NOTE to self and to anyone else who wants to go to a Louis Vuitton show – always arrive in plenty of time. At one minute to ten this morning, the doors were closed, no exceptions, leaving lots of bemused and cross and slightly bereft fashion journalists outside.
Those who did get in were greeted with a set that was just as huge in terms of headlines, preparation and considerable spend as we saw in the Grand Palais for Chanel yesterday morning, and like Chanel, this was a pale wonderland – as if designers this season are letting us indulge our every fashion fairytale fantasy.
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Of course, the dramatic showmanship reopened the endless will he, won’t he conversation about Marc Jacobs going toDior – as if we needed any proof that he and his team would do a good job there, this show was it. But we’re apparently no closer to knowing the outcome yet, so we just settled in to watch it happen.
Calling to mind Jacobs’ own show in New York over three weeks ago, he opened by unveiling all the girls at once, scattered beautifully across a white, glittering fairground carousel. That was enough to send us all straight onto Twitter – but we forced ourselves to keep watching because there was so much to see. “It’s my biggest set, I could have never done this anywhere else.Very magical, it’s like a magic box: very Paris,” said Jacobs by way of explanation.
“It was a wonderful panorama of crisp pastels,” said Alexandra Shulman. The models’ hair was held in soft chignons by sparkling bands, to go with the soft, Fifties-influenced femininity of their floating, gauzy overskirts. Very intricate and absolutely beautiful, the collection carried on a theme of wonderful daywear pieces that’d really been worked on with couture ambition – the treatment on the collars, the cuffs and the transparent silhouettes boasting elaborate laser cuts and appliqué.
Dresses had puffed, full skirts and thick doily lace collars – macramé is confirmed as a trend as of this morning; drop waists too – and a little white dress is now on everybody’s list for next summer. Who better to prove that than Kate Moss, back on the show scene for Vuitton for the second season running – she closed the show in a white macramé shift that fell to a hemline of ostrich feathers. “Kate the great returns,” proclaimed Twitter.
The icy whites and silver was injected with candy pinks, yellow and pale blue accented with touches of navy. Accessories, as always, were key – next summer we’ll all want wonderful pointed shoes with pastel patent straps and silver toes. Open weave basket bags carried big daisy appliqués and came in pastel leathers – we can just see the window displays of the Bond Street store now. Meanwhile others, in sharper shades, worked to offset the sweetness of the overall colour palette. It was girly but not twee.
“It was like a big fashion wedding cake with all those clean, pale colours,” continued Alexandra. “Really beautiful.” With 2011 already confirmed as the year of the wedding, Jacobs apparently wants the celebrations to continue into next spring and this was very worthy persuasion.
Read the complete information about the show at Paris Fashion Week Website</a>.
– ADEKUNLE OLUMIDE | 25/11/2011
