"Yes, I do.", the Haute Couture way!!

This Haute Couture season held in the wake of an economic recession had drawn mixed reactions from the fashion population, while some termed the simplicity prevalent in many collections as the future of couture which held wearability as its prime focus, others blamed the designers for swimming inside tested waters.Perhaps the stressful life that people led these days added extra weight to their expectations from Couture as a means of "fashion escapism" and perhaps, the equally stressed out designers trying to balance their creativity with their company's bottomline, in an ardent effort to stay afloat, didn't venture much into unknown territories but rather crouched inside a boundary of "guarded optimism" to produce collections that instead of torching a new fashion trail, relished and relived the glorious days of the past.The only exception being Christian Lacroix, the very company on the brink of bankruptcy, that ended up producing the best collection of this season proving that unparalleled creativity cannot be stymied by budgetary restrictions.

The bridal gown of Haute Couture always hold a special place, for, that is the one look that sums up the entire collection. All the bridal looks of Fall 2009's Haute Couture have been summarised here.Tell me which one would make you desperate to walk the aisle?

Christian Lacroix Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Christian Lacroix's show lent credibility to the saying that "All good things must come to an end.".In what could be the design house's last collection(unless it finds a suitable investor), the house has proved that even its financial turmoil could not strip away the finesse it has been known for! The bridal dress beautifully amalgamated all the elements that uniquely identified the design house, namely artfully worked laces, delicate tulle, fine embroidery,rich colors (brought out by roses in bright colors),and flowers.If Marie Antoinette had been a bride today, we know what she would be wearing!

Elie Saab Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Elie Saab's all white collection(similar to Chanel's white collection last season), was a stellar example of what creativity can do with just a single hue, the bridal dress shown here is a testament to the detailing that went into the entire collection.The intricate detailing found on each of the forty six white dresses comprising the collection, makes them all double up as bridal dresses as well!Be it a crystal studded jumpsuit or fur trimmed jackets or short skirts or organza flower decorated evening dresses, the collection had it all, making the brides truly spoilt for choice.

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2009 Haute Couture

"Take Fashion, ACTION!" screamed Gaultier's show!! An ode to Hollywood, with images of yesteryear's actresses floating on a screen offered the perfect atmosphere for the uber glamorous collection done the Gaultier way!! Similar to the bridal dress, this collection is not for the faint of heart, heavy fur coats, 3-D geometric dresses in sparking metal with conical bras, overalls in crocodile were all designed to bring out the rock star chic in you, that is, if you dare to reveal that side of you to the outside world.

Christian Dior Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Christian Dior's focus, this season, on "innerwear as outerwear" extended to the bridal gown as well.Like the bridal gown, the collection was deft in its artistry and workmanship, the only caveat being the lack of the "unseen", the show like the gown, was too familiar and strongly circled within Galliano territory!

Chanel Fall 2009 Haute Couture

This season Chanel focused on the house's raison d'etre of tweed suits and delicate evening gowns, the only addition being the "Superman like cape" behind the dresses much like the one seen in the bridal dress.Fashion tribes dubbed the extension as "tails", whether they will don one is a bit doubtful but Karl Lagerfeld did use them cleverly to frame his dresses and attract attention to a collection that might otherwise have been passed over as "the familiar".The "tails" were what the corsets were to Galliano, adding a new dimension to a familiar look.

Givenchy Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Ever dreamt of a Celtic wedding? Givenchy might be the answer to that dream, what with their collection loaded with heavy embellishments, chunky jewellery, spiked headgear and bracelets, accessorizing dresses with sharp tailoring and geometric cuts! A warrior princess could essentially wear everything from the collection, for rest its a slim picking!

On Aura Tout Vu Fall 2009 Haute Couture

On Aura Tout Vu's collection says "Get close to nature"! In addition to an earthy palette comprising of nudes and grays, the collection included plenty of colorful accessories in the form of twigs and feathers and dresses embellished with peacock feathers and 3d leaves.An ideal countryside wedding would benefit from this collection, arty and modern.

