Thursday, April 14, 2011

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

Thursday, April 7, 2011

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