Alexandre Vauthier couture spring 2022

In case you haven’t noticed Vauthier understands sex, hot, red carpet and tailoring. He has become a sweetheart on the red carpet for many performers as well as for women who want to look hot, not trashy, not cheap but hot, sexy, glamorous and desirable. Even the shoes speak to all of those qualities which is a rarity in these times when the bigger, flatter and clutzier the shoe the better it seems!

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My question, and it should also be yours, is how much of what we see will be toned down to suit the client as this is direct to client ONLY! I’m not speaking of the clothes that get loaned out but of the clothes that actually are sold; in particular the suitings which reflect his formative years before his eponymous brand. I have always said he is a tailor at heart and yet he has grown to become a wizard of “flou!”

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The clothes offer a much-needed dose of glamour and attitude which does not only translate to an evening gown or beads and sequins. There is a youth factor at work here but it doesn’t only befit young girls/women... it’s for women who require their clothes to speak for their exuberance and that age is but a number. Some scream, some whisper and some just slap you in the face with their intent.

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I’m a fan and I’m proud to be one since I believe he has talent to spare, and the best is yet to come.

Mourning Fashion as I once knew it and now ... a commentary

As my dear friend Mary Russell, former Vogue, WWD editor and ever informed fashion aficionado said to me recently that our new normal is abnormal … it is surreality and so it is …. without any argument from me.

We have just completed the couture cycle (seemingly sans Valentino and Prive)  and one must wonder or might even be perplexed by who needs these clothes in these precarious times; shouldn’t we think that couture is out of synch with our times? Shouldn’t we all be more concerned about vaccines, equality and incompetence than we are about labels, Lesage and creations that may never ever go any further than a closet? What needs to be said at this point is that couture has always been an escapist pursuit for the uninformed from which they extract their dreams and fantasies. For those of us who are seasoned veterans of fashion and those who truly understand the business of fashion… well, we have a different take on things and it’s not just about pretty clothes.

Yes, it is somewhat comforting to see clothes that we once associated with being the finest that money could buy but now you honestly have to ponder who and why anyone will buy them, let alone where and if they will ever get worn. As far as I can tell, only one designer seemed to understand and grasp this most salient point via his imaging and that was Alexandre Vauthier. Yet, we fashion addicts can still see that somewhere buried in this profusion of conspicuous consumption is the slightest breath of how genuine fashion incubates.

“It feels inauthentic: a copy of an idea from another creative discipline. And the problems of couture are not so much financial (most of the brands that can afford couture have enough of a cash cushion to survive the current situation, and someone, somewhere, is still buying it) as existential. With the dire state of the world, what’s the point?” Vanessa Friedman NYT

This entire all-encompassing conundrum has taken its toll on all of us … consciously or unconsciously. Personally, this is something I would never reveal in times that have passed,  but I haven’t worn a pair of pants with a  waistband in months nor have I  worn a pair of real shoes in that time frame and most shockingly I only wear my beaded bracelets for a weekly photo op and have not wrapped a scarf around my neck in months! Between pandemic, idiocy at the top of the pyramid, and the insensitivity that apparently envelops us, it is a wonder I ever leave my home at all! Fashion now needs to be viewed on a somewhat more cerebral and realistic level rather than just the obvious.

I MISS IT ALL! My closet is a museum….

This new surreality includes shopping online like never before and dressing from the waist up for your ZOOM meeting. Then there is of course that moment when you slip on a pair of elastic waist shorts or sweats and pair them with a Cuccinelli cashmere or an ETRO shirt just to remind yourself of what once was. The other scenario is either wear something new that you really didn’t need to buy in the first place or air out a wearable heirloom from your closet museum…  this would never have happened in the past but now in this surreality, people, including myself, are doing it not as a fashion statement but as a feel-good moment. As I read earlier this week, people still have a need to dress up and feel better about themselves so they are doing it except they are doing it at home…. You know the saying all dressed and no place to go … well, we are living it now! Masks, pandemics, brutality, inequality, protests and overall insanity.

To complete this circle of hell, as it were, we have the couture which most definitely is showing signs of outliving its purpose and prestige as well as being démodé in most cases (a cyclical concept). Let’s face it, all these collections that have just shown are primarily evening clothes… where exactly is one wearing them when all social gatherings of every kind are at a standstill and yes it might change in the blink of an eye but then sadly it can reverse just as quickly. Unless you have untold wealth at your fingertips and collect couture as a hobby, who is buying couture and why? … let alone why does anyone really care? I don’t think it would be a stretch of the imagination to liken couture to Nero fiddling while Rome burns!

