Alexis Mabille Haute Couture fall 2013

Monsieur Mabille is always on my radar for a simple reason and that is he is young, talented and technically pretty great!   The young man knows his way around a dress and he is one of the rare breed of designers, young or old, who understand what it means to work in the selectively populated sphere that we know as Haute Couture.

The new Fall 2013 collection is a modern way of utilizing the age old techniques and abilities of the petit mains and ateliers that make up the work force of the Haute Couture.  Yes, Raf, modern, not modern because the clothes have suffered for some ill-conceived idea about what is fashion, but modern because the mature ways of the art and craft of couture are translated to contemporary ideas of what 21^st century should look like without techno fabrics.  Inspirations aside, the clothes speak for themselves and the designer.  The collection does not speak to a raison d’etre based on some esoteric philosophy or farfetched self-serving tripe!

Plainly said the clothes stand on their own, no matter what the inspirations or theory behind them might be; the clothes honor and pay tribute to an art form that is deservedly elite and highly undemocratic as they should be!

Monsieur Mabille provides drama, the proof of Haute Couture heritage, and trades off nothing for the sake of his own ego.  His choices of material and embellishment are exquisite and his design ethic is pretty fabulous.  No, his modern couture doesn’t seek to appeal to soccer moms or Beverly Hills housewives, his couture is for women who understand and appreciate what was once referred to as high fashion.  His couture is the couture of a new breed of Couture customer who sees herself in possibly a narrow legged pant look one evening and a ball gown the next.  Red carpets are not out of the question.

The long John Singer Sargent black velvet gown is beyond sublime as is the concrete jersey with pearls; those being 2 of my favorites but there are many standout looks.  The palette is superb!  The point is simple...  I will take ONE Alexis Mabille against 10 Raf Simons for Dior!

 
P.S. I should say that I always harbored a hope that Monsieur Mabille would have been considered for the stewardship of the house of Dior

Chanel Haute Couture fall 2013

With Dior very much on my mind, I cannot help but now think that Mr. Simons does indeed talk too much and takes himself way way too seriously for his own good.  The Kool Aid has taken effect!  No matter, as what strikes me here is that Karl laughs at them all as well as himself.  Please note the self-satisfied smirk at the end of show!

In my humble opinion it is Karl who has offered  Mr. Simons concept of a so called “NEW COUTURE” but one can be sure that the last thing Karl thinks about is that it should be more accessible which is as it should be.  The thing about Chanel is that Karl needs no excuse or blather to explain his actions or his collections because every season is a reimagining of the fabled brand.  Every season Mr. Lagerfeld stretches the boundaries of what might be considered fashionable or fashionably acceptable.  So like it or not here he is showing off what he has done for a house that had fallen to its knees and that HE brilliantly revived with clothes and not blah blah blah.

Chanel is tweed and with it being Fall and all, tweed it is!  In today’s show, the proportions are toyed with, the clothes are layered, the accessories are minimal and the result is a spectacular visual definition and statement of why Haute Couture is not for everyone, nor should it be.  Much to their credit, Chanel now owns/controls so many of the ateliers that enable all designers to continue to participate within the rarefied world of Couture.

Sorry to digress there but it all needs to be said, as there is no Kool Aid here!

The clothes, as usual, compile an unabridged dictionary that contains the vocabulary of Chanel.  To pick them apart is pointless as they are the currency that Chanel trades on and their customers will gladly be forking over piles of it so that they can own a piece.  This is, after all is said and a done, a business... the business of selling clothes and no matter what is said and no matter what is written, Chanel and Karl can rest on the unrivaled performance of the brand ..Take that Raf!! Chanel wrote their own book of rules when it comes to doing business and they remain privately held and not controlled by a shareholder or a board of directors and they do not offer quarterly earnings and that crap… they remain a single entity in a the corporate world of fashion.

Sorry to keep veering off like that, the clothes are amazing, they are as always awe inspiring works that test the abilities on boundaries of the ateliers.  The dropped waist belt and the Boy George baseball cap will be instant trends.  The thigh high boot will be sold out in days, the tweeds, some heavy handed, and some not, will be ordered in the blink of an eye and the evening  clothes are the re-affirmation that Haute Couture is only for the very rich and justifiably so ... 

You want democratic fashion… great... I am sure H&M would love to have you (Raf) on board.   

Laughable!  In the end, the ladies of Chanel will determine the success of the collection and it will not be based on my or anyone else’s review, so have a look …..

Christian Dior Haute Couture fall 2013

The prevailing modus operandi for aging brands is to modernize…. Got it! The problem being is why bother, just plough the money into a new brand like Berluti and let the good times roll.  The big problem with Dior is that they have chosen to continue their Haute Couture which now takes them and the present designer into rarefied air.

Christian Dior, in its many incarnations was always about elegance,  refinement and chic not to mention precision built garments especially when it concerns the Haute Couture.  This has held true no matter the designer, whether it was Dior, YSL, Bohan, Ferre or Galliano, and now we are faced with a designer who is unable to navigate the waters of Haute Couture with any skill set or experience.  The Dior ateliers are amongst the most prestigious and enviable in the world which are only second to those of Chanel and all their acquisitions.

