Fashion: Essential Fabrics

Gentle Reader -

After the flurry of Spring/Summer 2012 collections, one thing seemed to stand out:

- those who know how to work with fabrics, and those who are not yet masters

Consider that Cristobal Balenciaga's most famous silhouettes were made with gazar; Yves Saint Laurent's smokings (the evening pantsuit) would not be the same without wool grain de poudre. Do we have to mention Coco Chanel and wool jersey?

Choosing a preferred material to work with may perhaps yield better design than the many options that designers use (or are forced to use) in today's fashion.

- AP

Fashion Texts: Required Reading (The Beautiful Fall)

Gentle Reader -

For the past few seasons, this book has been the source of inspiration for quite a few collections. Though the trend-setting personalities and lifestyles of a carefree Paris of the 1970's are captured in a fresh way (particularly in the first half of the book), The Beautiful Fall marks a transition from the couture to ready-to-wear.

As the round of Spring/Summer 2012 collections nears completion, some things to keep in mind:

Yves Saint Laurent still looms as a fashion force

Production capability for ready-to-wear is actually higher than production budgets may allow

Fashion today is aimed at profitable markets worldwide

Fashion presentations should never be taken literally

- AP

Vintage Balenciaga

Gentle Reader -

For today, there are no prophetic statements to post. Just enjoy the perfection of line in this deceptively simple Balenciaga dress.

- AP

London Under the Radar: A Touch of Subtlety

Gentle Reader -

Expect a lot more of London as we head toward the 2012 Summer Olympiad. While the brash/clash/dash of London fashion is world-famous (and rather peculiar to the city), there is a certain quality that also excels in London:

The Art of the Subtle

Perhaps you call it discretion - or some other name for the obviously not-obvious detail that marks fine workmanship, quality and thoughtfulness. This isn't to be confused with Italian workmanship, which is more accurately a sublime bravado.

The Art of the Subtle isn't readily found in London department stores. Rather, it is in the quiet shops that you will find it on display in spades.

And you might not ever notice it.

- AP

Couture: Reborn?

Gentle Reader -



Last week's couture presentations in Paris offered hope that couture can be reborn. This wasn't about shapes and silhouettes, but a feeling that Paris can again be the absolute center of fashion. Really, did anyone talk about Berlin Fashion Week?

Two brief notes for the future:

At the very least, certainly it is time to call Azzedine Alaïa exactly what he is: master.

The question of the moment: does Nicholas Ghesquière/Balenciaga enter (or is that return?) to the realm of couture?

- AP

ps: with due respect to Ms. Horyn, there was much more to the Chanel show than met the eye.

Couture: Past Tense?

Gentle Reader -

Question: Can haute couture still exist outside of museum exhibitions?

Perhaps the answer can be found this week during the Fall/Winter presentations in Paris.

- AP

The Magic Touch

Gentle Reader -

There once was a debate in fashion that went something like this:

Is a dress designed on a body better than a dress based from a sketch?

Chanel herself thought so, but in haute couture, it really did not matter - ultimately, a dress still had to move perfectly, and both methods could achieve this. How? Because the dress was made by hand...actually, lots of them.

There are still some ready-to-wear dresses that have a bit of that "made by hand" quality we ascribe to the couture, as evidenced at times by Lanvin under Alber Ebaz.

The importance of a stunning dress is what it does, how it moves, how it transforms a woman.

A bit of human magic, added to genius, is sometimes all it takes to make that happen.

- AP

Fashion: Which Directon?

Gentle Reader -

Are you feeling a bit midnight blue for fall 2011? Or perhaps a bit more cinnamon, particularly for evening?

Maybe it's just that you want a skirt that can go all day, no matter when your day begins (or ends).

A dress? A suit? New or vintage? High street or second-hand?

Fashion is a point of view, but always a point of view that is in the moment. Imagine what your point of view might be. But hurry, you must choose before the fall magazines are published.

