Monthly Mashup

So there have been a few things that have popped up in the last few weeks that may be of interest... This is what I've managed to gather:

Elite has released another preview shot from Caroline's editorial from LOVE, shot by Alastair McLellan. The issue has been out on stands for a little while now, but I'm still waiting on a full scan of the editorial before dedicating a full post to it. It is looking a little intriguing though, very Studio 54. I'm glad she's in this issue in particular though: with all the press it's generating due to the Kate Moss + Lea T cover, and the added audience that Katie Grand is hoping to capitalize on with the Justin Bieber cover, not to mention that the specific editorial also features Duran Duran, this should be a good boost for Caroline's notoriety. Granted, people are more likely to be talking about her costars in the issue, but she'll have a foot in the door at the very least. 

We also have a behind the scenes video from the Valentino S/S 2011 campaign. It's basically just a montage of clips set to epic background music, but it's always interesting to see models at work, especially top ones like Freja. You get the sense that they are incredibly aware of their own presence and bodies in front of the camera, and understand the changes that even the most subtle of movements have on the dynamic and emotion of a photograph.

This excerpt from Vogue Russia was posted in Caroline's tFS thread. The poster indicates that it is from the April 2011 issue, but where the cover was given to Abbey Lee Kershaw, I'm not entirely sure what this is. Gill Ford (thank you!) has kindly translated "Читайте в Апрельском" as meaning "Read in April", and that the rest of the text is discussing the trends for summer 2011. She's thinking that it is likely a preview for the May issue, which should be out in April (you know, because fashion is all about getting tomorrow's look today). 


Regardless of where this shot comes from, and whether we'll be seeing more, I'm glad to see The Brasch is continuing a string of performances with Vogue Russia. By no means is she getting an editorial every issue a la Lara Stone with Vogue Paris, but she had that great shoot for September 2010 and another just the past January. It's good to see that she's getting more work with the magazine, which is always creative and entertaining in the editorial department. This shot is the handy work of Claudia Knoepfel & Stefan Indlekofer, who Caroline has previously worked with for Vogue Paris. Looking forward for what's to come (Numero and Vogue Nippon ;) )!

Photos courtesy of tFS posters mousyy and Stereo Flo

Paris Part 2

Rolling into week two of Paris, Caroline had one show on Sunday: Kenzo. The collection was a little darker than I remember from previous seasons, but still packed all the punch of it's usual patterns and prints. Patchwork was la modus operandi for Antonio Marras' looks this season, with the primary inspiration being Latin bohemia. Nicole Richie has heard of Kenzo, right?

Monday kicked off at Ungaro, where Caroline had one look. Giles Deacon has been set the task of rebuilding the house after it has seemingly fallen into disrepair (remember La Lohan?), and this seemed like a step in the right direction. The collection screamed "predator!" with a heavy dosage of high collared leather, lace and long scarlet fingernails, but this theme was also to be noted in the stitched wolves and owls on sweaters and a dress, close captioned by Hanne Gabe Odiele. Interestingly, Ungaro was not so far off trend: Givenchy featured similar sweaters in their show just the night prior (Albeit, Tisci's designs were adorned with pinup girls).

Next was Giambattista Valli, who seemed to be, like Alber Elbaz, a little on the modest side this season. We have come to expect a more party-goer aura from the designer, and while there were certainly elements of that, it seemed to be exercised with greater restraint, akin to what we saw at Lanvin. However, unlike Lanvin, where we saw a gradual and then booming release, Valli's collection seemed to weave between minimalist chic and rich colours, textures, and patterns sinusoidally.

Chloe and Celine are my two favorite shows for Caroline in Paris (and perhaps across all cities), and I was deeply disappointed when she didn't show up at Celine on Sunday (Phoebe, we need to have a talk). She was at Chloe, however, which pleased me very much indeed, despite Hannah McGibbon's insistence on the overuse of snakeskin. I really wish that I note had been taken from the books at Giambattista Valli and Lanvin, because restraint seems a necessary observance in the use of animal prints (at least in this case). Julia Nobis' (a.k.a. Julia Attenborough) look was the only one that I looked at and felt it to be a proper illustration of Chloe ft. snakeskin. For most of the looks, the overload was easily avoidable by simply pairing sweaters like Freja's opener with a plainer pair of pants. So the good news is, that the collection is excellent. So long as the styling is on par.

Sophie Albou's collection for Paul & Joe was very playful and colourful. With Black Swan clear at the back of my mind, I found myself reminiscing over Jackie and Donna of That 70s Show, among other (non-fictional) inhabitants of that time period. It was a funner show than we usually see in Paris, though no less serious for the fact: one might also draw connections to vintage Yves Saint Laurent when examining the collection.

