Moncler Gamme Rouge Paris Collections fall 2013

In business since 1953 with their first designer collaboration of Moncler Gamme Rouge in 2008.  So for over 50 years the brand was known as a go to resource for great quality ski wear most notably when they used a cire or shiny nylon for ski jackets at the Grenoble Olympics.  Well that certainly is forgotten history as today the label is at the top of the heap when it comes to couture skiwear and active wear.  They stand alone and are to be commended for creating a niche for themselves by collaborating with designers like Thom Browne and Giamabattista Valli who designed the latest collection.

As any sociologist will tell you, how we present ourselves and what we wear and are seen in is a direct reflection of whom and what we are.  Clothing is one of those silent signals that speaks louder than most other personal characteristics; as stated in the latest epic  book  named STYLE and POWER  by the Galumes, your appearance can divulge which is your wrung on the hierarchal ladder of today’s social standing!.. Take that Tim Blanks!

If we follow this train of thought , the hills of Gstaad, Aspen and Cortina d’ Ampezzo  will look like an haute couture show of the most fashionable ski wear available worldwide.  I am not sure if they will actually ski in it but they will definitely want to be seen wearing it and with good reason.  Mr. Valli has been allowed or was given carte blanche to create the most fabulous collection of active apparel that these yes these eyes have ever seen let alone lusted for; and so he did with the greatest skill and aplomb, in fact with so much that most designers wish they had half of his imagination when they work on their eponymous collections.

There are no words better than lush, extravagant, far flung, haute couture, inventive, and luxurious to describe these pieces.  Thom Browne may have created a new way to look at the men’s but Mr. Valli has now raised the bar and forever altered how skiwear and active wear will be viewed on the international stage of fashion and that is MAJOR!  Just as there is a customer for every “division” of ready to wear and haute couture there is now the opportunity to scale the same variety or opportunities with the addition of this Fall 2013 Moncler collection.

Rather than blather on any more I will offer up 20 reasons why all my words can be substantiated and point out to you to really examine the creativity and originality of the designs couple with the inventiveness of Mr. Valli… this is once again a case of...DESIGNERS DESIGN... IT IS THEIR JOB!

Elie Saab Paris Collections Fall 2013

For fall 2013, Mr. Saab continues to hone his collection.  The day wear continues to grow and the mature in the most beautiful way, albeit with a few bumps in the road.  Mr. Saab is one of the “designers who design” and he shows off his potential every season by challenging himself to show the most beautiful of evening clothes and now daywear with equal  aplomb  and deft hand…well not really equally but very close these days.

He has a knack for a creative palette even though the mainstays are white, black and navy; he adds colors that just a bit off the radar and always manages to finesse them beautifully.  Speaking of finesse, what I love about what he does is that the clothes have nuance and by that I mean almost imperceptible touches and changes that differentiate themselves from let’s say a short version to a long version.  This lofty explanation is simply explained by; let’s say moving a slit from right to left or adding a seam where there wasn’t one before or with the addition of shirring for detail purposes.   These are not glaring in your face qualities but they are what make him a world class designer.

Evening wear is clearly the star here but I love that his simple almost unembellished pieces are as beautiful as the totally embroidered pieces.  He finds new ways and inventive cuts to show off his ample talents in this area.  It is what makes him so viable as an international designer.  He is not a Johnny One Note as I am sure he is as popular with mothers of the bride as he is on the red carpet.  He is seemingly not a media whore who needs to have every 2 bit starlet wear his clothes  which I think works to his advantage and I adore that the clothes while being very much of the  “look at me” are not in the same class as the overtly trashy flashy Signora Donatella  which come with Hollywood Blvd. guide book…. If you catch my drift!

I really cannot ramble on about the clothes too much as there is not much wrong here... it is all very personal as what and which you like  and so I opted for my personal favorites and a couple of less than stellar pieces which require a “ back to the drawing boards” approach or simply into the discard room.

Valentino Paris Collections fall 2013

So, the pigs continue to fly overhead!  The design duo at Valentino  seemed to have loosened up a bit finally; that is not to say that this collection is footloose and fancy free... far from it!  This is Wednesday Addams meets Heidi meets some character off a Delft plate and then plays with the idea of staying a virgin forever!

