2010: One Look Back

Gentle Reader -

Fashion is ever on the move, though sometimes it's in circles.

One last look at what may be the dress of 2010, done by the late (Lee) Alexander McQueen. An example of when fashion went forward.

Towards 2011 we go!

- AP

Couture Masterpiece of the Week: Jean Patou

A dress to study: this technical masterpiece from Jean Patou is both subtle and dazzling. Confidence and carriage are needed to wear it to great effect. A reminder that great dresses demand to be shown off. From the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A).

- AP

The Sphinx Speaks: French Protest Fashion Now

Gentle Reader -

The late, great Diana Vreeland - during her early years at Harper's Bazaar - might have posed this question to the workers of France, who are again protesting:

Why don't you protest in tuxedos and evening gowns, so the government knows this is a real crisis?

You might think this is along the lines of Queen M-A's comment about the populace and cakes. Perhaps.

But think back to 1968, which was really the French Mini-Revolution. Those protesters of 1968 might have smelled terribly, yet they had style.

Alas, sometimes we stand up for rights we might have won, not quite realizing that which we have forever lost.

- AP

Cryptic Mondays: Ancient Fashion

Gentle Reader -

What is currently hot could look strange thousands of years from now.

Make the moment timeless - another cryptic message for this Monday.

- AP

Renaissance Street Fashion

Gentle Reader -

There are quite a few examples of idealized fashion in Italian Renaissance painting. But nowadays, we do not recognize the how startling these pictures might have been to those of the time.

Consider this: in a time when only court fashions were depicted elsewhere in Europe (although there is the rich merchant type), what message these paintings of bourgeois style must have caused.

Sumptuary laws, anyone? Breaking of social codes, perhaps?

Just a passing thought as we are in the transitional weeks between showing Spring-Summer 2011 and designing Fall-Winter 2010-2011.

- AP

After the Shows...Back to Inspiration

Back to the light of Alexandria for a bit of fashion clarity...what new ideas in fashion will be shown in just a few months? What is the feeling in the air for fall/winter 2011-2012? The fashion cycle begins all over again.

- AP

Future Vintage: Chanel P/E 2011

Gentle Reader -

Usually Chanel collections under Karl Lagerfeld are one of the following:

- very Chanel
- very Karl
- very Now

The recent collection for P/E 2011 (that's 'Spring-Summer' for the beginners), was something else entirely: all three at once, and it made for a unique moment in fashion.

Here was a ready-to-wear collection (or more correctly, a limited edition showing) that evoked everything that was exclusively the domain of haute couture alone: lightness, movement, impeccability, and mastery of form. Did I mention that it was even hauntingly beautiful?

This was a collection for the history books - if books will still be around. No, this Chanel collection was not the earth shatter of Dior's 1947 Corolle (ah, the 'New Look') or spellbound opulence of Yves Saint Laurent's 1976 Ballets Russes.

This was a breaking through time, the force of Karl's vision made current fashion look utterly contrived and out-of-date. For those who pre-order, I am sure you have done so already.

- AP

Worth and Poiret: On Fashion

Gentle Reader -


Thanks to Google Books, there is a little treasure that is available from the dusty corners of fashions past: The Principles of Correct Dress by Florence Hull Winterburn (1914). Of special note are the chapters by Jean Worth (son of the great father of haute couture, Charles) and Paul Poiret.

Both men practiced their art at the dawn of fashion's transition from the 19th century to the 20th: a time, though remote in fashion years, that still informs the now.

It's a different world now, but a dress that is becoming on a woman is still the ultimate goal: bear this in mind when looking at the current batch of collections.

- AP

Magical Scents

Gentle Reader -

Fragrance, when inspired and in the hands (or is that nose?) of a master scent maker, has the power to transport through time and inner space.

This less about smelling wonderful than it is about becoming truly memorable.

In the photo: Coromandel by Chanel.

- AP

Cryptic Monday: The Runway and the Street

Gentle Reader -

It is probably clear to most people that the gulf between runway collections and everyday wear is quite wide. While the reasons may be varied, what would fashion look like if that gulf were narrowed?

- In London there is a certain flair
- New York, a feeling of devil-may-care

But Paris remains a bit cautious.

- AP

Costume vs. Fashion

Gentle Reader -


At one time in India, this might have been considered fashion. Now, however, it is costume. But with a pair of heels and a few accessories, could it once again be fashion?

Context, that is to say, time, setting and social codes, makes the difference.

A reminder for young designers that the literal approach is not nearly as exciting as the interpretive.

- AP

Native Couture (For Lesage, Part II)

No, this isn't the detail from a YSL cape, circa 1990. This feathered cape is an example of Maori handiwork from New Zealand.

If haute couture is (was?) the pinnacle of technique for Western fashion, let us remember that detailed handiwork is a human skill found across the globe.

We are not doomed to lifeless, mechanical precision unless we choose it.

