Paris SS11 Recap

Paris Fashion Week S/S 11 - 12 Shows Total
1 Opening Slot
0 Closing Slots

Balenciaga - 1 Look
Balmain - 2 Looks
Celine - 1 Look
Chanel (O) - 2 Looks
Chloe - 2 Looks
Isabel Marant - 3 Looks
Lanvin - 2 Looks
Louis Vuitton - 1 Look
Miu Miu - 1 Look
Stella McCartney - 2 Looks
Valentino - 2 Looks
Yves Saint Laurent - 2 Looks

Ahhh, what a month it's been. We finally come to the end of the SS11 season, and while I'm always sad to see the shows end, I'm relieved and happy that I can get my life back. I'm sure most of you feel the same way. No more hunching over the computer compiling showlists, no more straining your eyes to take in a fuzzy live stream, no more searching through magazine sites for backstage pictures, no more any of that. As happy as we are, I can only imagine how elated the models, designers, editors, buyers, etc are to be going home to finally sleep in their own beds after a month straight of traveling. But I suppose there's no rest for the weary, for there is always business to take care of. Speaking of, Freja's Paris recap follows.....

SS11 seemed to end with a whimper and not a bang. After numerous closings and openings in New York and Milan, Freja left Paris with only one under her belt. A bit disappointing, but I know I'm being pretty ridiculous here. It's like being sad about getting an A on a test instead of an A+. It was a wonderful season overall, and Paris gave us a number of good appearances. The week started on Thursday, two days after shows started. Freja didn't walk for Dries Van Noten on Wednesday (which was the biggest disappointment for me since I love Dries), but she was at Balmain and Balenciaga as expected. These shows are staples in her runway repertoire and it's just comforting to see her on their runways.

I think one reason why Paris seemed a bit quiet for me was because it lacked surprises. It was all a bit predictable. On Friday Freja walked for Isabel Marant and Lanvin, both eagerly anticipated shows that we all expected her to be at. Don't get me wrong, she looked great; but it was all a bit boring......maybe that's just the show season fatigue speaking in me. I do love to see Freja at Marant, mostly because her models always look so chic, effortless and stunningly beautiful. There's just something about that Parisian, bohemian style that gets me every single time. And do I even need to mention that both Marant and Lanvin are known for their own respective interpretations of femininity? So I do LOVE that Freja is a runway regular at both shows.

The weekend was definitely slow and quiet, with Freja only walking for Celine on Sunday. But most of the shows that happened over the weekend weren't shows I expected Freja to walk for. Yeah, I hoped for Givenchy, but that was just a pipe dream. After her refusal to smile at Rykiel two seasons ago, it will be a miracle if we ever see here there again. And with Karl Lagerfeld's namesake line discontinued, that left Celine. But since it's Celine, that made everything ok in my book for Phoebe Philo can do no wrong.

Monday brought about a flurry of activity compared to the slow weekend. Freja started the day at Stella McCartney with two sleek, but trendy looks. Denim? Conspicuous prints? Check and check....expect to see a lot of those come spring. Next came Chloe and my two favorite looks of the week. It's just so nice to see Freja look simple and refined. Her true beauty really shined through because this kind of pared down styling enhances and compliments her features. It's the kind of thing that makes me remember just how pretty Freja is; because to tell you the truth, I do forget sometimes. I look at so many pictures of Freja and so many different models, especially during fashion season, that everything kind of blends together and loses its impact after a while. So it's nice to be reminded. :) I also love how Freja is giving the side-eye in her first Chloe look. Anyway, Monday ended with two looks at Yves Saint Laurent. With rumors running rampant about Pilati leaving and the inevitable shakeups that would cause, we should enjoy Freja at YSL while we can!

As I've made pretty clear, I love Karl Lagerfeld. And after this season I love Chanel. On Tuesday Freja opened the Chanel show at the Grand Palais along with Stella Tennant. If you haven't seen video of this show yet, stop reading this and go watch! This is fashion at its best: it whisks you away and drops you off in a fantasy land where everything is beautiful and problems don't exist. For 15 minutes you can forget about your daily life, or the problems that plague the world, or the upcoming midterm elections in the US. Yeah fashion can be frivolous, but sometimes you really just need a good 15 minutes full of frivolity. The day continued on with Freja walking for Valentino. Two shows for two brands, both featuring Freja in their campaigns. Chanel has already signed her on again, can we expect the same for Valentino?

