Style director Adrian Clark reports back on the trends shown over the closing weekend of shows in the French fashion capital
Stefano Pilati’s very intimate presentation for the house of Yves Saint Laurent sadly lacked the elegance and personality on which the luxury label’s DNA was founded. If ever there was a brand that should be riding high on the current lounge lizard trend, having dressed Mick Jagger and David Bowie back in the day, this should be it. Instead, and regardless that the designer himself dresses with such hot-blooded sexual prowess, Pilati showed a collection of uptight and overworked separates, featuring unflattering drawstring details.
In contrast Valentino, whose eponymous founder peaked during the same period as YSL, managed to modernise the house’s signature style with ease. Under the direction of design sponsored_longform, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, the big ‘V’ explored military dressing in tan and olive leather. They crafted their own version of camouflage in the form of a palm tree print in military green and flirted with mixes of modern fabrics, such as Japanese nylon and unwashed chambray denim in shades of indigo blues. Everything about this collection, from the fit of the suits to the clever contrast of fabrics for its luxury casual wear, was on the money.
Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy was also on very good form. Taking his inspiration from 1950s surf dudes he used an abstract and oversized ‘bird of paradise’ floral print for his youthful mix of pleated kilts, short sleeve shirts and suits. There was sparkle in the form of army green sequins and mint with violet for sheen silk tailoring, which proved one of his strongest and most editorially sound collections for quite some time.
Over at John Galliano fellow Brit Bill Gaytten (who has worked with Galliano for the past 23 years) was at the helm. His collection was inspired by the artists and musicians that defined the vibrant London Pop Art scene in the 1960s. While it lacked some of John’s fine attention to detail and masterful artistry in styling, much of the fundamental design content was still there, if shown in a rather low-key manner. From David Hockney to Peter Blake the inspirations were shaped into fine tailoring and ended with an ode to the underground nightclubs of Mayfair and Soho in the form of Le Smoking tuxedos.
Kris Van Assche for the house of Dior, Hermès designed by Veronique Nichanian and Lanvin were other favourites shown over the weekend. Roland Mouret’s first catwalk presentation of his MR line also reached dizzy heights with a wider-legged silhouette for trousers and an elegance and sophistication that has rarely been achieved by any of his more established contemporaries.
Shockwaves Style Director, Michael Douglas explains how you can achieve this look from the Galliano Spring Summer 2012 show:
Inspired by London in the late 60s this long rock star hair needs mousse and plenty of it. Naturally curly hair is a total must with this style. Scrunch some Shockwaves Curls and Waves Mousse (RRP £2.49 for 200ml) into damp hair and leave to dry. Once dry scrunch in Shockwaves Shaping Wax (RRP £2.49 for 75ml). No brush, no comb the less you disturb the curls the better they'll look.
