Sooooo!! The collections are done, the designers have all posited their ideas and the consumers are now left in a tizzy as to what to buy. So where does that leave people like me- the ones who blog and style? To sift through everything, of course! Here's the results of my sifting- ladies and gents, stylites and stylistas, here are my ten fave collections from New York, London, Milan and Paris.
10. Marc Jacobs
Something has to be said about the way Jacobs thinks. For last season, he threw everything from 5 inch afro wigs to fur-tasseled loafers on his models for his and Louis Vuitton's labels. The celebs, ranging from Victoria Beckham to Gaga all ate it up. This season, he banned all celebs from the front-row and backstage at his show, and one look at the collection tells us why, or at least reveals the direction Jacobs has now gone in- he's tired of the hype of the industry, it seems; tired of the celebrity culture and glitz. By going back to a very pure place, at least aesthetically, MJ, this season, gave us his most sober collection, and possibly his most beautiful and wearable in a looooong time.
9. Dolce & Gabbana
Here are two more flashy designers who went the sober route for Fall. I didn't get a chance to blog the collection on its own, but when I saw it, I was amazed by how chic it was. I would have said something like this- "By using lace, velvet and some polka-dots, designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana punctuated their awesome clothes with lots of joi de vivre and plenty of Sicilian/Parisian sexy swagger!" Two thumbs waaaay up, guys!
8. Valentino
Fashion writers and editors have not been very kind to Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri these past few seasons, but you know what? In fashion, that's how you get your chops- ask Riccardo Tisci. Or maybe they haven't even been reading reviews of their Summer RTW and couture 2010 shows and just decided that they won't mess up the formula that is causing ingénues like Chloë Sevigny to wear their clothes on red carpets. Whatever explanation you want to believe, this was a gorgeous collection. Just wait till next Oscar season and see!
7. Sass and Bide
Style.com didn't even bother with a review, but that doesn't undermine the importance of this collection this season. Thematically, these guys were THE stick-to-it guys this side of D&G, and the styling?? MY WORD- just the right amount of trimming, the right amount of gold accents here and there, and I love how some looks juxtaposed minimalism and trendy layering at the same time, too! With lots of lace, macramé and jersey, these pieces should be fun to layer and put together with other pieces and outerwear.
6. Burberry Prorsum
Building on the brand's penchant for military-esque jackets, and his own ideas of ruching from last season, designer Christopher Bailey gave us plenty of shearling, sheepskin and fur this season. He added plenty of volume to the silhouette by way of some splendid jackets (it's gonna be hard to choose just one, I possibly couldn't) and even some sexual heat by way of thigh-high boots in sleek reptile leather.
5. Gareth Pugh
I like Gareth Pugh for his ideas, but I completely understand that some people won't like him because his ideas may be too arch, or his clothes may not be wearable enough. Well, naysayers, may I direct you to Pugh's latest set of pieces? On the left, we have cashmere wool coats, while if you look to your right, you'll see a sexy LBD. Pugh is still a romantic at heart, so he hasn't really gone commercial, but for this fall, i'm envisioning plenty mileage from some of these angular coats.
4. Elie Saab
Like Valentino, Elie Saab injected his RTW collection with a little couture sensibility to wondrous results. By focusing on black with colour here and there, the collection was pretty without being cloying, feminine and grown-up, without being frumpy, sexy without being gaudy. In one simple word, it was perfect.
3. Lanvin
For fall, Lanvin went dark. Not dark in any traditional sense, but style-wise, the pieces (even hair and make-up) were a bit moodier than the cock-tail stuff we're used to from Mr. Elbaz. Of the collection, style.com said "For Fall, he walked a knife edge, balanced between rigorously architectural urban simplicity and explosively fierce embellishment, sourced somewhere in African tribalism." I couldn't have put it any better myself.
2. Balenciaga
Shapes within shapes, unusual fabric hybrids, even more unusual sources of inspiration- all in a day's work for Mr. Nicolas Ghesquière. The clothes were geometric, collaged, stiff yet rounded, and composed of zones of matte and shine, with some looking like industrial foam and fur shaved into quilting, while others resembled the texture of formica. Ghesquière has an amazing penchant for pushing fashion into heretofore unseen, brave and challenging directions, and with this collection, most other designers have now been left in the past.
1. Alexander McQueen
The collection was only 16 pieces long, but OH-EM-GEEEE!! I dunno if McQueen's talents were human, but this man was the best designer around, and this collection proves why. His attention to detail was flawless, and only eclipsed by his tailoring. The collection had a poetic, medieval beauty that dealt with religious iconography and of course, his own personal demons. Word is, McQueen had ordered fabric that translated digital photographs of paintings of high-church angels and Bosch demons into hand-loomed jacquards. The result? Not so much clothes, but pieces of art.
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