Armani Prive Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Bad news for the brown-, black- and red-haired models who wanted to walk in Armani’s couture show. The Italian designer chose to work only with blonde models this time. He gave them all a classic and feminine look, with a business touch.

The girls wore Armani classics; skirts at a decent knee-length and perfectly tailored jackets. One black croco leather jacket with a waist belt worn over it looked stunning.

The theme of the collection was ‘A play on amber’. This was visible in the large wooden and amber brooches Armani put on his jackets. They were the perfect classic accessory and really made the looks work.

For evening Armani brought on the floor sweeping dresses, mostly in brown and beige like the rest of this couture collection. They all flared out form the bust down. Armani used some gorgeous draping on the dresses. He played with materials like tweed and cashmere. And he ended the show with some mermaid dresses covered in thousands of shiny sequins.

Christian Dior Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

John Galliano kicked of the haute couture fashion week with a ‘flowerful’ collection. His creations were based on the most exotic flowers. They had outstanding shapes (resembling the shapes of famous flowers) and gorgeous colors (yellow, purple, cobalt blue, turquoise and red).

To stress the floral theme large flowers were the backdrop of this couture show. Plus, the model’s heads were packed in colorful plastic, like bouquets.

Galliano came up with his designs after studying real flowers for hours and hours. He for instance watched the light change on a tulip, which resulted in some stunning shades and a few amazing degrade effects.

Galliano paid attention to every details of his couture gowns. The ruffles, the feathers, the pleats and the lovely volume of his dresses were all close to perfection.

On the night of the next big gala event, Blake Lively, Jessica Alba, and Lou Doillon, who attended the show, will be fighting over these smoking hot couture creations.

Jan Taminiau Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

Next week we will have to miss him at the Amsterdam Fashion Week. But this week Jan Taminiau gave his audience in Paris a good look at his great couture collection.

His latest work seemed to be an homage to and a reflection of couture. No mass fashion but craftsmanship and attention and love for qualitative goods are the things Jan Taminiau sees in his future.

And with this theme Jan gives his view on the future, the past and the now. Therefore the collection was all about reflection. Jan played with classical silhouettes, accessories and poses and made them modern again. His silhouettes were tall, small and slender and gave the models a certain status.

His creations didn’t have a lot of color. They were made out of grey, light pink and nudes. They were never boring though; Jan embellished them with small sparkles. Sometimes only on the upper body, sometimes all over the fabric.

Like we see in fashion right now the shoulders of most of the outfits were highlighted. Yet instead of the sharp, pointy shoulders we now see in stores, Jan designed round shoulders in more of a couture style.

All looks were finished by large hats out of which slim ponytails appeared. They made the looks feel heroic.

Too bad Jan Taminiau doesn’t show in Amsterdam this season, his collection looked stunning.

Thom Browne Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The die-hard fashionpack already knew where Thom Browne was capable of. They’ve seen his shows from New York, for the Italian Moncler-label in Milan and his presentation at Firenze a few years ago. Browne’s shows are set up like a military operation, a huge set, models acting as a group on stage and all dressed alike.

So the set of of his first menswearshow in Paris was not surprising, but still overwhelming. The location was a large conference room at the official headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The audience had to sit behinds the desks where party-members used to sit an debate about the cold war. As an American in Paris, the choice for the venue was – well – daring. Also because Browne kept pointing at historical ‘fights’ between the USA and USSR. For example the army of astronauts which opened the show by marching into the room. The models were hidden in the space-suits, and they all stepped out  at the same time dressed identically.

Their dress-code was boyish, and typical Thom Browne: a tight jacket with shorts, socks and brogues. They came in checks, blue, black, khaki, stripes or decorated with little bows, some had a flash of sequins. Eye-catching were the knee-high socks, the gold-frosted lips and the gold-colored mirroring sunglasses. Browne made himself clear.