- AP

Transitional Fashion: Not Quite

This dress is most likely circa 1830-1840. In many ways, it is easy to see that this is a transitional silhouette:

- not quite the high waist/bust of Grecian gowns from the Napoleonic period
- not quite the wide lower waist that would soon be the rage

Today's fashion is again approaching that "not quite" moment which signals a shift in silhouette. The question isn't a what so much as it is a where and when.

- AP

Retrospective Fashion

Gentle Reader -

Despite the due attention given to a certain dress way, way back on April 29, 2011, we have a most curious phenomenon developing quickly in today's fashion:

Museum-curated collections by dead designers which compete with current collections by living designers for fashion relevance, if not exactly for sales

In case you were wondering, yes, the Alexander McQueen dress above was on display in 2010 at the V&A. Yet a year later, we have "Savage Beauty" currently at the Met's Costume Institute:

http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

Until next time -

AP

Cryptic Monday: Everyday Style

Gentle Reader -

In the past 20/21 days since the last post:

- Designers have been pushed to the edge: creatively and psychologically
- Fashion has even less relevance to everyday life, despite many good collections in Europe

Has it been centuries since the last post? To sum up the past month of hyperthought:

- Choose your fabric, get out your sketches or fashion magazines and find a good dressmaker: it is time to incorporate vocation with career.

- Find inspiration in art of the past, present or future for clothing that can adapt to changing conditions

- Think beyond label fashion: there is a whole world of vintage, ethinic, and second-hand clothing waiting for unique minds to put select items to good, stylistic use.

- Fashion as the anti-portrait of society: the possibility of neo punk/new prep may soon blossom within 1-2 years. Eco-friendly, of course.

Another Cryptic Monday - enjoy!

AP

Grand Palais Tuesday: Chanel F/W 2011

Gentle Reader -

London, Milan and Paris have been exciting to watch for Fall-Winter 2011, as several collections have had real potential to yield key vintage pieces within 2-3 years.

Today we'll see if Chanel is added to the list.

- AP

Cryptic Monday: Dior, Lanvin

Gentle Reader -

Friday's Dior show was restrained, yet unmistakably recent Dior.

For Lanvin, there were a series of dresses that were a polite nod to the Lanvin Castillo days: youthful, aware, carefree.

In the air: a push toward sophisticated dressing.

- AP

The Sphinx Speaks: Dior Now

For those nervous about a Dior without Galliano, please remember that Dior has been Dior with (and without) the following:

- Christian Dior (the New Look, among many other looks)
- Yves Saint Laurent (the Trapeze, before opening his own house)
- Marc Bohan (polite suits and dresses - and underrated)
- Gianfranco Ferre (dramatic, bold draping)

The more pressing question for Dior is: what will be presented? The collection of a dismissed designer, or something else?

- AP

Cryptic Monday: After-Oscar Reality

A reminder for this Monday:

The Red/Raspberry Carpet is always Performance Fashion.

- AP

In the Air: London Fashion Week A/W 2011

Gentle Reader -

London is determined to gain ground in the global fashion arena - at least for Fall 2011. Technical ability and real artistry that came through quite a few of the collections shown in recent days - a freshness of silhouette.

Could it be that London designers actually had clients in mind, and not merely store buyers?

- AP

Ghosts of Fragrances Past

Gentle Reader -

While looking at the collection of fragrance classics, the following question seemed to come from nowhere:

- Louis XV's winter morning scent?
- Venetian favorites of the 16th century?
- Nefertiti's most prized unguent?

Proof that fragrances do indeed fade with time.

- AP

Cairofashion

Gentle Reader -

The photo above is not the Cairo of recent days. I was on a project four years ago ("Cairofashion: Egyptian Style and the Millennium") when I made the following observation:

Egypt of the A and B classes want styles that reflect their yearnings: streamlined clothes and dwellings with well-made, affordable furniture that is lightweight and of sleek design in harmony with the climate and the culture

It was indeed another time.

- AP

Message from Paris: Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2011

Gentle Reader -

Whether or not you liked any of the collections from last week's haute couture presentations, what was really registered was direction. That much was clear in the shapes and colors.

Gone are the days when collections tried to strike the balance between client preferences and trends - last week was all about trend.

Layering and draping in mostly pale colors, yes. Exquisite workmanship, yes. Dominance of pants, yes.

