The Art Of Haute Couture Fashion Week and Illustration
Haute couture fashion week in Paris; glamour, sophisticated style, and forward thinking innovative designers who draw ideas from history, books, locations, and era's all the same.
The highly anticipated show was Christian Dior, the front row packed with well-known Hollywood elite insulated by a gaggle of the who's who of designers eager for a look at fresh Dior designer Raf Simons' premier collection. (John Galliano, as you may recall had a public anti-Semitic firing in 2011) Simons' show was a dedication to Dior's transformational New Look, with A-line gowns and outerwear with cinched waists, in monochrome colors, constrained florals and a beautiful dreamy tie-dye.
I adored the severe sensualism at Valentino, the combination of velvet and chiffon in the intense blue and textured black gowns, and the blasts of fusible applique and tailored pleats.
Giorgio Armani Prive displayed the foreseen well-tailored separates and basic shape, but in unexpected gradations of powder blue, pale lilac and hot pink paired with black. It was not completely a gladly received surprise, but I did like a chic and potentially style-able short-sleeved sequined black one-piece with kicks of pink and blue.
Karl Lagerfeld combined the fashion houses accustomed suiting with oversized plaids and checks and classic details in a nice palette of pink, silver and cream. His last piece, however, was pure utopia: a ballroom-skirted wedding ensemble finished with a coat entirely hidden in feathers. Donatella Versace showed elaborately developed gowns -- one featured a bodice of intertwined white patent leather straps, tiny buckles and all -- and a few great coats, consisting of a Tarot-influenced trench hidden in translucent, bar-shaped embellishments.
Giambattista Valli geared his focus on evening wear, giving us a maintained and more often than not imbalanced riff on volume, the moody florals and subdued jewel tones exploding into ruffled swellings around the neck, at the shoulders, unfortunately also at the hips. The gowns were arresting however, a little too crazy for most red carpet celebrities.
One of the muses for Jean-Paul Gaultier collection was Pete Doherty, The continuously oily rock and roller who used to squire Kate Moss when he was not in the process of thrown in jail for a variation drug violations. The top-hatted models (involving the androgynous male model Andrej Pejic) featured tuxedo-styled boleros and form-skimming gowns accessorized with fringe and Art Deco handwork.
Elie Saab. You can continually count on Saab for dream-like, stunningly crafted red carpet-ready styles, and this collection was not exception. The breathtaking embellishment, crystal-dappled embroidery, sequined lace, balances the basic cuts of many of the dresses. My favorite look was a cinched-waist bateau-necked gown in soft apricot, the sheer bodice a soft tangle of sequins and embroidery, the skirt splashed in gold leaf, a great fit for any celebrity aiming for gold of her own.
The highly anticipated show was Christian Dior, the front row packed with well-known Hollywood elite insulated by a gaggle of the who's who of designers eager for a look at fresh Dior designer Raf Simons' premier collection. (John Galliano, as you may recall had a public anti-Semitic firing in 2011) Simons' show was a dedication to Dior's transformational New Look, with A-line gowns and outerwear with cinched waists, in monochrome colors, constrained florals and a beautiful dreamy tie-dye.
I adored the severe sensualism at Valentino, the combination of velvet and chiffon in the intense blue and textured black gowns, and the blasts of fusible applique and tailored pleats.
Giorgio Armani Prive displayed the foreseen well-tailored separates and basic shape, but in unexpected gradations of powder blue, pale lilac and hot pink paired with black. It was not completely a gladly received surprise, but I did like a chic and potentially style-able short-sleeved sequined black one-piece with kicks of pink and blue.
Karl Lagerfeld combined the fashion houses accustomed suiting with oversized plaids and checks and classic details in a nice palette of pink, silver and cream. His last piece, however, was pure utopia: a ballroom-skirted wedding ensemble finished with a coat entirely hidden in feathers. Donatella Versace showed elaborately developed gowns -- one featured a bodice of intertwined white patent leather straps, tiny buckles and all -- and a few great coats, consisting of a Tarot-influenced trench hidden in translucent, bar-shaped embellishments.
Giambattista Valli geared his focus on evening wear, giving us a maintained and more often than not imbalanced riff on volume, the moody florals and subdued jewel tones exploding into ruffled swellings around the neck, at the shoulders, unfortunately also at the hips. The gowns were arresting however, a little too crazy for most red carpet celebrities.
One of the muses for Jean-Paul Gaultier collection was Pete Doherty, The continuously oily rock and roller who used to squire Kate Moss when he was not in the process of thrown in jail for a variation drug violations. The top-hatted models (involving the androgynous male model Andrej Pejic) featured tuxedo-styled boleros and form-skimming gowns accessorized with fringe and Art Deco handwork.
Elie Saab. You can continually count on Saab for dream-like, stunningly crafted red carpet-ready styles, and this collection was not exception. The breathtaking embellishment, crystal-dappled embroidery, sequined lace, balances the basic cuts of many of the dresses. My favorite look was a cinched-waist bateau-necked gown in soft apricot, the sheer bodice a soft tangle of sequins and embroidery, the skirt splashed in gold leaf, a great fit for any celebrity aiming for gold of her own.