It’s that time of year again when the fashion glitterati and most importantly, for the designers, the wives of ridiculously rich billionaires migrate to Paris like wildebeest crossing some style deprived savannah to feast their eyes on the Haute Couture season. And here is my take on this fall’s collections.
Alessandra Facchinetti gave a wonderfully assured and exciting debut on the couture runway with Valentino. This was no small feat for a woman who having been publicly humiliated by being fired after one year at Gucci (after replacing Tom Ford in 2004), was now leading the brand of Valentino, which like Gucci has such a stong identity, but she also has the added pressure of having Signor Garavani very much alive and kicking to pass judgement. The whole fashion industry would be ready to pounce if she made a single mistake. But Facchinetti really exceeded expectation and congratulations to her. It is not easy to make the transition from RTW to Haute Couture but I have a sneaky suspicion that Haute Couture will become her forte in a few years time.
The first wise move that Facchinetti made was to hold the show in the Place Vendôme showroom of Valentino, which not only made for an intimate setting and harked back to the heyday of Haute Couture, but also allowed the audience to view the clothes close-up to appreciate the intricacies and detailing of the pieces. I enjoyed Facchinetti’s venture with ovoid sculpted silhouettes from stiffened silk, although some of the structured coats and capes looked quite restrictive and uncomfortable to wear. The whole look was still strongly Valentino, glamorous and feminine, but Facchinetti has brought to the House romance, delicateness and youth. This was my favourite collection by far.
Christian Lacroix does what he does best. Extravagance, vibrant colours, historical details and embellishments. His influences for this show ranged from matadors, spanish infanta to 18th century militia accessorised with punk mohicans. Somehow Lacroix’s ‘more is more’ attitude never overpowers his clothes and it’s always a pleasure to watch his lavish collections (which stood out this season from the other collections which mostly focused on very muted colour palettes).
Karl Lagerfeld has successfully re-worked the classic trademarks of Chanel for a new generation and incorporated rare materials and techniques for Haute Couture, but his collections in recent times have become quite tired. So it was a relief to see Lagerfeld explore a darker, gothic look, with very sharp geometrical lines. The inverted armlets which branched out at the shoulder, had a wonderfully medieval turn about them. Still the charcoal grey palette was too drab for my liking.
And to my final highlight of the season – Anne Valerie Hash. Hash is understatement personified and she does it exquisitely. Beautifully cut pieces in a classic palette of whites and blacks. Her clothes may not be wildly imaginative and showy but she understands the female form. She designs the most wearable collections (and it’s probably no coincidence that apart from Facchinetti, she’s the only female designer for Haute Couture).
As for the rest of the season, it was either shockingly weak or drearily predictable. Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection was a mess, with no theme running through the clothes. He used hideous clashes of colours, re-hashed the equestrian look (which he’s done to death at Hermes), neon rave and bizarre weave-basket like structures were worn on top of the clothes. The models looked as though they had stepped out of an obsolete 80’s sci-fi film, not a look that most 50 year old Park Avenue ladies who lunch (the majority of Haute Couture clientele) would aspire to. Then there was Christian Dior, which harked back to Dior’s New Look. It was a very subdued and restrained Galliano we saw. Of course, the pieces were finely crafted especially the full skirted coats with patent leather bow belts, but the pastel greens, blues and pinks used for his dresses were too saccharine. Givenchy was particularly dull, which was apparently inspired by Peruvian peasants. This theme was only shown in two or three pieces with oversized hats and bizarre brown and white stripped outfits that no Peruvian peasant would be seen dead in. As for Elie Saab it was business as usual, nothing new, very frothy, plenty of lace and swathes of taffeta. But it’s been his winning formula for his clients, so why defer? As for Armani Prive, it was Armani’s version of YSL doing Armani. Undeniably finely tailored but was indistinguishable from Armani’s previous collections for like the past 100 years! Yawn. The man just does not do it for me I’m afraid.
For Spring 2009, I’m praying for Galliano to go back to his overblown theatrical concepts, that Gaultier will have created a cohesive collection, that beautiful, bright colours and interesting shapes will flood the runways. In troubled times (economic crisis anyone?), the world looks to escapism and fantasy. Hollywood provided epic masterpieces and exuberant musicals during the war periods to a people who so desparately needed to dream. And Haute Couture at it’s best, with its surreal creativity and exquisite craftsmanship can provide that opportunity too.
source: style.com
