Originally posted by kimair@Oct 7 2004, 04:58 PM
to what we see this season. it's just not coherent; there's no flow from season to season.
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Balmy summer beach days, a golden sky and the gentle sway of palm trees. That was the setting depicted on Stella McCartney’s invitation, an image that came into lovely focus at her show on Wednesday.
Given Gucci Group’s current period of self-evaluation, this was the perfect time for McCartney to come up with one of the best collections of her career, especially since Robert Polet and François-Henri Pinault both settled into front-row seats, where they must have been plenty pleased with the view.
McCartney celebrated the gentle side of casual with clothes that hinted at boho without turning exclusionary. All kinds of cool girls should cotton to Stella’s cottons, washed silks and tribal prints. Reason one: It’s not often that pretty looks so darned comfortable, as if Grandma’s old housedresses suddenly morphed into hipster je ne sais quoi. Stella does love a dress, bunched and gathered seemingly at random, sometimes in flower child-esque, floor-sweeping proportions; at others, in sexy tunic mode. One such number, a chopped-off pale aqua caftan with silver streaks, would even befit a latter-day La Liz on holiday. But tailoring also has its place in any McCartney collection, and she tossed short, squarish jackets on over dresses or equally breezy pants and shirts, with rolled hems or ankle ties, as well as some high-steam swimsuits.
McCartney worked a pleasant counterpoint throughout — a trench dolled up with poufed sleeves; the cheery pairing of lingerie trims and athletic drawstrings. And if occasionally her big, weightless shapes crossed the line to sloppy, more often they looked utterly charming.
Every now and again, a fashion mood emerges that should work particularly well for certain designers. Sometimes, they hit their stride and get it right during that period; sometimes, they don't. Stella McCartney's spring collection put her firmly into the former. She took what has been slowly emerging in Milan and Paris—pastoral, romantic dressing, and a sharper, speedier sportswear aesthetic—and spliced them together. It's not that she hasn't tried to do this before, but this season it just all came together. Better still, she hit on some of the other key trends—safari jackets; slouchy, straight-cut cuffed pants; and breezy, billowing dresses—and effortlessly made them her own.
McCartney is most convincing when it looks like the clothes belong in her world, not to mention her closet. Previous seasons have featured pieces that were a little too tricky for their own good: If you can't imagine her wearing it, then it's not going to fly. But this time round, McCartney played to her strengths: A smidge of vintage (floaty floral chiffon dresses), a touch of lingerie (camisoles and bras used to good effect layered underneath tops or dresses), pretty tailoring (shrunken jackets over those loose pants). And she made the strongest case for tiered gypsy skirts, letting them swoosh along the runway in white cotton muslin, as delicate as Edwardian underwear.
– Mark Holgate
With sun-soaked Bo Derek-style models on the runway and Dudley Moore's voice from the soundtrack of the movie "10," was Stella McCartney fishing for that perfect score for her summer 2005 collection?
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The jury consisted of her buddy, Gwyneth Paltrow (a guaranteed 10), Giancarlo Giammetti from Valentino (10 by designer solidarity), the media mogul Harvey Weinstein (10 because he wants McCartney to costume a movie) and the entire phalanx of the parent company Pinault Printemps Redoute: François-Henri Pinault, Serge Weinberg and the new CEO, Robert Polet.
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Does Polet think that McCartney's puffy cumulus of coats, blouses and skirts mean that the designer has a bright future?
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"I am convinced she has," Polet said.
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McCartney could not get a top score from the fashion pros for Thursday's show (too many soggy swimsuits rising thong-high at the rear). But she showed how well she could pump up the volume that is both an important trend for the season and crucial if her line is to develop an identity beyond her own.
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Of course, the light white dresses, perhaps with macramé at the neckline or the billowing folds caught in a soft sash at the hips, were designed in her own image and with the cultural memories of a 1970s childhood. But McCartney caught the vibe with the full-layered skirts, a few soft low-crotch pants or trousers with frills at the ankle. Smart too were the tiny mess jackets, their tails swinging and their rows of buttons evidently only for decoration. (Jackets too small to close are also a current trend.)
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In her urge to move away from body exposure (give or take a wayward nipple), the designer was not always so successful, as sturdy bras met chiffon drapes and a printed beach coat looked more like a housekeeper's bathrobe. But one of the bonuses of being a female designer is to project reality on the runway. And within a small parameter of pretty vacation clothes, McCartney did fine.
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"And I wasn't even on the beach this summer - I was wishing I was on holiday," she said.
Originally posted by Lena@Oct 9 2004, 11:37 AM
here you go
from iht
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Originally posted by Lena@Oct 9 2004, 01:10 PM
not too good either hehehe
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Originally posted by Lena@Oct 9 2004, 01:55 AM
she either bribed the journalists,
or Gucci Group bribed the journalists ,
or they are plain feeling sorry for her and try to cheer her up ...
i can t believe those reviews..
thanks for posting them Kimair
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Originally posted by LibertyRose@Oct 7 2004, 09:02 PM
Excuse my language, but this is crap!!! Expensive, "organic" potato sacks, lol (well put softgrey).
But off the runway, she still wears her clothes incredibly well, sigh.
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Originally posted by softgrey@Oct 9 2004, 07:47 PM
i know...why is there such a disconnect between how she dresses and how she designs?...
that's a sure sign of trouble... a designer who is not in touch with her own designs...
not good...
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Originally posted by vivadixie@Oct 9 2004, 08:19 PM
She wears what she designs though? She's like a walking ad for her label...
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Originally posted by vivadixie@Oct 9 2004, 08:13 PM
Why would they need to bend over backwards to protect her for? It's not like she's had such positive reviews in the past (other than for s/s04 I think) - her very first show for Gucci was universally panned. Just because you don't like a collection doesn't mean that other people can't like it. I watched the video and I doubt Anna Piaggi would bother trying to protect anyone. I mean fair enough if you don't like the clothes but some of these comments are uncalled for...
I liked this collection (especially the blue bag Michelle Buswell had) other than the swimwear and the dressing gown dress Gemma wore.
On another topic Dita von Teese looked great front row.
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