Dries Van Noten Inspirations. Paris.

Pic. Credits: Shiinoki

Sono tornato 2 giorni fa da una vacanza lunga 10 giorni in Francia - Bordeaux, Arcachon, Parigi, con una deviazione di 24 ore a Bergamo- e in progamma a Parigi c'e' stata la visita alla mostra 'Dries Van Noten Inpisrations' al Musee Des Art Deocratifs di cui avevo letto su Style Bubble lo scorso febbraio.

Una mostra che mette in luce l'ispirazione, in senso largo, dello stilista belga, e che sopratutto, come da parole sue, mostra il legame tra le sue creazioni, il mondo dell'arte e, aggiungo io, la storia della moda. Infatti le collezioni  di Dries Van Noten, suddivise per temi, sono accostate a dipinti, sculture, e film che le hanno ispirate e ad abiti ed accessori che fanno parte dell'archivio del Musee Des Arts Decoratifs. 

Come per la mostra di Prada ad Harrods a maggio, poter vedere ed ammirare da vicino abiti, che di solito vedo su uno schermo in foto o in streaming durante le sfilate, e' un'esperienza elettrizante, che questa volta ha avuto un ENORME BONUS, visto che gli abiti Dries Van Noten erano in ottima compagnia: un Poiret del 1924, uno Schiaparelli del 1937, un Dior del 1947, un Balnciaga del 1952, uno Chanel del 1957 o un Saint Laurent del 1979, solo per citarne alcuni.

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Got back home 2 days ago from a 10 days holiday in France - Bordeaux, Arcachon, Paris and 24hours detour in Bergamo - and in Paris I visited the exhibition 'Dries Van Noten. Inspirations' at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs that I read about on Style Bubble last Febraury.

An exhibition that sheds light on the inspiration, generally speaking, of the Dutch designer, and that above all, in his own words, shows the links between his creations, the art world and, I add, the history of fashion. In fact the Dries Van Noten collections, divided into themes, are showcased next to paintings, sculptures and films that inspired them and next to clothes and accessories that are part of the archives of the Musee Des Art Decoratifs.

As for the Prada exhibition at Harrods back in May, to be able to see and admire closely clothes that I usually look at on a computer screen or video streaming during fashion week, is an electrifying experience, that this time had a HUGE BONUS, as the Dries Van Noten clothes were in excellent company: a 1924 Poiret, a 1937 Schiaparelli, a 1947 Dior, a 1952 Balenciaga, a 1957 Chanel or a 1979 Saint Laurent, among many others.

Schiaparelli 1937. Credits: Jean Tholance

Le varie stanze ed i temi in cui gli abiti e le ispirazioni erano suddivisi erano completamente buie, illuminate solamente da faretti che illuminavano le collezioni e gli oggetti ispiratori, dietro teche di vetro, e dai muri tappezzati dalle creazioni floreali dell'artista Makoto Azuma, fotografate e digitalmente manipolate da Shiinoki Shunsuke. Per questo le foto da me scattate sono abbastanza buie ed i manichini emergono dal buio con silhouette e colori appena accennati.

Dries Van Noten, in un'intervista fatta in occasione della mostra, descrive il suo stile come ''un contrasto di elementi [...]in cui a volte il contrasto e' accennato ma sempre contrasto. [...]; una mescolanza che crea tensione''. Senza scendere troppo nello specifico nei temi della mostra - che spaziano dalle farfalle all'oro, dai fiori ai grafismi, da Francis Bacon ai dandy - lo stile eclettico e irriverente per cui Dries Van Noten e' conosciuto, viene fatto risaltare risaltare molto bene di teca in teca, fino al punto di aver l'impressione di sfogliare un'enciclopedia in ordine sparso.

Vi lascio con le immagini da me scattate e laddove gli abiti sono i MERAVIGLIOSI capi storici di Balenciaga&co. ho messo una didascalia per sottolinearne l'importanza.

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The rooms and the themes in which the clothes and the inspirations were dived were completely in the dark, lit only by the spotlights directed on the collections and the objects of inspiration, behind glass display cabinets and with the walls covered by the floral creation of the artist Makoto Azuma, photographed and digitally manipulated by Shiinoki Shunsuke. For this reason my pictures are quite dark and the manequins emerge from the darkness with silhouettes and colours that you can just be seen.

Dries Van Noten, in an interview for the opening of the exhibition, describes his style as ''a clashing of elements [...] in which sometimes the clash is gentle but still a clash. [...] a mix up of things that creates tension''.

Without going into the details of the themes of the exhibition - that ranges from butterflies to gold, from flowers to graphism, from Francis Bacon to the dandy - the eclectic and irreverent style that he's known for, stands out really well from cabinet to cabinet up to the point that you have the impression of browsing an encyclopedia in random order.

I leave you with the pictures that I took and wherever the clothes are the WONDERFUL creations of Balenciaga&co. I added a caption to underline their importance.

