She's A One Horse Open Sleigh...

... and you can bet she's dashing. All the freaking way. Okay, taking care of business; Caroline showed for Giambattista Valli's Pre-Fall 2011 collection along with fellow catwalkers Stella Maxwell and Jenny Sinkaberg on Tuesday. She had a total of eight looks in the 56-look show; praise the LORD, she needed a break at the rate she's been dominating the pre-fall season.

I'm pretty well wiped at this point, and I've quite run out of words for the moment. Something I really liked about Valli's collection was the use of the colour red. He placed it ever so perfectly, running it through the looks here and there, accentuating a set of looks that would else have been not but black and white. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy neutrals as much as the next Scandinavian, but it never hurts to throw in a sudden splash of colour to really get the blood running to the head.

My only peeve about what's been done here is that it looks much more 'holiday' than 'pre-fall' to me. I don't think I'd necessarily be of the same opinion if I saw someone trekking down Madison Avenue in one of these looks, but as a set, the collection screams Christmas. But whatever, as you were.

Photos courtesy of style.com

Why So Serious?

Caroline had the honour of presenting all 31 looks in Valentino's Pre-Fall 2011 collection on January 11th. And really, who's surprised at this bit of news? It seems to me that the Parisian fashion house is really milking her for all she's worth at the moment, and to be honest, I don't much mind. Careful looking at these folks, the Brasch has her death stare on.

  

 

I've commented on Caroline's posing in a few of my recent posts, but where this connection is growing ever stronger before my waking eyes (I use that 'waking' quite seriously; no rest here, even for the weary), I think it's past time I comment on the clothes, or shall we say fashion, she is presenting.

I've been scanning through various blogs, forums, etc. and have picked up on a general feeling people seem to have regarding Valentino's recent collections, and I regret that it is not overly positive. The public seems to have decided that Valentino has sold out under Piccioli and Chiuri. The partnering with The Gap did little to instill confidence in what is apparently an historically fundamental fashion house rapidly falling into disfavour, despite extremely successful previous and current collaborations between other major fashion houses and "fast fashion" labels like H&M and Target.

I am not overly sure how to comment on this. To be sure, it is incredibly hard to imagine anyone ever being able to match the talents and appeal of a couturier in his/her own house. With the death of Alexander McQueen almost a year ago, I was one of tens of hundreds of thousands of fans and appreciators mourning the lost of one of the greatest designers in recent memory. The question of what might have become of his avant garde house had he remained with us was one that everyone of this mind contemplated, and then the new, perhaps more terrifying inquiry arose: Who will take his place?

When Sarah Burton took the reigns, many wondered if she would truly be up to the task. As it turned out, she was more than prepared to continue the McQueen legacy, and turned out a beautiful collection the past fall that sent critics raving and everyone else sighing with relief. Perhaps we should never have been so worried in the first place, Burton was McQueen's right hand girl for 14 years, and she was already the head of design in the label's womenswear division anyway. It should have been no great surprise at all that she was completely brilliant.

In the case of the Valentino brand, we have a different situation. After the perceived disaster that we - the overriding pinnacle of fashion intellectuals, that is - also call Alessandra Facchinetti, the house was taken over by its two head accessory designers. (I think it is also important to note that Mr Valentino, though retired, is still very much alive.) Piccioli and Chiuri have taken all of the elements of the original Valentino collections and reimagined them in such a way that they can be marketed to a new, younger generation than was previously done. We still have the ruffles (some think a bit too much of those frilly things), the roses, and on the rare occasion, hints of that signature Valentino red, but people are not quite enamoured with the younger direction of the house.

Karl Lagerfeld was certainly successful in achieving this feat at Chanel, but when the coming of said Messiah was nigh on 10 years after the death of Chanel herself. As a result, the original designer whom everyone knew and loved so well was not present to offer her opinions on his interpretations of the house, nor was she still a physical being around which ardent supporters could rally under the pretense of protecting a legacy. Chanel was gone, and someone had to continue making the clothes. Why should it not have been Karl Lagerfeld?

