Catwalktrends ss2010: showstopping shoes

The designers gave the models a hard time walking the runway to show the spring/summer collections. The shoes they had to wear often had eye-catching shapes and heights.

The shoes in the Jil Sander show had iron pins for heels. Donatella Versace used platform shoes. John Galliano’s shoes were extremely high and his stiletto heels seemed to be made of colored pearls. Chanel introduced a few clogs.

Some models in the Dsquared show had spikes all over their shoes. Viktor & Rolf embellished theirs with pink flowers, Vivienne Westwood decorated hers with wings. Matthew Williamson’s shoes had bows.

Next to the ultra high shoes we saw ultra-flat sandals (Issey Miyake, Anna Sui, Valentino, Lacoste, Etro, Armani, Chloe). Those sandals, snake leather and wearing socks in open shoes seem to become the trends for this spring.

Of course the Alexander McQueen shoes were real showstoppers. His shoes were high, had crazy alienated shapes and had reptile prints all over them. Gaga oehlala…

backstage world ss2010: smile!

It’s a whole different world backstage at the fashionshows. A world of fun, excitement and creativity. Today: backstage at D&G, where models are telling jokes and making fun of each other.

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.

Groupielove # 15

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.

Trends ss2010: the men’s skirt

The men’s skirt has been all over the news lately. Maybe because fashion brand H&M recently introduced a men’s skirt for their spring/summer collection 2010. And usually when H&M comes up with a trend it is picked up by many followers.

Of course H&M is not the first brand to introduce the men’s skirt. We’ve seen this fashion item on the runway for years. One true lover and wearer of skirts is designer  Marc Jacobs, who takes his bows most of the time dressed in a kilt.

This year there were some skirts in the menswear collections as well. At Thom Browne we spotted an ultra short version, at the show of Jean Paul Gaultier (one of the first designers with skirts for men)  the skirts were much longer. Rick Owens’ models wore multiple layers, one of those layers being the skirt. Other brands which had skirts in their collection were John Galliano, Francisco van Benthum and Kris van Assche.

We’re very curious if the skirt will become the trend for men in 2010.

Groupielove # 12

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.

Trends ss2010: goddess glamour

Next season shoulders are getting some extra attention in several different ways. We’ve seen shoulderpads, shoulder cut-outs,  adorned shoulders and one-shoulder dresses.

Many designers gave their own interpretation to the one-shoulder dress. Most often they put all their creativity in the dress’s one shoulder. They gave that one shoulder lots of layers, ruffles and draping so it really stood out and made up for the missing one.

During the Iceberg fashion-show shoulders were emphasized in many ways. The colorful one-shoulder dresses seemed to be the highlight of the show. At Lanvin the shoulders got a mix of ruffles and layers.

Sonia Rykiel showed a one-shoulder dress with bows all the way to the top.The shoulder on one of Viktor & Rolf’s designs (made out of hundreds of layers of tulle) reached as high as the model’s head.

Most one-shoulder designs looked sexy, summery and a bit Roman/Greek.

Tess van Daelen

Trends ss2010: the nude-look

When we look at the use of color in the spring/summer collections it appears most designers were very modest. Not many of them used bright colors for their clothes. Instead they chose black or white, pastelshades, ivories  or nudes. We already saw the nude-look last season but this time it was more present then ever. Peter Copping proved himself as the king of the nudes in his collection for Nina Ricci. His models were dressed in  different shades of nude from head to toe. Even their accessories had the nude-look going on. Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano only used four different shades for their Gianfranco Ferré collection, nude being one of them. They designed some pretty cocktail-dresses in transparent shades. Almost every collection had some nude pieces.  The nudes made most outfits look ultra-feminine and slightly romantic. Unfortunately it also made many models look pale. But that won’t stand in the way of the nude-look becoming even more successful next season. (Tess van Daelen)

John Galliano Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Powerful red laser-lights and only the contours of a woman’s body were the start of Galliano’s fashion show. On the catwalk it seemed as if there were leaks of fire. Bubbles floated through the air and created a shady smoke-effect as they collapsed on the runway. These settings immediately set the mood for the rest of the show, which was a true visual spectacle. Galliano was said to be inspired by the very first Hollywood actresses from the time when movies were still silent. His models had classic white-powdered faces and small dark-red lips. Their heads were decorated with feathers, pieces of fabric, nets and bouquets.The clothes were a bit of a chaos but there were some good pieces as well. Thin dresses in romantic colors were matched with large jackets. They had prints of dots and flowers. A long white sequined dress with a shiny silver jacket looked exquisite. (Tess van Daelen)

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