Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011: Valentino--Photos and Entire Runway Video!!

Big (Valentino) Love:

Amalfi Coast Yacht Party: Silk plisse gown with Ruff-neck cape featuring circular "Valentino" hem detail, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Valentino House Designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli showed their latest offering for Haute Couture this past week in Paris. It was an elegant, subdued, more "realistic" vision of Couture, which is what Valentino has always been known for. Very 60's, early 70's influences and lots of nods to the House, including Lady-Like "Daywear"--almost very "HBO's Big Love"-esque, ultra feminine evening, and THAT "Valentino Red" naturally peeked through. This looks like a very sellable collection and meant for Valentino's older client base as well as their granddaughters with taste.

Where's My Caprese Salad: From Lunch to Cocktails, Valentino blush silk organza ruffled dress, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Trends: Opaque colors, light roses, blush, red, white, nude-beige, dull blue; Lady-Like dressing; braided hair; RUFFLES Galore; high necklines; covered shoulders; mini ruffs at the neck; Neat put-together looks; lower more sensible heels.

Valentino Proper: This Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 look from above, looks a lot like...

Something actress Chloe Sevigny's character in HBO's "Big Love", would LOVE

Themes: Chloe Sevingy in HBO's "Big Love" meets Lady Who Lunches; Traditional Couture; Elizabeth Taylor meets Jackie O circa 1960.

Highlights from Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011:

Campari and Soda Please: Nude-colored coat dress with bow waist tie and mini convertible collar, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Apres Beach: Plunging ruffled neckline day-to-cocktail dress, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Hostess of The Ball: High-necked ruffled silk organza gown, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Hello Angelina Jolie: Red blouson camisole gown, Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Click Below For a Preview Video of Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011, showing the Seamstresses in Rome sewing EVERY PIECE by hand, the Fit Model modeling the clothes and then the Paris pre-show alterations and fittings:

Click Below for Entire Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Runway Show:

Read More

Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011: Jean Paul Gaultier

Punk Can Can!

Le Suit Punk: Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Trends: Very fitted suitings; longer jackets; skinny pants; salmon pink, black, white, golden beige; high-low (short in front, long in back) gowns; pants under gowns.

Themes: Punk Couture; London; Sid Vicious (?); Can Can.

Old-School Couture Shows: Models holding Numbers, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Front Row: French actress Arielle Dombasle

Pedro Almodovar and Catherine Deneuve

Highlights Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011:

Salmon Trench: One shoulder trench coat double-breasted gown, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

High-Low Numero Un: Black-White Halter Gown with Chantilly Lace lining and skinny pants, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

High-Low Numero Deux: Black Off the Shoulder Gown featuring "Can Can" Ruffled Skirt and White Cuffed Trousers, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Sexy Punk Mistress: Off-white fitted gown, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Le Ball London: Black and white gown, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Click Below for Behind-the-Scenes and Edited Video of Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 :

Read More

Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011: Givenchy Haute Couture

Nippon Robot Couture

Tokyo Goddess: Gown--and Phillip Treacy-designed Headdress--from Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Next up on the Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week Calendar: Givenchy Haute Couture. Designed by the House's Creative Director Riccardo Tisci, the Collection was said to have been inspired by Japanese Robots (therefore the exaggerated "Wing" headdresses and wing detail of the jackets and gowns) as well as dancer Kazuo Ohno, who passed away last June and became a Muse for Tisci. To highlight this incredible collection, Tisci used a cast of ONLY Asian models including Liu Wen, Shu Pei Qin and Tao Okamoto (hurray for the ASIANAS!), who looked absolutely GORGEOUS from these photos.

Trends: "Winged" appliqué and embroidery; blush colors, light rose, "pops" of neon orange, bubblegum pink, and "Highlighter" yellow; gowns with both "hard" and "soft" detail; plissé fabric; evening gowns with SLEEVES and STRONG SHOULDERS; silhouettes that are fitted up top, flowy and loose from the waist.

Themes: Japanese Robots, dancer Kazuo Ohno (above), Wings, Body Armour; Skeletal Study.

Highlights from Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011:

The Back: Back of previous gown at beginning of this post; Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Strong-shouldered jacket and gown, Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

The Back of above ensemble; Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Oscar Dress: Strong-shouldered Lilac gown, Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Feathered Robotica: Ombre feathered gown with sheer illusion (for the Red Carpet this will be lined for sure!) and appliquéd "wings", Givenchy Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Read More

Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week: Stéphane Rolland

Power Draping

Prized Invitation: My Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 Invitation

Two weeks ago, I received a very nice Invitation in the mail (tied in a grosgrain copper-colored bow) from Paris (I know!) from the House of Stephane Rolland, Haute Couture Fashion Designer, inviting me to attend his Spring/Summer 2011 Haute Couture fashion show. Well, unfortunately, I couldn't attend (I'm hoping I will receive another invitation for the Fall/Winter 2011 Show!) but instead, I got to enjoy the next best thing: Photos of the show which occurred yesterday.

