Valentino couture spring 2020

So, here’s the thing...  what exactly is Pierpaolo trying to convey here? My thoughts are that he just makes clothes… no thread of continuity either within the collection or within the brand itself and certainly bears no resemblance to the once heralded and glorious original brand.

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 He is supposed to be a genius of how he has reawakened the brand and I say to what? One season its moomoos... one season it’s nuns, one season it's one size fits all, one season its fairy princesses and then there is this … which is what … hooker meets Princess Gloria Thurn und Taxis?  When you run out creativity and possibly talent you go for the sight gimmicks like big hair, nipples and headdresses. This is not Vegas baby and it’s not even as good as Vegas.

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It just so happens that there is a pink off the shoulder gown derived from a fall 1988 ready to wear collection. In its original state, it was black silk velvet with white charmeuse bows placed up and down the sleeves and it was glorious beyond words… but so was the entire collection. This one throws bows on dresses and I suppose one is to believe they were archivally inspired and if that’s the case he sure did take a wrong turn.

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The most beautiful pieces were the all-over sequin sheaths even though he added some that were backless and some with bow detailing on the rear of the gowns. The clothes are almost steroidally overblown in volume and proportion and I defy you to tell me that the purple u neck dress will look good on any living human being. While I’m on the subject who wants 6-inch stiff ruffles starting at the hip (most women’s sore point) forming and deep vee in flaming red? Again, and the naked nipple pieces are for what reason, where and why do they fit into the mix? 

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There is practically no day wear, but then again maybe the “genius” believes these frocks can be worn to the supermarket. Where are the gorgeous double-faced cashmere coats and jackets and exquisite wool dresses of times gone by or is it that his ladies now go from sweats to balls out looks that take the form of black-tie ball gowns.

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Someone will have to explain to me why this collection will be hailed and lauded as brilliant and why the myth that he is a brilliant designer is perpetuated season after season.

CHANEL couture spring 2020

Okay let’s get this out of the way first:

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No!! this was not a stellar collection nor was it the worst that I have seen this season.

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The problem with thematic or inspirational collections, if you will, is first that the designer tends to get carried away with the theme and secondly the source of the inspiration becomes esoteric and yes… who the fuck cares... in this case,  yes we all know Coco had a tough young life (think Annie with a later in life Daddy Warbucks) but that doesn’t excuse the poor styling and the odd proportions put forth.

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Flat shoes and anklets combined with girlish looks do not Chanel make … if you catch my drift!. One more time that dreaded below the knee hemline compounded with the poor choices of footwear create a lot of unflattering almost heavy looking blocky pieces even though the actual pieces were as light as air… or in other words the shoes and lengths dragged the clothes down to matronly.

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The redemption here is that the women who wear Chanel couture are quite savvy when it comes to what they look good in and what befits their taste. The good thing is I’m sure a vast number of the Chanel clientele had the expertise of Karl to guide them through their Chanel history as a couture customer.

 

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As a whole the collection is okay whereas it might have been possibly exquisite if there had been more thought put into the styling, casting and overall look of clothes not to mention an editor’s pencil Then there is the inexplicable layer of transparent tulle over many skirts… dites-moi Virginie… pourquoi... WTF is that for!!!! Did you forget accessories?

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About the only thing that was missed here were the nuns but then again that might have been implied with the excessive use of black and white. The absolute high point was a simple printed shirtwaist dress with a circle skirt that was the epitome of soigné chic! Lastly, I hate to keep comparing her to Karl, but he would have worked those ateliers into a frenzy which is hardly the case we can see here.

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Dior couture spring 2020

Dear Maria (aka Maria meatball),

If women ruled the world, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t objectify themselves in see thru nude tulle, chiffon or shimmy fringe.

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If women ruled the world, I’m guessing they would need some day clothes.

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If women ruled the world again, I’m pretty sure that not all them want waist centric clothes let alone belted.

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If women ruled the world another guess would be that they wouldn’t wear flat sandals with everything.

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If women ruled the world some might actually be beautiful although you seem to think they should be relatively generic and not so pretty or made up 

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If women ruled the world some women might find a few of the draped pieces … if you can believe it, actually sexy without being transparent.

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If women ruled the world I’m positive that the “New Look” skirt length is not for everyone but then again that’s  why its couture as I’m sure they will either be lengthened or shortened since women don’t want to look like they are standing in a hole… no less in flat shoes

If women ruled the world, they might have taken an editor’s pencil and removed the repetition from the lineup.

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 If women ruled the world, I’m guessing they would not take a liking to those menopausal pinky shades of beige, grey, taupe, dusty rose or pale green.

If women ruled the world they might see much of the collection as matronly!

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If women ruled the world, I’m sure they would love to own the 2 full length fully embroidered coats since they are the most  couture liek pieces in terms of workmasnhip!

If women ruled the world it would be my guess that some of them would wish to look like women of power and not so much like nymphs with halos of golden leaves

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At any rate this was far from Maria’s worst outing although it certainly could have used a lot of help. It would be my guess that much of what we saw was not actually designed by her as you can definitely see the pieces, she was directly involved with during the design process since they look like every other dress she has ever designed. 

The question is really….  is this a turning point or just an accident?

PS ... if you’re such a feminist explain nipples and barely-there nudity which don’t exactly exemplify feminism in any way and not all so called feminists spend their evenings at black tie functions.