Galliano’s final Spring Haute Couture show in 2011. Style.com
John Galliano’s gaffe of making anti-semitic remarks in the La Perle restaurant in Paris has finally resulted in costing him the House of Dior. However, by some accounts, it’s said that the House has been looking to replace him for some time and that a former worker in its Atelier Flou said that he was rarely seen and looked disheveled and disconnected with the workshops.
So, the biggest question looms: who will take the helm at the House of Dior? A prestigious name for a designer who had created the “New Look” with emphasis on new shapes.
As the conversations are flying off on Twitter on speculations of the next Creative Director, a few names have popped up: Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hedi Slimane, and Rodarte.While all are notable designers in their own right, there are several reasons why those particular choices wouldn’t work for Dior.
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Having just left Hermes to concentrate on his own collections, including Haute Couture, J-P probably doesn’t have the time to shoulder more RTWs and Haute Couture collections. Karl Lagerfeld is probably the only man who is doing triple duty in this industry (Chanel, Chanel Haute Couture, Fendi, and Karl Lagerfeld), and it’s safe to assume that J-P isn’t looking to have a House rich in history resting on his shoulders. Besides, J-P’s vision is much too wild for Dior. Galliano was wild, but J-P is even wilder, he’s not nicknamed L’Enfant Terrible for nothing.
Hedi Slimane
Formerly the head designer for Dior Homme, it would be a natural choice for Slimane to take over, but given he has little experience in womenswear and much less in Haute Couture, it would be doubtful he could pull it off. Let’s also remember that he’s left Dior in 2007 by his own will to have more creative control, so a stuffy House of Dior is probably not his cup of tea.
Rodarte
The brand has received much praise since their debut of edgy, almost visceral looks, and it’s grown in the last couple of seasons into more prim designs. Still, RTW is nothing like Haute Couture, the Mulleavy sisters are much too young and free spirited to be confined to Dior’s standards. They need to run free with their designs, they’re a pair that can’t be tamed.
Marc Jacobs
Considering he has revitalized intense interest in Louis Vuitton with his flamboyant designs, he’s a good candidate for Dior, however Marc Jacobs himself has pretty much become the face of Vuitton. Having him switch over to Dior would be a strange move and it would only cause further controversy of who would replace him at LV. I say Marc is out of this one.
Alber Elbaz
As much as I love Elbaz, he should stay at Lanvin. It’s his home. Seriously. Don’t take the man away from a brand he has revitalized with his beautiful designs. Elbaz is Lanvin, point final.
So who would I pick to fill in the shoes at Dior?
Left: Raf Simons for Jil Sander F/W 2011, Phoebe Philo for Celine S/S 2011. Style.com
Ideally? Raf Simons from Jil Sander. But because he’s part of the Prada Group, that may not be possible. He’s repeatedly shown his eye for couture lately, with constant play on shapes and colors while still keeping with minimalistic elements of Jil Sander. I would assume he would apply the same kind of care to Dior and have ample resources to really let his imagination fly at Dior. Let’s not confuse that Simons’ interpretation of Dior will be vastly different from Galliano. The last 15 years are certainly filled with theatrical showmanship with Galliano’s Dior, but what of the essence of Dior? Back when Christian Dior was still alive, he was establishing new silhouettes and having women guffaw over how much fabric he was using to create his dresses during penny-pinching war times. Dior, much like Yves Saint Laurent, was all about the shapes. It would be nice to return to that.
Another rather good pick would be Phoebe Philo from Celine, which belongs to LVMH, and who better than the hottest female designing star to take over the helms at Dior? Perhaps a move away from the flamboyant will be a good change for Dior, and I think Philo would definitely have the chops to live up to expectations.
But, it’s all speculation, for now Paris is swirling in drama right now. Tomorrow is the big Thierry Mugler show with Lady Gaga and Nicola Formichetti as creative director. Times are certainly changing.
Michelle Williams in Chanel Haute Couture
I’m not one to really comment on the way celebrities dress for their awards and shindigs, but the Oscars is perhaps the only exception where we expect celebrities to dress their best. Plus, it makes you appreciate some of the designs out there that perhaps you’ve over looked during fashion weeks.
While most women would try to go out in big dresses, I like Michelle Williams winning look – subdued glamour and minimalistic. Her Chanel Haute Couture dress is simply a great elegant choice with her pixie blond haircut. Sure Michelle looks to be as white as her dress, but I think it gives her a bit of an ethereal look. I’m simply love it.
