An Upbeat Finale
On a beautiful Indian summer day in a tall glass box building, members of the fashion industry joined Marc Jacobs in exhaling a long sigh of relief. His Louis Vuitton show, the last major show of the season, had just ended on a beautiful note. The spring 2002 season certainly hadn’t started out that way in New York, a little more than a month earlier.
Jacobs, who also designs a namesake collection, which he presented in Manhattan the night before the World Trade Center attacks, was stranded there for eight days. Falling behind schedule, he had to move his Vuitton show back four days later into the week. The wait was worthwhile.
On Friday, he delivered the kind of optimistic cheer that comes from a sunny stroll through a fairy-tale garden. Delicate details helped give the clothes their playful, pastoral personality. Scalloped edges softened the slither of a silver python-skin jacket, while a large butterfly buckled a pastel suede version. His witty bags were childlike without seeming childish: totes were appliqued with a colorful landscape or the cartoon faces of toads, mice and owls were turned into shrunken, shaped shoulder bags. His rich flower garden embroideries on leather coats and matching tall boots promise to be instant mood lifters. Jacobs reliably delivered more of his signature low-key luxury with hand-loomed denim that had a sheen like silk.
Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, was at the show after a brief ban by Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which was unhappy with one of her earlier reviews.
For the 15 minutes that John Galliano’s collection rocked down the runway Thursday, everything seemed right with the world. In his typical, fun-loving way, Galliano mixed African and Moroccan motifs that were beaded, printed and knitted into wonderfully well-balanced clothes. A lively series of short, shaped leather jackets in vivid aqua, yellow or sky blue topped a swirl of interestingly patterned chiffon dresses--worn here and on lots of runways over pants.
Galliano’s gusto seems to make his extremes work. A brown pinstriped suit, for example, is as exactingly crafted and correct as is the thick, cheerful African beading that rims the cuffs and hems. His multicolored argyle sweater or advertising logo prints or cleverly decorated denims say let’s go have a good time today.
For several seasons, the intricately beautiful clothes of Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere had been fashion’s feel-good fix, but now he seems to need a bit of fixing. The designer worked up some pieces in a patchwork of crazy-quilt shapes, but they never lost their self-consciousness. These and several exaggerated, deconstructed racer-back dresses for day and evening exist as artwork for fashion connoisseurs. The designer decorated basic sportswear pieces with rows of stitching, patchwork quilt patterns and crumpled fabrics. But inventors and their experiments are to be commended for sustaining a sense of possibility and freedom. Creativity often gets smothered with the predictability of big commercial success. Watching Karl Lagerfeld rework the now-legendary Chanel motifs used to be a breathtaking lesson in balancing tradition with trends. Now it’s like a soap opera that feeds the addicts’ twists on the familiar.
Happily, Lagerfeld is a pro who can churn out the formula. The chenille Chanel jacket is now a hip-length blouson; the skirt, a full knee-length; and the cardigan now partners with a ruffled blouse and tough-looking pointy boots. He hasn’t forgotten the all-important plot twists: a long, sheer caftan to wear like a giant cape over other clothes; and some oversized, off-shoulder chiffon blouses to wear with a leather skirt. Skip the trite Chanel camellia, pearls and logos, and these looks stay in the present, not the past.
Elsewhere on the runways, serene, highly individual clothes were the message. Issey Miyake’s new designer, Naoki Takizawa, brought a youthful charm to a collection of intricate gathers, pleats and swirls. Blouses were gathered in overblown poufs that made them seem a little like bubble wrap.
Martin Margiela continues his avant-garde explorations of form that, if he intends it or not, become quite amusing. He’s cutting old aviator jackets into circles, using rows of snaps to shape a flat piece of fabric into a wonderful vest and slashing huge men’s trench coats straight across the chest for an intriguing jacket. Marcel Marongiu continues to offer tailored clothes that are on the trend, without looking trendy. A favorite: trousers with a belt that buttons around the waistline.
By the end of the week it was easy to become overloaded on charm and history--like those tourists who’ve seen 20 cathedrals in 10 days. Expectations run high for the 95 catwalk shows and 100 presentations, not least because Paris has consistently attracted the most innovative mix of talent anywhere. Of course, hundreds of their designs will never be produced, sold or worn, but this season especially, it’s the simple fact of their creation that’s important. They’re like flowers that bloomed for a moment, faded and left beautiful memory.
