Haute Couture round-up spring 2017

Alexander Vauthier is the undisputed rock and roll provocateur of haute couture week. The clothes are... to say it simply and succinctly...  young and hot! He does what others aspire to... the collection is in your face with no pretense... it is the house’s DNA to the core… there is no repetition as seen in so many collections in terms one outfit in skeighty colors ... One exit, one way, one reaction, one HOT piece after the other... all exquisitely rendered… all pushing the envelope of what can be considered young couture! And that would include Lesage stoned waistbands on cut offs! Yeah baby!!

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Guo Pei is all about spectacle. Maybe it is fairy tales, maybe pure fantasy but it has little to do with any reality other than story telling. It seems  a pity to waste that kind of workmanship on what appears to be little more than stage costumes which surely carry the influences of so many designers who came before… case in point “the egg lady” who you might recognize from St Laurent days of glory.. Nuff said.

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Elie Saab is a beading wunderkind especially during haute couture. Here we need to really concentrate as there is such a tsunami of beadwork that the standouts are those which have the least amounts and make the maximum statement. Apparently he feels the need to show each style in multiple color ways which bloats the presentation but blurs the memory of what was shown... one might say it is overkill and works to his detriment rather than advantage. I believe him to be a wonderfully talented creative designer who designs but with shows like this he needs to redefine on how his collection is presented.

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Ulyana Sergeenko is all about who knows what and why. I guess it is good to have the dough to produce a show like this and I guess there is a client but talk about girls gone wild with tulip bra cups and crocheted ruffles to vintage Saint Laurent, she is all over the place and yet no place in particular.

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Zuhair Murad is another king of beading. This show while big on spectacle and high voltage drama and glamour could have used some efficient editing which would have exponentially increased its impact. The man has something to say about making an entrance and being noticed... it is just too bad that almost everything is shown at the same high decibel level and that the “simplest” had almost as much impact as the more in your face. There are pieces which if dialed down a notch or 2 or 3 might have been far more spectacular than the OTT versions. The pity is that there is plenty here but again a redefining and a more focused eye might have been of great benefit as presently the clothes by and large seem to be more suited for the stage rather than real life... so to speak.

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Zuhair Murad Haute Couture fall 2014/5

What a wonderful finale to the past few days! Kudos to you Mr. Murad for ending a very erratic week on such a high note. While he is not one of treasured media darlings, he is surely a treasure within the world of design and haute couture.

I am going to say this and I mean it in the most complimentary way to both designers... Zuhair is the theatrical and more dramatic counterpart of Elie! They are really masters of their craft and forces to be reckoned with as they truly understand what Haute Couture means and then they show you what it means. The deliberately and unapologetically show off the abilities of the ateliers.

This was a stunning and colorful presentation that is long on drama, design and technique and way way short on ennui and “me too” looking clothes!  What Murad seems to be able to do is be not just a Johnny one note in terms of appeal; what I mean to say is that he appeals to the younger and flashier as well as the not so flashy and not so young and that is a Herculean accomplishment in today’s fashion climate.

What Zuhair manages to do is show you the dichotomy of his body of work. Don’t get me wrong here it is not like he starts off being Ralph Rucci and ends up being Bob Mackie but he definitely has 2 noticeable mind sets which he has skillfully honed and demonstrates rather clearly. What Murad also does is offer options whether it is color, shape, length, bare not bare, heavy beading light beading, or rather than go on he offers a supermarket of couture. The man is prolific in the extreme.

I am out of words here so now  what you need to do is look at the pictures and see that these are clothes to be worn, they require no information, no background, zip blah blah blah … nada... They speak loudly and clearly so you better listen up!

Zuhair Murad Spring Haute Couture 2014

This is a collection of which I know little about but I always watch season after season. For Spring 2014. Mr. Murad seems to have moved far past the peek a boo looks popularized by J Lo in his gowns and stage outfits. With this collection, I can sense that he has grown up so to speak or even matured, so to speak!

Without question, there is flawless execution and embellishments which are not used sparingly and yet the clothes appear to be NOT over done! Don’t get me wrong I am not about to compare these clothes to the minimalism of Jil Sander but the embroideries are integral to the designs rather than just added, if you catch my drift. If my memory serves me, there is a larger variety of silhouettes and necklines as well varying degrees of sexiness. The femininity factor is always full on! What jars my eye the most if that below the knee length which always seems to detract the proportion and beauty of those specific styles; again that is me! On the plus side are the few crepe pieces and separated which meld so well into the collection as whole and really there should have been some more of that to balance out all the embellished pieces.

Okay, stunners were the white tuxedo dress, not new but nonetheless exquisitely done, the black lace pants suit or 2 piece, a citrusy yellow draped satin number which revealed a tulle and hyacinth colored embroidery, the off the shoulder pieces and an aqua georgette with feathers. Oh yes and the zebra number too but the fact is there were no losers here which is surely saying a lot considering what we have seen in the past 3 days.

I am sure the genius regurgitators will not find this as modern as Dior or as wonderful as Schiaparelli but I’ll take this hands down when it comes to the heading of Haute Couture!

Alexis Mabille & Zuhair Murad resort 2014

Holiday/Resort, as it was once called, is a season that allows some designers to test the waters as well as show off their multifaceted designing skills.  Traditionally, the season was aimed at those women who traveled and needed clothes to wear on their vacations and also for clothes that might be worn for those special holiday occasions.  All that has changed, especially for the European market that never really treated the season as necessary to their businesses; now Resort has taken on a full-fledged moniker as a season on the fashion calendar and for some designers has become a more wear it now focus.

Alexis Mabille showed a playful side to his world with his first ever resort collection.  Mr. Mabille also showed, almost simultaneously his Fall Haute Couture collection and the difference is more in tone than in DNA.  He has always shown his playful or more relaxed side in his past Spring collections by using some cottons but the effect was sort of missed due to the general direction of these collections.  By that I mean to say that Mr. Mabille tends to focus on dressier clothes, more formal, rather than  just a cotton dress or cotton pant look, none of which is a negative.  With this collection he focuses on the more daytime aspects and still infuses the Mabille vocabulary with each look.  Looks of note are the flounced cut away rain coat and the quite simple little navy bow dress which is just perfection.  My big criticism is the head gear which did nothing to enhance the collection. Nevertheless as they say in French...felicitations!

Zuhair Murad strikes a decidedly different tone with his resort collection as opposed to his spectacle of Haute Couture.  What strikes me most is that he  and Elie Saab have similar ideas or paths  on how to differentiate their ready to wear collections from their Haute Couture and by that I mean that it is just not about petit mains versus ready to wear manufacture.  Mr. Murad injects the Resort collection with what he considers to be day looks and cocktails dresses as well as evening pieces.  All of it is impeccably made and all of it retains the DNA that has become Mr. Murad’s stock in trade and that would be glamour... in varying degrees.  Overall, this is all pretty damned tasty looking and more commercial that the Haute Couture but do not confuse my choice of words to mean dull, boring or common.  The clothes are … perhaps one might say… more discreet rather than overt!  The other thing that strikes me is the enhanced color palette which is very very appealing and suits the clothes quite well. 

So …  Now it is your turn to have a look and decide what you think about these collections.  It is sad that mainstream fashion media tends to overlook beautiful clothes rather than report or opine on them!