Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: Fashion

Balmain Couture Spring 2019

Whether you consider yourself to be a paid up member of the Balmain Army or not, you absolutely can not deny the brand power of this Fashion House.  Having risen almost stratospherically and relying on celebrity friends (Kardashians anyone?) to boost the projectile of the brand, Olivier Rousteing has transformed the once tired House of Balmain since he took the reins in 2011.  Rousteing overhauled the brand and its logo, giving it a signature, luxe aesthetic, with each new season came a fresh new look, with the same underpinnings of luxury and opulence.  The Balmain customer was rich, and worth it – The Balmain Army was born and Rousteing became known for his diverse runways.

But for everything Rousteing was known for, Couture was not one of them.  In the 16 years he has held the helm of Balmain, he has not once produced a couture collection preferring to work the commercial runways of Global Fashion Month, producing a collection of lipsticks with L’Oreal, and even producing a limited collection for Victoria’s Secret which was hugely lucrative for the brand and has since led to further designer collaborations for the lingerie giant.

Now in 2019 as Olivier Rousteing prepares to open the brand’s flagship on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris, Balmain is ready to embrace couture in a big way, and what better way to show it to the world than in the brand new flagship store prior to its opening?

For his first couture collection, Rousteing went maximalist, leaving the wearability for the mainline runways he sent a futuristic collection down his runway embodying the perfect “21st Century Vision” which looked more rooted in and inspired by the exaggerated shapes of the 80’s and Total Recall.  Using a mostly monochrome palette and a focus on geometric shapes, at times this collection looked like a page from a middle grade math book, I guess in kind of a good way.

“It’s just good to challenge myself. Sometimes fashion loves putting people in a box. I’m obsessed with embroideries…but I can do cuts, and my cuts can be as maximalist as my embroideries”  Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director, Balmain.

Once you lift away some of the more exaggerated shapes, that signature Balmain aesthetic is definitely still there and on some of the embroidered pieces it’s more apparent at first glance.  But then I guess that’s what couture is about, it’s about pushing boundaries, moving the goalposts, creating something new in order to make someone look and feel opulent and wonderful and that’s what he’s done.  The collection looks like every item I imagine Grace Jones wears one her days off, it had accessories, it had glasses, it was an entire feast for the eyes – if a little unexpected.  It’s definitely got Lady Gaga written all over it, in fact I imagine she’s calling Olivier for her Oscar’s outfit right now….

Pixie

Categories: Fashion, Uncategorized

Viktor & Rolf Couture Spring 2019

When it comes to Couture Season, nothing really shocks any more.  We’ve had shock for shock value’s sake, and boring understated glamour that undermines what couture season is about.  Couture is about opulence and riches, it’s about made to measure and total excess, it’s about what we, the little people, will never be able to afford, and what the very rich buy just to prove they can.

a model in the Viktor & Rolf Spring 2019 Couture runway show in Paris featuring lots of tulle dresses bearing slogans, this one says "Whatever"

Couture season is just magical.  It’s like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia, it’s otherworldly, it’s a place where there are no limits, where literally anything goes.  Of course it’s rare that people lift directly from the runway with couture, although it does happen.  The beauty of it is that any of it can be changed, if you like the top of one dress and the bottom of another, it’s no problem, the fashion houses are generally pretty flexible for their couture customers, because they’re big money players and they come back season after season.  These are the people who sit at the shows, and that’s why they’re so very different to the commercial global Fashion Months that I usually attend, because the people sitting in the audience are potential buyers – for their own personal wardrobes, or personal shoppers for mega rich buyers.

For Spring 2019 Viktor & Rolf sent a super fun, playfully tongue in cheek couture collection down the Paris runway.  What was so awesome about this collection is how weirdly wearable it is in today’s fucked up society.  Yeah sure it’s huge and it’s crazy, it’s millefeuille and tulle and each piece was wider than the next, but just think about the Instagram generation.  With every piece from this collection being shared the next day in a meme, or being described as a mood or a vibe, it’s clear that Viktor & Rolf have tapped not just a whole new demographic, but an entire new market: The Meme Re-Share Generation.  It’s a solid generation who can get a picture seen by millions of people in minutes.  They can convert it into video, overlay music, turn it into streetwear, and before you know it, Viktor & Rolf is a name known by a whole new generation who maybe only ever heard of it in relation to its Flowerbomb fragrance and quite possible don’t know what couture is, or why it even exists.  Boom.

