Helmer has always been one of those designers that meanders between fashion designer and haute couture. He crafts exquisite pieces in Haute Couture form, yet from a commercial standpoint, who would buy his dresses? Tonight, it was all art, no fashion.
This season, he had abandoned his trademark patchwork for the delicate ensemble of glass embellishments and gigantic tulle hats and boleros. I didn’t pick up a press kit for his show, but the whole atmosphere felt like I was stepping into a fairytale dream, with fitting classical music in the background. Slow did the models walk, as the outfits were decisively not easy to walk in and could shatter at any moment. Dress after dress, the crowded were stupefied into silence, it was so quiet you could hear the shutters from the photographers’ pit.
Normally I try not to get too carried away by the beauty of a show, after all, fashion writers need to decipher the message when all our blood has returned to our brains. Yet, I’m still trying to digest his show. How does the man sell his pieces? They must be sold as artworks. I can’t possibly see it any other way. The only more “commercial friendly” pieces were the few menswear, nicely tailored, with shiny glass beaded shirts. But let’s face it, no man could really wear that and not be afraid to hurt himself by leaning against a counter.
And what’s this of Lady Gaga? Yes. The finale was a red veiled bride in a floral, and when I say floral, I mean like real flowers, dress. The model channeled her inner Lady Gaga as a violin version of Bad Romance fiddled through the venue. She actually reminded me of Queen Red Riding Hood from an old TV fantasy movie called The 10th Kingdom.
I had put into question Helmer’s commercial viability, but this show reaffirms that he is more artist than designer, and in Montreal, we could benefit in having someone like him around.
See a first hand look at photos and videos of Helmer’s show, a Dualité first in video content!
There was much anticipation for David Dixon‘s show, after all, he was one of the big designers who would show during Toronto’s LG Fashion Week, and has been picked up by Canadian department store The Bay, and has been covered by numerous Canadian bloggers.
Seating second row, it was really difficult to get any good photos, and the show started about 15 mins late. No worries, I had patience. Plus I had bumped into a former journalism classmate of mine and was so happy to have spent the rest of the evening with her. It really beats Fashion Week loneliness, especially when waiting for the next show to start in two hours time.
Dixon’s theme was said to float somewhere along “having a picnic near the Eiffel Tower” in his press release. Perhaps that’s why he chose his palette of the French flag, except the whole show didn’t feel very French. He had his interpretation of the cliched black and white stripes, except it made me think more Italian than à la Française. The music didn’t quite help either, it was like a weird mix of club, 50s, eventhough I love Janelle Monae’s Tightrope, her music channels American pop in the 1940s-1950s, not Parisian lifestyle. Was he inspired to create this collection in anticipation of coming to Montreal? Who knows.
It isn’t to say that there weren’t any winners in his collection. There were a few. I especially liked the faux croc printed red jacket and skirt, his embroidered flowery white and red dress, and his evening gowns were pure simplicity and extremely elegant.
Some outfits definitely shouldn’t have been on the runway, like his generic black skirt suits and office dresses, and didn’t think the denim jackets, though finely tailored, was really a good material to wear to the office with such a feminine cut.
It was quite a conservative debut for Dixon, I was really hoping to see something branch outside of what would be normally found from mid-end fashion brands, but perhaps that was the market he was aiming for.
A reminder that I will be covering Montreal Fashion Week Spring 2011 today and will be picking up my press kit this afternoon at the Marché Bonsecours headquarters. For those who are not media, buyers or people of the industry, you can still follow most of the action via the official Montreal Fashion Week website, and you can also follow my tweets at @fashiondualite.
Here’s the schedule for Day 1:
15:00 MARIE SAINT PIERRE (Off site)
17:00 ÈVE GRAVEL (Off site)
18:30 DAVID DIXON *
19:30 MUSE BY CHRISTIAN CHENAIL (also streamed via UStream)
20:30 HELMER *
21:30 DIMITRI CHRIS
* I will be attending this show
I’m looking forward in seeing David Dixon’s show, having never seen his collection up close but have heard much of his lady-like collections from Toronto bloggers such as Final Fashion and I Want I Got.
I will be going around Le Showroom interviewing a few people with their thoughts about doing business in Montreal and their take on which designers they believe had the best appeal.
Stay tuned!
**Additional content added**
A special media lounge has been prepared to cater especially for bloggers with laptop center!
And a look of what’s to come:
Image credit: Proenza Schouler Spring 2011, Style.com
As I sit and contemplate my picks for New York and London Fashion weeks that have just passed, I started to wonder what was the point of reviewing them. Before the digital revolution, reviews were left to fashion editors and journalists to dictate what the next trends would be and bank on the hopes that consumers would heed to their suggestions. There was nothing else to bridge consumers to fashion except by glossies and advertisement, so it was natural to follow the wise words of fashion editors.
No longer.
