Valentino.

As much as it pains me too say it, i wasn't as impressed with Valentino this year. It sounds so harsh because ive always been such a fan but - to me anyway - there was something missing from the collection. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, chose to do something more modern, almost sports luxe like, that did update the Valentino image and will most likely attract new customers to the brand. But, compared to the other shows that have showcased this week, im not sure that this was on the same scale. I hate to say that. I think that last year their show had such a dramatic feel which made it strong - and that's what i always associate with Couture; drama & glamour...more is more in a way. I say this, but i don't think it was a bad collection by any stretch of the imagination. When people have such a clear image in their minds about the Valentino aesthetic which they all know and love from when the man himself was still there, it can come as a surprise when someone new takes over and that's the challenge these designers have had to deal with so i salute them.

(images: style.com)

Valentino Couture A/W 2009

Elie Saab. New Romantic.

One word: WOW. Contrary to other reports, i adored this collection. Particularly because, well im a sucker for pastels, fairytales and princess dresses. Which is what this collection offered...Saab is my hero (not in a weird crazy way...) but he is. Romanticism springs to mind when i think about the dresses as they flowed down the runway. I remember being blown away by last years, all white collection and thinking he wont top that. How wrong i was. In my eyes, its better. I cant possibly say its my favourite all together because, well each designer has presented something favourable and of course desirable (it is Couture after all). 

 

(style.com)

I want i want i want. Oh how one can dream.

JPG's mexican fiesta.

That's right Galliano chose dressage and Gaultier chose Mexico- the big G's are loving the themes this year. Gaultier presented sombrero, aztec prints and motifs, inspired apparently by James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar. I have no qualms in saying that this collection was even better than his last. I really liked it- there was something very warrior princess about it that separated it from the rest of the collections. 

(images: style.com)

Fashion Moment.

One i wrote a while ago.

AUDREY HEPBURN

For those women still in touch with classicism and the sort of elegance that since the 1960s has seemingly disappeared, will know that Audrey Hepburn was its patron saint. Even as a cockney Eliza Doolittle, she had no one fooled. She exuded a particular poise that made her incomparable. But at a time where Hollywood had a curvaceous, sensuous Marilyn Monroe, would there be room for this waif-thin elfin like woman? Apparently so. With a unique beauty and a wondrous talent, Hollywood soon- like the rest of the world- became enchanted by the girl with the funny face.     

It was one serendipitous day in 1953, that designer; Hubert de Givenchy would experience the effects of Hepburn’s charm. He soon became responsible for dressing Audrey in her most famous of films- from Sabrina (not Edith Head, contrary to her Oscar win) to Breakfast at Tiffany's- forming the most distinguished fashion collaboration in history. It was Givenchy’s genius that saw the birth of THE little black dress, which epitomised the pinnacle of their careers, both for its sophistication, and its sustainability- much like the wearer herself.

Whether she was sauntering the streets of Paris- Vuitton speedy in tow- or eating a croissant outside Tiffany's, Hepburn embodied glamorous, timeless fashion; famous for her ‘less is more’ philosophy. However -and as ludicrous as it may seem- this was a woman who was blissfully unaware of her vogue status, a woman whose liking for Capri pants and white shirts became just as popularised as her Givenchy ball gowns. It was this understated, savvy sense of style that has undoubtedly stood the test of time. Ballet slippers, the little black dress, pearls, large hats, wayfarers…an infinite list of garments that have prevailed to become our wardrobe staples.

A designer’s mannequin, a photographers dream and undeniably one of our most treasured icons. The separation between Hepburn and her contemporaries was simply profound.

Perhaps the fact that a single black Chantilly lace cocktail dress worn by this woman recently sold for £60,000, is saying something about her worth? S’marvellous darling. 

Cheap&Chic.

http://www.chicandseek.com/

Quite possibly the best website ever.

Encroyable.