Moving right along to Milan! First stop, Bottega Veneta for the ultimate in understated Italian luxury.
Ines’ office at Roger Vivier.
My couture week kicked off on Monday morning with a showroom appointment at Roger Vivier. In true Parisian style their flagship located on the famed Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré also houses their showroom and offices of creative director Bruno Frisoni and in-house muse, legendary supermodel Ines de la Fressange. Bruno transformed his studio using silver foil to mimic Andy Warhol’s famed Factory as the backdrop to show his mod spring/summer 2013 couture collection. He modernized classic shapes and couture techniques – such as Lesage embroidery – using fur, metal, feathers and bright colors. Ines opened the doors to her pink office/treasure trove and was on hand to speak about Bruno’s latest masterpiece collection for Vivier.
With Roger Vivier Creative Director, Bruno Frisoni.
Pink mink Roger Vivier couture accessories.
No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to Azzedine Alaia. You never know what will stand behind the boutique’s ironclad doors, such as, in my case, famed French actress Catherine Deneuve waiting with two other women outside the communal changing room for Mr. Alaia to finish an ever-important couture fitting. The building houses the world’s only Alaia boutique, showroom, atelier, countless works by artist Julian Schnabel and serves as one of Azzedine’s many Parisian homes.
Bruno’s Warhol factory-inspired studio.
On Wednesday evening it was time to play dress up with jeweler Eddie Borgo and his pre-fall 2013 collection. Borgo was showing his latest pieces for men and women in a temporary Parisian showroom located just across from Roger Vivier; he even had a few of his stunning jewelry boxes on-hand to showcase alongside his latest baubles. This season, Eddie has added new designs in silver, gold and rose gold and has reinterpreted classics like his ever-popular cone bracelets and tassel necklace in new sizes and colors.
Eddie Borgo Pre-Fall 2013.
Whether it be fashion or art, culture is ubiquitous in Paris. On Thursday once couture had concluded it was time to visit Galerie Perrotin. On view were three distinct shows by artists Johan Creten, Jean-Michel Othoniel and Pieter Vermeersch. The later is an abstract painter while the former two are both sculptors. A favorite moment of mine, however, came when seeing the adorable artist toys by KAWS and Takashi Murakami in the gallery owner’s office.
Artist toys by KAWS and Takashi Murakami at Galerie Perrotin.
Sculpture at Galerie Perrotin by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
Paris’ Left Bank is home to famed taxidermy mecca, Deyrolle, where they offer stuffed and dried animals ranging in sizes from tiny bugs smaller than a centimeter to a giraffe or elephant. Their entire back room devoted to butterflies and insects transports you into what feels more like the mind of artist Damien Hirst than a room filled with dried bugs. The shop has been around for almost two hundred years and serves as a unique source of inspiration for designers looking to learn more about the wild.
Zebras at Deyrolle.
The thrill of London is in being able to see a creative powerhouse like Burberry Prorsum right beside the most experimental designers like J.W. Anderson, who has just won the Emerging Talent Award for Ready-To-Wear at the British Fashion Awards.
BILL BLASS, red cashmere cardigan and red silk satin long skirt, 1984, USA, gift of Bill Blass, Ltd.Fashion Institute of Technology / SUNY, FIT Library Dept. of Special Collections and FIT Archives.
This season the Boca Raton Museum of Art honors the illustrious designs created by members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA is the first museum exhibition to celebrate the quintessentially American artistry of the leading fashion trade organization in the United States. On view from January 29 through April 21, 2013, the exhibition includes garments and accessories by the most impactful creators of the last fifty years.
OSCAR DE LA RENTA, silk taffeta gown with black Guipure lace bodice, spring 2012, USA, lent by Oscar de la Renta. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
Featured in the exhibition are interactive touchscreen displays that illustrate a timeline of American fashion and recognize the nearly 600 designers who have been members of the CFDA over the last five decades. Each living designer selected to participate in the exhibition has chosen a single object or ensemble that best represents his or her impact on the fashion world. Work by historical CFDA members have been selected by exhibition curators, Patricia Mears, deputy director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, and Fred Dennis, the FIT museum’s senior curator.
MICHAEL KORS, cashmere sweatshirt, hemp crystal-beaded pajama pant, walnut leather belt and platform sandal, Spring 2011, USA, lent by Michael Kors. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
“American designers have always had impact on how people dress,” said CFDA president, Diane von Furstenberg. “In honor of that creativity and in celebration of the CFDA’s 50th anniversary, we are proud to present, in partnership with the Boca Raton Museum of Art, an exhibit that represents the tremendous work of our members for the last five decades. ‘Impact’ was the one word that came to mind immediately – it is so strong and defining of our individual and collective influence that we knew right away that our exhibit would be called Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA.”
HALSTON, evening wrap blouse in red silk organza, tulip skirt in satin black crepe, and satin sash belt, Fashion Institute of Technology / SUNY, FIT Library Dept. of Special Collections and FIT Archives. Photograph MFIT / CFDA.
Among the designers included in the exhibition are Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Zac Posen, Alexander Wang, Norma Kamali, Diane von Furstenberg, and Vera Wang.
Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Erdem — no wonder London is the “it girl” of the fashion capitals!
Colby Jordan, of the blog Minnie Muse, with Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris.
The trek through the Tuileries to my first couture show – Dior, to be exact – felt more like a challenge on an episode of fashion week survivor than an effortless stroll. Dior provided a slew of French male-models to escort guests through the icy, frozen path, to a tent filled with fresh greenery, transporting you to another land. As the show began, models emerged through the bushes from beneath the runway—like flowers sprouting from the ground. The colorful looks in hues of yellow, pink and orange shined as bright as the girls’ crystal-encrusted lips. Backstage amongst the hair extension-filled floor stood designer Raf Simons, unassuming and accessible, post-show.
Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Later Monday evening, Giambattista Valli chose a more intimate setting – the Italian embassy – to hold his third couture collection. Valli showed a more romantic interpretation of nature than Dior, through animal prints, flower appliqués, delicate ruffles and nature-inspired jewelry. The majestic show concluded with an unforeseen ending; before the models took their final walk, a beautifully dressed older woman assumed the show had concluded and began walking down the runway to the exit. Unfortunately the room of shocked, seated onlookers was no indication as she continued to shuffle down the runway until the line of models caught up.
Giambattista Valli
Giambattista Valli
Tuesday morning marked Karl’s thirtieth year designing Chanel couture. This season Mr.Lagerfeld, like his fellow couturiers, turned to nature as inspiration. Chanel constructed a forest within the Grand Palais – complete with over three hundred large trees and foliage, rocks and sand, as well as a wooden walkway and animal noises coming from the bushes. Models wandered across the circular sand runway as if they were lost in a fairy-tale land, while their ornate headpieces and feathers for eyelashes gave the illusion they were part human and part mythical creature. The collection as a whole felt like a ‘best of’ Chanel couture. Each look was more ornate yet more delicate than the last. The sequin-encrusted flower series was my favorite and as for Karl’s controversial double-bride finale, two Chanel couture wedding dresses are always better than one!
Chanel
Chanel
Giorgio Armani showed his Prive collection Tuesday evening followed by the opening of his newest boutique on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. The show was an ethnic mix of patterns and colors while still staying true to the sculpted Armani aesthetic. Models walked the geometric runway accessorized to perfection – pictures cannot do the headpieces and jewelry justice. After Mr. Armani timidly emerged from the back to take his bow it was exiting to find him backstage awaiting clients and press in front of a slew of photographers to pose for photos
Armani Prive
Armani Prive
The first show on Wednesday, the final day of couture, was Jean Paul Gaultier. With a crowed gathered outside his atelier and a celebrity-filled audience, his shows are always high-energy. I was seated directly across the runway from Catherine Deneuve who was surrounded by fellow French movie stars. As Gaultier’s entire atelier took their place on the second level, overlooking the runway, the show began. The collection, like Armani, was filled with ethnic influences. Models stomped down the runway with their hair in long braids and painted feet. Gaultier’s use of color was an inspirational as the hours of work that went in to making each garment. The most exciting moment of the show came at the end as his bride emerged from behind the runway backdrop. Her dress was easily ten feet in diameter and as four beautiful young girls came running out from underneath, the audience erupted in applause. Gaultier suddenly appeared in his traditional sprint down the runway and escorted his bride down the stairs.
Jean Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier
Spring/summer 2013 proved to be the season for Valentino. Designers Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri sent their ninth couture collection as creative directors of Valentino down the runway on Wednesday evening. The duo found inspiration in the ongoing theme of the week, gardens. The flower dresses became increasingly ornate as the show progressed, and up close you could see tiny butterflies sewn in under layers of organza. It was hard to hold back enthusiasm as the entire room broke out clapping for multiple looks. As the show concluded, Pierpaolo and Maria walked the runway and both received hugs from Mr.Valentino himself, instant gratification that it was a job very well done!
Valentino
Valentino
The final runway collection of the couture season was Maison Martin Margiela who offered, as expected, a far more avant-garde interpretation of couture than any of its fellow houses. The show was an entirely different experience; even with the front row presence of Kanye West, there was no shouting, no blinding camera flashes and very little press. Like last season, the house’s first couture week runway show, models were kept anonymous – much like the label’s founder – by way of ornate masks. Despite Margiela’s more radical couture collection, nature was still present in the printed fabrics, feathers and beaded flowers.
Maison Martin Margiela
While each show had commonalities the differences are what set the design houses apart. Couture is far from a dying art as every designer proved this week. The success of the spring/summer 2013 couture season has the fashion world eagerly awaiting the start of the fall/winter 2013 ready-to-wear season in just two weeks!
London is on fire at the moment, thanks to thrilling emerging designers like Peter Pilotto.
Bayugita Estate in Ubud.
New York-based swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez kicked off the New Year with a spiritual journey through Bali. She transports us to her paradise.
To Do: Lots! White-water rafting on the Ayung River in Ubud. Surfing on the Bukit peninsula. Shopping all day long in Seminyak. Dine at the many restaurants and visit a spiritual healer.
Lisa Marie Fernandez Resort 2013 Poncho.
To See: Fly to the Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok and visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Borobudur Temple in Java.
To Stay: The most beautiful retreat in the world, Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri in Ubud. It’s nestled in the mountains and is the most magical place on earth.
Pool at Villa Bella.
Bathtub in the Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri in Ubud.
To Eat: Metis for French, La Lucciola for Italian and glow, located in the heart of the Como Shambhala Estate, for delicious raw dishes.
To Pack: Lisa Marie Fernandez swimwear and caftans. Sun protection, sandals, one pair of sexy Alaia high heels, iPod and few pairs of sunglasses.
Lisa Marie Fernandez "Poppy" bikini in Rust Pucker.
To Wear: Lisa Marie Fernandez bikinis, maillots, terry ponchos, caftans and shirtdresses. Marios Schwab X Ancient Greek Sandals.
Marios Schwab X Ancient Greek gladiator sandals.
This day in New York is brightened by my dear friend Diane von Furstenberg.
More from New York!