And this brings us to today (or I guess yesterday considering the time it is here), the last day of Paris Fashion Week and the SS11 season. Again, no surprises.....just two good shows. Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu. The former being a nice reprise after an absence last season. The later being the always dependable and pleasant end to the season.

So there you have it! A post season mega wrap up to come later, after I pay some attention to all the life things I've basically ignored these past few weeks. I tell you, the more seasons I follow the shows, the more things and models (beside Freja) I develop an interest in. It's fun, but it makes it a pain to try and follow everything. Anyone else have this problem too? Or am I basically just talking to a bunch of hardcore Freja-only fans? :) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the season! Our girl did great and we should all be proud. Now everyone can rest, relax a bit and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Image Credits: style.it

Balenciaga Beckons

We have touch down in Paris! After a disappointing absence at Dries Van Noten yesterday, Freja finally made her first runway appearance in Paris at the Balenciaga show, walking in the second to last look before Gisele. Not too shabby. And with two looks at Balmain already under her belt as well, Paris is turning out to be as we expected.

What I didn't expect from Paris is the general lackluster feel of the collections so far. After a brilliantly colorful week in Milan, rocker chicks, leather, and studs all seem kind of passe to me. Even Dries didn't bring the usual eccentricity that I've come to love and expect from him. What gives? Have Milan and Paris traded places this season? I guess it's too early to tell, but I hope the rest of the designers step it up a bit.

Image Credits: style.it

Paris FW1011 Recap

Paris Fashion Week F/W 10.11 - 14 Shows Total
2 Opening Slots
5 Closing Slots

Balenciaga - 1 Look
Balmain - 2 Looks
Celine (C) - 2 Looks
Chanel (O) (C) - 3 Looks
Chloe - 2 Looks
Dries Van Noten - 2 Looks
Hermes - 1 Look
Isabel Marant (O) (C) - 3 Looks
Karl Lagerfeld (C) - 2 Looks
Lanvin - 2 Looks
Miu Miu - 1 Look
Stella McCartney (C) - 2 Looks
Valentino - 2 Looks
Yves Saint Laurent - 1 Looks

Freja capped off a wonderful FW season with a solid performance in Paris, a city that can be notorious for throwing all casting assumptions for a loop (i.e. Caroline Brasch Nielsen coming out of nowhere to walk tons of top shows and probably secure a top 10 newcomer spot. Go Danes!) The week started off beautifully on Wednesday when Freja walked for Dries Van Noten. It was my favorite show of the season and I still fawn over the collection pictures on style.com. Needless to say, Freja's presence was icing on the cake and I think she's the perfect Dries woman.

Thursday brought with it appearances at Balenciaga and Balmain. The former was very interesting and I'm still trying to digest and analyze the collection; the later was staid and overdone. A pity since I always used to look forward to Balmain. The model cast is still top notch though.

Freja's continued her amazing list of openings and closings by doing both for Isabel Marant on Friday. This is a show that she only walked for the first time in FW0910, so it's great to see her taking the honors this time around. (Campaign maybe?) Freja also walked for Lanvin on Friday.

She was entirely absent on Saturday, but it's not too surprising considering the shows that day. None of them were her usual (except maybe for Loewe, and even though I was hoping for an unexpected appearance somewhere to go along with the theme of the season, I feel like Freja did slow down in Paris a little bit. She had a great showing, but I guess I was just expecting her to shock me like she did in NY (with Anna Sui and ODLR) and Milan (with Gianfranco Ferre and Jil Sander). Anyway, on Sunday Freja closed for Karl Lagerfeld and Celine, making up for her Saturday absence. I love that she closed Celine because her clean, modern, and sleek face match perfectly with the aesthetic of the label under Phoebe Philo.

On Monday, Freja continued her closing streak by doing so for Stella McCartney. Stella also showed a wonderfully modern, pared down collection, so I guess the "Phoebe Philo" effect does exist. The most unexpected thing about Paris happened when Freja walked for Yves Saint Laurent. It was just nice to see her back after having last walked in FW0809.

