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Groover for spring
February 15, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
CERTAIN couture designers moved into familiar grooves for spring, with signature motifs ranging from intricate draping to bold curves.
Jean Paul Gaultier:
Sharp lines and rapturous curves - they comprise both calligraphy and couture. So perhaps it makes sense that the designer, a master at working a theme, connected the dots. The result was a collection that was often beautiful, even though multiple subplots weakened the core message. Where once Gaultier might have had feathers and embroideries, here he ornamented the clothes with bold, graceful strokes, swirling florid lines around the seductive, leg-baring slash of a cocktail dress or the border of a sweeping white gown.
The script shtick proved intrinsic to construction, as in a black-and-white lace dress that also appeared to have been inspired by cathedral arches. Countering such feminine curvature, Gaultier offered plenty of the his-for-her persuasion inspired not only by the strict side of artistic penmanship but by Klaus Nomi, the cultish German opera singer who died of AIDS in 1983. Gaultier had the performer's exaggerated V-shaped tuxedo in mind when designing his own suitings.
Nor did Gaultier stop with the contrasts there. Rather, he worked a good-girl-bad-girl motif, most obviously in a single item: a terrific black-and-white dress, angelic in front and a bit devilish in back.
Givenchy:
The huge range of designers doing ready-to-wear allows that artistically, though certainly not financially, there's room for everyone. Couture's rarefied ranks, made more so by the attrition of the last 10 years, mean that all in the game are considered on the Dior-Chanel scale, the most powerful fashion houses in the world led by two of the most genius designers who have at their disposal the two most remarkable ateliers in the world.
When those two houses produce at the pinnacle of their abilities, bust goes the curve. And that's a problem for someone like Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, a good designer yet to fully deliver on early promise. The collection Tisci presented in late January showed progress and featured some strong clothes.
Tisci married two artsy inspirations, the work of a 19th century painter, who fancied a thick carpet of rose petals perfect for sensual lounging (Tisci petaled his floor in lovely homage), and Pina Bausch's delicate dance costumes. Hence the palette of nude-to-pink tones and the languid drapiness of the cuts. Many were lovely, as Tisci tempered his grander gestures with a savvy reality factor, a chic power suit with romantic rounded shoulders; a sheath with an attitude upgrade via a dramatic asymmetric capelet.
Valentino:
The designer was applauded when he arrived at the Sorbonne for the debut of the new design team of his former house.
It was clear from the get-go after the abrupt firing of Alessandra Facchinetti that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli had a mandate: stick to the style of Valentino himself.
The jury is out as to whether Chiuri and Piccioli are up to the challenge. They've worked wonders with the accessories, and may have within themselves the stuff of fine couturiers.
Many of the clothes looked appealing enough: trim suits, mostly a megahomage to Valentino's white collection; coats detailed beautifully, either with embroideries or intricate constructions; an extensive, quite Val-like pitch to the red carpet set.
Impressively executed, they lacked neither flourish nor couture-quality craftsmanship. But many could have been sourced out of the house pattern archive. His successors deserve the chance to give it a go - their way.
Jean Paul Gaultier:
Sharp lines and rapturous curves - they comprise both calligraphy and couture. So perhaps it makes sense that the designer, a master at working a theme, connected the dots. The result was a collection that was often beautiful, even though multiple subplots weakened the core message. Where once Gaultier might have had feathers and embroideries, here he ornamented the clothes with bold, graceful strokes, swirling florid lines around the seductive, leg-baring slash of a cocktail dress or the border of a sweeping white gown.
The script shtick proved intrinsic to construction, as in a black-and-white lace dress that also appeared to have been inspired by cathedral arches. Countering such feminine curvature, Gaultier offered plenty of the his-for-her persuasion inspired not only by the strict side of artistic penmanship but by Klaus Nomi, the cultish German opera singer who died of AIDS in 1983. Gaultier had the performer's exaggerated V-shaped tuxedo in mind when designing his own suitings.
Nor did Gaultier stop with the contrasts there. Rather, he worked a good-girl-bad-girl motif, most obviously in a single item: a terrific black-and-white dress, angelic in front and a bit devilish in back.
Givenchy:
The huge range of designers doing ready-to-wear allows that artistically, though certainly not financially, there's room for everyone. Couture's rarefied ranks, made more so by the attrition of the last 10 years, mean that all in the game are considered on the Dior-Chanel scale, the most powerful fashion houses in the world led by two of the most genius designers who have at their disposal the two most remarkable ateliers in the world.
When those two houses produce at the pinnacle of their abilities, bust goes the curve. And that's a problem for someone like Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, a good designer yet to fully deliver on early promise. The collection Tisci presented in late January showed progress and featured some strong clothes.
Tisci married two artsy inspirations, the work of a 19th century painter, who fancied a thick carpet of rose petals perfect for sensual lounging (Tisci petaled his floor in lovely homage), and Pina Bausch's delicate dance costumes. Hence the palette of nude-to-pink tones and the languid drapiness of the cuts. Many were lovely, as Tisci tempered his grander gestures with a savvy reality factor, a chic power suit with romantic rounded shoulders; a sheath with an attitude upgrade via a dramatic asymmetric capelet.
Valentino:
The designer was applauded when he arrived at the Sorbonne for the debut of the new design team of his former house.
It was clear from the get-go after the abrupt firing of Alessandra Facchinetti that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli had a mandate: stick to the style of Valentino himself.
The jury is out as to whether Chiuri and Piccioli are up to the challenge. They've worked wonders with the accessories, and may have within themselves the stuff of fine couturiers.
Many of the clothes looked appealing enough: trim suits, mostly a megahomage to Valentino's white collection; coats detailed beautifully, either with embroideries or intricate constructions; an extensive, quite Val-like pitch to the red carpet set.
Impressively executed, they lacked neither flourish nor couture-quality craftsmanship. But many could have been sourced out of the house pattern archive. His successors deserve the chance to give it a go - their way.
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