Olivier Theyskens S/S 2020 Paris

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[aracic]

vogue.com

 

[dior_couture1245]

I’m afraid it’s not as strong as last season.

Granted, there are some great looks here. In fact, I LOVE the bubblegum pink bustier dress with the tiered skirt near the end of the collection. There are other looks that are strong, too, but overall it feels weak, and last season was so powerful and confident.

I’m sure his casting budget is minuscule, but these models really do a disservice to his work (and frankly, everyone else’s work too).

The shoes are bad. I don’t know why...all I want to see with everything this season is a simple, blocky-heeled round toe pump. Maybe I’m just so tired of statement shoes, I just want something that looks so normal it barely registers in the total look.

 

[Lola701]

One word, three letters: NON.

 

[MulletProof]

I’m afraid it’s not as strong as last season.

I’m sure his casting budget is minuscule, but these models really do a disservice to his work (and frankly, everyone else’s work too).

I wasn't into last season but it seemed to continue on that firm direction he's taken since his return.. this is a bit.. not bad by any means, at least I'd give a try to pretty much every piece except the pink ones and these two dresses from 19th century Texas, it just seems like he tried to get out of his comfort zone but quite timidly.. so that weakens the result. I assume there are so many things to consider that I know nothing about (related to finances) but there must be a way to explore in a more intense way without wrecking your budget..? I don't know..

That being said, there are so many pieces that I love.. this skirt is so not my length or color but I just want to try it on .. same for this suit and this dress.. so gorgeous, all three.

Re the highlighted part of your post, I agree so much.. I love lingerie-inspired pieces, and again, just like you, I assume the models in the show are from tiny, affordable agencies or who knows (I know nothing about that world and don't want to know either), and there's also the fact that he's always favored that body aesthetic, and just disclaimer #300: I would not want to see any of that on a grotesque, Kardashian-esque body that has hit the surgeon's office more than it has hit the gym, what I finally want to say lol.. is that a bustier so loose it resembles a tank (because you got the wrong size or that's the smallest there is and you just don't fill it up and maybe just have to try a different style) is pretty sad to me. Imagine this in Edita.. I would rush to buy it. This 2003-esque mentality (which I loved too, loved Belgian models) is maybe something he could graduate from.. it was a wonderful time but a quick update would do wonders to his clothes, it doesn't have to be so conventional or even sexual, just.. think things through, why are you creating extra support on the lower part of the cup? not for floating effects, dude.

 

[SophiaVB]

Maybe budget would have been better spent on a lookbook? This feels unnecessary for Paris...

 

[Psylocke]

Well, he does manage to make Hedi Slimane's runway shows look like a parade of healthy, happy people. I find the models extremely distracting here. I'm still rooting for him, but so far haven't really fallen in love with anything he's created since coming back, as much as I do still love the general direction of his work. Agree with dior_couture1245 that the shoes here are vile.

 

[Peppernplatinum]

There's something uncomforting about the models and the way they are carrying the clothes. They really are distracting, which is not good for this runway show at all.
The collection seems really underwhelming TBH.

I miss the old Olivier.

 

[YohjiAddict]

This show just lack the authority of the ones before. He doesn't whether to be cutesy, edgy, sexy or a late 90s/early 00s nostalgia vehicle and ends up going nowhere as a result. I liked the transparent skirt ensemble, those two jackets at the beggining and a black cocktail dress with exposed seams. The oversized suit in that awful tan fabric makes the model look like a gingerbread man that spread too much in the oven and those two tiered striped dresses were just disgusting. The shoe straps' fit is too loose and makes them look even cheaper, a black classic stiletto would have been enough. Hoping he goes back to his past approach.

P.S: I laughed so hard at MulletProof's comment regarding the bustier cups.

 

[Phuel]

Mullet’s got a similar body to Edita…?!?!?!?!?

I suspect the awkward, (mis)casting was a choice…??? It possesses a whiff of that brand of dirty chic that Mario/Carine would shoot for The Face back in ’95. I suppose this stripped down offering is a profitable strategy for his brand: Back to basics. But it all still feels like an Agent Provocateur collab on first impression. With the exception of those few gorgeous cocktail dresses, which sort of has this mid-90s Helmut Lang/Jean Colona by way of the 1950s charm and nostalgia to them. And I’m imagining it’s a young Emmanuelle Seigner and Beatrice Dalle strutting around in them with slightly messy the-morning-after hair and classic pumps like dior mentioned and not these cheap fetish-ish platforms, it all could be so effortlessly and simply irresistible. In its current offering of an MTV-Lolita, not so much.

