Hussein Chalayan S/s 05 Paris

[Scott]

PARIS, October 7, 2004 – However he got there—and we'll get to that later—Hussein Chalayan's spring collection demonstrated his extraordinary instinct for putting his clothes in the forefront of fashion. This season, without tripping on any conceptual stumbling blocks, Chalayan proved he belongs in the top tier of designers (including Jil Sander and Helmut Lang) who are formulating a breezy, easy-to-wear spring. That proposition includes man-tailored jackets, crisp blue-and-white pinstripe shirting, shorts, and soft, drifty dresses—and none of it has anything to do with ladylike retro.

Chalayan opened his show with a couple of sporty suits: a modernist tuxedo jacket over a vest and two-tiered skirt, and a pinstriped, softly bloused vest and cropped pants. From there, he made yet more attractively pragmatic pieces—lightweight raincoats and a hoodie cut from gray linen, worn with one of the best-cut pairs of slouchy, cuffed shorts seen this season.

Things got even more interesting when Chalayan brought in the striped cotton as simple shirttail dresses and little one-strap pinafore dresses worn under similarly patterned shirts. Then he transferred the pattern onto a loose (and surprisingly sexy) blue-and-white slinky knitted cardigan dress. By the time the lightweight coats, distinctly akin to men's dressing gowns, turned up, Chalayan's seasonal subtext had begun to emerge.

"I wanted to design as if I were a blind person," he explained later. "And the only way I could imagine what it's like is to think of what you see when you're asleep and dreaming." That accounted for the sleepwear, and also made some sense of the jumbled-up blue-and-orange prints of monsters and exotic birds that appeared on asymmetric chiffon dresses. Chalayan had a story for them, too: "I blindfolded myself and drew at random, and then manipulated the shapes to make the dresses." Does knowing its origin add anything profound to the collection? Maybe… maybe not. As with everything else, the true test of a collection isn't in the symbolism, but in the sheer, delightful want-ability. And there Chalayan passed, with honors.
– Sarah Mower 

really lovely collection from Chalayan. And I'm happy he's moving away from that overly conceptual...overly scientific aesthetic. He's become such a romantic now.

 

[Scott]

More....

 

[purplelucrezia]

Looks like untucked mens dress shirts to me.

 

[Scott]

I love this first one...

 

[Scott]

There's some pretty dresses in this too. It actually has a pyjama feel...

 

[Scott]

More...

 

[Scott]

I really like the shirting in this. Especially the one's with the banded cuff.

 

[Scott]

More...

 

[metal-on-metal]

Simple, comfortable, unpretentious. I like this a lot. The entire show is up at style.com.

 

[Meg]

From what I see, I really like. I especially like that first outfit. Looks to be a fantastic collection and I adore the colors.

 

[AlexN]

Originally posted by purplelucrezia@Oct 8 2004, 12:28 AM
Looks like untucked mens dress shirts to me.

[snapback]389894[/snapback]​

That's just what I was thinking.

 

[Spacemiu]

I don't like it, it's so not what i loved about chalyan, looks liek balenciaga or some thing, i gave up on him a while ago

 

[faust]

Sorry, but his conceptualising which translated into gorgeous, unique and WEARABLE clothing is what I loved about Husseyn. This is not it. I like several looks (especially the black), but nothing to make me say WOW, they way I used to every time I saw his collections. This is not art, this is clothes. Looks like Husseyn is moving to the commerical side because he needs to survive financially, and I can't really blaim him for it. Too bad. But I'm sure he'll still sneak his aesthetic here and there.

 

[softgrey]

those leather vests are exactly the difference btw hussein and sofia k...
they are lyrical and poetic and work beautifully into the softly draped fabric...that's what i'm talkin 'bout...lovely...

thx for the pics...

 

[runner]

thanks Scott

if I had to put on womenswear, I would take these pieces.

 

[Nemova]

I'm sorry, but IMHO this outfit looks like something one would wear while in a hospital

 

[Scott]

Hospital-chic is cool Nemova

Faust,I agree with you completely. I just feel because he has shifted into that territory of commerce(I wonder if he'd take that as an insult??),his last two were not very good. Especially the latter. This one is so much better in comparison.

Of course,I wish he'd do another collection in similar vein as his A/W 02 collection. In fact,I wish he would just find a style and stick to it. Take a cue from Ann D. or Dries.

 

[softgrey]

actually...this past fall...or the one that's actually in stores now... is OUTSTANDING...there are many pieces that were not on the runway and they are so beautiful in a minimalist way...

maybe that will be the case with this collection as well...who knows...

 

[Nemova]

Originally posted by Scott@Oct 8 2004, 01:45 PM
Hospital-chic is cool Nemova

Read the siggie under my avatar

 

[mikeijames]

i don't know. on the one hand, i thought his presentations before were completely over the top besides being wholly unnecessary as they added NOTHING to the clothes. but i think that he needed a little more imagination here. perhaps another arty show would have focused this collection a little more. bc the way it is, it just looks like a cop out. i mean it's cool and different, but altogether boring.