Thursday, May 12, 2016

Giambattista Valli.

Mon. 03/09/2015.






There is something irresistibly compelling about a Giambattista Valli collection/show. Especially, his Ready-to-Wear shows, which show off a rather different side of Valli's Aesthetic. In his Haute Couture collections, Valli shows a Ornate, Decorated and rather Over-The-Top sense of theatrical drama, emphasized by elaborate embroideries and Winterhalter scale confections of Tulle. In Valli's RTW collections, there is a Magpie eclecticism that permeates to it's core and more often than not, has a miasma of the 1960's Haute Moderne.

Fall 2015 finds Valli exploring those 1960's influences again, with a Graphic, Mod approach this time. The collection was as romantic as ever, yet this go-round, there were bold colour blocks and optical Prints and the standard (yet always beautiful) Floral prints, rendered in a mostly muted palette this time out. Valli kept it fresh by allowing only short hemlines in the dresses and tunics and coats then allowing only slim, leg limning pants, which added to the overall Mod sensibility. Valli's sense of colour was also offbeat and all over the place, in the extreme. Maize and Pink and Black and Goldenrod, Pistachio, French Vanilla, Cappuccino and more oddball hues juxtaposed against one another, creating a unique tonal harmony that could only work in Valli's screwy, brilliant mind! 

A few longer, Leaf bedecked numbers closed out the show in a Slim, Slender even slightly madcap, fashion, yet were full of Joie and Esprit! Valli, as always, Captivates and equally, Amuses. His collection for Fall was as Off-Kilter and Eclectic as we have come to expect, but shown in a Refreshingly new angle. Valli is at the top of his game and a collection such as this is reaffirms Valli's place in the Hierarchy of the Fashion Firmament!





That's All.





Bye4Now!



Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Stella McCartney.

Mon. 03/09/2015.






As of recent years, Stella McCartney's collections have been problematic to the point of bordering on foolish. The most pertinent question being asked here is... Who is the woman she is dressing? What woman wears these kind of awkward wares? Granted, there is something interesting going on here, but interesting does not Successful clothes make. McCartney's Fall 2015 collection bordered evenly on both sides of Successful and What-The-Hell? Paisley Collages, Unfinished, Pointy, Drippy asymmetric hems, Doily Lace, Yeti Faux Furs (For Fuck's Sake, if you're going to make fur that Over-The-Top, use the REAL Shit, Ok?!) 

Counterpoint that against the Sleek tailoring in a pair of Wide Lapel coats early on (in Khaki Brown and Ash Grey) were Sterling. Beyond that... McCartney served up another Blundering failure of a collection. Taken apart, some of the elements congealed into something of interest, outside of  that... the mix was a Goddamn Mess! McCartney used to be one to count on for an always Fun-Filled Clothing Adventure, full of Wittily twisted takes on classic clothes and Superb Tailoring. Fall 2015 floundered again like a Salmon out of water, Gasping for life. The less cruel option would have been to cut the Life Support!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Givenchy.

Sun. 03/08/2015.





Givenchy.

It becomes ever increasingly easier to see why Riccardo Tisci hangs out with people like the Kardashian-Wests, and the Katy Perry's and all the other celebrities who flock to his Givenchy collections that have more money than taste... He fits in with them because he seems (Much like his other Celebrity Whoring designer, Olivier Rousteing at Balmain) to have a very over inflated sense of Self and of overwrought design aesthetic that attracts people who'd rather be seen than be noticed. And bear in mind, there is an ACUTE difference between the two!

Tisci's clothes can veer either from Overworked, Over-Designed and Flagrantly Busy to Subdued and Chic with shades of Post Modern Bohemianism. Or they can be like the mess of a collection that he sent out for Fall 2015 and be nothing more than pieces of clothes designed to cloak the bodies of Mindless celebs who want to slither down the Red Carpet that is their life and get as many Tweets and Instagram views as possible. The Short version... The collection Sucked! HARD!

From every direction, one was assailed with Visual Over-Stimulation that didn't seem to abate for even a brief second of respite. Even the All-Black outfits that would in other hands, freshen the palate, were Frightfully Tricky and weighted down with unnecessary design elements that left them tortured and grossly taxing! The lesson though that was more prescient to be learned, was that without any real sense of Exuberance or Joy, in the way that someone like Lacroix or Marco Zanini would have done, the clothes felt analytical and dour, And was this ever a Joyless undertaking.

