MARNI fall 2013

 

Marni.

Here is a label I have loved for a long time. “So-wrong-it’s-(maybe)-right”; Marni deals in crazy textile and colour combinations and quirky (if not downright strange) geometries and proportions. In my head, Consuelo Castiglioni is quite similar to Muccia Prada in the single-mindedness of her vision for the modern women, designing clothes that are totally unpredictable and never fall into cliché, always look modern and contemporary, and are feminine yet strong.

Although having toyed with sportswear influences in the past, Marni has since maintained an ever increasing sense of luxury. This season was a case in point. Fur, nappa and astrakhan dominated, and yes, the distinctive use of layers and proportion was evident in the juxtaposition of textiles.

There’s not a lot I wish to say about this collection, other than that i love it; even when reflecting the quite sombre of our times, Marni does so with a strength, individuality, and convictionthat leves many others look fusty, musty, and old.

what the Vunk?

 

 

I feel Donatella has somewhat proved the point I was trying to make last posting when I decried the latest nostalgic remodelling of the past, namely the ‘90’s. At that point I was merely bored with the monochromatic, pared back styling and bland oversized silhouettes. The Versace collection Donatella breezily labeled as "Vunk", was none of these things however, and now i feel that perhaps  I was a tad too hasty.

Compared to the gaudy, trashy, dare I say nasty revisiting of Versace’s punk ‘heritage’ (if you can call the famous ‘Safety Pin’ dress ‘punk’), beige can rule the catwalks for all I care. I totally appreciate there’s room for ‘classics’ such as a camel coat, but when it came to the vinyl, tartan, slits and flesh of Versace’s latest collection, or I could think of was sulky pubescent teenagers with a chip on their shoulders. Only this didn’t have the ‘cool’. In fact, I just couldn’t understand the point of this collection. What I want to know- would any women actually want to wear this look, and if so where?

On Style.com, Tim Blanks mused it would be  “enchanting to think that she (Donatella) might have headed off home later on for a good old blast of Slaughter and the Dogs.” .Somehow that seems just a little unlikely. I just can‘t see the relevance of punk to either Versace or their clients, and if it was an attempt to be prescient regarding the upcoming Punk exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, it was as questionable as some of those exhibits supposedly are.

“That was hardly what Malcolm and Viv had in mind when they dressed the Sex Pistols”, noted Tim Blanks, and I’m not sure whether McLaren would be laughing or turning in his grave.

Having been recently enjoying his fantastic homage to Paris CD of the same name, it’s worth remembering just how explosive and original the initial Punk scene had been, and just how influential Malcolm and Vivienne have been. Unfortunately today, that influence may have reached its ultimate nadir.

waiting for something great...

Richard Nichol, Fall 2013: serious business

Style.com is firmly anchored to my bookmarks bar on my browser, and at this time of year it pretty much the first stop of the day to see what’s been heading down the runways of the world's fashion capitals. There’s the Couture and Menswear collections and now here we are, well in the thick of the Fall Ready-to-Wear season. Usually I am excited as all hell to see what surprises are in store, but to be honest… I’m feeling a little deflated with what I’ve seen so far. In truth, I’m usually hanging out for Milan and Paris shows anyhow and it’s never a huge surprise to see show after show of very nice, wearable, safe clothes coming down the runways of New York. That’s all good with me, but what’s really getting me twitchy is this rather conservative spirit insidiously finding its way into supposedly more edgy designers work. I know fashion’s all about cycles and blah-blah-blah, but really, for someone who was dazzled by the imagination and sheer inventiveness of fashion shows by the likes of McQueen and Galliano in the 90’s, returning to big, grey, shapeless, somber styles as we are seeing now is heartbreaking; it’s like an entire era of fashion has been wiped from the map and we’ve returned to the land of serious ennui. I understand we are in some weird space of pre-post-economic catastrophe, but do we have to mimic the 90’s quite so literally to express the collective sigh of the Global Financial Crisis? Come on people- don’t bow to the pressures of ‘appropriate dress’ behaviors; designers we look to you for the exhilarating thrill of ‘what’s next’, not ‘what’s the hell she doing dressed in her granddad’s coat’. Flamboyance, exuberance and energy please, not melancholy and the infinite sadness. Don’t take yourself so seriously fashion- you are our escape from the banality of everyday life, not the confirmation of it. Perhaps all this dourness is about to inspire some of unheard of designer to push out against it- Here’s hoping Milan and Paris have a few tricks up their sleeve…

 

 Burberry, 1990's: no joy

 

3.1 Phillip Lim, Fall 2013; very biege

it's getting a little tired but...

oscar de la renta fall 2013. style.com

There was of course great debate about the return of John Galliano to the World of Fashion. As soon as news got out he was to undertake a limited internship at Oscar de la Renta, the flurry started. Or should I say the FURY; the amount of comments suggesting Galliano should be permanently exiled to the farthest flung corners of the globe were innumerable and often vitriolic. No surprise there however.

