Monday, January 21, 2013

BEAUTY: Clothing--Paris Fashion Week Miscellaneous, January 2013

Well, Paris Fashion Week for Fall-Winter '13-'14 closed yesterday and here are the last little dregs of some details I found interesting but not enough to post the entire collection...

Mugler showed a collection that was a tiny bit scary since it reminded me so much of the mean-spirited, Fascistic film "Starship Troopers." The insignia on the tops are a logo for "Mugl-air," a fictitious flying company, and they look sharp and serious. But no fashion editor or writer I have come across so far has had a thing to say about the big pink triangle, a symbol for the gay and lesbian community. And ya gotta love the pink bullet proof vest/parachute pack...


Speaking of parachute packs and airplanes, I liked the seat belt buckle that cinched waists on sport jackets and acted as toggles for coats at Dior. Just look at the mystical pyramid in a circle. Does the emblem have a metaphysical/alchemical meaning or is it a symbol of some future society?


Mugler and Dior conceptually segues nicely into the odd color straps spanning lapels at Raf Simons.


And speaking of future societies, Issey Miyake created some foiled rain wear that looks like it is straight out of "Fahrenheit 451."


Shifting gears to something more romantic, Vuitton showed some gorgeous pieces based on Bhutan silk brocade. Creative director Kim Jones went to the Himalayas to research this collection and the luxurious evening wear that resulted was certainly worth it.


Alexis Mabille showed a really cute detail in his collection: a string tie with tassels. (The artist in me thinks, "I could make that!" I can't cut patterns or sew, but I could put some tassels on the end of a string!)


Jean Paul Gaultier's show was cheeky, taking place in neon lined cubicles reminscent of pay-per-view strip booths. And indeed, each model came out and provocatively stripped down. The funny part is they were wearing classic menswear patterns. Pin stripes have been everywhere at Paris Fashion Week and in Milano...


And finally, Junya Watanabe usually incorporates some kind of work wear or a theme of the laborer into his collections. This time he took us back to immigrants on the Lower East Side of New York, and to the Great Depression with men proudly wearing patched jackets and pants, cobbled together from other threadbare pieces. And aren't we all living through the Second Great Depression... Watanabe seems to be saying that times may be tough, but we still have our dignity.


http://www.mugler.com/us/en/
http://www.dior.com/home/en_us/
http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.isseymiyake.com/en/
http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://www.alexismabille.com/fr/
http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/brand/en

Photos via http://www.style.com/

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