Haider Ackermann Spring 2012 is Ravisant!!

An exquisite collection by Haider Ackermann. The silhouettes are elegant and relaxed and had such grace as they appeared on the runway. The beautiful oversized tailored jackets with the bunched up sleeves and popped collars over the matching drop-crotch pants that ballooned then tapered looked like Ackermann's own personal style in an exaggerated way.

He said the look was "Rockabilly Barons" finished with oxford mules. The cuts were based in traditional menswear but the fabrics were not and they looked tousled just like the hair on the models heads to resemble a pompadour. The fabrics were thick, shiny silks that were like shantung and geometric brocades came in beautiful jewel tones such as deep purple, crystal blue, persimmon, chartreuse and magenta all laced in gold and silver for an iridescent glow. There were a mixture of rich paisleys and madras that looked traditionally Indian. The heaviness of the upholstery fabrics were quite softened up by the sheer silks and chiffons made into elegant trumpet skirts and draped dramatically with veils.

After the show Ackermann said "This collection was about the woman who travels all over, bringing her wardrobe with her." Another influence to his collection was Yves Saint Laurent. The glamorous finale dress that was made with two vertical pewter lame strips attached to a long knife pleated skirt would have put a smile on YSL's face and he would say "Ravisant!!"

L'AMOUR FOU - Yves Saint Laurent & Pierre Bergé - WONDERFUL!

Anyone who wants to know more about Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé then go watch "L'Amour Fou".
It is a documentary that leads up to the Yves Saint Laurent auction in 2009.
Pierre Bergé who was Yves Saint Laurent's life and business partner gives a wonderful intimate interview.
It illustrated the deep love he had for Saint Laurent. The ball starts rolling when he reveals how he and Saint Laurent met each other.

Bergé speaks about how the business started and how he knew nothing about the Haute Couture business only to help Saint Laurent open a house so that he could express his incredible talent as a couturier.
The Paris, Normandy and Morocco living spaces they lived in were totally dreamy and amazing. Each living space was beautifully decorated and looked luxurious and sometimes decadent. Glimpses of how each piece of art is being appraised and boxed up and packed for the auction are woven in the film.
The auction was pretty interesting and it was exciting to see people putting bids in for these pieces spending millions of euros.



Saint Laurent's drug and alcohol addiction was spoken of and how it had a toll on their relationship and how they pulled through that chapter to the point of Saint Laurent's seclusion and retirement.
Bergé reveals the real reason why Yves Saint Laurent retired and I agree with the reason why.
I do think that Couture is finding its way back to evolving into a bigger presence in the fashion world because each season there are new talented couturiers emerging with wonderful collections.

The movie had a haunting bitter sweet quality. Pierre Bergé speaks of Saint Laurent with a gentle pride and a bit of longing, missing his love very much. No...he does not cry but you can see it in his eyes and if you listen carefully, you can feel the loss of his loved one in his speech.
It was very interesting to have that glimpse inside that relationship because I always wondered how they made each other tick. It is obvious to me that they really loved each other and that somehow that they complimented each other very well. This obviously reflected clearly in their business and their private lives..
It felt as though Yves Saint Laurent was invisible in every frame watching over Bergé and I have no doubt in my mind that this is true.
In the end I thought this documentary was Pierre Bergé's love story with Yves Saint Laurent and shows us more so who Yves Saint Laurent was as a designer and a human being and it was wonderful.

A Gathering of Grès



Madame Grès, Couture at Work is a retrospective that is entirely devoted to this mythic couture label.
It is planned by Paris-based fashion museum Museé Galliera's new director, Olivier Saillard. It is running until July 24th at Museé Bourdelle.

80 creations, mainly Museé Galliera's vast private collection, spanning the 55 year long career of Grès, is being exhibited along with pieces on loan by collectors such as Azzedine Alaïa and US Vogue's Hamish Bowles.

