Paris Fashion Week: Spring 2010 Part I

I know this entry is late as paris fashion week has been done for a bit of time now, but this entry is still going to be as good as if i had posted it earlier. paris fashion week seemed to start off slow and got better as it went on. it wasn't my fave fashion week, i prefered milan fashion week and new york fashion week the best i think, but all of the fashion weeks were so entertaining and showcased the true talent of the designers and their staff.
♥ me

isabel marant- marant's rock chick girls turn into "boho pirates" for spring 2010 according to style.com. i liked the slight irreverence of this show, it wasn't overly fashiony or serious and the slouchy boots and flouncy dresses are things i can see a lot of girls wearing.

hussein chalayan- this collection showed off a more wearable, streamlined design from chalayan than i have seen. i am much more used to his abstract, out of this world designs. the closing look, which is the white one shouldered dress to the far right is so cool because it has a white fist closing around the single shoulder strap.

givenchy- the cone hats were super weird and super ugly, but some of the clothes were actually nice. did you love this collection as much as every fashionista seems to?

giles- giles deacon really is a genius. he combined colors and fabrics that i would never think went together and made it all chic. the show was very kitschy with some dresses and other clothes featuring tarantula print. there were a lot of frills, short hemlines and outrageous accessories, but a fashionista with a more classic style sensibility could still find great pieces in this collection.

giambattista valli- i absolutely loved this show. it seemed more pared down from the usual valli shows (and it was), but as the show went on, the glamour, the structure and the beauty of his designs were apparent. featured were confetti like ruffles, feathers, huge ruffles around the neck, beaded embellishment, animal print and sheer bodices.

gareth pugh- woohoo for gareth pugh! although his shows always have a gothic overtone and i am by no means a goth, his clothes are so well made that you can't help but love his collections. these are versatile clothes that you can buy and put in your wardrobe and adapt to your style. that is the genius of gareth pugh.

emanuel ungaro- style.com is so judgmental. just because lindsay lohan's name was attached to the ungaro show it was deemed a failure. first of all, the house of ungaro got rid of it's creative director estaban cortazar and hired estrella archs and had lindsay lohan as an artistic director. for their first hand at a collection for emanuel ungaro, they did a good job. they delivered on great party dresses that a lot of young hollywood could wear. yes, the sequin heart pasties were strange, but they were few. style.com said the harem pants were absolutely atrocious, but honestly...no designer has won me over in the harem pant department, not even the loved givenchy. picking on lindsay lohan, just because she is lindsay lohan is pretty low. kudos to estrella archs and lohan for a good debut collection.

elie saab- elie saab can do no wrong. this season he took some inspiration from balmain and made an edgier collection with a darker color palette and emphasized shoulders and tight dresses. his show still had his signature stamp of class though.

collette dinnigan- lovely. my favorite piece is the aquamarine ombre sequined dress.

christian dior- amazing, as usual! :) this collection was based on 40s film noir and wartime fashion as well as playing around with the look of lingerie that john galliano explored in detail for his recent collection for christian dior.

chanel- this was a fun show that centered aroung all things country and farm based. models had wheat in their hair, walked out of a hay filled stall and walked flirtily around the chanel set with clogs and remixes of the chanel suit. a lot of great, fun, young, stylish clothes were featured that i know celebs will be jostling for. the show featured 72 beautiful looks, and all of the models looked genuinely happy to be there.

celine- phoebe philo does it again. watching this show made me feel clean, happy and bubbly. the design aesthetic was sharp and clean, the color palette for spring was great and i loved the model's clean faces and gently pulled back hair. the clothes were simple, but not boring.

ann demeulemeester- i like it. i like it. long skirts are love, especially when made this well.

andrew gn- andrew gn delivered with more stunning jewel embellishments, bright colors and modern girly cuts of clothing. i am so in love with the second dress from the left. it's purple print is divine and this dress would pair perfectly with my purple gem ring that i have yet to wear.

alexander mcqueen- this show started off with a bunch of out of this world, abstract, weird, unwearable looks and then eased back into wearable pieces with amazing prints. this show was absolutely insane. the work that went into making these prints and these intricate clothes, and the model's makeup and sculpted hair was immense! and the shoes were so high. this collection was based on the sea creatures that humans are supposed to turn into when our polar ice caps melt. >.>

akris- akris's shows are always perfect. they make perfect clothes. perfect lines, perfect fabrics, perfect colors that can benefit any warddrobe. this brand should have long been on my list of favorites, and now that they are there, they will probably be there forever. the color palette consisted of white, cream, powder blue, pale beigey grey, black, pumpkin orange, brick red and chocolate brown. the big, pillowy yet structured white bags they featured were heavenly.

