Friday, January 27, 2017

Haute Couture round-up spring 2017



Alexander Vauthier is the undisputed rock and roll provocateur of haute couture week. The clothes are... to say it simply and succinctly...  young and hot! He does what others aspire to... the collection is in your face with no pretense... it is the house’s DNA to the core… there is no repetition as seen in so many collections in terms one outfit in skeighty colors ... One exit, one way, one reaction, one HOT piece after the other... all exquisitely rendered… all pushing the envelope of what can be considered young couture! And that would include Lesage stoned waistbands on cut offs! Yeah baby!!
click image to enlarge

click image to enlarge


Guo Pei is all about spectacle. Maybe it is fairy tales, maybe pure fantasy but it has little to do with any reality other than story telling. It seems  a pity to waste that kind of workmanship on what appears to be little more than stage costumes which surely carry the influences of so many designers who came before… case in point “the egg lady” who you might recognize from St Laurent days of glory.. Nuff said.
click image to enlarge


Elie Saab is a beading wunderkind especially during haute couture. Here we need to really concentrate as there is such a tsunami of beadwork that the standouts are those which have the least amounts and make the maximum statement. Apparently he feels the need to show each style in multiple color ways which bloats the presentation but blurs the memory of what was shown... one might say it is overkill and works to his detriment rather than advantage. I believe him to be a wonderfully talented creative designer who designs but with shows like this he needs to redefine on how his collection is presented.
click image to enlarge


Ulyana Sergeenko is all about who knows what and why. I guess it is good to have the dough to produce a show like this and I guess there is a client but talk about girls gone wild with tulip bra cups and crocheted ruffles to vintage Saint Laurent, she is all over the place and yet no place in particular.
click image to enlarge


Zuhair Murad is another king of beading. This show while big on spectacle and high voltage drama and glamour could have used some efficient editing which would have exponentially increased its impact. The man has something to say about making an entrance and being noticed... it is just too bad that almost everything is shown at the same high decibel level and that the “simplest” had almost as much impact as the more in your face. There are pieces which if dialed down a notch or 2 or 3 might have been far more spectacular than the OTT versions. The pity is that there is plenty here but again a redefining and a more focused eye might have been of great benefit as presently the clothes by and large seem to be more suited for the stage rather than real life... so to speak.
click image to enlarge

No comments:

Post a Comment