FASHION BY THE RULES – Paris Overview

Since this Paris season seems to be teeming with shows and drama notwithstanding, I thought something new should begin this week. There will be sound bites or if you will, flashes about the collections, which will either drive you to see them fully reviewed or keep you satisfied with a working knowledge of what went on in Paris over the last week.

Lanvin was quintessentially Alber Elbaz with him hitting all the signatures that made Lanvin a fashion force in the last decade.

Viktor & Rolf offered up their usual spectacle with all the buried signature of what makes them great designers – tailoring, dressmaking, master technicians and master showmen.

Haider Ackerman is the flavor of the season and is being bandied about as a possible successor to Galliano and has Karl’s blessing to succeed him at Chanel. The collection is tailored, cinched, reed thin, layered and most of all draped.

Rick Owens showed a distilled vision of his woman with a highly refined and finished collection that will no doubt delight stores and clientele alike by using all the vocabulary that he has built up during his career.

Vionnet presented an abbreviated but ever so appealing group of dresses which will surely send this nascent rebirthed brand to the next level.

Loewe did what it does best – leathers.  Stuart Vevers manipulated leather as it if it was cloth with great ease and great classic styling without being boring.

Balmain sent out its usual rock n roll fare but with a slightly restrained hand.  There are still plenty of glamorous pieces, gravity defying lengths and plenty of embellishments.

Jean Paul Gaultier, the original bad boy, had his fun with us and sent out librarians and women with their mink lined shopping carts but he also managed to get in all his signature styles and still have his fun.

Don’t forget to look for me on Facebook or on the Examiner and Style.com for full photo coverage.

FASHION BY THE RULES: PARIS – Lanvin, Dries Van Noten, Rick Owens, Viktor & Rolf

Lanvin, Alber Elbaz word association – urbane, chic, slick, pleated, modern, draped and zipped – and there you have Lanvin. Mr. Elbaz has turned the sleepy brand into a blockbuster must for modern women of the 21st century. This is the one stop shopping destination for his clientele. There was color, caftans, zipping, draping, clean lines and all the Lanvin signatures that Mr. Elbaz has created for the Lanvin woman. There are few collections on any continent that can rival its appeal, BRAVO!!!!

Viktor and Rolf are considered to be showmen, not to mention great technicians and good designers, but this season the theme seemed to control the collection. The theme, French cuffed dress shirts, became so over powering that the clothes seem to be secondary to sticking to the theme. Buried amongst all the theatrics were some very appealing clothes but they were so over shadowed by all the tricks and visuals employed by these two.

Rick Owens, there’s always too much intellectualizing and this collection but this season delivered a collection that did not require the verbiage as the clothes spoke for themselves. There were hints of vintage Jil and perhaps a few of the Japanese, but Spring provided plenty of the signatures of Rick Owens and plenty to attract new clientele as well. Razor-sharp constructed and extreme but more than a few fleeting moments of true beauty.

Dries van Noten, while an acquired taste, delivered a particularly beautiful collection based on ease, comfort and chic. There was something about the jackets that presage a 21st century Annie Hall, a relaxed somewhat androgynous look with a major concentration on starched white shirts. They are approachable, understandable, urbane clothes for women who want to look chic and not “done up.” The was even a moment of JEANS, which sure looked like a very desirable, if not preferable, alternative to “jeggings.”

FASHION BY THE RULES: Paris Fall 2010

It was Paris to the rescue this season with collections that went to the heritage of each brand while forging ahead to the future. There were comeback collections that reinvigorated a brand and there were collections that strictly relied on doing what they do best. There were a few evident trends that included fur, leopard patterning, pants, neutrals and wearable clothes.

CELINE, which has been asleep for several years since the departure of Michael Kors, was suddenly awakened with the second collection by Phoebe Philo. The designer has now placed the brand on the must have list for almost every retailer. Clean lines and wearable clothes are the order of the day with no tricks and no gimmicks.

HERMES, which is for the rarefied fashionista, was presented with such great ease that it would be hard to accuse Mr. Gaultier of making a misstep here. The luxe of fabric and materials, the beauty of the color palette and the chic of these clothes is clearly reflected in the brand identification. Not to mention that there were enough crocodile Kelly bags to make any Hermes fan swoon with awe.

CHANEL, under the hand of Mr. Lagerfeld, continues to enjoy its major spotlight with one more fabulous collection. The brand has gone back to the tweedy suits but, as always, with a new twist on an old favorite. There was fur aplenty here, but with the usual Lagerfeld surprise, it was all faux and used rather extensively in the collection. The hubris that this requires is mind boggling.

STELLA McCARTNEY, relying on her Saville Row training, has taken this collection to a new level. The clothes have become increasingly grown up and increasingly chic. There is a new customer her and she is not some flighty young woman.  Instead, she is a confident, chic and multitasking female who has more to do than just shop for clothes. Again, this is a no muss, no fuss and easy to understand collection.

LANVIN
Alber Elbaz has given this brand an identity that most designers can only hope for. He has identified the client base as chic, somewhat of a rebel, and slavish in her devotion to the brand. His clothes are singularly beautiful. Well executed and always just one step above the dizzying amounts of clothing available, they are body conscious, without being vulgar, and they scream look at me, without being ostentatious. Each season he asks himself “what do women wants” and each season he seems to come up with the correct reply.

Please look at style.com for photos of all the collections as well as on my blog http://jeffybruce.blogspot.com/ where you can read complete coverage of the Paris collections.

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