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Christopher Kane
"I like to be as focused as possible," says Christopher Kane, which is why his collections always have such a strong, clear quality. Resort was no exception. Following on from last Spring's bomb motifs, he opted for flaring nebulae, as seen by the Hubble telescope. He explained that he liked "the idea of explosive outwards expansion" (a nice metaphor for what's happening with his business), but all that cosmic hyperactivity also yielded some great prints (translating beautifully into silk cashmere knitwear, too), with plenty of the interplay between light and darkness that's a Kane signature.
Nothing showcased that kind of contrast better than a biker jacket in chiffon with a frilled skirt attached. Kane offered the same piece in black leather, an accent carried over from Fall in high-waisted shorts, a bustier, or the bodice attached to an organza gazar skirt. Gazar also featured in a long princess skirt, gathered at the waist so it flared out. Mid-thigh, it zipped in half to become a skating skirt. Same with the halter-necked version, which Kane called a "housewife dress," though it was anything but suburban in its fiery print of cosmic catastrophe—a desperate-housewife dress, perhaps?
Those full, flaring lengths and the palazzo volume of the pants were experiments with new silhouettes for Kane, perhaps not entirely successful in comparison to the Barbarella-sleek line of his baby dolls and drop-waisted T-shirt dresses, where his focus was steely. By the way, Kane named his shoes for Barbarella—maribou-trimmed Zanotti platforms, ironic bordering on camp, and a joy to behold.
—Tim Blanks
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Julien Macdonald
Julien Macdonald was quick to point out that his 35-piece collection wasn't resort or cruise; it was a "Christmas flash," which gave it a certain climactic specificity. Baby, it's getting colder outside, so Macdonald made knitwear to throw over his party frocks. For skin not yet kissed by holiday sun, he kept his colors on the dark and—it must be said—dreary side, with dusty, washed-out jewel tones. Even the white of a classically draped cocktail dress had an aged chalkiness. Macdonald lives on Portobello Road, and his vintage finds from the market there had a big influence on pieces that at times had a thirties languor, a twenties flapper quality, and something even earlier, with tattered lace and faded ruffles that could have come from Miss Havisham's closet.
The aggressive sexiness that characterized the designer's work in the past was absent, though his emphasis on bias cutting made even the most prosaic-looking piece snake sinuously around the body. Where Macdonald's Christmas really flashed was in his knitwear. Again, all of it had a worn, deliberately snagged look, but there was a slouchy appeal to the sweater dresses. One was essentially a man's polo-neck jumper with corset-laced shoulders; another a cardigan, also corset-laced. Too gothic for seasonal cheer, but sly and sexy just the same.
—Tim Blanks
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Jean Paul Gaultier
The key to Jean Paul Gaultier's latest collection could be found in the opening and closing outfits of his show. First up, a reconfigured trenchcoat in black gabardine. Last out, the same idea in white silk (worn by a bride who played herself down the runway—literally—with a violin). The trench is Gaultier's signature piece. The fact his latest show was bracketed by it suggested the collection was about him this time: not Mexico or Hollywood or Mars or anywhere else he might have been recently. Being the most Parisian of French fashion designers, that gave him a lot to work with. Being Jean Paul Gaultier gave him even more. So it was a crying shame the show didn't ultimately offer the thrills he once provided so routinely we almost came to take them for granted.
It started auspiciously enough, with Karlie Kloss in that trench, reconfigured with batwings (despite the Brides of Dracula gear later in the show, this was less vampire chic than an evocation of the glamorous heyday of Parisian haute couture). The pinstripe tailleur that followed, swathed in a huge silver fox, was a reminder of Gaultier's mastery of the masculine/feminine hybrid. The jacket with black mink cone breasts (and a butt to match) also revived an iconic moment in the designer's career. He exaggerated the silhouette of a biker jacket, then trimmed it with badger fur to give it a halo. That was clever. But he went on to use the same trick a few too many times, which left an impression of peculiar proportions. Same with the batwing shape, which turned to draggy droop at the drop of a hat.
Perhaps it wasn't so surprising, given Gaultier's stint at Hermès, that the most appealing pieces in the show were the most luxuriously simple: a twinset of cashmere cardigan coat and vest; an elegant black dress that was basically just a long silk cardigan reversed; an asymmetric evening gown of black jersey with a gusset of gold running down one side.
A long tweed and ostrich feather skirt paired with an asymmetric top in pleated black leather generated a round of audience applause, but not nearly as rousing as the one that greeted Dita Von Teese, on hand to publicize Gaultier's lingerie for La Perla the way she knows best. She managed to moon the audience twice.
—Tim Blanks
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Elie Saab
Elie Saab loves La Fenice, Venice's legendary opera house. As its name would suggest, this phoenix has burned to the ground and risen from the flames three times. For his Fall Couture collection, Saab borrowed the ruched velvet of La Fenice's curtains, the gilt and blue of its decoration, and even the fire and ash of its hellish moments for one multicolored mousseline gown. Given that backstory, the result was understandably a little overwrought.
Before the show, Saab said, "If a woman doesn't want 'rich,' she doesn't come to couture." So rich was what he gave her, from the moment Karolina Kurkova sashayed out onto the catwalk in a gown of deep red guipure lace swathed in silk tulle. The dress that followed her was short but scarcely simpler, with its bands of chiffon and lace liberally doused with sequins.
The designer claimed he was breaking some personal ground with his focus on classical draping. There was lots of asymmetric single-shoulder action, and he was also keen to pay more attention to the back of his dresses. That's where the décolleté was this season, which often left the front decorously covered up to the throat. Put that together with the color scheme; the broad-shouldered, bat-winged proportions; and the embellishment of the fabrics, and the collection felt heavy, even slightly old-fashioned. Saab is a proven master of red-carpet dressing, but these clothes sometimes made one wonder in exactly what decade that carpet was being unrolled.
—Tim Blanks
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