I see your point as well. I suppose that, being a huge follower and admirer of John and his work, it frustrates me this place he is currently at. It is impossible for me and other to not hold him to the standard he set for himself for so many years, only to break that with collections that does not appear he is involved in with his heart and soul.
It's weird, before in his collections, the passion, soul, energy, and creativity could be felt even through the pictures. That's very hard to achieve I feel, yet he did it so easily. The collections were full of depth and made you want to study not only the pieces, but his inspirations which usually involved cross-referencing ... something else that's not that easy. John was a genius in those days, but he's fallen off as the new innovator and has left a huge hole in the haute couture landscape in my honest opinion.
This collection does not move me. I do not want to study the clothes like before. The inspiration is so suffer taking the fun out of discovering what's going on in that mad and genius mind of his. The excessive modeling/poses from the girls does not work here and I feel it's an imitation of couture ... caricature. In the past it worked for the fact the clothes were full of life and you need someone to match that energy, but now the garments have no life and it feels the models are trying to pump blood into something dead.
I want to go to John and scream in his face while shaking him and ask what happened ? Do not get me wrong, the old costumery and near-drag-queen aesthetics may not be right for today, but there is still a way to present beautiful, fresh, and engaging collection that is "right for today" as he likes to say so often.
I'll quiet now.
