This beautifully constructed video of New York Times fashion critic, Cathy Horyn touring the McQueen atelier in London with Creative Director, Sarah Burton is quite fascinating. As you watch, you get the opportunity to hear about the house’s vision of what and who a McQueen woman is, how this vision influences the brand’s designs and get a glimpse of the construction of the clothes in detail; it makes you want to reach through the computer screen, touch each garment and be part of the conversation.

I especially, appreciate Burton’s comment on the need for other skilled trades people in fashion such as patternmakers, and Horyn’s view of how fashion journalism should be approached by up and coming writers.

Diving for McQueen on Nowness.com.

Friday marked the end of fall/winter 2010 haute couture week in Paris. I’ve included footage and my reviews from the shows of some of my favourite houses: Chanel, Givenchy and Valentino. Have a read through and let me know what you think of these collections.

Chanel: Recession… What recession? The 2010 fall/winter collection for Chanel took place in the Grand Palais, Paris with towering white bottles of Chanel No.5. As you watch the video it appears Karl Lagerfeld is using the simplicity of these sculptural bottles to offset the richness and texture of this collection. His aim was “to combine extremely pure silhouettes, which evoke ‘unencumbered graphic effects and asymmetric lines’” in his garments (Chanel.com). Individually I think each outfit is beautiful, however as they appeared on the runway I couldn’t help but feel there was a lack of cohesion in the collection – the silhouettes seem to lose its purity with long trains and I found the lace hats distracting and out of place. Grade: B+

Givenchy: all I have to say about the Givenchy 2010 fall/winter collection, by Riccardo Tisci is WOW! I am completely floored by his work. It is one of the most dynamic, haunting,and captivating collections I’ve seen during this past week and most likely the whole year. Watch the accompanying video and you’ll see that the clothes speaks for itself. Suit me up Tisci! Grade: A+

Valentino: newly appointed designers to the House of Valentino, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri have received mixed reviews for their second collection for fall/winter 2010 (see New York Times and Associated Press articles). The duo is carving out their own niché and creating a different vision of the Valentino woman and being the house’s former accessories designers for years they have a personal and professional relationship with the company which can work for or against them. They present the evolution of the Valentino woman who is youthful with a little bit of an edge. I find this new vision for the house refreshing and sexy, but Piccioli and Chiuri need to be reminded the House of Valentino should be transformed in stages rather than in a wave of change so they don’t alienate their pre-existing audience and customers. Grade: B

(Videos from www.telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com)

I couldn’t resist writing another blog entry so soon after my previous post, The House Haute Couture Built, but for the love of fashion I felt the need to share with you the story of Christian Lacroix who sadly maybe another casualty of the global recession. 

Briefly, Lacroix is a French haute couture designer who established the House of Lacroix in 1987 – he is very well-known and highly regarded by his peers and the international fashion community. On May 21, 2009 the House of Lacroix filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy which came as a stunning blow to all, especially when the field of haute couture designers is very small (background article, New York Times). Yesterday, Lacroix presented what maybe his last couture show which could not have been possible without the support and devotion of his employees, suppliers, friends, and local coffee shop who donated their time and services for free to help present this collection. Hearing this greatly moved me; people coming together for a cause they strongly believe in and feel passionate about. I genuinely hope and pray this couturier master finds a way to carry on his work of creating beautiful clothing.

(Video from www.telegraph.co.uk)

Monday marked the kick off to a week of winter 2010 haute couture collections in Paris, France. News outlets such as the New York Times, Associated Press and Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) were filing stories left, right and centre about the relevance of couture in these difficult economic times. Couture garments are a work of art taking countless man hours to produce,but they also run the cost of a small island off the coast of Africa.

Therefore it’s rightly so that WWD ask, “Do dresses with six-figure price tags have a place in fashion magazines at a time of economic crisis?” In the world of fashion and fantasy where every girl is Carrie Bradshaw I say yes. However, according to Statistics Canada in May “Employment decreased by 42,000 (jobs and) … The unemployment rate rose… to 8.4 per cent, the highest rate in 11 years” this is a reality which cannot afford excess. There are only a select few who can afford these ostentatious outfits and they are the monetary staple of the exclusive haute couture club.

The outfits pictured in this post are by John Galliano for the House of Dior – beautiful colours and tailoring but the lower half of the garments seem to be missing. One could assume Galliano ran out of money to buy fabric to finish the rest of the skirts or the lack of cloth is a play on the sign of the economic times. What I know for sure is these outfits don’t exactly qualify as winter wear. Obviously they haven’t been to Canada.

(Images from @itsmechaneliman and New York Times photographers, Chris Moore/Karl Prouse.)