The Missing Horse at Christian Dior's Haute Couture...

Inspired by Christian Dior's Haute Couture Spring 2010 collection

Mysterious Dior!

Inspired by Christian Dior's Spring Summer 2010 Ready-To-Wear Womenswear collection!

Dior girl on the run
In a silver lamé trench coat to stun
Sparkling diamonds in her bun
Pursued by a gangster's gun

She hears a faint knock on her door
Leaps off her bed to avoid terrible gore
No time to dress and adore
Slips into her underwear on the floor
And deftly escapes before
Things turn really sour!

Only baby dolls and negligees cover her modesty
Onlookers gape wide at her audacity
No time for outerwear she says in honesty
Dior girl's frail femininity
And robust vanity
Never fails to impress in enormity!

Photo Credit:www.catwalking.com

Creator: John Galliano

Event: Spring Summer 2010 Ready-To-Wear Womenswear
Date Held: Oct 2nd, 2009
Place: Espace Ephémère Tuileries - Jardin des Tuileries – Paris 1er

Designer(John Galliano) Speak:

“I discovered this wonderful image of Lauren Bacall, a loyal Dior client, and Humphrey Bogart on an Avenue Montaigne terrace, and I took it from there”

“She was a regular client of M. Dior and I loved the idea of taking that 1940s Hollywood glamour and making it more contemporary. And I liked the idea of the link between film as an illusion and the illusion of undressed dresses”

“I wanted very femme fatale, a strong woman with a lot of independence, a heart breaker”

“semi-dressed allure”

Critics Say:

“Disrobing was Dior’s biggest story today.”(Vogue.com UK)

“It’s just that this season the look isn’t special enough.” (The New York Times)

“The message at Christian Dior this afternoon was very definitely taken straight from the underwear drawer.” (The Daily Telegraph)

“For all its delicacy, and prettiness, was there a single idea that took fashion — or Dior — forward?Everything seemed like a reworking of early Galliano collections under his own name, but now with all the finesse and studio support that he has from Dior.” (International Herald Tribune)

“Why limit yourself to a movie when you can access the living wardrobe?” (Financial Times)

View Complete Collection

2 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know of the times you used to frequent Victoria & Albert Museum?

Did you know of the frenzied crowd that wanted to model for your maiden collection 'Les Incroyables' ?

Did you know that you liked your water spiked with lemon?

Did you know that there are 2 more days to go...

-XOXO

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

3 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know that you played the dhol in Rajasthan?

Did you know that you exchanged your Levi's jacket with a Sherpa boy?

Did you know that you say "Wicked" like no one else?

Did you know that there are 3 more days to go...

-XOXO

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

4 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know as a little boy you danced flamingo on the kitchen table?

Did you know of the wafting aromas that filled the souks you passed through in Gibraltar?

Did you know of those cheerless cold mornings that saw you jogging by the Seine river?

Did you know that there are 4 more days to go...

-XOXO

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

5 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know that the mean ones tried to dismiss you off as a mere plumber's son?

Did you know that you are mentioned in "Last of the Breed (Lovely 2)", Peter Sarstedt's sequel to "Where do you go to (my lovely)?" ?

Did you know that you are resilient enough to stage your fashion show just three days after your father's death?

Did you know there are 5 more days to go...

-XOXO


Image Source:www.catwalking.com

6 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know that your teacher at school pulsing your creativity encouraged you to become a designer?

Did you know about the endless hours you spent sketching at the library?

Did you know that you are a self made man?

Did you know that there are 6 more days to go...

-XOXO


Image Source:www.catwalking.com

7 more days to go...

Dear John,

Did you know that in a week's time you would have completed 49 glorious years of fantasy spinning on this planet?

Did you know that you have come a long way from the days of Bunsen burner and baked beans, rusted keys and bales of black cloth?

Did you know that there are seven more days to go....

-XOXO


Image Source:www.catwalking.com

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall, Who is the worst of them all?

