Giambattista Valli Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

It was as if we were watching a show full of angels as the Giambattista Valli models were all dressed in white and light-colored designs. As simple as the designs were, as creative were the fabric choices. The show opened with a fur-like material, followed by zebra-printed satin, white lace and shiny, silver embroidered fabric.

It weren’t quite the looks you’d wear to the mall. A fuzzy fringed zebra skirt with a zebra shiny top looked even a bit too much for a night out. And a candy colored fringed dress, looked like it belonged to some kind of circus act. But they sure looked like fun.

Besides, there were plenty of nice and wearable looks left. Mostly cute, princess like dresses adorned with brocade and Swarosvki crystals in shades like pink, ivory, yellow and metallic gold.

True Valli-fans will be thrilled to ad some of those looks to their summer 2012 wardrobe.

First View Paris ss2012: Couture Spirit

The clear read line through Paris catwalk shows is a couture spirit reminiscent of the fifties and sixties. One designer more then the other found ways to translate this precious era in a contemporary and new look. Finding a shared challenge in the search for new proportions yet clearly inspired by the rounded full shaping of that era. Materials where traditional and precious, yet some realised that typical sculptural aspect in novel manmade yet ever so luxurious fabrics. A, I and egg shaped, reduced and iconic, minimal use of details and executed in mostly black and white.

Going back to the archives was what most designers did. Céline created a masterful understated and reduced version and managed to shape couture within a desirable ‘Philo’ mould. Dries van Noten offered grand couture looks in pouf dresses and skirts, finding a way to update by combining these with print and sturdy biker jackets. Rick Owens shifts in all its striking understatement between pillar and egg. Where Balenciaga made the most modern translation by truly redefining couture’s contours. He turned urban wear into couture, so took another road to come to richness by giving city wear the haute treatment. Rochas, how else could it be, took it factual and dived fully into archives using silk duchesse and organza to show the full flavour and grandeur of the couture legacy.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

Stella McCartney Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

The collection Stella McCartney sent out this morning was a fusion of sportswear, femininity and comfort. Vitality, relax and baroque were the keywords. The last balanced out the collection, since one of the main motifs was curling embroideries that edged the scalloped hems of miniskirts and the lapels on blazers. This neo-Baroque element gave the collection,  which was divided into tank dresses and tailoring, an elegant touch.

The tankdresses were short and formfitting. They came in combinations of white, black and cobalt blue. McCartney’s signature men’s wear looked fresh in white bonded materials, a clean-lined baseball jacket will surely be a hit.

The second half of the show introduced mini-prints and paisleys, shown on tailored jumpsuits and men’s pyjama looks. The prints came back at  little dresses, sometimes with a shot of color or with mesh insets.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear ss2012 Day 5

What are you wearing during this fashionweek? Your Gucci-shoes, your latest Celine-dress or that vintage Givenchy? 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 Fashion Week.

Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

His prints of flowers and barking dogs were all over streetfashion during the last fashionweeks, and Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy is surely held responsible for the fact that fashion moved into a print-loving direction. But after two seasons of prints and black, the designer took the undersea world as his inspiration.

Tisci expressed in his show notes a desire to explore “a more romantic side….The general attitude is softer.” So the powdery colors, undulating peplums and sheer fabrics were indeed unmistakably feminine.

The tailoring was strong, innovative and varied. Tightfitted jackets with jabots swayed like seaweed. Skirts had swooping hems or were scooped open.

Starting in white the monochromatic ensembles became glossier, more mermaidlike, with leather slashed into fish scales and head-to-toe silver sequins.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

For spring 2012 Christophe Lemaire combined the most beautiful silhouettes, colors and materials together in his Hermès looks. His RTW-collection was looked serene and comfortable. Long, loose tunics and caftans in cream and orange like shades set the mood for the show.

They were followed by fully buttoned blazers, tops with standing collars, printed and asymmetric dresses with kimono sleeves. Models wore those with headbands, scarfs, bold bangs, simple golden necklaces and gorgeous leather bags (of course!).

Sexy was not the right word for the collection, but the models sure as hell looked confident. And we see absolutely no reason for them not to do so. It was a perfect, slightly Asian-inspired, show with clothes women will actually be able to wear.

First View Paris ss2012: a dress is a dress is a dress

So the dressed-up mood seems there to stay. From careful sculpted and tailored precious gowns with Hollywood appeal, to immaculate sweet nothings in fluttery organza.

Sure is that a couture mood runs through prêt-à-porter collections worldwide. A dressed-up dress-parade shows a rich variety of smart classy daywear as well as more dramatic evening wear. Next to couture spirit an obvious 80’s flavour is intertwined that loosens up hard edge couture looks and adds flair by means of long slits and slices in shifts, tunics and robe manteaux.

Lanvin adds strong character to luxurious understated and monumental shapes in interesting fabrics where texture and drape determine the look in total absence of unnecessary details. Nina Ricci adds urban twists to a heavenly and lingerie inspired collection, where Rick Owens turns tailoring into religion, showing monolithic gowns. Dior opens the box of its rich legacy; showing reworked and modernized dresses reminiscent of the golden age of haute couture.

So to be fair, a dress is more then just a dress.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Céline Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

You can’t avoid Céline these days in Paris. Not in the streets, not in the shops – the new minimalism Phoebe Philo preaches inspired lots of people and made women reconsider their garderobe and make new choices. The collection she sent out this morning pushed the boundaries of simply elegant again. This time Phoebe Philo added a touch of militarism and workwear to the clothes.

The grid was formed by wide pants -ankle-height -, pleated skirts, battledresses and longer jackets with large pockets both tied wit a big belt and dresses that reminded of a nurse in gone-by times. The collection breathed moderism in every stitch but had an invisible Forties touch. White was the main color, followed by brown and dark green, one part had flashes of red.

There were Philo’s signature leather structured tops, sweaters, T-shirts and tunics with a longer length at the back. They added a feminine touch to the straight pants and mixed very well with the pleated skirts. Balck suede shoes had high platforms – sometimes in contrasting color -, round toes and big straps.

 

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

In a season with an overload of prints and color  Rei Kawakubo decided to go with pure white. “White drama” was her description of her spring collection, which opened with an ivory satin long-sleeved dress, straight at front and a full bouffant skirt in the back. The model, veiled and with a high white headpiece had her hands folded in front and tied together at the wrists with a big bow.

The rest of the show all dresses were white and all models looked like prisoners in skirts like padded cages and capes done in grand couture shapes but no armholes. Some dresses were tight and completely restrictive. This was a true Kawakubo-collection: provocative, beautiful and sometimes shocking.

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear ss2012 Day 4

What are you wearing during this fashionweek? Your Gucci-shoes, your latest Celine-dress or that vintage Givenchy? 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 Fashion Week.

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