A lot of people say that Haute Couture is a relic of the past, but the inspiration, the references, the search for something new – in addition to the more surface-level beauty of the colors, the shapes, and the culture itself – keeps me interested in coverage of the shows every season.
That being said, compared with some past seasons, the Spring 2010 shows last week seemed a bit lackluster (Cathy Horyn asked, "How many couture collections really proposed a new style, or showed you something that was the result of amazing techniques?").
I thought the return of former Balenciaga designer Josephus Thimister was the most interesting thing that came out of it, but I'll do a separate post about that. For now, here are some of the things that caught my eye in the main shows. (And yes, this is clearly Emily's territory on the blog... but since she is buried in schoolwork, I thought I would attempt to pinch-hit. I mean, hey, I bought my mom a subscription to Vogue when I was 8. Let's do this.)
Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld. The hair reminds me of the sorority girls in Animal House ("That boy is a p-i-g PIG"). On the surface it seems...I keep thinking of a young Pat Nixon or something, not that I have any idea what she looked like. The details are impressive though – one outfit had something like 13,000 satin flowers on it – and combined with those crazy road warrior accessories the contrast is interesting. "I don’t want vintage...and in a way I am vintage," Lagerfeld was quoted as saying. "Like a box of macaroons projected into cyberspace," said Suzy Menkes. 
Christian Dior, by John Galliano. A little bit expected – it doesn't feel very relevant to me. I say that as a fan, and I guarantee that if you got close to these pieces your mind would be blown, but from afar I didn't find this collection very exciting. I would like to see Gaultier and Galliano do shows that are totally out of their own heads some time, as opposed to such heavily referential collections every season. I am a sucker for red and for riding gear, however. What.
Armani Privé Spring 2010 Haute Couture, by Giorgio Armani. The way the light hits that blue dress is cool. Otherwise...it was an Armani show.
Valentino – the first collection by Valentino protégés Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. A little boring overall but the lightness and layering of the fabric is beautiful. Maybe this is because I'm a dude but I don't like the little bows – I understand that you sometimes have to do things to tie a look together (imagine that middle look without a bow – it would need something) but I might prefer a knot. Those fabric roses that Tom Ford did at Gucci – something more modern. I don't get the instinct to do a jacket like that one on the left, and then along comes a little bow. So there you have it. Some day Emily will be done with school and coherent fashion coverage will return to the PS. As always, we thoroughly recommend Cathy Horyn's coverage of the shows (and she's Twitting now too, if you're into that kind of thing).
More images at Fashionologie.
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