steppin' out of these restless days of disappointed haze

i really wanted to start talking about all of the new collections that are coming out of nyfw, but then i realized that i might have blogger's remorse (bear with me and pretend that's a thing)  if i don't first talk ab out my favorite couture collections (that entire sentence was only half a joke). it sounds a bit like i wasn't amazed enough by the collections to be able to talk about them as soon as they came out, but i was-- i just was kind of unable to even put together thoughts on all of this. i tried though: 

giambattista valli

frills + jacquard + layers upon layers = *swoon* 

chanel

flowers. everywhere. at first glance it’s tiresome, but a closer look reveals a dystopian world where this animatronic, weary beauty is the closest we get to the real thing. anyways i thought the flowers were actually some of the most beautiful parts (in addition to the hats and veils), i didn’t love the silhouettes and the shoes, and while the individual garments were painstakingly crafted, the whole show just felt like it lacked that couture feeling.

christian dior

 

bodysuits, plastic raincoats, and a-line skirts were the beginnings of dior’s bowie-inspired exploration of reinventing the self with a look at the past and the future. those pieces were morphed and printed and sparkled, transversing decades and personas. there were carefully placed stripes and cut-outs, latex boots, and sequined shift dresses.  it felt like reading a carefully written novel. definitely my favorite, everything is just so dreamy and out-of-this-world.

armani prive

this collection was an ode to 20s glamour and elegance and to the "delicate strength of bamboo". it made sense then, that it was full of contradictory boxy shirts and flowing pants, and fluff and sparkles that were almost as  common as emblazoned bamboo sprouts.

ulyana sergeenko

the choice to show the collection in a hotel salon instead of on a runway ended up being for the better for clothing this meticulously detailed. some of the looks were embroidered to the point where you might confuse them with an entirely different fabric without looking close enough. a review written by nicole phelps says, “Why make tiny white stitches by the thousand when selecting a piece of white silk might do? Why not?” it’s undeniable that the beauty of this collection was in the detail.

valentino

this collection was about romance. there were high necklines, flowing and dramatic sheer with detailed floral appliques that danced on the edge between reality and fairytale, and lines from love poems running across faded dresses. the models looked as if they leapt straight off the pages of romeo and juliet’s “star-crossed love” (in part made possible by the elegant hair and makeup, and the almost floating way in which the models seemed to carry themselves). an interesting moment was a cut-out velvet dress with wings that (at least for me,) said something about the transformative nature of love.

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in general, the collections were overwhelmingly wearable, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, maybe this is just art imitating life as our culture shifts around our definition of dressing well, and maybe this leaves more room for strict craftsmanship and tailoring (the things that can't be scaled down for the mainstream market), which is arguably the beauty of couture clothing in itself. what did you guys think of these collections and the evolution of couture, and what were your favorites in couture?

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kanyinsola

61 ways to say yes

 in honor of v-day/baeday/day after galentine's day, i decided to talk a bit about jean paul gaultier's couture collection ("61 ways to say yes"), which has so many strong looks, and i was originally going to pick  two to show, but that was too difficult.  there were hybrid outfits made of tutus and trousers. nothing was too serious, nothing was too overdone. 

i'm such a fan of the simplicity and the silhouette of this. the scarf is a cool touch, and the makeup is so clean.

i'm screaming at how dramatic and honest and inyourface this whole look is. am i supposed to be thinking of grace jones right now?

the whole idea of ease in couture and being able to unzip your wedding dress is so interesting. the contrast is also really attractive.

this is just so fun, i mean come on, doesn't  lindsey wixon dressed as a luxury beecatcher combined with 17th century aristocrat just make you want to smile. of course it's beautiful and ornate, but a (maybe idealistic) part of me thinks that jpg is reminding us that we can laugh at clothing, at how elitist and detached from reality it can become.

this is absolutely one of my favorites because it feels like a whirlwind action movie in the 30s starring lauren bacall on the run from the cops in her convertible with the wind blowing her scarf or something  as aesthetically pleasing as that.

i really like the length(s) of the skirt and the detail in the jacket in this outfit. i obviously approve of the visor. 

this is the ultimate cool-girl look in this collection, and i feel like it does verge on becoming ready-to-wear, but there's something undeniably elegant about a really nice jacket and a long scarf draped like that. 

the hybrid i mentioned earlier that honestly leaves me speechless. 

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let me know what you think of all this in the comments, and any other wedding-inspired collections you think i should check out. i hope your v-days are full of lurve and beautiful things. 

[love's young dream: jennie augustina brounscombe]

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kanyinsola 

i woke up like this

i wanted to do a post about the aw14 couture stuff and i noticed something really big which i'm gonna refer to as the "silk nightie all nightie" (because i'm bad at naming things) and it's basically an
image of a great-gatsby type of complete luxury with a 20s socialite rolling out of bed and descending like, a grand spiral staircase in a floor length silk nightgown and this giant fur coat; it's supposed to be "causal" and home-y or whatever but in reality it's ridiculously expensive.

basically it's "i woke up like this"for couture lounge-wear because it doubles as sleepwear.

alexandre vauthier



alexis mabille



giambattista valli



jean paul gaultier



maison martin margiela



ralph & russo



schiaparelli



ulayna sergeenko



viktor and rolf




this is one of the really good examples of this because it's basically like a bath towel (that probably sounded dumb but bear with me,) but it's so glamorous (wow i sound ridiculous i'm sorry) .

vionnet:

ziad ghanem:

i really love it all for being so flowy and lavish and i feel like it's a cool concept. so what do you guys think of the whole idea, would you ever wear them? i don't know how well they'd translate to the IRL world but i need your opinions so i can decide whether or not to wear one everyday for the rest of my life honestly.

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kanyinsola