THE WEEK IN FASHION 20TH-24TH JUNE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

This week in fashion has been all about making up, breaking up, love and hate. It's been emotional.  Here's our look at the goings on from the fashion playground over the last 5 days...

 Galliano's last couture collection for Christian Dior. There will probably never be anything like this ever again.

1) The big one. John Galliano's trial took place on Wednesday at the Paris magistrates court. Just in case you were under a rock/in rehab/on the moon when the scandal broke, Galliano is being sued on moral grounds for an alleged anti-semitic, racist, and generally offensive rant directed towards three people in a Paris cafe earlier this year. He also subsequently lost his job at both Dior and his own label. It's a really sorry state of affairs, which has seen a former shining light of the industry reduced to a shadow of his normal gregarious self; hidden away in a rehabilitation program since the alleged attack, his future remaining highly uncertain and bleak.

He appeared in court to explain his behaviour (apparently a consequence of problems with drink, drugs and stress) and the result of the trial will be announced in September. This is undoubtedly a very dark moment for both the designer and the industry, and the case should be given the coverage it deserves - however is the slew of commentary about the outfit he wore for his court appearance really necessary? With that in mind, I won't be posting a picture. If you do crave a blow by blow account, the Telegraph have it covered in their live blog.

 

Tania Fares, Bella Freud and Lulu Kennedy, all in Lulu &Co

2) In a much friendlier turn of events, this week Lulu Kennedy hosted a lunch to celebrate the launch of the latest Lulu and Co collection. According to a certain Fashion editor at Large who happened to be in attendance, "the whole of London" turned out for the fashion feast, proving that there is a lot of love for Lulu. The new collection will be in stores from August.
 
3) Back to the business of bitching, and Azzedine Alaia has exploded with the outburst to end all outbursts, and the subjects of his disapproval are one Karl Lagerfeld and one Anna Wintour.

 Grace Jones and Azzadine Alaia. Who do you reckon is scarier? Read on to find out...

Lucky it was no-one important, eh? According to Alaia, Karl "has never touched a pair of scissors in his life", and "no-one will remember" Anna Wintour. Despite her scary rep, Alaia claims that when the Editor-in-chief of US Vogue sees him, "she is the scared one." Somehow, we're not surprised! 

4) As far as fashion relationships go, this week has been more on and off than Made in Chelsea's Caggie and Spencer (oh! the drama!). After joining in the whoops and hollers that followed the announcement of a Versace and H&M collaboration, the industry was subdued by the news that Jil Sander will no longer be designing for Uniqlo, and the next J+ collection will be the last. There were audible sobs emitting from fashion editor's offices across the city. If you are a fan of the Sander/Uniqlo collab, you better start preparing for the last offering now; it will no doubt be elbows at dawn when it hits stores.

Jil Sander: no longer + Uniqlo

5) Florence Welch 'got the love' from Nylon magazine (sorry, that was terrible) when she hosted a party at the Mondrian Hotel in New York, to celebrate their music issue, of which she is the cover star. Florence can do no wrong in my eyes; she is consistently beautiful, inspiring and unique. Her choice of this quirky Anna Sui dress for the party has divided opinion, but the people who don't like it are, well, wrong.

Flo: it's good to see you back. New music soon please!

6) Fashion doesn't get much more friendly than bestest buds Leith Clark (Ed of Lula) and Kirsten Dunst, who are rarely seen at events without each other, and have obviously been having a bit of a girly week out and about in London town. These two are so close, they are even co-ordinating outfits like schoolgirl best friends do - but you know what? They are so cool, they can get away with it.

 Leith and Kirsten looking demure yet achingly stylish at Wimbledon  (nice sunnies, Ms Clark!) ...

...and just a little bit naughtier as they skip out of The Box in matching trenchcoats. Kirsten&Leith4Eva!

