Friday, July 25, 2014

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2014 Couture Review

                         This collection started out quite dark and dramatic, the clothes reminding me of the  Hunger Games wardrobe; sharp shapes, with an obvious severity. Not necessarily things I myself would wear, but they had style and eccentricity. Four was very square. It was a little tunic-like top in black with a giant henna style flower emerging from the right side. I especially loved the wide sleeves. The flower and color of the top was very glossy and glamorous. Look six reminded me of Krizia, with the layering and shape of the collar. Again, very severe and dramatic, but at the same time very beautiful. Eight was too weird for me; the collar...or cape.... looked like a baby bib! But my oh my.... look nine! Velvety and dark and white... perfection I tell you! The white hood draped down to join the top. I loved the effortless glam it gave off. Look twelve was stereotypical ''goth'' (not to mention the model's makeup) and looked childish, with the puffy white fur at the bottom.
                          After this the outfits were filler and more  dark looks. But nineteen was a chic, shiny coat with a typical sweater pattern. Very crisp. Twenty three brought out my EXTREME  weakness for ostriche feathers, and red with black. The top was an explosion of feathers, and then the bottom half was a weave of black and red. So fall. Twenty four looked perfect, especially with my favorite color combo again, but I'm not comfortable wearing fur. Look 25 reminded me of a period, and not the grammatical kind, for obvious reasons. I don't find anything wrong with that, though. Just, um, a little awkward? But fashion is here to tastefully test the boundaries, and that, darling, is what a talented designer is SUPPOSED TO DO. On a less anatomical note: I hate to  use such a vapid word, but 27 was so glam! The dark black sheen shimmered, and the wrap went right with the stiff cape. Twenty nine was too boxy. Thirty one reminded me of horse hair. Blech. Thirty two was straight out of Alexander McQueen's VOSS collection, his dress with the sheer (though looking a tad muddy!) skirt, and woven bodice. Though Gaultier's was a different color, I thought it was more of an imitation than an inspiration.
                          Thirty four's coat was too puffy, and the jump suit made me question whether or not you can never have too much velvet. Thirty six through eight were just too black and velvet. Black is a fabulous color, but it went  far over the limit in this collection. Forty one's skirt overwhelmed the top half, and the hat/hood and sleeves just looked strange... and not good strange, like eccentricity. Forty three was ugly, lets be honest; there are enough rappers in this world wearing giant gold chains. Do I really need to see them in couture? Forty four's gold color looked artificial. Maybe like a fake gold chain? Finally, in forty five, we discovered a downright beautiful dress. It was a long maxi dress in sequins, in hazy late summer day colors,   the shimmer of the sequins shining like a gas spill. I also really liked look forty eight; again, quite shiny, but I love shine, and red/black just as much. A perfect dress for me. The last look, fifty, looked childish, like an angel costume.
                     I loved the mysteriousness of this collection, and the GLAM looks. But the filler was quite cumbersome, and some of the looks were just ugly, which is especially disappointing with designers like Gaultier who have such talent and creativity. Grace Coddington said that the job of fashion editors is to make people dream; and I hold that expectation up to designers as well.

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