It’s the power of the slogan tee, applied to couture, with a little bit of simple math.

It’s a clever and very appealing collection, one I adore because of it’s extravagance, but also it’s simplicity, I’d wear every single piece, to wash the dishes, to do the school run, I’d style the absolute hell out of it because it’s cool as fuck and I get it – it’s hilarious.  I can’t wait to see them gift something to Celeste Barber, I think this would be the perfect collection for a partnership.  We’ve seen her with Tom Ford, I’d absolutely love to see her do something with this on the red carpet.

Pixie

Categories: Fashion, Models, Uncategorized

London Fashion Week FW17: Hellavagirl Couture

Fresh off the back of her 2016 Britain’s Top Designer win, Helen Woollams has created what’s surely her best visual spectacle yet for Hellavagirl’s FW17 showcase at Fashion Scout.  I headed out to the Freemason’s Hall in a leather A-line skirt (to protect me from the elements) to share this awesome collection with you.  I got to go backstage prior to the show too but that’s a whole other story…..

The Last Dawn on Mars FW17 –A Post apocalyptic inspired couture collection with dark undertones and a regal rock and roll edge, a dys(co)topian future if you will, filled with couture robots to blow your circuits.

The opening look set the tone for the show, a shimmering oversized gown masked the model’s limbs giving the illusion of exaggerated height, topped off with a ginormous flower crown beyond even your wildest dreams, fashioned out of paper by specialist crafters, Tissue Blossoms.

A silver two piece consisting of harem pants and a metallic, frilled top dripping with emerald coloured stones (one of my favourite looks) gave off a space age mermaid vibe as an awesome follow up to the opener.  From the Frow, in the VIP section no less, I had a fantastic view of this exciting showcase, a collection which tests boundaries and challenges proportions.  A glittertastic, brocade wrapped, flower topped collection of couture for confident, powerful women who don’t fall at the feet of men.

Woollams’ collections are always strong, but FW17 is the dark side of the fairytale.  For every wooded tower that hides a princess there’s a gothic witch just wishing she had Hellavagirl on speed dial; it’s exactly that kind of devilishly flirtatious drama.  A hybrid of couture and RTW, this is a collection available to buy and wear but it’s not for the faint of heart.  Filled to he brim with sequins, sparkle, tulle and brocade, it’s dramatic, confident and filled with personality.

Personally, I adored the show, I was keen to see how Woollams would build on her 2016 national recognition and was pleasantly unsurprised.  It’s great to see that she’s stuck to the principles that made her stand out from the crowd in the first place, staying firmly within her talent niche there’s a definite Hellavagirl aesthetic developing.  Creating unapologetic proportions and dramatic shapes that scream “Don’t fuck with me” – a bold trouser with added width at the hip, or a voluminous jacket with looping shoulders, the knack for creating these exaggerated silhouettes has become Woollams’ signature and it’s one I hope she’ll keep as she’s edging the pack.

When I started writing this post I knew it had to be image led as The Last Dawn on Mars is a collection that has to be viewed to be appreciated.  A distinct Bowie influence makes the collection beautifully bittersweet, but I’ll leave you to make your own assessment.  I can’t wait to see what Hellavagirl brings us in September for SS18 and I’ll be waiting with bated breath for another look inside the mind of Helen Woollams.  So for now Voyeurs, enjoy The Last Dawn on Mars…….

Pixie xo

 

 

Categories: Uncategorized

YSL: Style Is Eternal Exhibition

“If Chanel gave women their freedom, it was Saint Laurent who empowered them.” Pierre Bergé

Two years in the making, months of planning and an iconic dress restored to its former glory just in the nick of time.  – Of course I’m talking about the arrival of the hotly anticipated Yves Saint Laurent: Style is Eternal exhibition to The Bowes Museum.

Business Partner and one time life partner of Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé arrived in County Durham on Wednesday ahead of the exhibition’s launch accompanied by staff from his Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, and long standing friend of the pair, Baroness Helene Ludinghausen.

At 89, Bergé is still very much the lifeblood of the Fondation he so painstakingly created in order to preserve the legacy of Saint Laurent.  He admits that still now, he is surprised when he comes across something in the archives that he had forgotten about and how Saint Laurent’s genius is apparent in everything he ever created.

