An interesting turn of events this week is the purchase of Valentino by the Qatar royal family. I would imagine it is the Qatar Luxury Group headed by Sheikha Moza that orchestrated the sale. This fascinates me on two levels. First, who knew the house was on the selling block? Sheltered, uninformed me certainly didn't. Also, what is going on with the design house that QLG has been busy birthing for the past year and a half with Stephane Roland at the helm? Where is that breakthrough collection and why haven't we seen or heard a word, with the exception of the few of us who've been fortunate to spend a few moments in that desert paradise. I guess its easier to buy than to build, even if you have billions to use as seed money. I made 4 collections a year for almost 30 years without a dime to spare.... Whatever.
Thanks to my extremely well informed readers I got news that John Galliano may be the choice of Diego della Valle to design the revivified house of Shiaparelli. Like most of you, I saw the images of Galliano and Madame Wintour supping at L'Espadon but didn't do the math. I just figured 1+0=1. Who knew that equation could equal a total eclipse of the runway? I have to say that the possibility of such a match will make the boredom we've been suffering just a little less boring. Shiap used to give Chanel a run for her money back in the days of War. Dior turned the tide on both those warring women. With a fast forward to today, I daresay Galliano could give them all a run for their billions. I'm a sucker for blood sport. This is not to overlook Galliano's sullied past/present, but the fashion world has no memory worth speaking of, so why not let the games begin, again. Stripping him of his Dior employee ID, taking away his own label, doing soft time in a white-collar rehab facility and designing Kate Moss' wedding dress is perhaps punishment enough. If nothing else it will put the new, new Dior in a bit more realistic context.
The couture as a whole was pretty dull. Giambatista Valli starts to look a little over cooked. Bouchra Jarrar should stick to the Pret a Porter schedule, Valentino should reconsider a lot of what they're about, Lagerfeld might try showing and not so much telling, Gaultier might just take a breather from his nostalgia trip, Elie Saab would be wise to simply restage last spring's Pret again, and again, Givenchy should try to talk Hubert into consulting for the house and Alaia should join the line up and stop being so obstinate. Hedi Slimane and YSL are a tantalizing question...
Time for another shower and a fresh bowl of ice cold milk. Thank god I don't have hair!
7 comments:
The French have always been " antisemites de salon "
La haute Bourgeoisie gathers in their salons and discuss " the probleme juif " quietly since forever... Chanel spent the war with her German lover in a hotel suite Place Vendome .It took a lot of work from a "certain family" to bring her back to France after being banned... She was forever grateful and silenced on the matter...YSL was fired from CD because he was gay and the owner of the house of CD was appalled by his dismissal from the French army .Yves could not fight in the Algerian war like a good French man, therefore not good enough for Dior....So it goes on and on in the Fashion world...Mr.Arnault convinced the French president to deport to neverland the gypsies begging in front of Dior, avenue Montaigne; Sarkosy complied, only to be told by the European court of law that gypsies now a day cannot be deported ( as in nazi times) they were Europeans after all, therefore protected and allowed to be wherever they wanted !
Galiano 's little indiscretion will be forgiven in a jiffy, if he is well enough to work ! Is he ?
I knew nothing about the house of Valentino being sold, their last collection was bizarre...There is a good wind for you Fluff out there, in Katar world...You are our new Lawrence ! Are you going back ?
Too many collection and shows, too many bloggers, too many opinions.... I pause the gigantic screen and look and look,trying to understand what Cathy Horin sees and I just don't get it, do they all want to design for Target ? it's 118 here, not a cloud, stars galore in the sky, that is where it's AT , the real stars out there.
Fluff, I should, perhaps, stop chasing news from Fashion Universe and start simply reading your Blog (instead). Not that I don't read, I do always and it never stops to surprise me how more informative and to the point everything you write is. So, Thank you! News about Galliano are, probably, the most exciting news I have heard in a long while...Let's see what will come out of it.I have found myself bored out of my Gucci socks watching Haute Couture, wondering if I all together lost taste for what I once thought was so exciting and refreshing. I do not know if you have noticed, but there was a new designer on the block this past Haute Couture round - wealthy Russian socialite, rich enough to afford being a customer of Dior, Chanel, Nina Ricci first,an object of affection for many photographers and now a designer who presented her first Collection at Haute Couture Week in Paris. What do you make of Ulyana Sergeenko's bald attempt? I know we all somehow want some fresh blood to be flown into the veins of collective body of the same names. So here it is. Care to give your opinion? :-)
Fluff,
Like you I used to really look forward to the Times on Sunday but No More. And online, Honey there aren't 10 per month worth reading! The Style section is dismal as is the Art and Design section, with few exceptions. And it all used to be so thought provoking, meaty and rich (about 15 years ago).
Re Couture, we are all just dying for new houses (not retooled old ones) and new designers to reinvigorate this beautiful sphere. There are so many, many talented people but they're not the ones annointed by Herself at Vogue (another publication that used to be wonderful).
You are right. It's all like curdled milk at the moment - stinky and bad for you.
In 1976 YSL did his famous Russian collection still copied year after year, Mrs. Ulyana Sergeenko just did that again with very bad shoes, bad music, a pretentious Peter and the wolf atmosphere at the Marigny theater in Paris.She is Russian , she is entitled to do this,it is a great heritage, but why ? It has been SO DONE ! Still, love any great coat lined in fur with big "godets" ! Who does not ?
Just looked at Roland. Cardin/Courreges on the set of Star War ? It looks like the cover of drugstore Science fiction novels. Again why ? His color palette is really sad.Putting on weird shoes on your models does not translate into " I am hip " .Good looking girls though ! I like Madame chic de France, she makes no bones about it, she does Mongolian/Russian/Turk/1900/Poiret clothing. It works !!!! It's quiet and powerful, she sells on line, no shows, word of mouth, good little business, charming woman. "Today in Paris, New York tomorrow " a reader of yours, turned me on to her and it has been a great find ! Thanks Fluff ! I miss Christian Lacroix ! I miss him so much !
Hello Fluff,
Anonymous here again. Sadly? I would have to agree with most of your review of the season...Even though having worked for Givenchy (and turned down emergency work for another BIG co.)- Which despite everything said, the detail work is breathtaking(have to see up close)
As for M. Galliano, I said before it has always been a pleasure to have worked at JG. The internal politics have gotten...interesting according to my source...I would love to work for him again where ever he goes.
Dear Anon,
Your experience is so compelling. Thanks for keeping in touch. I'm so lucky to have such informed and interesting readers.
Fluff
Oh thank God I'm not the only one confused by Cathy Horyn.
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