For all those fashion brands that devote thousands to runway presentations that have little to do with the actual clothing they sell, why not do a small collection that celebrates the skill and desire to be beautiful - even in the face so many events that are simply depressing.

Just a thought for this Tuesday.

- AP

Back from the Future, Forward into the Present

Which direction to pursue?

What is relevant now?

Is fashion as we know it truly temporary?

Words to keep in mind: quick, essential, multipurpose, light

- AP

Vintage Jean Patou

Sometimes a beautiful dress transcends both time and trends, which is a lesson we all need to remember in the age of the hypernew. Please enjoy this dress on exhibit at the V&A.

- AP

Divine Fashion

LONDON SPECIAL REPORT: DAY 2

Brighter than a call box are the Asian elephants that have made their way to London. Painted by artists and in London to remind us of this noble animal's plight, they've been quite a hit around the city.

But here in detail is a look of divine fashion: the pose, the artifice, the grace of gesture.

This is the spirit of what fashion can be - free from cultural constraints while submitting to climatic conditions.

From Mumbai, Hong Kong or even Vienna...can you feel this new spirit approaching?

- AP

Note: This is "Heavenly Jewel" by Nilesh Mistry. For more about this exhibit, please go to www.elephantfamily.org.

The Sudden Rush: Alexander McQueen at the V&A

LONDON SPECIAL REPORT: DAY 1

This is a key example from the late (Lee) Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2010 Collection - at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.

Has fashion reached the speed when we bypass the retailer and the wearer?

Consider that one can also buy a copy of the complete oeuvre of McQ at quite a few stores in London that carry the more experimental fashion magazines.

Is it a rush to Fashion's Pantheon?

Welcome to a new age in fashion, one that breaks the time barrier between new, vintage and art.

- AP

Fashion Star Gate: The Next Frontier

Gentle Reader -

Where do fashion ideas come from? A painting, the sea, or even the intense reds of of everyday objects?

The answer is of course that fashion ideas - like ideas in general - have this quantum quality: coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

I mention this because the now, this moment in the fashion continuum, just might see the big leap into either the future or the past. It really doesn't matter, as long as a designer can make it very now.

For the past few seasons, many designers have really pushed their ideas to reach some sublime moments, creating clothes that are immediately collectible, if not exactly wearable on everyday streets. This does not lessen the impact or directional quality - the mass market soon catches up.

Those designers caught up with the latest headlines in the news will miss the bigness of the moment. The gifted will be able to see beyond 2015 and before 1500.

The really gifted will know that it's really all about being beyond time and space, and putting that into their collections.

Flou Pour Homme

This is of course a sculpture. But look at the draping, particularly the waist details.

Male fashion might take a cue from something like this - in a few years. Fashion might not see pretty frills on men for some time (Henri III, anyone?), but draping - or flou, as they refer to it in haute couture - does not belong to any one gender.

Just a thought the next time someone talks about 'macho sensitivity' or a new direction in menswear.

- AP

Cryptic Monday: Fashion Post-Civilization and the Hoodie

Gentle Reader -

There are hints that we may be facing a 'post-civ' future where many of the ideals we tout (being 'green' for example) may become a hard reality. That is to say, we may be no more prepared for the future than those who lived through the decline of the Roman Empire.

No matter if countries go bankrupt and international air travel becomes a thing of the past, the hoodie will still continue on its fashion trajectory to become an iconic style item.

What does this have to do with the ancient Alexandrian coin pictured?

It is a reminder that time and space are due for an overhaul.

Welcome to a cryptic Monday.

- AP

YSL: The Complete Vision

Gentle Reader -

Let it be said that Yves Saint Laurent has transformed into a complete body of work. I don't suppose we will see the Givenchy archive anytime soon, though this would be an opportunity not to be overlooked.

Perhaps we must look to that 1983 retrospective/exhibition at the Costume Institute. Then under the direction of the legendary Diana Vreeland, the display of key YSL looks back then set the tone for the current Fondation Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent, where the couture archive is housed.

The result is a enigma and a challenge: how can a dead designer influence fashion like an Old (or Modern) Master?

No, it's not that the YSL archive competes with current fashion. But it is a benchmark of what fashion, what haute coutue once was. It quite rightly belongs to the past, yet has the ability to inspire future designers, like Rembrandt or Matisse.


- AP

Fashion Quote of the Day: YSL and Karl Lagerfeld

What is the difference between Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld?

Yves had a vision of that took over fashion.

Karl has a view that keeps fashion fresh.

- AP

After the Ides: New Fashion Statements

Alexander McQueen's last collection: Franco-Russe, moments of Callot Soeurs. It is a pre-war collection.

Essentials: With so many strong collections now, what are the new essentials to have? Denim jeans.

Travel: Before it's too late.

Just Under the Surface: Feminine Anger and Masculine Civility.