7) And finally, a little bit of eye candy to put a spring in your step this sunny Friday afternoon. The SS12 Menswear shows have been happening over the past week and yesterday's offerings from Paris were causing ripples all the way over this side of the Channel. Friend of the Fash Ed, Kim Jones, sent his debut Louis Vuitton collection down the catwalk to rave reviews, with critics hailing his arrival as the best thing to happen to the label since Marc Jacobs.

 Louis Vuitton SS12

However, before Kim Jones took Paris by storm, one other designer had got everyone hot and bothered. Twitter exploded, pictures were being sent round the world, journos who normally pay no attention to the menswear collections were suddenly clicking onto Style.com like there was no tomorrow.

Five words: Nicola Formichetti, Mugler, ARMOUR BOY.

Mugler SS12

Images: Splash, Getty, AFP, Style.com

MY PARIS AW11 A TUMBLE OF IMAGES

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

It was a monumental Paris. A game-changer, at least in terms of the business of fashion. The last time there was more to report on than the customary new trends and fashion shows was in the late 90s and early 2000's when LVMH and Gucci Group were snapping up designers and brands for their respective conglomerates.

Who knows what will happen between now and September/October when the next runway shows take place. Will Riccardo be moved to Dior as is the word in all quarters? Is Haider Ackermann commercial enough for a move into Givenchy? Can John Galliano recover enough to be seen in public, and can he hope to resurrect his career? Is Sarah Burton designing the Royal wedding dress; or is she, as she protests, busy working on the McQueen brands' hugely significant Met Museum exhibiton, and dressing the attendees of the accompanying ball (three days after the wedding) instead? One thing is certain, right now the fashion industry is the perfect muse for a contemporary Shakespeare. The actual fashion isn't bad either. I'm working on that too. As is customary post the catwalk shows, for the next week I will be sitting in a darkened room with the fashion junior creating a trend report of the season before it all dissolves from my mind...

So welcome to my Paris fashion week tumble.

At the end of the Dior show, which was pretty but surreal after years of seeing the Galliano spectacle, atelier staff came out to take a bow in place of John Galliano. The team, in their white coats, stood and modestly clapped us the audience, while we clapped them. It was a masterful and emotional moment, reminding us - following a decade in fashion that championed fashion designers as stars - that while the creative talent of a fashion house can be disposable, the fashion house itself remains sacrosanct.

This little book is indispensable to me throughout Paris, telling me where to go, when, and who to see about what.

David Bowie taken from Phoebe Philo's inspiration book, placed on seats at the Celine show. Phoebe has hit her stride at Celine. Her show was solid.

Rather loved the Jean Paul Gaultier invitation, and the show was the first one of his I have loved in a long time..

The Jean Paul Gaultier show finale

The Givenchy invitation tickled me; this is a close-up of the Jaguar head featured on one side of the invite. The eyes reflect the silhouettes of a naked make and female. I wonder if this is the exact print Riccardo used in his collection? (below) On closer inspection I don't think so, more's the pity.

The Hakaan invitation was beautiful; this is going into a memory box for future use.  

Below is the translation of Sidney Toledano's address from the beginning of the Dior show. While I respected and admire the manner in which the Dior brand reasserted its power, I still cannot help feeling sorry for John Galliano the man. I hope he will be forgiven for his outrageous conduct.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since its founding by Monsieur Dior, the House of Christian Dior has lived an extraordinary and wonderful story and has had the honor of embodying France’s image, and it’s values, all around the world. What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal for us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be. Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples.
These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent. So now, more than ever, we must publicly re-commit ourselves to the values of the House of Dior.


Christian Dior founded his House in 1947.


His family had been ruined in the Crash of 1929 and his own beloved sister had been deported to Buchenwald. In the aftermath of the dark years of the war, he sought to free women, to give them back their sparkle and joyfulness.


