PFW: No cracks in Vuitton's Fondation

Louis Vuitton S/S '15; image source: style.com

If you're looking for another breakthrough collec-tion from Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton then look away. What you will find instead is a "definition of his cool girl," as the designer put it
in words backstage after the show, which sticks
to the tried formula from last season but reintro-duces some of the clothes in a new, seventies vibe - and a new venue which also happens to
be the Fondation Louis Vuitton building.

Shape-wise, the collection was a mash up from Mr. Ghesquière's first and second collections for the brand. Newcomer Jean Campbell opened the show wearing a long sleeved mini dress in white which looked like your ordinary knit garment, but up close you realized that it was woven from tiny leather strips which intertwined into beautiful patterns. This technique was the star of the show having also appeared in the form of blouses, jackets and shirt dresses, though not always as successful as the front-running look.

According to Mr. Ghesquière, the focus here was on creating wearable clothes. And he mostly suc-ceeded, as all those timeless topstitched jeans from Resort (this time redesigned in a slightly wider Capri shape), clean-cut jackets and peplum dresses in quilted velvet or covered in micro-sequins will be flying off the shelves come February. At times, though, the thick patent leather pieces felt too stiff (case in point: a striped A-line dress which creased in all the wrong places) and several pairs of plush pants looked too referential to the era that seems to had been the inspiration for the designer.

In the end, though, what's important for a house like Louis Vuitton are the accessories - and they can be described as delicious at least. Almost all models carried a bag: some were a reworked version of the classic chain flap bag in alligator skin and candy-like colors, some were quilted and then spray-painted in red and blue, one bag's suede detailing nearly gave it superpowers and another bag's red colored monogram on a black base made it seem bad ass. There was far less fuss about the footwear which didn't look as tempting, but undeniably complimented the theme of the collection.

For more photos of the collections go to Style.com and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

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PFW: Moving forward? (Superpower)

Balenciaga S/S '15; image source: style.com

Blahlenciaga. Boringciaga. Should I keep going or did you get the memo? Now, every writer (inclu-ding me) loves playing with words, especially when the designer gives you a reason strong enough to play and that is exactly what thirty year old 'wunderkind-of-the-twenty-first-century' Alexander Wang did at Balenciaga just last night.

Let's get something straight. I am a fan of Mr. Wang's work and have been ever since his breakthrough in the fashion industry. I like his diffusion line, I love his main line and I am abso-lutely in awe of his ability to mix street-wear with high fashion. I even liked the idea of the designer replacing Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga because I believed in his talent and I supported him during the first two seasons.

But this is just not working.

For his seventh season at the helm of the French house, Mr. Wang found inspiration in Matrix. But what could have been a futuristic and innovative collection turned out to be an underwhelming look at the past even though the designer has been trying to distance himself from Ghesquière's legacy and focus on Christobal Balenciaga's early work. The most luxurious and edge-cutting pieces were indeed the ones inspired by F/W '11 and S/S '09 - net overlays embellished with bulge beads covering sporty leotards and structured tops from ruched tulle respectively, as well as several light-weight sheer skirts adorned with diamond-shaped crystals that injected a little more glamour into the collection. But aside from that, everything else was basic and failed to deliver the desired impact.

What could be the reason for Mr. Wang's constant failure to present a groundbreaking collection that would be meaningful in context? Well, for one, we all still miss Nicolas Ghesquière's vision which pushed the envelope and created magic for the brand. But the more probable cause for this problem is the designer's lack of experience in couture. I personally believe that his seven year old career that focuses solely on desirable street-style clothes and relies mostly on instinct makes it nearly impossible for him to succeed at a house where skills and technique come before everything else.

For more photos of the collections go to Style.com and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

Follow @mariododovski

Who run the (fashion) world? Boys.

Raf Simons taking his last bow at Jil Sander

Exactly 12 seasons ago, Raf Simons moved from Jil Sander to Dior and almost instantly removed every bit of Galliano's presence at the house, whether we like it or not. Everyone was rather hesitant at first, slamming the designer for creating 'non couture' gar-ments - like anyone has a definition of haute couture anymore - and disrespecting the real aesthetic of the brand, but over the last two years we have all grown - more or less - accustomed to the designer's fresh take on Christian Dior's legacy.

Around the same time another incident happened. Fashion's darling Nicolas Ghesquiere was let off from Balenciaga and had nowhere to go, but all that was sorted out half a year ago when he got a gig at Louis Vuitton after the house ended its contract with long-time designer Marc Jacobs. Unlike Simons, Ghes-quiere was accepted straightaway by all the key parties - press, buyers, fans and all - and managed to successfully establish a new look for the French brand with only two collections.

What no one realized until now - and by no one I mean us ordinary people who hadn't calculated the costs and benefits of hiring these two designers - is exactly how influential their positions are. And the answer to that is very. The latest collections for Resort, as always, gave us a sneak-peek at which di-rections the brands are going to and the truth is that they are going to France.

Take Oscar de la Renta for example. The legendary New York-based designer has been trying to rein-vent the brand for seasons past, injecting trendiness and youth into the garments in order to attract a more junior clientele. For Resort, he decided to use a few of Simons' tricks and introduce a black bar jacket that vastly resembles the ones at Dior and structured rompers that look like they've come out
of the French house's archives. Another obvious influence can be seen at Balenciaga as this season Alexander Wang decided to go 'all Raf' and created a number of asymmetrical tops in colors favored
by the Belgian designer.

Left: Christian Dior S/S '13 vs. Balenciaga Resort '15; Right: Christian Dior Resort '15 vs. Calvin Klein Resort '15

Ghesquiere's work for Louis Vuitton also serves as an open source of inspiration for a lot of young de-signers. Both Derek Lam and Fausto Puglisi have done their own versions of the color-blocked A-line dress with a frontal zipper and defined waist, while Francisco Costa played around with the color pa-lette used in Ghesquiere's debut collection for Vuitton. The Calvin Klein designer also drew inspiration from Christian Dior's Resort '15 show as can be seen in the photo above.

The big question that we should be asking, though, is 'Why these two?' Well for one, Raf Simons and Nicolas Ghesquiere are two of the most talented visionaries out there who are not only extraordinary designers, but also understand the need for profit. However, the more believable reason is this: Chris-tian Dior and Louis Vuitton are some of the largest mega-brands in today's fashion and they both be-long to the LVMH group, meaning twice as much influence. And at the end of the day, no matter who
is at the helm of a house, what makes a designer relevant and influential is the money behind him.