Posts for March 4th 2011
Peep Our First Batch of Paris Fashion Week Street Style!
>> Paris Fashion Week kicked off with some amazing street style; while it hasn't been as colorful as Milan's offering, the City of Love offered up a bevy of chic outfits dipped in neutral hues and sleek prints.
>> Paris Fashion Week kicked off with some amazing street style; while it hasn't been as colorful as Milan's offering, the City of Love offered up a bevy of chic outfits dipped in neutral hues and sleek prints. Abbey Lee Kershaw and Arizona Muse look like they're having a ball between shows! More inspiring street style in the slideshow.
Photo courtesy of Greg Kessler
It's Unclear When Christophe Decarnin Will Return to Work at Balmain
>> A few more details on Christophe Decarnin's absence from Balmain yesterday, which was, according to a Balmain spokesperson, due to doctor's orders; Decarnin has reportedly been under treatment for depression.
>> A few more details on Christophe Decarnin's absence from Balmain yesterday, which was, according to a Balmain spokesperson, due to doctor's orders; Decarnin has reportedly been under treatment for depression. A spokesperson for the label has now confirmed that Decarnin's ailment is “not anything physical,” and the rumors of a mental breakdown from drugs or the mental hospital are “completely untrue.”
As for Melanie Ward, Balmain's new stylist, designing the Fall 2011 collection without Decarnin's input, the spokesperson says: "This collection was done under [Decarnin's] directives, but in the last weeks, he hasn’t been involved 100 percent — or as much as he would like . . . He has been exhausted because this season was particularly demanding and complicated."
This season's collection was executed by the house's "loyal" design team, the spokesperson added, who will continue to carry out the work until Decarnin, who has been with the brand since 2005, has recovered and resumed work at an unknown time.
According to Nicola Formichetti, Mugler Is "Not So Much About the Clothes"
>> Of Nicola Formichetti's debut Mugler collection on Wednesday, Suzy Menkes pondered, "But did those outfits really make their mark on fashion?"
>> Of Nicola Formichetti's debut Mugler collection on Wednesday, Suzy Menkes pondered, "But did those outfits really make their mark on fashion?" And Style.com noted of the debut: "It didn't blow you away, either in its affinities to Thierry Mugler's originals or with its future vision." But according to Formichetti, neither are important: “I just wanted to bring the fun back. It’s not so much about the clothes.” [IHT]
A Christian Dior Show Without John Galliano — Sans Drama, "Funereal" Instead
>> Typically, Cathy Horyn writes, "a Dior show would be an occasion for a mob scene at the front gates, celebrities filling front-row seats, and the arrival of Bernard Arnault." But today, not so: there were no big name celebrities (just Anna Wintour, Emmanuelle Alt, Mario Testino, and Natalia Vodianova instead); there was no Arnault — "owing to the tug of other business obligations," WWD reports — and the mob scene outside was bigger than usual: "I would say more than 300 people were there, along with extra French police officers," Horyn noted.
>> Typically, Cathy Horyn writes, "a Dior show would be an occasion for a mob scene at the front gates, celebrities filling front-row seats, and the arrival of Bernard Arnault." But today, not so: there were no big name celebrities (just Anna Wintour, Emmanuelle Alt, Mario Testino, and Natalia Vodianova instead); there was no Arnault — "owing to the tug of other business obligations," WWD reports — and the mob scene outside was bigger than usual: "I would say more than 300 people were there, along with extra French police officers," Horyn noted. Security was up in all regards — guest invitations were checked multiple times on the way in, and photographers weren't allowed backstage or front row access.
There was no lack in attendance, however: Dior's PR described the demand for invitations as "overwhelming." But the mood at the show "was sombre and muted, with more than one guest suggesting the atmosphere was 'funereal,'" Hilary Alexander reports, "something heightened by the black ribbons which tied the name tags to each attendees' black chair; the black carpet; and the plaintive strains of Chopin and Debussy which echoed through the tent, pre-show."
Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, who is Jewish, took the runway at the start of the show to make his first public statements (full text here) since the scandal:
"What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal for us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be.
"Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples.
"These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent. So now, more than ever, we must publicly re-commit ourselves to the values of the House of Dior.
" . . . The heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen, is made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsmen, who work hard day after day, never counting the hours, and carrying on the value and the vision of Monsieur Dior. What you are going to see now is the result of the extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hardworking people."
Dior face Karlie Kloss opened the show as usual, but with John Galliano gone, Suzy Menkes writes, "The creative partners who supported Mr. Galliano over the years hardly had a look in: the milliner Stephen Jones had only a sprinkling of sensible felt hats and the makeup artist Pat McGrath created none of her dramatis personae. No stage set created a dramatic backdrop. Gone too were the outré accessories. Just a cameo at the throat was the main embellishment, although there was the usual complement of frills, bows and feminine prettiness."
Arnault's daughter, Delphine, who is deputy managing director at Dior, apparently wiped away tears at the end of the show, when the entire 30-person Dior atelier team took the runway in white coats to a standing applause. And Joe Zee tweeted, "The end of the show was an immensely touching fashion moment for me."
Industry Players on Who They Want to See at Christian Dior; A Decision Isn't Expected for Some Time
>> There's been plenty a rumor about who might succeed John Galliano at Christian Dior, and in the video above, insiders give their two cents on who they think will take the role.
>> There's been plenty a rumor about who might succeed John Galliano at Christian Dior, and in the video above, insiders give their two cents on who they think will take the role. While the Vogue contingent won't comment, Fabien Baron suggests Riccardo Tisci or Haider Ackermann, Stefano Tonchi offers up Peter Dundas's name, and Cathy Horyn opines, "People talk about Riccardo Tisci, [but he's] too gloomy for Dior," saying she'd instead like to see Tom Ford, Raf Simons, or Alber Elbaz.
Despite all the speculation, Dior is apparently in no hurry to name a successor; it's also not legally able, under French employment regulations, to do so until the process to terminate Galliano — which can take several weeks — has been completed. “There won’t be any choice for quite a while,” according to one source familiar with LVMH. “They’re receiving offers.”
Among the candidates Bernard Arnault's advisers have been pitching, according to WWD sources: Haider Ackermann, Hedi Slimane and Riccardo Tisci. Delphine Arnault, deputy managing director at Dior and Bernard Arnault's daughter, is said to be partial to Tisci. And overtures were apparently recently made to Ackermann as a possible candidate for Dior, or to succeed Tisci at Givenchy if he moves to Dior.
