The Living Dead

Once upon a time, there was a Mighty Designer. He was a prince among his peers, as renowned for his personal elegance and lavish, tasteful lifestyle as he was for his lavish, tasteful clothing. His career was long and storied, his reputation as an arbiter of taste and quality was untarnished for more than four decades. Eventually, the Mighty Designer decided that he was tired of the day-to-day duties of being fashion royalty, and declared his intention to retire. The close of his career was marked by monumental celebrations, tearful reminiscences, and a spectacular final fashion show.

A Successor was duly named. The Successor was rapidly deemed unsuitable by the Mighty Designer and his partners. The Successor was summarily dismissed, amidst a small, dirty cloud of resentful dust and just-this-side-of-impolite verbage.

The Successors to the Successor, two of the Mighty Designer's protegé/underlings, were appointed. A fashion show occurred, everyone clapped politely, and the Mighty Designer was pleased. He was rumored to have tiny, tastefully glittering tears in his eyes at the end of the show.


My question, and it's a question that I'm sure a lot of people are going to ask, is why Mr. Valentino bothered to retire if all he wanted from his replacement was basically to clone the clothes he has been designing for 45 years. I understand the company is his creation, it bears his name, it's his legacy and his livelihood. But he left the company. He stepped down. He moved on.

Ummmmmm, not so much.

I loved Alessandra Fachinetti's collections for Valentino. I thought she was respectful of the Valentino ethos but was gently nudging the house forward. Apparently I was part of a very small group. Retailers complained vociferously that their customers would never buy this newfangled nonsense, and you know -- they were probably right to a certain extent. But the Valentino customer of the last forty years is not necessarily the customer of the future, and I can't help but wonder if they aren't cutting their own throats by steadfastly refusing to entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, there is not an endless supply of very well-financially-upholstered Ladies Who Lunch waiting in the wings to buy precious little evening suits and dainty chiffon blouses for the rest of eternity. Just because a designer is gone doesn't mean his or her house can't stay relevant (Lanvin, anyone? Chanel? Dior? YSL? All are extremely influential despite the fact that their namesakes are no longer with us), but relevance depends on change. This?

Is beautiful. But it's sure not change. That suit could have come from any Valentino collection from the last 20 years. Yes, it's lovely; yes, I'm sure the craftsmanship is peerless; no, it will never go out of style. (Which begs the question, of course, of whether or not it's in style.)

The new designers for Valentino are Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. They have worked for Valentino designing accessories for twelve years. (And they are good at it. For proof I give you Exhibit A and Exhibit B.) It's probably unfair to pass judgment yet, because this is their first collection, and they had to be nervous having watched how fast Fachinetti went down in flames by daring to have an idea or two of her own. But still...

This is pretty, pretty, pretty, but it's not especially inspiring.

All beautiful, none groundbreaking, some almost eerily familiar. There were really only two garments in this collection that made me sit up & think, "Okay!"

I still love that gorgeous Valentino red, and both of these dresses are a little sleeker, a little more modern than the rest of the show. But nothing that came down that runway made me as excited as this

or this

from Fachinetti's first couture show for Valentino. When I saw those I thought, "A-HAH! This woman is going to save the House of Valentino!"

Goes to show what I know, I reckon.

You know what did make me go, "A-HAH!"?? These right here:

Yeah, buddy. That's what I'm talkin' about. It seems unlikely that Chiuri and Piccioli, having taken the reins of the entire house, are still doing the accessories. Which means that the Velentino shoe design bench is pretty deep, my friends, if even after their first string moves on they can bust out moves like this.

And this.

Feeling a little faint, aren't you?

With shoes like these, you could run around in your underduds and no one would notice. Too bad the clothes that went with them weren't as good. But ready-to-wear looms, so maybe things will look up then.

Still more couture is coming! Stay tuned!


Photos: style.com

Girl With Big Honkin' Skirt

The couture collections have started!

The first one I looked at, of course, was John Galliano for Dior. Truth be told, while I love Dior in theory (and in execution), they aren't the clothes I most want to wear. My personal taste in clothes runs more to the minimalist and modernist -- designers like Raf Simons for Jil Sander, or Consuela Castiglione for Marni. I'm not strictly a modernist, but even when I'm going for things more elaborate it's more likely to be something like the luxe futurism of Stefano Pilati at YSL or the cerebrations of my hero Miuccia Prada. Dior tends to be a lot girlier than what I usually hang in my own closet.

But.

I thank the fashion gods for John Galliano.

Just because I don't wear it doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. John Galliano is a fantastical creature, a man so in touch with his own imagination that sometimes his work has no apparent connection to the realities of the world around him. Some folks think that's a bad thing. I do not. I say, thank heaven for the fantasists -- they remind us that anything is possible and that to get stuck in only one idea of what is beautiful is the death of imagination.



Yowza. Galliano's inspiration for this collection was Flemish painters like Van Dyck and Vermeer, and, as always, Monsieur Dior himself.








I just love this photo. I love that riot of color and pattern and the profusion of fabric. Over the top, oh yeah. Love it.

This is Vermeer's painting "The Lacemaker."

The Dutch painters of the 17th century like Vermeer and Rembrandt were famous for their mastery of light and color.



I adore this yellow. It's wonderful.



Bear in mind, this is couture. These are not garments that will be mass-produced -- they are made-to-order creations. And that being the case, the other purpose Galliano's mad flights of fancy serves is to keep alive the traditions of haute couture -- the embroidery, the hand-stitching, the beading, the fabric treatments. There is an ever-shrinking number of skilled artisans in these crafts and arts, and couture collections like Dior's help keep those skills alive.

I do not know what intrepid couture client might commission this little number, but I applaud whomever does.



