Vionnet fall 2018

Goga Ashkenazi really shouldn’t try to pass herself off as a designer... it’s rather embarrassing as seen here in this is offering. It is bad enough that the clothes are generic or unattractive enough to bear any brand but when they supposedly reflect the name of one the 20^th century’s greatest designers… well …. Houston we have a problem!!! 

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Actually the problem might be that the brand is not named Goga Ashkenazi who suffers from standing in the garage syndrome and that Vionnet never designed clothes that looked anything quite  like this pile.

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Everything from hefty bag ball gowns to croc print onesies which look like they may still have a bullet hole in them and everything in between... Madame is most definitely out of her league and rumor hath it that she is a nightmare to work for hence she thinks she can do it better than anyone ………………. EPIC WRONG!

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Vionnet fall 2015 Paris Collections

And I quote... Madeleine Vionnet was called the "Queen of the bias cut" and "the architect among dressmakers", Vionnet is best known today for her elegant Grecian-style dresses and for popularizing the bias cut within the fashion world and is credited with inspiring a number of recent designers.

Let me say this about that! The great legacy that is Madeleine Vionnet is not what I call honored in the present day collections from this fabled and legendary brand. Let’s say that Madame/Мисс. Goga has built a house on hubris rather than DNA or vocabulary. One must postulate that the name Goga Ashkenazi doesn’t exactly inspire awe, reverence or any attention at all and well… with good reason, even with a team of 5.

In a collection that bears little to no relation to the once legendary house, Fall 2015 is a collection that apparently is designed by committee and worse than that looks it! From S&M like harnesses to furry slippers and slides... again... to gladiator like knee highs still to ill fitting leather pants and silly bulbous out of place sweaters ... well, this collection has it all!! The question is why. Oh yeah and the ridiculous wheelies ... why?

What needs to be done here is that someone needs to make this collection fit together, if that’s possible, and unite all the disparate elements that are being presented. Right now it looks like everybody got 5 or 6 looks to design and their job was done. Nothing coalesces, nothing or very little has any elegance or polish and what it all proves is money  cannot make you a designer or give you the knowledge necessary to present a meaningful collection. Some well-placed magazine ads may provide an aura surrounding the brand but it surely provides no substance here.

And by the way ... ditch the “Adrian” hood as it is just ludicrous at this point and gives the clothes a retro moment that is hardly anything other than dramatic. In fact, is that’s the take away, then “Houston… we have a problem!” why bother with the pretense of a name if what you really design is Goga … a collection that money can buy!

Go back and re-read the intro … as right now we have Project Runway ... the Goga Edition

Haute Couture fall 2014/5 Bouillabaisse

Haute Couture fall 2014/5 Bouillabaisse

No matter the season, no matter the city, no matter worth mentioning or not, there are always designers who consistently show and are never recognized. Yes, some are, well… one might say less worthy of any recognition and then there are those who are just as valid and worthy as the marquee names we grow so weary of seeing and reading about in their fawningly paid for reviews. When I say paid for … it is in advertising dollars! Or being favorably looked upon by the Tsarine of fashion!

Many, if not all of the so called “unmentionables” are not backed by mega corporations and may not have A list celebrity clients but they show every season without fail and fill the season with diversity that it so sorely lacks. So today, I won’t ignore them and I will try to at least give a few words as tribute to their efforts. If you are thinking this will be a form of pity, think not!! This is just throwing some light on who is out there and who may be in the white hot spotlight sometime soon.

In my mind these are all designers who make huge efforts to be noticed and taken note of so allow me to NOTICE! Some of the names you will recognize and some will require a little homework but if you know me, you know I am a proponent of fashion education so start researching and learning.

So here are the “ingredients” to my bouillabaisse:

Franck Sorbier- a long standing stalwart designer of the Haute Couture who was once compared to Hubert de Givenchy... my my how times have changed! Thee are signs of what was but he has surely evolved snce then.

Ralph & Russo- the British invasion of the haute couture and ones to keep your eyes on .. the range is from matronly to fabulous..perhaps even a bit of Galliano

Alexis Mabille- talents misdirected... What happened to beautiful clothes? What was once exquisite and chic is a bit gimmicky and cheap looking

Vionnet-Goga is gaga to think this flies! A very bad joke

Yulia Yanina- Time to leave mother Russia as an inspiration

Viktor& Rolfe-save the political statements for your treatise... red carpet?? Get it?? why bother with these so called political statements

On Aura Tout-there is something lurking the and needs to be watched! This is a pot that needs to be watch until it boils.. if you catch my drift

Rami Al Ali- loves the fronds ...love the mindset... love the workmanship and details... watch him!! incredible details some knock out pieces

Georges Hobeika-clothes for the ladies and now even the little girls... not everyone wants only 20 something’s! He has something for everyone

Rad Hourani-all tied up in day wear and on the heavy side...lots of Japanese influence but very modern 

Eymeric Francois-when you find a designer who says his influences are YSL, Mackie and Galanos, you are bound to see the flashier side of haute couture.. This is what makes couture so fabulous, taking the time treasured elements and translating them to current times

Julien Fournié- he gives you from the simplest to the most elaborate.. it is a touch of theater int eh world of haute couture, but it's all glamour

 So start searching and identifying …  let’s hear if you have any designers that I have left out so I can get to them next time around … BIENTOT to all

Pre-fall 2014.. Antonio Berardi, Vionnet, Nina Ricci

Let it be said now that there is a love hate thing going on between me and these collections. Well, not really hate but my disposition towards these collections is rather erratic due to their inconsistencies in design and philosophy. This season however there is a lot to love from each no matter what the so called DNA might be or whatever they supposedly stand for, there are clothes to be worn by women of style.

Although Antonio Berardi seemed to be stuck on his Balenciaga references, there were some beautiful clothes that one might even imagine a female human being wearing and looking like a human being rather than some fashion freak. In today’s world that is saying something. There was evidence here that this designer designed with imagination and not just regurgitation.

Vionnet is one those resurrected collections that must be looked upon as a brand with no historical DNA other than the name. This season apparently someone did some homework and came up with the pleating idea and it yielded some pretty clothes. Despite the pepto pink, some of which was even pretty, there was something to sink your teeth into here. As I said I was liking what I saw this season and just wish they could find an identity which would contain some of the original DNA as well as some of the reimagined brand. The palette was most appealing while the styling left a lot to be desired.

Nina Ricci, the long revered and historically lady like jolie femme collection has certainly morphed over the years. In its present incarnation, Nina Ricci is young sophisticated and somewhat chic in a very off handed way. What is most distracting is the choice of styling which lends itself to a just laid look. The dishabille factor does nothing to enhance the clothes and in some instances takes the viewer’s imagination on a rather erotic journey of this young woman collecting her clothes in the morning all ready for he walk of shame. For me, it is a collection that must be cherry picked and offers a retailer a real opportunity to build a new breed of “designer” customer.