At Valentino therefore, I see it as an issue that the man himself is still very much in the public eye. So long as this is true, people are not only given hope that he might return, but they are witness to his opinions (whether spoken, emoted, or conspiratorially implied by consumers), and thus are unwilling to place any bets on the hats that have been thrown in the ring, metaphorically speaking. Setting aside the issue of making stunning and elegant clothing, the house of Valentino needs to be allowed to move on into the new generation. It's father need not be dead and gone, but he must at least be gone before the world can accept new leadership at such a prestigious label.

So my word to all the criticisms laid on Piccioli and Chiuri: give the kids a chance! That which they have undertaken is no small responsibility, and in order for them to grow as designers, and for the label to complete a transition both regrettable and exciting at once (for this is how I would describe such a replacement of the old with the new), there must be support, or at least constructive criticism leveled at them. No more of these slights aimed at collaborations and changes that by their very design are of evolutionary significance. Be happy that Valentino's legacy continues to live on, if changed.

Photos courtesy of style.com

Fan Philo

Phoebe Philo is an excellent designer, as I'm sure I have no need to remind you. I'm a big fan of her work at Chloe, and now at Celine, and my only real disappointment when it comes to her is why she STILL doesn't have her own label. I mean really, there are many designers who are significantly less talented than she, and yet have their own design companies. I'm not trying to play down the honour that it most certainly is to design for such historic houses, but it seems to me that having one's own label opens up the field, and allows you to express your own personal creativity as opposed to your interpretation of another's style. I feel like Philo has definitely proven herself worthy of that. Certainly, if Stella McCartney was, Phoebe is absolutely deserving. Comments?

Phoebe Philo has a fan in me (and, I would also estimate, approximately 90% of the fashion world). But guess who Philo is a fan of?

Caroline has walked every Celine show possible since the beginning of her runway career about a year ago. Many have commented on how she is, to be quite frank, the perfect Celine girl. I'm rather surprised that she's yet to book a campaign for the brand yet; I certainly would have expected her to get Celine before Marc Jacobs, at any rate. It's a curious happenstance, but I suppose it would not do for fashion to be entirely predictable, would it? No doubt, the Brasch will get a campaign with Celine someday (she really is too perfect for the brand not to capitalize), it is simply a matter of time. Until then, we will have to content ourselves with seeing her work their runway four times a year :).

Photos courtesy of style.com

Poser...

I bet you're thinking that was meant to be interpreted as mean. Well it wasn't. I was visiting some various sites, picking up on news (as is the wont of we bloggers) when I found the Brasch basking in all her glory for not one, not two, but THREE Pre-Fall collections. This post in particular will cover her excellent performance at Nina Ricci earlier today, where she was the sole model used to present the collection:

If I was pleased to see Caroline was at Valentino, Celine, AND Nina Ricci in one day, I was floored by her posing (specifically at Nina Ricci). She exhibits such a wide range within her nineteen looks... Excuse me for being a little lost for words, I only just found the photos now, and have yet to recover. In all seriousness, what did she do over Christmas? The versatility her is something I have not seen from her at all yet, and I feel strongly that a number of these shots are editorial worthy. Hell, I'd venture to state that her posing here puts to shame all her editorial work thus far. (True, she has had precious few editorials in her still infantile career, but you get my point, I'm sure). 

What's more, I think she does an excellent job selling the clothes. And that is something that we often forget about, I  feel. It takes a skilled model to be able to make both themselves AND the clothes look good. Often, it seems, people mistake good posing or good-looking clothes for an excellent photograph, and fail to take into consideration the cohesion between both facets. Here, Caroline has managed to show off Ricci's designs in such a way that she appeals to a number of different aesthetics, which is truly commendable. I'm sure the label is well chuffed with their casting decision...

In all honesty, look at her face in some of these. She plays the shy, modest girl, who is intelligent, but sometimes too shy to speak up; the snobbish girl, who looks down her nose at those carrying last season's Chloe clutch; the tomboy, who has been forced into her Sunday best by her mother; she's intimate, she's mysterious, she's confused, she's cross, curious, frustrated, romantic, she's a fucking BOSS. 

You will have to tell me if you disagree with me or not, but at this point, I am completely unwilling to be swayed. I have had my doubts, but this completely banishes any reserves I may have had regarding her future success in print work. Someone call up the Vogues and get this girl a cover already. Please.

Photos courtesy of style.com