Bergé had a reputation for being cold and hard in the days of the Yves Saint Laurent house of couture, and when Saint Laurent died in 2008 this appeared to soften him.  At the press conference for Style is Eternal, Bergé was surprisingly open and frank in sharing his love for Saint Laurent.

“(Saint Laurent) was very, very nice. Very nice.  He loved people, his family and his staff were important to him and he loved them.  It’s difficult to understand. He was a fascinating man, very, very bright. And as you can see very talented.” – Pierre Bergé, President Le Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent.

Saint Laurent is largely credited with bringing the discussion of gender in fashion to the table, cutting the first trouser suit for women which ultimately lead to the launch of Le Smoking, the now infamous women tuxedo, recognisable the world over.  The designer was a perfectionist, and Bergé smiles when talking about this, “I’ve known him ask people to unpick a dress and start from scratch all for a millimetre.”

When asked about the perfect relationship between business and fashion, Bergé is resolute, “When Yves was sick in hospital, after he was dismissed by the house of Christian Dior and I went to see him, he said you know what we need to do?  Create a house of haute couture.” and from there the house of Yves Saint Laurent was born.  “I didn’t want to be a business man. Absolutely not.  So, of course, I became a business man.” laughs Bergé.  He says that their success together was down to one thing, their respect for each others role.  “I decided to respect the creation above the business. Creation comes first and business after.” Talking frankly, Bergé claims that although there are certainly talented designers around today, fashion is now all about marketing and not about the metier.

 “When we started, Yves and I, marketing meant nothing to us. That’s not a language I understand.”

Some of the most iconic pieces in fashion history have been created by the house of Yves Saint Laurent.  From the safari jacket to the Mondrian dress, each is instantly recognisable.  Described as a fashion maverick, in 1966 , he opened the first prêt-à-porter boutique to bear a couturier’s name, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and it’s there that he worked to create the modern woman’s wardrobe looking to art and history for inspiration.

“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” – Yves Saint Laurent

So, why The Bowes Museum and not London?  Given the success of Savage Beauty at the V&A some would say that Bergé has missed a trick hosting the first ever YSL retrospective in the North of England in a small market town of 5000 people; “Because they asked” says Bergé, “It’s so very like France, I could be in Paris in this beautiful museum in such a beautiful part of the country, it’s perfect and the weather is also beautiful.”  A 17th century style French chateau in sprawling English countryside – it couldn’t be more perfect for one of the last real couturiers to allow the public to breathe in his work.

The Bowes Museum, already filled with predominantly French objets d’art, has cleared its existing fashion and textiles hall to make way for the exhibition comprising fifty iconic pieces from the YSL archives including the famous Zephirine dress, created by Saint Laurent during his time at Christian Dior and modelled by his favourite model Victoire Doutreleau in 1958 at Blenheim Palace.  The dress was recently rediscovered in storage in the Palais Galliera in Paris and painstakingly restored for this very exhibition – A real coup for both The Bowes and the North East region.  There are over 1000 YSL accessories on display too, from hats to earrings and headdresses as well as swatches and buttons.

The exhibition is delivered over three rooms on the first floor; room 2 is where Joanna Hashagen, Fashion Curator at The Bowes Museum has used existing items from The Bowes’ fashion and textiles exhibition, to marry YSL’s most recognisable pieces with their historical influences.  With the YSL creation as the headline piece in each of the five themed glass boxes, this room in the exhibition is heavily supplemented with period pieces.

Room 3 is where the magic happens.  In a similar vein to Claire Wilcox with Savage Beauty, Hashagen has created five main themes: Art, Spectaculaire, Transparency, Masculin / Feminin and The Alchemy of Style.  The pieces on display in this room are all showstoppers.  Put simply, this is the best of Saint Laurent and it’s right here in the glorious North East.

From the sheer pieces on display in Transparency, which Bergé says were “truly shocking” to people when first unveiled, to the striking tributes to artists Piet Mondrian and Picasso in Art, each piece has its own place in history and the craftsmanship is undeniable.  With embroidery, paillette layering and harlequin patching taking centerstage, it’s hard not to be blown away by the magnitude and importance of this small but perfectly formed exhibition.

“We are honoured to host the first exhibition in the UK of Yves Saint Laurent, one of the most influential designers of all time.  We are thrilled to work alongside the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, on an innovative display that introduces a dialogue between the designers’ body of work and The Bowes Museum’s collection.” – Joanna Hashagen

There are previously unseen sketches, collection boards, toiles, hat blocks and of course, Saint Laurent’s beloved paper dolls on display throughout the exhibition.  The dolls were cut from his mother magazines in his teens and he would design outfits for them using paper, giving us a small glimpse at his early genius.

