Giambattista Valli Fall 2020 Couture

“If they’re coming to me, they want the best of me.” That was Giambattista Valli earlier today on a Zoom call from Paris, hours before his fall 2020 haute couture collection would be unveiled via a video starring Joan Smalls. True to his word, the new collection is signature Giamba. There’s no COVID-time second-guessing of his instincts—no economizing on silk tulle or scaling back of faille and taffeta bows. If anything, the tulle tiers are frothier, the bows more voluminous. A face-covering mask could’ve been a nod to the pandemic, but in black chiffon it was more decorative than functional.

Smalls models the collection’s 18 looks in the video, and in the split-screen next to her, scenes of Paris in winter are revealed. “With or without us, nature was going on,” Valli remarked of the months we spent under lockdown. “In the horror of what we’re passing through, there was beauty blooming at the same time.” On day one of this digital couture week, nature is a recurring motif, as is the human desire to get out into it. It may be irrational exuberance on our parts, but it is exuberance which is better than its opposite, and after months of restrictions, this kind of pleasure seeking is hardly a surprise. Even before the collection made its online debut, Valli had two virtual orders. “Happy times are never going to be démodé,” he said. He also has the advantage of a very young clientele; “they’re used to buying on the web,” he added.

As his bride (see gallery above), Smalls wears a strapless dress of ruched ivory tulle decorated with a pair of black bows that match the one that accents her cathedral-length veil of polka-dot embroidered tulle. Valli was eager to highlight the couture techniques of each piece—from a sequin minidress and its many-layered point d’esprit cape to a white ballgown decorated neckline to hem in lipstick-red feathers—and he proudly announced he was able to retain all of his employees during the shutdown and the reopening that’s followed. Amidst this ongoing crisis, that really is cause for happy times.

Source: Vogue

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Givenchy's SS20 Campaign "Couple" Starring Marc Jacobs and Charlotte Rampling

Marc Jacobs and Charlotte Rampling take the spotlight for Givenchy’s Spring/Summer 2020 campaign. Revisiting its signature “couple” theme, the French fashion house celebrates individualistic beauty and the self-assured attitude emblematic of Givenchy. Capturing Jacobs and Rampling together and individually, the campaign juxtaposes masculine tailoring with feminine pieces and prints.

Shot by famed photographer Craig McDean, the campaign showcases the New York-based designer and Paris-based actress’ strength and character in “Givenchy sitting” style of portraiture. Dressed in contrasting black and white, Rampling folds Givenchy’s Bond shopper bag under her arm, while Jacobs, dressed in a patterned, form-fitting shirt, carries an over-sized waist bag. With mystery, elegance and sophistication, the duo highlight a range of Givenchy’s accessories, including this season’s star handbag, ID93, in yellow suede and the Mystery bag in cognac leather.

In the campaign’s accompanying video, Rampling offers Jacobs a master class in the dramatic arts. The actress plays along with Jacobs’ extravagant, over-the-top acting skills, even using a Givenchy heel as a telephone in a humorous scene.

Source: Hypebeast

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Alyx Spring 2020 Men's and Women's Collection

Matthew Williams of 1017 Alyx 9SM (his brand’s full name) didn’t seem to attach much meaning to his venue—a stunning, modernized bank building—yet two words projected loud and clear: big and business. This is what Alyx is fast becoming and what the combined men’s and women’s collections encapsulated with their assertive silhouettes and high-fashion positioning.

As the penultimate show of a strong week, Alyx was something to behold, arousing the glory days of Thierry Mugler in the 1980s while attracting the next-generation crowd that has brought incontrovertible energy back to Paris. For now, at least, Williams is committing to a more formal form of urban than his peers. For him, tailoring is not just an outward statement, but an inward reflection of mastery. “Tailoring is a really difficult thing to do as a young brand,” he said. “Some of the construction we’re attempting to do is trying to find our own language. I think it’s a nice challenge to define what that is for us.”

Arguably, his challenge is how to achieve that difference without appearing over-designed. From past visits with him, before he switched to a show format, he revealed his process as methodical, almost obsessional for the way he will privilege one detail over another. Chances are, he vetoed at least a dozen chains before landing on the one that repeats as a parabolic flourish on several of these looks. Other details—elongating panels, zippered knees, hammered hardware, sculpted heels—were fine-tuned in order to be fully integrated, not gratuitous. Elsewhere, outdoorsy pieces that harked back to earlier collections blended in while the draped dresses towards the end remained slightly unresolved.