Keep in mind that couture is direct to customer much like current internet selling but at 100 times the price while ready  to wear is in a Catch 22 with stores still heaving in old merchandise and their need for new merchandise to lure their customers back in and if that is not enough add rent, wages, employees and  regulations that  might allow you to receive customers once again. This is not the world of fashion I signed up for or fell in love with anymore but I remain hopeful.

In the end, I tip my hat to all the warriors of fashion (to whom this is dedicated) who will do everything they need to do to outlive this crisis which has affected everyone involved in fashion in ways we never imagined or might have fathomed. How this will all play out remains a mystery but I want to believe that the true warriors of fashion will win out in the end and survive to recount the tales of these horrendous, precarious and nebulous times.

CHANEL pre-fall 2017.. Métiers d’Art

The connection between Coco and the Ritz is inescapable. It seemed somewhat  fitting that the Kaiser decided to show the clothes as if in a throwback to a time when ladies went to luncheons and the main attraction was  a walk through fashion show. Albeit nothing as glam as what was served up 3 times here but the concept remains the same.

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

Métiers d’Art collection is the chest pounding show for the brand which boasts its prowess when it comes to embellishments and fabrics and in this case its variety and heaps of accessories. This is not a collection that is seen as themed or focuses on a trend; it is about clothes, the most glorious of clothes, one might even say it is like a reality show ... Chanel Gone Wild!  Or maybe it is just CHANEL on steroids.

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

These eyes saw references to the glories of France with very Louis like breeches and the fabulously court like gillies but not to be out done by the Lucite cap toes. There was this hint of Versailles decadence throughout. Again, the accessories were literally piled on with great affect. Honestly the veils and the flowers were unnecessary superfluous add ons to what was an extraordinary display of the art and craft of fashion. I mean really … the knitted puffer, the encrusted bead work, the fringes, the feathers, the no nonsense color palette... Karl is way ahead of the flock and sadly one must think of the eventuality of it all given his age.

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

click image to enlarge .. DO IT!

At any rate, this is a collection with no age, no trend just and heavy on appeal.  It sings out to  the CHANEL lady who can afford to indulge herself in the most exquisite of fashion extravagance short of all out haute couture  and more importantly with clothes that possess great style, perfection of conception and timelessly fashionable.

Harbingers of Design... Vito Emanuele NEW YORK

This series will spotlight global innovators who are original, known, lesser known and some perchance even already highly regarded and respected within their areas of expertise.  The common thread is style and fashion; whether it takes its form in interiors, apparel, accessories, retail, photography or any of the related professions that surround fashion and style.  

There is a cry often heard when walking through stores full of women’s apparel and that is “there is nothing here I want” or “I can’t find a dress to wear for …”  it is for these reasons that women are turning to made to measure designers rather than scoping out still another uninteresting retail emporium.

Vito Emanuele cut his chops at Halston while working side by side with the late designer.  In a matter of speaking, Mr. Emanuele has carried the torch into the 21^st century ever since starting his own business.  In my estimation, Vito Emanuele is a one stop shop fest for the sartorially inclined. 

His collections, which run parallel to Haute Couture rather than ready to wear, are made up of clothes for real women who prefer to dress in flattering, tasteful and chic garments that are made with the same care, skill and detail as the great couturiers of Paris.  Most women, regardless of age have an Achilles heel when it comes to their bodies and many many times it’s their arms that drive them to distraction.  I defy any female shopper to walk the floors of any top shelf retailer and find 5 dresses that have sleeves, and that is with no regard to price or look.

The scenario above is a reason for the growing popularity of bespoke wardrobing for women.  For a designer such as Mr. Emanuele, it is a god send that the “flavors of the week” or month do not heed the call of their actual clients but only those of their ideal or imaginary customers.  Media and magazines no longer trumpet clothes that are wearable but rather the clothes that are designed by those who represent the lion’s share of advertising or who are under the thrall of a certain editor!  Enter Mr. Emanuele!!

In the end, would you rather buy a dress that you settle for and pay top dollar or do you want a dress you love and adore and cherish?  If there is no joy in shopping then why bother??