Spring 2012 Couture - Day 1

Today has marked the start of the spring/summer couture 2012 shows in Paris! The incredibly expensive, incredibly detailed outfits that are showcased in the bi-annual couture shows may be beyond any attainable sense of reality (unless you're fantastically rich, of course), yet there remains something highly appealing about these other-worldly displays of glamour.

Atelier Versace was the first showing of the day, and expectations were high - their first public presentation since 2004, and after the hugely successful collaboration with high-street brand H&M, Versace seems to be heading back to the top. The couture outfits today were a mixture of bold metallics and high-gloss fabrics, to achieve a some-what "space age" effect. Whilst not incredibly exciting, the attention to detail was obvious, although i've never been Donatella's biggest fan and won't be converting any time soon.

Atelier Versace

Next was Bouchra Jarrar, with a rang of soft, ultra-feminine gowns, accentuated with sculptural elements around the neck and waistline.

Bouchra Jarrar

Likewise Christopher Josse paints an ethereal image of grace and serenity with a beautiful palette of feather and silk

Christopher Josse

Alexis Mabille presented a somewhat surreal affair, mixing sumptuous gowns with overly-large headwear and dramatic makeup. I love this collection as it managed to be fun as well as lovely to look at.

Alexis Mabille

The next big show was Christian Dior, and notable in his absence was John Galliano, who has been temporarily replaced by Bill Gayten. I have very mixed feelings on this collection, as there is obviously a sad lacking of Galliano's trademark dramatic flair; in its place is a selection of looks evidently inspired by the 1950's Dior heyday and whilst there is nothing wrong with this collection, it still feels like i've seen it all before. 

Christian Dior

Maurizio Galante aimed for the complete opposite of Dior's vintage high-society feel, instead creating a series of deconstructed "outfits", complete with webbing, loose trails of fabric and some positively avant-garde headwear. I really want to like this collection, yet it feels far too messy to sit well in a couture show.

Maurizio Galante

 Giambattista Valli focused on a selectively monochrome palette of blacks, whites, and deep purples,  occaisonally shot through with flashes of hot pink. Particularly love the diverse range of multi-layered textures on show here.

Giambattista Valli

Iris Van Herpen finished the day off with a futuristic collection of sculptured angles and intricate patterns.

Iris Van Herpen

All images from NowFashion

Menswear in Paris: Details

Have you been watching the mens collections? Honestly, I usually don't, but i've been hopping with excitement for the Spring/Summer 2012 Couture collections which start tomorrow, and so i've seemingly caught the fashion bug. Surprisingly i've really enjoyed looking at the mens lines, although I've spent more time oggling the hairstyles, bags, gloves and other accessorising ephemera, rather than the outfits as a whole. This probably has more to do with me not knowing an awful lot on what makes a good suit (apart from it looking good on a skinny androgynous model, par for course). Here then are some of my favourite little bits from the collections, as it seems to me a crying shame that the smaller details are often over-looked in favour of the actual clothing. Enjoy!

Thom Browne

Paul Smith

Alexis Mabille

Ann Demeulemeester

Commes Des Garcons Hommes Plus

Dries Van Noten

Givenchy

Louis Vuitton

Walter Van Beirendonck

Guest Writer: Suiting Up!

This post comes courtesy of my brother Lewis Rayne, video-gamer extraordinaire and style enthusiast (you can follow his nerdy exploits at Fusion Gamer). As today is the final day of the menswear 2012 collections - ready for Couture S/S tomorrow - Lewis here brings to you his take on the shows, from the standpoint of a casual viewer. Enjoy!

Fall 2012 Collection Menswear

Another season has passed and with it a camaraderie of designs and disasters await the eyes of those perusing the Fall 2012 Mens collection. I went through and picked out a few of my favourite looks and a few ...not so favourite looks.

As expected from menswear suits were heavily featured in Milan this week, some from the likes of Canali and Dolce & Gabanna were beautifully cut and featured a level of elegance worthy of gracing a catwalk.

My favourite had to be this Overcoat and Suit combo from the Canali collection. The subtle differences in texture stopped the suit for blending together in a swathe of grey. The touch of red in the scarf adds much needed colour to the outfit. Altogether a well thought out piece.

Canali

On the other hand take a look at this Suit from Calvin Klein to keep with the C thing I seem to be going with. The glitter blended fabric works well as a party piece, everything about this suit should technically work. Single pocket, 2 button and perfectly proportioned for the lovely gentleman wearing it. Sadly it's just to garish for me to consider a good example of a suit.

Calvin Klein

Dotted amongst the Suits are occasional examples of “everyday” wear which looks as practical as a completely impractical thing. Oversized jumpers and massive scarf/rumple things are the token of the day. All is not lost however, Salvatore Ferragamo presented this lovely example of a classic jumper/trouser couple. With it's gentle colour transformation working it's way down the body it's an almost seamless outfit. Coupled with a pair of chiselled cheeks this look is a killer.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Rather than trying to explain what is going on this following picture I just want to make it clear that this odd mish mash of ideas from Henrik Vibskov and styles just presents a cacophony for the eyes. Bask in it and try not to vomit.

Henry Vibskov

I could go on for hours listing my favourites but I won't. Instead I leave you with a few of my other favourites including the military influences of Balmain and Alexis Mabille the velvet elegance of Etro and the gender stereotype breaking beauty of Gaultier. Enjoy and goodnight.

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Etro

Balmain

Alexis Mabille

Film: Silent Things

Silent Things is a wonderful short film from 2011 by indie film makers White Lantern Films. I discovered it just this evening after searching for past performances by Andrew Scott, who recently captivated me with his mesmerising turn as Moriarty in BBC's huge Sherlock series. This 12-minute piece is an extraordinarily simple yet moving take on the complexity of relationships; the film is driven by the performances of Andrew Scott and Antonia Campbell-Hughes as two friends living with Aspergers Syndrome, and whose lives are momentarily unbalanced by the appearance of Georgia Groomes as a student travelling to France. A greatly underrated film, and well worth 12 minutes of your time: Watch it here on youtube

Menswear Fall 2012 - Details

Jil Sander

Gucci

Burberry Prorsum

Dolce & Gabbana

All images from style

Menswear Fall 2012 - The Highlights.

Alexander McQueen

Dolce & Gabbana

Etro

Emporio Armani

Jil Sander

Jonathan Saunders

Moschino

Prada

Valentino

Versace

Vivienne Westwood

All images from style