The Greatest Collections Ever Made

[Dylan.]

that collection was what my soul looks like.

ahh, i love that.

 

[notmanons]

I personally think Chanel's FW 05 collection was the most strikingly chic show, it showed the truly quirky side to Chanel, it was very fun. All the girls (models) just walked out there with attitude and gave it their all on the runway-the music was very sexy too!

 

[seanutbutter]

Call me biased (after all, Balenciaga is my favorite designer), but I feel that Balenciaga's F/W 2006 collection was one of the best collections of all time. (And I'm obviously not alone, since countless editorials and magazines featured the ankle boots and hats in their pages.)

It wasn't just the clothes that made the show special; it was the way Nicolas Ghesquière presented them: By putting practically no makeup on the models and having their hair put in a simplistic ponytail, he made sure all eyes were on the pieces themselves and not the face.


balenciaga.com

His silhouettes are gorgeous, as are those platform boots. The various shapes of the dresses and skirts are a refreshing twist from other collections. This really was the sole collection that got me interested in runway fashion, which places it into a special part of my heart.

 

[nicholas2505]

Tom Ford's men's collection for Gucci Fall 97 has to be included.

http://www.justblogme.com/rmb5/8765/Gucci+Fall+97.html

 

[Salvatore]

Gucci F/W 2003 for both men and women, but mainly the woman's show. The reason I say this is because 4 years after, it still impacts my general mood. It strongly resonated with me. It was this outer strength, yet really extreme vulnerability on the inside. They seemed on some type of path, yet they were lost and in a daze. Probably it hit me because I am this way. Also, I believe it defined Gucci so very well. (However, Dior SSHC 2004 comes in so very close!)
(Photos from Style.com)

 

[KI_egoiste]

Call me biased (after all, Balenciaga is my favorite designer), but I feel that Balenciaga's F/W 2006 collection was one of the best collections of all time. (And I'm obviously not alone, since countless editorials and magazines featured the ankle boots and hats in their pages.)

It wasn't just the clothes that made the show special; it was the way Nicolas Ghesquière presented them: By putting practically no makeup on the models and having their hair put in a simplistic ponytail, he made sure all eyes were on the pieces themselves and not the face.


His silhouettes are gorgeous, as are those platform boots. The various shapes of the dresses and skirts are a refreshing twist from other collections. This really was the sole collection that got me interested in runway fashion, which places it into a special part of my heart.

I simply cannot wait for the Nicholas G. for Balenciaga fuss to die out. Come on, the collection that you so revere consists of Cristobal reworks. I am surprised that nobody enumerated Cristobal's work in the best collections of all time, yet there already were two people that mentioned Nicholas' work.

 

[Mutterlein]

I simply cannot wait for the Nicholas G. for Balenciaga fuss to die out. Come on, the collection that you so revere consists of Cristobal reworks. I am surprised that nobody enumerated Cristobal's work in the best collections of all time, yet there already were two people that mentioned Nicholas' work.

Valid argument, it's the same issue I first had with the collection. But then I put things into perspective. You have to realize that our generation, any generation, is not as familiar with Balenciaga orginals. Unless you have Vogues from the 50's and 60's it's difficult to have any literacy of the collections from that era. Another thing you have to keep in mind is when that collection actually hit stores and ended up on real people its context was totally different. They way women wear it on the street, the allure, the covetable chic, that's all Ghesquire. It's causing me to rethink the ill opinion I had of his recent S/S 07 collection. I think it's undeniable that Ghesquire is one of the most influential designers of this decade. In that sense, he's Balenciaga's contemporary.

 

[AGiles]

Valid argument, it's the same issue I first had with the collection. But then I put things into perspective. You have to realize that our generation, any generation, is not as familiar with Balenciaga orginals. Unless you have Vogues from the 50's and 60's it's difficult to have any literacy of the collections from that era. Another thing you have to keep in mind is when that collection actually hit stores and ended up on real people its context was totally different. They way women wear it on the street, the allure, the covetable chic, that's all Ghesquire. It's causing me to rethink the ill opinion I had of his recent S/S 07 collection. I think it's undeniable that Ghesquire is one of the most influential designers of this decade. In that sense, he's Balenciaga's contemporary.

