Gory Girl Fashion

Paris Fashion - 2010 Fall

YSL

Stefano Pilati categorically denied there was any religious symbolism in his Fall show. Nevertheless, the sober caped black forms, wimplelike head coverings, starched white cotton, hoods, and heavy chain pendants gave a nunlike impression. Granted, it wasn't literal, but there was something of the Catholic convent in the high white dog collar on a suit, the yoked white blouse with full sleeves, the prim and modest mid-calf dresses-and the way a cardinal purple cape made an appearance at one point. Even when a sheer black dress came out, there was a cross to bare beneath it: underwear formed as a cruciform bodysuit.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney's show began with a fake recording of Tiger Woods' alleged call to his mistress, the one in which he asks her to remove her name from her voicemail because his wife has found her number on his phone. Things ended, as usual, with a Beatles song; this season it was "Mother Nature's Son." They made for perplexing, if thought-provoking, bookends to a collection of daywear that for the most part looked tailor-made not for celebrity groupies but for the smart, powerful businesswoman. It was clean, polished, and chic-three buzzwords of the season.

John Galliano

If you felt like you'd seen it all before at John Galliano, it's because you did. At least in some ways: A year ago, he sent out a parade of Russian/Balkan folkloric princesses; this season, as his program explained, "a tribe of adventuring nomads" trekked "through a mountainous terrain, crossing imaginary borders in search of a new land." Last March, there was fake snow; today, his bronzed, bewigged, and behatted models walked through a blizzard of silver glitter. There were some striking similarities between the two collections' clothes, too, starting with the very first pannier-skirted caban coat.

Costume National

Ah, Costume National: the label where hems must be high and leather isn't so much an option as a staple. There is nothing wrong with this kind of molto-sexy-with-a-tough-edge signature style-after all, it's far better than the brand having no style at all. But you sometimes suspect that designer Ennio Capasa and his label would be better served by showing the collection at home in molto sexy Milano as opposed to très chic Paris, where the show can come across like a thigh-high boot accidentally placed in the kitten-heel section of a shoe store.

Ann Demeulemeester

Over the past several seasons, Ann Demeulemeester has become just as known for her tough-as-nails, yet subersively-sexy, footwear as her androgynously-chic ready-to-wear. Her lace-up sandal boot has been worn obsessively by Sarah Jessica Parker, models, and editors, and copied the world over . For her fall 2010 collection, the designer showed heavy masculine boots in both black and red. The clunky wedge style added weight to pantsuits and a bit of borrowed-from-the-boys charm to dresses. Leave it to Demeulemeester to design the perfect day-to-night fall boot.

Christian Dior

Galliano's longtime favorite eighteenth-century redingote shapes, hacking jackets, and jodhpurs, interspersed with many more of the little chiffon dresses. The collection was equestrian-themed with plenty of leather and thigh high boots. I'm not sure I liked the pairing of boots with all the romantic and soft frilly dresses but I see where he was going with it all.

Issey Miyake

There's always been as much science as there is art in an Issey Miyake collection. Dai Fujiwara consolidated the connection with Fall's offering, inspired by the revolutionary mathematician William Thurston's geometric models for the shape of the universe. As abstract as that sounds, the result was an often breathtaking evolution of last season's rainbow-nation tribalism. After the show, Fujiwara and Thurston wrapped themselves for the press in a long stretch of red tubing to make the point that something that looks random is actually (according to Thurston) 'beautiful geometry.'

Balenciaga

Cosmonauts and seventies Formica. Packaging and food boxes. Synthetic foam and plywood. Sleeping bags and biscuits. "I was working on something domestic. Casual things mixed with classic. And a kind of rigidity," said Nicolas Ghesquière, listing some of the extraordinary imagery and manipulations of materials and color that went into Balenciaga's computer-age vision of couture.

Geometric, collaged, stiff yet rounded, and composed of zones of matte and shine, with cashmere dimpled to look like industrial foam and fur shaved into quilting, the components of the first coats alone were difficult enough to absorb at a glance.

Balmain

This season, he's gone Baroque 'n' roll, with a Balmain outing pitched somewhere between Prince's Purple Rain pomp and Louis XIV at Versailles. Gold, brocade, frock coats, Louis-heeled ribbon-laced boots, sequin and lamé dresses galore: Decarnin went for it.

Clever move, on lots of levels. For one thing, shifting Balmain away from the distressed MASH-militaria of summer to a classier, dressier theme puts this notoriously expensive collection on a path where the value of the original can be clearly distinguished from the cheap knockoff.