Now THAT'S A Sleeve: Wheat-colored asymmetrical dress with exaggerated sleeve, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Stephane Rolland has never met a DRAPE he did not like! Strong, Powerful, Take-No-Prisoners Couture. The line-up was for the "New" 21st Century Roman/Grecian Goddess. Gowns, Gowns and more Gowns...Showstopping dresses that can cost as much as a Mercedes Benz and meant for the A-list actresses and singers who can borrow them--as well as the Middle Eastern Divas who can afford them. I absolutely LOVED the collection. It got my heart doing an excited pitter-patter! Now, THIS...is what Couture is all about. Now, I am REALLY depressed I couldn't attend (insert sad face).

High-Low White: Coat-Gown with high front and long back train in silk gazar with exaggerated shoulders and plunging neckline, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Trends: High-low gowns; SLEEVES; structural and ARCHITECTURAL draping and folds; plunging necklines; Plisses/Fortuny pleating; Colors: ivory, pumpkin orange, bronzed copper, black, gold; metallic accents.

High-Low Black: Mock-turtleneck dress with high front and flowy train back, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Themes: Sparta Queen meets Greco-Roman Warrior Princess; Making an Entrance DIVA; Venus Comes out of the Sea...in one of these Gowns!

Clients Include:

Queen Rania of Jordan

Skeikha Mozah Bint Nasser of Qatar and...

Rihanna

Here are more Highlights from Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011:

Oscar Gown: Strapless bronzed copper side-draped gown, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Orangina Diva: Plunging neckline silk gown with fitted sleeves, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Imagine Steaming This: Strapless bronzed copper colored silk gown, Stephane Rolland Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011

Read More

The McQueen of China: Designer Guo Pei's "Arabian 1002Th Night" Haute Couture Fashion Show

China Couture Dolls...

Where's my Damn Tea: A design from Guo Pei's "Arabian 1002Th Night" Haute Couture Fashion Show, Beijing

Recently, while doing my weekly (fashion) reading--I came across this Couture Gem, thanks to NY Times Fashion Critic and Writer Cathy Horyn: Last week, in the T Magazine Blog for NYTimes.com article "Year of the Couturière", she spotlighted Chinese Couturier Guo Pei.

Who is Guo Pei? Guo Pei has been designing Haute Couture in Beijing China, through her Atelier "Mei Gui Fang", or Rose Studio for over ten years. All the creations in Guo’s studio are made entirely by hand and they take hundreds or sometimes tens of thousands of hours, to create. When she began her Atelier, she had to teach her seamstresses in the French Art of Haute Couture in order to create her intricate creations. Her workers weren't used to the unusual pattern-making, draping and fabric manipulations which Guo Pei required. But from the looks of these gowns, I think they've learned!

Her works feature many factors of Chinese culture but, at the same time, still retain a Western elegance, directionality and sensibility that has garnered the obvious comparisons to the late Alexander McQueen as well as John Galliano.

Pei, also designed costumes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including the gown worn by singer Song Zuying (seen above) when she performed at the Closing Ceremonies with tenor Placido Domingo. The gown had 200,000 hand-encrusted Swarovski crystals! The designer has become quite the hit with all the A-List Chinese actresses like Zhang Ziyi, as well as all those girlfriends of the newly-minted multi-millionaires in that country who can afford her one-of-kind creations.

Carmen Empress: Model Carmen Dell'Orefice at the Guo Pei "Arabian 1002Th Night" Haute Couture Fashion Show, Beijing

Last November, she showed her Spring/Summer 2010 Haute Couture Collection entitled "Arabian One Thousand and Two Nights" where Guo Pei showcased 16 Works of Haute Couture Art. The entire show lasted 76 minutes (most fashion shows run just under 15 minutes). The ensembles were KRAZEEEE!!! She even flew out 78 year old SUPER SUPER Model, Carmen Dell'Orefice to model in her show, decked out like a Ming Empress from a Gay Man's Dream! Lord knows who payed for all of it. Not sure she's making enough of an income to mount such a multi-million dollar show--flying out Miss Dell'Orefice and having her walk in your show can set you back an easy $20,000 alone--but whoever is backing Guo Pei, please keep doing it!

