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

Items Du Jour: Karl on Gossip Girl, Dita Von Teese For JPG

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

—Fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin recently shot Daria Werbowy for Yves Saint Laurent. The pair explain the appeal of women like her and Raquel Zimmerman: they’re—gasp—women.

—Megan Fox impresses her boss Giorgio by wearing an Armani Prive dress for her wedding in Hawaii. The gown had a 16ft train and was surprisingly neither black nor red and was rather conservative compared to her usual red carpet fare.

—Karl Lagerfeld was seen strolling around Paris with Gossip Girl star Blake Lively, sparking rumors that the designer is to appear on the show. He is after

commercial domination, after all…

—Muse and couture collector Daphne Guinness was spotted hopping onto a motorcycle as she left Chanel’s couture fashion show yesterday. Yes, she wore shorts under her lavish, sparkling gown. Are you surprised?

—David Sims photographs Freja Beha Erichsen, Monika Jagaciak and Tati Cotliar for the Valentino Fall 2010 campaign. Continuing with the black-and-white trend, the women also tend to shed more clothes than usual in the series.

Click to continue reading Items Du Jour: Karl on Gossip Girl, Dita Von Teese For JPG

Russia Inspired Chanel Couture

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Fashion Designers, Fashion Shows, Models, News,

Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld took his inspiration from Russia for the Chanel Couture show in Paris yesterday.

Models walked down a specially created runway at the Grand Palais in the French capital - walking out of a lion holding a giant pearl - in shades of maroon, brown, white and pink.

Although not a huge departure from what Chanel is known for - classical, flattering cuts in various tweeds - it was a solid collection, with fur-trimmed collars and cuffs teamed with mid-calf boots and seeming inspiration taken from Faberge eggs. Waistlines were kept high and shoulders boxy, with arms billowing, and as the show progressed, sequins and ornate detailing came in abundance.

The final model to walk down the runway was Karl Lagerfeld’s male model of the moment Baptiste Giabiconi, who donned a lion’s head mask while wearing the style of suit favored by the German-born designer - a black trouser and blazer combination worn with a high-necked white shirt.

Others to put on shows yesterday include Givenchy, who provided a decadent and glamorous collection and Giorgio Armani Prive, who worked a serious and sexy business-like chic.