The Fall 2009 Haute Couture held last week had its share of amazing clothes excellent in concept and workmanship and the "not so brilliant" ones that got passed over as modern, practical, wearable clothes in line with the current stormy economic weather. Is every single haute couture dress worth the six figure price tag?And more importantly, did they all evoke in you a "lust tornado" of similar intensity?Given below are some of the dresses that made me shriek in horror and wouldn't have had me spend even a $100 on them, leave alone anything more!These can be best described as either modern but mediocre or ornate but impractical! Do you concur with me?

Alexis Mabille Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Jumpsuits are a rage this year, but seriously that doesn't mean a shape wear would justify a six figure tag?As for the piece in the center, Mr.Mabille would you please care to explain the workmanship, the skill and the complex thought process involved in the making of the same?While you do give fillip to the tailor at the street corner making him feel that he too or for that matter anyone with a piece of cloth to spare can be a couturier, is that benevolent thought alone worth the hefty price?

Alexis Mabille Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Sweeping the floor as you walk along might be a noble task, but even that nobility isn't sufficient enough to justify itself as haute couture!

Left to Right: (Stephane Rolland, Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier) Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Though Chanel tried to incorporate a "twist" to its signature tweed skirt suits in the form of a tail, Karl Lagerfeld's "New Look" created the image of a girl who took her table cloth with her wherever she went!It was neither aesthetic nor quirky nor sophisticated just plain ridiculous! As for Stephane Rolland's dress, even the word simple is too much to describe his white gown, maybe he wants to give people who cannot afford his clothes a few simple designs to take to their tailor and have it copied! And Jean Paul Gaultier's black dress can be made good use of on a Halloween night!

Left to Right: (Givenchy, Valentino, Givenchy) Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Just when Nicolas Sarkozy got rid of the burka from the streets of Paris, Givenchy to everyone's horror puts it back on the runway! Valentino - little black dress? Yes, classic? a resounding NO, looks like some prehistoric animal inspired horror!And whats with the silhouette of Givenchy's black crystal pants? Horror in black best describes these dresses!

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Haute Couture

"Less is more" is what is missing in these Dior dresses.The center one is nothing short of clownish, as if the lady is carrying two large totes on either arm and the color too is bordering on loud and the voluminous silhouette has become sooooo synonymous with Dior, that it would do Dior good if it could go do away with volume for some time!While the pink dress has all the couture worthiness in terms of brilliant embroidery, it so grossly exaggerates the very part(derrière), which women go to any extent(right from spending millions to starving) to keep minuscule!For Dior its time to do away with theatrical excess and embrace simplicity!!

Haute couture is not just about workmanship and skill, which, perfected over the years, have become second nature for these fashion houses.Real Haute Couture is being avant-garde while still staying relevant to the prevailing times, and not just ornateness clothed by anarchism !!

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

"Yes, I do.", the Haute Couture way!!

This Haute Couture season held in the wake of an economic recession had drawn mixed reactions from the fashion population, while some termed the simplicity prevalent in many collections as the future of couture which held wearability as its prime focus, others blamed the designers for swimming inside tested waters.Perhaps the stressful life that people led these days added extra weight to their expectations from Couture as a means of "fashion escapism" and perhaps, the equally stressed out designers trying to balance their creativity with their company's bottomline, in an ardent effort to stay afloat, didn't venture much into unknown territories but rather crouched inside a boundary of "guarded optimism" to produce collections that instead of torching a new fashion trail, relished and relived the glorious days of the past.The only exception being Christian Lacroix, the very company on the brink of bankruptcy, that ended up producing the best collection of this season proving that unparalleled creativity cannot be stymied by budgetary restrictions.

The bridal gown of Haute Couture always hold a special place, for, that is the one look that sums up the entire collection. All the bridal looks of Fall 2009's Haute Couture have been summarised here.Tell me which one would make you desperate to walk the aisle?

