POSTCARDS FROM PARIS

ACNE S/S 2011

I love ACNE!

GIVENCHY S/S 2011

Sure to be a controversial collection, Riccardo Tisci dreamt of murderous clowns, Tarzan and Hannibal Lecter for spring! I love anything M. Tisci does, so count me in.

PARIS: RICK OWENS, COMME DES GARÇONS

RICK OWENS S/S 2011

Rick Owens didn't stray too far from his signature look for this collection, and that is more than acceptable.

I LOVE this bracelet!

COMME DES GARÇONS S/S 2011

Rei Kawakubo gave us skulls. Skulls on suits, shorts, shoes, heads and dresses!

Alexander McQueen famously confessed his love for Kawakubo, citing her as the only designer worth paying for. I see her use of the skull-print as a quiet homage to McQueen. Do you?

PARIS: BEHOLD, THE MAN-ROMPER

ALEXIS MABILLE S/S 2011

Paris: the icing on the cake that is fashion week. Rick Owens, Riccardo Tisci and the amazing Alexis Mabille all turned out exquisite collections; I'm very fond of Monsieur Mabille's prissy tree nymphs. What could be more exciting than this:

I detect mass hysteria around this collection, kind of like BALMAIN-ia 2009. 

F/W 2010-11: PARIS PART DEUX

DIOR HOMME

Kris Van Assche's latest collection for Dior Homme is kind of, er, boring? As a rabid DH fan, I honestly haven't felt the same about the fashion house since Hedi Slimane's departure from the label in 2007. What I do appreciate in this (and most every DH) collection is the very sharp tailoring and classic color pallette (black, gray, white, bone, pewter). I am quite smitten with the oversized overcoat in the photo above, as well as with the beautiful matte gray finish on the leathers:

LANVIN

Lanvin's urban safari story took my breath away! Everything about this collection is smart, elegant and quite original. Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver definitely upped the ante for menswear this season, offering a dramatic mix of cultural references and just the right amount of flash:

This one is straight-up 70's-era Bowie; it's also a nod to the current shrunken sweater trend also seen on Prada's runway.

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Loving the metallics, the sci-fi camouflage, the spiky bungee-cord bags, even the color-coordinated headbands! A+

ANN DEMEULEMEESTER

Always a personal favorite, Ann Demeulemeester has a formula and she's sticking to it: 80's goth-rock garb for rich kids. She didn't disappoint with this collection; I love the "mixing business with leather" vibe, the "precious" boy who quietly slips out on school nights in search of a little bloody fun. The construction of each look is fantastic (especially in the trousers, from the high-gloss cargo pant to the white and khaki jodhpur-style skinnies), and the knits and accessories are to die for ...

literally.

F/W 2010-11: PARIS

GIVENCHY

I don't need to express my feelings for Riccardo Tisci's designs for Givenchy; the man is genius. I love how this collection was both totally refined yet sincerely subversive (crown-of-thorns necklace, men in tights AND skirts). I especially appreciate the tailoring; each look highlights a play on volume that doesn't yield any clownish results. This might be my favorite collection of the season.

Not too sure how I feel about the tights; they might look great on the runway but a bit much in real life (guess we'll never know unless we try?). The patent leather sandals, however, are fantastic. I'm still lusting after the gladiators from S/S 10.

KRIS VAN ASSCHE

Dior Homme designer Kris Van Assche went for a kind of goth/grunge vibe for his eponymous menswear collection. Dior hasn't exactly captured the public's attention as it did under Hedi Slimane's watch, and his successor Van Assche has received mixed reviews for much of his career at CD. He had some very large (and skinny) shoes to fill, and with all things considered, he's never sent a shoddy piece of work down a runway. I really enjoy the dynamic between the slouchy/skinny trousers, all worn with a very safe and well-executed combat boot. The beanies feel a little odd, but when paired with a very fragile-looking sheer knit or an understated plaid shirt they're quite tolerable.

LOUIS VUITTON

Louis Vuitton, like Burberry, is really known for doing one thing exceptionally well: leather (at Burberry, it's obviously the trench). I'm never impressed with LV apparel, but I can honestly say that I like their attention to texture and color this season. OK, let's cut to the chase. It's basically bag porn with some very pricey clothing on the side. And there were BAGS:

I could just eat these for breakfast!

VIKTOR & ROLF

Viktor & Rolf are best-known for their shared sense of humor. Their clothes are usually the punch-line to a joke, but these looks were refreshingly un-fussy. Yeah, they missed the whole John Hughes-Pretty in Pink thing the first go round, but this collection seems so wearable and fun (again, "wearable" is not a term usually associated with V&R) in an era where menswear has become such a highly lucrative industry and, as a result, designers are trying so hard at making statement collections when, at the end of the day, all we really want are some rad threads that no one else can get their hands on.

DRIES VAN NOTEN

Dries Van Noten is a master, his name synonymous with the highest standard of craftsmanship. I'm a huge fan, and his F/W collection was everything one would come to expect from M. Van Noten and more. The color palette, accessories, and styling are perfection.

RICK OWENS

Ah, Rick Owens. You scare me a little bit. But that's a good thing. Owens brought his unique design sensibility to Paris for what is surely going to be fodder for fashion critics in the weeks (months, years) to come. Some pieces, like the wolf-man coat above, might be frightening at first but on closer inspection really beautiful. I think his work is challenging, and the fact that he has struck a cord with the public can only mean that he is worth all the hype.

I love how his men's collection eerily echoes his S/S womenswear presentation; the origami-style jacket is sublime and his take on winter "gloves" is quite strange. But that's why we love 'em.