Dries Van Noten
There was something in this collection that brought a smile on my face. The colour palette was definitely to my liking. And I do love pretty plaids too. And, well, I tend not to say no to gorgeous florals. Print mixing, yes please. Layering sheer fabrics? Why yes, most certainly.
Still, it wasn't an automatic love-love relationship. Perhaps it was the grunge that almost lost me, though the elements themselves were to my liking.
Oh the joy! The colours are rich and welcoming despite of being dark. The amount of detailing is just right. I wouldn't say no to the shoes, either.
The way Van Noten played with feminine and masculine was upbeat and interesting without being too gimmicky. The feeling of class was always present, the laid-backness didn't take away from it.
Then little by little, the colour palette started to get lighter. And it was beautiful.
One thing that struck my fancy was how richly the florals were used, but in such a manner that it didn't go to the sickly sweet side. In fact, while being quirky and relaxed, this collection was also grown-up in the best possible sense of the word. It made sense, if that makes sense.
It's like an afternoon in the city turning into a summer night's dream and I liked it.
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Gareth Pugh
Hell, I loved it. When a show starts with a look like this
I'm already sold.
I mean, almost too good to be real, even.
Yet real it was and sold I was, in love as well. From the make-up and hair all the way to the lean lines, hot leather looks and poetic trains to the simple but arresting palette of monochrome with drops of blood red drama splashed into it. Oh Mr Pugh, how you've got me wrapped around your finger!
The variety could have been even wider, though. Maybe. Because as much as a love-interest of mine this collection is, there was still something there, lurking somewhere in the back of my mind that didn't make loving this as natural a feeling as it could have been. Or perhaps, with a start like that the expectations rose higher than was good for them?
But any which way, a thing of wonderful drama and passion this collection is and I would like to wear every single look kthankyouverymuch.
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Yohji Yamamoto
Even I would like to actually know how long a time has passed since I began to write this particular "review". It is so hard to come up with words weighty enough to describe the feelings this collection evoked in me. Words relevant enough to describe the poetry that this collection is.
I'm just going to jump into pasting photos, before I get too serious here.
There's all the beauty in deconstruction and minimalism, yes. The man's a genious, yes. But few and far between are the moments when art really moves its' spectator into thinking. That's what this show was about for me. There wasn't anything extra there, nothing glamorous either. Fashion is about glamour, yes, but it's about life as well and life and death and all the thoughts between them this was about. Just... life. Life is what we human know the best. And the least about.
Life is human, war is human.
It was all there. As to whether there were things groundbreaking in the show or not, I'm not sure. Whether that's needed or not I am sure of: no. Does art have to have value as something that's entertaining? I do not think so. What's the definition of the word entertaining in this context? I don't know and do not care to know right now, for I feel it's a whole topic of it's own, worthy of it's own conversation just like this collection here and therefore I shall go on with the pictures.
It was all there.