There are a couple of mentions that fall into the lilac and lavender colors, worn seldomly and I think it’s because it’s so rare to see that color in real life that I’m naturally drawn to it. Nicole Kidman once wore a lavender colored YSL dress and was an instant hit on the red carpet. Such is the case this year for Mila Kunis in her lacy Elie Saab Couture, and Cate Blanchett with an interesting Givenchy Couture dress. It’s especially Cate’s dress that intrigues me because it’s so unusual in shape and style. And coincidentally, she too is sporting a pixie blond haircut.
While there’s not much to analyze in celebrity style (they’re heavily influenced by personal stylists and free dresses), I suppose once in a while, we can mindlessly forget and simply enjoy the clothes.
Mila Kunis in Elie Saab Couture
Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture
Images credit: JustJared.com
Style.com
Miuccia Prada has some pretty kooky ideas lately.
First, it was bananas for spring and now fish scales for fall.
Whatever the case, it’s my top pick for Milan Fashion Week, and we haven’t even gone through the entire week yet!
Left-Right: Antonio Berardi, Phoebe English, Burberry. Style.com
While I haven’t attended most shows up close and personal, I can still enjoy watching the shows from home, whether they’re video playback or still images, it’s always fun to see what’s in store for next season. Now, I’ve specifically written this blog as not to talk about upcoming trends (it’s kind of pointless to point out the obvious) mainly because at the end of the day, trends are irrelevant. What I’m always looking for is consistency, originality, or just plain well-executed familiarity.
Basically – whatever floats your boat.
It’s been only recently that I’ve taken a keen interest in London Fashion Week designers, mainly because London is the incubator of future fashion talents that don’t hog the limelight like they do in New York. After having an epiphany in purchasing a dress by Krystof Strozyna, a Polish designer who is based in London, I’ve come to appreciate that well made clothing doesn’t necessarily have to bear the mark of the giant fashion brands like Gucci or LVMH.
Thus I thought bringing along a few names that most Montrealers haven’t heard of (except for Burberry), and thought I would share them with you.
Antonio Berardi
I’ve first seen his dresses on Net-a-Porter and have been obsessed with them ever since. His beautifully tailored dresses saunter with sexy zest. For fall, he’s made some play on skirt volumes and folds, but I prefer his classic lady-like shape and lacy numbers.
Phoebe English
A graduate from revered Central Saint Martins in London, Ms. English had previously shown quite a hand for knitwear, but this season she’s demonstrated that she can pull off fashion in other ways. With fringe hair and layerings of PVC, her creations clearly stood out from the entire album of CSM on Style.com. It looks like the Phoebes in the fashion world are a force to be reckoned with.
Burberry
This is not a new thing for Burberry’s Christopher Bailey, he continues to display his talents at the old British fashion house by looking back into Burberry’s history, but I found that for Fall, I wouldn’t mind to go for one of his cozy looking knitted wool coats.
Left-Right: Mary Katrantzou and Erdem. Style.com
If I’m looking for color this fall, there were a few designers who completely ignored Fall fashion palettes, Matthew Williamson being one of them, and for fall I was strangely attracted to Erdem and Mary Katranzou’s work.
Mary Katrantzou
I have vaguely heard about her, but I found her collection for fall to be quite stunning and a world apart from what we’re seeing in London. Colorful, sculptural pieces that reminded me of antique vases stemming from different parts of the world was what I thought when I first looked through her collection. It’s very reminiscent of Nicholas Ghesquiere’s work at Balenciaga when he created similarly volumizing shapes that imitated pieces of armor (instead of vases). Nonetheless, I found the collection to be well executed, feminine and if a bit unusual.
Erdem
It looks like Erdem is venturing more and more into digital prints and I’m liking some of the results from those effects. I particularly like this barrage of colors of paintlike strokes and in the image above, a digital layering of shapes and colors in the skirt. It kind of tells me of a more colorful fall season, but still warm enough to nuzzle around in a nice dress.
London really churned out some winning collections, and it’s all the more reason to pay more attention. You could find yourself purchasing one of these dresses for much less than what you would normally pay for designer dresses.
Above: Ralph Lauren Collection Fall 2011. Style.com
Actually, let’s not. The work speaks for itself.
Perhaps already done and deja vu in the past, but let’s face it – Ralph Lauren still knows how to turn heads.
Speaking of turning heads, have you seen Marchesa?
Above: Marchesa Fall 2011. Style.com
It’s all in the details ladies and gentlemen.
