Cathy Horyn Continues to Blast Slimane’s Saint Laurent Collections

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fashion Designers, Fashion Shows, News,

The feud between Hedi Slimane and New York Times critic Cathy Horyn continues, as the Saint Laurent fashion designer banned her again from his show in Paris.

Unfortunately for Slimane, the slight downside to an age where a show's images are immediately uploaded onto the internet for all to see is the fact that it helps someone like Horyn to be able to critique the show without having been there.

Horyn began with lambasting Slimane's decision to remove "Yves" from the label's name - something that had previously caused many raised eyebrows in the fashion world: "One of the first things the new designer, Hedi Slimane, did was to remove “Yves” from the label, thereby severing a symbolic connection to the founder, and everything he stood for, like good taste and feminine power."

She then went on to blast the clothes, which she pointed out were disliked by others, too: "Many people said the clothes looked like stuff sold at Topshop or a thrift store, while others defended Mr. Slimane’s approach and identified pieces, like a pink fur chubby, that relate back to Yves’s designs of the late ’60s and early ’70s, when he got ideas — say, for a pea coat — from the street. It’s doubtful that customers will make that connection, but such comments serve to validate what Mr. Slimane has done."

Click to continue reading Cathy Horyn Continues to Blast Slimane’s Saint Laurent Collections

Read More | NY Times via The Cut

Nicolas Ghesquiere Leaves Balenciaga

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fashion Designers, News, Rumors,

Fashion designer Nicolas Ghesquière has announced that he will be leaving his post as creative director of Balenciaga.

The news comes as a shock to many, as there was almost no word previously that the French designer was planning to part ways with the fashion house he's headed for fifteen years. Fashion critic Cathy Horyn, however, has a theory that Ghesquière's departure may have something to do with Yves Saint Laurent's new creative director Hedi Slimane.

An official statement from the company stated that the decision was made jointly by Ghesquière and PPR, the group which owns Balenciaga. There was no additional information offered from the company.

Ghesquière's work at the Paris label has received numerous praises, attracting celebrity fans like Kristen Stewart and Jennifer Connelly.

Read More | NY Times

Items Du Jour: Teen Model Lawsuit, Cathy Horyn Gives FNO a Thumbs Down

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Celebrities, Fashion Designers, Health & Beauty, Models, News,

-- First there was the infamous Kate Moss "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" line; now Urban Outfitters is stirring up controversy with another printed t-shirt. This time, it's a racy photograph of then 15 year-old Hailey Clauson, whose parents are suing the retailer (and others who sell the shirt) for "destroying her reputation," of which she's demanding $28 million.

-- Rihanna showed up to a London event for her new fragrance, Reb'l Fleur, in a look from Antonio Berardi's recent resort collection. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

-- NY Times fashion writer Cathy Horyn picks a fight with Fashion's Night Out, explaining in a recent blog post just how unproductive the event has now become, having transformed into a big block party more or less.

-- Just as the highly successful Alexander McQueen retrospective comes to a close, Grazia editor Melanie Rickey prompts a campaign calling all Londoners to arms, demanding that the retrospective come to McQueen's hometown.

Click to continue reading Items Du Jour: Teen Model Lawsuit, Cathy Horyn Gives FNO a Thumbs Down

Quote of the Day: Cathy Horyn Defending Her Words

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Celebrities, Editorials, Fashion Designers, Fashion Shows, News,

“We have standards. We want people to be not just good but very good. And I can be tough on people, sometimes too tough, especially with the most creative. I once called one of Tom Ford’s collections freakish and ugly.”

- New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn, explaining why she may not say the nicest things about what designers create or what celebrities are wearing.

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | The Daily Beast via Jezebel

Quote of the Day: Cathy Horyn Says Couture is Dying

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Fashion Designers, Fashion Shows, News, Rumors,

“Like perpetually dieting designers, haute couture is definitely shrinking before our eyes. Oh, don’t be fooled by the giant lion at Chanel, which, depending on how you look at these things, is either an example of Karl Lagerfeld’s brilliant stagecraft or an advertisement for a new Disney restaurant chain. Most of the remaining half-dozen or so houses that show haute couture scaled down their presentations this week: a nip here, a tuck there and a PR man explaining in a hushed tone that the designer wanted to ‘return to couture’s roots.’... Unless you have been catching up on Gossip Girl reruns, national deficits and unemployment do not correlate with a couture dress that costs as much as a Harvard education. Couture is slipping off people’s radars faster than a U.F.O. “

- Fashion journalist Cathy Horyn pens the signs of couture’s death in The New York Times.

(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)

Read More | NY Times via Fashionologie