Despite geopolitical events, haute couture was intent on sticking to its own message that it is still relevant to fashion.

And a quick nod to Alexis Mabille, who presented two delicate options for summer: one in white, and a variation in blue and pink.

- AP

Mid-18th Century Chic

Gentle Reader -

Clothing from the mid-18th century still has the power to impress the modern day with its sense of grace and proportion.

There is a remarkable balance in this example: none of the severity of earlier in that century, and certainly none of excesses later.

From the collection of the V&A.

- AP

Jimmy Choo: Fashion from the Ground Up

Gentle Reader -

Many thanks to a fashionista who shares my passion for shoes that are just, well, ultimate. Yes, these shoes are Jimmy Choo, but that's not quite the point.

Where does fashion begin? At the neckline? The waist? Fabric? Color?

It can begin from any starting point, so let us consider starting from the ground up, that is: starting with the shoes.

Commonly, shoes are something that are chosen after the dress is selected.

Yawn.

Very last century.

What if one started with the shoes? What would then be the dress?

The collection?

A thought to consider as the round of A/W 2011-2012 shows continue.

- AP

postscript: for those who love shoes, please admire the curve of the cutouts and the paring of the shades of gold.

The Copy: Before Big Fashion

Gentle Reader -

Once upon a time, people either made their own clothing or knew someone who could do it for them. It was a time when Givenchy and Dior were independent couture houses, headed by Hubert and Christian (respectively). Today of course, both houses are divisions under LVMH.

This was also the last era of the copy, the "direct from Paris" look, translated by thousands of women (Chita Rivera sings "a copy of a copy of a copy of Dior" in the movie, "Sweet Charity") for themselves, friends or clients. Even the great Carmel Snow came from this background. (Mrs. Snow is not as well known now, but that's for another post.)

In other words: the tradition of making clothes has almost left us. For those who are passionate about making clothes, perhaps it is time that we get a bit more serious than what the "hobby" magazines would have us believe.

Case in point: this Nina Ricci pattern still works within our current modes of dress. It's not vintage, but rather a classic that can be made today. But let us be clear that there is a difference between a copy, as used in this sense, and pirating, which is altogether something else.

Hint for the next post: dressing up from the ground.

- AP

Men's Fashion Then - 18th Century Redux

Gentle Reader -

The man pictured is obviously of today, but in clothing that harks back to the 18th century. While an all-silver theme would have been out of the question back then, note the sense of proportion, and a certain spirit that does not speak to our corporate work realities.

A reminder that clothing speaks to not only our tastes, but also outlines the very foundations of what we signify as meaningful.

- AP

Feathers: Decorous, Delightful!

Gentle Reader -


Though haute couture is, to paraphrase Patsy Stone (actress Joanna Lumley's AbFab character), kept alive only by embalming fluid, the traditional arts of wearable decoration still have much to teach us.

Take for example this Maori cape on display at the British Museum: the level of detail, of knowledge, needed to create this is quite astounding.

Despite the pressures of modern fashion, where trend supplants inspiration, works like this cape let us know that the ability to decorate the human form, and take delight in that decoration, is somehow innate to us.

Let's look forward to the next round of collections, as there is bound to be something that can give us awe and enjoyment!

- AP

Men's Fashion Now: Draping, Anyone?

Gentle Reader -

Before we get another collection and fashion magazine spread about men in kilts/skirts, why have we not seriously considered draping in menswear?

Before Savile Row begins to e-mail me (I imagine it would be a gently worded reproach), yes, as a term, draping is integral to menswear. But draping in this regard is more about the way cloth hangs close, but ultimately away, from the body.

What is suggested in this post is closer to the flou of couture: the artful arrangement of fabric such that it animates when worn.

Perhaps Western men's fashion is not yet ready, but as this is the 21st Century, isn't it about time?

The statue above is carved from wood, and much older than the initial conception of the suit. You might have already guessed an Eastern influence.

- AP

Cryptic Monday: Upcoming Collections

Gentle Reader -

What should we expect for the new collections? More of the same? Or something else?

- AP