Lanvin

Before his show, Elbaz reeled off the loops he'd put himself through to get there: "Women ask for masculine tailoring, but they want to feel fragile. They want daywear, but buy evening. I designed a whole lot of draped things, but then it looked like too much. An overdose of fashion." His change of heart came on returning to the studio after a meeting at the U.N. to learn about a role he is about to take up as a UNICEF ambassador. It cleared his mind to work on plain, molded city clothes on the one hand, and made him think about Africa, his birthplace, on the other.

Pedro Lourenco

Here's one that made Paris fashion sit upright on its little gold chairs: Brazilian designer Pedro Lourenco sending out a precociously accomplished, startlingly directional collection at the age of 19. Perhaps it was the power of public relations firm KCD, the endorsement of stylist Brana Wolf, and sheer incredulity over talk of the latest teen in fashion that brought a stellar professional front row to the Westin Hotel at 8 pm, but the skeptics who walked in walked out genuinely amazed.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Gaultier is always working some sort of wacky theme. But the general gist - that the world is flat, and how we dress now is an ever-changing series of mash-ups - was pretty spot-on.

Subtract the gimmicky shoes and the costumey hats and, as usual, there were some fantastic clothes here.

The expertly cut Gaultier trench showed up in many different guises: shrunken and cropped at the hip, cutaway at the thighs in front and trailing a long hem, or in black with a kimono-silk lining. At one end of the colorful spectrum was a louche smoking jacket, and, at the other, cozy-chic knits and some casually luxe furs. The protesters gathered in force outside would've booed loudly at the fur-trimmed backpack Gaultier borrowed from Sasha Pivovarova for his photo op.

On the three-cheers side: He deserves props for the most diverse casting of Paris fashion week.

New York Fashion - 2010
Ready-To-Wear

With so many designers to choose from I thought I would showcase just a few.

Donna Karen

Black is back apparently and that's about all she did for this collection. EVERYTHING is black with a few drab blues mixed in. Her label turns 25 this year and she sticks to what she knows and still does it well.

I like to be wowed so it didn't really work for me but there is some really nice gowns in this collection and she pulled her usual front row suspects like Susan Surandon and Brooke Shields.

Carolina Herrera

She does Luxe so well and her gowns always look beautiful. There were puffy one shoulder dresses along with statement Jackets and Coats. She aims for the older women with her camel cashmere looks that are done to perfection.

Marc Jacobs

The consistency of Marc Jacobs is always there and evident and although some may say he plays it safe I say he gives his fashion stalkers who love him exactly what the want - easy going and comfortable clothes.

He, as well as the ones who wear him, love what he has to say and I for one love some of his pieces. I can not pull off the more frumpy look like Mary Kate or Ashley but the more fitted pieces I enjoy.

Monique Lhuillier

She has proven to corner the market on special occasion dresses and LA loves her for it. She does the red carpet well and always seems to find a new way to show off the curves. I have always been a fan of her 2 piece suits, they always seem to fit like a glove and she always tries to add a bit of youth to a tailored and classy look.

Nanett Lepore

Romantic clothing is what I think of when I think of Nanett Lepore. She always seems to keep with the trends while keeping the clothes fun and carefree. Women looking for price friendly variations on falls top looks will have plenty to choose from.

I think at times the velvety draping looked a little heavy but everyone loves the luxe of a little velvet here and there.

Michael Kors

No one does it like Kors can do it. The fall looks in his collections are most certainly going to become timeless pieces. His sexy cashmere sweaters and jersey gowns are sure to please women of all sizes. He has a gift of making things luxe without trying to hard. That makes most of this collection easy to love.

Men have a lot to be excited about with this collection as well - the possibilities are endless!

Elie Tahari

"My inspiration was a woman traveling the world in style," Elie Tahari said, "like Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express."

The Israeli-born designer has built a sizable global brand with his polished, just-trendy-enough separates that work equally well in Dallas or Dubai. These are such easy pieces to go from the office to drinks with little effort. The price point is fabulous and that makes for a happy up and coming business women of all ages.

Narcisco Rodrigues

Narcisco describes his new Fall line as "beautiful curved lines and shadows".

He sent out dramatic oversized coats and eye grabbing dresses. His clothes know how to hug the curves of your body. His lines are well thought out and graceful as some of his dresses show hints of collar bone. The brick red color of a few of the pieces will surely stand out on the racks.

