Our favorite times of the year always include the runways. Menswear just completed and some of our favorites include the pops of color at Bottega Veneta, the layers at Balmain, perfect coats and skinny trousers at Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana’s sequined jackets, the brilliance of Dries Van Noten, the Amish and David Lynch inspirations at Louis Vuitton, and I’m always a sucker for Lanvin and YSL.
The Thierry Mugler show, renamed Mugler, had a lot of hype with Nicola Formichetti , but as someone else had pointed out, it took three people to create that. A lot of the hype surrounding the show was from the soundtrack, a new release and remixed song from Lady Gaga. After all of the hype, I and many, were thoroughly disappointed by what was brought to the table. The masculine take on pearls were the highlight to me, but the rest could be thrown in the garbage to be honest. It was more spectacle and show and in the end bland. Not that I was expecting anything different.
Now to the glorious haute couture. Monday started off terribly boring and as the week progressed everything got more exciting. Galliano’s drama for Dior was ever present. Although it seems he’s been designing the same thing for quite a while now, his detailing is beautiful and the silhouettes are referential to the New Look and innovative within themselves. Chanel was a crystal dream, but do I really need to speak upon Lagerfeld’s behalf? Armani Privé was more futuristic than Mr. Armani has ever been, but no matter how far he goes in the future, it still seems slightly tired. Maybe it’s safe to say Anne Hathaway won’t be wearing Armani Privé at the Oscars. She’s co-hosting, so I’m sure she’ll have numerous changes, but it’s probably a safe bet that it won’t be in one of these.
Moving on. Valentino continued to grow with slightly less ruffles and lighter designs while Elie Saab rolled out another show of beautiful, yet yawn-inducing gowns, all with red carpet potential. Academy Awards viewers, if you pay attention to the red carpet, please place money somewhere that an Elie Saab gown will make it on the red carpet more than once. At least they’re pretty and not Oscar de la Renta. Finally, my beloved Givenchy. I don’t care what anyone ever says about Givenchy, but the detailing is so intricate and exquisite, there’s more to appreciate than really meets the eye. One of the dresses with the red, hand-cut sequins took roughly 6,000 hours to create. The Japanese-influenced collection makes my mouth salivate and is such a fluid evolution from last couture season. Swoon.
Critically acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York) takes the helm for Chanel’s latest male fragrance campaign, Bleu de Chanel, starring Gaspard Ulliel. The fashion film is all Scorsese with the soundtrack of, you guessed it, The Rolling Stones. The full advertisement film will debut during the MTV VMAs. This is as exciting as when David Lynch did “Lady Blue” for Dior in May with Marion Cottilard.
