair looked extraordinary. And what about the big Afro-wigs at Vuitton!

Of course the frizzy hair had to be the look of Sonia Rykiel’s models. That hairstyle has become the brand’s trademark. Other fashion brands must have chosen the look because they wanted to show something else, not because it looks so good.

The frizzy hair trend could be catastrophic for the economy. Yet it would be a solution for all women who’ve died, bleached, curled and straightened their hair so much that it has become frizzy itself.

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The Valentino-duo is now designing with a new Valentino generation in mind—one that likes its party dresses short and isn’t afraid of sheer. There wasn’t a (Valentino)red dress in sight. Instead, Piccioli and Chiuri romanced the soft tones of nude, rose, lavender, gold, and gray that have become the big color story of the season. Their methods included swirling organza around the body and tying it off with a flamboyant bow, embroidering tulle T-shirt dresses in antique laces and geometric metal paillettes, and printing chiffon with black orchids. A couple of fitted leather jackets and minis embellished with laser-cut rosettes provided a bit of edge. Glass slippers didn’t figure in this story, but the London-based milliner Philip Treacy did whip up some fanciful footwear with lace wings arcing upward from the heels.

In sum: This was a well-timed step forward for the new Valentino duo, one that put the brand at the center of some of Spring’s key trends and started to give it a new relevance.

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Narciso Rodriguez embraced his softer side for spring summer 2010. And it made for a stronger collection. The vibe was still plenty sexy, like the killer sheath color-blocked from jute linen canvas and black silk jacquard.  A pair of shifts, one in white, the other pink, came with graphic cutouts on the upper back, while another dress was essentially a mesh tank with strategically placed ovals of printed fuchsia silk. All three were revealing without being vulgar, a balance other designers have had some difficulty achieving this season.

But Rodriguez also loosened up the silhouette dramatically, letting the air in, so to speak, on everything from a white silk, linen, and organza bubble dress to a silk mud-cloth coat. The show ended with a trio of short-in-front, long-in-back tent dresses that took this concept to the extreme. Chic, modern propositions for a black-tie evening, they billowed dramatically behind the models in the runway breeze.

Dutch Models: Bregje Heinen

One of the new faces we spotted at the catwalk was that of Dutch model Bregje Heinen. At the (young) age of sixteen she is already strutting the catwalks of many great fashion brands.

With her big eyes and lips looking as if she’s constantly pursing them, she has the perfect model-look.

We saw her in the fashion shows of Balenciaga, Fendi, Gucci, Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, Prada and Louis Vuitton. At the Stella McCartney show Bregje was even the only new model that was added to the model line-up.

Though people from abroad are struggling with the name Bregje (It’s pronounced brechk-ye) she’s bound to become a Dutch super model.

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Making good on the promise of his sexy debut, Peter Dundas turned out a sizzling collection for Spring/Summer at Emilio Pucci. It is, of course, the season the house was made for, having been established on jet-set Capri in the 1960’s, but it also doesn’t hurt that Dundas is an avid scuba diver. The underwater universe produced some aqueous prints that also formed the basis of allover-sequined dresses. Neoprene diving suits informed a few long-sleeve minidresses with curve-enhancing mesh insets.

Some of the hottest swimwear of the season strutted down the narrow runway. One or two in snakeskin aren’t advisable for actually getting wet.  The season’s all-important jacket? He cuts a mean one: cropped, fitted, with lean arms and a flippy hem.

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The foundation stone of Lagerfelds ss2010-collection was shorts. “Not Bermudas or hot pants,” the designer said backstage, but a contemporary variation that emphasized rounded hips. They looked almost like tap shorts, especially when they showed in white satin.
Lagerfeld pushed his idea with all-in-one playsuits—sometimes hanging off dungaree straps, sometimes with no straps at all—which dropped into deep-pleated shorts (it was particularly striking in red leather). This bizarre notion was so insistent throughout the presentation that it took on a persuasive life of its own. And, in its peculiar way, it fit with jackets whose hems were folded up to shoulders that buttoned down.

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Trey Speegle’s giant paint-by-number canvas spelling out the word YES at the back of Stella McCartney’s runway summed up the mood of her collection quite succinctly. These were uncomplicated, upbeat, and above all colorful clothes for women who prefer not to think too hard about getting dressed but still want to look young, sexy, and chic. It’s a sentiment that McCartney, a mother of three young children and the head of a growing fashion empire, understands intimately—as do her loyal customers, including front-row pal Gwyneth Paltrow.

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