À la mode….À la mode…À la mode…. (and I am not talking about a dessert with ice cream)
I’m talking about being Trendy! Does being trendy really matter? I think Balenciaga gave us something to think about in Paris this past week, but more on that later!
10 days of fashion and over 100 brands showing at Paris Fashion Week for the Spring - Summer 2023 Collection. That kind of showing can make even the “die-hard fashionistas” a little scattered during a 10 day itinerary of utter greatness.
“But not me” I hear you say, right?
After New York, London and Milan Fashion Weeks, is Paris what you've been waiting for???
Some of my favorite looks from the design houses below really hit some high notes and deserve immediate praise.
I’ll be quick but direct to get to what I really want to talk about.
And that is … Balenciaga - This is the show that deserves to be talked about, so please don’t stop reading!
Coperni - Open one shoulder with cut out designs and metallic tube detail draping across two sections of the dress, and of course the white spray paint dress (we will get to this a bit later. Granted, it’s been plastered over the internet for days!)
Victoria Beckham - The black suit with the white waistband Gigi Hadid wore was GORGEOUS!
Chloé - The open knit dresses at Chloé were so PRETTY.
Isabel Marant - You know, I love myself a pair of leather pants. This look with the leather pant and floral halter tank was pure BOHEMIAN ELEGANCE!
Balmain - Olivier Rousteing slayed with over 100 looks - The white gown was AMAZING! Oh, and let’s not forget the surprise appearance by Cher!
Givenchy - The bateau neckline high/low black sleeveless dress with the lace-up boots were EVERYTHING!
Saint Laurent - The hooded halter dress was STUNNING!
Rick Owens - Yellow is my favorite color and I really thought the yellow sheer gathered knot gown with the chunky boot was TDF!
Dries Van Noten - I really loved the mix of floral patterns… so REFRESHING!
Mônot - The one sleeve bustier top with matching jean skirt (YES) and the black cut-out turtleneck dress… so SEXY!
Hermès - I am all bout the chunky sandals and the white long sheath dress with random sequin placement. I particularly loved the black cut-out bandeau dress… EXCELLENT.
Okay… I know you have already read, seen, shared and gasped at the Coperni show because it is all the internet can handle right now. Back story in case you had no cable, internet, social media or fashion friends to report to you! Bella Hadid walked onto a mirrored platform wearing a pair of nude underwear, with one arm placed demurely across her breasts and was spray painted with a white substance called Fabrican, which was invented almost two decades ago (Article from Harper’s Bazaar). The material gelled within minutes into a rubbery white solid, forming a cocktail dress with straps that fell sweetly off the shoulder (Article from Harper’s Bazaar). Something of a performance that was extremely unexpected and has garnished massive interet buzz. If you weren't necessarily a huge design fan of Coperni you might be now out of the sheer sign that you will be hearing about the spray paint dress in every fashion article about Paris Fashion Week. Granted, I will say that Coperni had some beautiful pieces for their Summer/Spring 2023 Collection and now the world (due to the beautiful and stunning Bella Hadid and the white spray paint dress) will see what the Coperni design house can really design and create (minus the Fabrican spray paint dress).
Here is a link if for some reason you missed it: https://us.coperniparis.com/
But what I really want to talk about and what I found so beautiful about Paris Fashion week was the Balenciaga show.
I mean it was muddy, it was dirty, but it was beautiful and real. It was about being “down to earth”, raw and downright ORIGINAL. The designer Demna Gvasalia penned a letter that in a few words let you know that the designer “hates boxes, being put in a box or labeled. He no longer will explain his collections because fashion is a visual art and it needs to be seen through someone else's eyes”.
And don’t we all agree?
Isn’t this what our society is dying to hear? You don’t have to look perfect, you don’t have to let celebrities and socialites define what a trend is. You can create whatever look you want and be as creative as you want to find your originality and ultimately your identity! Whatever it takes to be original even if you get dragged through the mud for your style choices - do it anyway! You want to turn a Lay’s Potato Chip Bag into a Purse? DO IT! Denma did.
The show (if you missed it or haven’t heard) was held at the Parc des Exposition de Villepinte. It wasn’t a place to escape into happiness, it was about the reality of where the current socio economic issues are and where we are as a society. As Denma so valiantly states “we are on a battlefield fighting to defend our own identity. The challenge is to get up and keep walking towards your true self after you have been beaten up and knocked down”.
What????? WHAT IS RIGHT, Denma!
Get up and keep going! Don’t give up, don’t lose your identity or originality and let “them” win. Them being the current culture of fashion “isms” that define what your style should be or what trends you should be wearing. Again, how important is a trend when you are fighting to be YOU. Trends are trending out, I tell you!
Okay, back to the show!
Kanye opened the show by dredging through the mud with his walk and definitely setting the tone. The fashion was black and dark, then white and bright, edgy, rough, raw, beautiful, elegant and artful. There were pops of yellow and pinks, structured corsets on male models, stuffed animal purses, structured spiral scarves, see-through Balenciaga shopping bags, hoodies and more hoodies, male models carrying baby dolls in Balenciaga chest baby carriers, studded piercings decorated some of the models faces, one hole oversized shoulder bags in black, brown, pink, tan and white. Handbags that you had to look at twice to make sure they weren't actual trash bags, beautiful cape dresses, fanny packs, oversized menswear suits on both sexes, cropped puffer coats and sequined gowns. The white outfits and dresses were blatantly stating that dirtiness or just getting stained was a part of the scenery and a part of life (so get used to it).
As Denma stated at the very last of his letter; “Fashion in its best case scenario should not need a story to be sold to someone. The set of this show is a metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth. Let us let everyone be anyone and make love and not war.”
And so it is, Denma. And so it is! 💛
If you missed the official show... https://www.balenciaga.com/en-us/summer-23
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MILAN FASHION WEEK EDIT - THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE AT GUCCI!