Jason Wu Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2010

Everybody talked about Jason Wu’s inspiration, photographer Irving Penn, but you better ignore that. The designer just wanted to do something different than the princess-like clothes he’s famous for thanks to Michele Obama. So Wu took a good look at menswear – that’s where the personal style of Penn comes along – and morphed influences into pretty womenswear with a mannish touch. He presented short sleeved jackets, oversized cashmere coats,  mohair sweaters and fold-over pants. The overall look had an appealing, relaxed sensibility. Grey, black, white and blue were the main colors with splashes of mustard, orange, yellow, golden and green.

In the end Wu just couldn’t resist to design a few real princess-dresses, just for the fun of it. I’m sure a few of those will return sooner or later at the White House or some red-carpet event.

Paris Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Kenzo

With the fw2010 fashion show Antonio Marras proved that after forty years of fashion Kenzo is still on top of the game.

The show started off with models dressed in warm-colored clothes, perfect for fall. A lot of woolly designs were shown. We also saw many checks, long overcoats, sunglasses, hats and some floral prints.

Then the clothes turned gray. At first the gray was combined with leopard printed gloves, shoes and bags. A leopard printed coat definitely stood out, yet not necessarily in a good way.
Other eye-catching pieces were a denim overall and a shiny hounds-tooth coat.

Marras designed many loose-fitting clothes. Especially his pants were much wider than the pants we saw at other fashion shows.

Towards the end all models headed outside for the show’s finale. There Place des Victoires was transformed into a film set, inspired by the movie Traffic (1971). Thirty vintage Citroën cars were driving around in the same direction as the models were walking. An old bus was picking them up.

What a great finale!

Paris Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Viktor & Rolf Monsieur

It was the first time since Viktor & Rolf introduced their menswear-collection Monsieur in 2003 that the Dutch duo held a show in Paris. It was a small, intimate show with music of one single guitarplayer and totally different from their big womenswear-presentations.

The Monsieur-collection lies close to what the designers like themselves, a mix of streetwear and tailored suits with a touch of the unexpected. For next fall Viktor & Rolf unveiled a refined collection in a dark (mostly black) color palette mixing formal and casual, ranging from quilting and trousers with elasticated cuffs and a focus at the dinner jacket.  Splashes of black paint were on the floor but also at trousers, a models’ face and in silver on a T-shirt.The unexpected lies in the layering and mix of different textures and fabrics. Of course the collection has all the ingredients of next fall: the large, comfy cardigan, the suit, the knits, the boots, the grays and the blacks.