Sentimental Education

As I'm sure you can understand, I was disappointed not to have been taken up on my offer to model for Christian Lacroix's Fall 2009 Haute Couture show, but I am too big a person to let that color my feelings about the show itself. Besides, I'm sure it was just an oversight -- no doubt things at the atelier were absolutely tornadic for the last month and I'm sure someone just forgot to respond to my e-mail. I'm more than willing to forgive and forget.

Surely, M. Lacroix has bigger fish to fry than one small-potatoes fashion blogger's thirst for catwalk glory. The House of Lacroix is in the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, put there while its owner, the Falic Group, sorts out what's going to happen next. Without a buyer to step in and take over, the situation is precarious. There are rumors circulating that luxury goods Godzilla (and one-time owner of the house) LVMH might step in, but so far nobody's sayin' nothin'. (There are a lot of folks in government who could learn a thing or two about zippin' the lip from fashion industry insiders -- it's like the mafia or something with those people.)

Because the finances of the business are in such dire straits, orders for the last two collections from department stores have been canceled and the clothes will not be produced, which means that Lacroix's boutiques worldwide will have to be shuttered -- they will have nothing to sell. This makes me unspeakably sad, not just because of all the craftspeople and sales staff who will lose their livelihoods, but because M. Lacroix's clothing deserves to exist. The world needs more joy, and Lacroix is a bringer of joy. His clothing is merry, exuberant, bursting with life. I don't know about you, but I could do with a little bit more of that in the world.

The Falic Group did not want Lacroix to stage a couture show this season, but Monsieur was having none of it. He was determined to create work for all of the seamstresses and craftspeople who bring to life his marvelous creations. To that end, he called together all his suppliers to ask if they could help out, and they did. Practically everything in this show was donated, from the hats (Cheri Bibi) to the shoes (Roger Vivier) to even the venue of the show itself (a suite of rooms at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs). Whatever fabrics didn't come from the Lacroix storerooms were also donated by high-end European producers. Only the models were paid -- the minimum sum allowed by French law, a paltry €50. (I think even Linda Evangelista would have gotten out of bed for M. Lacroix in these circumstances.)

I'm sentimental at heart (Stop laughing! I do SO have a heart!), and knowing about all this makes me warm & fuzzy inside. It's wonderful, of course, to hear about folks being nice to one another -- we can never get too much of that. But it also warms Style Spy's cockles to know that there are people in the world willing to make sacrifices for fashion -- for the Goddess of Haute Couture whose death is predicted again and again in an annual cycle of pessimism and surprise. I feel very strongly, for reasons I've nattered on about before so I'll spare you, that couture is important. Like any art form, we'd be less human if we lost it.

And Christian Lacroix is one of our great artists. Take a look at what he can produce even in these circumstances...

I just love this. It certainly is much simpler than what we usually expect from Lacroix -- absolutely no bells & whistles. But this is really very much my sort of thing, that trapeze shape and beautiful ink-blue silk.

And this dress -- also gorgeous. Both of the above dresses were described in reviews as having very low backs with bows tucked in strategic places. I couldn't find any detail shots anywhere online -- I don't know if it's just too soon or if the usual sources just decided not to provide them -- but I'm hoping I'll track some down soon.

The collection was described as "somber" by a lot of reviews, and it certainly did lack the usual Lacroixian riot of color, pattern, and embellishment. But even so --

this is what passes for somber at Lacroix. We should all be so somber, huh? Oh, that Yves Klein blue! It's like a living organism, it's so vibrant. Je l'adore!


Especially interesting to me after the lingerie delirium of Dior was how much lace and sheerness was on display in this collection.

It's time to go shopping for nice new underduds, ladies, because apparently we're having a see-through moment. It's been going on for a bit now, done in interesting, unexpected ways like the laser-cut leathers that have been all over the place, the patent-leather grids at YSL, the hypnotic, Rapunzel-like fringe at Jil Sander; as well as the more tradition chiffons and tulles and point d'esprits. Remember Miuccia Prada's seminal laces from Fall 2008? That may have been where it all started.

But this isn't lace in the service of irony, or surprise, or subversion. This is really just lace in the service of beauty. Good googly-moogly, that makes my heart skip a beat, it's so lovely.

