L’annonce avait surpris tout le monde : en novembre, aprés quinze ans de bons et loyaux services, le créateur français Nicolas Ghesquière quitte Balenciaga. Si la nouvelle avait été relayée par la maison dans un communiqué de presse, le designer était resté silencieux sur le sujet… jusqu’à cette semaine.
The announcement surprised everyone: in November, after fifteen years of good and loyal service, the french designer Nicolas Ghesquière left Balenciaga. If the news had been relieved by the couture house in a press release, the designer remained silent on the subject… until this week.
Évoquant de nombreux différends avec la direction de l’enseigne, Nicolas avait alors le sentiment "d’être aspiré", comme si les responsables de Balanciaga "voulaient [lui] voler [s]on identité en essayant d’homogénéiser les choses". Du côté de son studio, "ça a commencé à devenir de la bureaucratie et graduellement de plus en plus un truc d’entreprise, jusqu’à ce que cela n’ait plus rien à voir avec la mode"… Et c’est le discours de beaucoup de ses pairs, on a donc hâte de voir si et comment Alexander Wang résistera à la pression, même s’il fait parti d’une génération de jeunes designers formés au marketing.
Evoking numerous disagreements with the brand’s managers, Nicolas had the feeling "to be sucked up", as if the people in charge of Balanciaga "wanted to steal [his] identity by trying to homogenize things ". As for the studio, "it started becoming a bureaucracy and gradually became more corporate, until it was no longer even linked to fashion"… And it is the speech of many of his peers, we thus look forward to seeing if and how Alexander Wang will resist the pressure, even if belongs to a young generation of designers trained in marketing.
Dans une nouvelle interview, Nicolas Ghesquière explique être incertain de son avenir, bien qu’il envisage de fonder sa propre marque : "Quel que soit le choix que je fais maintenant, les possibilités sont ouvertes, et cela a été confirmé lorsque mon nom s’est libéré de Balenciaga. Je revis à nouveau, et c’est très excitant parce que c’est une sensation que je n’ai pas eu depuis mes 20 ans." Ghesquière a décidé de ne pas dévoiler ses projets avant d’être sûr de lui. Le couturier souhaite s’accorder autant de temps que nécessaire pour faire les bons choix de carrière… Et on a hâte de voir le résultat!
In a new interview, Nicolas Ghesquière explains that he is uncertain of his future, although he intends to establish his own brand: "whatever the choice I make, the possibilities are open, and that was confirmed with the freeing of my name from Balenciaga. I’m regenerating again, and that’s very exciting because it’s a feeling I haven’t had since I was in my twenties." Ghesquière decided not to reveal its projects before anything is confirmed. The designer wishes to take as much time as he needs to make the good career choices… And we look forward to seeing the result!
Martin Margiela introduced his Couture collection in Paris las month. I’ve always loved the unique and corky aesthetic of the designer and couldn’t wait to see his artisanal creations.
Usually, the Couture Fashion week is used by designers to showcase their red carpet gown. It’s true you cannot find a single piece that screams MET Gala : everything is vintage, decontextualized, trés Martin Margiela. Finally someone gives back its meaning to Couture : Artistic experimentation rather than boring excepted long gowns.
Outerwear was particularly important for Lim this season, and he did put a particular thought into it. There was a lot of leather, denim and oversized pieces but every look was sleek and polished.
Those amazing slouchy leather pants were a big hit among fashion editors, even tough the Celine reference was clear. The bag, new this season, was a tourist satchel that straps on like a guitar and is called the Ryder. The finishing touch: swinging gypsy-chandelier earrings designed exclusively for the collection by Alexis Bittar.
Backstage, Marcus Wainwright and David Neville talked about what had inspired fall. The idea of a sixties minimal-chic way of travel and uniforms of aviation workers were behind every piece.
Those quilted pants were probably the most commented piece of the collection, totally understandable since it is perfectly gorgeous. The color palette was lifted from the airplane world too : military service shades of black, gray, and olive, contrasted with a judicious use of deep purple, seafoam green, and a flash of orange.
Perhaps the best indication of the strength of this show was that the looks were all so clean. In contrast to some of their previous efforts, here the layering was minimal and non-distracting.
