Givenchy, Haute Couture Spring 2011

Squeal!!!!  Beyonce in Givenchy Couture in her newest video!!!! LOOK!

Review by Tim Blanks

The last time Riccardo Tisci showed a couture collection for Givenchy, the zipper pulls were bones. This season, they were wings. Fashion's favorite goth took flight with a new obsession: Japan. Not the land of obis and geishas, he said, but the Japan of robot toys and the dancer Kazuo Ohno, whose intensely ritualized style of performance, called Butoh, was a huge influence on Tisci's friend, the singer Antony Hegarty. When Ohno died, Antony and the Johnsons performed a tribute concert that so inspired Tisci, the dead man became a sort of muse for the designer. And this was the result. According to Tisci, Ohno provided the romance, the melancholy, and the palette (the color of dried flowers). Robots, meanwhile, influenced the appliqués, the shoes, and the huge hats by Philip Treacy (couple this with Armani last night, and Treacy is clearly the go-to guy for sci-fi headgear).

Armani Prive, Haute Couture Spring 2011

Vogue Germany May 2011
'Über-Sinnlich'
Ph: Greg Kadel
Model: Anais Pouliot

What an exciting show!  The audience was packed with celebrities, and Giorgio Armani did not disappoint!  Watch the video, read what people are saying, and check out the looks below..

Valentino, Haute Couture Spring 2011

First, take a peek at the runway show!  

Music "I Wanna Be Adored" by The Stone Roses

I have to admit, I was disappointed a little.  There were some dresses I thought were beautiful, to die for even, but there were also some dresses that I felt were very unflattering.  This collection produced the gorgeous dress above, but it is also responsible for the fugliness that was Princess Beatrice's dress at the royal wedding.  I liked the delicate pleating and romantic lace, but it seems the couturiers had a little too much enthusiasm for ruffles.  Still, many of these pieces, when seen individually, could be quite stunning.  Just peruse the latest editorials, and you'll find a few of these gowns, and they look incredible.

Elie Saab, Haute Couture, Spring 2011

Vogue Spain May 2011
'BAILE DE ETIQUETA'
Elie Saab Haute Couture
Ph: Jan Welters
Model: Bojana Panic

Jean Paul Gaultier, Haute Couture, Spring 2011

For couture shows, I will post each look.  Couture is my favorite part of fashion, and since one of my regular features is Couture in editorials, it's only fair if you can see each look on the runway, and then have the fun of recognizing your favorites when they show up in the glossies.

"One Of A Kind"
W April 2011
Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture
Lara Stone by Craig McDean

The invitation for Jean Paul Gaultier's couture runway show was written on black mesh pinned to cardboard, hinting that his show would have a strong punk influence.  No one was surprised; this is a theme he has made the most of many times in his 30 year career, but no one expected this show to be so innovative and fresh!  He took elements he has used in the past and remade them in new ways, so that each look captured our imagination, and was anything but the same old thing.  For example, his staple, sailor shirts, showed up in delicate fabrics, in descending horizontal banded layers, sometimes in contrasting colors, as in the second outfit worn by Lindsey Wixson, or more subtly within the same hues.  It is not surprising that looks from this collection have sent out shock waves when Rihanna wore the Bride Dress (look 46) and admiration when worn by Nicole Kidman (look 34) both to the 2011 Grammy Awards, and astonishment when worn by Karolina Kurkova at the Met Ball (look 31).

Keep your eyes peeled for the one male model in the show.  Can you guess which one he is?

Christian Dior, Haute Couture Spring 2011

"Soublime la Couture"
Madame Figaro Feb 7, 2011
Photographer : Dominique Issermann
Model : Diane Kruger