I am Very Familar with Cristibal balenciaga's early work. and i have to say Ghesquire is in no way the heir aparent. he went into the Archives and not only took Designs but he Had Texttiles Reproduced of many of Mr Balenciaga's most commecially sucessful collections. he did what Puff daddy did in the 90's took Records that were already huge hits in the past and replayed them into hits again. thats not inventive its just common sense. and as for his SS07 collection hes was being hailed for creating a new sillohette a built up shouder and lean leg is 80. with a touch of Gallanos Armor and Tiscis Givenchy of the future ss 06 collection. hes no shining star just a good copy cat.

 

[Mutterlein]

I am Very Familar with Cristibal balenciaga's early work. and i have to say Ghesquire is in no way the heir aparent. he went into the Archives and not only took Designs but he Had Texttiles Reproduced of many of Mr Balenciaga's most commecially sucessful collections. he did what Puff daddy did in the 90's took Records that were already huge hits in the past and replayed them into hits again. thats not inventive its just common sense. and as for his SS07 collection hes was being hailed for creating a new sillohette a built up shouder and lean leg is 80. with a touch of Gallanos Armor and Tiscis Givenchy of the future ss 06 collection. hes no shining star just a good copy cat.

This collection was really the first time he's ever done that. He had only been given unfettered access to the archives a couple of years ago. And to be honest, he HAD to do it. I'm pretty sure it was a tactic to reintroduce the brand's heritage which had been all but lost. It's easy to be distracted by the iconic skirt/suit redux but look at the other garments, the pants, the shoes, the slimmer jackets. That's all Ghesquire, that's what women actually wear. He didn't copy verbatim the infamous suit Balenciaga orginally made for Carmen Snow. I've handled one of those suits, they are quite different from what I saw on the racks at Jeffrey's. If anything I credit him for taking an obscure and challenging silhouette and pushing it forward.

As for S/S 07, there's a lot of things going on it. I can't say I like it all either. I see Courreges, I see Miyake, Galanos perhaps. There's also a japanese shogun vibe as well as (to me) late 90's Gucci. I can't say I'm in love but the more I see it off the runway the less doubt I have.

And by the way, Cristobal Balenciaga's early work looks nothing like the 50's collections Ghesquire appropriated for that collection. His work in the late 30's and throughout the 40's was pretty much on par with what other designers were doing (although still immaculately made).

 

[AGiles]

This collection was really the first time he's ever done that. He had only been given unfettered access to the archives a couple of years ago. And to be honest, he HAD to do it. I'm pretty sure it was a tactic to reintroduce the brand's heritage which had been all but lost. It's easy to be distracted by the iconic skirt/suit redux but look at the other garments, the pants, the shoes, the slimmer jackets. That's all Ghesquire, that's what women actually wear. He didn't copy verbatim the infamous suit Balenciaga orginally made for Carmen Snow. I've handled one of those suits, they are quite different from what I saw on the racks at Jeffrey's. If anything I credit him for taking an obscure and challenging silhouette and pushing it forward.

As for S/S 07, there's a lot of things going on it. I can't say I like it all either. I see Courreges, I see Miyake, Galanos perhaps. There's also a japanese shogun vibe as well as (to me) late 90's Gucci. I can't say I'm in love but the more I see it off the runway the less doubt I have.

And by the way, Cristobal Balenciaga's early work looks nothing like the 50's collections Ghesquire appropriated for that collection. His work in the late 30's and throughout the 40's was pretty much on par with what other designers were doing (although still immaculately made).

Balenciaga Was know for his ablity to control volumes. the AW collection came from the period in the last 50's early 60s when he was mentoring Hubert De Givenchy and when he abruptly closed his couture house. do your homework there was nothing original about that collection except the shoes.
we can fight about this all day but the fact of the matter is. Anna Wintour supports him so he will be constantly praised even when he copies or does less that Great work like mark Jacobs.

 

[Spiral1532]

Versace's 80's collections were amazing because the put Italian baroque in a new context.

I particularly loved Versace's collections from the years 1990-1992. I have a hard time picking a favorite collection from those years because I loved all of them. I remember watching one of Versace's collections in October 1990, and I was completely floored by what I saw. The colors, the cuts, the embroideries, the prints, etc.
Gianni was an absolute genius. And his over-the-top designs were just right for the times. Fashion back in those days was mostly about excess and flamboyance. And Gianni's creations epitomized that. I remember hearing him say that he liked to "paint and tattoo women" with his creations.

And I loved the fact that he often used Byzantine imagery in his prints and in his embroideries during that period.

