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12 International Herald Tribune

Friday, Februar y 29, 2008 Fashion
Haute The long
hunch and short of it
back From Page 11

s a waterfall of white frills tumbled over a sculpted black

f the hot young things — A suit, Riccardo Tischi’s image for Givenchy came into clear

I the 20-something
heiresses on perpetual
party duty — were sitting
on the edge of their seats at
Giambattista Valli’s show,
there was good reason. How
else would you negotiate those
great hunchbacks of fluffy fox
fur, the curvatures at the spine
of a flower-strewn dress and all
those strange lumps and bumps
that looked like these young
women, who only carry a
crocodile clutch for their credit
card, were being invited to don
a built-in knapsack.
Valli has a corner in the
young socialites, from Camilla
Al Fayed through the red-
lipsticked Delal sisters and
their perpetually youthful
mother. Add Mary-Kate Olsen
and an effusive Lapo Elkann
and you had a serious social
turnout.
Perhaps Valli wanted to
prove that he could have taken
over at Valentino and might be
in line for any other couture
house looking for a young
designer with flair, dash and a
fabulous private clientele. Or
maybe he was inspired by his
work for Moncler’s Gamme
Rouge — to be shown on Friday
— to think of mountains.
Mountains of fur, that is,
although one white parka with
a slim skirt had a fresh look for
daywea r.
The rest was a heavy-handed
rendition of Cristóbal
Balenciaga and Christian Dior
in a contest to see who could
sculpt the most fabric, create
the most back curves and sew
on the most bold black beads.
But trim everything down to
size and there was a pretty
collection of dress-up clothes
for the Learjet kids of the super
rich. — Suzy Menkes
focus. A meld of the romantic and the carnal, of rigid with soft
and of classic with contemporary came together in the winter
2008 collection.
‘‘Symbols from my religion and from Italian churches,’’ sa id
the designer, referring to ex-voto hearts embroidered on the back
of a taut jacket or made into emblematic pendants. Tischi said
that the inspiration of gilded chains strung over an image of the
Madonna came from the same religious source, even if on the
runway the swags of gleaming chains and crosses, slung over a
slender pantsuit, looked more bling than beatific.
In this show, Tischi had a clarity of vision that was dependent
on his tailoring skills. Pants were either skinny or made looser
with tucks at the front, but last season’s weirder experiments had
been banished and as the models walked out on gilded sandals
with thick straps, the proportions seemed perfect. Dresses, with
sleeves swelling below the elbows, was the alternate look. They
might be in crunchy black lace, but the froufrou element was bal-
anced by thigh-high boots.
Sleeves were a motif of the collection, appearing even as
pleated leather forming mini capes over the arms. But the true
Givenchy spirit came through in the ruffled blouses, which had
an insouciant French frivolity but were grounded by black leath-
er pants. The show ended on a graphic note with passementerie
trimming geometric coats in a perfect play on black and white —
LOEW E
a neat symbol for the balancing act that Tischi has mastered be-
tween Givenchy’s heritage and modernity. This strong collection
should augur well for the new boutique concept the house un-
veiled this week on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. A fresh start
tella McCartney is a woman designer whose clothes seem he clothes, that’s the thing I’ve got to prove — I’m
S like a mirror image of herself. But who is the real Stella? The
party girl with skirts up to there, as she might once have been? Or
‘T known for accessories,’’ said Stuart Vevers, presenting
his first collection for the Spanish leather company Loewe.
the homebody who hangs out in bulbous, calf-length sweater Not that Vevers had forgotten the bags, his heritage from
dresses — just the thing, when patterned with heraldic prints, to working for the British brand Mulberry. Handbags came in
cuddle up before a baronial fireplace? Then again, there is the boxy shapes in high-shine patent or dotted nappa leather and
nature lover, who brings her genuine concern for green issues to softly padded suede, contrasted with metallic hardware, in-
a felted coat with a leaf pattern. cluding minipadlocks.
There are many McCartneys — not least the one singing on the The clothes were also intriguing, with their faint perfume
soundtrack to close his daughter’s show. of 1960s Spain in the small-waisted lace dress or with skirt
But it does not work on a Paris runway to send out a collection hemlines ending just over the knee.
that looks more like an offering for buyers to pick and choose, The collection was shown on mannequins, but Vevers had
rather than the soul of what the designer stands for. Perhaps that a vision, inspired by a young Paloma Picasso: a narrow-
could be described as the ‘‘big ease’’ — the accent on big this sea- shoulder silhouette, with an elongated line of dropped waist
son — with some fine, sculpted coats that had just a hint of the on skirt or pants. Cool jodhpurs and leather dress with one
1980s. But long floating dresses with open-work in-lays are shoulder competed for attention with a pink croc bag or
strictly for cocooning and would look better as a nightgown than grass-green boots.
floating down the catwalk — especially when the only rock ’n’ Vevers said: ‘‘It’s a start.’’ And it was hard to tell from this
roll on the runway came from curving platform shoes and the first collection, created in just seven weeks, how the designer
models’s attempt to keep themselves steady. will position Loewe. But he had the right idea in realizing
that the era of minimalist clothes as a canvas for accessories
is over.
GIAMBATTISTA VALLI iht.com/style — Suzy Menkes
Photographs by Chris Moore/Karl Prouse Photographs from Paris Fashion Week

