Battling Haute Couture: Paris Couture Week S/S2015

Going to the shows in Paris for Haute Couture is a bit like going to war.  Only, unlike a soldier, you don't pack in a camouflage duffle but the largest 2 suitcases you have.  And you don't pack combat boots and uniforms, you pack stilettos and designer dresses.  Guns are traded in for handbags, and bullets are your jewels.  This isn't war.  This is fashion.

First battle: Versace Haute Couture.  Versace always starts off the war on Sunday night.  An exciting and electrifying kick off, Donatella Versace never disappoints with her designs, and this year was the best runway I've seen so far from her.  The sleek suits and cut out dresses were simple and sexy.  Sapphire blue, black, red and white never looked so good together.  The attention to the woman's shape is never denied, and I found my first ever Versace HC look this season.  At this point, not sure if I'm winning or losing the battle.

Dior is next.  I have officially become a Dior Haute Couture girl.  My admiration for Raf Simons is loyal from Haute Couture to Ready to Wear to accessories.  His modern architectural approach to clothes both inspires me and captures me.  And the shapes from this season are right up my alley, blending the line between 1960's Mod and futuristic Modern. When there are so many open targets, it's hard to decide which one to focus on!

Alexis Mabille.  He is the darling of the Paris fashion scene: always airy and impish.  He really remembers the fantasy of couture, and this collection was no different.  Sad to miss his 10th Anniversary dinner after, this war was starting to wear at me a bit.  (and I even had a seat across from Hamish Bowles!) Paris Haute Couture is not meant for the weak at heart…

Dita Von Teese in Alexis with the man of the hour Alexis Mabille

Stephane Rolland was a surprise attack.  I really liked the simplicity of this show.  Confirming that black and white is the new uniform and sheer is the best camouflage, Rolland was fresh and bold.  All of the looks had a calm tranquility over us as the transparent sexuality mesmerized.

Final battle of the week was Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture.  I love saving the best for last!  JPG never fails to come out with bullets, hand grenades and victory fireworks.  I thought this was one of the best JPG shows I've seen in a few seasons.  And his inclusion of his retired soldiers that walked the cat walk was a testimony to his history and place as one of the best of Haute Couture.

At the end of the war, we all celebrate with the SIDaction Gala, an organization dedicated to the ongoing fight against AIDS.  Designers, models, actors, and fashion lovers all come together to continue raising funds for the scientific research and education that must still happen in this war that is still yet to be won.  We celebrate the small battles and strategize the next.  

The best way to end the Haute Couture week.

Wearing Alexis Mabille Haute Couture with fellow fashionista Amber Sakai in her own design and Jean Paul Gaultier

My dates and fashion marines, Brian Atwood and Joey Maalouf

Paris Haute Couture 2012: Ulyana Sergeenko, Stephane Rolland

It didn't seem possible to see any more beautiful clothes on the morning of Day 2, but I was off to do just that.  I started the day by seeing the first couture collection of Ulyana Sergeenko.  A Russian photographer, couture collector and street-style star, Sergeenko has turned designer with a passion for her homeland's traditional dress and culture.  

Ulyana on the street

Apparently, she is on the radar with Vogue magazine and the fashion world.  Her collection was very interesting - I've never seen anything like it.  Extremely editorial.  It was as if we were traveling through the Russian past, outfitting all the characters in Anna Karenina. There were the peasant blouses with ankle-length skirts, the Russian military came through in striking coats adorned with brooches looking like that of military medals, and then there was the Russian bride.  The show ended with a long dramatic black coat that could have been the same coat that Anna wore in her final moments.  

The models were like Matryoshka dolls (of the same size) marching out in various colors and babushkas, furs and mittens.  With sounds of Peter and the Wolf playing with the music, the designer transformed the Théâtre Marigny into a Russian menagerie.  Thinking about reading some more Tolstoy now…

Anna's Suicide Dress  

Quickly, I headed over to the Trocadéro for the Stephane Rolland Show.  French-born designer Stephane Rolland is no newbie to fashion.  As Creative Director for Balenciaga's menswear, he left to create his own ready-to-wear line, then ultimately in 2007 his couture line.  My first time to see his work, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Held at the Cité de l'architecture of the Palais de Chaillot (known as the Palais du Trocadéro), the setting was of yet another world.  There were long wooden benches as seats, and the guest list must have been pages long.

Waiting for Godot: with Christine Chiu, new friend Stephanie and Cameron Silver
Photo courtesy of Ellen Olivier: http://societynewsla.com/

Shows are always late.  And this one was no exception.  My teenaged babysitter, McCall, had announced the previous day that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were to be at the Rolland show.  That fact alone almost made me not go.  But there we were, waiting waiting waiting for Kim and Kanye.  

The show finally started, without the couple du jour, with a floor length ivory dress.  The palette of the runway was organic and neutral.  The clothes were simple and wearable.  There was a definite consistency to the collection that you could feel and see.  Mostly in the noodles that hung from the shoulders of dresses or coats.  Everything was extremely dramatic, but the body-conscious cuts could look good on a lot of women.  I loved all of the wooden details, from belts to shoes - it was really cool and original.

The oddest moment came when the bride-look walked down the runway.  Obviously close to tripping on fabric and/or heels, the model walked the catwalk slowly, methodically.  She was spreading her arms out to reveal more of the noodle-capped cape atop the gown.  She walked in slow motion, almost fearful of the altar.  Fashion is in the eye of the beholder, and I was not beholden.  I found it more like a circus….  Cut to Kim Kardashian: she had finally entered to view the final "look".  Shopping for a wedding dress?  The whole thing was just bizarre, the clothes were relegated backseat to celebrity, and the benches for paying customers were as hard as the temperature was hot.  

Not afraid of crow (or noodle) pie, I did like the shoes.  My immediate reaction to the show was, get me those shoes!  I loved the wooden sole and the sexy hug of the instep. Very chic.

And, as for Kim and her couture shopping… I can only say that she made a mess of traffic around the Trocadéro...