Balenciaga F/W 1999.00 Paris

[Chanelcouture09]

Presented on 11th March 1999 at Couvent des Cordeliers, Paris.

That wake-up call rang out clearly at the Balenciaga show. Without any hype, 27-year-old Nicolas Ghesquiere has made this venerable house hip because he has succeeded in redefining modern elegance. The designer brings to his sober but graceful clothes new proportions and a new outlook, without reference to familiar elements like jackets, pantsuits or cocktail dresses.

But We're not talking modernism either. Out came pieces that were often monastic in their unshowiness and in their somber brown colors; yet also refined in their smallest details from the shape of a pagoda sleeve, through ridged leather bibs, top-stitched tucks at the neck of a tunic or the darts shaping the bodice of a dress.

As a 20-something generation breaks bud in fashion, it has suddenly become clear that the culture of an older designer generation, that was rooted in childhood memories of the 1950s, has been replaced by the children of the 1970s. Instead of the iconic, uptight glamour of French fashion's glory days, imaginations are now sparked by the peasant blouses or culottes from mom's closet. Balenciaga showed those pieces, refined and redefined in an intriguing and forceful way. As Ghesquiere expressed it backstage:

"It's about collective fashion memory, the idea of each piece evoking something."

But don't write off fashion's golden oldies. Like Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel, in her way, turned up trumps. She took her soft and cuddly knits and gave them a sharp military overtone, yet balanced that urban army feeling with lip appliqués or lip-shaped purses dropping kitsch kisses on knit or flesh.

If some of the mohair plaids and furry cargo pants looked more like winter survival gear than sophisticated clothing, jackets strapped like backpacks had just the sporty feel to make comfy clothes seem modern.

By Suzy Menkes - International Herald Tribune

*nytimes.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

*Balenciaga.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

*Balenciaga.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

*Balenciaga.com

 

[Chanelcouture09]

*Balenciaga.com

 

[Scott]

my favourite balenciaga era.

 

[LolaSvelt]

^Definitely. His clothes have aged so well.

 

[Scott]

i should say my favourite nicholas for balenciaga era

agreed though. these clothes still look so relevant. and like i said in the other thread,there is this underlying simplicity that i appreciate about this period which allowed for his technique/craftsmanship to shine through. plus,stylistically,i found it to be much more romantic....poetic. i wish he would bring a bit of that back instead of relying on the gimmicks he seems to have fallen prey to today.

 

[Psylocke]

Hmm, I don't know, this is definitely not one of my favorite Balenciaga collections. I feel like the transition from the more classic and sharp to the more futuristic and 'edgy' aesthetic is pretty evident here and it's a bit of an awkward in between, in my opinion. I loved what Nicolas did in his first few collections and I adore the early/mid 00's era but am not a huge fan of this. But model and styling-wise I feel like he really defined his vision here, recent Balenciaga ad campaigns are quite reminiscent of this era in a way.

 

[vikingqueen]

i should say my favourite nicholas for balenciaga era

agreed though. these clothes still look so relevant. and like i said in the other thread,there is this underlying simplicity that i appreciate about this period which allowed for his technique/craftsmanship to shine through. plus,stylistically,i found it to be much more romantic....poetic. i wish he would bring a bit of that back instead of relying on the gimmicks he seems to have fallen prey to today.

Co-sign 100%. These threads are making me very nostalgic - everything seems so simple and beautiful, even (especially) the models. You know it's a good thread when you are right-click saving every other picture!!