What has been surprising (to me) is the amount of coverage Galliano has received on the back of de la Renta just presented New York collection. Of course the whole point of having Galliano’s involvement was undoubtedly to raise the profile of the de la Renta Brand; nothing like a little controversy, but just how impressed Oscar feels about his show being described as “JohnGalliano's first collection since his disgraced exit from Christian Dior twoyears ago” would be interesting to know.

It is of course the clothes that matter, not who sketched the design or draped the toile. HOWEVER, Galliano’s handwriting was all over it so it does present a good chance to again consider the distinctions between Raf Simons and John Galliano. I have to again state how disappointed I have been in Raf initial collections for Dior and to see the de la Renta collection illustrates why. Although it’s not a Dior collection,  or a Galliano collection, the clothes shown at Oscar de la Renta showed a modern sensibility that was fresh and contemporary. Sophisticated and sometimes demure, but always with an undercurrent of edginess that surely represents a 21^st century aesthetic- and lifestyle. It helps me articulate what until now has eluded me in describing Raf’s Dior outings- the are just too twee. There is no life, no energy. I find them wooden and lifeless. By comparison the de la Renta collection was sparky, well styled and not to serious. It doesn’t feel labored and yet the skill in the cutting is masterful. Fabric beautifully handled with a lightness that can only come with years and years of practice. The famous rule of thumb “it takes 10000 hours to master a skill seems appropriate here- Galliano would have that over and over. For a former menswear designer with no fashion training- for me the evidence is in the handling of the cloth.

Whether we wish to celebrate the return of Galliano to the echelons of Fashion or not is beside the point. To not be able to celebrate the skills he has however, is short sighted and naïve. He may be more renowned for his flamboyancy, but it didn’t take a whole lot of theatricality to demonstrate that when it comes done to couture level skill and eye for design, Galliano remains the possibly peerless master of his generation

oscar de la renta fall 2013. style.com

All change at Balenciaga

In: Alexander Wang

Out: Nicholas Ghesquiere

Alexander Wang takes control at Balenciaga. 

Wow.

I did not see that one coming.

But why not? 

Here’s a guy who in the space of five years has developed one of the standout labels of the new millennium. Alexander Wang specialises in the sporty, slightly edgy, but oh-so-commercial fashion that could be said to truly reflect the Zeitgeist.; a perfect balance between sophistication and devil-may-care insouciance, tidy but relaxed, tailored but louche. Wang could be seen as one of a group of pioneering designers who have caught the urbane lifestyles of 20’s and 30-somethings and marketed it straight back at them, but at a premium. That cool, effortless chic of slightly grungy, rather sporty separates has garnered Wang fans beyond the New York City that most obviously inspires him, and with an increasingly expansive out view, Wang has grown an extremely successful business model, one astutely focussed on the massive potential of Asian markets in future years.

It would seem Alexander Wang is the Future and the Future is now.

The days of Eurocentric design have been on the slide for a century. While the heart of fashion may always reside in traditional centres such as Paris and Milan, it seems the their will again need to be a restructuring of hierarchies in the ways even Heritage brands such as Dior and Balenciaga operate- especially as so many are owned under umbrella corporations. What is the point of having a stable of design houses all targeting the same market?  It seems from now on corporations such as PPR and LVMH will look to increasingly stratify their brands to focus on different market segments. Through the choice of Wang to helm Balenciaga, it would seem the decision has been made for maximum commercialisation. High ideas about the status of Couture and craft, the importance of directional and progressive design, look set to be swept to the side as companies seek to further maximise profits. It was widely recognised I think that Balenciaga under Nicolas Ghesquière was one of the most progressive labels on the fashion parade, with Ghesquière lauded as one of the most visionary designers of his generation. This of course does not mean profitability, with speculation that Balenciaga was not profitable enough to it’s owners. Under Alexander Wang, this could be set to change.

Can Wang storm the palace of French Couture? He certainly has supporters, most obviously in America where he resides. But what are the expectations on designers today who are asked to rejuvenate established heritage brands? how does one value critical acclaim when compared to the bottom line. It seems even the best such as Ghesquière were not immune to that critique, so whether Wang can do as Marc Jacobs has done, and what Tom Ford had achieved is yet to be seen. 

There is no doubting Wang’s popular appeal in the U.S., but we will wait to see how he manages when assessed in comparison to Lagerfeld, Philo, Tisci, Prada, et al…..