Childhood Fantasies

I have to confess I'd been waiting anxiously for the Louis Vuitton show. Not just because I was sure of the lovely collection  Marc Jacobs would present, but also because along with Chanel, Louis Vuitton is one of the brands to create a whole mise-en-scène, by showing a breathtaking scenery and production. Got to say the autumn/winter show was one of my favorites, the reference of Night Porter, the whole construction of an antique foyer and the sexual connotations of the sheer and plastic outfits were some of the elements that made of this show, in my opinion, one of the bests of the season.

Yesterday I saw the spring/summer show and it left me completely satisfied. Even though it was an extreme change from the roughness of the last season, this was a beautiful blast to the past in all senses. It almost seemed like an ode to an english fantasy childhood. If there's anyone who can shift from such extreme positions and succeed, is Marc Jacobs. From beginning to end, the show was a big bite of cotton candy, starting with the sweetness of the score from a music box and continuing with a big dream-like carrousel with models riding fake horses like in a Gilliam movie. Kate Moss at the end, walking in a big white eyelet dress with feathers was just the cherry on top.

Eyelet lace, pastels, feathers and lamps shapes in dresses and skirts made of this collection a true childhood fantasy. The see through plastic bags and the cap toe metallic pointed shoes were completely charming along with the Vandyke collars in jackets and dresses. I'm amazed by how the perception of a woman from a brand can change so much and still be faithful to the spirit and core values of the design motto. In any other case, the extreme change from fetishist to innocence would have been quite a shock, but here, it was just a marvelous and sweet fantasy. 

 

News, news

Paris Fashion Week is here finally! It's undeniably the most important fashion week and it just started today while we were sleeping... well, in this side of the world at least. So catch up and take a look to Rochas, Dries Van Noten and Gareth Pugh, some of the shows that happened today. 

If you have noticed I haven't post on a regular basis it's thanks to my crappy internet which was just canceled by the phone company... but soon I will catch up with the posts so don't worry, there will be plenty of fashion talk later.

In other news, Mercedes Benz DFashion just started on Monday, which is basically the mexican fashion week. There has been interesting proposals like Ale Quesada, Jorge Duque, Paola Hernandez and Pepa Pombo. Chilango has a quick recap and you can see some runway photos in VogueMX too.

In retrospective: Givenchy AW11

Givenchy A/W 11

Cat ears, hints of purple, all black basis, flower motifs, Betty Page illustrations, cat eye glasses and that fluo yellow. I'm in love.

Images via Dazed & Confused, taken by Morgan O'Donovan

The Queen and her Court (Alexander McQueen FW11)

& The Night Porter (Louis Vuitton FW11)

Ashes and smoke: Chanel FW11

Chanel FW11

The Grand Palais has turned into many worlds for the sake of Chanel. We've been in the Arctic, a farm, Shanghai, Last year in Marienbad, and so on. This time we were in a remote land of volcanic rock, with coal, ashes and smoke everywhere. A very somber stage compared to the past ones but that reflected exactly the essence of this collection, dark, tough & strong. There was even this manly feeling throughout the whole collection, reflected in baggy trousers and work boots. 

Nevertheless the Chanel factor couldn't be missed with the pressence of tweed jackets in different versions such as a simple model with herringbone pattern or the more traditional model with the embellished buttons in contrast to the industrial workwear. The long coats and capes were a personal favorite along with the evening wear, a combination between sheer organza, fur and leather gloves. It is hard to say what Chanel reminded me the most, maybe a phoenix emerging from the ashes, an industrial factory or volcanic traces, but it was undoubtedly strong, a tough attempt to be closer to sportswear, even though that's not Chanel's puissance.

Balenciaga Fall11

Balenciaga FW11

floral skirts, leather/knit jackets & inserts of bright colors.

God Save McQueen, PFW SS11

This blog started talking about McQueen. My first post was about his death and what a shock it had been to me. I still remember the first collection I saw of him, Spring 2001 with a woman in white, caged with owls. Back then I was pretty much a kid, and all I could think of when I saw this was this was a magic trick. Theatricality at its best. Later on, I would grow to understand all the emotional and fictional connotations of his work. It was pretty sad the fashion world had lost an incredible genius.

After Lee's death, everything resumed to one single question, what would happen to Alexander McQueen. A woman stepped up, Sarah Burton, who had worked with him since 15 years ago. Yesterday we saw what she was capable of. And I have to say, I’m proud. Filling the shoes of someone so marvelous was a hard job, nevertheless Burton presented a collection, the vision of McQueen seen through a woman’s eyes. It was dramatic, it was theatrical, and it was incredible handcrafted, three elements that distinguished Lee’s work.

Sarah managed to give us a collection that said farewell Lee and welcome new ideas. It’s convenient the collection wasn’t radically different; Burton will show her vision through time and success. But who can argue the genius of the wheat dress? or the monarch butterfly dress? The hair, the shoes, the silhouettes, everything was softened but with the same distinctive dream like worlds McQueen used to conceive in his work. I am very excited for Sarah Burton, and this is an amazing work.































Images via Style.com