BEAUTY: Clothing--Paris Fashion Week Miscellaneous, January 2013

Well, Paris Fashion Week for Fall-Winter '13-'14 closed yesterday and here are the last little dregs of some details I found interesting but not enough to post the entire collection...

Mugler showed a collection that was a tiny bit scary since it reminded me so much of the mean-spirited, Fascistic film "Starship Troopers." The insignia on the tops are a logo for "Mugl-air," a fictitious flying company, and they look sharp and serious. But no fashion editor or writer I have come across so far has had a thing to say about the big pink triangle, a symbol for the gay and lesbian community. And ya gotta love the pink bullet proof vest/parachute pack...

Speaking of parachute packs and airplanes, I liked the seat belt buckle that cinched waists on sport jackets and acted as toggles for coats at Dior. Just look at the mystical pyramid in a circle. Does the emblem have a metaphysical/alchemical meaning or is it a symbol of some future society?

Mugler and Dior conceptually segues nicely into the odd color straps spanning lapels at Raf Simons.

And speaking of future societies, Issey Miyake created some foiled rain wear that looks like it is straight out of "Fahrenheit 451."

Shifting gears to something more romantic, Vuitton showed some gorgeous pieces based on Bhutan silk brocade. Creative director Kim Jones went to the Himalayas to research this collection and the luxurious evening wear that resulted was certainly worth it.

Alexis Mabille showed a really cute detail in his collection: a string tie with tassels. (The artist in me thinks, "I could make that!" I can't cut patterns or sew, but I could put some tassels on the end of a string!)

Jean Paul Gaultier's show was cheeky, taking place in neon lined cubicles reminscent of pay-per-view strip booths. And indeed, each model came out and provocatively stripped down. The funny part is they were wearing classic men's wear patterns. Pin stripes have been everywhere at Paris Fashion Week and in Milano...

And finally, Junya Watanabe usually incorporates some kind of work wear or a theme of the laborer into his collections. This time he took us back to immigrants on the Lower East Side of New York, and to the Great Depression with men proudly wearing patched jackets and pants, cobbled together from other threadbare pieces. And aren't we all living through the Second Great Depression... Watanabe seems to be saying that times may be tough, but we still have our dignity.

http://www.mugler.com/us/en/
http://www.dior.com/home/en_us/
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.isseymiyake.com/en/
http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://www.alexismabille.com/fr/
http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/brand/en

Photos via http://www.style.com/

Paris Fashion Week 2012

As regular readers know, I usually only post about men's fashion, but I will make exceptions on occasion and this is certainly one of them. At Paris Fashion Week, which concluded today, there were some stand out collections that need to be seen.

I am not a rabid follower of Marc Jacobs' work, but his SS '13 collection for Vuitton was pretty special. Rather, I should say that the clothing was interesting enough (a fun, and ultimately elegant pop-art homage that felt a tad Rudi Gernreich) but it was the set that did it for me. ESCALATORS? Seriously? How incredible and fantastic is that? And set to a Philip Glass soundtrack? How perfect, like a scene from "Koyaanisqatsi."

And my beloved McQueen showed a gorgeous collection all based on apiculture. Sarah Burton put models in hats reminiscent of bee keeper hats with veils, while honeycomb patterns and bodices, hip rolls, straps, and jewelry made of what looked like hardened, dark, raw honey embellished with tiny jeweled bees appeared throughout. Sumptuous hoop skirts covered in the kind of flowers that bees pollinate (and of course, from which they make honey) rocked to and fro down the runway, while filmed bees swarmed on the giant screen at the rear of the stage. *swoon*

http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/alexandermcqueen/en_US

But the most extraordinary show was not showcasing any current collection. It was "The Impossible Wardrobe," a one-of-a-kind, one-woman performance art piece conceived by Olivier Saillard, director of the Musée Galliera, a museum of fashion and fashion history in Paris, and über-talented actress Tilda Swinton. For forty minutes, Swinton, dressed in a plain white shift, walked treasured pieces of fashion history culled from the Musée Galliera's archives down a runway, to a waiting mirror. Due to the Musée's strict "no-wear" policy, she held each piece in her white-gloved hands (acid from skin causes damage to precious, ancient fabric) and posed in front of the mirror, imagining what she would look like in each piece. As she walked, she made pieces dance. She danced with pieces. She made each garment come to life. Using her marvelous emotive powers, Swinton embodied a certain sense associated with each garment, whether it was an evening collar that belonged to Sarah Bernhardt, a tailcoat covered in gold bullion worn by Napoleon (yes, the Napoleon; she sniffed the collar, searching for a trace or a leftover pheromone of its owner, inhaling history itself), a Yohji Yamamoto headdress from 1993, a 1968 Paco Rabanne dress worn by Brigitte Bardot, or a pair of Elsa Schiaparelli-designed gloves with built-in gold talons from 1936.

Swinton holding Napoleon's tailcoat, circa 1805 - 1815.

Swinton holding Sarah Bernhardt's evening collar, circa 1900.