Breaking away from the usual monotone aesthetic, Rick Owens broadened his horizons, sprinkling color here and there and breaking up the palate through pattern-work. Those who were surprised to see the color orange sprout out of no where, should delve into his archives, and take a look at past seasons. He started with color. Yet, those earlier collections, pre everyone-and-their-mother-has-a-rick-jacket, were more sensible and wearable than fw2010. While this collection undoubtedly had attitude, it was bit muddled in terms of having a clear sense of direction. However, his ability to constantly re-interpret his classic design techniques, while simultaneously treading on new ground cannot and should not go unnoticed.
Roland Barthes associated wine and butter as tokens of the bourgeois and surely a Lanvin piece could be on that list. Decadence and indulgence were themes that came across clearly, staunchly advocating for the ideal Parisienne . Alber Elbaz is always able to capture a certain femininity without shoving sexiness down your throat. This collection also served as an avenue of experimentation for Elbaz, playing with silhouettes he has not really done before and incorporating a myriad of textures and fabrics, walking a fine line between cohesion and chaos, but thankfully had his feet planted on the better side of things.
Nicolas Ghesquiére’s collection this season was a bit of a loose cannon. A clear thread of cohesion was seemingly absent, and whatever the statement he was trying to convey, did not come across effectively, at least not immediately. Initially it came off as a some futuristic, space-travel narrative (which, frankly, we’ve seen before) but grappling with how the lace came into play and what purpose it served, is like some kind of brain teaser. Perhaps he’s toying with paradoxical ideas, juxtaposing things that have nothing to do with one another; the lace being angelic and feminine, the stiff coats representing an idea toughness or strength. If that is the case, then the collection makes a bit of sense. Or it could be that Ghesquiére just decided to go all willy-nilly on us and maybe doesn’t care whether we get it or not.
Damir Doma presented a phenomenal collection, that piggy-backed off of his men’s a/w 2010, incorporating some of the same shapes and earthy tones, but also included distinct female silhouettes that fell beautifully on the body. Eliminating any traces of contrived, mechanical design elements (that many designers swear by) , Damir placed emphasis on volume, movement and the cuts of the garments which connoted a feeling of liberation. Being this was Damir’s first collection for women it was nice to see that not too much of his background in menswear impeded on his ability to design for a woman. Albeit, many of the looks were clearly inspired by menswear, he found a natural balance between androgyny and femininity.
