[7.3.08]

PARIS COUTURE: CHANEL
By: Lisa Tant

Lisa Tant blogs from Paris

Recession? Who cares? That word held as much interest as “budget” this week in Paris. Four days of couture collections kicked off on Monday and the super-rich arrived to shop, shop, shop. These are the customers who expect their bling to be real and their clothes to fit precisely. You won’t find them combing the “soldes” (sales) racks.

For those who peg haute couture as a dying industry, think again. Thanks to an influx of nouveau mega-wealth from Russia, the Middle East and Asia, couture is stronger than ever. Chanel, one of the most popular houses, reported its best season ever in January – pretty impressive when a suit starts at $20,000 and dresses are commonly $100,000+.

Daphne Guinness

I’m here by invitation of Chanel to join other international fashion editors, clients and a handful of celebrities for the Winter 2008 couture collection. Patricia Arquette, Leigh Lezark from The Misshapes, and Claudia Schiffer are here but most of the paparazzi excitement flaps over fashion eccentric (and aspiring fashion designer and film director) Daphne Guinness. I watch her leaving the Ritz Hotel where she teeters over the cobblestones in 7” Louboutin “limo” pumps, and a gold sequined yoked Chanel micro mini dress cinched with a perforated leather corset belt. Her skunk stripe hair and jeweled silver rings shaped like glove fingers top it all off. Fabulous!

Karl Lagerfeld

The show is indeed all about tubes and architecture. Silhouettes are softly rounded and cropped sharply above the knee or long and lean. Tube-like sequins fall from yokes and tube-styled ruching nips in the waist of jackets and dresses. Diagonal tucking shapes evening dresses and accordion style sleeves look like gothic buttresses or tightly swirled puffs. Highlights include tweed suits glistening with a subtle shower of crystals; mink or chinchilla hems softening short skirts; a long pearl grey gown with its hood packed with handcrafted rosettes; and just about every one of the stunning cocktail dresses. The palette is grey, smoke, black and violet with a few hits of pink – like a stormy yet sensual rainy day. The detail is breathtaking to the very last outfit – the ultimate bride dressed like a fluttery white bird in a tulle headdress and cape.

These women like their jewellery real so accessories are kept to a minimum – matching tweed shoes with Lucite heels, dainty fingerless gloves punctuated with medallions, and a few whimsical face frames.

Each of the models wears a banged and bobbed wig – eerily similar to front row regular Anna Wintour. The makeup is pretty with silvery grey eye shadow extending from lash line to brows and balanced by pretty natural pink lips.

Photos from the couture show press package, all shot by Karl Lagerfeld.
Hair by Odile Gilbert
Makeup, Chanel.

[7.2.08]

Portrait of Valentino Garavani © DR

RED CARPET KING It's no wonder A-listers and royalty flock to Valentino for their red carpet gowns and suits. Take a closer look yourself if you happen to be in Paris before September 21. Valentino: Themes et Variations is an exhibit highlighting the Roman master's designs from the early 60s to his last couture collection shown this past January. Each display features a different theme including florals, fur, animal prints, volume, texture and his all-important evening signature - the colour red. Valentino wasn't a minimalist - the evening gown designs are a flurry of ruffles, tiers, lace, sequinned appliques and embroidery. Yet the pieces that I really love are dead simple like a red column with a draped back and single jewelled clasp on one shoulder. The pieces that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis favoured focused on these simple lines in luxurious fabrics. The last case is a confection of some of his prettiest pastel gowns all from his last ready-to-wear collection - the show I saw last October. Like a sinfully sugary dessert, it's a fitting finale for such a rich exhibit. I'm curious to see how Alessandra Facchinetti, who has taken over the design reigns, will fare in her first couture collection for the label. Just imagine trying to step into his shoes - it would be kind of like attempting to jog in the newest 7 inch stilettos.
-Lisa Tant

Check out the Valentino Gallery »

[7.1.08]

Dovima et les éléphants, Robe du soir de Dior, Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, 1955.		Twiggy, coiffure de Ara Gallant, studio de Paris, janvier 1968.
Photographie Richard Avedon © 2008 the Richard Avedon Foundation

MASTER OF FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY If you're in Paris this summer, don't miss the retrospective of fashion photographer Richard Avedon's work. I saw a similar exhibit in New York at the time of his death (2004) and have never seen a more comprehensive and thought-provoking collection from any major photographer since. While Avedon was best known for his energetic fashion shoots - a style he pioneered for Harper's Bazaar and American Vogue - the most stunning shots in the exhibit are black and white portraits of ordinary Americans, many from the South. These aren't air-brushed beauty queens or aspiring models but farm labourers (including a 13 year old snake skinner) and KKK members. Check out the 270 photos at the Jeu de Paume, Concorde (1, place de la Concorde, 8th) until September 28. www.jeudepaume.org

-Lisa Tant