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The Paris runway review for October 3rd begins with Alessandra Facchinetti's Spring Summer effort for Valentino. Facchinetti's struggles of succession at Valentino have been well documented. It is the exact same challenge I wrote about yesterday that is facing Stefano Pilaiti at YSL. Facchinetti is very successful at honoring the legacy of the house. There were many beautiful flowing evening gowns dripping with sophistication and elegance. The issue I have is I can't see her in the clothes yet, what is Facchinetti's stamp, her passionate aesthetic? Her talent is undeniable but I fear that she may get fired before she has a chance to really hit her stride. Not to worry though, talent wills out. Even if she is dismissed at Valentino she will get a chance to prove herself again, she simply has to much skill not to get a second grab at the prize.

Martine Sitbon's 4th collection for Rue De Mail was an intriguing blend of strongly defined shapes and traditional fashion elements. Closely spaced parallel lines created dramatic effects on jackets and blouses while tightly formed waists were played off of with stiff flap accents in front. Sitbon has a strong point of view but it sometimes seems to lack focus. There were many pieces which I relished greatly but some that felt forced to me. All of that said Rue De Mail is a very intriguing label and one that demands not only future attention but energetic study.

Raffaele Borriello and Julien Desselle's house Requiem has the potential to become one of the great houses of the early part of this century. Their designs are tasteful and yet not restrained. They imbue all of their work with refinement but a good dose of emotion is always injected into the garments through the tailoring or palette. They often push shape to the edge of becoming a costume but never fall over. Compelling is the best word for how their designs affect me, their work when viewed as a whole makes you want to understand what they are thinking and feeling and what their goals are with each design and with their house as a whole.

Karl Lagerfeld's art is so intertwined with Chanel that his vision is the house's vision and will be for the foreseeable future. The recent Lagerfeld staples of roughed edges and thick knits dominated the early part of his 71 piece Spring Summer 09 collection. Geometric patterns and antiqued metal adornments lent interest and strength to Chanel staples. Reimagined and made fresh but not so much to alienate the traditional Chanel buyer. The color palette was classic Chanel, predominately black, white, black and white, white and black with cotton candy pinks, soft mauves and silvers mixed in. The Chanel woman is best served when she can possess clean, easy to wear clothes that are strong, sexy and sophisticated without being either complicated or minimal. Lucky for her Karl Lagerfeld owns that territory so definitively that other designers need to pay him rent to create there.

Ever get a great idea in your mind, one you can see clear as day but you can't figure out how to make it happen? That never happens to Alexander McQueen, everything he sees no matter how fantastical he can create and that is a huge part of his gift. McQueen, like Galiano, Gaultier, Ghesquiere and a few select others is more artistic genius than designer. He embodies the idea that fashion is art we are blessed enough to wear. His Spring Summer 09 collection was a gallery of explosive kaleidoscopic graphics and unique tailoring and shapes. His grey wash prints evoked H.R Geiger without tilting into mimicry. His bell shaped dresses, (a shape Ghesquiere has been exploring as well), were challenging to the common taste but are so exquisite that I am sure I will see them out and about next year. McQueen's aesthetic is so bold and so potent that every year at least one piece literally makes me gasp. This year it was luminous, shimmering cinnamon body suit with peridot greens and bright blues mixed in. The suit was paired with a hyper sculptured jacket and simply put I have never seen anything like it before and unless he expands on that theme, which he tends not to do, I will never see its like again.

Quick note, 2 designers to keep an eye on Julian Louie and Kati Stern Venexiana.


Seth F