Favorite of the Day: Louis Vuitton

I spend most of fashion month going back and forth. Avoiding and then embracing and then avoiding the prevailing trends. In the rush of it all, I love things that I later realize I hate. I overlook complete collections only to rediscover their beauty months later.

I've never been one to embrace sudden changes. But in this case, I think it's evidence that I'm pulling back the layers and really looking at the clothes. For this reason, and many others, I both loathe and love the end of fashion month. But I'm getting away from the issue at hand.

Marc Jacobs' has a tendency to change as well. To move from one pole to another with an ease that is rarely seen in the industry. Though there is a good amount of spectacle at every Louis Vuitton show, it never overshadows the clothes.

From the S&M shop of last season, he did an about face and landed in the realm of the feminine, the light, the airy and the sweet.


Photos via

Favorite of the Day: Alexander McQueen

I always spend the last few days of Paris fashion week unable to make a decision. About what I'm really doing here with this blog. About whether or not I should take a break before starting the round ups. About which collection is my favorite.

The last two days of shows feature some of the world's biggest luxury brands, and they rarely disappoint. Most years I'm left with little to say and a lot of bookmarked slides to sift through. Such was the case for the shows presented on October 4th, but after wavering between three options, I finally settled down.

When Alexander McQueen died in February of 2010, there were a lot of questions about whether the line could continue without him. The singularity of his vision was obvious to anyone who followed his work. But every season since his passing, Sarah Burton has artfully continued upon the path that he forged.

It was all craftsmanship and ingenuity and beauty.


Photos via

Favorite of the Day: Yves Saint Laurent

Ever since Tom Ford, who some consider to be the alpha and the omega of women's design, left the helm of Yves Saint Laurent, things have felt uneasy. This season, like many before it, there were rumblings about the stability of Stefano Pilati's job. During the lead up to Paris fashion week, Twitter exploded with claims that he was to be replaced by Raf Simons of Jil Sander. As an outsider, I've never understood why all of these questions continue to hang around his head.

It would be easy to let the barely concealed whispers affect one's work, but Pilati seems to be above that. Or at least he seems capable of pushing it aside in order to complete the task at hand.

On October 3rd, the trends of the season fell away and shown was a collection of sharp shapes, strong tailoring and rich colors. A collection that quieted the whispers for the time being.


Photos via

Favorite of the Day: Givenchy

As Spring/Summer 2012 winds down, I can't help but search for the trends of the season in every show. Not only those trends that reappear every year as the cold weather leaves us but also the ephemeral ones that will be everywhere and then suddenly nowhere. At Givenchy, both the pastels of spring and the peplums of 2012 featured rather prominently.

The peplums were origami-like. The pastels were stripped of their fussiness. And with that, it felt different than everything else seen during the past month.


Photos via 

Favorite of the Day: Neil Barrett

The spring and summer seasons lend themselves to a certain frothy femininity that many designers serve up gleefully for our consumption year after year. The Neil Barrett collection shown on October 1st strayed far from the relatively safety of that territory. There was a stripped down, versatile feel to his clothes. Many of the looks were topped off with a modified tuxedo jacket that if thrown off would instantly shift the mood from formal to casual.

It was a buttoned up look let loose.


Photos via

Favorite of the Day: Vionnet

For the past several years, the trend in fashion has been to live in any decade but our own. Every decade of the 20th century, as well as much of the 19th century, has been plundered for inspiration. Stepping over the edge and landing in the realm of costume can be hard for some to avoid.

But when handled properly, the results can feel new and exciting. Can be sometimes subtle and sometimes over the top. Can take your breathe away. This season has already borne witness to everything from Gatsby to greasers. The Vionnet collection shown on September 30th settled somewhere in between.

Sometimes a break from the reality of the present is not only necessary but required.



Photos via