I guess it's kind of funny that my first post of original written content on this blog is one that focuses on what is perhaps my most frivolous interest, fashion. I, in fact, disagree with that verdict.
You see, I'm in love. Maybe it's because, ever since I was a little kid, my mother would step on the plastic pedal of her sewing machine and the sound of the needle thrumming against fabric feeding through would buzz in the air, like many tiny bees saying
pthhhlb! pthhhlb! at my pathetic inability to do what my mother could do. I have always wanted to sew and failed miserably, mostly due to my impatience. But I will always hold a high regard for anyone who can cut out a piece of flat fabric, look at it, and turn it into something three-dimensional.
Just like art on a canvas is meant to be pondered upon, considered, and very often paid exorbitant amounts of cash on, something made of fabric is just as thoughtful, thought-provoking and, for what must be the millions of people who rock happily back and forth on their heels when stores put out new collections, just as loveable.
Art, in all its infinite forms, does so many things. Art makes you think, makes you wonder about the things that are presented as a representation of real life, makes you laugh when it's ridiculously silly and makes you, perhaps, cry when it's particularly poignant. Art is so very much a reflection of what you are and what you want to be.
I know that the fashion industry, as well as haute couture itself, is definitely not without its flaws. But sometimes we need to remember that fashion at its roots, at its ideals, and at haute couture, is art that has the full capability to transport you to beautiful places just as a well-penned novel can.
With that, I want to show you some of the
Dior Haute Couture Fall 2010 collection. I was surprised to see a lot of mixed reviews about this season, mostly due to the very Galliano tackiness of the bright colours and ridiculous uses of fabric. Some of the looks were creeping over the edge of bright to the side clearly labelled tacky, but with every Dior show I fall more in love with the New Look reinvented over and over and over again.
I'm going to admit that I've skipped to pretty much the end of the entire show with this photo but, you know, whatever. LOOK AT THIS DRESS. The way the black satin seems to gradually give way to the light fabric is incredible. And the tiny hint of green in the dye? So beautiful, and so evocative of the tenderness of new petals.
The black tulle! The buttery yellow tulle! It's as if a flower was supersized and seamlessly sewn into the dress. I adore the back. Kim looks like a dark sprite slipped into the petals of a flower.
The finale dress. Just look at the colours. I am dying ;_;
Hair, makeup, shoes, and a little detail from one of my other favourite looks. The hair is completely ridiculous and I love it. The shoe in this pretty green is so lovely - like ivy creeping up the model's ankle.
Stephen Jones created headgear that looked like a florist's plastic wrap. Someone else contributed the raffia belts. And nature did the rest. "It's the most inspiring teacher," said John Galliano, after a show that was a hymn to all things floral. Part of his research involved studying real flowers, spending an hour watching the light change on a parrot tulip, for instance. ... Perhaps it was the precision of the inspiration that accounted for the show's clarity, not only in the palette but in the delicate techniques. The fronding, the feathering, the ruching, the ruffling—all duplicated the extraordinary intricacies of flowers. Delicate they may be in nature, but his objects of study gave Galliano free rein to be bold.
Tim Blanks @ Style.com
I guess it's good this is just my first runway recap post because I am completely incoherent. Looking at these images makes me wish I was a tiny fairy prancing around in fields of gorgeous flowers made of tulle and satin and chiffon, and as expressed much more eloquently by Blanks, that was exactly the intention. This is art at its finest. I'm not going to lie - I am unashamedly a blind Dior fangirl, and most seasons I see very little wrong being done. Fashion very much attempts to display and fulfil our fantasies, just as so many writers also have. Fantasy, whimsy, that sense of childish excitement - that's what I see so often in haute couture.
...Which is good, seeing as I recently purchased a white tutu from the children's section of H&M. For myself. :)
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In other news: I'm still getting the hang of this blogging deal! I think my tendency to ramble may be a negative effect but, you know. What you see is what you get - hello, ridiculously long trains of thought! Still, I'm hoping to have something up at least a couple times a week. I do, after all, have lots and lots to talk about (and much more personal thought to be expressed!)
Much love,
Kai
