Lifetimes ago, the last show on the calendar of NYFW, when
it was just called market week, was Geoffrey Beene. Always a hotly anticipated
show as every season you were hypnotized and transfixed for 20 minutes by the
genius that was pure Beene. In a less than perfect world, NYFW closes with the
likes of Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs. For the panderers and fawners, the
Jacobs show is the equivalent of a Beene show and for us who might know better
it is just one more show with not much gravitas.
Marc Jacobs… his
show last night was minus the auspices of LVMH which is to be believed the lead
up to an IPO. Recently, Robert Duffy stated that Marc by Marc Jacobs was the
sales driver for the brand and even that is hard to imagine other than its
price point. This top tier division is to be the fashion or “couture” segment
of the brand and every season we are treated to some fantasy of what Marc
Jacobs is all about. Here’s the rub; every season it changes, every season we
are shown less than esthetically pleasing clothes and every season we are shown
unwearable unaffordable clothes for fashion victims. Every season we read
praise and laudatory sentiments for this prince of fashion and every season you
wonder just what collection they are reviewing because surely you saw a
different one. Once again, all true, all present and accounted for, so to
speak, except that last night the presentation was... well .. better than usual
but not exactly what I call great or memorable. Yes the clothes look more
wearable and yes the models were not styled to look like fictional characters
but with the heavy nod to the 60s and given the “bareness and lightness” of the
collection, this wasn’t exactly what I can call stellar in any way. Yes, the
finish looked beautiful, I might even go so far as to say I liked the air
brushed waves with organza ruffles and maybe even a few of the “color block”
pieces but that’s about it … LIKE! I was not transported to euphoria, I was not
mesmerized by this season’s selection of the Emperor’s New Clothes … I just
liked a few pieces!!
Calvin Klein … one
really has to wonder what the namesake thinks of what has happened to his once
modern, minimalist and even, dare I say … chic brand. Once upon a time Calvin
was known as an American Armani or at least an off shoot of the Armani esthetic
which was not an insult in any way, merely an observation where Armani was used
as an adjective rather than a comparison.. a brevity of words if you will, and
yesterday we witnessed still one more of the many incarnations that Mr. Costa
passes off as his vision for the brand. Lately, frankly, it has been sort of
horrifying and yesterday surely cemented that sentiment. What happened to the
impeccably dressed Calvin Klein customer? This 21st century offering
looks more like loving hands at home or some design school project dealing with
the benefits of sustainable apparel or even worse as Miss Hannigan’s wardrobe.
If you have no idea what I speak of, then you best have a look at the collection.
It would appear to me that Mr. Costa has set his sights on that Chico/Eileen
Fisher, possibly even the Prada lady and maybe even those who fancy artisanal
clothes over well designed ones. There is little point of me ranting about this
as all you need to do is look at it and read what I have said and hopefully all
will coalesce. And by the way, the pundits find it just about as great as the
second coming!
With all this having been said, it is my humble opinion that
NYFW goes out with a thud rather than with a bang.
PS.. the more I think of it .. Fall 2014 at Calvin, well it
looks like some old Marc Jacobs collection!
No comments:
Post a Comment