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10 International Herald Tribune
Wednesday, Februar y 27, 2008
The medium is the message
From Page 9
The symbolic refusal overwhelmed the show and
wiped out any of the none too strong creativity sug-
gested by a vaguely 1980s silhouette with a sporty
vibe. Think blouson tailoring and tab-fastened puffa
boots.
‘‘It’s a glamorous protest — no to fast fashion; no to
stitching. We think it’s a sexy attitude to say no,’’ sa id
Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren backstage, refer-
ring to the fact that outfits were often made with
staples, rather than seams, and the tiny strips of gil-
ded metal formed patterns at the hem and, maybe,
held things together.
But what is there to say about the show of a design
duo who seem to be growing their business but not
their talent? There were some quite nice coats with
ample top halves. Take away the staples and the ‘‘No!’’
and they could have been anyone’s. ‘‘Wow!’’ said a
chubby fur coat that would not have wowed you for
any other reason.
Although the designers have a certain bold sporti-
ness in a billowing shirt and pants, to see this as a
powerful collection worthy of a Paris runway is best
summed up in two words that also appeared among
the Victor & Rolf messages: ‘‘Dream On.’’
‘G eometric sculpture,’’ said Junya Watanabe to
sum up the essence of a show in which jersey
swooped and draped across the body, binding arms
but never caging them and leaving the body free to
move among the folds.
The designer could equally have said ‘‘sweet
seren ity,’’ for there was a calm and a charm about his
work that belied its strange, masking headgear. Faces
were veiled, as headpieces rose like manic bee hives
with lumps and bumps inside.
Why, with all that going on, did the show seem so
graceful? It was partly the gentle music, so different
from Watanabe’s more aggressive versions of rock ’n’
roll. But also because the flow of the show was from
the more challenging to the most wearable. That was
not just because the heads were finally uncovered,
except for little turbans topping dresses with flowers
splattered on the dark ground. The designer moved
gently from the soft jersey to relatively firm tailoring
but always keeping a sense of drape.
It was as if Watanabe had studied the pieces of a
modern wardrobe and adapted them delicately, yet
thoughtfully: a pantsuit — the jacket with a cape back,
freeing those pinioned arms, and with pant-skirts
that were a swathe of fabric divided just above the
ankles. Other jersey jackets, with bold buttons or a
sunray-pleated top above thicker folds were subtle
variations on the overall idea. The sense of the show
was of living sculptures, in which classical drapery
was given a modernist purpose.
ingaro — that’s how I got to horses,’’ said a
‘Z merry Yohji Yamamoto backstage, referring to
the equestrian theater. He was talking after his joyful
collection, in which his own soulful voice and guitar
TAO
www.cartier.com
Fashion
Feminine schizophrenia
n Vandevorst and Filip Arickx, the
was on the soundtrack and the soft core of the collec-
tion was leather. The skins spread across the signa-
A husband-and-wife team that is behind
the A. F. Vandevorst brand, were in a cel-
ture full skirts, the leather shaped into snug jackets, ebratory mood at their fall/winter show.
and more often it formed just a part — back, front or And so they should be — the show not
side — of an outfit, as if he were using leather as only marked the 10-year anniversary for
brush strokes to change the texture and architecture the house, it also was a strong collection
of his designs. with pieces that kept well to the brand’s
The show culminated in a collaboration with Her- DNA.
mès — the first the esteemed luxury house has ever Speaking after the show, Arickx talked
done with a designer — to produce the ‘‘Yohji’’ bag, about how there is a duality in women, a
flat, sleek and unveiled, as only the designer could, in schizophrenia (“in a good way”) about
an upscale strip show. The purse appeared first them, that the designers wanted to express
covered by a nylon bag, then half visible and finally in the collection. What this meant in
revealed in all its glory by a posse of models. terms of clothing was channeling the
A hint of the horsy world of Hermès had come with power of men’s suiting into strong, yet still
a print of stallions galloping across the hem of a long feminine, women’s wear. Shirt cuffs with
skirt (this season with a rouleau at the hips) and with buttonholes stretched up the arms or be-
the signature Hermès orange for boots and tunics. But came fitted cuffs on pants. Skirts and
this show was so delicately done that nothing — from simple shirt dresses were constructed
the asymmetrically cut leathers with ragged edges to from slices of classic men’s shirting. And
the mannish tailoring in checked tweeds, with a tiny long, chunky boyfriend cardigans were
shoulder cape — seemed out of sync with the design- piled high with extra-thick scarves.
er’s aesthetic. Even the sudden surge of bright color, The schizophrenic aspect of the show
mixing a royal-blue top and grass-green skirt, fitted was translated into coats that were split in
seamlessly into this fine and spirited show. two and held together on the body by but-
tons down the front and back; puffa jackets
or 20 years Martin Margiela has produced power- with sections of the arms missing (turning
F ful and exceptional fashion shows: clothes
shrouded in dry cleaning plastic presented in a Paris
the sleeves into long mittens) and restric-
tive capes that would straitjacket any at-
housing project; the birth of recycling among Salva- tempts at arm movement.
tion Army bric-a-brac; black and white versions of the — Jessica Michault AF VANDEVORST
same show in light and candlelight; photo prints of
clothes with lived-in wrinkles; and, more recently,
flickerings of sex and skin.
