Haute Couture
Epiphanies while fondling a million-dollar coat
by Liza Powel O’Brien American soil lost its virginity this year, when the first-ever stateside showing of Chanel Haute Couture made quiet appearances in New York and Los Angeles. Used to be, viewings of authentic current couture garment samples required a ticket to Paris as price of entry–it seems the house might be hopeful that [...]
Marchesa Spring 2011
As is the case with almost all Marchesa confections, they’re not designed for the faint of heart. This is, ladies and gentlemen, full on, unabashed glamour. This season Georgina Chapman tapped into the ongoing East meets West theme and sent out a magnificent Orientalist approach to her couture creations. Opting for a more toned-down color [...]
Balmain Brocade Dress
I can’t stop staring at this dress. There is so much going on, kind of like Disneyland– if you blink, you see something entirely new. I have been digesting this dress for a week now and have decided, I freakin’ love its Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club flair! And mad for the chintzy brocade Decarnin [...]
Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall 2010
In what was one of his very best couture collections–and the first since announcing his stepping down as creative director at Hermès–Jean Paul Gaultier channeled his home turf of Paris for inspiration, capturing the essence of French tradition and couture style (note the Eiffel Tower outlined on the back of fishnet stockings on one model). [...]
Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2010
Karl Lagerfeld triumphed once again, staging a sunset Chanel couture show that roared–pun intended–with power, energy and some fabulous clothes. The proof was in the pudding, you could say, considering that a stunning 8-ton, 40-foot-tall golden lion, its paw perched on an enormous pearl, stood gallantly beneath the Grand Palais glass dome. Turns out Coco [...]
Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010
Call him Galliano the gardener. Never has a fashion show and its venue complemented each other as beautifully as when John Galliano staged his horticulture bonanza of a Dior Haute Couture show Monday in a see-through tent on the grounds of the Musée Rodin. Inspired by the cliff top garden of “Les Rhumbs,” the Granville, [...]
Chanel Cruise 2010/2011 – St. Tropez
Having conquered New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Venice, on Tuesday night Karl Lagerfeld commandeered a small port in the Var region of St. Tropez to host Chanel’s 2010-2011 Cruise collection. At dusk, guests were escorted to red lacquered tables at the iconic Café Sénéquier, mingling with Diane Kruger, Vanessa Paradis and Anna Mouglalis. Opening [...]
Haute Couture: Lacroix or Gucci? I say LACROIX sweetie darling!
Left: Christian Lacroix Haute Couture Right: Gucci RTW Gucci is said to be launching their Haute Couture collection but will not be showing in Paris at the Couture shows and will instead offer the line by appointment only. I wonder if they’ve even been accepted by Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris yet. In [...]
Will Asians save Haute Couture?
Chanel Haute Couture on display at Flagship boutique in Ginza WWD reported this morning that an influx of younger clients from fast-developing Asian markets is helping to lift Europe’s few remaining couture houses. I was not surprised to read that Haute Couture houses are looking at Asia, specifically young Asian women in their 30s-40s, to [...]
Golden Globe Trend: Texture
Beyond the superficial color trends of Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards–shiny metallics and blush tones anyone?–one theme reigned supreme: texture. The lovely ladies who walked the soggy red carpet embraced one of two options–beads and lace (Penelope Cruz’s Armani Privé, Olivia Wilde’s Gucci, Jennifer Garner’s Atelier Versace) or oh-so-feminine fabric manipulation (Maggie Gyllenhaal’s RM by [...]