But that’s just surface stuff; anyone who read the accompanying notes would have learned about the metal hardware sourced from a sustainable factory, the near-waterless leather-dyeing process, the three-dimensional printed seams and myriad more examples of innovation adding functional and psychological value to the clothes. Or, as stated in this succinct yet thorough document, “We engage with systems, scales, and soul.”

Williams, for his part, also suggested the designs gain dimension from those wearing them. “Our casting is a real mixture of models and friends and family—those people’s energy really brings out the clothes.” See Model 54, aka his wife Jennifer, who wore a croc-embossed jacket (the treatment of the season) and a corresponding translucent skirt. Enough of the guests knew her that cheers echoed through the space as though she were an international celebrity. It was a telling moment. Alyx, now acting all grown up, remains as independent and in-the-know as always.

Source: VOGUE RUNWAY

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ZIAD NAKAD FW 20 COUTURE

TESSERA COLLECTION COUTURE FALL WINTER 2019 - 2020 PARIS FASHION WEEK

Inspired by the ancient mosaic, Ziad Nakad's Fall Winter 2019 2020 couture collection is an ode to architecture and geometry. Marked waists , oversize and asymmetrical sleeves are true technical features while giving an impression of lightness in resolutely feminine outfits. Silhouettes with embroidery embellishments like "tessellas" and "tesserulas" reveal an aerial mosaic. It is this alliteration assemblage that inspired the designer for the collection’s title.

A colorful collection, from blue to red, from gold to silver with black tips. Always concerned regarding high quality, Ziad Nakad mingles tulles and chiffons, lace and velvet, giving his creations an architectural and modern dimension, always reminding us his mastery in cuts and volumes.

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YOLANCRIS COUTURE FW19

The Couture FW19 collection presents a hidden, dark, darkly romantic spring with a Gothic touch. Inspired by the stories of Edgar Allan Poe and the illustrations by Harry Clarke and Aubrey Beardsley, the colorful characteristic of the brand gives way to a black and white that are fused and contrasted in forms that are reminiscent of the decorative arts of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth.

Along with Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts, the other most important influence of the creative director Yolanda Pérez are the decades of the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. The black and white binomial of the collection has its point in common with the op art of the 60s, being the graphics of the French designer Louis Féraud a reference point in conceiving and creating the ornamentations of the pieces of the collection with abundant embroideries and hand-sewn rhinestones.

Among the collaborators, Yolancris has worked with Roselinde's jewelry. The light of the Canary Islands and its natural landscapes are the greatest inspiration of Ros Jiménez, owner and designer of the brand. The House also collaborated with British  footwear brand Sophia Webster. Hair and makeup was coordinated by Marcello Costa and his team, PR and management of the show was done by Totem Fashion and the consulting by Mabel Gago.

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YUIMA NAKAZATO COUTURE FW19-20 SHOW PACKAGE

Yuima Nakazato has been striving to realize a future vision for humanity in which "Eventually, each and every garment will be unique and different." His quest for the pursuit of this radical idea, this democratization of haute couture, began in 2016. Upon rendezvous with Spiber and THE EUGENE studio, the journey begins anew.

Fashion, science and art, a trio of disparate elements that speak to a shared spirit, to a belief in the potential of realizing a future full of hope. The fusion of these three domains by Yuima Nakazato, Spiber, and THE EUGENE Studio leads to a journey expanded in scope and rife with possibilities.

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Turkish Lingerie That You Won't Find in Turkey

Lingerie label Else is one of Paris' well-known, international brands. The label was created by Ela Onur in 2008. By providing wearable lingerie styles, Else has made a name for itself while offering lacy bodysuits and crop tops that can go from the street to the sheets. 

You can find the label Else through lingerie e-commerce site Journelle as well as department stores. On the contrary, the label would be almost impossible to find in Turkey. Although it is common in the West, the trend of sexy lingerie isn't as widespread in the East. Cultural differences explain that Turkish women wear lingerie while getting married and for special occasions but not for their everyday routine. 

Turkey is well-known for exporting lingerie which is how Onur started in the industry. Her family ran a business that produced straps, hooks and wires for bras. Onur began to notice an advantage at that time, that there wasn't a single lingerie designer from Turkey. Even though Turkey had all the resources, the manufacturing that was being done there were for all the big private labels.

To read the full article, visit Vogue.

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