PFW: The two sides of the spectrum

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

Jonathan Anderson's debut at Loewe opened Paris Fashion Week's fourth day with a bang. Staged at the infamous Japanese Garden created by sculptor Isamu Noguchi, the show's easy-breezy mood lit up every attendee's face and brought a new strong contender to the luxury market, mind that the Spanish brand is actually owned by LVMH and there is no other way of unfolding the events.

So far the house has been focused on rather heavy leather pieces which were still present, but in a much lighter sense. A shapeless suede dress in ivory with attached panels looked one third of its weight; diagonally-slashed pants and upside bateu neck shirts made of cotton appeared as second skin; gathered harem pants could almost be mistaken as sweatpants, and immaculately finished knit tops gave out an even greater sense of comfort.

Not everything was as successful though. Case in point - the black cotton dress with colorful shreds shown on the left which I believe is the silliest piece of clothing I have seen in years. The list is completed with the addition of those flesh-colored latex T-shirts printed with iconic Loewe landscapes and the not-so-flattering mid-waist leather pants that were probably shown in every color imaginable. But then again, Mr. Anderson is a young designer with a lot more to learn and judging by the positive moments of the show, he is off to a great start.

On the other side of the spectrum was Christian Dior, a mega brand reinvented more than two years ago by Belgian designer Raf Simons which seems to be standing in one place. So much, that Mr. Si-mons decided to adapt his last couture show for the brand into a ready-to-wear collection. Excuse my repulsion but I am a firm believer in moving forward and no matter how beautiful the clothes, a col-lection should never be repeated. Especially not when it's a watered down version of its predecessor.

Christian Dior S/S '15; image source: mybestcv.co.il

Also, the clothes weren't that beautiful. There were some perfectly crafted basic pieces like the crisp white shirts and pants which opened the show and several leather trenches in gray and chocolate hues, but as soon as those balloon shaped flower skirts paired with jersey tanks hit the runway you knew there was a problem. As an experienced designer, Mr. Simons should know better than to showcase a failed experiment whose construction needs do not allow it to be part of a mass-produced collection. His bravery is to be admired, but some things need to stay right where they belong.

I remember back in 2012 when the designer got the gig at Dior he made a statement about wanting to put the French house on the same level with Chanel in terms of recognition. Well, congratulations to him, I guess, because he just staged the ultimate highly-produced, long and pointless show like his competitor that was short on intimacy on account of profitability. A real case of couture for the less rich.

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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.

Haute Couture S/S '13 Review: Christian Dior

Many have welcomed Raf Simons as the new 'king of fashion' ever since he took the main job at Christian Dior. However, by trying to establish a new look for the house by repeating himself season after season, he fell flat in my eyes. His minimalistic approach in the collections feels plain, lack-luster and sometimes - ugly. For his second couture show, Simons switched things up a bit by doing a romantic garden-themed collection that got everyone's attention. And while the show as a whole was beautiful, I found the collection disastrous.

What did he try to do?

Raf's plan this season was to present an utterly romantic flower-inspired collection that was supposed to be soft and light, while evoking a certain feel of elegance. He somewhat achieved that with the way the collection was presented - from the beautiful minimalistic white garden to the short wigs and diamond lips, but when looking at the photos all a person sees is stiffness. The shapes were very boxy, some were rather ill-fitting and the fabrics felt cheap and dated. Another problem was the sea of crafty plastic flowers that looked glued to the silk tops and balloon dresses.

What would I change?

The new 3-piece-suit is simply not working, unless he's aiming for 'the Russian mafia' to be Dior's new customers. Cheap looking embellishments have to go. Less color blocking - more harmony. A fresher take on the classic black suit is needed, we've already seen enough of it in every fabric. Burn the shoes, please.

What would I keep?

The hair and makeup were absolutely beautiful, loving the new direction in the beauty department. Very fond of the crystal embellished pieces - expensive and luxurious looking. The tailored dresses and corsets. Some of the gowns towards the end are absolutely breathtaking. 

Favorite piece?

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Photo credit: style.com