a.f. vandevorst- sheer garments paired with thick and skinny leather belts. with this show, it was all about presentation. i wasn't expecting to like this show, but the show had a clear, cohesive message and that always attracts me.

fashion week notes

rochas- i did like this collection, but as with many other good collections, i needed it to be great. women are always on the search for great pieces, not just good.

limi feu- the model's didn't even look good in the clothes and limi yamamoto (the designer) didn't look happy after the presentation...so....why should i be excited about this?

anne valerie hash- i fell in love with one look, a metallic top and skirt combo with a ruffle going down the midline of the skirt but a lot of the other pieces weren't wearable and did not excite me.

rick owens- this collection got interesting at the end with some metallic pieces and cropped jackets with high collars...but by then i had lost interest.

nina ricci- all of the red carpet dresses from this collection were absolutely stunning, but peter copping (the new guy at nina ricci) has taken the house in a way different direction than olivier theyskens did, so it was kind of discombobulating...but i'm sure i'll be in love with this new direction for nina ricci next season.

bruno pieters- didn't excite me.

balmain- the show was good, and interesting, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i liked. i know, i know...it's balmain...but i just couldn't like enough pieces. all of the models looked like glammed up cavewomen or old army vets in model's bodies...and some of the looks were great, and others can only be worn by models.

balenciaga- straight hair, prints, architectural draping, blah, blah, blah....whatever.

azzaro- i loved the cute dresses and jackets azzaro presented, but i was expecting more, especially since i loved their fall 2009 collection so much. the closing dress was absolutely beautiful and simple. i'm sure we'll see it somewhere other than the runway.

maison martin margiela- this wasn't the best show but it wasn't death dealingly horrible as style.com lamented. still...it does seem like margiela has lost a bit of its touch.

issey miyake- dai fujiwara, the head of issey miyake at the moment, tried to cover a bunch of themes in his show and it didn't work to the show's betterment.

undercover- this show was sporty and futuristic, with dark ambient prints, anorak blouses, slim and short trousers, models with slicked back hair and orange lines drawn under their eyes and brown leather detail on some of the clothes.

sophia kokolasaki- the show was good, but i was expecting more. some of the shoes were absolutely fab though.

jean paul gaultier- his inspoiration: madonna's cone bra that he designed, gang girls, cornrows and afro puff ponytails, overalls....he played with very interesting concepts and let pregnant jourdan dunn walk the runway but he still couldn't win me over.

haider ackermann- lots of draping and shiny fabrics, and one model walked the runway holding half of her chest.

commes des garcons- this show had a few coherent looks such as looks 17 and 28. and this was one of the better commes des garcons shows i have seen but it was not collage worthy....sorry :/

kris van assche- nothing special. black, leather, and greased down hair.

dries van noten- lots of ethnic prints and slouchy cuts. this collection was't as fun and inspiring as his past two.

costume national- ennio capasa was looking to make a really intrigueing collection, but it didn't work for me. the models looked great in the super, super short shorts...but who else would? most of the gowns were shapeless and looked half tattered so costume national isn't getting my vote for the spring 2010 season. although i loved the bag karmen pedaru walked out in for the first look.

yves saint laurent- i don't know what's going on with ysl, but this collection was sloppy, random and a bit too on the minimalistic side for me.

vanessa bruno- an improvement from past shows.

tim hamilton- a very severe look of black lips, slicked back hair, monochrome super tailored outfits and nipples exposed through sheer blouses. i liked some of it though...not the nipple exposure part.

chloe- this show was sooo boring. the simplicity didn't look chic at all. what was up with the monogrammed pieces? i wonder how the ad campaign will look for this collection.

wunderkind- this was weird. sheerness, body stockings based off of medical wrapping, arrows....??

hermes- i absolutely loved the sporty clean preppiness of this show. the theme was tennis, and jean paul gaultier made beautiful use of the theme. i fell in love with his tennis infused classic hermes bags the instant i saw them, and i loved that the models' hair look so clean. however the looks weren't standout...they were nice though.

