Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #24

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #23

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #22

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.

Celine Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

After four years of silence Phoebe Philo (who formerly worked for Chloé) showed a new collection during her runway debut for Celine. By deciding a new iconic look she went back to basic. The clothes looked sober in shades of beige, white and camel. There were hardly any accessories and Philo only used one or two pieces of clothing per outfit. No fuss but clear, tight and wearable shapes and fits. ‘A kind of contemporary minimalism’, as she called it herself. Philo designed many leather pieces, almost all without visible seams, pockets, zippers or buttons. There were some cross-laced items, a few wide sleeves and several epaulettes. A leather coat with a rounded standing collar was the most striking piece of the collection. Philo’s Chloé-touch was visible in  wide pants and wedge sandals. Of course the big question is: will Philo be able to bring back Celine’s success? Judging from the enthusiastic reactions of the audience, she will. (Tess van Daelen)

Stella McCartney Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Finally after so many days of (sometimes boring) fashionshows with angry looking models there were real smiles on the runway. Stella McCartney was in a good mood – maybe because 2008 turned out to be a good year regarding 20 percent profit – and her message was: embrace life and be happy. Her collection was alike: real clothes for real women but with a little bit of glamor to make it through the day. Relaxed denim skirts just below the knee and male trousers mixed with lace tops and masculine jackets referred to the seventies , although the gender blending was very now. High heels, but also comfy Linda-wedges – a tribute to her late mother Linda McCartney – gave the look an extra edge as did the colors and shiny/matte shantung. McCartneys evening-wear is flowing and moving like a colorful jellyfish, for those late parties at the beach or downtown. Watch her best friend Gwyneth Paltrow, she’ll be probably the first.

Sonia Rykiel Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

For Sonia Rykiel’s fashion show last year’s Park of Saint-Cloud was exchanged for Sonia Rykiel’s own shop on Boulevard Saint-Germain. The flowers on the runway had turned into shiny silver confetti. And the fashion show was just one big party, especially for the models since they could act as joyful as possible. It even made model Sasha Pivovarova’s face look cheerful. The girls gracefully walked down the runway. Once with three at a time in matching striped sweaters. Rykiel showed a lot of colorful long (sometimes knitted) cardigans with shoulder pads. See-through big buckled belts were worn with them. Most items of one outfit were in the same shade, decorated with stars, flowers or bows. Models showed lined body warmers, skirts and strapless tops with visible square seams. A great blue silky trouser suit with white palm leaves really stood out. Rykiel’s SS2010 collection is great fun to watch and to wear. (Tess van Daelen)

Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

In Riccardo Tisci’s collection for Givenchy his graphic prints were perfection. He started the show with triangular shapes and cut-outs and horizontal lines. Halfway the collection the audience was blown away when he introduced his print for spring 2010. It had zigzag patterns combined with lines and curves. Tisci used it in many of his designs and showed it in three different natural shades. Even some shoes with platform wedges had the detailed print all over them. Apart from the graphic print some of Tisci’s highlights were a few great drop-crotch harem pants, multi-layered skirts, loose-fitting sleeves and dresses with ruffles in all the right places. He also gave the shoulders some extra attention by adorning and raising them. Puffy collars were worn on top of Roman draped ultra-light dresses. It’s for sure that this Givenchy collection will do well in stores. So we will certainly see its graphic prints passing by next spring. (Tess van Daelen)

Paris Fashion Week Impressions #18

Paris Fashion Week Impressions #17

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