Christian Dior’s values were those of excellence in all that he undertook, of elegance and of craftsmanship reflecting his unique talent. His mission was not only to make his clients – indeed all women – more beautiful, but also to make them happy, to help them dream. He saw himself as a magician who could give women confidence and make them ever more feminine, more sublime. He believed in the importance of respect and in the capacity of this fundamental value not only to bring out the beauty in women, but also bring out the best in all people.


His values, his genius and his legacy have contributed to enhancing France’s image and culture around the world for more than sixty years.


The values that Monsieur Dior taught us are unchanged today. Those values are carried on by the wonderful and diverse group of people within the House of Dior who devote all their talent and energy to achieving the ultimate in artisanship and femininity, respecting traditional skills and incorporating modern techniques.


The heart of the House of Dior, which beats unseen, is made up of its teams and studios, of its seamstresses and craftsmen, who work hard day after day, never counting the hours, and carrying on the value and the vision of Monsieur Dior.


What you are going to see now is the result of the extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hardworking people.
Thank you.

Chanel AW11 by Karl Lagerfeld. Chanel I would wear.

More Chanel pour moi.

Roland Mouret always sends us a little note.

The show notes for Nina Ricci, one of the highlights of my Paris and one of my favourite catwalk looks. I am making it my business to profile Peter Copping, that is if he will let me after I compared his looks to an old photo of Monsieur Dior. He took it well though.  

It was lovely for Phoebe Philo to share some of her visual inspiration with us. I can totally see how these images have inspired her work.

Stella McCartney is another designer sweet enough to add the personal touch to her fashion show notes. In her show Stella had a bit of an 80s Miyake, Alaia and Montana big-shoulder-small-waist moment that I have a feeling will be mighty influential in the coming months.

Stella McCartney AW11. Is Stella studying 80s Miyake and Claude Montana "State of Claude Montana" silhouettes? I like this a lot.

Chloe show notes, and a look from a show that can only be Chloe. I hope Hannah MacGibbon stays on there. She has her own very good thing going on.

The novelty show of the week was Nicola Formichetti's work for Thierry Mugler, the show began a week that was topped and tailed by fetish inspired shows - Louis Vuitton ended the week. (Givenchy was also rather fetish, as was Giles show in London.) By the end of Paris fashion week I was taking the fetish trend seriously.

Mulger by Nicola Formichetti

It also begs the question: why can Lady Gaga get away with smoking on a runway, and Kate Moss can't?

 Lady Gaga smoking on the Mugler runway

Kate smoking on the Vuitton runway

Another still from Phoebe's book.

Finally, to my fashion-show music of the week; Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld seemed to take inspiration from the 1979 Cure track A Forest (my all-time favourite Cure number).

Come closer and see
see into the trees
find the girl
while you can
Come closer and see
see into the dark
just follow your eyes
just follow your eyes

I hear her voice
calling my name
the sound is deep
in the dark
I hear her voice
and start to run
into the trees
into the trees

into the trees

Suddenly I stop
but i know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
all alone
The girl was never there
it's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
again and again and again

The show setting felt like we were in the middle of a post-apocalyptic forest with the models stomping in their flat boots through scorched, smoking earth. The quality of the sound coming from the speakers was pretty awe-inspiring. Five days afer the show, the song is still going round in my head. The collection also had some great not-typically Chanel elements too - the butchy trousers, workman inspired boots and some fantastic tweed capes. I leave you with The Cure in 1979. Here, Robert Smith looks like Ben Affleck. Clearly his thick eye-liner and badly applied red lipstick wearing days were just around the corner.

Images: Modem, Celine (Artists Research Management and Anna Kustera Gallery), Jean Paul Gaultier, Givenchy, Modem, Hakaan, WWD, Chanel, Kenzo, Chanel, Roland Mouret, Chanel, Nina Ricci, Celine (Larry Fink, Sibylle Bergemann) Stella McCartney, Chloe, New York Times, Celine (The British Council), Christian Dior, Chanel All catwalk images: Chris Moore/Catwalking