No detail was left unnoticed--from the set, the hair, the make-up, the buffed "Boys-In-Waiting" to even the footwear, of course. These Platform Bootie Pumps (above) make Alexander McQueen's infamous "Armadillo Shoes look like kid-stuff!!

Lady Gaga Wet Dream: A Ball Gown from Guo Pei "Arabian 1002Th Night" Haute Couture Fashion Show, Beijing

In addition, when seeing the video below, all I kept thinking was: Lady Gaga. However, if you read HERE (and in the T Magazine article), it seems that Guo Pei could care less if the biggest star in the Universe wears her creations, or not. How do you say "Ouch!" and "Snap!" in Mandarin??? Well, enough of all that, let's just take a look at THAT UNBELIEVABLE show:

Watch the edited--but still AWESOME--Gui Pei Haute Couture "Arabian 1002TH Night" Fashion Show:

Also a great Behind The Scenes Video:

Read More

62nd Primetime Emmy Awards: Who Wore What?: Claire Danes in Armani Prive

Armani Prive scores high with Claire Danes. It's a strapless--fitted to an inch of her life-- golden creme "Siren" gown with a dramatic train (of course!) from his Fall 2010 Couture line as seen on Supermodel Carmen Kass on the right. The gown looks simple enough but trust me, there's a corset built inside that would rival any from the Marie Antoinette days! It is just so crazy to me that whereas before, Haute Couture (gowns costing from $50,000 to $150,000 EACH!) were reserved just for the Oscars, now the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Houses are "expanding" their Awards Show PR Network and lending these for Emmys, Golden Globes and even (gasp!) the Grammys!

Read More

Paris Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010: Givenchy and Jean Paul Gaultier

Couture Spine, Dita Von Teese and Mink Breasts?Givenchy Haute Couture:
Designer Riccardo Tisci decided to present his Givenchy Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010 Collection--only 10 looks--in a more "intimate" stage, as opposed to a grand runway show. Therefore editors could look at the incredible workmanship and Tisci's dark eye for detail more closely. Zippers had bone pulls, jackets were carved out from leather as well as double silk duchesse satins to suggest a spine, or a skeletal structure.Black patchwork leather coat and Ombre feathered gown, Givenchy Haute Couture F/W 2010

Gowns were fitted and flared below the knee and over-embroidered with laces, leather and falling into cascades of feathers. Colors went from Winter White to Ombre metallics and grays as well as black. It was as if glorious birds had been in a storm and stripped of almost their entire feathered coverings only to reveal a stunning inner Couture structure with their feathered tails still intact.
Front View: Back View:
"Skeleton"-like embroidered lace and feather gown, Givenchy Haute Couture F/W 2010

Models will love these gowns for Met Opening events and the like. But I suppose those actual Couture-purchasing ladies in Russia, the Middle East and China will want to have the Atelier pack on a few more of the embroideries, well, to make it more "appropriate" for those private evening soirees in St. Petersburg, Riyadh or Beijing. Tisci, himself stated that 70% of the pieces that are ordered are altered to the customers specifications.

Click Below for a Video of Givenchy Haute Couture F/W 2010 Presentation:


Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture:Liza Would DIE: Gold lurex and silk batwing ensemble, cigarette holder and turban extra; Gaultier Haute Couture F/W 2010

Paris' enfant terrible, Jean Paul Gaultier, capped off Paris F/W 2010 Haute Couture Fashion Week with a show that was all at once elegant, directional, kitchy, Parisian, had slight nods to the 40's and the 80's and "Old Hollywood Glamour" (there it is again!) of course. Almost every look was capped with an exaggerated twist-knot turban that would make both Norma Desmond AND Lady Gaga SCREAM! The Collection was full of Le Batwing; infusing it from everything from trench coats (a Gaultier "signature") jumpsuit gowns and even his finale wedding gown, a Batwing Trench coat, of course (see above photo). Gaultier even showed his signature cone bras in mink with one wool ensemble. Try walking into the Plaza Athenee in this get-up next time you are in Paris kids. One of my favorites was this gunmetal ostrich-feathered and sequined cocktail number that had Josephine Baker written ALL OVER it!
The Close-Up detail is just incredible! Now, this is what you show up to the Grammys wearing!
The show ended with special guest model, the one and only Dita Von Teese, who sashayed in a Couture Negligee as only she would, showing the new line of Jean Paul Gaultier lingerie for La Perla. Vive le Kitsch, Vive La France and Vive L'enfant Terrible Gaultier.

Below for Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture F/W 2010 Edited Runway show:


Click Below for a Behind-The-Scenes of Gaultier Haute Couture Fittings:

Read More