Breathtaking.

We all know I'm a fool for tulle. (Apparently, I'm also a poet & don't know it!)

I think I'd like to get that printed on a t-shirt: Fool For Tulle. Actually, I think I'd just rather get this dress, which makes the point in a more interesting way.

This just makes me crazy. Because it's perfect, that's why.

And this may be my favorite thing in the entire show.

It's a wearable Franz Kline painting! That is so crazy-chic I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I got to wear it. I'm pretty sure in that dress my French would improve leaps & bounds. It probably comes with a glass of Pernod and a Gauloise. I have to say, I'd probably wear it with red shoes, but that's just me. It would also be brilliant with black knee-high boots.

Lacroix, sweetie:

A recognizable silhouette, yet only done in blue, black and white. That's about 43 colors short of what you usually find in a Lacroix dress of this sort. This is certainly a reason why Cathy Horyn & others proclaimed this collection to be more subdued than Lacroix's usual, and they were certainly right. Even so, these are beautiful, happy clothes. (And if you don't believe me, how's about we put me in that black & white number & see how happy I get? Dude, I'll make Cuba Gooding at the Oscars look like he just buried his grandma, I'll be so happy.)




For a great wrap-up of the Lacroix situation and some thoughts from M. Lacroix himself, check out this terrific article by Hamish Bowles on Vogue.com.



Images: Style.com, NYTimes.com

More Mad Genius!

Yippee! It's Couture Week -- Spring 09 is already upon us -- in Paris and it started off with a bang at the salons at Dior headquarters on the avenue Montaigne. Instead of the usual enormous show venue, Galliano presented his collection in a much more intimate environment.

Which was appropriate...

...given that a lot of the clothing was, well, intimates.

Inspired by photos of Dior and his models & seamstresses in the 1950's, the collection mingled the wild fantasia of Galliano's Dior with the images of half-dressed models preparing for presentations. Does that sound outlandish?

It was, a little.

But in the most wonderful way.

Stephen Jones did the hats, which were magnificent.


Some of the lingerie references, like the one above, were blatant, but if that was too much for you, how about this?

Just a hint of a slip in the most gorgeous, creamy silk with lace that probably cost my rent peeking out. Lovely.

I have a lot of slips, but none with this kind of quality. Suddenly I'm really feeling the lack.

Oh, that hat!!

Where on earth does a person wear such a thing?

Wherever it is, I want to be invited.

I'm not a big bustier/corset person ordinarily -- frankly, I don't have the bust to make it worthwhile. But this? Is so beautiful that this weekend is going to find me rifling through my favorite vintage stores looking for something along these lines to play with.

Look at all this beautiful hand work -- just stunning.

Not every look featured lingerie. Some of them were just plain old garden-variety heartstoppingly beautiful clothes.

There was a lot of super-saturated color, which I of course loved

along with the details you only find in couture.


Cathy Horyn talks about this dress in her review of the collection.

This is a deceptively simple dress, but as Ms. Horyn points out, it's all about that lapel. Look at it -- how it starts off as a traditional notched lapel and then somehow melts into a cowl. That is amazing.

I sew -- I've made a few notched collars in my time -- and I can't begin to imagine how that was done. Look also at the set of that sleeve, how it elongates the line of the arm. These are the things that make the difference in clothing, and these are the things we have almost completely lost thanks to mass production. Why do designer clothes cost more? Because of this. Yes, the Dior dress you buy at Saks is still going to be factory-produced, but not at the same scale as your average department or discount store garment. And before it got to the factory, more time was spent on these sorts of details -- the placement of a seam, the set of a sleeve, the angle of a collar. Those things take time, skill, and money, and there's no getting around it.

Plumcake and I are going to get together with a bottle of wine and hold hands and look at this collection and cry, I think. I do believe she & I could get into one mighty girlfight over this here dress. (I'd put your money on me -- I'm scrappy and not above fighting dirty, especially where couture is involved.)

A lot of the looks fell somewhere in between on the lingerie scale, using sheer fabrics to reveal just a little.

Yes, please...

This makes me want to run mad...

