Paris Fashion Week Fall 2012 Hits and Misses, Part 1 (Forum Buzz)

THE HITS:

Dries van Noten

“This is amazing. You can always trust Dries to come up with something wearable and imaginative, I love how he went for an Oriental influence but didn’t make the mistake of over-doing it or kitsching it up.” [Fiercification]

“One of my most awaited moments of Paris fashion week! Dries is not only a master in prints but he also does wonders mixing shapes and textures with both light and heavy fabrics. The outerwear is really great. I absolutely love the military green and brownish tones he used to complement the prints. The makeup and hair are beautiful too.” [*ana*]

“Impeccable… a cliché inspiration delivered in a clever, intellectual realization, resulting in a perfect harmony of shapes, textures, and prints. His embroidered pieces are particularly divine. A stand out of all the fashion weeks already.” [kiddokiddo]

Read our review and see images of the Dries van Noten collection.

 

A.F. Vandevorst

“[I] was really floored by it all. It was very moody, sexual and dramatic in only the best and most poetic way An [Vandevorst] and Filip [Arickx] can do it.” [Scott]

“I watched the video twice in a row, completely hypnotized. It makes me happy to see that there are still people like An and Filip who make it worth being excited about Fashion Week even knowing I cannot afford any of this, just because it’s so beautiful and inspiring that you feel good by simply watching it. To me this is when fashion approaches art (because I’d never say fashion is art), when it goes beyond the collection and clothes-display and becomes one whole thing, a combination of image, sound and mood, and can touch you.” [*ana*]

“[The knits] added such an unexpected punch of beauty to their artistry. Especially when you take into consideration that they were able to drape them as masterfully as they are known to do with their fabrics… The hats, covered faces, leather knee boots when combined with the sharp tailored pieces add such a sexual undercurrent to the already sexy pieces. I am loving this!” [HeatherAnne]

 

Yohji Yamamoto

“This is the best collection I have seen so far. Such a sensual collection with sinuous silhouettes in spite of the heaviness of the fabric. The red is seductive, and sometimes even seems dangerous, slashing through the clothes, pushing itself through.” [Uemarasan]

“Absolutely glorious! This is a woman perfectly comfortable being sexy and sensual in her own skin… one who can wrap and layer herself in oversized silhouettes and be just as seductive as an overtly sexy woman. Adore it.” [Scott]

“I think this collection looks extremely wearable for a Yohji collection. Everything looks so cozy and the styling is so inspiring, I could totally imagine myself dressing like this next winter.” [Psylocke]

 

THE MISSES:

Ann Demeulemeester

“Major déja-vu. And the feathers…again. I’ll never ever dislike anything Ann [Demeulemeester] does because everything is always sublime and the leather is divine but I see nothing ground-breaking here and this kind of bores me. [Psylocke]

“The use of leather and the layers are great as usual, and there are some very beautiful looks, but I feel it lacks romance. I always get a strong romantic vibe from [Demeulemeester’s] collections, that makes them go beyond just great technique, but this one seems a little ‘cold’.” [*ana*]

“I went into this expecting to love it and while it’s nice it’s not great. But still, Demeulemeester at nice is still better than most designers.” [saann]

Read our review and see images of the Ann Demeulemeester collection.

 

Balenciaga

“So this is the mess [Nicolas] Ghesquiere has dug himself into once all his talented assistants, Bouchra Jarrar, Sebastian Peigne, and Alistair Carr leave and move on.” [Mutterlein]

“This is absolutely hideous. Ghesquiere is trying far too hard to be new and edgy; his last few collections are evidence of this. Hopefully once he lets this obsession with the 80s go, the aesthetic will shift into a more visually appealing territory.” [helmut.newton]

“If 90 percent of it makes the models look frumpy, then the rest of us are doomed. Balenciaga sure ain’t what it used to be.” [fee de foret]

Read our review and see images of the Balenciaga collection.

 

Isabel Marant

“Snoozefest. I do however find it funny that Isabel [Marant] has some kind of fascination with American style whether it be that whole California-laidback thing or now the obvious Southern/Country influences in this collection. Who would’ve thought a chic French girl would want to wear cowboy boots? I’m American and I don’t even want to wear cowboy boots.” [ALAUU]

“She is still way too heavy-handed when it comes to themes, it’s almost comical. Why did she start doing this, and how do we stop it? I thought she did a great job of introducing new pieces as well as bringing back some of her classics… [but] the lack of her coats here was a big disappointment. It will also be excruciating to watch some of her blind followers try to pull some of this stuff off from head-to-toe.” [HeatherAnne]

“Some individual pieces are very ‘cute’ but I want something new from her…she has been using the same formula for years…same skirts, same dresses, same shirts just different colors, patterns and materials every season!” [lemeray]

Read our review and see images of the Isabel Marant collection.

Images: IMAXtree

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