PARIS FASHION WEEK Fall 2011: Gareth Pugh, Hussein Chalayan, Anne Valerie Hash, Carven, Christophe Lemaire

Limi Feu

Bon Jour! It's been an exciting jam packed week of fashion shows in Paris as the Fall 2011 collections made their debuts on runways around the illuminated city. I am writing from my pink blossom lined private balcony suite at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris' 8th arrondissement. Sipping Cafe au Soy while munching on a crusty baguette carefully slathered in fresh strawberry jam and a dot of creamy butter, I find myself looking out on to the bustling Champs-Elysees and I can't help but smile. Why on earth don't I do this more often? ......And then I give thanks to the power of the written word, for aiding and abetting my French connections, a fabulous fictional moment in time. Gaaah! I'm actually in New York, writing from my local coffee-scented haunt. That was fun, and I will definitely do that more often. So without further bêtises let's take a highlighted look at some of the French collections so far:



GARETH PUGH

HUSSEIN CHALAYAN

ANNE VALERIE HASH

CARVEN

CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE

ROCHAS

All images courtesy of WWD

Gareth Pugh Spring 2011: Paris Fashion Week

It's a Space Age love song at Gareth Pugh, and those hourglass silver foil dresses and jackets are absolutely divine!














Images courtesy of Style.com

OH LA LA!

"Wow!!", you say, "Not a style icon hunt post? Have I come to the right blog? Because this just isn't right!!" Well, believe it or not, this is a post where there will be no celebrities what so ever, of any shapes or sizes, and there will be no contest and you will not have to make the very hard decision on who is the best dresser. I understand that it can get quite boring with the same thing going on all the time, so therefore I will try to spice things up in between and post great philosophical and psychological thoughts which every so often dawn upon me. Ehh..no, sorry can't promise you that...but I'll definitely promise you my thoughts, opinions and rantings of everything superficial, juicy and of course..the very serious fashion world!

After a long and hard period of studying, exams etc. I have decided to reward myself with something. And I have had my eye on these t-shirts from http://houseofholland.co.uk/ for a veeeery loooooooong tiiiiiime. And when I say a long time, I mean a loooooooooooooooooong time. BUT which one to choose?? They are all so on-the-edge saucy and sexy, and I don't know if I want to cause Hedi Slimane pain, make Giles Deacon get his freak on, say UHU to Gareth Pugh or do Christopher Bailey daily? A tough choice which will need a lot of thought put into it because the message on the shirt can change your life. What if I, one day walking down the street, suddenly walk past Giles Deacon and I am wearing the "UHU Gareth Pugh" t-shirt...then I have missed out on seeing Giles Deacon getting his freak on. And what if I meet Christopher Bailey and I am wearing the "Cause me pain Hedi Slimane"...uh oh, no Christopher Bailey to do me daily. So you see the hard choice I have to make...

But word on the street says that the talented and fabulous designer of these t-shirts, Henry Holland, is making new shirts. And they aren't bad let me tell you...they are hot!! Especially this one...

...because who can't resist Anna Sui's gorgeous materials and designs?? Okay, maybe one of you reading this can, but I definitely can't...

...so maybe I'll just have to wait even looooooonger...!

No No No, Noki!

These nightmarish photos are from trashion designer’s Noki’s Spring '08 show this past September at London’s Fashion East, which takes place during London Fashion Week and showcases emerging designers.
















Noki is 36-year-old club kid (uhhhhhh… you think?) Jonathan “JJ” Hudson, who’s trying very hard to do that unbelievably tired assumed anonymity thing. Maybe because his work is so. freaking. cheesy. Apparently, when he appears in public, it's usually only in one of his signature surgical masks. (So SARS!) His House of Sustainability collection -- shown above, reviewed here and discussed here -- is made from a bunch of um, old junk, and is not for sale (as if you’d WANT to look like Rainbow Brite on meth?). Instead, he encourages you to copy his look. Again, if you want to look like a tweaked-out anime character covered in graffiti and shame.

I’m sorry, but this is some bass-ackwards Project Runway “Unleash your inner demons” thrift store experiment gone hideously, horribly, unreasonably awry. It’s like someone tossed a bomb through the window of Heatherette and then brutally massacred Hot Topic atop the flaming pyre. This is like some broke-ass overzealous art schooler’s ill-advised tribute to Leigh Bowery. This is like why you shouldn’t let members of the Insane Clown Posse design your Spring collection. This makes Gareth Pugh (who also rose to superstar status after his Fashion East show) look like Margaret Thatcher. Um, let’s see. What else? This looks like some bored emo kids broke into Barbie and the Rockers’ wardrobe and went craycray with the cuttin’ and the pastin’ and the embellishin’. This is why you shouldn’t Dumpster dive behind House of Field while drunk.

Dude. We GET it. You’re REBELLING. You LOVE to deconstruct. And you’re MAKING LOTS OF STATEMENTS and stuff. You’re totally PLAYING WITH GENDER ROLES and PERCEPTIONS and you’re RECLAIMING fashion by REVITALIZING vintage pieces and making them YOUR OWN. You’re probably REALLY INTO POST-MODERNISM! But really? Masks are for Halloween. And cotton candy wigs are best left to drag queens and troll dolls. Clubbing died with the ‘90s! Less is more! SO much more! So please… less?

I’m all for being green and using and wasting less and hanging onto to old clothes and repurposing them or whatever but NOT at the expense of looking like a deranged party clown, brah.