Versus Hires Jonathan Anderson
November 29th, 2012 @ 11:04 AM
Cacharel Unveils New CEO, in Major Corporate Revamp
November 21st, 2012 @ 00:56 AM
Kane Drops Out of Versus in Major Shake-up
November 20th, 2012 @ 10:14 AM
Pucci’s Madison Avenue Store Debuts Massive Expansion
November 16th, 2012 @ 00:35 AM
Ghesquière Departs Balenciaga in Major Surprise
November 05th, 2012 @ 00:43 AM
Sao Paulo Fashion Week: Between Optimism and Fear
November 02nd, 2012 @ 00:28 AM
London Unveils Men’s Season Schedule
November 01st, 2012 @ 00:36 AM
Azzaro Releases Castello Branco
October 25th, 2012 @ 00:18 AM
Revenue Soars 22 Percent at LVMH in First Three Quarters
October 16th, 2012 @ 00:18 AM
Rykiel Names Geraldo da Conceicao Artistic Director
September 21st, 2012 @ 8:12 PM
Brazil’s New London Pop-Up
September 21st, 2012 @ 7:20 PM
McQueen Men Returning Home to London
September 12th, 2012 @ 7:19 PM
Roitfeld, Mum and Son, Open in Brazil
September 07th, 2012 @ 00:54 AM
Berluti Opens to Big-Time Business in London
September 06th, 2012 @ 3:27 PM
Stefano Pilati Back with a Bang at Zegna
September 05th, 2012 @ 7:10 PM
Hugo Boss Wows in Berlin, Plans for New York
July 06th, 2012 @ 00:17 AM
Salvatore Ferragamo: Crusin’ the Louvre
June 13th, 2012 @ 11:04 AM
Michel Klein Gains New Backer; Launches Sunglass Collection
June 13th, 2012 @ 00:48 AM
Sykes Jettisoned by Aquascutum; Maurer In at Rabanne
June 06th, 2012 @ 00:18 AM
Armani Conquers China, Chastises the Pope
June 01st, 2012 @ 11:53 AM
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Lanvin In The Midnight Hour
Godfrey Deeny
September 30th, 2011 @ 4:44 PM - Paris
There's a sense when you exit certain shows that their very bravura, their noisy acclaim and their audacious sense of style will mark them as a special fashion moment, and as a bellwether collection, whose bevy of ideas and options will influence fashion more than any other catwalk display. Which is how many of us felt on Friday, Sept. 30, as we filed, smilingly and light-heartedly out of a really great collection by the house of Lanvin in Paris.
Take the key silhouette Lanvin's creative director Alber Elbaz chose for spring 2012; part America sportswear, part Paris chic, with the high-waist pencil skirt cut one inch above the knee, the shoulder powered-up, sometimes padded.
And, when it comes to next spring's color palette, this collection will set the agenda. Where practically every other runway has been enveloped in floral fantasies, Elbaz went for subtly soft, the light pinks, violet beiges and sleek charcoal that one associates more with makeup than clothing.
Above all there was this faintly malevolent mood, albeit of the most refined sort - thanks to the smokey eyes, jelled pulled back hair and hard rock soundtrack. In a brilliant piece of staging, the show reached a climax with a rock guitar solo, as a trio of tied and draped Grecian goddess looks marched down the runway.
Post-show Elbaz told the usual gang of video crews, fighting intensely past critics for an interview, that his initial spring boards were Hell's Angels and snakes. It's true the odd reptile's tail and head did wrap themselves around beautifully cut cocktail dresses; and bikers crosses morphed into three-inch wide Swarovski crucifixes - a rapper meets Angel ensembles. But this collection was style personified.
Elbaz also has a great ability to make less seem so much more - especially his silk faille opening combos; and his plisse finale, which ended with a mega tall model posing like a show business deity underneath a single column of light.
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