Stephane Rolland Fall 2009 Haute Couture

Stephane Rolland, the latest addition to the Haute Couture family, maintains a tensile balance between modernity, simplicity and sophistication.This season the focus was on the shoulders with dresses cut close to the body and sporting geometric embellishments accentuating a long slender silhouette much like the wedding dress seen above, a perfect wedding dress for the second time bride!

On the whole, though the melancholy of recession did have a heavy bearing on the Haute Couture season at least in terms of lack of outlandish experiments, it still held fast to the very corner stones of Couture namely intricate and skilled craftsmanship with a paradigm shift towards modernity where couture had transcended from the aristocratic princesses who spent a large part of their time preening themselves in front of the mirror to the power women of today with a strong need to incorporate sophistication into her wardrobe without appearing too made up or archaic!! Long live Couture!

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Elie Saab, Snow Whites on the Runway !!

Just when I had accepted that this Haute Couture season was a damp squib, Elie Saab proves the contrary in the form of an ornate all white collection(two dresses were in off-white), similar to what we had seen last season at Chanel(the similarity between the two collections ends with the choice of color). This collection encompassed almost everything that I had wanted in a couture show, complexity, creativity, meticulous detailing and freshness.The asymmetrical shoulders, the big pouf sleeves, delicately worked organza flowers that gently wrapped the body, a number of evening dresses in myriad wraps and volumes some of which sparkling with crystals, fur trimmed dresses, jumpsuits, short dresses - the options were truly infinite.Finally my faith in Haute Couture was reposed by this designer, who had really saved the best for last!

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Dominique Sirop, can only "Dress" you up !!

Dominique Sirop's Fall 2009 Haute Couture collection comprised only of dresses, and that too of the simplest kind he has ever produced.While extending his draping techniques from Fall 2005 and Fall 2006 couture collections, didn't seem a bad idea, the collection was too focused on wearable clothes almost like pret-a-porter, so much so that the entire collection could have been part of a RTW show.Each of the twenty dresses can be worn off the shelf without any alterations, the color palette was sufficiently varied to include purple, blue, black, red and gray, making the dresses appealing to a wider client base! While Dominique may not be the only one to have embraced simplicity in these turbulent times, churning out practical, wearable(to be interpreted as high on client appeal with a decent price tag) clothes, still a couture show with a very focused collection completely devoid of excess is a bit contrived!!

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Christian Dior, Ornate but not Unusual!!

Christain Dior's Fall 2009 Haute Couture had all the elements of glitz and glamour associated with a Dior show.The clothes were in brilliant colors accentuated with ornately worked sequins, the little twist in the show being the focus on underwear.What was essentially missing was the "nouveau" factor!!The show was so boringly predictable, the showstopper gowns were just a little varied from the previous shows.Its a pity that John Galliano has fallen into an endless loop of repetitive fashion!!Its about time he reinvented himself and traded those nipped waist and sheer fabric so characteristic of his shows, with something really path breaking like his first show way way back in 1984!!

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Alexis Mabille, Minimalism in Fashion or Creativity?

Fall 2009 Haute Couture began on a damp note with Alexis Mabille showcasing his collection comprising of lacy gowns, pants, shapeless flowy dresses and his typical bows adorning the models' feet, hair and occasionally their dresses.Couture is "The What might have been", i.e unrestrained creativity augured by an almost limitless budget.Unfortunately Alexis Mabille, who a few seasons back had worked magic through his Spring 2008 collection of splendid origami dresses and ornate bows, had few tricks to pull out of his hat!!The dresses were too simple even by pret-a-porter standards, treaded on familiar ground and arrogated a "haute couture" claim!!

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A Night Out...