Noir Study in Gala xy

notions streamlined quest
ndrew Gn had a bit of a sur- he A k ris show was a he designer Ennio

A prise in store for his faithful

fans from the society pages.
He of the colorful prints and
flowery embroidery took his fall/
winter collection to a dark place — a
T study in the long and lean
silhouette. The designer
Albert Kriemler kept his
collection free of over-the-top em-
bellishments and used extra-long
T Capasa sees the fu-
ture as a hard, cold
place. His Costu me
Nationa l collection was one
of strict suiting and high-
place that was dominated by black fur scarves that grazed the floor collared coats that looked
(with navy, plum and olive green mak- and leather belts worn with the ready to battle with the cruel
ing only walk-on appearances), giving clasps on the side as the only ac- world that awaits them.
the clothes an air of elegant austerity. cessories. The designer called the
The absence of color brought the de- The streamlined effect imbued show ‘‘Galaxy Couture’’ —
signer’s craftsmanship to the fore. Ex- the entire collection, from the wide perhaps referencing the
pertly cut suits paired with romantic gray slab of a catwalk to the tailor- oversize collars that looked
bib-front shirts were finished off with ing and choice of fabrics. Straight like abstract rings orbiting
whorls of roses circling the collar; satin coats in strips of quilted textiles, the models’ heads or the
cocktail dresses and silk tops had sun- slivers of fur lined in rows and ‘‘space dust’’ shine of satin
ray pleating or pin-tucked organza in- mounted on the front of a tunic top on a icy blue dress (one of the
serts at the chest; and traditional tweed or rectangular sections of felt fixed few looks that was not in Ca-
was perked up with sequins and jet em- onto tulle (growing in size as they pasa’s signature black-hole
broider y. marched down the front of a coat) black) or maybe even the
Gn also was in tune with two of the all added to the linear feel of the clouds of ruffles floating
season’s emerging trends: lace and big show. across a dress — but, still, the
jewelry. There was black lace on busti- But when Kriemler took his show’s title seemed a bit of a
ers, as an overlay on taffeta coats, and theme to evening wear, things star- stretch.
in a mix of different styles on a v-neck ted to feel forced. There were unat- What really awaits buyers
top. Jewelry was anything but dainty; tractive millefeuille dresses, a of this collection are outfits
large cameos were pinned to the center crop-fronted cape and a gown with with hard-edged impact and
of dresses, extra wide cuffs were en- a flowing skirt at the back and a bit of ‘‘Blade Runner’’ sex
crusted with jet beading and earrings pants at the front that never really appeal. It is territory Capasa
dangled down the length of a neck. came together as they should have. knows well, does well, and
If the sounds of contentment coming The designer would have been will probably continue to re-
from the audience are any indication, wiser to steer clear of pushing a visit as he explores new ways
Gn’s noir notions should net the de- single theme to the point of back- to make seductive women’s
signer a lot of cold currency. f iring. wea r.
ANDREW GN — Jessica Michault AKR IS — Jessica Michault COSTUME NATIONAL — Jessica Michault