London & Milan 2010 - Fall Ready to Wear

D&G

This Fall collection looks forward to a trip to the Swiss Alps - it's a ski extravaganza!

Reindeer cable knots and big furry boots were all a bit over the top and let's face it, if the model who weighs all of 80lbs looks chunky in it, what will it do for us?

There were, however, some really nice pieces that I can actually see myself in. But I won't be buying up a whole lot in this collection. A sweater perhaps, in that ever so fantastic woodsy pattern.

Basso & Brooke (London)

I'm not sure as to where I am even able to purchase some of this collection but, boy, would I like to!

Some of the patterns are amazing and interesting to say the least. Bruno Basso and Christopher Brooke's search for inspiration took them on a two-week trip down the ancient Silk Road to fabled Samarkand, where East originally met West a millennia ago.

Just Cavalli

To layer or not to layer? Well in this case NOT! Most of this collection was not even wearable as a separate, let alone all together.

The models looked huge and all bulked up, there were a few outfits that were on the tame side but over all, wow...this was a mess.

Christopher Kane (London)

Well this is one designer that disappointed me for Fall. Everything was black, embroidered with loud colored flowers and had black lace somewhere...

THE ENTIRE COLLECTION!

It was over kill in my personal opinion, I don't mind a bit of embroidery or even a bit of lace but it was all one note stuff and after the 3rd or 4th outfit I was bored.

Mary Katrantzou (London)

Known for her sharp angles, geometric prints, Katrantzou (a print and textile expert), has been at the forefront of inventing a new visual style with her fabrics.

This Fall she did something a little more extravagant and I have to say I liked it. I have always admired how she can use a print to shape and show the curves of your body.

The Fall line is Interesting and when you wear it you can be confident that the same dress will not be being worn by everyone.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label (London)

There aren't many other designers who could dress the Queen Mother and Pixie Geldof from the same collection. For the billions of women who aren't either of those individuals, standout items included some beautifully cut coats; some simple, chic shirt-dresses and t-shirts that read 'love and respect to mother earth'.

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Just one more way Dame Viv gets her global climate change message out.

Alberta Ferretti

This is a beautiful and feminine collection. The coats had a fit and flair silhouette that shaped the body in the way you would want a coat to. The long dresses were stunning and will be sure to please if they make it to the Oscar red carpet.

Barely there colors and jeweled necklines are sure to please for any special night out.

Emillo Pucci

This was a very dark season for Pucci and it looks fabulous.

"I wanted to do something that felt lush," he was quoted as saying and I believe he did that beautifully. I am hoping that one of the dresses I liked makes it to the department store floor in some shape or form.

The long jersey dresses looked elegant as well as comfortable. I am excited to see what hits the floor for purchase.

Glam-hippie works for me!

Gucci

It's hard for me to get in to fall when my spring Gucci orders have not even dropped on the floor yet but I see a sort of repeat of Spring with the cut out dresses and thats fine by me.

The pants and coat combos were chic, paired with the ever so luxe silky collared shirts. The nice thing about Gucci is that the basics are easy for one to duplicate on a budget.

The up to the crotch boots were back from last year, so I expect to see those collect dust at the shoe racks being you have to have long and slender legs to pull those off.

The classic style of gucci seems to be back and I for one am glad.

Max Mara

Not sure I liked the clothes but the coats were fantastic.

Swing coats and fitted Military suits looked soft, wearable and comfortable. If there is one thing I know, it's that you will be able to find an affordable coat that looks every bit as chic at any number of his boutiques this year.

A nice coat from this collection would be a nice investment piece that you can use for years to come.

2010 Couture

This is the most exciting time in fashion for me.

I love the couture shows and I really wish that more designers did them. It's like watching art walking down the runway and I am always astonished and blown away by some of the looks sent down.

I have never been to the show in person but my goodness what a treat that would be - to actually see the detail of some of these clothes up close.

You may look at some of these clothes and think they are totally unwearable and yes, they may just be but I look at some of these stunning and jaw dropping clothes and think WOW! I would so rock that.

Only the fashion elite and top movie stars get the privilege of strutting around wearing these and with good reason being that they cost a fortune and are one of a kind. After all a girl can dream, and maybe one day who knows, I may strut around in one...

My problem is that I want it all. From simple and elegant to bold and downright crazy, these are the pieces I loved and that keep me both addicted and in awe of the craft of the fashion designer.

SO FANTASTIC!

Givenchy

Riccardo Tisci

Christian Dior

John Galliano

Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld

Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier

Elie Saab

Elie Saab