Armani, Mugler & Lanvin Pre-fall 2016

Lanvin is officially a brand with no designer and no reason. To be blunt, it is just a freakin mess! Alber was such a breath of fresh air when he started and slowly he devolved into just another me too hype grabbing wannabe and that is terribly sad for him and brand. Always believing that where there is smoke there is fire, it has been common knowledge in fashion circles that the brand is and has been for sale but no one wants it and after a collection like this with no real designer... well I say au revoir and do not mistake that for a bientôt! C’est triste! Oui? Save for a few pieces there is not much to talk about but when one uses Rosie Assoulin as a jumping off point...pfffft … it’s  time to call it a day kids!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.. if you dare

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.. if you dare

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.. if you dare

Now we come to Mugler by David Koma who has actually and literally reimagined the brand for the 21^st century. Hard as it is to conceive that a new designer has been loyal and cognizant of a brand's heritage but he has successfully accomplished what so few can neither do or comprehend. Whether this is a financial success is not known yet but there is an acceptance by retailers even though there is no ad budget and no excessive hype. The clothes are a lot of Mugler as in Thierry, a touch of Alaia and yes sexy and body conscious. No! These are not clothes for everyone but neither was the brand in its original incarnation and Koma has even managed to add a degree of chic. To my eye, David Koma proves and asserts and that  this is a REIMAGINED  brand and not just  a name/brand slapped on some me too collection of rags!

 

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It saddens me greatly when someone like Giorgio Armani bows or cows to popular trends and styles a collection with some bed headed models and anklets. For someone who has always been flagrantly anti-trend this is not something that befits the designer nor the brand. Yes, there is tailoring BUT no there is no chic here. In fact, there is a wee bit too much of me too in this collection which, in my opinion, will not resonate with the Armani client. Once again, just because you style it this way or adjust hems and use all sorts of trickery, the fact remains that all you do is kid yourself . This is Armani and to do what he has done degrades the brand and truly cheapens it. The only upside was that there was no runway presentation as that would have been the ultimate laughing stock.

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CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.. if you dare

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE.. if you dare

Lanvin by Alber Elbaz Paris fall 2015

The question that must be asked here is this... “Is there such a concept as too much of a good thing?”

The reason I ask this is that Alber Elbaz has surely employed the tassel and fringe as 2 of his major design flourishes for Fall 2015. What starts out as a nice touch suddenly becomes there are tassels and fringe on everything and everywhere which is certainly a bit over the top. It brings to mind that famous Chanel quote about... before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory ...well here he might have looked and removed a  few items not just one.

The collection bounces from pristine Lanvin where it is chic and slick and cosmopolitan to Boho/Berber/Bedouin, then back and then B-B-B again. Besides being confusing, it looks like Alber either can’t decide who his customer is or that he is trying to be all things to all women. For me, it is the sharper narrower silhouette that resonates when completed with the Beene leather one shoulder harness that exemplifies the Elbaz message at Lanvin… at least that’s the way his tenure started!

The opening set of exits seemed to be very matador inspired without being overdone and in keeping with the origins of the brand as per Elbaz and then the “devolvement” began. Suddenly he sends out all these odd pieces piled on mixed with these over decorated ones to achieve or end up with this folkloric kind of look which brought to mind... what she couldn’t wear she carried. Then we swing back to cosmopolitan chic and ended with dressy frumpy dresses which conjured some kind of thrift store chic. 

Where is the chic that was once Lanvin in the first few years before this odd mindset took hold? It is no wonder there are rumors of its sale and lagging quality.

Elbaz should surely know better to stick to his guns and carry on with a more singular vision for the brand as right now it is a souk of design and not all of it good.

PS.. note to Blah Blah .. if this is the best then I never want to see the worst

Lanvin by Alber Elbaz .. Paris ..spring 2015

Well, here’s the deal. From the first exit till about midway into the show, you might have been convinced that Alber has returned to clothes that that were wearable covetable albeit not as sexy as they once were. Then as if by magic, he began an abrupt and rather sudden change of direction. It was as if he proceeded to show a second collection that veered far afield from where he started.

The opening half was all about dresses and sexy skirts and a variety of shapes that might have adhered to the wearable clothes principle that has been surfacing within many collections. And then it happened, it was as if Alber had prepared an alternate collection of lace and prints gone mad. To say it was a harsh change is to be a master of understatement. To say that the esthetic is 180 degree turn is an understatement as well. To say that it made little or no sense, well in my eyes... it made not a lick of sense and sort of took away from what was believable and salable. Having seen a Lanvin department in Bergdorf’s that was overflowing with merchandise, my inclination is to say he should have stayed with wearable and laid off the absurd stuff.

My instinct tells me that there are not a lot of women who will want stags running across their bodies and lace dresses that look like they were assembled from cutting room scraps but who knows? In all, this has to be seen as a very odd and disturbing collection for the house. This designer is far more capable than this collection would evidence.

PS what also needs to be said here is the collection looked ill-fitting and some pieces as if they were dragged out of a trunk and never pressed.. There were some very off putting occurrences during this collection.

Lanvin ... Resort 2015

L’affaire Lanvin!

Before I formed any opinion about the collection, there are several overall observations I can make and they are that a good deal of the collection looks like it is 3 sizes too big for the models and yes I know this is part of the dishabille effect, it would have served the collection far better if the models did not have bed head and that I kept seeing YSL references and I mean Yves not the design challenged Hedi!

Since we are speaking in more general terms, my overall opinion of the collection is that I liked it but with reservations. The questions lurking in my mind are #1- are the clothes supposed to fit like this or is this some styling nuance/invention? #2- my mind went from thinking of what Alber had created and built as a chic and sexful collection and was wondering what happened here? #3- how do you go from walking tall and proud to skulking on the walk of shame? #4- what would this collection have looked like if everything wasn’t hanging or falling off the model? BTW... I adore the pointy toe mule!! Tres tres jolie!

The flower at the neck, the trench, definitely the gowns and even some of the pant looks seems to recall the glory of Yves. The peasant skirts, the bows and even the tailored pieces reminded me of YSL even if they sort of were softened up to the extreme of slouchy, if not sloppy. Several of the gowns seemed a bit incongruous within the collection as they were a bit more lady like and reserved than the rest of the collection but they were a beautiful respite from the general mood.

This overriding louche and picked up my clothes from the bedroom floor look would have been far better served if Albers started with the beginning of date rather than with the look of what the cat dragged in at the end of the date. Despite it all, there are great pieces buried in the collection and even some wonderful looks, in particular the floral beaded tuxedo stripe pant and the draw waisted pants and skirts. He managed to infuse the effortless kind of chic that can be so attractive but I just wish it had been done in a much neater and closer to the body kind of way.

So, if you haven’t figured it out, I am not a fan of this sloppiness but I cannot dismiss the collection because of it.