Posted From Paris - March 2nd. Things have always been known to be bigger in the U.S. Europeans talk about the dreamy big sky country of the Western United States. They are amazed by our big cities, shocked by our big food portions, and repulsed by our big asses! This week in Paris however, we saw designers were thinking bigger is better!. Volume was all over the runways by those trend setting designers and the keepers at the gate of the large fashion empires. Three that stood out are:
Yves Saint Laurent - Stefano Pilati has had a bumpy road in his first few seasons out of the gate at YSL. Some say he is too much of a departure from the Yves look, and some just want reference to the master. For fall Mr. Pilati was all about less structure and volumous cocoon shapes. The sleek styling brought attention to clean lines free of needless detail - something he has been criticized for in the past. The collection was modern and chic. Wearable, yet editorial - which is no easy task. Its seems Mr. Pilati is finding his groove at the helm of YSL for sure.
Stella McCartney - Oversized proportions are nothing new for
Stella. She has developed a look for herself with chunky knits. They always have an edge with color or print, but look like you could curl up by the fire with a good book - or at least the latest issue of Vogue. While it was her Saville Row tailoring that put her on the map, it is her more athletic designs that have proved to be commercially successful for her. It is her sportiest looks that girls collect season after season. With swing coats, and jackets she gave them something to get in line for this fall. The perfect things to wear over her active collection from Adidas. Season after season the house known for trainers sell out of her high design "gym clothes". Giving the old saying about ADIDAS a twist - All Day I Dream About Stella!!
Chanel - When Karl Lagerfeld says SEW - the Chanel atelier says "how fast?" - and when Karl said SNOW - Chanel made that happen too! Thats right. It snowed Friday morning in Paris, but only under the glass dome of the Grande Palais. Mr. Lagerfeld showed his Fall RTW collection under a "sky" of giant white tissue clouds. The runway was a large "frozen" lake covered in snow. His ice princess' made their way around the rink in knee high boots in white and black leather. It was the 1870's meets the 1970's as long coats in deep aubergine were cinched with bright white belts and draped with big tweed bags embellished with charms, charms and more charms. Turqoise was all around - from shoes to bags. The gigantic chest plate necklaces made you somehow think African - while the pixie like models with their crimped hair were more Austrian! While Michel Gaubert remixed David Bowie and we heard snippets singing "pressure", it was the girls who looked pressured not to have a wipe out as they tried to make 6 inch stiletto's on "ice" look easy. We even saw one pair of golden ice skates draped over one girls shoulders- knowing Karl, it could have been a new take on an evening clutch! With KL the sky is the limit! Maybe he was also dreaming of that big sky country out west - just at the finale - the paper clouds started to move and the entire room was bathed in little paper snow flakes. It was a beautiful site- and a total fashion moment. After all, what could be more exclusive than having Chanel snow in your hair or on your person as you had lunch afterwards at L'Avenue. The Avenue Montaigne restaurant was the place to be after the show and the snow!