No (fashion) country for old men -- Raf Simons, Givenchy

Tag : Quilted Fabric

More typical of a collection that encompassed the Italian-borndesigner's meld of wild Gothic and deep Catholicism was the machoswagger of an eyelet-punched leather scarf tied, gypsy-style, atthe neck of an open-mesh top. It made the show as much about thebody as the clothes.
Yet in bringing to Givenchy menswear his rich, dark aesthetic andhis creative energy, honed at Central Saint Martins school inLondon, Tisci is creating a coherent image with his women's line.This hard-bodied young man with vibrant sexual energy is theperfect partner to the darkly romantic Givenchy woman. Whether themale customer, more familiar with classic tailoring and symbolslike pea-sized dots on shirts and scarves, will adapt to the newfashion regime is another story.
Lanvin has made the aesthetic link between the two sexes, and theshow Sunday, with its advanced fabric treatments within a gentlecomfort zone, was a triumph of intelligent thinking - the more sobecause the designer Lucas Ossendrijver works separately from thebrand's creative director, Alber Elbaz. But as the two took a bow,after a classic suit with an arresting pebbled surface had endedthe show, it was clear that they had worked in sweet harmony.
The display of soft suits, tailored with ruching at the spine ordown the pant legs, had the luxurious elegance of ease, as found inthe Lanvin women's collections. An ultra-light raincoat with afluid ripple down the front or short jackets in the softest silklooked like the ultimate upscale version of wash-'n'-wear fashion.Whimsical, battered straw hats, some exuding flowers, added thatkooky romanticism for which Lanvin now stands.
The secret was in the work put into these apparently easy clothes.That meant not just fabric research into the light and soft, butalso the proportion of a tiny collar, the detail of black pearlbeads at the neck or even on sneaker boots. Denim shorts, fromLanvin's collaboration with Acne, introduced traditionalsportswear.
But even the most formal elements seemed nonchalant, from acummerbund knotted at the back to colors that would take a crushedvelvet suit from green to gray. The collection epitomized that rareart of making complexity seem simple.
"Tie-dye - it's never been done like this before," saidVéronique Nichanian of the patterns, faded and bleeding, overclassic Hermès prints. But the point of this show from an ultra-luxurious housewas not that the designer had messed with the historic patterns butthat she used them and other factors to make a collection that wasas relaxed as anyone can be in a punched lambskin jacket that costsa small fortune.