I don't really know what to say about Chanel. It's always a spectacle and Karl always manages to outdo himself amazingly enough. I didn't think anything would be able to top the barn and the roll in the hay from last season, but an iceberg flown in from Sweden and hand carved by 35 sculptors from around the world over a 6 week day period? Yeah...that takes the cake. Freja opened the show along with Abbey (both are reportedly in the next campaign), Baptiste and Brad (the old Baptiste....or is Baptiste the new Brad?) She also walked for Chloe and rounded out the day with Valentino.

On the last day of Paris, Freja didn't show up at Louis Vuitton, but like Miuccia did for Prada, Marc went with a different silhouette and image that Freja simply didn't fit. She did walk for Hermes and Miu Miu though. I'm very happy she ended the week and the season with Miu Miu because I was a little worried about her absence at Prada, even though I knew why she didn't walk. I guess having Freja walk Miu Miu just confirmed my thoughts, and it's reassuring to know that everything is fine between her, Miuccia and Marsh.

It's been quite the ride, hasn't it. Freja turned out her best season since FW0708 and I know we're all thrilled for her and about what this could mean in terms of her future work. A complete FW wrap up post is coming soon...along with other posts associated with the shows. I just need some time and a little break. Keeping up with all the shows seems to get more exhausting every season....or maybe it's just that I'm getting older. Ha.

Anyway, I'd also like to say that my thoughts are with all those affected by the agency changes currently taking shape in NY. I hope that fired bookers find new jobs, that re-shuffled bookers adapt to their new surroundings and that all the young models remain relatively unaffected. I know this is nearly impossible, but I just hope they'll be ok and bounce back on their feet. I'll be honest, I'm distraught at the possibility of all my favorite Supreme girls losing their NY representation, but I'm just hoping for the best. While Freja's had her best season in a while, it's important to remember that not all models and not all fan groups are as lucky as Freja and we are.

Image Credits: style.it

Dries Love

I usually don't take this space to dwell on designers, but I really wanted to write about my love for the Dries Van Noten show yesterday. And considering it was the first show Freja walked in to start off her Paris Fashion week, I thought this would be as appropriate a time as I would ever get. (Besides, it's no secret how I feel about Dries.)

I know I'm not equipped with the necessary technical vocabulary to express the beauty of these clothes, but I do know when something is so beautiful and so perfect that I just can't get it out of my mind. So, how do I even begin to describe the show yesterday?

It was elegant, yet basic. Wearable, yet aspirational. Simple, yet complex. Straightforward, yet deceptive. Maybe I like Dries so much because I think his clothes exist simultaneously on both ends of the spectrum, much like Freja and her ability to be both masculine and feminine, classic and contemporary, commercial and cerebral. I seem to be drawn towards things that can paradoxically embody opposing, even conflicting, notions. I guess that incongruity is what makes something interesting to me.

In addition to the above, my love for Dries also comes from the way he's able to execute the cut, fit, volume, proportion and silhouette of his clothing. Along with impeccable tailoring, I think he really has a masterful command of all these elements so he's free to play around with them and draw out new ideas from them. After all, it takes real skill to make something as mundane and ubiquitous as as grey sweatshirt seem impossibly luxurious and polished.

And elements like cinched waists, broad shoulders, upright collars, and color blocking take this collection beyond basics that you can find in any shop, for they all have that special Dries touch.

You see that touch in the way his pants start out with a lot of volume on top, but gradually reduce down by way of straps and zippers as your eye descends to the feet. You see it in his use of leopard print and muted floral patterns; not two things you would ever put together, but in his hands they seem right. You see it in his layering, and in something as simple, but so beautiful, as his slouchy cut-off sleeves.

And the bags....oh, the bags. I would die happy swimming in a sea of these.

Dries clothing is about as far away as you can get from my own personal style, but I think that's why I love it so much every season. It's special and meaningful beyond being something that I want to wear. It's always a collection that makes me reevaluate what I think I know about good clothing and how to dress. But more importantly, it's a collection that always makes me dream. And that's fashion at it's best.

Image Credits: style.com