Glad he is back after two seasons of not showing at LFW, but I'm not impressed by this. It's the same old. Mirrored dresses, lots of fringes, way too much going on in even the simple mini dresses. A lot of this looks like ice skating costumes, it's not very elegant or all that interesting. I don't like much here, except for the purple dress with the mirrors.
This collection makes me sad. I loved his Fall 2011 show, for all of its dark gothic romanticism. Then last year, while there was some derivativeness, I still found a lot to like in it. But this feels like an aboutface - all the sparkle and almost trashiness? I could see this at Versace or Balmain, but Julien Macdonald? Um, no. *sad face* (literally and figuratively)
[She skulks to Style.com to relook at sublime wonders of Fall 2011]
__________________
Fashion: Don’t you recognize me? Death: You should know that I don’t see very well and I can’t wear glasses. Fashion: I’m Fashion, your sister. Death: My sister? Fashion: Yes. You and I together keep undoing and changing things down here on earth although you go about it in one way and I another. Giacomo Leopardi, “Dialogue Between Fashion and Death.”abridged
His textures, weaves, patterns and details are so interesting and amazing; it's too bad he can't seem to find a and beautiful form for them other than these bland shapes.
I feel for Julien-- he's been at this for so long but can't seem to find his place. I remember when he was the designer for Givenchy for a brief period, but got trashed for collections that were decent enough. And he revealed what a horrible person Karl Lagerfeld was to him when he was knitting for Chanel. I hope he finds his place soon.