Christian Lacroix Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Christian Lacroix's show lent credibility to the saying that "All good things must come to an end.".In what could be the design house's last collection(unless it finds a suitable investor), the house has proved that even its financial turmoil could not strip away the finesse it has been known for! The bridal dress beautifully amalgamated all the elements that uniquely identified the design house, namely artfully worked laces, delicate tulle, fine embroidery,rich colors (brought out by roses in bright colors),and flowers.If Marie Antoinette had been a bride today, we know what she would be wearing!

Elie Saab Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Elie Saab's all white collection(similar to Chanel's white collection last season), was a stellar example of what creativity can do with just a single hue, the bridal dress shown here is a testament to the detailing that went into the entire collection.The intricate detailing found on each of the forty six white dresses comprising the collection, makes them all double up as bridal dresses as well!Be it a crystal studded jumpsuit or fur trimmed jackets or short skirts or organza flower decorated evening dresses, the collection had it all, making the brides truly spoilt for choice.

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2009 Haute Couture

"Take Fashion, ACTION!" screamed Gaultier's show!! An ode to Hollywood, with images of yesteryear's actresses floating on a screen offered the perfect atmosphere for the uber glamorous collection done the Gaultier way!! Similar to the bridal dress, this collection is not for the faint of heart, heavy fur coats, 3-D geometric dresses in sparking metal with conical bras, overalls in crocodile were all designed to bring out the rock star chic in you, that is, if you dare to reveal that side of you to the outside world.

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Christian Dior's focus, this season, on "innerwear as outerwear" extended to the bridal gown as well.Like the bridal gown, the collection was deft in its artistry and workmanship, the only caveat being the lack of the "unseen", the show like the gown, was too familiar and strongly circled within Galliano territory!

Chanel Fall 2009 Haute Couture

This season Chanel focused on the house's raison d'etre of tweed suits and delicate evening gowns, the only addition being the "Superman like cape" behind the dresses much like the one seen in the bridal dress.Fashion tribes dubbed the extension as "tails", whether they will don one is a bit doubtful but Karl Lagerfeld did use them cleverly to frame his dresses and attract attention to a collection that might otherwise have been passed over as "the familiar".The "tails" were what the corsets were to Galliano, adding a new dimension to a familiar look.

Givenchy Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Ever dreamt of a Celtic wedding? Givenchy might be the answer to that dream, what with their collection loaded with heavy embellishments, chunky jewellery, spiked headgear and bracelets, accessorizing dresses with sharp tailoring and geometric cuts! A warrior princess could essentially wear everything from the collection, for rest its a slim picking!

On Aura Tout Vu Fall 2009 Haute Couture

On Aura Tout Vu's collection says "Get close to nature"! In addition to an earthy palette comprising of nudes and grays, the collection included plenty of colorful accessories in the form of twigs and feathers and dresses embellished with peacock feathers and 3d leaves.An ideal countryside wedding would benefit from this collection, arty and modern.

Stephane Rolland Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Stephane Rolland, the latest addition to the Haute Couture family, maintains a tensile balance between modernity, simplicity and sophistication.This season the focus was on the shoulders with dresses cut close to the body and sporting geometric embellishments accentuating a long slender silhouette much like the wedding dress seen above, a perfect wedding dress for the second time bride!

On the whole, though the melancholy of recession did have a heavy bearing on the Haute Couture season at least in terms of lack of outlandish experiments, it still held fast to the very corner stones of Couture namely intricate and skilled craftsmanship with a paradigm shift towards modernity where couture had transcended from the aristocratic princesses who spent a large part of their time preening themselves in front of the mirror to the power women of today with a strong need to incorporate sophistication into her wardrobe without appearing too made up or archaic!! Long live Couture!

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

Christian Dior, Ornate but not Unusual!!

Christain Dior's Fall 2009 Haute Couture had all the elements of glitz and glamour associated with a Dior show.The clothes were in brilliant colors accentuated with ornately worked sequins, the little twist in the show being the focus on underwear.What was essentially missing was the "nouveau" factor!!The show was so boringly predictable, the showstopper gowns were just a little varied from the previous shows.Its a pity that John Galliano has fallen into an endless loop of repetitive fashion!!Its about time he reinvented himself and traded those nipped waist and sheer fabric so characteristic of his shows, with something really path breaking like his first show way way back in 1984!!

