Tina Reviews Saint Laurent
Much has been made about the debut of designer Hedi Slimane's first womenswear collection for Yves Saint Laurent. First, the house decided to shorten its name to Saint Laurent Paris as part of a new branding strategy. Second, Slimane, a former Saint Laurent menswear designer (more critically known for his years as menswear designer at Dior Homme), was brought in to shake things up and presumably, bring in a hipper, younger consumer. I can only imagine the fashion editors waiting for things to unfold at the Paris runway show, notepads in hand.
Many were very disappointed that Slimane did not do anything to wow them. See, for example, Cathy Horyn's blog for an interesting review. Instead, Slimane went through the archives and brought back a collection of greatest hits. What is so wrong with that? His job was to wipe the slate clean of the assumptions customers and buyers had about the brand. Then, he had to draw in younger consumers. I thought he did just that. He showed fitted jackets with raised shoulders, skinny cropped pants, pointed pumps and blouses with floppy black bows that looked hip and edgy, not like the conservative, 70s inspired scarf tied blouses we have been seeing for quite a few seasons. There were long, flowing, low cut gowns with full sleeves, suede sand colored jackets with fringe, and capes. He showed 66 looks when all was said and done, which is almost double what other big name designers show. It was not groundbreaking but there were cool, wearable pieces that women clamor to buy. And, yes, we've seen it before from Yves Saint Laurent himself, Frida Giannini at Gucci, and Peter Dundas at Pucci.
I'm not going to complain about a collection that is mostly black, white and nude, super cool, and wearable all year round. I'm not alone - Barneys CEO, Mark Lee, described the clothes as "modern, sexy, desirable clothing that the Barneys customer will want." As Phoebe Philo for Celine (yes, I love her) recently said in response to what inspires her collection - "It’s a continuation of the Celine wardrobe." That is a motto that we should all carry with us when shopping - updating a wardrobe, not simply going from trend to trend, and there was a lot shown by Slimane that would really round out my own.
All images via style.com
CATEGORIES: Beautiful things
Introducing Our Guest Blogger
Keep an eye out for posts from our guest blogger, Tina Kourasis.
Tina has a serious love of fashion and a definitive point of view. Her fashion credentials include being a fashion columnist (the coveted last page) in a local magazine and appearing and producing fashion segments for tv featuring everything from prom looks to commenting on the Oscars. Tina's also a mom and a lawyer. Her law career has also had a fashion bent, with clients such as Hudson Jeans and James Jeans. Currently, she is the content lawyer for one of the city's major newspapers. We are looking forward to seeing what her varied background will bring to Ellie Perfume.
CATEGORIES: Perfume news, events and articles
Chandler Burr on OpenSky
When I was living in New York, and thinking about starting my own business, I read an article in the New Yorker written by Chandler Burr called The Scent of the Nile that left me so inspired and awed, that I literally put it down and decided that I would make it happen.
I had the pleasure of meeting Chandler at a press event when I launched Ellie, and then saw him speak at the Chicago History Museum on The Art History Of Scent: 1889 – 2011 as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. It was during his presentation that he mentioned his desire to create a space where scent could be appreciated on its own, without the distraction of labels, packaging, celebrity connections and branding. Since then, he has brought this idea to life via The Untitled Series on OpenSky, and in his role as Curator of Olfactory Art at New York's Museum of Arts and Design. For The Untitled Series on OpenSky, every month Burr selects noteworthy fragrances that are already on the market (both large brand names and obscure niche brands), and provides a lovely description of the scent. After receiving the mystery sample, you live with the scent and make your own judgments based only on the fragrance. At the end of the month, the mystery perfume is revealed, along with the artist who created it, and you can then purchase a full bottle if you are interested.
Burr says, "The point is to let you rethink perfume. Just you and the nameless scent for a month. Remember that in a great museum, you don’t love everything you see. Some works of art shock you, some baffle you, some mesmerize you, but all of them, each of them, changes you." After highlighting the dramatic bottles that are created to lure buyers in my last post, it's refreshing to think about being inspired to focus soley on your sense of smell without being influenced by any visual distractions. It is incredibly rare to have an opportunity to relate to perfume in such a pure and unadulterated form.
CATEGORIES: Perfume news, events and articles
