The Luxe Chronicles

Valentino Spring 2009 Couture Collection: The Price of Bland Conformity

 
All images from Valentino Spring 2009 Haute Couture collection. All images by Marcio Madeira, courtesy of Style.com.

By the looks of it, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are very good students indeed. They memorized the Valentino template by heart and proved to their elders that they were capable of reproducing them accurately on demand: ladylike suits, ladylike coats, ladylike evening gowns, a rosette here, a pleat there and a red dress or two. Well done children. You may now go out for a recess break before you're called upon again to recite your next lesson: the Fall/Winter 2009 pret-a-porter collection. I don't mean to be so condescending but that's precisely how I felt when I viewed the Valentino Spring 2009 haute couture collection on Style.com.

Luxury: Roger Vivier's Flight of Fancy

Monsieur Frisoni, vous me donnez des ailes!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Luxury: "If You Have to Ask How Much Something Costs, (...)."

"Ooo! Cute plane! Where did you get it?!"

J.P. Morgan once replied to an acquaintance's inquiry about the cost of something by his now famous quip: "If you have to ask how much something costs, you can't afford it." You can now save yourself the embarrassment of making such an uncouth inquiry. Instead, you can discreetly "inquire" about the cost of some of your favorite luxury toys via the website Jameslist.com. The price of everything from private planes, yachts, cars and fine watches is listed either by brand name or by product category with information collected from dealers from around the world. Moreover, the site takes no commission, is not involved in any transactions and is free for users. Take that J.P. Morgan!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Fashion: The Irresistible Allure of Rick Owens

Images of garment courtesy of Net-a-Porter; Photo of Rick Owens by Marcio Madeira, courtesy of Style.com.

Once, as I was walking through Les Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris, I spotted Paris-based American designer Rick Owens. This was in the late 90's when he was shaking things up at Revillon, the French furrier. He was starting to create a buzz among the fashion cognoscente but wasn't yet known much beyond Paris fashion circles. I knew of him thanks to a brief profile in Paris Vogue.

Fashion: Was 'Trousergate' Much Ado About Nothing Much?

 

"Plagiarism? Are they kidding me?!"

All the fashion world was a twitter last week after Giorgio Armani accused fellow Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabbana of plagiarism. The latter unveiled their Fall/Winter 2009 collection which featured straight-leg trousers with a distinctive quilting pattern, one Armani claims he featured in his own menswear collections a few seasons ago. The incident has been dubbed  "Trousergate" by the fashion press. Setting aside fragile egos and the usual fashion world cattiness, in actual fact, aren't both fashion houses merely "borrowing" from the high priestess of quilting herself, Coco Chanel? Ever since she introduced her 2:55 handbag back in February 1955, the quilting detail has been reproduced on everything from headbands to shoes to jackets and now trousers. Coco herself was not above "borrowing" certain details from other designers. She famously had costume jewelry designer Robert Goussens recreate a favorite cuff designed by fine jeweler Fulco di Verdura using pate de verre instead of semi-precious stones. The piece has since become a classic of the House of Chanel. So, relax gentlemen. Mademoiselle was there way before any of you.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Fashion: Lagerfeld's Pas de Deux for Repetto

At The Luxe Chronicles, one of our favorite parlor games is "What Will He Do Next?" The "He" in question is none other than the fashion industry's most hyperactive designer Karl Lagerfeld and the object is to try to figure out what side project Mr. Lagerfeld will focus his tremendous creative energy on next. It's tougher than it sounds thanks to the fact that his interests vary enormously and his creative talent extends to all manner of goods and services. Seriously, who could ever have predicted the brilliant tongue and cheek public interest campaign for the new road safety regulations in France? Or the teddy bear? Or the cake?

Art: When Is A Billion Dollars Not A Billion Dollars?

When it's art. Duh! (Source )

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Fashion: Why Lanvin is a Cut Above the Rest

Normally, I pay little attention to pre-Spring (the fashion season formerly known as "Resort") or pre-Fall (an altogether new fashion season) collections. I've generally regarded them as being akin to amuse-bouche served in between courses during an elaborate multi-course meal - tasty but hardly sustaining. This said, Alber Elbaz's newly unveiled pre-Fall collection for Lanvin has made me sit up and pay closer attention. The rich tones and interesting shapes are a cut above the usual designer offerings typical for these "in-between" collections. Whereas I frequently get the impression that designers keep their best ideas and creativity for the Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer, I get the sense that the adorable Monsieur Elbaz is giving a little more of himself than one would expect. I think this comes through in Lanvin's pre-Fall 2009 collection.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Auction Update: Chinese Government Lays Claim to Pieces from YSL/Berge Collection

Lawyers for the Chinese government have begun legal proceedings to seize two pieces which form part of the extensive art collection amassed by Yves Saint Laurent and his longtime partner Pierre Berge. The proceedings are designed to halt the auction scheduled to take place at Christie's in Paris on February 23, 24 and 25, 2009. At issue are two pieces which were allegedly stolen from a palace by British and French military personnel in 1860 and which eventually made their way into the Saint Laurent/Berge collection. The pieces in question have a pre-sale estimate of approximately 29 million USD but given their exceptional quality, their rarity and their provenance, they could fetch considerably more. (Source)

Fashion Icons: Time to Move On?

It's Inauguration Day in the U.S. and depending on whom you talk to, the new First Lady, Michelle Obama, is supposed to be either the new fashion icon for American women, women over 40, African American women, or working women with children. This is so because the who's who of the U.S. fashion industry (U.S. Vogue) says it is so. This despite the fact that her style is largely derivative not to mention strangely reminiscent of a previous occupant of the White House (sleeveless shifts, nipped waist, faux pearls, flipped bob, ...).