Image Source:www.catwalking.com

What's in your bag?

What seems to be an innocuous question, seemingly doesn't evoke a straight forward reply, at least not when subjected to the wild imagination of John Galliano!! John plays doubting Thomas and adds a naughty twist as to the contents of a women's bag to an extent that one almost believes the bag to be a holder of sinister secrets which her better half would certainly regret to chance upon!! He muses "It is part of their charm, their secret weapon. Who knows what’s in there — keys, wallet, phone. That is all to be expected. Who’s to say what door that spare key opens; why she has her passport tucked in when she’s only going up the road and whose phone number she has scrawled on the back of an envelope . . . I love the unknown — and the what might be.”

If John is to be believed, then its not just good manners that should hinder a man from opening a woman's, especially his woman's bag! Well as for the contents of my bag, all I can say is that if John did peep in he would be very disappointed, for spare keys he would certainly find that to his utter dismay opens only my closet, the passport tucked in, serving as a mere identity proof and as for the number scribbled on a decrepit paper and peeping out of the bag's inner pocket, well that just belongs to an old man who sells fruits in Bastille, whom I promised to call to ascertain whether the kiwis that I had so badly wanted for so long have finally arrived.

So whatever is in there, we have a convincing explanation for it all, and if men do put us through fire by their uncouth act of demanding an explanation for each of the precious possessions in our bag, we would emerge a saint, unscathed!! And John, just a word of advice, please look for your Hitchcokian mystery elsewhere!!

Image Source:www.style.com

Fall 2009 Trends : Play Peek-a-Boo

During Depression women stopped wearing under wear, those were the extremes they went to cut corners.With the economy in no great shape and a lot of designers toying around with transparent dresses, is the "no under wear" era making a comeback?Fret not for there could be other reasons why they are immensely popular with designers.Why would designers place so much importance on transparent sheath like dresses which they know would never be worn, the way its showcased on the runway?The primary reason is that these dresses are a subtle way of reminding people that in all the hullabaloo surrounding the tons of glorious dresses displayed during the fashion week, the body which these dresses are meant to adore shouldn't be forgotten and is there a better way to pay tribute to the beautiful bodies behind these dresses?The other reason for which I find them alluring is the ethereal fantastical element they add to the runway and subsequently to fashion, afterall what is fashion without fantasy?And the third most important reason that I would cotton on to, is that these dresses give the most flexibility to express your individuality, its almost like the designer just handed over a canvas to you and asked you to express yourself as it suits you, right from contrasting corsets to matching ones to layering, the options of carrying off these transparent beauties just seem endless.So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, and wear them the way you want, creating an unique look that would make even the designers rethink whether its their design that's so tastefully worn!!

Can you help me find the missing piece?

I'm the recessionista, who wears only the bare necessities.

Darn the crow that took off with my corset!!

Did I leave something at home?

I'm the Spartan bride.

Image Source:www.coutorture.com www.wwd.com

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...

Which is why, despite the different ways designers expressed them on the catwalks of Spring Couture 2009, they still turned out elegant, sophisticated and romantic, just as roses are meant to be...

Ever heard of the walking rose bouquet?

The latest mad hatter in town!!

Like my origami skills?

Twists, turns and a lacy affair...

I used to make jalebis in my previous life.

Am I in the valley of roses?

Image Source:www.wwd.com

Cosette Mourns...

Monsieur Madeleine accompanies Cosette to the inn of Montfermeil, where he witnesses Cosette being kicked by Madame Thénardier, Cosette having to do with rags as toys and a dingy place under the stairs serving as Cosette's bed.Monsieur Madeleine offers money to the Thénardiers in exchange for Cosette, which the Thénardiers are more than willing to accept.Monsieur Madeleine prepares Cosette for the journey that lies ahead of them, dressing her in clothes that he had brought along with him.Due to Fantine's death, Cosette is clothed in a black dress with matching black shoes and together they set out for what would be a new chapter in Cosette's life...