Streetfashion Paris Menswear SS2011 Day 4

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Givenchy-slippers, your latest Comme des Garcons-bermuda or that vintage Prada? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: menswear fashionweek in Paris.

Lanvin Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

No matter what the Lanvin man is doing – working, hiking, travelling, dating – you name it – he looks stylish and chic. But very low profile. “It’s active clothing in a sartorial environment, but not sportswear,” said Ossendrijver in an interview. “Everything is in movement – almost aerodynamic.”

The show started with slim fitted, tailored jackets with visible seams. The fabrics looked light and modern in one way but also used and almost antique the other way. Like the jackets in a reworked and remixed tapestry-print. There were lots of knitted stuff, very thin, sometimes sheer – like biker shorts, tank tops and leggings. New were the sneaker/sandal hybrids.

It was the mix of rich fabrics and sport-references that made this collection very contemporary and wearable The accessories just added the right dose of artsy stuff as did some colors like blue, yellow and red.

Paul Smith Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Even for fashionista’s it’s a hot day today. So at Paul Smith the fashion crowd waiting for the show got handed out free magnums! A nice gesture and a perfect way to set the mood right for the show.

A graphic planetarium print formed the background of the catwalk show. Long haired models came on stage as the show started. Their clothing style resembled that of a rock star. Their wardrobe existed of pants with small legs and shirts with busy cosmos prints. Their shirts were loose and were combined with suit jackets or leather jackets. Some of the endings of the shirt’s collars could be tied into a bow.

Unlike we’re used to at Paul Smith the prints didn’t have bright colors. In stead they were a mix of pastels and other faded shades. The tight pants had tiny stars on them. The items without prints were all beige, denim blue, red, black or deep blue.

The styling of the show looked great and was a perfect way for Paul Smith to show off some stuff from his other lines: accessories and shoes. He did a great job, cause the round hats, necklaces, sunglasses, leather bags, backpacks and ankle-boots worked very well together.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The Hermès show was as quiet and luxurious as the label can be. It just simply doesn’t need to scream fashion. It whispers. But when you listen carefully it tells you all everything you should know about next season’s way of dressing: the white suits, the lightweight fabrics, the shorts, the honey-colors,  the sandals, the summer-leather and suede and an accent in an intense color. The modern touch was added by ‘hybrid’ clothing: a shirt with a blouson back or diagonal zip-closure.

Jackets were unlined, scarves were knotted around the neck and the pleated trousers looks casual but dressed. Tobacco brown and emerald-green spiced up the mineral-base palette.

Streetfashion Paris Menswear SS2011 Day 3

Which sunglasses are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Summer has finally arrived in Paris. So get out your vintage  Ray Ban, your latest Prada or even  your goggles!? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. We met Karl Lagerfeld at the streets of Paris outside Dior yesterday. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: menswear fashionweek in Paris.

Raf Simons Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

 

Get ready! Flared pants are back in fashion!

At least that’s what Raf Simons told us today at his show, with which he celebrated fifteenyears of fashion. Yet unlike the hippie flared models we’ve seen in fashion before, today’s flared pants were rather sophisticated. Combined with sleeveless blouses, waistcoats and ties they didn’t look so bad after all.  Simons shorts on the contrary were too tight and almost looked like leggings.

A clean white trenchcoat looked very stylish, as did the white blouses that followed. The many white looks were there for a reason; the collection was all about gender, sex, and sterility. So we saw many white, clinical looks and only a few collars.

‘Symbolic, emotional, extreme’, was how Simons described his collection. He emphasized the zippers of the outfits; they were highlighted through their colors: green, pink and orange and had bit zip pulls. A lot of them were placed on the back of the tops.

Apart from the wide legged trousers Raf Simons is your to-go-to man when it comes to perfectly tailored suits as well. A bunch of waisted black and navy suits formed a great ending of the show.

Now let’s wait and see how long it will take before the flared pants trend is picked up by the people.

 

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