Cathy Pill HC F/W 08.09 Paris

[larien]

getty

 

[Teja]

I like the colors and some of the dresses. But I have to agree with larien: it doesn't look so much couture to me neither.

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

Must retract my initial statements...
The Getty images are wonderful!
I love this...
Great collection for Cathy Pill!

 

[Zazie]

This is beautiful print/paintwork - she is taking Jackson Pollack seriously! The shapes are great too, the draping and the print work beautifully together.

The criteria for HC is determined by a particular Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute_couture

It's not what it "looks like", it's what is determined by the Chambre - it's irritating that some elaborate Project Runway concoctions have been described as "almost haute couture" and less complicated outfits are deemed "not haute couture". If it is under the aegis of the Chambre, it *is*, no matter what it looks like. You can debate if it is a good or bad collection, I'd say Alexis Mabile's particularly poor, but you can't say it is *not* haute couture.

 

[Zazie]

Haute couture doesn't have a certain "look" - it is simply a different way of ordering clothes from RTW. There are day clothes too, not just evening gowns. They are really expensive, so most people assume they must look "special" somehow, and equate HC with drama. In fact, it is simply a very personal way of custom tailoring with the quality of the atelier vouched by the Chambre. A lot of big brand names use their HC division to maintain the prestige of their brands, they make much more profit from RTW, selling 1000 pieces of a $1,000 dress as opposed to selling 1 HC dress for $100,000. Even better, millions of perfumes that cost $2 to make, or bags that cost $30 and sold for $3000. The HC though, keeps their brands "haute" to sell the brandname, their image, to keep them in the news, so it is profitable even if most of the HC stuff they send out are unwearable. The smaller, conventional couturiers rely on the profit from their HC clients for each exclusive outfit they make for them. Their business is completely different from the big brand names. This is why they make more wearable, genuine clothes, but are nonetheless, haute couture.

 

[Ronchamp]

Zazia, I completely agree!! I really appreciate the more simple HC because to me, it's much closer to what it used to be. HC existed way before RTW, and clearly women did not always dress dramatically! It's all about made to measure, hand crafted, high quality garments.

I wasn't to impressed by the first few pictures, but the new ones are gorgeous. The pieces feel so fresh and effortless, but they still have that timeless quality. I love that this would appeal to women of any age!

 

[DuTTyRoCK112]

Perhaps the best show this week?

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

Thanks for the explanation, Zazie!
Makes a lot of sense...

 

[laika]

The fabrics are absolutely stunning and the fluid, flowing shapes are the perfect complement.
I love the way she has used a single sheer color to highlight the shoulder or collarbone etc.
Just beautifully done.

 

[softgrey]

i agree...the close ups tell the story of the dresses much more clearly...

somehow i think that the ones with just black and white or with fuschia work the best...
it's just such a saturated cool toned pink...it's very vibrant and resonates beautifully with the black and white imo..




thanks for the additional images...larien...

 

[Ronchamp]

full collection from vogue.fr

 

[Ronchamp]

 

[Ronchamp]

that's all!

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

^ Ty for posting.
This is my fave HC collection this season..
So very modern and inspiring...

 

[reese06]

Beautiful collection. The clothing looks so weightless. I'm so tired of the " this doesn't look like HC" comments this week.

 

[Zazie]

You're most welcomed! The more images I see of this collection, the more I appreciate the printwork and how carefully it is applied, with just stunning shades. Great work!

 

[4n98]

it's beautiful and talented, but I can't to regard it as HC.

 

[reese06]

it's beautiful and talented, but I can't to regard it as HC.

Why not?

 

[air3001]

Come On,

Nowaday no boday take it seriouslyaboutthe definition of Haute Couture.... of coz, we respect this long history French "tradition" and the craftmenship HC represents.... but on the other hand.... it's another marketing strategy for fashion companies.... New designers and companies create small quantity designs and regard those as "Couture".... Fashion houses create complex and expensive designs and said those are "new street fashion" .... it fact, I dont care its HC or RTW... just gimme some BEAUTIFUL DRESSES, okay?

btw,some dresses from this collection are...STUNNING!!

 

[Scott]

oh my.....this is truly beautiful stuff from cathy. perhaps the best work she's done....and she's done some great collections already.

as for this HC distinction.....zazie you explained it perfectly besides,this a modern era and this staunch idea of what HC is supposed to be,just cannot be anymore....it just simply would not survive if they had continued with the same methods of how they organised this event. that's why they invited cathy....boudicca....etc.