Top Ten Collecion: Lanvin S/S 2009

Elbaz is a genius. The end.

Top Ten Collection: Celine S/S 2009

Ivana Omazic got the short end of the stick, showing this collection after Philo was already announced as the new head of the label. But, judging from this collection, I can't imagine that would be true for long. This is a collection full of luxurious basics and beautiful, wearable pieces.



There were a few rock n roll prints mixed in.







The overwhelming effect is very modern princess. But not a shut up in the castle waiting for her prince type of princess but a modern woman balancing work and family and friends and yoga and shopping who wants to feel beautiful and feminine, no matter what she is doing. Who wants to feel beautiful without looking like she is trying.



My favorite pieces of this collection. I love the contrasting rich black against the white of the coat. The grey keeps the ombre dress from trying to hard. It is a piece you look at again and again instead of a piece that jumps out at you, demanding your attention. Elegance is quiet, as is the overall effect of this collection.

Top Ten Collection: Valentino S/S 2009

Maybe I am the only person, but I am sorry to see Facchinetti leave Valentino. I was cautious when she was hired, but I really love what she has done. I love the romantic clothes she created and this collection was one of my favorites of the season. I thought she was doing a great job of modernizing and expanding the Valentino aesthetic. I'll be interested to see where she lands next.

I loved the detailing and the draping of this collection. I loved this collection that was romantic without being fussy (or fusty) and the saturated hues were beautiful.

Top Ten Collections: John Galliano S/S 2009

Prints! Florals! Intense colors! Cotton candy pinks! Brittania! Edwardian references! Crazy hats! It's a Galliano show!







I don't have much to say about this collection but I did enjoy the clothes, as always.

Top Ten Collections: Anna Sui S/S 2009

Every time I look at this collection, I think about how fun it is. It's a collection that makes me smile. I want to grab any one of these dresses and a pair of sandals and go to the beach. Or pair them with tights and a cardigan and wear them to a weekend lunch. These are clothes that make you feel good. Not everything in the world has to make A Statement of Grand Importance. Sometimes you just want to wear something that makes you smile and my mood brightens every time I look at these clothes.

Top Ten Collections: Nina Ricci S/S 2009

This show will certainly not be known for the variety of silhouettes or for some kind of radical departure from Theyskens' vision. Instead, this collection functions as kind of a ground zero for both Theyskens' aesthetic and for his creative process. The procession of dresses, all in various stages of being 'finished', shows the process.

We spend so much time looking at the finished product of a dress or a pair of shoes or a shirt that we lose sight of everything beneath the surface. A pair of pants might be a product, an object of commerce to be bought and sold but making a pair of pants is an act of creation, on par, at the level that Theyskens works, with any painting or sculpture or photograph shown at an exhibit or museum. By putting the process onstage, the contrast between art and commerce is fuzzed a bit.

Flyaway cutting, florals, tails, colors with a touch of grey, strong shoulders and a general turn of the last century mood all showed up in this collection. He didn't really do anything he hadn't done before. Instead, this collection was more of a reduction: taking all of the flavors he favors and concentrating them into one single collection.

Top Ten Collections: Jonathan Saunders S/S 2009

This collection was princess dressing for the modern woman. Bright shimmery colors and clean, military cut jackets are contrasted with intricately draped skirts that create volume while not being heavy or weighed the look down.



I love the way that the skirt is draped from the hem instead of falling from the waist. It creates a really interesting skirt.





I love these color blocked dresses. I love the combination of colors and the color blocking is really used in a way that compliments the body and creates curves. The long dress uses the black to curve and it is accented by the train. The colors are rich without being loud. And I love the way the short dress is layered and has an ombre effect. Giving the dress more visual interest. I would have thought that an ombre, color blocked dress would look busy or tacky but the light fabrics and gentle silhouette keep the dress sweet.

Vogue US Feb 2009

I admit that I spend a lot of time giving US Vogue a hard time for its blah styling and racial politics that are dated beyond belief. Given that, I have to give them credit for this month's issue. An article about a black woman, combined with three black models cast in two different editorials (and not all clustered together one right after each other! and cast in edits with white models!) was definitely a step in the right direction.

Also, the Meisel shoot is *fun* and well worth a look, no matter what your feelings about the magazine or the models cast.

Top Ten Collections: Dries Van Noten S/S 2009

Art and functionality are not exclusive. Functional clothes do not have to be boring. Wearable and beautiful are not oppositional. If many designers struggle with the art vs. commerce balancing act, van Noten does not seem to see it as a balancing act at all. If the question of most seasons is "either/or", this collection replies "both".









The ombre effect of both dresses is so beautiful.

No, I don't have much to say about this collection. Sometimes a dress is worth a thousand words.

Top Ten Collections: Narciso Rodriguez S/S 2009

Rodriguez showed a bondage themed collection that makes me wish that this label could get its finances in order. The rope and electrical tape references created a collection that was subtly fetishistic but with individual pieces that were mostly defined by how beautiful and feminine they were. The criss-crosssed motif, repeated throughout this collection, added an undercurrent to the feminine colors and softly draped skirts that were seen in this collection. I love the under structure of this second dress. The look of the internal boning and corseting. Of course, the color is fabulous as well.



One of the best looks of this collection. The symmetry and two dimensionality of the top is contrasted with the asymmetrically draped skirt and the way that that draping gives the skirt a great sense of being three dimensional, a lovely sense of occupying space and not just being clothes for a paper doll. The sweep of the skirt and the seeming primness of the top are illusions. The top is fairly tiny and the skirt is short. It is feminine and soft at first glance, it is only upon reflection that the clothes become subversively fetishistic.



I love the way that print is used to accentuate and/or help create shape.



Another example of really interesting internal corseting. I love the other dress because it isn't off the shoulder. If this dress had just been one shouldered, it would have been fine. But it is the other shoulder strap that gives the dress a sense of contrast and makes it more visually interesting.



This dress is one of my favorites of the season. I love the way that the print is one that makes it look like the dress is created out of pencil scribblings or string. It is a two dimensional drawing of a dress come to life in a very literal way. It's so technically accomplished and pretty. I am impressed every time I see it and I want to look at it again and again to figure out how it works so well. In fact, that desire really encapsulates how I felt about this entire collection. I wanted to keep looking and looking so I could see how all the magic (and this collection was definitely magic) happened.