miu miu- i did like this collection, but i couldn't find enough pieces that i absolutely loved. it was a great show though, with cute cat, dog and tree prints, colored shirts and above the knee office skirts and long braided ponytails on the models.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK: SPRING 2010 PART II

enjoy more of my favorites from nyfw spring 2010, and feel free to leave comments! do you agree with my picks or commentary? look forward to part III, coming soon!
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ohne titel- alexa adams and flora gill are CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund finalists and their great showing displayed why. I could see all of the hard work, thought, sweat and tears put into this collection! Some of the pieces aren't exactly my style but having an Ohne Titel piece (or the wonderful shoes designed by Cesara Paciotti) could definitely put some spice into your wardrobe. and those thigh high strappy gladiator sandals on R'el Dade (second model from the left) are so cool!

chado ralph rucci- wow. this show was a total surprise. usually chado ralph rucci is a show that seems to cater towards those 60+. they have definitely injected a bit of youth into this brand. the craftmanship was amazing and it was nearly impossible for me to only pick four pieces that i loved because i loved so many pieces. and i absolutely loved the thick lower eyelashes they put on the models. my mom raved over the red dress and nude feathery hem dress.

alexander wang- weirdly enough, i actually liked this collection. 6 clicks before i was done looking at the pictures i ended my inward battle on whether i'd make a collage for this or not. i was drawn in my the sloppy side braids, the somehwat out of place but well crafted shoes and his very interesting and unexpected inspiration for his collection: football. it was sporty and sexy in a very unconventional way. all of these pieces aren't winners...but this collection draws me in even though i know for a fact i wouldn't wear 3/4 of these pieces. weird right?

victoria beckham- i'm so proud of victoria beckham! she is definitely a successful celebrity fashion designer, and her clothes are definitely full of quality. when i think of victoria beckham's clothes i equate them with the likes of michael kors and philip lim, etc. she's an actual designer and her success is well deserved. she's playing around with some new shapes but is still focused on dresses...but i'm not complaining because she makes a mean dress!

reem acra- this collection was feminine with a capital "f" with no shortage of color, pearls, jewels and florals. i'm in love with these looks!

rebecca taylor- this collection was so young, hip and current complete with ditsy floral prints, mini dresses, blazers and high heels.

rachel roy- rachel roy never disappoints me with her urban looks that have just a sprinkling of ethnic flair through color or print. my favorites are the limish yellowish dress and the black mini dress that looks like a sparkly top and pocketed mini dress.

lela rose- female elegance at one of its best! i'm fawning over the black and white brushstroke one shouldered dress that is third from the left.

karen walker- bucket hats, boat shoes and navy galore! preppy chic at its best.

herve leger by max azria- i love herve leger and i love what the azrias are doing with it. they are using more than just elastic bandage material to churn out fun little frocks for the young and leggy set. the second dress from the left NEEDS to be in my closet. i love the tie-dye denim sheet and the beautiful deep blue color of the dress as well as the long sleeves. the dress to the far right is one of the most elegant dresses in the collection despite its' short hemline.

erin fetherston- erin fetherston is also one to not dissapoint. i am enamored with her deer and cherry blossom inspired collection. it's soft and floaty as every fetherston collection is and yet every piece is so substantial and individual. erin is here to stay!

elise overland- these are the clothes you would wear if you worked at a corporate rock office.

derek lam- with a bold color palette of varying shades of gold, green, blues and indigos as well as white this show was great to click through. i also loved the strappy suede shoes.

carlos miele- looks: i always look forward to miele shows and i am never disappointed. he works with prints in a very tasteful way and his shows are never lacking sex appeal.

ports 1961- lightly inspired by japonisme. i loved the shoes in this collection!

zac posen- i didn't like his last collection but i loved this one with the awesome mouth pins, decorative shoes, and the pink carpeting was nice too.

barbara tfank- barbara was inspired by the classic work of the photographer richard avedon. i loved the dahlia and poppy printed pieces, and the elegant use of color.

bibhu mohapatra- the designer's sophomore collection had a subdued, clean and architectural color palette as well as structure. i personally loved the square chiffony appliques to dresses and tops. it made each of the clothes look original and i will definitely recognize these pieces as definitely bibhu mohapatra!

carolina herrera- this show definitely showed a different side of carolina herrera that i've seen. she used lots and lots of bright colors, distressed fabrics, woven shoes and beaded leather rope belts. she still worked with conservative shapes and churned out her red carpet stunners but it wasn't as clean and herrera-esque a presentation as i expected. at the beginning i was totally confused but by the end i had started liking it. i think the beautiful pinks and oranges won me over.

