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FASHION | FEBRUARY 2, 1998 VOL. 151 NO. 5 |
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Dreamweavers At the spring 1998 haute couture shows, luxury and fantasy took center stage as Christian Dior's John Galliano and Givenchy's Alexander McQueen proved that they're here to stay By JULIE K.L. DAM /PARIS
Ever since the two brash young Brits McQueen and John Galliano--his predecessor at Givenchy, who is now designing for Christian Dior--confidently rode into Paris, hyped as the second coming for couture, the skeptics within the fashion establishment have been waiting for the blinding excitement to lift and reveal that the emperor in fact has no clothes. Certainly many clients, both new and old, have been waiting for collections of outfits they can actually wear. After last week's couture shows in Paris, it can be said that the waiting is over. The verdict: Galliano has come into his own, and as for McQueen--well, McQueen is learning. In three seasons at Dior, Galliano, 37, has allowed his overflowing imagination to run free. For his latest collection, the old Opera National was transformed into the turn-of-the-century world of Maria Luisa Casati, an Italian marquesa famed for her extravagant parties and personal eccentricities. As the scent of orange wafted through the air, the models glided up the grand staircase and roamed around the rooms of the opera house accompanied by costumed tango dancers, sailors, army officers, toreadors, maharajas and dandies. It was an intoxicating, grand spectacle--indeed, a "poetic tribute" to the marquesa in prologue and six acts. And, oh yes, the clothes: the exquisitely fitted Chantilly lace day suit with flared skirt, inspired by Sevres porcelain; the opulent jewel- and gold-encrusted burnt topaz velvet kimono coat named Sheherazade, recalling a Klimt painting; the sumptuous "travel ensembles" with cinched corsets and full kimono sleeves, named after ship lines; the tango dress of silver mesh, hand-painted with flowers; the billowing black crinoline ball gown that represented the marquesa. The most intricately beaded gowns took up to 1,000 hours to complete. Who wouldn't love to wear these works of art, if only we had such a grand hostess to invite us into this fantasy world? As the program dutifully points out, haute couture is unique, and "if, to contemporary eyes, the unique can sometimes appear paradoxical, this is perhaps only prejudice." Touche. McQueen, the 28-year-old bad boy who in past seasons gave women the chance to wear '70s cowgirl gear and decorative human hair, humbly dedicated this collection to the clients. And, surprisingly, he sent down the catwalk--set in a rock garden complete with lotus pond--a mostly calm and tasteful collection of Japanese-inspired clothes. McQueen's trademark tailoring showed up in fitted jackets and trouser suits, as well as in origami-like fanned effects, with mixed results: sleek on a bolero jacket, uncomfortable as jutting bamboo wings-cum-shoulder pads. Though the brocade and embroidery that flowed through the collection called to mind Galliano's successful foray into chinoiserie last year, this show should be seen as a marked improvement for McQueen--and no doubt for his clients too. Hubert de Givenchy was only half right. This season, it may not be new, but it is unmistakably elegant.
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he legendary couturier Hubert de Givenchy, who sold his fashion
house in 1988 and retired in 1995, knows a thing or two about
cutting--and being cutting. Three days before Alexander McQueen,
the current designer at Maison Givenchy, was to present the
spring haute couture collection, Hubert de Givenchy threw down
the gauntlet in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph.
"From time to time, I glance at the fashion pages just to see
what's happening at Maison Givenchy," he said. "Well,
personally, I find it a total disaster...These days, what I see
is neither elegant nor even new. It's just disconcerting."