Behind the Belgian designer’s creative impulses
for Maison Martin Margiela was an unbroken
thread of normality reinterpreted, and that quirky
classicism is the soul of the brand. So what to make of
A Hermès moment
the fall/winter collection that was shown in the most
regular way on a circular runway but seemed to be
based on weird pastiches of what Margiela stands
for?
There were giant neck braces (a hint of Viktor &
Rolf here) that ringed sweaters, grew from jackets and
were even covered with appliquéd daisies. At the
heart of the collection was half a dress, a fluid draped
jersey garment that could claim to be the ‘‘new T-
sh ir t’’ to be pulled over a pair of jeans — a lthough
Margiela showed them over a series of body suits in
fishnet or in animal prints. A hybrid of pant and skirt, MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA
covering just one leg, was an alternative. The ‘‘clas- Photographs by Chris Moore/Karl Prouse
sics’’ of the collection had moved to accessories,
which meant python boots (yet with no signature
Margiela cut-out toes) and squishy clutch bags that
looked like a stab at luxe.
The show was a puzzle and seemed out of charac-
ter. But perhaps Margiela is readying himself for the
20th-anniversary celebrations that Renzo Rosso of
Diesel, which bought the brand in 2002, says will take
place in October.
hen is a puffa jacket not a puffa? When it is
W freshly interpreted by Jun Takahashi of Under-
cover. His presentation had a touch of magical real-
ism in its artful simplicity, as models were displayed
in revolving tableaux before walking forward to
show what the Japanese designer could do with a
leather biker jacket, a fleece tailored into a tunic or a
zippered blouson blown up to cover from neck to
ca lves.
Takahashi called his faux sportswear ‘‘Unrea lrea l-
clothes,’’ which was a neat way of expressing how his
romantic imagination could alter the image of a nylon
zippered jacket by planting a long-stemmed metallic
rose at the breast, or make pants seem feminine by
giving them a ballooning lightness controlled with Chris Moore/Karl Prouse; Mike Blake/Reuters
herringbone tucks. From the fresh colors, like tur-
quoise and yellow, inserted in padded jackets, the de- his is a Hermès moment.
signer’s collection was energetic and imaginative,
and it seems to be growing with each season.
T When Yohji Yamamoto
sent out a sleek new bag as the
first collaboration that Hermès
he messages from Tao, the second designer, after has ever done with a designer,
T Watanabe, from the Comme des Garçons stable
to show on Tuesday, were written on the cheeks of the
it crowned the moment for the
Paris fashion house famed for
sweet-faced models. its whisper-quiet luxury.
‘‘Be inspired’’ read the neat letters. ‘‘Be aware.’’ Or While other brands try to
‘‘Big hugs.’’ Those messages seemed like signs and push themselves forward, at
symbols of a sorority of sisters, as did the cute knits Hermès, the process seems to
with frills, bows and matching romper shorts. have been effortless: first,
The show opened with shiny silver flowers appli- Angelina Jolie wearing one of
quéd on dresses, the look defined by Tao’s overall Jean Paul Gaultier’s floaty
message: ‘‘glittering fantasy.’’ The silver gave a touch dresses for the Screen Actors
of wizardry to the clothes, with a faint echo of the Guild Awards in the United
same feeling in knitted hats that rose to a point, mak- States, then, Brittany Murphy
ing the models look like pretty witches on their first donning a leather cap and
dates. boasting to the front row that it
The show could have been sugary. But through it was a Hermès piece.
ran an unfinished vibe, with threads dangling free or And finally the big moment:
forming spider webs of sleeves on arms or at the Carla Bruni tied the knot in an
shoulders. The designer has found a voice and it is as Hermès dress, giving the
sweet as bird song, without missing the cool vibe that (Bruni) Ben Curtis/AP; Carlo Allegri/Reuters stamp of the first lady of
gives a fresh interpretation to fashion’s girlish France and sending the
drea ms. Clockwise from above, Carla Bruni; reputation of Hermès off at a
Brittany Murphy in a Hermès cap; the soaring gallop.
Suzy Menkes is fashion editor at the International new Yamamoto bag and Angelina Jolie. — Suzy Menkes
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