one of the questions at my recent university entrance interview touched on who (designers, especially) inspired me particularly.
i answered that while on one hand i was/am incredibly interested (perhaps more interested than inspired - i am not so much likely to design similarly myself / fill my wardrobe with their pieces) in concept-driven / conceptual design. i love that a political or social or even personal idea can be voiced so easily and globally through fashion. fashion can be so powerful; the industry can be used so influentially as a platform upon which these opinions, ideas, problems..are voiced. i spoke specifically of some of the more resonant Eastern designers; Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto..Vivienne Westwood even.. these figures have, on occasions, almost single-handedly altered the view of a society. they have changed pre-existing ideas of incredibly powerful standards such as what beauty, the feminine and masculine forms, clothing, wealth..should be, or should involve..or even stand for. i find this so interesting.
HOWEVER i rambled the most (which may be hard to believe, given the above^) about what Alber has been doing at Lanvin in recent years.
on a more aesthetic, rather than intellectually stimulating (i'm embarrassed by that sentence as much as you are<) level, i cannot go past Alber. everything that he does seems so simple..i am constantly asking myself why i had not thought of that, or done that, or why hadn't i even considered fusing those extremely simply ideas together before now.. the following looks are some of my ~most recent favourites, via style.com:
Alber Elbaz is brilliant. i love that idea of power dressing that he is all over. he dresses 'power women' / women with intelligence, direction, power, strength. but what i love even more about that is that he does it so unapologetically femininely. there are no strong shoulders, studs, 'rough' textures or colours as is nearly always seen to convey 'strength' or 'power' or even rebellion within clothing (think Balmain, for example). Alber's women are strong-minded, they're sexy, and they ooze femininity.
i also love that he fuses both minimalism (though not to the extent of Phoebe Philo) with excessive feminine embellishment (though not as much as that at Valentino)..not that there is anything wrong with any of those extremes. BUT with Lanvin there is no need for the extreme use of strictly cream, camel, grey, white, black, that minimalism has been so connected to recently. the colours at Lanvin ARE generally muted, but interestingly so. he has done his own thing here and i respect and admire it lots lots lots. there are shades of blue and green and brown and grey that i didn't even know existed, and shades that i had most certainly not previously considered to exist harmoniously side-by-side. AND neither are his designs ever frill / lace /etc city. i hate the idea that there is no other way to represent a sense of 'woman' or pride in femininity.
recently Lanvin has teamed up with mega chain H&M to create a small collaborative collection. it is so obvious that Alber has been completely involved in it, and is not at all what i had expected of this sort of product. the pieces actually LOOK like they could be of Lanvin origin. they do not look cheap, nor do they look repetitive, or from such a mass-produced store such as H&M. the fabrics look luxurious, the shapes interesting.
Alber has noted on a couple of occasions something along the lines of the following:
('H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. i have said in the past that i would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. this has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.'
- Alber Elbaz, artistic director of Lanvin.)
a short film for the H&M vs Lanvin collection:
i love the details, even the maids in the hotel look they have stepped out of a Lanvin shoot.
i answered that while on one hand i was/am incredibly interested (perhaps more interested than inspired - i am not so much likely to design similarly myself / fill my wardrobe with their pieces) in concept-driven / conceptual design. i love that a political or social or even personal idea can be voiced so easily and globally through fashion. fashion can be so powerful; the industry can be used so influentially as a platform upon which these opinions, ideas, problems..are voiced. i spoke specifically of some of the more resonant Eastern designers; Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto..Vivienne Westwood even.. these figures have, on occasions, almost single-handedly altered the view of a society. they have changed pre-existing ideas of incredibly powerful standards such as what beauty, the feminine and masculine forms, clothing, wealth..should be, or should involve..or even stand for. i find this so interesting.
HOWEVER i rambled the most (which may be hard to believe, given the above^) about what Alber has been doing at Lanvin in recent years.
on a more aesthetic, rather than intellectually stimulating (i'm embarrassed by that sentence as much as you are<) level, i cannot go past Alber. everything that he does seems so simple..i am constantly asking myself why i had not thought of that, or done that, or why hadn't i even considered fusing those extremely simply ideas together before now.. the following looks are some of my ~most recent favourites, via style.com:
Alber Elbaz is brilliant. i love that idea of power dressing that he is all over. he dresses 'power women' / women with intelligence, direction, power, strength. but what i love even more about that is that he does it so unapologetically femininely. there are no strong shoulders, studs, 'rough' textures or colours as is nearly always seen to convey 'strength' or 'power' or even rebellion within clothing (think Balmain, for example). Alber's women are strong-minded, they're sexy, and they ooze femininity.
i also love that he fuses both minimalism (though not to the extent of Phoebe Philo) with excessive feminine embellishment (though not as much as that at Valentino)..not that there is anything wrong with any of those extremes. BUT with Lanvin there is no need for the extreme use of strictly cream, camel, grey, white, black, that minimalism has been so connected to recently. the colours at Lanvin ARE generally muted, but interestingly so. he has done his own thing here and i respect and admire it lots lots lots. there are shades of blue and green and brown and grey that i didn't even know existed, and shades that i had most certainly not previously considered to exist harmoniously side-by-side. AND neither are his designs ever frill / lace /etc city. i hate the idea that there is no other way to represent a sense of 'woman' or pride in femininity.
recently Lanvin has teamed up with mega chain H&M to create a small collaborative collection. it is so obvious that Alber has been completely involved in it, and is not at all what i had expected of this sort of product. the pieces actually LOOK like they could be of Lanvin origin. they do not look cheap, nor do they look repetitive, or from such a mass-produced store such as H&M. the fabrics look luxurious, the shapes interesting.
Alber has noted on a couple of occasions something along the lines of the following:
('H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. i have said in the past that i would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. this has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.'
- Alber Elbaz, artistic director of Lanvin.)
a short film for the H&M vs Lanvin collection:
i love the details, even the maids in the hotel look they have stepped out of a Lanvin shoot.
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