Paris Fashion Week: 'A Lesson on Confusion' by Dior

When John Galliano left Dior last year, there was a great deal of speculation about the future success of the brand. Some claimed that Galliano was not the cornerstone of Dior whilst others remained incredulous as to what would become of the French fashion powerhouse. Personally, I was one of the sceptics. Though what he did was shameful and entirely inappropriate, there is no denying that John Galliano is a fashion genius; without him at the helm, Dior's collections have thus far fallen short of the creative mark that we had come to expect. Bring that to the present day and Bill Gaytten's Fall/Winter 2012 collection for Dior was really quite uninspiring.

The balletic influence is strikingly obvious whilst midi-length pleated skirts with cinched waists evoke nostalgic images of Dior's infamous 'New Look'. However, the collection felt too safe for my liking. Bold colours and creative designs have been replaced by a predictable colour palette of black, pink and grey. As a whole, the collection is confused; with a theme surrounding the notion of 'soft modernity', Gaytten stuck to familiar silhouettes which in my eyes, translates as boring.

However, that isn't to say there were some really nice pieces. I can't bring myself to use a more enthusiastic adjective so 'nice' will have to suffice. The latter end of the collection presented some interesting pieces that you can see working well in both editorials and on the red-carpet. My favourite item is definitely the horizontal striped maxi-skirt with sheer panels - it's got Tilda Swinton written all over it, no?

I don't want to be critical of Bill Gaytten because he has an enormous pair of shoes to fill; away from the Dior label, this collection would probably be fantastic. However, when the bar has been set so high by such an ingenious predecessor, it's hard not to make the comparison. This is a collection that demonstrates great skill and knowledge, though Dior now needs to reignite its spark and enthusiasm for passion - without Galliano.


Photos from style.com

Spotlight: Martha Streck

You know the kind of girl that turns heads as she walks down the street? Well, Martha Streck is one of them:

I rarely want to be someone, but I definitely want to be this girl. Her street style is near on impeccable and she looks like one of the few models that actually smile these days. Obviously they're not my main reason for wanting to be someone but with legs like that I hardly need to justify myself. 

Martha is in this weeks Spotlight because she's never really crossed my radar before and I think she's absolutely stunning. I love this image from Dior Couture this season and can't wait to see her over the various Fashion Weeks.

Paris Fashion Week is so close I can almost taste it. What designers/models are you looking forward to seeing the most? I really really can't wait to see what Sarah Burton produces for Alexander McQueen, something completely outrageous I hope! What do you think of Martha?

photos from altamiranyc.blogspot.com and thefashionspot.com

J'Adore Couture

To my own amazement I rarely follow the Couture shows, I just have one of those irrational 'I can't afford any of this' fears and therefore avoid it altogether. However, last season I (like many others) got suckered in by Chanel's Couture Collection and finally started paying attention - albeit several years too late.

This season is no different; the shows haven't even gotten into full swing (I'm super excited about Chanel) and I'm already smitten. Christian Dior was a massive surprise as it was totally opposite to the AW10 Ready-to-Wear and it was just so colourful...

Aside from the massively obvious floral references, I saw a little bit of Marc Jacobs SS10 and a little bit of Taylor Momsen's hair from The Grinch years - either way I actually kind of liked it. It's way too colourful and flouncy for me to ever consider wearing (if I won the lottery, it might happen) but I can already see most of the dresses being worn on the red carpet.

But it's Givenchy that's been the stand-out collection so far, I mean these dresses are seriously beautiful...

Inspired by the uh-mazing Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and her three obsessions: religion, sensuality and the human anatomy, Riccardo Tisci has really put himself out there as a serious couture contender. I'm usually quite dubious about feathers and embellishment but Tisci's got the balance perfectly, who wouldn't want to wear either of these pieces?!

I can't wait for Chanel, Papa K will undoubtedly present a blinder of a collection and when he does I'll be the first to gush. On a more serious note though, who can actually afford to buy this stuff? I'm pretty sure I'd have to sell my house to afford one piece, let alone every season...

photos from style.com

Blaspheme

If I owned an Hermes bag, I would guard it with my life; it itself would have life insurance. Apparently this rule doesn't apply to celebrities, or to be more precise, Lady Gaga.

Having been in Japan promoting Viva Glam for M.A.C she probably thought that scrawling over a perfectly good Hermes bag was in some way ironic, or she simply wanted the bag safe from the likes of Heidi Montag/Pratt. Now, I love the gaga, I really do, but seriously, Hermes? Its a kick in the teeth that I wish I could have executed myself - just imagine having enough money to be able to graffiti your own £2000 bag and not give a shit.

I guess not giving a shit has kind of become her motto - which is why I completely and utterly adore her. It seems that Japan has brought our Gaga's crazy side that I've missed so much in recent months.

She kind of looks like a piece of scrap metal from Terminator but of course, it works. We've come to expect nothing less than extraordinary from her and seriously, apart from on the Victoria's Secret runway, when are you ever going to see wings as fun as this? I definately prefer this yellow-tinged-bob on her to that awful blonde wig; it's so last year.

And what would a post about Lady Gaga be without a bit of white body-paint and crazy hair. Like Dior AW09/10 she piled on the (painted white) kirby grips for the Viva Glam launch in Tokyo today, so much so that they look like some strange sort of head piece. Maybe she's stranded there because of the volcano in Iceland (fingers crossed) so we'll see even more fun outfits!

Are you offended or baffled by the graffitied Hermes?

photos from thefashionspot.com