chris benz- color, stripes, and polka dots. typical chris benz. i wanted to not like this, but the presentation was so undeniably fun and free spirited and the some pieces just screamed out to be in a collage so here you go!

devi kroell- wow, i am thoroughly impressed by devi kroell's spring 2010 collection. when she released her first clothing collection i said to myself, "this collection will probably never be that great because she's so used to defining bags." i take that back! devi conquered the handbag world and she's on her way to conquering the clothing world with her smart use of color and print.

donna karan- i wasn't feeling her dkny spring 2010 collection but donna karan has hit it out of the ballpark again with the newest installation of her original line, donna karan. her interpretation of structured femininity inspired by the elements (to me, namely fire, air/wind, and moving water) was outstanding and she should be very proud of this collection. it has pieces for women of every age: from 20s on through their 70s in my opinion. she offered flowing dresses, burlap skirt suits, among other things. she did a really great job.

douglas hannant- this was a great collection of uber feminine red carpet dresses, most with floaty fabrics. the pastel color palette was refreshing as well, as it seems many designers do not seem to use pastels.

j. mendel- this show never disappoints me. i'm a girl that loves to dress up and loves to party (i'm not invited to enough parties though :P) and of course a girl like that loves special somethings to wear and j. mendel makes lots of special somethings.

julian louie- fresh, contemporary and wearable. beautiful peachy, bright and light color palette. i loved the avant garde artist like makeup that made the models' faces look like sketches.

marc jacobs- marc jacobs is tired of black studs and leather, and while i don't hate it, i'm tired of seeing it in every fashion show and on every young 20 something girl. i absolutely LOVED the bags in this collection, the design was absolutely genius (jacobs has such a talent at making great bags) and his new take on the suit was awesome, but there were also a lot of tragic looks. style.com's description of the show says it was inspired by victorianism among other things. when looking at the show i am reminded of acrobats and court jesters. this collage isn't the best representation of the outrageousness of the collection, so try to look through it for yourself at the style site.

sophie theallet- with subtle african references this collection was smooth and warm.

thakoon- thakoon panichgul knows how to make a woman look cool without trying too hard. he's a true genius with prints and color and every season he puts out is successful. i especially loved the shoes in this collection as well.

tracy reese- these clothes will definitely sell! tracy, another master of prints, used her knowledge to turn out a bright decidely springy collection.

zero+maria cornejo- i'll describe this shortly and sweetly: wearable avant garde! loved the shoes!

tibi- amy smilovic of tibi won me over with a blooming collection with a color palette of nude, blush pink, white, light blues, purples, greens and black.

temperley london- this was one of my absolute favorite shows because i loved the presentation and styling of the show. everything was just perfect.

philosophy- i loved this collection. light, sweet and just the right amount of kitsch with the lip and eye prints.

narciso rodriguez- i liked narciso's spring 2010 collection way better than his fall 2009 collection. the shoes were great: i'm loving the super strappy shoe trend on the runway and the color palette consisted of lots of blacks, greys and whites with the occasional splash of color such as bright orchid purple and a blinding coraly pink.

max azria- i liked the unexpected simplicity of the max azria collection. unlike the fall 2009 collection it was completely different from his line for herve leger.

malandrino- i loved this collection. i could wear the clothes on my future travels around the world, hahaha :) and i could really rock that purple jumpsuit! jumpsuits are so cool. i have yet to own one though, because i need to find just the right one.

halston- this is the first time i fell in love with a halston collection instantly. this time they found the right balance of simplicity and style, while in past years there has been too much simplicity which translated to boredom.

dennis basso- dennis basso is my kind of designer. all of the clothes were so exquisite it was almost impossible to choose four looks. this collection definies luxe ladylike sophistication.

christian cota- his looks register on the runway and off. he's a designer with great vision and i loved his use of unexpected fabrics such as sweatpant material as well as edgy accessories like body chains or metal belts on some looks with his ladylike clothes.

brian reyes- brian reyes didn't disappoint his red carpet clients and he sure didn't disappoint me. another great collection from mr. reyes! you know which piece is my favorite right? yes, you are soooo right: that lime green stunner!

badgley mischka- perfect, as usual. i like the interesting juxtaposition of a blazer and a ruffly long skirt in the loo to the far right.

nanette lepore- very summery and not overwrought. i'm loving the shoes as much as the clothes and impeccable styling in this show!

fashion notes:

ADAM- it was a nice laidback show filled with werable casual cool seperates.

