|
|
| Christian
Lacroix's Fashion Show |
|
 |
Christian
Lacroix's couture is the quintessence of a certain palate-zinging taste
that's unique to Paris. He lays on a visual feast that co-opts the
draped grandeur of Edwardian gowns, the boudoir fragility of empire
negligees, the richness of Spanish costume, and the eccentric side of
the ladylike sixties.It's a rich mix indeed, especially when served up
with puffy leg-o'-mutton sleeves, diamanté brooches |
| Christian
Lacroix's design |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| the
size of saucers, lashings of ribbons, and clouds of frosted
cotton-candied headgear. And if that sounds like too much to take in one
sitting, this collection was actually, to seasoned Lacroix-watchers, a
calmer affair than usual, concentrating more on volume and color than
his usual grande-bouffe decorative excess
These clothes are best savored one by
one. Take a gold-embroidered lace coat, trimmed with fur over a matching
dress. Or a shell-pink, jet-beaded toreador bolero over a twisted
geranium-red chiffon gown. Or a purple ombré-painted puffy Poiret coat
over a ruffled, smocked pink mini tank dress. None of these bear any
thematic relation to one another, save their outstanding individuality.
They are for women capable of carrying off both whimsy and boldness, and
that's a version of Parisian sophistication that's only ever on the menu
at Lacroix's table.
by Sarah Mower |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Elie Saab's
Fashion Show |
|
| "I wanted to
do forties Hollywood—and late-seventies glamour," said Elie Saab,
the Beirut-based designer who is building up a red-carpet profile for
himself in both Paris and Los Angeles. His instinct for the right trend,
plus the fact that the couture schedule now has a hole in it where
Donatella Versace used to show, made his parade of va-va-voom
drama-dresses worth scrutinizing. Saab's best looks were pale,
sparkling, silver-beaded numbers constructed to hug the body at the
crucial points and then trail glamorously to the floor. Together with
one forties suit made entirely of gold sequins, they successfully evoked
George Hurrell's classic portraits of Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford. |
|
 |
|
| Elie Saab's
design |
|
Though not
exactly made for shrinking violets, this season's dresses showed more
decorum than some of the semi-naked, multiprinted frocks Saab has
unveiled before—a step in the right direction, now that fashion is in
the mood for a little more dignity. (Though adding leggings—or
jumpsuit devices—under some sheer dresses might have been taking
modesty a little too seriously.) With his love of color, as well as
silver-screen glam, Saab shows signs of increasing sophistication. He'll
never cut it as a cerebral creator, but as a custom dressmaker, he can
give New Hollywood, as well as the princesses of the Arab world, just
what they want.
by Sarah Mower |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