I attended the press launch in advance of the exhibition opening and had a chance to chat with Helene Ludinghausen, former Head of Couture for Yves Saint Laurent who told me that “The Bowes museum is absolutely the right place for this retrospective and Yves would have loved it, everything about it.”  And I agree, whilst it’s an unexpected choice for an exhibition of this stature, it’s aesthetically and culturally perfect.  she also told me that she loved my Chanel boots and McQueen frock but let’s keep it Saint Laurent…..

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Bergé’s parting statement about Saint Laurent is poignant; “You have to understand he was a very shy person, a beautiful, shy person.  Shy people are always the strong, tough people.”

With the exhibition opening to the public on Saturday, it’s an absolute must for fashion lovers everywhere and for anyone who understands the cultural importance of Saint Laurent in fashion.  Go, soak it up and then go again, it’s probably the only chance you’ll ever get to be around such iconic master pieces and it’s well worth it.

Pixie x

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Categories: Uncategorized

Paris Couture Week: Versace

As the Fashion Flock gather in Paris for Paris Couture Week, I’m sad to say that today I’m cooped up in the UK, not cleared to fly after complications during surgery last week *sadface*.

Couture Week is one of my favourite fixtures in the fashion calendar, it’s when designers wheel out the big guns and the artistry and craftsmanship is second to none.  Let it be said that couture can NEVER be replicated on the high street and if you see it attempted – back away slowly…..

Everything about Couture Week is over the top, even the street stylers take it up a notch during this assembly of the worlds finest couturiers; the gowns are spectacular and the couture brides are to die for, it’s as much about spectacle and marvel and ‘look what I can do’ as it is about beautiful gowns.  First up, Atelier Versace.  After an awful few months for Paris, Couture Week has put fashion firmly back at the top of the gorgeous city’s agenda, proving that Paris will not be moved from what it so beautifully stands for.

The Fash Pack descended on the first of the couture shows and revelled in awe at the bespoke runway consisting of 25,000 real orchids encased under glass creating a violet and golden coloured brick effect.

The show opened with current Versace muse and Vogue cover girl, Lara Stone in a bohemian style dipped hem frock with seventies style colour matched disco boots, setting the tone for the whole show, closely followed by several pastel coloured looks in the same vein.  Very frothy and pretty but tame by Couture Week standards.

With a whole host of Versace muses past and present from Sasha Luss and Anya Rubik through to Lara Stone and Doutzen Kroes, Donatella’s goddess’ were joined by Kendall Jenner making her debut for the house of Versace, and in couture no less.  Nice work if you can get it.

As the shows story progressed, the gowns became more dramatic with that Versace modern classic split characteristic creeping in.  With sheer panels and frothy detailing, gowns appeared to float as their long lines covered models feet.

In what is surely Donatella’s strongest couture presentation since Atelier Versace’s relaunch in 2012, the designer appears to have found her groove and she’s milking it for all it’s worth.  With fashion thoroughbreds, including Naomi Campbell and Rosie Huntington Whiteley changing into runway fresh gowns for the amfAR dinner later tonight, the brands exposure is huge, and for all the right reasons.

For the climax of the show, Donatella brought out the heavyweights, (or maybe that should be featherweights?)  The gowns were wispy and featherlight, seemingly floating on a breeze.  Gowns trailed past onlookers creating a ‘just descended from heaven’ effect and bodices were fashioned from wrought iron giving a tough, aggressive edge.  This was raw femininity with an industrial vibe.

The show closed with Karlie Kloss in an ethereal mauve gown which she was sewn into backstage, topped with a Coachella worthy crown.  With uber floaty swathes of fabric, the procession of models appeared to glide down the runway, like an aggressive gang of industrial goddesses on a mission.

The collection is strong.  – So strong in fact that there are flashes of 90’s Gianni through it, especially in the structured black numbers.  With Donatella Versace cementing herself perfectly as a prime fixture of Couture Week, I’m excited about what’s to come.  With Dior, Giambattista Valli and Chanel in the coming days who knows what Paris has in store for us…

Pixie x

Every look from the Atelier Versace show is in the slideshow below.

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