Saint Laurent is Short and Shimmery for Fall 2014 (Runway Review)

The Scene: Alex Turner and Miles Kane who showed up with champagne and two full glasses.

The Inspiration: John Baldessari, a conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images.

The Look: Short, shimmery and mismatched don’t exactly make for collections that scream luxury and that was the root of the problem with this season’s Saint Laurent lineup. With the exception of the direct references to Yves Saint Laurent‘s work — notably via reinterpretations of Le Smoking — there weren’t many looks that appeared to be worth their sure-to-be-high price tags, something that was only aggravated by the poor styling. A shimmering mini dress paired with tights, high-shine shoes and a white dotted black fur coat, for example, left a model looking as though she was a pre-teen who got overly excited in her mother’s closet. Are women really expected to shell out big bucks for little black dresses covered in a gold gun print and glittery, square-heeled shoes? The most success was found in the outerwear, which included long vests, A-line coats, capes and some beautiful furs. In a nod to his inspiration, the collection also included three sparkling “John Baldessari couture dresses,” which are part of a limited and numbered edition.

The Accessories: Glittery, below-the-knee boots and low, square-heeled shoes along with structured rectangular-shaped bags covered in glitter.

The Beauty: Charcoal eyes and wind-swept hair worn down with bangs and parted in the middle.

The Takeaway: There’s no question that Hedi Slimane is a talented designer, but his aesthetic seems better suited for a contemporary namesake label, not a luxury house like Saint Laurent.

All images: IMAXtree

 


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