It does not pain me to officially say, “that’s a wrap” in conjunction with fashion month but before we return to regular programming, one last look (a closer one that has nothing to do with estranged mobile phones and France-inflicted personal style conundrums) at Paris awaits. And here’s the thing about Paris Fashion Week: it sets the it-trend bra. Indeed, the trickle affect starts here, well, there.
Unfortunately though, little vaginal inspiration was recorded.
Now, no matter how lovely a runway show could have been–no matter how immaculate the clothes, interesting the makeup, clean (or messy) the hair, nothing is quite as lovely as a strong detail shot. This, I believe, can be added to the roster of things I’ve learned from Instagram. Allowing viewers the liberty to mentally mock up an image giving them fundamental blocks: e.g. a dash of gold, hint of denim, is far more lucrative and thought provoking than displaying a full look.
Take the above bits from Louis Vuitton for example. The show’s production was breathtaking–in the Carrousel du Louvre a stadium of excited show goers waited to see what the requisite escalator in mid-room would hold. Some (me) may have anticipated an acrobatic performance above the moving stairs but when the lights dimmed and 3D polka dots infiltrated the space, it was models walking down to what their clothes would suggest to be a very elegant English garden party two-by-two. It’s true that Marc Jacobs tends to give us not what we think we want but what we don’t know we want yet and there’s something in the details that gives the sentiment more authenticity.
At Chanel which was–believe you me–the most extensive show of Paris Fashion Week, it wasn’t so much the beautiful bright colors (and they were beautiful) and some indications of a resurgence of trends Lagerfeld loves (see: his collections for Chloe ca. 1990 and the embroidery on closing looks,) that ultimately rendered a collective (three thousand people!) gasp. It was the kinks and quirks that strung everything together.
Enormous brimmed hats made of plexi, bright mindaudieres that look like lego, strappy flatforms and fingerless gloves adorned by lonesome pearls. The biggest a-ha moment though? Karl Lagerfeld’s finale walk. In a tender moment after a very long stoic march, he looked to Anna Wintour and she looked back. They smiled at each other, waved, and for just a moment seemed as human as the rest of us.
As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, Valentino was a fairy tale that I saw through my eyes not my camera lens but I think more notable than the clothing were the accessories. Season of the Valentino it-purse is near and this time, it’s not as much a handbag as it is a minaudiere. Selections ranged: lucite, pastel green plastic, white leather and the tortoise above. Per the shoes, ah, the shoes. Cinderella’s glass slipper has been located, adapted and reinterpreted into the most interesting rockstud thus far.
I didn’t notice these red striped pants while at the Chloe show last week perhaps thus proving my detail-oriented (hehe) hypothesis correct. Deep interest on my part in some simple strappy pumps and sandals seem like a diversion worth mentioning. I think the platform is really dead this time. Even Miu Miu suggests it.
Here are a couple of looks from the show. Boxy, short, long, dichotomous. One of the loveliest things about fashion is that you can have it all.
As for the biggest WTF of Fashion Week: Celine‘s fur Bikenstocks. Not even the highest octane case of Blinded by The Label could satisfy me though I am excited to note that in a story about comfort I wrote last week, I jokingly suggested–are Birkenstocks next? Fur sandals for spring. It seems to me like this is Phoebe’s world, people. We just live in it.
Redeeming qualities at Celine: three-pouch leather clutches that will effectively function as large purses, that look like luxe paper lunch bags. Chanel did something very similar last season and Jil Sander is doing it right now quite literally. More on that in a flash. But we conclude this round-up with a larger scale look at Miu Miu.
A few important trends to note: 1. Miu Miu, always the purveyor and poster child of a good chunky heel takes it down to the ground this season with elegant pumps and flat sandals. 2. Birth control glasses reign again. 3. That is the most important Canadian Tuxedo at left. 4. The model at right looks a bit like Tavi Gevinson, 5. On a larger scale: bare midriffs are going nowhere. 6. Can the Tavi look allude to anything more extensive about bondage?
And finally, my last note. This, I predict–the ankle length jacket with mini dress, shorts, skirt underneath is the most important trend to watch. Nothing will be more relevant than a pseudo-lab coat with bonafide hooker intimate just beneath. And believe you me, it will make for a brand new flavor of man-repelling that we will have butt-loads of fun with.
Never end a sentence with a preposition. That’s a wrap.