Germaine Krebs, aka Madame Grès, was a trained sculptor and worked rarely with patterns and constructed designs directly on the body. According to Saillard, who views the designer as the pioneer of sophisticated minimalism, Madame Grès essentially reworked the same dress pursuing her ideal of the seamless garment economy of line and volume. Grès was amazing with colors from neutrals to yellow, bluebell, raspberry, brown and coral. Her heyday was in the Thirties, Forties and Fifties. There was a come back in the Seventies with Yves Saint Laurent and Issey Miyake who among advocates of her work. Among her label's fans were Marlene Dietrich, the Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly and Paloma Picasso.

While great designers such as Balenciaga and Pierre Balmain used padding and undergarments, Grès' designs were supple, light and unstructured. Saillard says that she liked her models not to wear any underwear because she wanted the clothes to be in contact with the skin.

What is missing from the exhibition is  information about Grès herself. She was extremely private and that is how she liked it. She was a workaholic who preferred her clothing to do the talking. Saillard learned that she drove in a Jaguar with mink lined seats and she often sat on a piece of jersey to protect the fur.

She named her best selling fragrance after herself baptizing it Cabochard, which translates as stubborn. Saillard said that when she was heartbroken, she sawed her marital bed in two after being deserted by her husband, Serge Anatolievitch, known as Grès, after whom her company was named. Grès was an anagram of Anatolievitch's first name, dropping

the "e".

The firm was liquidated in 1987, before it was acquired by Japanese textile importer Yagi Tsusho Ltd, which still owns the brand today.

Grès died in obscurity in 1993 in a retirement home near Toulon, France a few days before her 90th birthday. Her death was made public only a year after the event. The last dress she ever made, a Japanese style floral gown that features in the Musée Bourdelle show, was commissioned by de Givenchy in 1989.

Grès

Creative Expression at Paris Fashion Week

Creative expression is always here no matter how much time goes by. When we are surrounded by it and are open to it then somehow our hearts beat with excitement. And these collections did just that.
A collection to get some pretty basic pieces and separates with the touch of pretty and good quality came from Giambattista Valle. She designed some dresses that are appealing and that for sure would be sold in a split second. Red and yellow were the bright colors that were splashed into the garments to add some flavor to the canvas of her designs. There were some pretty floral prints, ruffles swooping on the hip lines of some skirts and a play with shapes. The show started simple and ended with simple extravagance.
For Chloe, this Fall collection is probably the last one that Hanna MacGibson designed because her contract is up. She does the 70's well and it shows. This time with some cute jumpers, chiffon dresses and shirts, and great comfortable pants and skirts. Snakeskin prints were a trend throughout the collection and bright colors were thrown in to give a smile to the fashion crowd.
At Emanuel Ungaro, Giles Deacon created a collection that provoked a seduction and a sexiness that is sophisticated and had an air of couture. There were some leather biker jackets partnered with some soft sexy mini dresses, sexy mini sheaths, transparent lace that added a seductive quality to the collection. Deacon wrote in the show notes, “Mr. Ungaro always said he dressed the mistresses, not the wives. I decided to do the same.” And you know what? It worked!
Stella McCartney is going to do well with her collection. The ample cut dresses, pants, jackets, and coats had a nice spin to them. The sleeves were wide and interesting. This part of the collection had an ease and comfort. The other half of the collection was more fitted and had a great sense of class and a touch of sexy elegance. There were some gold pieces, peplums that added some quirk, and the very sexy dresses of see through dots had panels that curved on the body. The Stella McCartney clients will be pleased.
The expectations at Yves Saint Laurent were met. And Stephano Pilati did just that. Wonderful tailoring and a very smart way of playing with some YSL ideas from the past. There was a hint of the mod 60's and soft liquid garments that billowed as they moved. This is a true YSL collection and it is perfection.
So just be open and take in the creative expression of these collections. You will see which of them make your heart beat and put a smile on your face. Perhaps all of them will.

Chloe Fall/Winter 2011



Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2011



YSL Fall/Winter 2011