I've been looking at this collection all day but only had time to comment until now. First I want to thank Kimair and Caffeine for putting to rest the silly and offensive accusation of Ghesquire's copying (he only was guilty of that once as far as I know).
I think this collection is some of Ghesquire's finest work for the house. At times I miss the earlier collections, the ones that Kimair and Caffeine already cited in fact. I miss them for Ghesquire's resilient and unabashed vision, the excellence of the ideas, and the fact that they were so genuinely new, so much to the point that they couldn't sell. Ghesquire gave so much of his experience in them; the science fiction of his youth, his reverence for fashion legends like Gaultier, Alaia, Mugler, Montana, and Versace, designers who he probably saw in and out of the fashion magazines of the late 80's and early 90's as a young teen. He was the first designer of contemporary fashion to bring back the idea of "space age" and interpret it in a way that shocked but commanded the attention of the whole industry. And there's no doubt that he presaged the return of the tapered leg and the high waist.
His collections changed, I can even pinpoint S/S 2005 the nautical collection where his clothes became so much easier and so much more commercial, but no less extraordinary. In recent collections I have to admit the luster present in earlier years went missing. F/W 07 was nice but lacked the same vigor, it wasn't Ghesquire at his best. And then there's this collection, he's brought back a similar approach and some of the same ideas, but it's as if he's wised up and knows better how to speak to the new fashion customer, as fickle and as stupid as they might be. It's not the same Balenciaga woman anymore, when only the obscure Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joanna Preiss, and Chloe Sevigny would wear any of his clothes. Now you can add Nicole Kidman to the list. It's not the same as it was before.
I spent the whole day debating whether that was a problem or not. But you know, when you look earnestly at these clothes you can still grasp the aesthetic from those earlier collections, it's still otherworldly and carries the unique energy of Ghesquire's experience. Perhaps his timing is better now, or maybe his influence allows him more freedom. This collection is his vision unbridled and honed to the sharpest point. And yet, it's all impossibly chic.
One of the key things he picked up after F/W 06 was how to merge the brand's history and Cristobal's legacy into his own. It shows an even greater genius than what Ghesquire did without the archives for all those years before. This collection is flawless in that sense. Hats off to you Nicholas.
the boots look like used condoms...
God I love this forum. 
