Holiday season is quickly approaching – along with snow, endless Christmas parties & holiday baking – and a pop of red is the perfect hue to make a big impact in the simplest way. Sheer silk brings a bit of femininity and the leather combination keeps the look edgy (and warm in the brisk Vancouver air!).
silk top: Le Fou by Wilfred at Aritzia / bag: Chanel / shoes: Valentino / jacket: All Saints
photos: Sasha Honey
Paris Fashion Week: some may call it the crème de la crème, the cream of the crop, the best of the best of what is Fashion Month…But i’d rather call it the grand finale.
Now I agree to the extent of seeing it as something otherworldly, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the designers who show during Paris Fashion Week are more talented than the rest – I mean would Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs (both hailing from New York) have been chosen to design for Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton if they weren’t as talented as the Parisian founders themselves or their present-day colleagues/rivals? I don’t think so. — Not to mention German Kaiser Karl at Chanel and the spectacular visions of Belgian Raf Simons at chéz Dior.
I do tend to favour Paris over the others, though. New York may be my favourite in terms of having the edgiest, most wearable clothes out there; London may be in its prime for prints and futuristic looks for those who have luxury of never feeling out of place wearing just about anything whilst strutting upon the London streets; and Milan I feel is exciting and outrageous with a sense of beautiful traditionality and decadence within the collections, whilst always pushing the limits and surprising its audiences.
Paris is a combination of the best aspects of all three aformentioned cities but it has something more. It has this lure of luxury to it, with clothes definitely unattainable on my current income, or lack thereof (at least for the moment!), but which I find myself lusting after and can only dream of wearing one day. It just so happens that I spend the most time memorising the looks of every Paris show over the others to see how and where I can slightly alter my wardrobe every season to encompass just some of that Parisian je ne sais quoi so present in the collections.
So again, I think it’s more of a personal thing for me as to why i’ve chosen to favour Paris over New York, Milan and London – the imaginative aspect of it (and much of my childhood spent daydreaming of Chanel handbags and having my sketches inspired by Giambattista Valli gowns!) captures my heart and soul that I just can’t seem to look away.
Therefore, here are some of my favourite shows — let’s call it an ‘ode‘ to the grande finale that is Paris Fashion Week.
From top to bottom: Valentino, Dior, Giambattista Valli, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Céline, Chloé, Balmain
Photos: vogue.com; style.com
It was a bouquet of flowers á la Valentino by Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri — romantic & girly, légère & luxurious, and yet refreshingly different compared to the other couture shows.
Consistencies of feminine floral patterns on layered chiffon, and heavy silks & satins with prim & proper silhouettes, gave us a “Jane Eyre-esque” vibe with the high Victorian necks and long sleeves.
The collection evoked an element of couture modernity with white woollen trousers (very wearable and rather informal for traditional couture!) and had with it a sense of understated sexiness (you know that’s my favourite!), ending the show with lace covered in embellishments of pearls and crystals – showing some skin yet keeping things hidden underneath sheer fabrics.
Vintage shoes in matching florals topped it all off and the models looked so fresh, simple and elegant with that one flick of winged kohl, lining just the outer edges of the eyes whilst keeping the rest of the face neutral — always one of my most favourite couture shows — it never fails to impress, astonish, or leave us fantasising in awe…
Karen Pedaru never fails in her model off-duty styles. Effortless, elegant, simple. The studded Valentino heels are stunning & give a rocker-edge to seamlessly soft and feminine contrasts.
FASHIONEEKA. 