The clothes remain as buttoned up and prissy as they have been for seasons now but there is more color than just that flesh toned beige and some hints of good design afoot… and I mean that literally as they even opted for an alternative to their low kitten heeled pumps.  The biggest news is the color which suits them well.  The addition to some scallops and pleats, insets and beautiful double faced cashmere pieces isn’t hurting either.

There is no question that these clothes are exquisitely made and a couple of steps short of haute couture but this new “life” that they have breathed into the collection could not have come at a better time.  The sameness that they seemed to have gotten so comfortable with has been inching along without even being considered evolutionary.  This collection makes them appear as if they were on drugs and let their inhibitions dissolve.  In so many words or in maybe less words... I am very happy to see that they are not as tight assed as they have been for so many seasons.

Part of the allure of the re-imagined brand is workmanship that goes beyond the original and that is saying a mouthful as the original was nothing to sneeze at.  Here, the beading and embellishments are tossed around as if they cost nothing; they are used with absolute abandon and I am guessing very little concern of cost.  They have certainly elevated what we consider to be ready to wear. 

How much do I love that they used ermine... a lot!  They stepped outside their comfort zone for a change and hopefully they will consider doing so in the future.

Chanel Paris Collections fall 2013

Tim Blanks must be thrilled he can use his word of the week... cuissardes...except for the fact that they really are present in this collection, albeit some are in parts, as opposed to where he thought he saw them ”slashed”  yesterday. And with that little bit of trivial pretentious nonsense out of the way... let the games begin….

It has got to be good to be king as no one has the abilities and balls that he has when he shows.  Okay, so now I will talk about the amazingly incredible scale of the presentation... firstly in the Grand Palais and secondly.... almost 80 freakin pieces!!!  He manages to never allow the venue to dwarf the clothes he shows and that is no small feat given the comparative proportions.  This is HUBRIS in way that is diametrically opposed to what we saw yesterday besides the fact that Hr. Lagerfeld has earned his right to exercise that particular kind of arrogance!

He shows with no restraint other than maybe a color palette and whatever his whim might be this season.  This season it is all about black and white mostly a but of color thrown in here and there,  but the story and the glory is in the black and white.  One of the dangers for any Fall season is the possibility that the clothes will look bulky or worse still will make the wearer look …. Shall we say bulky?  Mr. Lagerfeld is not exempt from the conundrum but he overcomes with easily with excess of styles that he shows.   But, I digress, a big fixation is the layering that is going on and it includes his “boots’ which might comprise of 1 or 2 or 3 parts and pretty damned amazing.  The funnel neck is a recurring theme, the modified cutaway or swallowtail jacket appears in several incarnations and yes the pleated skirts and tweeds.

To try and describe it all is futile, but suffice it to say when it is good, it is great and when he errs … well so what!  The overload of pieces and nuances and possibilities can keep most manufacturers busy for years but for Chanel, it is just another season … bless them!

Accessories are going to be flying out of the boutiques and the silver toned  metal jewelry business will experience a huge upturn from this collection.  Look out for the Chanel version of the trapper’s hat; it will be on the streets next fall in everything from ermine to polar fleece. The shoes are from...wait for it … sensible to cowboy to thigh high boots or as Mr. Blank might call them … cuissardes! 

There were some truly extraordinary little black dresses, a globe minaudiere for the most voracious of Chanel clients, a zip front georgette vest and a tweed anorak that I thought was incredibly modern and certainly chic.

Well, back to the beginning, it is good to Karl and even better that he shares his profligate library of ideas season after season there is always something to talk about … and mostly of the good and not bad!  I prefer not to think of a time when there isn’t!

SAINT LAURENT Paris Collections fall 2013

Dear Hedi,

Have you lost your freakin mind? This is one of the biggest insults and shams to be tossed upon the fashion biz in many many years.  This is akin to blaspheming the glory of the brand and the legend of the designer and his body of work.

