Prabal Gurung sent out a collection that was strangely mixed. Nemo created some snow drifts that were all but impossible to get through, get over or around. This seemed like a metaphor for the collection.Right out of the gate there were dog collars complete with metal rings front and back for leads to attach and harnesses over a number of looks, lots and lots of looks. The harnessed coats with embroidery, fox circular collars and the dog collar on top, along with piping, hardware and hip interest were good looking if not a little bit busy. satin stretch suits with embroidered inserts were more brassy as if he was trying to take his elegant luxe evening roots and bury them deep in the ground.
His collection looks styled for editors who only acknowledge sportswear driven collections as important. His draped evening dresses in solids and printed silks were some of the most successful looks in the collection along with a gown or two at the end. On the surface of things , one could argue that all is as it should be. But when you look back and follow the arc of Prabal's work it starts as something personal with an emphasis on craft, a beauty still in its innocence and moves quickly to a style that seems too knowing and aggressively pointed at the editors packing the front row.
Design seems sacrificed for branding and in that sacrifice, so goes the soul of the artist. Looking back at perhaps his first collection that was a still-life at a gallery in Chelsea a few years back filled with beautiful clothes that seduced the viewer, there is almost a complete disconnect between the designer then and the personage now... but, hey. That's just my opinion.
* images courtesy of style.com Video courtesy of Vogue.com
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