VPL- leggings, shiny jumpsuits, thick strapped sandals. every year is the same...none of these pieces really look functional. i'm not a VPL fan.

vivienne tam- the whole show was butterfly themed. i loved the female model's makeup, heavily black rimmed eyes and soft nudy pink face and lip makeup. the new laptops that vivienne designed in conjunction with HP are so cute: white with a pretty butterfly image.there were some absolutely magnificent standout pieces such as the long digital butterfly magnified wing print multicolored dress with long sleeves and a pussybow as well as another digital print top and skirt combo and a beautiful little black dress with 3D glittery black butterfly embellishments. style.com said the collection was 70s cliche, and for the most part it was...but there were still some great pieces to be seen.

united bamboo- the first few looks REALLY impressed me, as did some later on in the show, but unfortunately there seemed to be some kind of discord with this collection. some of the pieces were so amazing and well made, and then other pieces looked like sacks. hopefully i'll be giving them a collage next season!

shipley & halmos- lots of loose shapes.

Richard Chai Love- Richard Chai decided to show his lower end line instead of his higher end line. Lots of casual seperates in expensive fabrics. I want the original line back on the runway!

lacoste- this show featured super fresh, super preppy and fun sportswear as well as supah supah SUPAHHHH cute male models <3 *swoon* i love how the show ended with all of the models parading in yellow. this show had such good looking models.

jeremy laing- this show featured very well made avant garde clothes. this guy has got talent! the collection might be hard to sell though.

boy by band of outsiders- all of the models looked absolutely gorgeous with their light hued tousled hair, pink lips, dewy skin and preppy beachwear complete with signature boy by band of outsiders blazers.

altuzarra- style.com raved over joseph altuzarra's basketweave, eyelet and swissdot apron pieces. i was left confused...who is going to wear this? most of these pieces looked like period costumes gone wrong.

y-3- very goodlooking people wearing soccer inspired clothes designed by yohji yamamoto.

tuleh- i usually liked tuleh shows and this one was ok, but bryan bradley was trying to get way too much across with his show. he took on the meaning of marriage as well as the history of fashion and tried to make the show a short story...it was a very fragmented and bumpy story.

dkny- the collection was very cute and wearable but not revolutionary. i liked the fall 2009 collection better.

diane von furstenberg- dvf had a great showing, but it felt too reminiscent of last season. it was a great collection though and i'm glad they made an even more glitzy version of their big gold chained hobo bag.

behnaz sarafpour- i loved all of the dresses but this collection was very, very fall like and didn't seem springlike at all. still a good collection though, my fave piece being a shiny black ribbony dress (look 21) modeled by hye park.

araks- cute clothes for a young girl who wants to grow up to be a quirky librarian. at least that's the impression i got when i looked at the clothes and styling.

davidelfin- david delfin loves models with tattoos and he sure likes blue and mint hues. his collection was very nice but featured a lot of what we already know is popular: tight, bodycon dresses, suits, etc.

lutz & patmos- loose, light woven material. the model (pilar solchaga) that modeled all of the clothes looked great in it.

vera wang- i love vera wang and the aesthetic she has for her line...but for some reason i didn't fall head over heels for this collection. it was just a continuation of her previous two collections and it seemed to be more subdued and formulaic.

rodarte- i hated everything except the last closing dresses (look 30-35) that were all black.

mulberry- brindingly blight colors and colored prints. i loved the accessories such as the signature mulberry bag in a very bright purplish pink leopard print bag and a matching skinny bow waistbelt modeled by nyfw favorite rachel rutt. fringed ankle boots, laced up ankle boots, glossy ankle boots and more cute bags in an array of colors from nude blush pink to glossy pepto bismol pink were featured as well., and some models walked pugs on the runway with them. look 26 was a beautiful dress.

matthew ames- i wouldn't want to wear any of this. if most of the collection didn't even look good on the models, why would it look good on me?

marc by marc jacobs- as usual i loved the accessories (especially the perfect bags) as well as the male models, but this time i wasn't really digging the clothes.

g-star- the show was so long and i wouldn't wear any of those clothes.

betsey johnson- this show looked like it would be a lot of fun to be at, but it also looked like it was crazy and all over the place...and not in a good way.