The rest of the show look incomplete and as mentioned, even unnecessary. How many times can a fashion audience look at another bustier and satin panties pairing at a collection— no matter how well-made it may be before they feel cheated from an actual look that works as something they would really covet and wear in real life? And I’d imagine his clientele are the personalities to wear his designs whenever they deem fit, be it day or night and not tied down by traditions, but bustiers are still sort of unexciting at this point? (I guess the prairie dresses are that tidbit of risk…)

I’m still waiting for that collection from him in this new era to impress me. So far, everything— even the nice pieces, feels and looks like a diffusion line of what he’s capable of designing.

 

[MulletProof]

Mullet’s got a similar body to Edita…?!?!?!?!?

what, you didn't know? lol

nah but it's on my xmas list, but what I'm saying is: Edita makes anything look good so I might at least consider what she wears cause either mindless sheep or ~it's aspirational~, take your pick!

I actually kind of changed my mind about this after looking at one of my favorite collections he ever did which had girls that were not any healthier (this is 2004, nothing healthy about that year) and had pieces similar to this, some even meant to be loose.. I think it's just the fit and amount of effort involved.. I don't doubt he's trying, maybe it's a logistics thing (how many fittings can you afford to have..? what do I even know). Anyway, when I look back at these collections, I realise we really just settle these days..

This is from the collection I'm talking about.. my life is passing and I still don't have a gold velvet minidress.


[lerage.com]

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^Yeah....Rochas Fall 2004 is spectacular...I mean, what Rochas show of his WASN’T absolutely masterful? The 3 years worth of collections Olivier did at that house are some of my most favorite fashion of all time.

I would argue, though, that the models then we’re infinitely better...not necessarily less thin, but just a slightly more athletic proportion was the standard then...broader shoulders, a slight toned look, and a womanlier face. It’s all very subtle, but I think it’s night and day what models from the decade 1997-2007 were able to do for clothing. Girls today just have really extreme proportions, they look underdeveloped and they all have the most sour look on their faces. Its like...the girls then were equine...and the girls today are like.....spiders....

So, all that said, I don’t think it’s the difference between an extra fitting or two that separates the Rochas show and this one.

 

[perfect blue]

What a beautiful collection that Rochas one is

 

[tricotineacetat]

Most of TFS should know how much I enjoy Olivier's work throughout his career. His work stands in a great context of popular culture, from the dresses he put on Madonna to the big hoop skirts Smashing Pumpkins donned. Melissa Auf Der Maur looked fantastic in his clothes, it was a particular moment in pop culture that brought fourth a particular woman or girl where this kind of very feminine way of dressing never looked too sweet. Even 20 years after that, for me he has a different legitimation to show these kind of silhouettes on the runway, it's like listening to an album of The Cure - You know what you're going to be in for and you enjoy the consistency of mood and vision. So to sum it up - Yes, to me, designers like Olivier Theyskens, much like Hussein Chalayan who also often falls beneath the radar, will float above the regular conversation of fashion that is dominated by other players these days.

That being said, not everything is convincing to me on this runway. The much mentioned platform shoes, yes, are a massive distraction. I really liked when Olivier returned back to designing his own collection with a low-heeled Victorian ankle boot with just his signature hook and eye closure at the front. Those boots immediately anchored his fairy tale romance in reality - Compared to that, I do think this runway had too many outfits putting emphasize on endless legs on tiny barely-there shorts and those ridiculous heels that only fuel the assumption that Olivier's clothes are only for girls in very small sizes to wear.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Acknowledging the fact that most of his repertoire stays in the realm of evening and cocktail wear, I was nicely surprised to see especially his current F/W collection showing up on the right A-list celebrities and usually looking among the best outfits seen in the press. I don't know how he does it but for an independent brand to receive so much exposure is definitely an achievement.

By the next season, there will be a consistent amount of great new evening wear to choose from here - All the longer dresses look like a dream to me, better than anything seen at most of the major couture houses in Paris.

 

[Nomar]

While I wouldn't really call these clothes groundbreaking, they still look great and ooze sexiness. I can just imagine the cool and confident woman, like a femme fatale, who could be able to pull off some of these looks. Personally I think he should also just stick to his dark colour palette because when he's used other colours here it just looks really random.