Valentino haute couture Spring 2016

Okay here goes... Another season, another huge collection on the runway, although by Valentino standards this was a small one. It occurs to me that they must have factories whose only mission is to manufacture sample collections and given the usual size that will keep those hands and machines busy every day year in year out. Okay, but I digress; there is no question that one must recognize and applaud the exquisiteness of every collection due to the extraordinary detail and workmanship involved season and after season. Yes, their ateliers boast wildly amazingly astoundingly rendered effects and techniques and that being said, those are the positives.

 

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Now let’s talk the reality of it which is... Again? Really? More of the same and by the way I am not quite sure who is buying 6 figure gowns that more or less look like ridiculously expensive peignoir sets or possibly trousseau negligees. So in my mind, these pre-Raphaelite ethereal goddess gowns and these Fortuny-esque gowns are nothing more than examples of impeccable workmanship and pushing the limits of the workrooms. These are clothes for those couture customers who wish to boast how high those 6 figures reach. BTW, there is something Biblical about these clothes and I mean that Literally!

 

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What I want to know is whatever happened to the deliciously sexy, sometimes signora, and provocatively sexy Valentino? What happened to the amazingly chic day clothes that the house once produced? And please don’t tell me that times have changed for I will counter and ask if women stopped appearing in daylight. It is shows like this that remind those of us who can still remember that Valentino was once a great and formidable house that didn’t rely on shoes, studs, sneakers and handbags for successful earnings or forced rave reviews.  Amazing as it may seem in today’s world of fashion, Valentino actually stood for and depended on its clothing whether it was couture or otherwise and that is how its reputation was built.

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Alexandre Vauthier haute couture Spring 2016

Well here is a man who truly understands sexy! 

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What amazes me most is that aside from the quite overtly sexy, he does quite a number for those little black dresses which yes are literally little but hell, they are hot! As stated before, this is couture so everything is sort of up for grabs including the lengths so that being said these are amazing. Let’s talk a genuine couture pea coat or military jacket... superb. if you wish to speak to the topic of LBD's then he has given that new meaning! Yes, there was the usual Vauthier fare with some wildly beautiful standouts; yes there were a few pieces that one might consider a bit more experimental and possibly not as ravishing. If there is a gripe, it would be that hip hop influence but given Vaulthier’s following in the music biz, at least it is understandable without further explanation.

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What is also to his credit is the casting which is perfect for his message. The models were truly exquisitely styled, made up and coiffed to the point of actually presenting a total image for the brand with each exit! Vauthier retains and massages his DNA with every collection which is a boat load more than I can say about so many others. So whether or not you like it, Vauthier is his own man and he designs for his client and is actually another one of those designers who earned a spotlight that he has never received and yet deserves. He has impeccable polish with a singular well-honed vision.

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In the end, I’ll take one Vauthier in place of any 10 Rafs, Johns or Nicolases.. get it?? Good!

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Maison Margiela haute couture Spring 2016

Let me preface this by saying, I write this at the  risk of being drawn and quartered as well as being publicly scorned by the fawners of fashion but who cares….

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Can someone please explain to me the so called collection of John Galliano (Maison Margiela); “le pauvre Galliano” who in my eyes is demonstrating that his stint at Dior was akin to Custer’s last stand. To say that these “things” are fashion is incomprehensible to me. Yes, they are technical feats of construction but so is a bridge. 

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To my eye and maybe I am just being old fashioned in my thinking that clothes are meant to be worn no matter the price but this looks like the clothes actually exploded on the models. If there is a positive to any of it, there were some beautifully tailored jackets and one off white trench coat but … really? To those who will fawn and coo.. get a grip as you no more understand these clothes than you do about utilizing quantum physics!

PS: with all the chatter about relevance.. explain tom e where hat enters the pictures here.... what exactly is this relevant to ??

CHANEL haute couture Spring 2016

Well well well! As I had thought yesterday after yesterday’s disasters, Karl triumphs over all! Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that I am enamored or in big love with the collection but once again Chanel proves that fashion is their business and a business that needs to sell clothes and not just produce some inane media spun  hype for ugly clothes. As has been stated, Haute Couture is about the client, so it is easy to see that so much of what was shown, once amended to a customer’s specs, will be quite spectacular.

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Again, Haute Couture brags the talents of the ateliers and by god these ateliers deserve congressional medals/legions d’honneur for the exquisite workmanship and for stretching the limits of what one thought possible. Karl is a master at utilizing the ateliers that Chanel now owns and putting forth a body of work that speaks to the Chanel client, this was Karl as a sculptor, as a trendoid, as a master designer, as a modernist, as a craftsman, as an artist, as a business man and as a purveyor of fashion! DO NOT think that I am of the school that Karl can do no wrong as there were plenty of clunkers but hell he put those neophytes to shame. His worse day is head and shoulders better than the pikers who think they are designers or creative directors, these clothes require no explanation.

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Take into account that this man understands what a show means and designs runway worthy clothes, clothes that demand attention especially when shown in a HUGE space. These other suckers are not even able to show clothes that inspire awe let alone real fashion. Where the losers rely and depend on gimmick and shock, Karl relies on skill and intelligence. Karl needs no hype, he is hype! No one needs to sing his praises or to justify his collections as Chanel and Karl have taken over the world of Haute Couture as leaders with none who come near their clientele or desirability and with good reason. Please take note that the collection actually reflected the season.. duh!

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In the end, I thought the collection was good not great but there were so many incredibly luxurious and sumptuous pieces that who really could find fault. Yes the meat and potatoes(suits & jackets) of Chanel was there but there were pieces that push the limits of the Chanel DNA but never is it totally decimated or ignored! I did notice a distinct lack of accessories which I found odd but then again that’s the beauty of Karl...  he is unpredictable but the slyest fox around .. Even as an octogenarian!

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Take that Bernie and Francois!!!

Dior Haute Couture spring 2016 by who cares

Apparently the cash cow aka Dior has contracted mad cow!

 

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Normally, I would launch into one of my expected harangues or diatribes over the sheer visual atrocity of this collection but rather than be shamed, called old fashioned, overly critical or be that negative, this one is on you!

 

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Write your own review!

 

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Let’s see who can spin this as the future of fashion… AND MADAME MEH ...  those impeccable credentials you referred to surely have served them well … NOT!

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PS .. in the words of Estelle parson from the film Bonnie and Clyde .. “MY EYES…. MY EYES!!!!”