Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

It’s been a long time Dries van Noten used his famous and favorite ethnic influences to create a collection. Somehow it never went away, it just waited under the surfaces of other collections to be used when required. After a sober, classic but colorful winter-collection Dries van Noten went East again. This time very restraint, elegant and somehow French. It was the arty jewelry (wit big crystal-stones), two-tone shoes, wet hair and bare faces (no make-up at all ) that gave it an intellectual touch. Van Noten mixed his all time classics in different prints – batik, ikat, stripes, Chinese embroidery – and beautiful colors from aubergine and black to white, red, blue and beige. The game was played by texture, print and proportions. Stiff 3/4 trousers, flowing silk dresses, skirts hanging on the hips with too short sweaters. It was sporty, chic and ladylike with a masculine touch. Perfect clothes for grown up women who want to dress fashionable and beautiful without screaming it out loud.

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

For her SS2010 collection Rei Kawakubo designed perfect shoulders on her outfits. Except, they were all in the wrong places (around the breast or the upper arm). She also made leather shoulder braces, worn on top of some outfits. Could it be that she wanted to express some criticism towards the focus on shoulder-pads in many present-day collections? The models had colorful cotton candy hair and wore flat shoes. Their clothes had some sports references: tight cycle-pants were worn over black leggings. A lot of fabrics were interestingly mixed, from chiffon to leather to velvet. They came together in patchworked dresses. These dresses seemed somewhat Victorian influenced in the way they were shaped, fitted, draped and dragged. Throughout the whole collection Kawakubo brought back military influences and shades of nude. In this way she seemed to be reminding the public that she was one of the first designers to come up with these trends. (Tess van Daelen)

Junya Watanabe Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

A model in a plain-looking grey suit opened Junya Watanabe’s ss2010 show. A few more suits followed, all in black, white or grey. Strangely, the first designs looked as if they fitted too tight, judging from the folding around the buttons and breast. As in all of Watanabe’s shows the models’ heads were abundantly decorated. The girls wore high turbans in all kind of shapes and sizes. Also, every outfit was completed with some elegant masculine black and white shoes. Some long blouses (pleated at the chest) came up after the suits. They were followed by black and white tops and dresses. These came in many different prints (a lot of checks and some pied-de-poule) combined with black leggings. Most of the tops were loose-fitting, innovatively shaped and strikingly pleated. They were a good reflection of Watanabe’s designing style. (Tess van Daelen)

Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Off course Viktor & Rolf’s ss2010 collection had everything to do with their new perfume Eau Mega. Their new scent – fresh & elegant – was not only a gift for the audience, the motto “megafy yourself’ also underlined their collection: mega-dresses, mega-make-up and mega-hair – all with a nodd to the eighties. The designers are attracted and inspired by what they call mega-women: strong women who follow their own path and are uncompromisingly themselves. For that reason the duo invited Roisin Murphy to perform live at the show. Thick layers of tulle played a major – mega – part in the collection, appearing as colorful ruffles outlining black jackets and dresses or as wide long skirts in eveningdresses with holes cutout by a laser. Tulle was also draped as a thin layer in a different color to black (one shoulder) dresses. Viktor & Rolf also had their boudoir-moment – as seen in Milan and at the first days in Paris – and translated that in silky pyjamalike suits, loose jackets and softly draped trousers in pastelshades embroidered with a patchwork of flowers. The impact on the public was, well, mega.

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #13

Haider Ackermann Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Haider Ackermann had a full house for his excellent show. The atmosphere – excitement, music and collection – caused emotional shivers. The collection was all in monochromatic gray, black and saffron yellow. Ackermann played with textures and gave his clothes a  slight toughness with the use of leather and raw fabrics, but the cutting was more confident and sexy. The new key piece is the sleeveless, vaguely military jacket in leather or suede worn with blousy, rolled shorts.

Yohji Yamamoto Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

In his ss 2010 collection Yohji Yamamoto showed that there are endless variations on the black jacket. He designed a version which left the shoulders and a great part of the model’s breast uncovered. There were pointing and popped collars,  zipped and unbuttoned jackets. One piece had circular cutouts, another extra long sleeves. There was a long tattered one and a trenchcoat version. Two leather examples were shown. Unfortunately the jackets were much of the same. Therefore your attention was sometimes pulled more to the hair and the make-up of the models, which looked horrific. The hair was back combed and sprayed white. The faces were white and had a square of colored eyeshadow around the eyes. Towards the end there were some designs in white with floral prints. Nice repetitive details were peaked shoulders and wide collars. Overall Yamamoto showed a safe and wearable collection. (Tess van Daelen)

Lanvin Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Alber Elbaz treated the audience yesterday with a a bombardment of emotional and visual pleasure. His ss2010 collection for Lanvin was an overload of color, glitter, and originality: dozens of girls marching, with a furious glamour, along a runway so long it seemed to stretch into  infinity. The collection was breathtaking technical:  drapey, pleated jumpsuits in polyester,  candy-colors like pink, salmon, peach, and vermilion, extraordinary fine leather,  a buildup of encrusted gold sequins and jewelry. There are no words to  sum up the powerful, slow-building impact of the vision Elbaz created. The man-made fabrics (al synthetic), the spirals of ruffles, the soft puffy coats, the plissees and the layering. His navy and mushroom jumpsuits are a whole new take on eveningdressing and a farewell to the official tuxedo. It had all the ingredients and inspiration women need to feel happy, confident and beautiful.

Paris Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #9

Christian Dior Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Christian Dior’s fashion show started as a film noir with a lot of smoke and the sound of screams and guns. The models had the look of a classic beauty: red lips, colorful eyeshadow and long wavy hair. The corsets seemed the key element of this collection. A lot of lingerie and some gorgeous nightgowns in orange, red, purple and pink came by. The gowns were made of shiny (often transparant)  fabrics and had sequins all over them. A real showstopper was a long ivory gown with a strapless corset. From the bottom down sequins diverged all over its fabric. An eye-catching black transparent dress had violets stitched on top of it. A lot of big bags were carried around. They looked more like briefcases and therefore contrasted with the nightwear. A very thick leather jacket with an airy dress didn’t make up for a dazzling outfit either. From all the jackets that were shown John Galliano probably wore the best one himself. His detective look was the perfect end of this film noir-inspired show. (Tess van Daelen)

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