Elie Saab Spring 2016 haute couture

Well, this is Saab on steroids! One of the things that I love about Elie Saab is that he actually draws a line between couture and ready to wear and the line is simply that there is no day wear in couture. BTW, I do think his daywear is pretty damned good.

 

click image to enlarge

Okay, back to THIS!  One can only be amazed at the fabrics, the effects, the embellishments, the embroideries as they are far beyond the pale. For the most part he is a wise designer as the shapes and silhouettes remain reasonably simple to the eye and he allows the “the decoration” to do the talking. In cases where he seems to have gotten a bit carried away in the design department... well they are bit too costumey and frankly no so pretty.

 

click image to enlarge

What I find to be quite interesting is that his “forest nymphs” or possibly “the Hedi effect” that he has chosen to mimic in a way is styled in a very of the moment way and yet he softens or maybe mutes those combat boots and tiaras by doing them in silver thusly not really drawing your attention away from the main event and often making them almost invisible. Tu comprends? In my eyes it is what sets apart the men from the boys when it comes to shows, design and shock value.

 

click image to enlarge

This show is just one more in a long list of Saab extravaganzas that did not disappoint.

 

click image to enlarge

PS I can’t bring myself to say that the forest nymphs etc. might have been inspired by Courtney Love…. But there I said it! ~

click image to enlarge

Armani Privé spring 2016

Anyone who has followed Armani over the years has certainly learned that every so often he is prone to quirkiness. Sometimes it is an odd skirt, a pant, a length or a even a proportion; And so, with that being said  .. “Ciao quirky!” Even the styling and casting is quirky!

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

Okay the message is clear … shorts! Gazar! Blue! Shoulders! Lilac! Ruffles! But alas this is a collection that leans heavily on the opposite of his new collection New Norma which is filled with classics! To me this is Armani at his quirkiest which means he bucks no interference from any critic as Cathy Horyn can attest to! There are some killer jackets and some killer gowns but the balance leaves me flummoxed! You get it ? Right? It is his way or the highway!

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

So ... How’s about you make up your own mind and speak “into the mic!”

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

Rosie Assoulin Spring 2015 NYFW

Someone will have to tell me what the fuss is about when it comes to this designer and her eponymous collection. Rosie Assoulin, the collection, comes off as a series of design school projects gone wrong. To my eyes the clothes are heavy handed, clumsy, not exactly well made and totally silly if not totally impractical. This reviewer read another review which likened Ms. Assoulin to Schiaparelli which is more absurd than words can describe and IMHO couldn’t be further than the truth.

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

Frankly the brand drew me to Bergdorf’s in the past so I could see it in the flesh and touch it which only caused greater disappointment when the rippled seams and bad hems were right in front of my eyes. Yes, this young designer is all about volumes and sculptural shapes which brought to mind Capucci except than Roberto Capucci rendered exquisite garments that were fantasy personified. These are not even close when it comes to execution, let alone design… I said remind not look like! Let’s go back to the Schiaparelli allusion as the incredulity of it boggles the mind. Schiaparelli was an haute couture designer, for the most part with a huge imagination, and here we have some very amateurish attempts at “look at me clothes!” The comparison came about, without question, from a press release which once again proves that just because it’s written down doesn’t make it true!

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

What started out as a collection worth watching has morphed into a spectacle of ridiculous. The designer needs to think about who, where and why women would want to wear her clothes and not what will garner the most editorial attention. It’s a cheap ploy that comes back to bite you in the ass.

click on the image to enlarge

All the press in the world can’t sell clothes! Women who shop buy clothes … in the end you can’t take the retail buyer/shopper out of the equation.

click on the image to enlarge

Givenchy Spring 2016

Well gang it's official!! Fawning, not spawning, and gushing season has begun!

Yes Ricky Ticki, as I like to call him, gave NYC a dose of what some called a show for the masses (1000 or so) ... well that’s of course if you happen to be among the chosen. Be that as it may, let’s talk about clothes as that’s what this is all about supposedly unless of course you are the type who gives a rat’s ass who sits front row and which ediatrix sat where and with how many of her entourage or who designed the set or the venue or any of this superfluous crap that seems to overtake the real meaning and purpose of the event ………..C L O T H ES!

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

So without further ado, let’s talk about Spring 2016 from Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci. Some time ago these clothes would be called loungewear. One is reminded of Liz Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or Butterfield 8 in her satin lace trimmed full slip sprawled languidly on a bed or swilling bourbon at her dressing table. There were designers like Fernando Sanchez (google),  John Kloss (google)  and even Eve Stillman (google) who turned loungewear into garments that looked like they could be worn on the street or to a party and now  we have Ricky Ticki doing just the opposite. Maybe there was also Vanity Fair or Van Raalte that ran the ads of a woman in her underpinnings or peignoir at a fancy dress event, at the opera or stepping into a limo! Don’t let me forget those odd Grès-eque numbers with the tortured twisting and turning over lace which seemed to be silly at best.

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

All satin and lace and such but no matter how you slice it, it all looked like loungewear or sleepwear. Yes, there were a few pieces thrown in that reflect Tisci’s abilities when it comes to haute couture and no, they made no sense whatsoever with the rest of the collection. These pieces, aside from looking very McQueenish or retooled from past collections, served as a palette cleanser of sorts and most certainly were a flexing of the brand’s couture muscle as they no longer show a full collection during Haute Couture. As a whole, the collection was repetitive and yawn worthy especially with the extremely limited color palette as is Tisci’s wont each season.

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

click on the image to enlarge

So, if we were on American Bandstand, let’s give it a 60 as you can wear it, you might look sexy in it, there’s a lot of lace, it’s very feminine to say the least, but it’s a whole lot of so what and who cares. Carine will wear it and still look a bit long in the tooth to wear it, Anna will coo over it,  maybe Donatellamommamia will model it , and Blah Blah  will wax poetic about all the silly ephemera that doesn’t matter because who cares.  In essence ... It’s about what was expected... no surprises here and really … he didn’t disappoint!

click on the image to enlarge