That blouse is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Like I said, I'm not a big one for underwear as outerwear, it's just not usually my thing. But something about this positively intoxicates me. I love that it doesn't really shoot for "sexy" in the way we've come to think of it -- the overexposed bosom, the thigh-high slit. This is coquettish, a bit naughty, amusante. These clothes are a light-hearted afternoon tryst in a sun-filled pied-a-terre with the curtains open on French doors that overlook some grand Parisian boulevard. That kind of joyful, giddy sexy when you're laughing out loud and not in the least ashamed.

And what's completely insane? I'm looking at this thinking, "Hmmmmm... I have a couple of great jackets. Maybe I need to get some tap pants. I won't go the whole garter belt route, but maybe some opaque tights instead..."

But there you go. I'm seriously, insanely considering it. Like I said -- intoxicated.

But the best bit? The whipped cream on the sundae? The shoes. THE SHOES!!!!

Aaaaaiiieeeeeee!!!! LOOK AT THEM!

They have those tiny little rubber snap closures like you find on old-fashioned garters & girdles!! And that pink!! That perfect nude/ballet pink!!! What is prettier or more feminine than that? Oh, I cannot express how these shoes have shredded my sensibilities -- I'm going to start saving NOW for a pair of these.


So there you have it -- more of our boy Galliano's wizardry. I've read a few reviews and comments complaining that this is nothing groundbreaking, it's too retro, that Galliano is revisiting old territory. And no, it's not cutting-edge fashion. It's a glorious tribute to a beautiful tradition designed by a wonderful mad genius. Which is sure as hell good enough for me.


PS... (And remember how I told you Cathy Horyn's commentors could be long-winded & tedious? You must check this out. I mean -- what the what???)

Images: Style.com

Wherein Style Spy Overshares a Bit

The noise I made when I saw these shoes for the first time was positively pornographic. I know this because I was unfortunately in public when I discovered them and my, er... vocalization elicited comment from a few of my neighbors.

Black Skye Pump

Yeah. The shoes. I loves 'em a leeeeeetle too much.

A Quick Note

I'm doing a little bit of gradual re-formatting on the blog this week, so you may notice a change or two here & there. For example, I've eliminated my ENOOOOOOOOOORMOUS blogroll and created a link so that you can look at all the blogs I follow. If you're a fellow blogger and were on my blogroll, now you're in my followed blogs list -- you haven't disappeared! If you're a reader of my blog and you haven't checked out the other blogs on my blogroll, I hope you will. There's an awful lot of good stuff out there that inspires and tickles me every single day.

A few other small changes will probably show up over the next week, so bear with me!

Me & Cathy Horyn Are BFFs, Me & Ricardo Tisci Are Not

Cathy Horyn is my favorite fashion journalist. If you aren't reading her blog in the NY Times, you're missing out. Last week, reviewing the men's shows in Paris, she called Ricardo Tisci's collection for Givenchy "just plain tedious," and my heart warmed with fellow-feeling. Horyn's post caused a tornado of comment on her already comment-heavy blog (While I really love Horyn's writing, I'm less enamored of the commentary that her regular readers provide. There are a lot of folks who seem to know a lot about fashion and they want you to know it, too. It is not uncommon for her readers to post comments that are a good chunk longer than the posts they're ommenting on. Frankly, that gets "just plain tedious," too.) and she followed up with a post wherein she spoke at greater length about "the insecurity of a designer who doesn’t have a meaningful, real vision." Bells chimed in my chilly little fashionista heart when I read that, because for several seasons now I've been looking at Tisci's work for Givenchy and thinking, "I don't get it. There's no there there."

Here are some of the looks from the collection:

Okay, nothing wrong with this, basic black suit, skinny trouser silhouette which is fairly common these days. It's hard to tell from this photo with the model's hands in his pockets just what exactly is going on with the tailoring of the jacket, but it looks inoffensive enough.

On the other hand...

Um, WHAT???

Ooooooh, for pete's sake, why not just put a frame around your johnson and be done with it? Honestly...

Much has been made of the fact that Tisci was supposed to be designing costumes for the late Michael Jackson's scheduled tour this year, and that this collaboration inspired many of the flashier pieces in the collection.

