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Hitting the Haute Notes
Words: Regan Pendergast
Images: style.com
‘tis' the hap….hap-piest season all year…cre-a-tivity flowing and seamstresses sewing so glad I am queeeeeeeeer.......It’s the most wonderful time of the year’
Well it’s that time of year when the fashion pack are feasting themselves on the sartorial delights that are being plated up. Cruise has been a bread roll, menswear has been served as a lovely appetiser, the ready to wear will be a delightful dessert. But in my opinion, Haute Couture is the hearty main course that literally replaces any source of food the fashion pack may have been eating...Who am I kidding? Fashion people don’t eat. This analogy is completely useless.
But in all seriousness, the season that sets the standard has passed, and with it, introduced some of the finest garments around. Bon appetite!
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Christian Dior
Monsieur Galliano adorned his best florist’s chapeau (literally) and delivered a veritable bouquet of his favourite flowers. Taking his cue from the shapes and colours of his subject, Galliano created an ode to his favourite specimens, the first of which played on the classic tulip shape in a verdant lilac coat dress, cinched at the waist with strands of leaf green raffia and paired with blood orange leather gloves. It may be assumed that the subject of flowers may be taken down the beaten track of 'soft romance' but Galliano showed that his blossoms were indeed powerful women. These ladies were more poison ivy than shrinking violet.
Galliano has an innate way of taking the beautiful and pushing it to the extreme, the flora variety was no exception. He dissected the flower, pulling apart its petals, its layers, its stamens, its very nature and delivered it in fabric form. Light as a feather skirts blossomed from the waist; a myriad of silk organza petals creating upside down blooms, emerging from the seed pod-like peplums of mohair jackets. This is the type of gardening that would suit most women. And no flower would be caught dead leaving the garden incomplete. Models all adorned pod like hair that was carefully wrapped by Mr Jones like a dozen of the finest roses, in what looked like sheets of florists cellophane, while the classic Dior face was highlighted with a poison ivy purple lip and a shadow in fresh Jade or brilliant orange.Thank you Mr Galliano, flowers really were the perfect gift.
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Givenchy
In his intimate salon viewings, Ricardo Tisci sighted his inspiration for the collection as being Frida Kahlo and her three obsessions in life; religion, sensuality and the human anatomy. Rather fitting considering Kahlo spent her entire life wrestling with all three, in particular, her struggle with back pain. It only seemed fitting that Tisci translate this into couture proportions. The collection consisted of only ten looks, but each and every one mesmerising in its detail and luxe of embellishment, some so much so that they were said to be difficult to lift (no walking in these ones. Just get yourself a good ol' fashioned lean board and look fabulous, have the party move around you, you are wearing couture for Christ sake).
Shapes were therefore kept rather simple, column gowns, cat suits, wide leg pants all delivered in a palette of white, beige gold and chocolate which allowed the embellishment to speak volumes. The spine served as quite a literal inspiration as lace was translated in skeletal like formation and accessories such as belts, cuffs and clutches were scaled sections of spine, flattened, proportioned and delivered as morbidly fabulous. Back pain has never looked so glamorous.
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Chanel
As devotees of Chanel entered the Grand Palais, they were confronted with the largest bronzed statue of a lion known to man. Quietly standing there in the round, one giant paw resting regally on what looked like a giant pearl, from which the models emerged, it couldn’t have been a more fitting entrance. If the slightly daunting Lion didn’t set the mood for you, the clothing soon would. Chanel does Eastern Europe. Regalia in all its finest, well sort of. It was strangely subdued by Karl.
Using a palette of dulled jewel tones, he delivered a show that would have any modern day Romanov saying 'shoot me but don’t shoot my couture.' The Chanel tweed was delivered with soft sculpted shoulders in variations of classic suits, long coat dresses, and military double breasted buttoning with highlight on a voluminous half sleeve. High waisted skirts finished just on the knee while A-line skirts were of shin grazing lengths. It was the type of clothing that would look fabulous as you walk through a freshly snowed wood, you know, the kind that adjoins your palace...that being said, it was all kept respectfully modern and fresh, even if you don’t have a palace to call home.
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Valentino
The phrase 'youthful couture' has been bandied around a bit, but as of the past couple seasons with new designers Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri at the helm the phrase seems to have established a home for itself with 'the new Valentino'. However, I just cant help but feel sorry for the hoards of elderly, extremely wealthy, women, that, as we speak, are wandering the streets of Paris, forced to frequent the likes of Elie Saab in order to get a floor length gown. What has this world come to? I can just see the couture clutch talking to each other before shows, starting sentences
with things such as 'I remember when Valentino did red...' these ladies are now shivering in the streets. Those poor, wealthy, wealthy ladies.....I digress.
But it is true, the new Valentino couture customer is younger. The show entitled 'The dark side of first love' opened with a slew of baby doll dresses, you couldn’t help but feel these Suri Cruise-esque lolitas (is it wrong that I can picture her wearing most of this collection?) are going to break hearts. The bow was used as a sweet motif and gave some rather angst pieces a touch of innocence. Piccioli and Chiuri stayed true to the house roots and used the classic colours, black, white and Valentino red with wafts of nude, silver, pale daffodil and rose blush. The younger vibe was contrasted nicely with classic couture shapes, ruffled hems, fluting and 'structure without structure' well, just somewhat shorter. With only four collections under their couture belt, Piccioli and Chiuri are still taking baby steps, but things are looking promising once they hit their full stride.
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Jean Paul Gaultier
Did you know that Gaultier once released a song? I kid you not, it was called "Aow Tou Dou Zat." Its pretty hilarious, Gaultier to a Tee. So you might think that a show that took no direction from a theme would, much like the song, exude the fundamentals of Gaultier himself. But for the usually larger than life designer, his winter couture collection was somewhat subdued. He opened with a signature trench, cut just on the knee in satin black and paired with a fly away style turban. Cut to a simple black shift with sculptural, ribcage-like overlay, followed closely by another simple shift, which he Gaultified by a spike shoulder pad with vixen drape. He flexed his masculine meets feminie muscle with an exquisitely tailored jacket paired with sequinned pants. Liza can you hear me?
But you can’t help but feel that Gaultier hides behind a gimmick, this time it was in the form of Dita Von Teese who looked as though she could drown in a black, draped, shouldered number. Perhaps it is his elaborate past that makes his present self look somewhat safe, or is this new matured Gaultier? Call me biased but I kind of miss his elaborate cone bra days, any woman's best friend really, am I right?
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