The face jewels and Nose rings and Chola Kiss Curls only made what was firstly problematic, now, Mirthlessly laughable. Garish was the term that came to mind early on, but Juvenile was what came to pass as the collection played along to it's conclusion! Putting the finest point on it all... Up until the last 1/4 of the collection, what Tisci paraded before our eyes was just... to be Blunt... Ugly. There's no way around saying that. It was Ungainly, Awkward, Difficult and Flat Out UGLY! Even if the Extravagantly Beaded gowns on Ajak and Maria Borges were Phenomenal, Two dresses do not a Success Make!

As long as Tisci courts talentless celebrities with about as much shame as a Streaker with a Neon Sign... He will remain someone who gets the Fashion Press, for as we all know, the Fashion press at large (Led by Grande Dame High Priestess Kiss Ass Sycophant Queen Wintour!) are slavishly whoring themselves out to the lowest common celebrity denominator in hopes of getting attention in the reflected glory of the Stars they obsess over... and most of that light that will be reflecting, most likely will be coming off the Sequins and Beads and Crystals and Geegaws that outlandishly encrust the garments that Tisci is pumping out for Givenchy!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Akris.

Sun. 03/08/2015.





Akris.

Crisp and Soft. Fluid and Tailored. Luxury and Casual. Albert Kriemler's Fall 2015 collection for his Akris label was a fantastic achievement of Exquisite, Minimal design. Fall had a Sportif, Athletic mien to it, from the get go, Rendered in shades of Sweatshirt fleece Grey, Oyster, Butter White, Ivory, Glacier White, Oatmeal, and Black, Kriemler executed his highly Moderne collection to a spectacularly fine degree.

Kriemler's collection focused on Jackets and more sporty fare than usual, such as... Luxed up Hoodies, Quilted Moto pieces, Asymmetric flyaway skirts and some truly Magical coats. Pantsuits were another big statement and when done Three-piece style, as in one Ravishing example the colour of French Vanilla Ice Cream, worn sans blouse, the result was Sensational to such a high degree as to be Befuddling! Another moment of restrained Dazzle, a Speckled Tweed Car coat with a Zippers in the Convertible collar that took it from a Dramatic Shawl to, when unzipped, Oversized notches. Topping a pair of Kriemler's take on Sweat pants and a Ribbed sweater it was the epitome of Athleisure done in the most Luxuriant of ways!

Also worth noting, Krimmler did not rely on one single Photo print in this entire collection, and it benefited Immensely from that, Distilling his message to its most Essential and Purest elements made for a statement of Unfathomable Richness and Modernity! To wit, with clothes this Elegant and Fresh, the lesson to be learnt here was that, as Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe put it... "Less IS More!"





That's All.





Bye4Now!

John Galliano.

Sun. 03/08/2015.






Bill Gaytten faces a couple different possibilities... One: Now that John Galliano Himself is back in the game and seemingly still at the height of his powers, enmeshing his aesthetic with that of Martin Margiela at Le Maison, Gaytten will have to redouble his efforts to reclaim what was signature about the Galliano label and present something prescient with those elements... And, Two: Wipe the whole Fucking Slate clean and start over with the base materials of the house, but in a now new and fresh way. 

Gaytten SEEMS to be pushing ahead with the latter option, but in the process, creating unmemorable and more explicitly, Unimaginative clothes that do not suit his skills or in any manner, Honour the name on the door of the house he designs for. Absolutely, now it must be A Thousand times harder to rework the Galliano magic of Yore in the light that the master himself is doing just that exact thing and doing it so well! In that case, Where does that leave Bill? Searching for a new Persona for the house is one thing that it is making happen, the other is Gaytten is exhibiting signs of going through an Identity Crises. His Fall 2015 collection was the perfect representation of such! 

Gaytten stumbled perilously close to making a completely worthless collection, one that looked Bargain Bin and Cheap, and moreover, Junior. One could easily see buying much of what was presented at any local mall hot spot... It had nothing of the Exotic Flavour of Galliano or for that Matter, Gaytten! Not everything was this downmarket, A Purple column gown was noteworthy, as was a Black Matelasse mini-dress with curved Black piping. These were not the only pieces fit for the closets of women who buy Haute Mode, but were certainly the minority.

The identity of Maison Galliano is in a state of flux. Gaytten is not proposing a new vision of the label that honours the illustrious history of the house, Nor is he forging a new path that carves out his own personality. Gaytten will have to try much harder and bring a much more elevated eye to his work to make the Galliano label shine once more... if not, he and the house will fade in the Shadow of it's creator and his bold new work elsewhere.





That's All.




Bye4Now!