Chanel Haute Couture Catwalk Fashion Show FW2011

The setting of the Chanel Couture show was a round stage on which a huge bronze Lion was standing. Getting the lion inside of the area must have been just as hard as it was with the iceberg, cause it was HUGE! The lion’s front paw was resting on what looked like a giant pearl. From out of that ball Lagerfeld’s models appeared.

The girls made a tangled impression; their hair was messy and most times was hanging all in front of their faces. The clothes on the contrary were flawless. Karl Lagerfeld designed many typical Chanel suits. They were made out of tweed, camel, velvet and many other thick autumn fabrics. The focus was often on the sleeves; those were loose and had pleats.

Karl also played with his jackets; he let his models wear short jackets over long ones and made them look like a one-piece. His skirts were all at knee-length or longer and were often wide like the skirts at the latest Louis Vuitton show. The waists of the outfits were small.

All creations came in shades like maroon, brown, camel and navy. They were highlighted by gold details;  embroideries, sequins and beadings. Eye-catching bracelets and golden boots completed the gorgeous looks.

And we sure hope that big lion was a sign of Karl Lagerfeld saying ‘Holland is going to win the World Cup’. We’ll see about that on Sunday.

Ps. This week rumours were spread about Lagerfeld appearing on Gossip Girl any time soon. Since Blake Lively and Leigthon Meester from that serie attented the Chanel show we think it’s not going to be long before we see Karl on TV.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Dior Homme Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Kris van Assche seems capable of letting his severe, sartorial look go en soften it with lightweight and youthful tailoring. ‘Simplicity is the true luxury’, according to the designer. And so he presented sleeveless trenchcoats, lightweight linen parkas and paper-light jackets. Black, gray and sandywhite were his main colors. Low-slung trousers were tucked into sandals.

To add a different touch to his simplicity Van Assche used samurai references, like Mao-collars or V-shaped necklines similar to kimonos. Some tops reminded of Hedi Slimane’s first collection for Dior, with the sleeveless faux-wrap shirts. Those were wonderful and new and they still seem appropriate in their renewed version.

John Galliano Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The set at John Galliano’s menswear-show looked like Charlie Chaplin’s movie Modern Times, and hey – who opened the show? The legendary filmmaker/actor himself – well, a look-a-like. And later on he was followed by Buster Keaton.

Galliano wanted to make a statement about new proportions in menswear and the shrunken jacket and baggy pants – which were the signature look of Chaplin – were a good start. As was the three-piece suit and all Buster Keaton used to wear. These two looks dominated the show, dropped crotch pants, jackets fitted to the body, a little dandyism in lurex trench-coats and pale suits. The movie Death in Venice inspired Galliano and his team for the bathing-suits and bathrobes.

Funny that after so many decades a frumpy suit of two almost forgotten actors are feeling new after the slick, made to measure fashion of the past years. That’s the power of fashion. You’ll get fed up with perfect clothes and suddely you realize you are longing for imperfection and a different style. Et voila, your prayers are heard.

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

It was a beautiful and scary collection Comme des Garcons presented today. Skulls were everywhere: at the back of the model’s head, but mainly as an Escher-like print at skirts, shirts, suits. In black and white and – ha ha, very funny – with glasses in contrasting blue or covered by flowers you’ll find on a graveyard.

What was the deeper meaning of this collection? The only explanation designer Rei Kawakubo gave was ‘ Skull of Life’. Yeah, right. I mean, Alexander McQueen did it a long time ago and even recently at his last menswearcollection. He even made skulls of flowers. And this CdG-collection didn’t seem as an homage to the British designer. He never used it so ubiquitously.

Checkered flag-prints accentuated the punkisch vibe of the collection. The clothes were kept simple: blazers, cropped trousers, shirts and full skirts. No, I think Kawakubo just don’t want us to be afraid of skulls, she wants us to embrace them. From now on skulls are no longer meant for hard rockers, goths or whatever dark subculture.

Walter van Beirendonck Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Hope. Read my skin. That was the message at Van Beirendonck’s invitation for his ss2011-show in Paris this afternoon. The Belgian designer always tries to put his worries about certain thing in society in his collections. And he always tries to be optimistic and make you at least smile a little.

With is humor, colorful prints and exaggerated styles he makes his men into characters from a comic-book. But exaggerating gets the best attention and so does Van Beirendonck. This time he aimed at violence and war and he dressed his models in innocent white overalls or happy combinations of jackets and pants with colorful checks or flowers  all over. He decorated the clothes with huge bullet-straps or used the straps as accessories. There were also shirts with applications and words like Fear and Faith and T-shirts reading “Courage, Never give up Hope”.

Intriguing was the part made of fabric with little holes in it. Suits, shirts, cargo-pants and T-shirts had holes all over as if a hundred bullets had hit them. It was not  only decorating but the holes also formed the words we already saw in the rest of the collection. Well, this is something we will see again in the big fashion-chains  within a few months.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

For his spring summer 2011-collection Dries van Noten looked at the mod and ska, two Britisch subcultures. From the mods he took the precise tailoring and classic coats. The ska-influence was visible in the snow washed denim, sleeveless t-shirts, short jackets and the black and white.

The styling looked a bit boyish now and then with the baggy bermudas, armyboots and doublebreasted jackets. Navy, white and black were the main colors, with a touch of seventies brown.

Some shirts and jackets stood out because of the splashed watercolors, they were actually handpainted by a couture-atelier in Lake Como. But somehow this was not one of Van Noten’s best collections. It looked a bit forced and lacked that typical casual/romantic/gentleman feeling.

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