A beautiful back

At the Lanvin show every thing just seem to work, simply everything. From the top to the bottom, from one fingertip out to the next, and from the front to the back. The back is actually a very important thing to work, because much of what you see of a person is actually the back. And who else than Alber Elbaz would do a back better? 

Lanvin, Ladurée and Mac - tree things I love

I went to Paris about a month ago with my french class, and of cause I spend a lot of the free time we had on going shopping (mostly window shopping). It was the trip where I got my Lanvin evening pumps. Any way, my friend and I we went over to the fabulous mall Gallery Lafayette where I became very happy when I saw the fantastic windows! Because in all of Gallery Lafayette's windows were tree of my favorite brands displayed: Lanvin, Ladurée and MacBooks. Lanvin with its beautiful clothes. Ladurée which is a marvelous French patisserie had their lovely light green boxes in the window side my side with a lot of equipment from Mac. In my opinion this was the most perfect match. If I was to decide then every woman should wear Lanvin, eat pink cakes from Ladurée and all use MacBooks! I'm sure that the world would be a better place then.  

Fashionable nuns!

                      Christian Dior haute couture 2006

Is fashion finding religion? Lots of shows for the winter season seems to have a religious atmosphere. On many catwalks were the models holding rosary beads and walked to chants. There were an almost medieval touch to many of the huge designers collections. As Bruno Pieters explained it, "Nuns were not an inspiration - more the result, I think." But it's of cause not the first time designers change religion into fashion. One of the most outstanding examples of that would be the haute couture collection John Galliano made for Dior in the spring of 2006. 

Fashionable nuns and priests, why not? 

The pictures clockwise: Giambattista Valli (winter 2009), Fendi (winter 2009), Bruno Pieters (winter 2009), arcbishop Timothy Dolan.

The venue is everything

To have a beautiful fashion show, the clothes isn't everything. Most of the time the clothes speak for itself, but very often the venue and the settings of the show gives the collection that little bit extra. The set designers had glorified days a year or two ago, before the whole world got itself in to a huge financial problem. It's clear to see that the fashion show sets today is much more toned down which I find very beautiful. The chosen venues are very simple and clean. One or two years ago when the bigger was better, the feeling is today less is more.

 Another thing that is changed in the fashion world about the shows, is not only the settings, but also the people who are invited. Some seasons ago the fashion houses almost competed about who had the most Hollywood ladies on the front

row. Today that is change, so that the famous people is no longer such a big a part of the shows. On the front row sits now the people who actually knows about fashion and work in the business. Here is some pictures of some of the venues from the Chanel, Vera Wang and Marc Jacob's shows. Chanel's show in Grand Palais in Paris. Vera Wang's white settings in New York. And Marc Jacob's orange carpet also in New York.  

Ukrainian high fashion?

As always is John Galliano on another level than most of his fellow designers. I would say that a collection like this, as so many before it by John, is a show that can only work in Paris, and only John Galliano can pull it of without making it a total disaster. What John does best is telling us a story, and tell it well, so that you feel the atmosphere and the history that surrounds each and every piece of the collection. John Galliano has a fantastic talent for seeing high fashion in the smallest things and create something beautiful out of it. This year it was the ukrainian culture that Galliano laid his eyes on. In some way it's very hard to wear, but I have now several experienced that when I go the Galliano shop in Paris on Rue Faubourg St. Honoré, the clothes seem so wearable. Because when you take away all the makeup, and the lights, and the skinny models, you can see how well made the dresses are made, and how one can actually wear it. Perhaps not a hole set, but just one piece used at the time is fab. Another amazing feature to this years show was the light on the catwalk. The set designers made a tunnel of light made by laser, so that all the dust in the room fell trough the light and looked like snow, which is perfect for a winter show! It was like a fairy tale. Very magical as a Galliano show always is.