Vionnet Reloaded Delusion. Haute Couture SS14. Pret-a-Porter FW14-15

Un paio di mesi fa scrissi un post di attesa per la sfilata di demi-couture del marchio Vionnet, rimesso in piedi dall'imprenditrice Goga Ashkenazi, la quale non solo ne e' il Direttore Creativo ma nel gestisce anche l'aspetto economico-finanziario. La sfilata SS14 a Parigi di fine gennaio e' stata affidata al talentuosissimo Hussein Chalayan e quella pap Fw14-15 che ha sfilato qualche giorno  fa.da team della Ashenazy Impressioni? Miste direi.

Le aspettative per un marchio storico come Vionnet sono altissime, ovviamnete e siceramente, esclusa la collezione di Chalayan che non solo ha rispettato il DNA della Maison ( taglio a sbieco e drappeggi ), ha dato anche la sua impronta personale. 

La collezione pret-a porter invece? Di un marchio qualunque. Goga Ashkenazi e' ferratissima su come gestire soldi, asset e cifre ma il creare una collezione in linea con l'heritage di un marchio (vedi i successi di Wang per Balenciaga e Simons per Dior) e fargli seguito con un branding e marketing di impatto e' un'altro' paio di maniche'. Speriamo che la Ashkenazi prenda a bordo un designer di professione che metta Vionnet sulla retta via. Vi metto alcune immagini e fatevi voi un'idea.

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A couple of months ago I wrote a post waiting for the demi-couture collection of Vionnet, revived by the enterpreneur Goga Ashkezazi, who is not only the Creative Director of the brand but she also manages the conomic and financial side of it. The SS 14 collection was designed by the super talented Hussain Chalayan and the ready to wear that by Ashkenazy team. Impression? Mixed I say.

Expectations for an historic brand like Vionnet are, obviously really high and , to be honest, apart from Chayan collection, who not only paid respect to the Maison DNA ( bias cuts and draping ), gave his personal touch. 

The ready to wear collection instead? it could have been of any other brand. Goga Askenazi had lots of experience on how to manage money, assets and numbers but create a collection in line with the heritage of a brand ( see the successful cases of Wang for Balenciaga and Simons for Dior) and follow with a powerful branding and marketing activity is a different kind of business. I really hope that Ashkenazi will hire a professional designer that will put Vionnet on the right path. I leave you with few pictures so you can form an idea.

Demi Couture SS14

Pret-a-Porter FW14-15

Paris: Chanel, Vogue, Marc Jacobs etc...

Baguette and Vogue. C'est bon!

6 days in Paris, 6 days of beautiful things: the streets, the people, fashion, flowers, food and picnics.

Me and my beloved R.stayed in an hotel in Montmartre area and loved it. It's boho but not too much, relaxed, lively and away from turists madness. Been in Paris for the fifth time allowed me to explore the city in its depth and finally had picnics ( 3 times!) like the Parisians do ;-)

Last but not least fashion was part of my trip.

I've posted on Facebook pictures that are not fashion related and you can see them here and here.

Fashion pics below.

6 giorni a Parigi, 6 giorni di bellissime cose: le strade, la gente, la moda,  i fiori, il cibo ed i picnic.

Io ed il mio amato R. siamo stati in albergo in zona Montmartre e l'abbiamo adorata. E' boho, ma non troppo, rilassata e vivace e lontana dalla frenesia turistica. Essere a Parigi per la quinta volta mi ha permesso di esplorare la città piu' in profondità e finalmente fare dei picnic (3 volte!) come i parigini ;-)

Dulcis in fundo anche la moda ha fatto parte del viaggio.

Ho postato su Facebook le foto che non sono legate all moda e le potete vedere qui e qui.

Foto di moda qui sotto.

30 Rue Cambon: Chanel -Where the magic happens!

My Vogue(s)

Matisse painting---> Prada stripey lady?

Marc Jacobs skull necklace

FIGHTING!!

Mesdames, Messieurs: Haute Couture!!

Soon after the curtain had closed over the prêt-à-porter shows, Paris gave us the wonder of wonders: Haute Couture F/W 2010/2011. And we, humble fashion followers, could only rub our eyes in seeing so much beauty on display, thanks to Their Highnesses such as Lagerfeld, Valentino, Armani and above all Galliano for Dior.

Just few words to give you an overview of the show and then the pictures will speak for themselves.

Location: a room of Musèe Rodin. Scenography: stems, leaves and petals tower over a total white background that some journalists described as Galliano's' little shop of horrors (!). To my eyes instead, it looked like a scene from Alice in Wonderland with those singing, merry flowers that she meets following the White Rabbit.

FLOWER POWER, IN FULL EFFECT!

And Galliano too conjures up wonders and makes us dream with wide volumes on the waist and neck line, bright colours, gaudy combinations and refined tailoring.

I do agree with Franca Sozzani then, in saying, well...screaming: " COUTURE? YES!"

http://www.vogue.it/magazine/blog-del-direttore/2010/07/6-luglio

In fact, thanks to Haute Couture, not only can we, ordinary fashion addicts, dream and be inspired, but above all research can carry on as well - into fabrics, prints, new shapes, colours and styles - and into tailoring skills and creativity that give 'sap' ( just to remain with botanics) to prêt-à-porter .