Today, everyone has access to the collections literally on the spot or the day after at the latest. They can browse thousands of online stores, and use the likes of Polyvore, blogs, eBay, Etsy and websites, they can edit their own picks for trends, ideas and themes. Robin Givhan commented once that everyone is a fashion critic, my reply to her would be: what are they really criticizing? Certainly glossies these days don’t really devote much space to criticism save for the occasional professional who offers some original insight on the industry. But ultimately, the consumers have the power to choose to buy or not to buy, and with the internet, they’re relying less on fashion editors’ opinions and more on look books and product placement. Is it any wonder that fashion editors have little opinion to say these days?
Perhaps I’m understanding the word “review” in a different context. A review can mean many things, but my assumption in the context of fashion would be to actually create judgement based on observations made on a particular subject. Like a movie review, or an album review. But in the fashion context, it seems to be more on the lines of a “recap”. No person does a better recap than Ms. Hilary Alexander of The Telegraph UK. Her words are like straight out of a romance novel, rich, colorful and wildly imaginative. Now there’s a person whom I wouldn’t mind reading her “reviews”. But if you want something with more insight to the collections (not based on press kits alone), then you need someone who has their bodies knee deep in the arts and culture of the world. Of course, even the experts have their own opinions and sometimes give biased reviews on their favorite designers. But that beckons the question: what exactly are they looking for in a collection? What makes them go “Wow!”? Is it the overall feel of the collection? The theme? The fabrics? The patterns? The silhouettes? The history of the brand? Or a combination of all?
Cathy Horyn recently blogged how she praised the Fendi collection because it “hovered above the fray,” yet I couldn’t particularly see anything of interest save fore a few nice dresses. And Helene, of The Luxe Chronicles, once asked me “Is the world running out of pretty dresses?” Do we really need another collection of pretty dresses? Perhaps the Fendi collection appealed to an older generation. Yet I’m nearing my 30s, I’ll soon be among the demographic of those who can supposedly fit into these looks. Perhaps I’m simply not a Fendi woman. It’s difficult to find useful information in the text descriptions of the outfits – despite the images of the show being posted right next to the text (or on Style.com). In the era of Twitter, it is only during the live shows are text descriptions useful, even then they are of value only to the minute.
Trends can emerge, but do we really want to fall into trends when everyone is trying to style themselves away from trends? There seems to be an unwritten rule that if it’s the trend, then you better stay away from it.
My thoughts in reviewing a show are more along the lines of:
“Are these going to sell?”
“What kind of woman was this collection aimed for?”
“Is it aesthetically interesting or are the cuts interesting?”
“Is there a concept to the presentation of the show? the format?”
So my suggestion to you, fellow readers, you want a recap? Go to Ms. Alexander. You want a look book? Go back to your glossies. You want a review? Go to Ms. Horyn or Ms. Menkes (or me, on the certain occasion). Everything else can be filtered as fluff.
It’s been a year since I’ve attended Montreal Fashion Week, I took some time off away from the fashion scene to reassess what I wanted to write about. I admit that my frustrations with the Montreal fashion scene had gotten to me, and – well, left me discouraged by my experience. While I read up about what’s happening in the fashion capitals around the world, it was easy for me to dismiss my hometown for lacking the high fashion standard and creativity. So I decided to get away from fashion altogether for about 6 months to recuperate and ponder how I could approach it differently this time around.
This year, Montreal Fashion Week was able to include nearly the best of Toronto’s designers, and I have to say I’m terribly excited to see what our neighbors are bringing in this season. I’ll be covering David Dixon, Lovas (by Dixon’s protege), and Ezra Constantine (the men’s line to Greta Constantine). Instead of making the rookie mistake of trying to attend every single show, I decided only to go to a select few. Helmer is one of those designers whom I’ve always enjoyed attending, however I also always wondered if he ever sold any of his designs, he’s not one to create very mainstreamed looks. Of course, Denis Gagnon would have been the best show to see, but an early cocktail schedule and my real life job are at a conflict and I can’t attend. Nonetheless I look forward in seeing his collection online. There will be a huge fashion show opened to the public styled by Yso, whom I’ve bumped into in New York, and will be looking forward to it.
I’ll also be covering Le Showroom, where buyers can interact with the brands and place orders. Within it are a slew of designers from Le Lab Creatif, Montreal’s incubator for budding fashion designers. There are some promising talents here and I will hopefully bring you the ones whom I think have the best potential.
While I’ve learned that there are some extremely talented Montreal-native designers who are settling in London, I can only hope that Montreal can become the next Copenhagen in the near future. Though our best exports are showing elsewhere, it doesn’t mean that the next big hit is still just a small fry with big dreams and solid determination.
“In Awe of Life Itself” by Cathie Bleck, in exhibition at Yves LaRoche Gallery
I’ll also squeeze into an event I really want to see called “Dark Night of the Soul“, hosted by Trusstclub, this video installation will feature 13 video clips along side David Lynch’s photos and an eclectic mixed soundtrack that will feature singers from The Strokes, Iggy Pop, The Cardigans and The Pixies. It’ll be from Sept 30 to Oct 3rd, so really it’s just for that weekend. It will also give me an excuse to really check out Trusstclub and perhaps the new digs of Yves LaRoche Gallery next door which features some pretty creative work from locals and fellow Canadian artists. Needless to say, next week will be busy. I just hope I don’t fall sick with this fall weather!
