Theyskens' Theory S/S 11 New York

[ari94]

I actually really like this collection and what Oliver did. You know that it is Theory but has the edgier aesthetic to it. Its simple and wearable but still has a wow factor to it. Of course bringing in a designer like him to work for Theory you will expect a rise in prices to that certain collection. 30-40% seems a little steep, but I think it will still be affordable.

 

[MUXU]

i like that they are simple straight forward clothes i would actually wear.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Very hip downtown vibe; as Liz Lemon might say "I want to go to there."

Seriously salable, cool and easy clothes - this will be a sure buy. And put me on the waitlist for the red wedges!

 

[softgrey]

am i the only one who thinks those waistbands are woefully low...?

.....

 

[Amywilliams]

I looooove this!
I would wear pretty much every look here, the pants are so great!

 

[agee]

I am not too crazy about it appearing that Theysken's Theory Girl is an emo-**edit- pls see tFS guidelines*** but having said that I really like the clothes. I thought that Costa's Calvin Klein's minimalism was blah, but I like how here there's energy in spite of the dour styling and posture and even though I am looking at still photos the movement and ease are apparent.

 

[Machinegumm]

(Could someone delete post #32, please? The thumbnails I posted don't seem to work. :/)
I'll try this again. Some of the pieces from different angles:


joe zee's twitter


purplediary


acuratedlife.tumblr.com

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

"cool" ?

He can,and HE DID, better than this....

 

[tricotineacetat]

"cool" ?

He can,and HE DID, better than this....

Isn't it a bit too easy to compare this present Theory collaboration to his previous work at Rochas and Nina Ricci, knowing that he has had two couture ateliers (flou and tailleur) working directly after his sketches and nearly no limitations concerning the price of the final garments? Theory is an industrialized company and it was to be expected that within the frame work of their synergies, it would not make sense to have him design clothes that are unsuitable for larger scale production.

Having said that, it's nice seeing Olivier's vocabulary clearly distilled to what is essentially wearable and adaptable to a wider range of people than those that can afford 2000€ demi couture jackets. These clothes appear as being honest, wearable, functional on a daily basis and that's a welcome surprise after a rather uncomfortable tenure at Nina Ricci in which people forgot that he was capable of more than conjuring a runway fantasy.

 

[agee]

Olivier Theyskens did wearable clothes at Nina Ricci and this collection is in line with those clothes, and while I don't have a problem with it, some may consider it downright repetitive. You can see common threads between Olivier Theyskens for Theory clothes and some of his Nina Ricci stuff including items in the hoof shoes and fishtail collections.

 

[ElleRHarris]

I don't really know about Theysken's history. However these fits seem very comfortable. Staples to an easy going outfit that are equally as striking. In the outfits that the heels were shown they gave them an added edge. However, I don't feel as though any article of clothing should be well over $150. A small feeling of 90s nostalgia comes to me (the wide bottom pants & midriff) as I view these but still not worth high fashion prices in my opinion.

 

[hautechild]

Wasn't sure whether best to put this here or in Theysken's thread

Olivier Theyskens's Theory of relativity: High standards at a lower price


SEASON OF CHANGE: After attracting attention (if not sales) during his tenures at Rochas and Nina Ricci, Olivier Theyskens is back in the fashion world with a spring collection for Theory.

By Robin Givhan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 26, 2010
NEW YORK

The designer Olivier Theyskens was once a highly touted wunderkind in Paris's high fashion circles. He attracted Madonna with his darkly romantic -- and vaguely unsettling -- signature collection and then dazzled editors with his work for Rochas and Nina Ricci. Throughout his tenure at both venerable houses, he displayed little interest in the commercial side of the fashion business. He pursued beauty at its loftiest level. So what if that meant his ready-to-wear evening gowns regularly cost more than $20,000 and the customers didn't even get to brag about their multiple fittings in a couture salon?

Well, what happened is that while pieces from both labels were featured in a multitude of glossy style magazines, few women bought the exquisite clothes. And Theyskens was soon out of a job. Twice.

But for spring 2011, he has returned to the fashion world under the umbrella of Theory, the mid-priced department store line that is known for its well-fitting -- if one does not happen to have noticeable hips -- trousers, its urbane attitude and its ability to please many customers while exciting very few of them.

This may be Theyskens's wisest move yet; it's certainly a coup for Theory. And it makes one chuckle at the way in which the high-end fashion industry has defined itself as an art form distinguished by both creativity and quality -- and thus worth its vertiginous prices. All fashion has a healthy padding of profit, but there was also the idea that tucked into that expanse was a lush creativity that simply could not blossom at lower price points. Artists needed resources and resources cost money. It seemed logical enough.

Theyskens's new gig takes the wind out of that fashion philosophy, maybe once and for all.

Unlike acclaimed designers who dabbled in disposable fashion for companies such as H&M, Theyskens didn't water down his sensibility into a capsule collection meant to give customers access to his name while still preserving the integrity of a more highfalutin brand. Theyskens' Theory -- as the collection is called -- is his point of view. It retains the vaguely Gothic tone of his signature line. It has the romance of Rochas. And it has the sportswear mentality and melancholy of Nina Ricci.

