My picks for best dressed from the Met Ball last night: Rooney Mara (in Givenchy obviously), Marina Rust of Vogue, and the inimitable Karolina Kurkova who, even tho that’s Rachel Zoe and usually I’d roll my eyes… she rocked the shit out of the gown and I loved the styling with the turban as a nod to Sciaparelli. - RS (Images via Vogue.com)

Riccardo Tisci ended the Givenchy Fall 2012 show with a quintet (4 of which I’ve selected here) of delicate silk slip dresses embellished with romantic beaded motifs and bits of lace here and there. The delicate negligee` inspired looks were paired with aggressive equestrian/military boots for a look that recalled the 90’s ever so slightly. Can’t you sort of see Courtney Love (if she weren’t out of her mind and if she were more chic) wearing this? Then again, they’re also perfect for the latest crop of starlets and models who’ve been flocking to Givenchy for red carpet moments. -RS (Images via Vogue.com)

Givenchy Fall 2012 was a show grounded in equestrian and military references but could not have been further away from, for example Ralph Lauren, in one’s mind of how that inspiration could play out. Riccardo Tisci, yet again proving his inimitable talent, sent dark-lipped, leather-clad girls down the runway in ensembles that gave more than a nod to fetish. The silk charmeuse ties draped around their necks were provocative in the most interesting way.

In a palette of black, black on black, black mixed back with taupe and red, head to toe red, olive drab, and the most perfect shade of medium brown you’ve ever seen, Tisci showed superbly cut jackets, sensual blouses, a variety of trouser shapes (some a sort of revisited jodphur of course) and what will undoubtedly be the most coveted pair of boots in fashion next season.

It was almost as if these girls were not inspired by some character who rode horses, but were in fact the horses themselves. The boots gave them Clydesdale feet, the jackets a stature and grace one associates with show horses, the silk ribbons around their necks like those braided into manes for dressage. I give the show a blue ribbon. - RS (Images via Vogue.com)

For the Givenchy Spring 2012 collection, Riccardo Tisci departed entirely from the stylized irises and panthers of his last season. Spring 2012 was all solid colors with a punch of iridescent mini-dresses that punctuated a show done entirely in white, nude, pale lilac, black and sage green.

There were some mildly interesting experiments with the usual tuxedo jacket- versions in various silhouettes, some without sleeves etc etc. But the bulk of the show was all about amorphous, organic forms, these swirling layers and circular pieces that I’m not sure why, but made me think of sea creatures.

Some of the skirts were suspended by a single metal chain, many looks were accessorized by exaggerated pouches necklaces. The shapes overall made me think a bit of his couture collection and those style lines. Protruberant ruffles wiggled their way down many looks in this show, but never to the detriment of the slim, sleek silhouette. -RS (Images via fashiongonerogue)

KARL KLIPS PARIS! New Masstige Line In the Works..

WWD PARIS — Goodbye runway: Hello Internet. Karl Lagerfeld will not show his signature collection during Paris Fashion Week and is instead readying a new “masstige” ready-to-wear collection to be sold online next fall.

Lagerfeld was one of the first to dabble in the masses in 2004, when he collaborated with H&M on a one-time collection that sold out within hours. But this is a trend we will not see dissipating any time soon. More and more high end designers are abandoning their couture clients for the internet. You may recall we did a post about Givenchy doing the same thing a while back- but under the pretense that they were making the line “more exclusive” ha, ha. At least Karl is coming out and saying what it truly is. A play for a more global audience and expanded reach for the brand for the future. Bravo Karl, once again you are leading the way for the rest of the industry.

Posted by: Francine Davis Ballard

PS Congrats on your promotion Amy!

CHRISTIAN DIOR- PARIS HAUTE COUTURE FALL 2010

John Galliano is brill. This at the same time that Givenchy has cancelled their runway show. See previous post: “Last Look…”

Photos: FashionGoneRogue

Posted by: Francine Davis Ballard

LAST LOOK AT GIVENCHY COUTURE ON THE RUNWAY

WWD reported today that the French fashion house would forgo its couture runway presentations in lieu of private appointments in their couture salons on Paris’s Avenue George V.

Most fashion blogs have covered this from the “so much for the democratization of fashion” angle. And the house’s couturier Riccardo Tisci and his boss Pierre-Yves Roussel told WWD that the change was not a cost cutting measure, and in fact, [the private appointment format] “would cost them about 35 percent more than staying with runway presentations.”

Roussel says the economic downturn inspired Givenchy to try to bring back the private and exclusive nature of couture clothing, instead of splashing it around for the world to see. “After a crisis, a new era always starts,” [Tisci] added. “It’s going to be a very good moment for creativity. For couture, it’s going to go back to being very exclusive.”

BAH-LONEY. Unfortunately I have to call bs on this one. Although the private shows could very well be the beginning of a trend for couture houses, there are pr spin footprints all over this. What is more likely is that the money that they will actually SAVE from not producing these shows be put towards LIVE STREAMING their ready-to-wear next season and boosting their social marketing outreach, thus actually producing the opposite effect of “going back to being very exclusive”. 

Just a hunch, but time will tell. And if so, good for them. At least they won’t be another Christian Lacroix. Brands are starting to realize that they need to put money where they have the ability to make it, which in this, and most cases these days, is ready-to-wear and accessories.

Posted by: Francine Ballard

GIVENCHY MAKES TRANSGENDER CHIC

Fashionologie:

» In his continued exploration of masculine-feminine, Riccardo Tisci cast nine male and female models for the Fall 2010 Givenchy campaign, including his muse Mariacarla Boscono, Joan Smalls, Ming Xi, Catherine McNeil, Malgosia Bela (her hair dyed pink for the occasion), plus his Brazilian longtime personal assistant and former fit model, who also happens to be transgender, Lea T. Lea, formerly known as Leo, is now heading towards a new career as a veterinarian in Milan, but Tisci says of his choice: “She’s always been very feminine: superfragile, very aristocratic. She’s part of the family.” The ads were shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott in a Paris studio.

posted by: FDB

THE EVOLUTION OF NUDE.. Black & White?

Thanks in large part to fashion’s new prodigy, Prabal Gurung, we suspect that the ever subtle and universally flattering current nude trend may literally fade.. to black and white in short order.

$10 bucks says we see at least three features on it in April and May issues..

posted by: FDB