Balenciaga F/W 06.07 Paris

[Salvatore]

what, can't see yourself wearing it on a table?

 

[mdankwah]

it feels very archival

some of the looks are very reminiscent of old balenciaga

 

[brian]

the shoes... ... higher, higher, HIGHER!!!

 

[cheiby11]

I don't like these shoes, but some pieces are really nice like trousers and white dresses

 

[sea of stitches]

i think this is loads better than last season. i have similar sentiments to susie, very refined but still lots of great volume. entirely wearable, interesting and classy.

 

[Whitelinen]

I don't like, it really is a disappointment. It is not brilliant, it's average and the clothes are boring and plain ugly. But, to say something good, these were very nice (forget the ridiculous hats

 

[The_Ida]

Pics of the shoes, or are they not up yet?

 

[clavdiachauchat]

I love this.

I immediately thought of Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington (can't say for certain why).

Fur is absent and these are the best tartans seen yet.

The lines work for me, and the shapes are modular enough to seem forward-looking; classic enough to be grounded.

This is a collection that works from a rich history but doesn't get mired down in the all-to-tempting "homage to classic with a few gimmicks thrown in"

 

[kimair]

as others have said, imo it was going to be hard to top s/s, but i love this collection...
it's very modern and vintage at the same time...very cristobal...
some of the detailing on the skirts, jackets and dresses is exquisite...

some of my favorite looks (from balenciaga.com)

this jacket (above) is great!!

 

[pandinha]

Of course it will be ofuscated by last seasons colection because it was insanely good, but this one is good also!

 

[masquerade]

wtf, more plaid.

please designers, stop with the plaid.

its boring, looks like something you could get for really cheap somewhere else, it even looks cheap itself. it just looks done. there are a couple of cute pieces, but they dont stand out because they are lost in junk (similar to last season)

i guess its still better than last season. boring is better than ugly

 

[5AvenueMarceau]

I love it, but I'll admit when I saw the first few looks, I was worried it would be boring. However as I got closer to the end of the collection, I found it grew on me more and more and I liked the looks at the end much more! It is very Cristobel as many have said.

the models seems to be even thinner

Yes, I thought he'd somehow made their legs look particularly twiggy.

Great choices Kimair, they were pretty much my favourite looks too!

 

[cheiby11]

Pics of the shoes, or are they not up yet?

not close-ups, but I don't like platforms like that

 

[fouroclock]

This collection is SO Cristobal. I absolutely love the shapes, the jackets, the babydoll-tops

Precisely. I mean, last season's collection was the shiz but I'm partial to this collection too. It's a mix of British and volume, etc...This new collection has more colour, variety, and half of it looks more practical than last seasons.

I want one of the caps!

 

[pradaromance]

oh, i love this

 

[arlekindearrabal]

he took the "bubble" theme a bit too far... most pieces stand very well on their own, but this is quite disappointing

 

[brian]

Who Are You, Polly Balenciaga?

By Godfrey Deeny

February 28, 2006 @ 12:51 AM - Paris

Each time we have left a Balenciaga show in recent seasons, it’s with a clear idea what women all over the world will be wearing in six months, so great has been the influence of the label’s designer Nicolas Ghesquiere.

Not this Tuesday morning in Paris.

A curious cut and paste evocation of that greatest of all, though obscure to the general public, fashion film, “Who Are You, Polly Magoo?” by William Klein, the collection was certainly beautiful, but too far fetched in its proportions and absurd in its styling to set the aesthetic roadmap for the industry.

Klein’s over-the-top yarn was echoed in the oversized jockey bowlers, which every model wore, and the gargantuan proportions of many of the clothes. An opening group of huge plaid jackets cut with chunky arms and finished with tiny lapels and big buttons was visually arresting, but highly problematic for most women to wear. In these clothes, thin gals would appear emaciated, larger lasses unfortunately bulbous.

Adding to the unlikelihood, Ghesquiere insisted on pairing them with mini skirts with massive pleats, i.e. about four pleats per skirt. Once again, it made for a dramatic silhouette, but one few women would actually carry off. Admittedly, these clothes were not in sheet metal like the brilliant, hallucinatory opening sequence of Klein’s 1966 film, but like the movie, they smacked of self-indulgent effulgence.

That’s not to say that a retailer or a movie star would not find things to order or borrow from this show. Though quite why the esteemed fashion director of Saks, surely a major player by any standards, was sat in the second row behind a pillar defeated us. We thought that the Gucci Group was keen to boost sales on the still-small Balenciaga balance sheet? But we have to say that we have seen many chic editors sport Balenciaga’s currently in-store duffle coat with the little silver button studs, a sure sign that his clothes are being bought by the right sort of gals.

A beautifully cut contrasting check dress on Belgium nymph Anouk Lepere was excellent, as was a superb midnight blue cocktail on Canadian catwalker Jessica Stam. Plus, an inventive series of white jacquard looks (the finest on Diana Dondoe) deserved great acclaim. The action finished with a trio of impeccable white dresses, the last of which came with an Islamic wink, as the model’s face was largely covered with a veil.

However, while the show reminded us of Ghesquiere’s fertile imagination, it also underlined that a chunk of his reputation rests on his reach. His ideas turned up in literally dozens of shows, especially in New York this month. Next season, we suspect a little bit less.

Nicolas tends to alternate his collections between full on laboratory or savvy commercial takes. Last season’s retail friendly haute hip bourgeois was mega retail friendly, while this season was the nod to the scientist in this designer.

- fwd

 

[pennyfei]

the platforms look terrible!

 

[guccigal07]

except for the plaids...the fabrics are really beautiful.

 

[Manuva]

New Favourite show of F/W.
I love the plaid jackets, and the skinny trousers. It's all so wearable (minus the riding hats of course)