But I cannot for the life of me feature the King of Pop in this rig. Leather shorts and leggings. What. Ever.

I mean, really -- what am I supposed to do with this??

This I just showed you because... well, you know the because. Gracious.

Now. I know a lot of silliness shows up on the runway during all seasons, men & women, ready-to-wear and couture -- everywhere. And at first glance, you might look at John Galliano's collection and think, this is every bit as ridiculous as Tisci's stuff.

But it's not. It might be styled in an extreme way, but the clothes are actually really, really beautiful.

This collection was inspired by Napoleon, of all people. The runway show was divided into three themes: his early years in Corsica, his campaign into north Africa, and his time as the ruler of France.

Does this seem silly to you? I suppose in a way it is. But the up side of this is that it gives a designer a skeleton to hang his ideas on, and a way to indulge in higher-concept design than he could if simply presenting a bunch of clothes to wear. And as far as I'm concerned, the genius of Galliano is how far he can push the fantastical boundaries of an idea and still have beautiful, wearable clothes buried in it. The styling of the three outfits above is decidedly extreme, but it's easy to see how it is in service of the ideas of the collection, and it doesn't rob the clothes of their impact. The leather safari jacket in the first photo is a thing of real beauty, as is that gorgeous embroidered shirt in the second.

The second section of the show was my favorite.

I just love this. I'm always a fan of a monochromatic palette done in lots of different textures, and I think these desert-inspired clothes are simply gorgeous.

That jacket is fantastic. FANTASTIC.

No, of course no one is going to walk down the streets of Manhattan swathed in mosquito netting, but it makes for a lovely effect on the runway.

Aside from the Lawrence of Arabia headgear (and probably the sandals avec chaussures), if a man showed up to take me out to dinner wearing this, I wouldn't bat an eye. Okay, I would bat, but in the good way. He would be ill-advised to leave that embroidered vest unattended, though. I would gank that in a heartbeat.

The other thing I love about John Galliano? Sense of humor.

C'mon! That's FUNNY. Nothing Tisci showed in his collection had even the tiniest bit of humor about it. Okay, sure, it was funny, but not in the way you want.

Pat McGrath did the makeup for Galliano's show and as usual it was great, but it was in this last section that she really got to go to town and show what a genius she is.

Voila! Napoleon himself! If you are a hair stylist or makeup artist, it must be a dream come true to work with Galliano.

Normally I don't go for the sort of goth thing we're edging into here

(unless it's a certain Billowy Coat King of Pain TV character whom I still miss), but I think this is beautiful. I doubt there are very many men who will be willing to take the time to wrap themselves so artfully about the waist with a shirt like that, but I really think they should. (Yes, it's a shirt. Look closely. Talk about working your wardrobe resources!)

I also don't think any of the men in my life would be willing to go with this look, with the embroidered lapels and the layers of what looks like tulle, but again -- just gorgeous. As we know, any designer gets extra points from me for things that reward movement, and even this still photo makes me want to put on this coat and run across the moors or some such.

So.

Gallliano's shows and styling -- nutty, wacky, OTT. But that's okay with me. Galliano views every runway collection, for any of the labels he designs, as a laboratory for cooking up new ideas. You can see it quite clearly in his Dior Couture collections, and we expect to see the wildest flights of fantasy in couture, but he brings that to all of his ready to wear, too. He pushes everything to its most extreme and makes an enormous spectacle, but you can always see the bones of what he's doing inside it. Strip away the makeup and the mosquito netting and the laurel crowns on the models' heads and what you can see the beautiful clothes that are going to show up in the stores and the overall feeling of the season that he's created. Nothing Tisci showed is anything but a weak attempt at trendiness and shock value, and to my eye every single one of the exits from his show looked more ridiculous than any of Galliano's theatrical Corsairs with their inch-thick eyeliner. (And don't even get me started on how much it bothers me that Tisci seems to have no relationship What. So. Ever. To the history of the house of Givenchy; a designer, you'll recall, who was a protegé of Balenciaga and a favorite of Audrey Hepburn. Fancy Audrey wearing this. I don't think so.)


A note: Sorry I was AWOL all last week. It got a little hectic around here!


Images: Style.com