So Very Varied
French designers are offering spring collections more notable for the range of looks--from Latin to equestrian to rapper styles--than for an inspired fashion statement for the new millennium.
The runway offerings so far this week included trench coats, asymmetrical hems, Latin influences, peasant skirts, sport looks, classic knee-length sheaths, lots of leather and so many transparent outfits that one wondered: Why not just send the poor models out au naturel? Still, there were some very wearable looks.
Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton and John Galliano at Christian Dior both splashed logos on just about everything at their shows. Yohji Yamamoto continued as master of black and white.
But like the spring collections shown in New York and Milan, vibrant color abounded with fuchsia, blues, greens, yellows and reds. Pastels in hues of mint, raspberry and lemon were popular as were hot pants, stiletto heels and Fendi baguette-inspired bags.
At Thursday’s Celine collection, designer Michael Kors presented a St. Tropez sporty look that was sensual and sleek--and very American in its appeal. He called it “Jennifer Lopez meets Jackie O.” For sure, the clothes sizzled, but they also looked comfortable, practical and very polished.
A Feminine Look With Little Skin
It was also quite refreshing to see models look feminine without baring naked body parts. That was left up to one’s imagination as models sauntered on the runway in some of the most vibrant splashes of color seen so far: aquamarine, turquoise, chartreuse and green, which he called “grass.” He also used black and white as well as tie-dye fabric and bleached denim.
But platinum and silver tops and dresses were among Kors’ most appealing designs. He paired a chrome-studded stretch cashmere tank top with denim pants. In another ensemble, a chrome-studded stretch cashmere T-shirt was worn over a platinum, stretch cashmere bikini, accessorized with a silver leather tote bag.
Swimsuits took on a glamorous look with a chartreuse hand-knit cover-up Kors called a “swim cardigan” worn over a hand-knit nylon tube top and bikini bottom. For pizazz, he added a green Lucite minaudiere.
And after you’ve had your dip, slip into a sporty aquamarine crystal-encrusted silk Georgette sarong with a white stretch nylon tank and a white cotton denim jean jacket. Beautiful crystal-covered bathrobes, scarf shirts, column dresses and sarongs made the Kors collection for Celine one of the best.
On Wednesday, Alexander McQueen for Givenchy showed his collection in a room made to look like a basketball court. But his models played with clothes, not a ball--and Ivana Trump, sitting in a front-row seat, was all eyes.
There were plenty of silky nylon jackets with stripes down the sleeves and sporty trousers. Bright yellow appeared on hooded zippered shirts worn with yellow leather miniskirts slashed high in the back.
His satin outfits included hot pants teamed with blousons, midriff-baring bomber jackets and several black shirts and pants that looked as if they had been sprayed with orange Silly String. White leather jumpsuits were beautifully cut, sleek and had a futuristic look with zip fronts and elasticized ankles. McQueen dazzled with fishnet outfits, adorned with sequins and worn over tight shorts and tops.
Stella McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney, dedicated her collection for Chloe, also shown Wednesday, to her late mother Linda. The clothes sparkled on the runway with a show of silver and 24-carat gold chains shaped into tops and bikinis, and adorning shoes. They were almost more jewelry than clothes.
The chain tops created a sensual and glamorous look paired with white denim jeans, hot pants or dressy trousers and matching blazers left unbuttoned. McCartney used the chains to create inserts in dressy pants. The ‘70s-inspired jeans were fringed below the hip and at the hem and topped with flouncy floral-print blouses. The collection also included embroidered silk dresses, pants, jackets and shawls, all finished with fringe for a Latin shawl look.
Her father, and good friend Tom Ford of Gucci, signaled approval from their seats in the audience by holding up signs that read a perfect “10.”
On Sunday, Dries Van Noten also followed a Latin look with his one-note collection of skirts: tiered, embroidered, bell-shaped, ruffled, pleated, and all petticoated. But he did it beautifully as models strolled in skirts decorated with silver roses on white cotton or in vibrant color combinations such as red with burnt orange as a Spanish soundtrack of a phone conversation between lovers played in the background.
The skirts were worn with lace shirts with extra-long sleeves that nearly hid hands, a lightweight sweater or with what could be the next big thing since the shrug: a one-sleeved wrap draped over the opposite shoulder.
Josephus Thimister, also on Sunday, sent angry-looking models--their hair and faces appearing as if they had just been slimed--onto a dark circular runway covered with black plastic. Even when photographers couldn’t seem to get models to stop under a spotlight for photos, Thimister seemed to laugh it off and kept sending them out--some barefooted--in trench coat after trench coat wrapped with a thick leather belt at the waist.
Tight leather pants, sheer shells, gold asymmetrical skirts and skirts with white wax on them--which made a mess on the runway as the wax peeled off with every step--were part of his show. But the most surprising were long skirts with odd-shaped trains that looked as if they had been moth-eaten and singed along the hem.
For Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche ready-to-wear collection, Alber Elbaz, on Monday, interpreted the trench coat in beige python inspired by the tropics “and a sense of danger,” said the designer backstage.
“I wanted to do a tropical collection but in the sense of the rain forest, snakes, nature’s texture,” he said of his collection, which also was vibrant with color: a green tulle blazer, another in bright blue, and lovely organza dresses in fuchsia, purple, green and blue.
He suited up the YSL woman in a mannish pinstripe with a blouse that had contrasting circle patterns. He put her in high-glam beachwear such as a black-caped Lycra combo swimsuit and robe, and in chic belted shirt dresses of gabardine and python. Models wore long bustier evening gowns of horizontal black stripes on white, and another of black polka dots on white. He closed the show with fun spaghetti-strap mini-dresses decorated with plastic flowers fashioned out of saucer-size sequins.
Of his second YSL ready-to-wear collection, Elbaz said, “I was a bit more relaxed this time. I felt less intimidated. I’m always a warrior.”
Every Ensemble Has an Accessory
Louis Vuitton’s Marc Jacobs didn’t let go of his logos at his Monday show, which overflowed with LVs, from the front of a baseball cap to the tip of a shoe. Thousands of the newly tweaked “mini-me” LVs also landed on coats and skirts and on the rear pocket of jeans.
Jacobs also trotted out leather trench coats in yellow, beige and a pearlized finish.
Hot pants reigned on his runway as did cashmere sweaters and tank tops, jersey T-shirt dresses, striped canvas jean suits, baseball jackets, raincoats, stretch silk shirtdresses and sheer organza shirts.
He teamed leather gym shorts with a canvas blazer; leather skirts with cotton T-shirts and a denim halter with a matching skirt. Every ensemble had some accessory--a gym bag, canvas bag, a clutch, a canteen-shaped purse or an umbrella case--with new mini-logos.
For evening wear, embroidered silk jersey dresses, loaded with sequins over swirling geometric prints--and left plain on the sides, were loose and sexy.
In Naoki Takizawa’s first collection for Issey Miyake--who announced this week that he will remain as creative director “nurturing the next generation” of designers--Takizawa presented a show that was youthful, playful and joyous.
Models were actually smiling, laughing and romping on the runway even though they were wearing stiff mesh dresses that bubbled over their behinds. Though they weren’t exactly pretty, they were funny. Nylon drawstring skirts in white, mint, yellow, pink and lilac shined under the lights. White blouses draped and snapped asymmetrically. Sheer socks were sequined in pastels. Bodysuits, Lycra shorts and tops added to the sporty style.
Takizawa, who loves to play with light, shape and texture, showed mostly opaque creations that were fitted and loose, “second skins,” he called them after the show backstage.
Valentino embellished his Old School classic look, with elegant dresses and white crepe gowns that were lavishly flower-power embroidered with roses, poppies and a garden that glittered with buds.
“I always love flowers in my collections,” Valentino said after his show, adding that he wanted his collection “to be younger but still for every age.”
He hit the mark with his feminine designs without being glitzy. He turned out skirts, tops, dresses, pants, bras and coats in airy fabrics: silk, linen, chiffon and lace. And then he sparsely adorned the flowered garments with sequins and crystals and others simply with lace insets. Even embroidered mimosa vines dangled from purses.
Though his collection was repetitive, it was romantic.
“I love to make women happy with my designs. That’s my joie de vivre,” he said.
Silk Tops Fit for Lauryn Hill
Galliano for Christian Dior offered a new interpretation of silk tops made to look like denim at his Tuesday show to the music and style of Lauryn Hill. But that was about the only thing wearable--unless, of course, you’re a hip-hop star who can get away with cutting-edge fashion.
Most everything else Galliano offered looked as if it had been ripped apart and strewn, er, sewn together again. For example, skirts had straps hanging from pockets or hems, zippers zig-zagged across bodies and button holes had no buttons to match.
Galliano created a saddle bag with a CD-logo belt buckle. And his leather trousers that can zip off into hot pants might be practical for some.
Still, Galliano should take a lesson from Yamamoto, who proved once more why he is so masterful at what he does, cutting dresses and jackets in numerous ways and making them all look elegant, sexy and dramatic--not a mishmash of material.
Yamamoto, also did trench coats at his Monday show, which was attended by Donna Karan, Alexander McQueen, Narciso Rodriguez and Giorgio Armani.
But his coats looked more couture than ready-to-wear; they were that beautiful, especially when wrapped over his full skirts with petticoats. He experimented with shapes and details: a one-sleeved white column dress accessorized with a black scarf and an oversized cuff on the sleeve; big bows tied on the fronts of coats and skirts; and layers and layers of tulle on an off-white wedding gown shown with a matching umbrella.
Michael Quintanilla can be reached by e-mail at socalliving@latimes.com.