Image Source:www.coutorture.com

Cosette meets her Saviour

With the passage of time Fantine finds it harder and harder to meet Thénardiers' demands and forces herself into prostitution with the intent of providing a good life for her daughter.While refusing to oblige a man on the street she gets picked up by the police and as chance would have it, she bumps into her previous employer Monsieur Madeleine who not only delivers her from the police but also provides for her.(Till then he is unaware of how unjustly Fantine's supervisor had fired her.)However, Fantine due to her hard life thus far gets afflicted with tuberculosis and dies, with a promise from Monsieur Madeleine that her daughter would be cared for and brought up the way she had dreamed.

Things aren't any better at the inn of Montfermeil, as each day Cosette is treated worse than the previous day.One night it so happens that a traveller staying at the inn complained of insufficient water for his horse and Cosette is forced to go deep into the forest to fetch water.With great trepidation she enters the forest, trembling in her frail dress.On her way back, as she struggles to balance the weight of the bucket, she finds a hand lending her support.The person helping her is none other than Monsieur Madeleine and over the course of his conversation with Cosette he learns that she is Cosette and it really breaks his heart to see her in such misery and he resolves in his mind to undo all the injustice meted out to her so far.

Image Source:www.coutorture.com

Cosette's Coat

The evil Thénardiers while on one hand torturing Cosette with hard household chores, on the other hand used to repeatedly make demands through letters to Fantine(Cosette's mom) asking her to send more money either for treatment of some malicious illness that had struck Cosette or for her good up keeping.Fantine, believing Thénardiers to the letter worked hard at a factory in her hometown of Montreuil-sur-Mer saving every sous she could, thinking that it would help her daughter's upbringing.The Thénardiers however continue to treat Cosette as bad as possible, while spoiling their own daughters with dolls and good clothes.

As luck would have it, Fantine's supervisor at the factory got to know of Fantine's motherhood, suspected her of poor character and consequently dismisses her from the factory.Fantine though jobless still gets persistent demands for money from Thénardiers.Driven by extreme need, she sells her beautiful long hair to pay the Thénardiers.After some time passes, the Thénardiers inform Fantine that Cosette is in desperate need of a coat to keep herself warm.And thats when Fantine sells her two front teeth, buys a coat with the money and sends it to the Thénardiers.The Thénardiers expecting money, are enraged on seeing the coat, they give the coat to their daughter while poor Cosette shivers as usual.

Image Source:www.coutorture.com

Cosette ill-treated

Cosette gets much abused in Thénardiers' hands, she is more of a little slave to them.She is made to get up as early as five in the morning(which begets her the name Lark from her neighbours) to sweep the floors while shivering in the cold, wearing nothing more than thin gossamer frocks.Poor Cosette, all of five years old, she suffers in silence, not knowing what it is to be loved.

Image Source:www.coutorture.com

For the Love of My Feet...

There is always an elegance about John Galliano's shoes.This time too the shoes were available in a plethora of colors.My favorites were the Turkish inspired lattice work shoes in bright colors followed by the shoes with metal studded straps criss-crossing each other and in the process adding a tad of sophistication to them.The last kind were tie ups with tassel ends, they were relatively simpler while compared to the other two, giving a more modern twist to the Oriental fantasy spun by Galliano.The heels took a more Persian/Mughal stand, curved like an antique chair's leg with carved metal band at the base of the heel.

Overall the shoe affair was one of art meeting modernity, artistic yet wearable.

Image Source:www.style.com

John Galliano does a Rainbow on the Runway

The Christian Dior Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection saw a rainbow of colors, whether the inspiration was Oriental or not, it was a color fest for the eyes, which in itself is very welcome in a fall collection.

Image Source:www.coutorture.com