Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci .. Paris ..spring 2015

So, if Tom Ford, Christian Lacroix, Olivier Rousteing, Azzedine Alaia, Alexandre Vauthier, Donatellamommamia and Ricky tickey tacky collectively hatched a collection it would be this one! There was more leather, whip stitching, grommets, studs and lashing than at the Folsom Street fair.

Despite all the over top leather pieces and so many other extravagantly expensive and over the top pieces, this collection looked pretty amazing. My issues are multifold and they will be enumerated below:

1-each season in my memory Mr. Tisci delivers a collection that is meant to shock and defy any of the house’s original DNA other than the DNA he has constructed. Many of these seasonal collections might be referred to as outrageous or unwearable or just patently absurd. Let me rephrase that would only be the case only if one admits to the reality and not to the media hype. $500 tee shirts are his forte!

2-with all the new focus on what can only be described as step down couture, meaning the techniques used by houses such as Balmain, Valentino and other brands who have taken to using these most time consuming techniques for ready to wear and charging accordingly, this Spring collection fits the bill to a tee. The price tags for many of the really fabulous stand out pieces must be upwards of $5,000.

3-how can any brand or maison develop a collection each season that bears no common thread to the previous one other than a label. The point is that either Tisci is the Sybil of all designers as there is no visual recognition by style for this house or brand. Can it possibly be beneficial that each season a particular brand needs to attract a different clientele other than the seriously afflicted fashion addict? To what end??

4-at the risk of being totally impartial, even me... yes me... must admit the collection is mighty fabulous but one could never guess what the label would be or who designed it; let alone the laser focus of who could wear this and Isn’t the point of building a brand to invoke a loyalty with a client? My take here is that the mother ship, Kering, is all about buzz and bucks and not about brand identity at all. It would be logical to assume as well that Tisci is in this for the glory and the ego and flexing his media muscle! N’est ce pas?

5-lastly, how long do you think this will go on? How long do you think Tisci will be given free reign? It is my belief that he is perceived as a commodity to the business of fashion and will used to generate dollars in any way the mother ship sees fit and when they are done with him he will be tossed aside like so many before him. Changes are afoot!

Always remember ... you are only as good as your last collection and in these times if it aint selling you aint staying! And even worse, you might be thought of as a shaman who can heal the lepers or the dying if you catch my drift!

PS .. one last thing.. it is true, even I must admit, there are some out of this world pieces here!

Akris by Albert Kriemler spring 2015

Every season the memory that Akris was once an old dowager collection amazes me. It shows you that a brand can be reinvented and yet retain its original DNA which was structured beautifully made clothes albeit now conceived with a master’s touch... that would be Albert Kriemler.

Although the collection can be a bit choppy from season to season, Herr Kriemler stays on track and keeps his eye on the ball. The collection is always focused and always aims to achieve the same end... just sometimes not as successfully as others. My main gripe has been when the designer employs prints or some every developed theme. There have been seasons that rendered me unmoved and then there are those that reassure me that fashion does exist in many permutations.

Spring 2015, in my eyes, is an almost pitch perfect example of modern minimal clothes; one might say, well so is Jill Sander, but alas the difference here is that Akris doesn’t require a PhD in philosophy to understand the clothes These are the clothes of the self-assured; woman who requires no bells and whistles but demands the highest quality of workmanship, design and fabrication. One might perceive these clothes as almost surgically precise but they are clothes that are meant to be worn, not explained and not admired as if they were standing in a museum.

The monochromatic nature of the collection makes it quite simple for almost any woman to be “well assembled.” You just have to love that hard edged geometric visor/baseball cap that is used throughout as the primary accessory. The lattice work which we have seen around in many collections appears here but here in easy shapes with simple underpinnings that show off the technical wizardry of it. The laser cut leathers appear to be so precise so... well sharp that they might inflict paper cuts... if you catch my drift

 To me where the collection is weakest is with a series of black dresses with chiffon insets and panels. They are a bit been there done that and possibly the collection would have been better served to stay minimal and cleaner for evening.

Céline by Phoebe Philo .. Paris ..spring 2015

This is a collection whose appeal evades most often but this season there is an odd appeal that can’t really be put into words but here goes….

The collection evokes a or stirs a feeling that it has matured as in grown up not so much with a specific age in mind. The clothes are yes, modern, IMHO, but without being offensively minimal or trying too hard. They appear to be well designed up to a point and that point would be there just might be a few too many flying panels and or excess flourishes. Those button through strips seem a bit de trop as does that fold over detail which in reality won’t look like that since the wearer will not pin down her arm under the fold. That little porthole dead center is, well, silly but not a deal breaker. What is somewhat amusing is the stitch tracery effect that was used a few seasons ago at Bottega Veneta and possibly in a few men’s collections if not mistaken, but again not a deal breaker as it looks good against the shapes where it was used. Ms. Philo apparently has some issue with prints as it just didn’t jive to have a sort of inane floral paired with what seems to be a rather stylish presentation for the season.

Overall the collection is visually appealing and some of the frou frou effects are amusing but might have been put to better use if the placement wasn’t so forced and a bit more conventional i.e. not such wide bands at the hems or on the hips! There is an ease of wearing factor which certainly plays into what has been seen and well received this season especially when handled deftly which this is for a change. My opinion seems to be colored that Ms. Philo designed a collection doesn’t seem to be forced or trying to be hippest, the latest, the greatest. My own personal reaction is... Excuse me ... salable, commercial and fashionable! All those dirty words that spell $$

PS. Ms. Philo certainly has made a pitch here for the “Spring Coat” which is surely something that hasn’t happened anywhere in many years

Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2015 Paris

It is safe to say that Monsieur Gaultier threw himself one helluva going away party. Well... sort of going away as he is really only leaving the RTW arena of fashion and focusing on Haute Couture and custom made.

What a swell party it was... to quote a few lyrics... there was camp,  trash, superheroes, athletes, beauty queens, Gaultier Goddesses and an amazing array of greatest hits that are all part of the Gaultier DNA and vocabulary. One of the very first things ever told to me about JPG was to remember he was always a tailor first and that’s exactly what he so heavily focused on throughout this raucous presentation. Impeccable exacting tailoring that is and was so amazingly twisted and molded to fit what has become a trademark for Gaultier.

In my opinion this is the way he should go out... on a high note of celebration with dancing and laughing and good times as that is what he gave all of us for so many years. No matter if we loved the collection or didn’t, Jean Paul Gaultier was one of the great showmen of fashion and he sure as hell gave us our money’s worth season after season.

There is no point in really dissecting the collection other than to say this will be the last time anyone can grab a piece of an era unless of course you manage to score a piece of what will become highly coveted   vintage Gaultier. Anyone with any history in this business will testify to Gaultier’s influence and participation in what made fashion great entertainment as well as perpetuating the question of “Is fashion an art form?” To my eyes he elevated the business of fashion to places it never dreamed it could occupy. He was a pioneer who along with the likes of Mugler and Montana and Alaia really brought Paris into a new era of fashion for the 20^th century!