We live in fast times, my dahlings. And although everyone knows the chaos that is the Fashion Week, every season, the ever growing need to clone or multiply one’s intellectual receptors as to cover every show, concentrate reviews and short guides are still in high demand. Because, honestly, once the Fashion Week craze wraps up, nobody has time and disposition to watch all the shows endlessly. Quick and complete, that’s what I’ll do.
From StyleFrizz’s perspective, the Haute Couture collections (and designers) have clearly separated in two distinct camps: the elegant/Red Carpet/classic camp and the young/unisex/active camp. One of the main differences? Where the Classic Couture Camp will use sheer and transparency, the Active Camp will straightforwardly show the skin (don’t stop here, there’s so much more after the jump!)
While the Active Camp will go for monochromatic outfits (black and white for the most part), the Couture Classics will give you soft jewel tones with sequins, crystals and a lot of bling in a pretended simplicity. The few designers who are caught right in the middle of this fashion generations storm presented a strangely ambivalent show, fighting between a Galliano-type of extravaganza and a misunderstood Valentino-type of simple reduction. They have yet to choose their side and characteristic signature so until then, we’ll just concentrate on the main players.
The third coordinate of the Fall 2013 Haute Couture is the belt. Wear it in sheer or show your skin, but wear a belt you must!
Masters of fashion design but clever commercials at heart Donatella Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Raf Simmons they all knew how to mix old school couture with the new era’s fashion un-sophistication. While they were presenting their intricate designs they also made it possible for the creative fashionpeople to reduce, mix and match the pieces, mold them after their own imagination. After all, from a 67-pieces collection presented under the Chanel umbrella, some will sell, some will not, but Der Kaiser drew them and threw them all on the catwalk, like a late night meal for the hungry wolf packs… which might have been trained on Jean Paul Gaultier’s exquisitely feline catwalk. All the rage of the eccentric couture collections concentrated on a single runway (thanking the Fashion Gods for Gaultier!)
Armani, Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli even Ulyana Sergeenko found a classic path to the couture hearts of the masses, fighting shoulder by shoulder with Valentino’s somber interpretation of the Fall 2013 Couture. Vionnet is still on the classic path on which Zuhair Murad walks with undefeated confidence towards the closest Red Carpet spotlight.
On the other hand we’ve got Alexandre Vauthier, Bouchra Jarrar, Viktor & Rolf who keep pushing the boundaries between classic couture and active daywear, with edgy cuts, daring compositions stitched together with conceptual class and youthful imagination.
Strangely stuck in the middle, Alexis Mabille is struggling to find his style loyalty yet. He is, momentarily, in an edgy transmutation of a classic Galliano. Another particularity of this Couture season was – comme d’habitude – Maison Martin Margiela, capitalizing on the masked factor with florals and embroidered patterns. But where else would you find a pair of momjeans as a couture item if not on the crosscultural underpaths of Margiela’s runway?
Last but not least, Christian Lacroix brief return in the Haute Couture ranks by celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli’s fashion through 18 remarkable pieces of style fashioned in Shiaparelli’s manner. Fun Fashion brightened up the Couture season once more! (all the pictures were gracefully provided by styledotcom)
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