Friday, May 30, 2014

INSPIRATION Madame Grès 1946... Stella McCartney's MET gala 2014 gown for Rihanna

The French designer Alexis Grès, who originally wanted to be a sculptor, but influenced by her family changed her mind to get trained in haute couture, revolutionized the world of fashion through inventing and refining an unique draping  technique. In this picture [left] Madame Grès is photographed by Eugène Rubin in 1946 with one  of her timeless styles… so timeless, that a similar gown could even be proposed to Rihanna, who wore a beautiful customized white ensemble by the British designer Stella McCartney to this years MET gala event [right].



Thursday, May 22, 2014

INTO THE ARCHIVES... Cristobal Balenciaga 1966 and Balenciaga FW 2006||07

Exactly, how could you not want to recreate this wonderful Cristobal Balenciaga ensemble from 1966, here photographed by William Klein for the April issue of Vogue UK [left]. Thanks to Nicolas Ghesquière and his wonderful FW 2006||07 homage collection [right] we could admire a modern version of what Cristobal's design could have looked like in the 21st century.



Monday, May 19, 2014

INSPIRATION Jane Birkin 1971... Louis Vuitton Resort SS||2015

Nicolas Ghesquières' exploit of the late sixties and early seventies seems to continue also in his second collection as creative director for Louis Vuitton and the Cruise SS||2015 season. His muse Charlotte Gainsbourg who attended the show in the Place du Palais in Monaco, might have influenced his research and he probably got inspired by some looks of her iconic mother Jane Birkin from that time period. One possible research image could have been taken from Vogue US 1971, in which a young Jane Birkin is posing for Patrick Litchfield in a pair of yellow fit-and-flare silhouette pants [left]. Not only the pants are similar to the Louis Vuitton Cruise outfit, but also the grommets of the military belt appear transformed into the perforated sweater at LV [right]. Ghesquières' longtime friend Charlotte Gainsbourg has endorsed very often his work for Balenciaga, and it appears that she continues to be a strong influence in his career.



Monday, May 12, 2014

INTO THE ARCHIVES... Céline SS||1989 and Céline SS||2014

Primal colors and basic geometric shapes are no novelty to the French brand Céline, as we can see in these beautiful handbags from 1989 [left], that has anticipated this SS||2014 collection [right] and maybe might have even been its inspiration.


Monday, May 5, 2014

INSPIRATION Alexander McQueen 'De Manta" clutch... Michael Kors Michael Kors 'Harlow" Clutch

I think I didn't got the memo: is Michael Kors turning into a fast fashion brand? It certainly seems so if you browse through his online handbag offer, since all kind of it-bag knock-offs are offered to a not so knock-off price [click here for another recent example]. As a new entry can be admired this month the beautiful De Manta clutch by Alexander McQueen [all lefts], that turns into a Michael Kors Harlow clutch [all rights].



Thursday, May 1, 2014

INSPIRATION André Courrèges 1971... Valentino Haute Couture SS||2011

Since I'm a huge Valentino fan I would have prefered not to find this one, but here it is. A beautifully simple evening gown of André Courrèges with bow details in the back, photographed  in 1971 by Jean-Jacques Bugat for Vogue Paris [left]... and a similar dress of Valentino haute couture for SS||2011 [right].