Yowza, encore.






How much would I love to see this on the Oscars red carpet??



C'mon, Cameron! Throw a fashion blogger a bone!









This just blows me out of the water.






That is absolutely stunning. I've never been a fan of Delftware china, but it turns out I really, really like it on clothes.

Much as I loved the colors, Galliano did a big chunk of the collection in white, and that was a lot of my favorite things.






(I am so dying to get my hands on that quilted fabric so that I could see what it feels like.)




Also, I really, really love the hat.


But of course, a fashionista cannot live on white alone...



Mmmmm, come to Mama.



Oh, that's dreamy. Actually, that could make an appearance on a red carpet, and it'd be gorgeous. Someone get me Cate Blanchett!

Speaking of gorgeous...



Good googly-moogly.



No idea if these will ever make it into production, or if they do if I'd be able to get my hands on any, or if I could track them down I could afford them without resorting to some sort of criminal behavior, or if I managed to find and buy them I'd be able to bring myself to wear them outside of my home where they would be be sullied by coming into contact with the dirtydirty ground, BUT -- dayum. THOSE? Are some hoof-covers to die for.

More couture coming soon!


Photos: style.com, artchive.com

Tusk

The nice people at Tusk sent me news of this yummy deal:

There are a couple of versions of clutches on sale, including the lovely red one above (which comes in other colors) and this sweet ombré number:

There's also a metallic pebbled leather version -- my favorite is a beautiful rose gold.

Tusk is one of my favorite leather companies. They make beautiful things in classic shapes for pretty reasonable prices, with excellent craftsmanship and detail. The clutches above have a (be still my heart) retractable wrist strap tucked inside -- it slides into its own little pocket when you're not using it.

One of my favorite handbags of all time is a Tusk.

I've had this bag for a while now and carried it a LOT and it still looks wonderful. I also have a little slim gold card case that I adore -- it's the perfect size for my license, a credit card, and some cash, and looks great pulled out of an evening bag.

A good go-to clutch should be in every woman's wardrobe. They make a day outfit a little more special and are a must for evening.Click on any of the photos above to go to the Tusk website and buy yourself a little early Valentine's Day treat, or "accidentally" send a link to the person who's in charge of that sort of thing for you. The folks at Tusk at really nice and their CS is excellent.





Photos: Tusk.com, Style Spy

SAG Awards -- This Won't Take Long

The SAG Awards happened in Hollywood this past Sunday. I was out of town visiting friends in Dallas this weekend, so I didn't see the show, or any of the red carpet coverage, but I've looked through all of the pictures I could find and there were really only a few of them that I thought merited any comment. I've railed enough about how bored I am with most red carpet fashion, from here on in I'm just going to show you what I think is really good, and sometimes, unfortunately, what's really bad.

Here's the ridiculously beautiful Keisha Whitaker and her husband Forest. These two always look great. He obviously invested in a bespoke tuxedo that fits him like dream, and she's so pretty that I can't imagine what you'd have to do to her to make her look bad, but in this case the dress is particularly good.



It's a very simple shape, but the color is wonderful, and I really love the play of textures in the fabric. What I think is most likely is that the dress is all made of one fabric, and the matte pieces are the reverse side of the charmeuse. This dress is not a forgiving garment, but she has the figure for it. I also really love that although the dress is decidedly sexy, it's not revealing or skin-tight or low-cut or any of the other usual Hollywood "sexy" signifiers. See, Beyoncé? It's possible!

This was my favorite dress I've seen from the night, although I will admit that it might not be as formal as the occasion required.



Katie Holmes in Jil Sander (once again my adoration of Raf Simons borders on the indecent) and Stuart Weitzman shoes. I think the dress is black and the flash is making the color look strange in the photo. Black is never my favorite, but if Raf Simons wants to make me a dress, I'll wear whatever color he chooses including black, brown, or baby poop green.

Here's the dress on the runway:



As you can see, it's floor-length here. No idea if Ms. Holmes requested a shorter version, or if that's how it went into production. My one quibble here is with the fit. I think Katie could use a better Support Mechanism. Granted, based on the cut-outs & asymmetry of the front of the dress it's likely that the back of the dress is even more complicated and makes wearing a support mechanism at all problematic. On the other hand, if Mrs. Cruise here can get Christian Louboutin to make custom shoes for her toddler, she can probably get someone to make her a custom bra.


File under Dashed Hopes:



I was sort of hoping that the resurgence of Mickey Rourke's career would be accompanied by an improvement in his clothing sense. Oh, I am a cockeyed optimist, aren't I?

At first I thought the suit was just super-shiny, like it was made of silk shantung or something. I was wrong.



Turns out it's made of ties.



The lovely Idina Menzel and her handsome hubby Taye Diggs.



This dress is a dream, and she looks perfect in it.



Just love that smocking at the waist and the not-too-big ruffle at the neck. What a gorgeous couple.


I love this dress in spite of myself.



Nicolette Sheridan in Roberto Cavalli. Ordinarily, Ms. Sheridan is a tragifying mess of personal denial -- denial of time, denial of gravity, denial of good sense... But this dress? It's really pretty. It's way more covered up that what she usually wears, it's sexy without being trashy, the color is gorgeous, and it looks as though it's made of some really glorious silk because look at the movement:



We all know I'm a big ol' sucker for a dress with great movement. Also, I am all about the bracelet she's wearing:



Yes, it's completely over the top. Which, of course, I love. I can't seem to find any information on who made this bracelet. Anyone?

So that's my quick-like-a-bunny SAG Awards wrap-up. Thoughts? Disagreements? Let's hear 'em!



Photos: style.com, about.com, idinamenzel.com, fametastic.co.uk, zimbio.com