paris shows, a/w 09

shit, are we already to paris now? it seems like just yesterday new york was getting started. well, needless to say, being last on the fashion week roster, and the universal glamour capital of garment design, my expectations were incredibly high for paris. unfortunately, many shows provided lackluster results. the clothing was beautifully constructed and easily translatable to the IRL, but it was just... not what i expected or wanted.

my absolute favorite designer (i'm talking of all time here) balenciaga, under the guidance of genius/sexmuffin nicolas ghesquiere, produced a somewhat safe and, dare i say it, boring collection. i was absolutely heartbroken. the initial tulip skirts were cute, but got repetitive. obviously, repetition is something ghesquirere admirably favors, as evidenced by past collections, and its implementation is usually successful. but compared spring 09, this just made me think of my grandmother's dusty closet. i suppose he was attempting a departure from his signature futurism, but it could have been handled a little more modernly, i think.

but just looooook at him!:

listen, women are allowed to objectify men inasmuch as men can design unflattering clothing for women!

lanvin epitomizes good taste, but lately i just feel like alber ebaz has loosened his grip of what makes a lanvin so special (in my opinion, anyway). there were some adorable little dresses, like this little tulle number right here, that veered away from the house's typical use of silk and taffeta (which i liked a lot). but overall, most of the dresses and suits were repetitive, as evidenced by the two nearly identical dresses i've provided for you above. le sigh.

not to sound senior or anything, but i remember gareth pugh's very first widely publicized fashion show (i believe it was fall 2006? i certainly remember the inflatable ensembles!). consequently, i feel like i have watched him, shall we say, grow in his design aesthetic over the years, and his designs exceeded any expectations i could have for a designer: his work is pure art. so it made me a little upset that this collection was so blase! don't get me wrong, i adored much of what he put out there (this dress was tres chic!) - under another name, it would have been a hit. the idea of gareth pugh putting his name on it, though, is a tiny bit unsettling, and makes me feel like he digressed from all the avante-garde progress he has made (and that i've always patiently waited for with bated breath). was he trying to pull back and edit himself? or was his vision blurred by dollar signs? now that he's an LVMH favorite, anything goes, i guess.

i must reiterate that these collections were solid. but i craved so much more from these fantastic designers!