The Leftovers: Paris Fashion Week FW11

As I made my way through the photos from Paris that I bookmarked over a month ago, I realized two things. Firstly, my limited number of favorites had more to do with general fatigue at the end of fashion month than it had to do with the clothes on offer. Secondly, the threads that so closely held together the narratives of the other cities disintegrated in Paris.

There were still echoes of the trends that had been prevalent in New York, London and Milan.

The 1970s

At Vivienne Westwood

At Balmain

At Martin Grant

At Yves Saint Laurent

At Chanel

At Valentino

Color Blocking

At Gareth Pugh

At Balenciaga

At Pedro Lourenço

At Martin Grant

Red

At Rue du Mail

At Yohji Yamamoto

At Akris

At Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

But the subtle falling apart of The Story was the real narrative of Paris. Designer inspirations were scattered, and the lack of centrality produced several levels of creativity. On display was the influence of multiple decades. Of many aesthetic ideas. Of a newness that couldn’t be put into any particular category. Here, in no particular order, are those designers and designs that most piqued my interest. That left me examining everything more closely. That simply took my breath away.

At Haider Ackermann

At Carven

At Dries Van Noten

At Gareth Pugh

At A.F. Vandevorst

At Manish Arora

At Nina Ricci

At Rick Owens

At Lanvin

At Maison Martin Margiela

At Giambattista Valli

At Stella McCartney

At Chanel

At Moncler Gamme Rouge

At Miu Miu

At Louis Vuitton

It's a cliché but one that occasionally has its foundation in truth.


Photos via

The Leftovers: Milan Fashion Week FW11

As the shows, editors, buyers, bloggers and models moved from London to Milan, the 1970s followed them. But once again, the particular vision of the era shifted. Instead of the downtown, struggling artist, here was the glamour of disco. Crushed velvet in wine colors adorned jackets. Women slinked down the runway in furs. Sex emanated from all corners.

At Gucci

At Fendi

At Etro

At Moschino

At Versace

At Emilio Pucci

At Roberto Cavalli

At Iceberg

At Dsquared²

And even within the realm of the city's continued fascination with the rainbow of colors that enchanted so many during last season’s shows, the power of the period could still be felt.

At Marni

At Blumarine

At Jil Sander

At Dolce & Gabbana

At Gucci

At Blumarine

Yet much as it had in New York and London, one color rose above all of the rest.

At Alberta Ferretti

At Gucci

At Gabriele Colangelo

At Emilio Pucci

At Moschino Cheap And Chic

At Piazza Sempione

Photos via