Elie Saab Spring 2010 Couture, Paris

Okay, this is happening! Elie Saab and his new couture collection! I'm sorry if I cannot contain my emotions! First of all, I love Elie Saab's sparkles, sparkles, sparkles! His runways' decoration are always among the best. The best show he ever did was 2008's couture, and I think it is quite hard not to compare every other show with that. Difficult to top such a perfect collection.
In the newest collection there is not much innovation. But that is not a problem for Mr. Saab. He works pretty well with the common places. Are you tired to see drapery? You can be sure there is no draping like Saab's. When it comes to embelishments and curves, he is the man you should look for. His designs' details are not only perfectly made, but they are incredibly and richly ornamented. The softness of his looks combined with an apparently effortless glamorous air are one of his best characteristics. You can imagine any woman looking good on his designs.
It was difficult to choose which dress to put in this post. I love the flowy dresses, and I love the fact that Mr. Saab showed a lot of legs. The gowns are stunning, but I did not find one that had all the characteristics I think were necessary to illustrate his collection. The one I chose is not the most beautiful in my opinion, but it is the one that stood out in the pictures, and since it is the only possible media we have, that is what we will get from now...

Christian Dior Spring 2010 Culture, Paris

I confess that when it comes to Mr. John Galliano, I cannot be objective. I admire his vision, his audacity, his marvellous capacity of being absorbed and being able to absorb his creations in a dreamy dimension. Mr. Galliano is able to make art triumph in a business as competitive as fashion, and still sell his clothes for the price such a talent deserves. Of course, I have no such money, but that is not an obstacle to admire his designs. That is one of the major qualities of John Galliano, the mastery of his designs do not lay sole on its details (even though they are often flawless), but on the whole presentation of his pompous, luxurious, romantic and baroque imagination. That being said, I cannot say a bad word about his new collection. I loved the waist of every single outfit. The way he accentuated the hips is wonderful, and the hats... Uh, the hats... I wish I could go some place people would only wear John Galliano's clothes, inclusive me. But maybe the charm of his style is that it belongs to this secret world of dreams, and only he has the key.

Details

The vest worn by Maryna Linchuk is marvellous, and it is a shame I couldn't find a closeup of this piece available to link. The shoes are also flawless.

Giorgio Armani Privé Spring 2010 Couture, Paris

I would do without all those moons. The collection was really well done, very clean, very flattering to the body, and I would wear almost all of those clothes. However, it still was not a show for me. There was some daring construction, but most of all it was very safe. Not that there is anything wrong with safe. The clothes were beautifull, but, as I said, when it comes to couture I expect a show, and since I can only see it throught photos or videos it has to be something more than the details.

Givenchy Spring 2010 Couture

I adore ruffles and flowers, and now with the mix of the two, clothes are becoming more and more lighter, flowy and romantic. I liked the construction of the pink dress worn by Kamila Filipcikova. It is nice, but there is something odd about it. The neck part is really pretty, but the ruffles meeting down the crotch are not really flattering. There is also a charm in the lamphead hats. I like intriguing hats. This one is big and with an air of mystery, and the lace is the essential touch. The lace also fits well the pants worn by Anabela Belikova, that presented with a high waisted vest gave a retro-modern glamorous quality to the look. The clothes worn by Chanel Iman seem beautiful, but they do not seem to fit well the model. I would chose someone with larger hips. But that is just me. Overall, not a very impressive show. I think it's normal to expect more from couture runway shows. But the makeup was really powerful and the last dress, very interesting. The embroidered top was great.

Previous comments on the comments of most recent fashion shows

First, I don't know every single term used in the fashion business. I don't know the names of the fabric, the particular name of a structure that is not straight, curvy or whatsoever. My observation are nothing more than an amateur's appreciation, and I would like to keep it that way. Reason: I loved to write until I went to English school. Now I certainly know a lot more about Literature, but love much less to write, and do it less and less frequently.
Second, I avoid reading criticism about fashion, even though I sometimes read it (however, only after seeing the show). I'm favour of just looking at the clothes. Sometimes it is nice to see what the designer has to say. They usually say pretty good stuff. On the contrary of what many people think, fashion designers are not shallow. Of course some of them might be, but that is the case in any businness you may find yourself in.
However, it is really nice to read the comments of people that do like to share their tastes and opinions with others like themselves. I do watch Project Runway, and love it! And I really like Nina and Michael's comments. They are important to any path you chose to work with. Believe me.

The Phantom of the Opera

Those that had never seen The Phantom of the Opera until today raise their hands! Yes, it is true. Just now I was able to catch the last thirty minutes of the most recent, quite old indeed, version of the story. And why am I writing this in a blog about fashion? Well, as I expand my views of what is fashion, I will write anything that even vaguely reminds me of it. Not that the movie is vaguely about fashion. It has a lot! to do with it. Emmy Rossum big curly hair, her silky skin... What about those marvellous dresses and the powerful scenarios?! For what I remember, it was not well acclaimed by the critics, but again, who cares? My favorite movie director is Antonioni, but that does not colide with the fact that I love Pride and Prejudice and almost every Andrew Mccarthy's movie from the 80s. Yeah! That's right! Entertainment is like art, and like love, there will always be someone who will see some beauty in it.
Anyway, back to the phantom, I was chocked, and even mesmerized, to see the colors and the passion of the scenes, and how surprisingly corny it turned out to be. As corny as it may sound, it made me actually think of my childhood, when I used to dream one day I would also wear those big fat layered dresses like Emmy Rossum's. And I also imagined I would be disputed by two handsome men that would love me deeply, and would die for me, even though I really wished none of them would. Complication was so delightful at that age. I used to wear red lipstick and my mother would not tell it was a ho's lipstick color. And I would walk around the house in her big shoes and she would not criticize me for being inadequate. I am sure my sense of style, and the fun of fashion were at their highest when I was a child. Would it be my mother the first fashion critic I ever had?
Maybe. But she was in fact also my first fashion model, because until today there is no one I consider more fashionable and elegant than her. And I am not saying that to please her. She will never read this blog, so, trust me when I say it.
Overall, it was really nice to see Gerard Butler at his prime, like Andrew Mccarthy was one upon a time. It feels good to look at the past and see some of the romantic bullshit we have lost. It is like childhood, you know, deep down, maybe deep deep down, it is still within us.

Fashion

Fashion is a complicated area to be an expert in. Maybe that's because, as already pointed by Mademoiselle Chanel, many people tend to mistake fashion by style. How can you argue about style? How can you teach people how to dress themselves! It's absurd if you think about it. You may help them feel good about themselves, flattering a little bit of this, showing a little bit of that, but that's not what usually happens. Fashion industry is nowadays, and maybe it has always been since its birth as an industry, a field that makes money by making people feel bad about themselves. I don't believe, though, this is the idea that drives the ego of many talented and creative minds in fashion. I confess, that when I saw John Galliano's designs for Dior's spring 2009 couture collection I discovered my love for fashion. It was a whole bright, beautiful and glamourous new world to me. That is beauty, and from that moment on that became, for me, the most important quality of fashion. It may be innovative, it may be comfortable, but when it comes to a fashion show, an escape from day to day practicality, I still chose beauty. And, for the record, I don't approve human suffering to fit certain rules of fashion and beauty. Beauty for me equals pleasure, even if the pleasure is acquired from hard work. Hard work is only a sacrifice when unpleasant. That being said...