I was willing to defend you last season as I thought you were just teasing with all this grunge crap and heroin chic stuff but alas, I see you are deadly serious.  How unfortunate that you really believe your own press!  How sad for you to think that you have made use of the house codes and DNA!  How sad to think that this is suitable or fashionable unless of course one is strung out and hoping for a fix.

Now Hedi, WHAT EXACTLY WERE YOU THINKING HERE??? are you clean??

So you thought that if you use leopard… any leopard... that would do...WRONG!  Did you really think that fur coats which look like they probably still have a bullet hole in them are chic and of the moment?  I mean really libeling, baby doll dresses in what looks like Gap cotton flannel but are  probably some cashmere atrocity or million dollar an inch fabric  that only adds insult to injury?  Hedi, you are no longer the street kid from Berlin, you are approaching middle age and you have the tummy to prove it so it is time to give up the damned beat up buckled ankle Doc Martinish boots and the leather looks that make your souk look leathers worse than if they came from the souks in  Morocco!  Hedi, liebste… WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

To make matters worse, the media might give you a standing ovation for this pile of junk and that would really hurt you as then you might believe they really like it which is not the case as they are more concerned about your advertising dollars than they are about your rags and that you think you are just too fabulous for words.  Let me put it to you this way, if they rave about this garbage, they will lose any bit of gravitas that they retain after the ridiculous reviews they have been writing to ignore the ugly clothes that are being paraded down runways …yours of course being the ugliest!

Discussing your inspirations and your esthetic are pointless as is discussing your presentation you’re your clothes make Givenchy look like Charles James... Hedi, my dear, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

You have in one fell swoop brought Courtney Love back and made her a super star even though she has moved onward!  I am sorely disappointed in you unless of course this is just a runway collection and there is a REAL collection hiding in the showroom… which I highly doubt as you have really raised the bar for HUBRIS!

Bisous cheri……

P.S. I cannot even try to gratify any of your supposed references by writing about them here as I  am deeply mourning a master and in a rare moment of compassion, I offer Mr. Berge a shoulder  to cry on !

John Galliano paris Collections fall 2013

Okay here’s a concept for the great minds of fashion to ponder … a collection that is minimal, sexy, chic and doesn’t look like Jil Sander as it seems she is the sine qua non of what is minimal and what all others copy to achieve the minimalist Nirvana they aspire to!

No need to think any longer ---EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH TIME”S UP!

Bill Gaytten has achieved something that most are incapable and most don’t even have a clue on how to approach or wrap their precious little heads around an original idea.  I fell in love with Mr. Gaytten when he had a brief moment as head designer at Dior after the hasty departure of John Galliano.  The 2 worked side by side at Dior as well as at the eponymous JG collection but it is in the absence of Mr. Galliano that Mr. Gaytten has flourished and earned a personal great respect of mine.

This fall collection proves what I have always said... and will continue to say … DESIGNERS DESIGN! And one needn’t look any further than right here with this collection.

Do I think this is the greatest collection since sliced bread… no...? Do I think everyone will agree with me... no, but I want to make it clear that collections like this are achievements and testaments to talent.  I am not a dyed in the wool fan of neither John Galliano nor his term at Dior and I was never a fan of the eponymous collection BUT I am a fan of Mr. Gaytten and his esthetic and obviously his great talents that he bestows on us as being part of the world of fashion…. Gotta backtrack a second to say that I was always a fan of the extreme talent that Galliano had for creating the theater of fashion and for the seemingly impossible feats that he achieved while designing at Dior.  So, I am absolutely not diminishing or poo pooing the talents of John Galliano.

Back to business here, the collection is one of sheer simplicity without looking like 2 slabs of fabric sewn  together that conjure awe and reverence; this is the unimaginable concept of being simply sexy, simply lean, designed with the greatest of attention to detail and not meant to appeal to everyone.  It is also a collection that doesn’t trend along with every other designer out there and yet as much as I carry on about Mr. Gaytten, he has taken the DNA of the brand and morphed it into a new and more languid result.  And Oh yeah!  Minimal and not necessarily hard edged!

I am duly impressed and I absolutely tip my hat to you...Monsieur Gaytten!