This spring had been a tough one for you, not only at work trying to keep your job but also on the personal front, frantically despairing to lose all the winter weight gained by indifferently giving in to plum puddings, roasted turkeys and endless bottles of wine.And after the New Year party, you were, all tired, depressed, bloated and heavier by 15 pounds.You stepped on the weighing scale innumerable times, just hoping that the scales might be a bit too hard on you, but the truth was out there, the time to pay for the gluttonous sins committed during the holiday week of Christmas and New Year.You thought of all the new clothes that lay unworn, and that by now are a cool three sizes too small from you, tears well up in your eyes but after momentarily giving in to melancholy, you rebound with determination to melt those extra pounds before the sun got brighter and people basked by the sea, letting the salty air play their hair, in a season called summer.

You gave up on junk, meticulously shopped fresh fruits and vegetables every single day on your way back from work, cooked your own food, counted calories and every morning ran by the Seine river with a regularity that could be likened to the rising of the sun, and now three months later you pride yourself not only for the lost pounds but also for your determination in achieving what you wanted to, you feel you can surmount any obstacle, conquer any mountain, oh what it feels to be light as a feather and fit as a fiddle!!And just when you couldn't wait any longer to show off your toned body, in drops an invite from your friend for an evening of fun at the newly opened club.What better excuse have you got to flash those leggings which now accentuate your lean long legs?

As opposed to the usual LBD that would be spotted on you on such occasions, you decide to blend in a little white into the black that you normally wear at night!! While not exactly a conservative when it comes to dressing, you still feel a bit shaky about those "x-ray" print leggings and decide to show just a tad bit of it by covering it with a long monochrome tunic on top and black over-the-knee boots at the bottom.You neutralise your monochrome clothes by blacking out on accessories, for you still want black to be the dominant color of the evening.Finally you up your funkiness quotient by wearing a hexagonal cuff watch in black and finish the look with a black clutch embellished with golden grommets, and do I need to say which way heads turn when you walk down the street!! Did I hear someone whistle "Downtown Girl"??

P.S:Just a small note of caution - the leggings shown above work best on tall girls with slender thighs, as the vertical plane of the thigh is cut horizontally where the boots meet the thighs owing to the boots being in a much darker color than the leggings, creating an illusion of a shorter, stumpier thigh, to avoid that substitute the skeleton print leggings with black leggings to create an illusion of long endless legs.

Mad about the look? Emulate it as follows:

1.Stella McCartney Lizard-print silk dress

2.Alexander McQueen Skeleton-print Lycra leggings

3.Stella McCartney Over-the-knee boots

4.Marc by Marc Jacobs Hexagonal cuff watch

5.Stella McCartney Patent rivet-detail clutch

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What's in your bag?

What seems to be an innocuous question, seemingly doesn't evoke a straight forward reply, at least not when subjected to the wild imagination of John Galliano!! John plays doubting Thomas and adds a naughty twist as to the contents of a women's bag to an extent that one almost believes the bag to be a holder of sinister secrets which her better half would certainly regret to chance upon!! He muses "It is part of their charm, their secret weapon. Who knows what’s in there — keys, wallet, phone. That is all to be expected. Who’s to say what door that spare key opens; why she has her passport tucked in when she’s only going up the road and whose phone number she has scrawled on the back of an envelope . . . I love the unknown — and the what might be.”

If John is to be believed, then its not just good manners that should hinder a man from opening a woman's, especially his woman's bag! Well as for the contents of my bag, all I can say is that if John did peep in he would be very disappointed, for spare keys he would certainly find that to his utter dismay opens only my closet, the passport tucked in, serving as a mere identity proof and as for the number scribbled on a decrepit paper and peeping out of the bag's inner pocket, well that just belongs to an old man who sells fruits in Bastille, whom I promised to call to ascertain whether the kiwis that I had so badly wanted for so long have finally arrived.

So whatever is in there, we have a convincing explanation for it all, and if men do put us through fire by their uncouth act of demanding an explanation for each of the precious possessions in our bag, we would emerge a saint, unscathed!! And John, just a word of advice, please look for your Hitchcokian mystery elsewhere!!

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