Tuesday dawned amidst the volcanic ashes of the Grand Palais. Okay, so it didn't actually burn to the ground, but it was certainly another way of saying Karl brought down the house. The Chanel show is always the biggest of all the shows for fashion week, and while we accord this honour to the historical background of the house and it's feminist values, it is hard to see Chanel's modern success as separate from the influence of Karl Lagerfeld. He may not stitch the clothes himself, but the vision of the Kaiser has been instrumental in revamping the house for a more modern, and younger audience. That influence was no less this season, though one can't help but notice that the collection was rather distinctly Freja-esque in it's palette and frequent inclusion of skinny jeans and moto boots. The thing about Lagerfeld's genius though, is that he has a talent for Chanelifying just about anything. Those cropped tweed and hounds tooth jackets so emblematic of the house took on a whole new cool factor when paired over boyfriend blazers, and I don't doubt that the oversized leg warmers drooping about the ankles will be a hot topic come September. Some people have been complaining about how 'masculine' the collection is, but I'm not getting the comparison. Well, I get it, but to me, this is a modernized concept of the same chic, 'masculinized' woman that Chanel has always represented. And before I end, allow me to nominate Jacquelyn Jablonski's look as the most epic outfits of fashion week. Well, except for Karlie's opener at Dior.

Valentino was next up, where Caroline had two looks. I was really hoping for an opening or closing here, but, sadly, it was not to be. Having said that, I was rather taken by the collection. While maintaining all the ladylike elements of the house, Chiuri and Piccioli added a sensuality to the collection by using sheer fabrics and lace strategically. In many ways, the collection was older and more reserved than it's predecessors, but these elements added a subtly coy nature to the clothes, a small wink, hinting that there's more to this demurely clad woman than meets the eye. I cannot, however, wrap my head around the finale dress. It looked limp and shapeless. And something tells me this wasn't solely because of who was wearing it.

The Brasch ended her long and illustrious season with one look at Louis Vuitton's fetishtastic show. Shiny patent leather was all over the place, from dominatrix boots and hot pants to short skirts and loooonnng jackets. In case anyone was wondering, I've changed my mind: Kate Moss takes the spoils for most epic moment this season. Strutting about irreverently on the runway puffing on a cigarette, she cut a striking image. My personal favorite incident was during the finale walk, when she cut clear across the floor, leading a trail of models in her wake. While she was off touring the facility in such a fashion, Natasha Poly picked up the slack and took the correct, but long, way around. Oh Kate Moss.

And so ends another season in fashion for Caroline, who's had an exhaustive run indeed. In Paris, she walked no fewer than 20 shows and 24 looks. I had hoped for more opens and closes in Paris, but in this respect, I was left disappointed. However, when looking at her total for the season, The Brasch has had one of the most impressive showlists of everyone, with a stunning 73 shows. This included 104 looks, 5 opens, and 1 close. As if that wasn't crazy enough, if we take into consideration Berlin and Barcelona fashion weeks as well, Caroline's tally elevates to a dizzying 81 shows, 6 opens, 2 (3?) closes, and 119 looks. (Not to mention, Haute Couture was sandwiched between those, where she walked 4 shows and had 7 looks.)

At only 17, one would imagine the poor girl has been quite run off her feet. But with the sudden appearance of a number of March editorials (I will be getting to these soon, pinky swear!), and the promise of more to come, who knows when she'll have time to rest her weary head. Congratulations on truly fantastic season Caroline, I couldn't be more proud!

(CAROLINE BRASCH! woowoowoowoowoowoowoowoowoowoowoo...)

Photos courtesy of vogue.it

Saab Story

Sob away my friends. With tears of joy, of course. The Brasch is taking Paris by storm, walking for both Elie Saab and Valentino on Wednesday, having two looks in each show. I apologize for the delay in posting these... My Internet connection has been finicky the last few days! But I'm back now, so let's start with Elie Saab:

Great to see Caroline repeating at Saab. I wasn't sure she would, but I was happy to see they booked her again this season. The elegance of the label is always a treat to see. No doubt Hollywood had their eyes on this show in particular, especially with the Oscars coming up. As for Caroline's looks, can anyone else see Maggie Gyllenhaal arriving in number 1? Doubtless, she wouldn't look as stunning as The Brasch, but there are few that would. Gorgeous work from Elie Saab, as always.

Valentino was something we expected, but it takes nothing away from its materialization. I was hoping for an opening or closing look, but the honour was bestowed instead upon Caroline's campaign buddies, Freja and Julia.

All in all, it was a very successful Couture season for Caroline, walking in four shows with a total of seven looks! Very impressive indeed. There's also been scans released recently of Caroline on the cover of Vogue Nippon's Beauty supplement. I'll be covering this in my next post, but until I get around to it, please enjoy!  

Photos courtesy of vogue.fr and vogue.it

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