With all this being said, WTF is Raf Simons thinking here with a collection that looks like that?? Explain it … and please don’t try to interest me with all that hooey and space and time and crap that bears no relevance to what can only be construed as a design school project gone wrong...huh?? Huh?? Tell me!  Let the paid critics like T.B. spend 3/4s or more of their reviews explaining the design philosophy and inspiration of a collection when in the end the result is the same...ugly clothes!!! .. and now they are quadruple and more the price.

Mr. Simons needs a guardian angel or guidance counselor, if you will, to help him carve a path that adheres to the DNA of the house...genuinely, and by that I mean not stretching the strand of DNA until is invisible, and then they can plot a proper course of action…. Yes men need not apply!

There are countless designers in today’s world of fashion who deliver clean modern and refined clothes without all the gimmicks and these same designers would give their eye teeth to be able to have the resources of a Dior couture at their fingertips.

It is no surprise in today’s world of fashion that models have been criticized for being too  thin and underfed and now that has spread across the gender lines.  Then, explain to me how Mr. Simons has made these size 2s into looking like they need to miss a meal rather than needing a cheeseburger!  One can only point to the heavy handedness of the ill-conceived collection and gimmicks which will go under the guise of “oh it’s  the New Dior”… my ass …. It is the Bad Ugly Dior …as assessed by any sighted person!

In Mr. Simons’ defense there were about maybe 10 pieces which would qualify as mediocre Dior but then again, if one judges by the company they keep...these few odd styles are masterpieces!

The powers that be will let this go on for a while but the dawn will come and the designer of the moment will be history and a new victim will be selected...hopefully one with more chops and more experience than Raf!

P.S. under arm muffin is not pretty on any woman bur certainly not at this price!

Schiaparelli Haute Couture by Christian Lacroix fall 2013

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and it came in the form of Christian Lacroix this first day of July 2013!

I guess if there are marriages that can be made in heaven; this is the supreme match of all time.  Diego Della Valle mined gold when he arranged this marriage and even if the couple gets divorced in a month …my my my what a legacy there is to see!!

If you know anything about the 2 designers, Schiaparelli and Lacroix, it is evident that this excruciatingly beautiful collection is evocative, original and so beyond the pale that it boggles the mind.  The clothes are absolutely over the top and for those ladies, who are true connoisseurs of fashion or just plain wildly rich fashion hounds, the doors of Schiaparelli will be broken down and the wait list will be longer than any movie blockbuster of the summer.  This is the blockbuster of Haute couture as well as probably of the year…Yay!

To critique the clothes would be a bit redundant as they speak loudly and clearly about the collaboration.  What everyone needs to be reminded of is simply that this collection is like the, pardon my French, the “wet dream” of fashionphiles all over the world.  The astounding ateliers that assembled these clothes as well as the boundless artistry and imagination of Christian Lacroix will be seen as one of the highpoints of 21^st century fashion and will have its place in fashion history.

For me, it is a reminder of what the couture was all about in the days of St. Laurent and Givenchy and Bohan and couldn’t have come at a better time especially when the likes of Hedi Slimane thinks he can reinvent the esthetic of fashion.

One can truly weep from the beauty of it!

Atelier Versace Haute Couture fall 2013

AAAAAAAAAAAAnd we are off and running!!!! Welcome to Paris and Haute Couture Fall 2013

Here are some musings direct from the horse’s mouth... no pun intended…. “To go back to real glamour,”, “that black-and-white era,”, “where everything [was perfect]. The photography was perfect. The lighting was perfect, the hair was perfect, the makeup was perfect. It was all always to perfection.”

Well they may have been the words of “Donatellamommamia” but one just can’t be sure what she was referring to as one can hardly make the connect with  the presentation of Sunday evening’s Haute Couture presentation.  Atelier Versace held no surprises and a lot of the usual over top, labor and time intensive embellishments and not much design power.

 

The collection was an ode to the Cher of her television and Bob Mackie days and then Ms. Versace decided to revisit the hook and eye era which graced runways decades ago … I can’t seem to pinpoint the who and where but it happened.  Bare midriffs seem to be de rigeur as are bra tops and the swaths of soufflé have become a signature of the house which she seems to have perfected with this collection.

 

So, getting down to the nitty gritty of it all: cat suits will be fabulous “under Burka wear,” mink lined croco coats perfect for St. Petersburg winters, bare midriffs with turtle neck long sleeve tops perfect for J Lo and Beyondme and then there were a few wearable albeit questionable suits and dresses with the hook and eye details or shall one say theme.

The sum up is this; there have been far more collections of more questionable taste than this one  and despite all the razzle dazzle visuals and attention grabbing elements, it was business as usual chez Versace … yawn!  One can only assume that mother Russia, the Far and Middle East and a smattering of Euros still depend on “Donatellamommamia” for their personal moments of high drama at stratospheric prices!

PS… Nai on the runway…yawn!