Yves Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2012-13, Paris

Yves Saint Laurent Womenswear Collections Fall Winter 2012-13 - Smart coats nipped in by leather belts featuring exaggerated, rounded shoulders and more leather at the collar and cuff  - it was elegant and modern, with cropped, roomy jackets and sharply tailored trousers worn high on the waist and cut above the ankle giving a nod to the Eighties heyday of YSL, while an black all-in-one tuxedo paid homage to the house’s Seventies fame.
Cape coats and leather tunic tops of purple or green leather had an austerity that eliminated a romance we’ve seen from Pilati before, while mirrored Perspex heels were eye-catching, if difficult to walk in – giving a more aggressive, though still stylish, feel to the show.

Chainmail featured heavily for backless dresses in green in purple that were elegantly constructed, or the lapels of black jackets, or a pencil skirt worn beneath another tunic of cream leather and, just as things were threatening to venture too far from the YSL roots, there appeared a calla lily motif embroidered in black silk onto black wool trousers; in glittering relief on black leather; in purple silk on the wide collar of a black coat or in solid silver wound around the neck in a gorgeous neck piece. It neatly brought romance back into the equation and, symbolic both of triumphant trumpets sounding and even the resurrection of Christ, it implied all sorts of potential stories to an audience hungry to know what is going to happen next in the soap opera that is Paris fashion.

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Fall/Winter 2012-13, Paris

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI - Fashion show -His collection looks so often fall into the couture category and he’s not adverse to using a frill or frou frou elements to bring to life his visions. This time round, his vision came in some golden crocodile – which made for a long coat half way through the collection – and fur, which anchored skirts as thick pleats on waisted dresses with sheer and panelled bodices above them. There were some relaxed casual vest and cropped trouser combinations, and there was a plaid, smart head-to-toe look of trousers, top and coat.

When it wasn’t grey or black, it was red – which started in a day dress with a wisp of chiffon laced through its belted waist and ended in a floor-length gown in black, red and purple squares with a pussy bow at its neck, a detail that featured on all of the last long dress looks.

STELLA MCCARTNEY Fall/Winter 2012-13, Paris

Sporty, luxe and elegant, all at the same time, it was a lovely tight and focused collection full of wonderful oversized coats – which we have been seeing a lot of during Paris – with shots of electric blue and pink, flippy skirts and American-style varsity bomber jackets.
Really beautiful skating dresses were strong, but not aggressive, and came cut-through with tweed. There was lots of white in mock croc details and electric blue mascara when it came to hair. Karlie Kloss was the epitome of Stella’s strong, elegant woman in an pure blue skirt and a lean shirt.

ALBER ELBAZ SINGS for his 10th anniversary at Lanvin

Alber Elbaz celebrated his 10th anniversary at Lanvin by singing “Que Sera Sera,” after the brand’s fashion show this weekend. He dedicated the song to all the people in fashion who had helped him “realize my dream…I love you,” and warned the audience, “I rehearsed two times and I’m a terrible singer.” Now, see a video of the performance, after the cut.

KARAN CARE - Donna to Give Keynote at Conference Series

WWD - Today, Donna Karan shifts into Urban Zen mode as the keynote speaker at Kent State University’s College of Nursing’s annual Driving the Future conference series. This year’s conference focuses on an integrative approach to providing caregivers with the skills to care for themselves so they can better care for others. Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation has collaborated with Kent State’s nursing college for the past two years on the “Care of the Caregiver” program.

The partnership represents Urban Zen’s first collaboration with a university nursing program. Among the speakers at the conference are Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, yoga experts and co-directors of the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy Program.

John Galliano Fall Winter 2012-13, Paris Fashion Week

John Galliano Fall Winter 2012-13 collection - ispired by English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley, this fall 2012 collection was thoroughly revealing, and not just because the chiffon fabrics outlined the elan figures of the clever casting, but also for unveiling Gaytten's ability to create clothes in the Galliano style.
This veteran designer, who worked for Galliano for over a decade and a half, wowed from a Tudor era start, with alluring drop-dead sexy silhouettes, mixes of see-through chiffon and courtly costume silk, combining mini capes, slinkily cut bias cut cocktails and micro pleat skirts, the models marched out into the all-black setting through a cloud of dry ice.

Gaytten also managed to riff on the Galliano tradition of deconstruction though with his own touch, keeping it tougher and adding fox fur arms and panels. Done up with matching tights, garter belts and saucy padded booties, the models emoted all the way down the runway, clearly enjoying the edgy sexuality.
His ladies in mohair plaid, cut like Restoration dandies, though underneath the whole semi-sheer look kept the mood red hot,  erotic fantasies, obsession with mythology and famed images of Salome.