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International Herald Tribune

14 Saturday-Sunday, March 4-5, 2006 Fashion
Chanel vacillates over taking the veil
Continued from Page 13

Pilati is developing signatures of

his own, from the cinching belt to
the tulip skirt. But how well is he
channeling the brand’s heritage? He
embraced YSL in the tunics and in a
sculpted metallic neckpiece. The
bizarre Casbah creations with Cleo-
patra embroidery and sheer harem
pants were a nod to Saint Laurent’s
Moorish elements. No one wants Pi-
lati to do a polite homage to the
brand’s founder, but to imagine how
the couturier might have adapted to
the 21st century. Yet the collection
contravened the one YSL diktat that
Pilati should follow: ‘‘the silence of
clothing’’ — the idea that everything
should seem that it is meant to be.
Christian Lacroix said some wise
words before his show: ‘‘To move
forward, you have to know where
you are coming from.’’
The designer has lived off his
Provençal roots and he reinforced
that culture with projections of the Luc Castel
bull ring and folkloric peasants. Yet The wedding gown by Cristóbal Balenciaga for Queen Fabiola of
this season Lacroix went back to a Belgium and Hubert de Givenchy, who loaned part of his collection to
place he had rarely been before: the the Balenciaga exhibit at the Mona Bismarck Foundation in Paris.
mannish side of his native Arles.
It was not so much the male out-
fits, which were colorful and fancy.
But rather the feminine rigor of a
small jacket worn with a brief skirt,
thick hose and embroidered bull-
Balenciaga recalled
fighter boots with the tiniest of PARIS Fabiola of Belgium in 1960 and of
heels. Even the hair was a tidy bun, aving toward a line of tailored Balenciaga’s final creation before he
twinkling with embellishment.
This dressage chic made for
W coats — a bouquet of yellow,
cream, navy and petit pois pattern —
died in 1972, which had crystal beads
tracing the darts that shaped the gown.
Lacroix’s most comprehensible Hubert de Givenchy told this story: ‘‘I ‘‘Such purity,’’ said Andre Lemarie,
ready-to-wear collection, when all was showing round an ambassador’s the emperor of couture feathers and
the dense decorations — lace ap- wife this morning and she said to me, plumage. ‘‘It is difficult to work today
pliqués on a sweater dress, the ab- ‘It’s exactly what I want for my son’s when you have seen such perfection.’’
straction of a heart motif, puffed fur wedding — can I order one?’ But sadly, The show should be an inspiration
sleeves or jet-embroidered trims — I had to tell her no. No can work like to designers who, as Givenchy said,
were controlled inside the sparrow- this any more.’’ use catwalk effects to ‘‘throw smoke in
small silhouette. Givenchy was host of an exhibition the eyes.’’ From the impeccable 1960s
Shorts or knickers created trim of Balenciaga clothes from his own architectural coats, the show moves on
pantsuits, coats opened to bright lin- archives and the Mona Bismarck to Balenciaga the decorator: shoots of
ings and even furs cut in strips and Foundation, the legacy of the elegant pink and pale green flowers on a tulle
the patterns on dresses were con- American art lover and adventurer. tunic, a grape harvest of chenille
tained and controlled. Under his HAIDER ACKERMANN ‘‘Mona Bismarck, Cristóbal embroidery on a jacket, or jet beads
new owners, Lacroix has re-invented Balenciaga: Shared Perfection’’ (at 34 nesting in pheasant-brown lace.
his look with a younger, simpler atti- Avenue de New York until May 20) is ‘‘I will never forget, when I was 19
tude without betraying his history. the first of two Paris exhibitions on the years old, seeing a woman in front of
No wonder that Tilda Swinton legendary couturier. And le tout Paris, the Plaza Athénée in a black sweater
cheered Haider Ackermann’s show: gathered for this week’s opening, with a chestnut brown skirt,’’ said
All the models were cloned from her marveled at the clothes’ modernity, Pierre Cardin. ‘‘Balenciaga did things
pulled-back hair and noble beauty. with Bettina Graziani remembering like nobody else and my dream was to
The designer played subtly with her collection and Jackie de Ravenel work for him.’’
volumes, sending out pleated pants praising the haute simplicity. The final room shows Bismarck
and skirts as well as his favorite As the crowd reached the snow- herself, with impeccable style whether
draped jersey jodhpurs and leather white room filled with wedding gowns, working her green thumb in her
leggings underpinned many of the they exclaimed over the miracle of garden, relaxing on the Riviera or
outfits. Ackermann is intriguing as apparent simplicity that was evident in dressed in exquisite taste by Balenciaga.
a designer because he thinks of the mink-trimmed gown of Queen — Suzy Menkes
modern ways to change proportions
or decorate. His bird-feather collars
and tie-on vests brought color and
texture to a dark palette.
Sonia Rykiel’s knits have come
back center stage now that the sea-
son is full of woolly thinking.
Di Milo’s Goth life
Thick-knit cardigan coats and SONIA RYKIEL or her first runway show the designer
dresses with intricate stitchcraft
creating inset patterns at the bust
F Jasmine di Milo, daughter of the Ritz owner
Mohamed Al Fayed, fittingly showed her
were just some of the re-workings of collection at her father’s venerable hotel.
the house’s key pieces. But the gold and glitz of the venue was
Since Nathalie Rykiel, who took a transformed into an inky-black den of darkness.
bow with her mother, has added her Guests, illuminated by the light from white
design input, there is a new focus on candles, drank Champagne from flutes of black
dresses. They came with whorls of crystal while they waited for the show, called
roses giving volume and texture ‘‘Broken Dolls,’’ to begin.
and an artistic flourish to the With fog lapping about and music fit for
mostly black clothes. MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball on the soundtrack, the
Once Naomi Campbell shouts ambiance was set when the first model stalked
from the runway, ‘‘I can’t walk in down the runway. Wearing a creamy white
this dress,’’ you know that a show is bustier mini-dress embellished with beautiful
in trouble. antique lace, this lingerie look would be the
There is no doubt that hemlines cornerstone of the young designer’s collection.
are coming down, but Giambattista Everything from a silky rose-print bustier
Valli is going to have to convince paired with Olivia Newton John’s shiny black
women that a full-on 1950s affair ‘‘Grease’’ stretch pants to a pink and black lace
with a tulle petticoat is any better bustier/mini-dress, with its hem gathered in the
than a slim dress hobbling the front, had their turn on the catwalk.
calves. Faced with the alternatives, At only 26, it seems di Milo is doing what a lot of her female contemporaries
most would choose Valli’s cuddly have done when they first started to design a collection — create clothing she
fur or peplum jackets with slender would want to wear.
pants. What distinguishes Valli’s But on the rare occasion when there wasn’t a mini or a bustier on display,
work is the luxury fabrics and a more user-friendly clothes took center stage.
black alpaca skirt and wrap had the A white winter coat with its oversized lapels clipped to the collar with jeweled
smoldering beauty of silver screen pins was well executed, as was a black sleeveless hoodie with its crown covered
gla mour. in beading.
These were pieces that might actually make it out of the dark and into the
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor light of day on the back of someone who has left her Goth days behind her.
of the International Herald Tribune. GIAMBATTISTA VALLI — Jessica Michault
Photographs by Christopher Moore/Andrew Thomas

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