It also fits comfortably with the broader Theory brand. It is designed with longevity -- not fads -- in mind. No, there are no glorious fantasy ball gowns but, frankly, the only time those ever saw daylight -- or twilight -- was when they were borrowed by a starlet or other boldface name.

Theyskens, who is Belgian by birth, now divides his time between Paris and New York. And he was on hand this month, on the rooftop of Theory's Meatpacking District headquarters, to introduce his full-blown collection of about 100 pieces that includes ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and jewelry.

The jackets have notches cut out of the back of the collars, as if they were too constricting and the wearer, growing irritated with the constant struggle to be comfortable, just took a pair of scissors to them. The trousers sit on the hips and are full and fluid. Blouses have extra-wide buttonless cuffs and are constructed so that the front can be smoothly tucked into a pair of trousers while the tail hangs out. As for pricing, a purple, double-layered slip dress will cost about $690. That's not cheap, but it's far more commercially viable than the $4,000 dresses he was making for the French labels.

After leaving Nina Ricci, Theyskens said he felt disengaged from the luxury business. He wanted to create something for all the young women "who want to buy my clothes" but could not. He also admitted that he's not one to revel -- at least not now -- in disposable fashion. "I don't like things that are cheap," says Theyskens, whose long black hair hangs just past his shoulders and whose manner is soft-spoken but firm.

Theory has allowed him to obsess about fit -- he works on the patterns himself -- and he's also been able to use some of the same fabric mills that he'd grown accustomed to. (With a large company like Theory behind him, he has the cost benefits of volume, even as he crafts a relatively niche product.)

The result are clothes that seem perfectly well-made but do not cost a fortune.

Which leaves one to wonder: In fashion, why does cost seem to be only tangentially related to quality -- both in execution and imagination? It may be that the industry has reached a leveling-off point at which improvements in garments are so incremental that they're not worth the added cost, unless one is willing to drift into the realm of couture or the world of Chado Ralph Rucci where even a cotton poplin dress can set one back several thousand dollars -- but looks like it's worth a million bucks.

One of the problems that plagued New York's Fashion Week was that so many of the garments on the runway could easily be knocked off, save for a few labels such as Proenza Schouler and Rodarte, where fabrics were exquisitely crafted; Michael Kors, where fabrics were beautifully manipulated; and Calvin Klein, where silhouettes were balanced down to the millimeter. Most everything else could be re-created for much less than designer prices.

Theyskens doesn't just prove that a lovely sweater can be had for $300 instead of $800. The savvy shopper already knows that. He proves that his estimable creativity doesn't suffer when a dress can cost $600 instead of $6,000. There's nothing grasping, insecure or painfully derivative in the clothes. They are interesting -- and that's saying a lot this season. Theyskens shows that creativity can blossom at every level of fashion. And when it doesn't, that's not a failure of a company's financial investment, it's a failure of a designer's imagination.

LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE

 

[Halcyon]

Does anyone have an idea of when this will hit stores?

 

[scrubb]

i really love this.

 

[farou7a]

love it love it love it!
simple but chic!

less is more!

 

[tricotineacetat]

am i the only one who thinks those waistbands are woefully low...?

.....

I saw this in the showroom and part of the reason why some of these pants and skirts appear very low rise is due to the fact that the sample sizing ran larger than how Olivier would fit them on his runway models. All the skirts and pants therefor fit a size too large in the images you see here.

Due to exclusivity rights with another online retailer, for the first season, I am not allowed to openly publish images from the showroom. Anyone interested in the collection can ask me on any questions on the pieces though, which shall be delivered to stores starting in mid January... the store I am buying for will sell this with a pretty well-stocked selection.

 

[softgrey]

thanks for explaining about the low waist...sizing issue...
seems kind of odd, in light of the fact that so many of the articles/reports go on and on about the fit of the clothes and how hard Theyskens worked to perfect it...

 

[softgrey]

so how is the sizing in general...
does it run long and narrow, the way it appears to?
is it on the small side?

 

[tricotineacetat]

I think it runs true to Theory's usual sizing - this being the first season, they had some difficulties as Olivier apparently worked on the patterns based on French sizing and they did the fitting of the clothes afterwards, based on Theory sizing charts... It's been a bit messed up, as the jackets were all labeled a size 38 French, but were running closer to Rochas production (not runway) size 36.

Pants/jeans run a bit larger, particularly those that come in inch sizing (about one inch larger than from labels such as Acne that run small/true to size). The large pleat trousers are meant to be worn baggy so maybe that also results in rather large waist sizes...?!

Personally, I found the collection had some lovely pieces that, if styled correctly would sit perfectly in your closet, Softgrey. I couldn't be bothered by all those pieces that fall more towards the dreamy wood nymph style he went for at Ricci, but there were also great jackets, shirts and easy pants/dresses with Olivier's hand all over them in terms of the cut and proportion. They have the ease of Ann Demeulemeester's clothes with a healthy dose of Parisian chic, which I liked.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Trousers and (long) skirt lengths will probably come out long in production. Which is fine, since I guess, as with good menswear, you can always hem them to whatever length you require.