It was during that period that the Versace "empire" of fashion was at its height.

europaeuropa.pl

 

[Salvatore]

^
THAT"S the Versace I know! Beautiful!

 

[Mutterlein]

Balenciaga Was know for his ablity to control volumes. the AW collection came from the period in the last 50's early 60s when he was mentoring Hubert De Givenchy and when he abruptly closed his couture house. do your homework there was nothing original about that collection except the shoes.
we can fight about this all day but the fact of the matter is. Anna Wintour supports him so he will be constantly praised even when he copies or does less that Great work like mark Jacobs.

You're not saying anything contradictory or anything I didn't already know. I don't want this to be a contest of who knows more but for the record: The 3/4 length raglan sleeved, sloped shouldered, flared waist, with a slightly shorter hem jacket, which Ghesquire used extensively, was orginally created for Carmen Snow in the mid 50's and then later became a staple of Balenciaga's collections (and of many other designers) well into the 60's. It was dubbed by her as "The greatest suit of our time". Pretty appropriate that Ghesquire would remake it eh? Except his suit came with a hiked hem on the skirt. The resulting shape is pretty orginal. You have the series of "flou" dresses towards the end of the show with the sashes extending from the shoulders, I don't think Cristobal came up with those. Then there are the black riding jackets, and the slim pant, and of course the shoes. I see a lot of Ghesquire in the collection.

I don't think Ghesquire's repeated use of that jacket automatically reduces his body of work to mere copying. I'm merely playing devils advocate. I don't actually disagree with you. But I think to call it copying is to totally ignore the retail reality of the collection. It wasn't sold or bought to be worn as styled on the runway. I think Ghesquire was aware of this, the buyers were too.

My point about the 30's and 40's was that it's about 1 and a 1/2 decades of collections where Balenciaga DIDN'T do all of the volume experimentations we are all familiar with. THAT is his early work.

 

[sergio lessa]

I think Viktor and Rolf 2002 spring should not be forgotten (can anyone tell me how to put a picture in here?)
It was very nice, sofisticated and the same time, innovative.

 

[sergio lessa]

I think Viktor and Rolf 2pp2 spring should not be forgotten (can anyone tell me how to put a picture in here?)

 

[AGiles]

You're not saying anything contradictory or anything I didn't already know. I don't want this to be a contest of who knows more but for the record: The 3/4 length raglan sleeved, sloped shouldered, flared waist, with a slightly shorter hem jacket, which Ghesquire used extensively, was orginally created for Carmen Snow in the mid 50's and then later became a staple of Balenciaga's collections (and of many other designers) well into the 60's. It was dubbed by her as "The greatest suit of our time". Pretty appropriate that Ghesquire would remake it eh? Except his suit came with a hiked hem on the skirt. The resulting shape is pretty orginal. You have the series of "flou" dresses towards the end of the show with the sashes extending from the shoulders, I don't think Cristobal came up with those. Then there are the black riding jackets, and the slim pant, and of course the shoes. I see a lot of Ghesquire in the collection.

I don't think Ghesquire's repeated use of that jacket automatically reduces his body of work to mere copying. I'm merely playing devils advocate. I don't actually disagree with you. But I think to call it copying is to totally ignore the retail reality of the collection. It wasn't sold or bought to be worn as styled on the runway. I think Ghesquire was aware of this, the buyers were too.

My point about the 30's and 40's was that it's about 1 and a 1/2 decades of collections where Balenciaga DIDN'T do all of the volume experimentations we are all familiar with. THAT is his early work.

We are fighting over a mute point the concepts for many of those
Voluminous Skirts littered the Last Couture shows of that house.
things like look 18 in the show were totally Ghesquire. but i can praise someone for dipping into the Archives that heavly.

 

[Dylan.]

does debating balenciaga
turn anyone else on???

 

[PrinceOfCats]

I am Very Familar with Cristibal balenciaga's early work.

Sadly you're not so familiar with his name though.

(Sorry, had to be done.)

 

[jun3machina]

what tom ford did for YSL rive gauche spring 2003 brough tears to my eyes when i got to touch the jackets in italy. hand quilted with french seams all in silk charmeus...................LOVEEEEEEEEE (pics from style.com)

 

[AGiles]

Sadly you're not so familiar with his name though.

(Sorry, had to be done.)

that was just a mistype o and i are next to each other.