Showing posts with label Saint Laurent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saint Laurent. Show all posts

31.7.13

Designers who are Giving me a Headache

Aaaaaargh so I haven't had access to mine own computer for the last little while, which means I haven't been posting because my sister's laptop doesn't have photoshop and you wouldn't believe how much low level photoshop I use in all of my posts. So I've browsed through all my drafts and chosen the one which will be easiest to do without the ol 'shop. Basically, Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane are giving me a real headache at the moment.

Firstly, Slimane. There are so many reasons I shouldn't like Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, but god his art direction cannot be denied! It trumps any short-comings in other areas, such as design and attitude. Popping Cara in front of that window, bringing back the skinny musician male bob, accompanying it with shoegazey Interpol nostalgia, it makes me understand the vision that is Saint Laurent Ready-to-Wear 2013. I'm feeling that neo-neo-nineties now instead of looking on incredulously. He's wily and cleaver, and because of it (and despite it) he's starting to grow on me.


And then Amanda Seyfried, who has gone kinda badass since she's been promoting Lovelace (which I am super psyched for because that one clip on Youtube is awesome) is wearing the starry cardigan in Elle and she looks an absolute dream. All thanks to Hedi.


And then there is Simons who I have always adored but who is also responsible for all of the half 'n' half pants at the moment. I am trying really hard to be supportive of Simons because it is undeniable that he is basically fashion's future. That is a cliche but I mean it: he is the future. And currently he is getting that future sorted, but gosh with Spring 2013 Couture he's making it very hard for me to believe in him. Yes you are freeing up couture but does it need to be so uncomfortable looking? I do believe that he's on his way to achieving his aims. But I don't have to like every step of the process.


Anyway, the two of them are keeping me very confused. I guess what one should probably take from this is that the world isn't black and white, but uh, grey. The last time I learnt that lesson (man this one's really not sticking with me) was from reading the last book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. If, like me, you stopped being a pre-teen, tween, teenager and "young adult" in the time between Lemony Snicket writing the first and last book then you probably never reached the end. I think I petered out around 10 or 11. But you should read those remaining books! I sure am glad that last year I got back on that horse again because I learnt a very good lesson about how the world is not divided into good and bad, but rather good shaded with bad and bad shaded with good. If only I had remembered that, and I could have applied it to Hedi (bad shaded with good) and Raf (good shaded with really, really bad).

23.12.12

Ads, Beautiful Ads

Since it's well and truly the Christmas season now, I thought it would be topical to do a post on advertising and consumption (haha). But actually, advertising in fashion magazines is an interesting and contentious subject. We've all been there haven't we? Someone has picked up one of our magazines and scoffed, scorned us at the amount of advertising in its pages, something along the lines of "I've counted, and it's 167 pages before the masthead!". Now I ain't gonna defend that! It's true! There are a lot of ads in fashion magazines. But what these people (these people) don't understand is that unlike, say, an ad for Neutrogena, the ads that labels put in fashion magazines are much, much more than just ads. To put it simply, they are campaigns. 
There. In that one word they are declared as different. Because while these images from the new Heidi Slimane helmed Saint Laurent Paris are of course trying to sell us something, they are also a creative outlet for a fashion house to further express exactly what they are all about.






In these images, creatives have even more control over their image, or aesthetic ("aesthetic" sounds far more creatively driven than the commercial "image" doesn't it?) than they do at shows. They help show what the collection is all about, what the designer was thinking, what his influences were. This Saint Laurent campaign in particular is an excellent example of the power of fashion's campaign image. Sent down the runway, the clothes looked like above average examples of a stylish LA lady. To be honest I was a bit embarrased for Slimane. But here, here I get it. It's about being androngynous and slinky, and pared back but not minimal as we know the term, and about clean lines and black and white. The images also convey, very succinctly, that Slimane is making huge changes at this house, that he is placing Saint Laurent at the front of the new change towards the new-minimalism, simplified-but-not-simple luxury aesthetic. Just compare this latest campaign to Winter 2012, when Stefano Pilati was head designer - anyone could tell that with Slimane, something's afoot.



And it is absolutely no mistake that he released campaign images before he even showed his first full collection. Art and design isn't just about objects guys, it's also about feeling. 

Miu Miu have also just released their Spring Summer 2013 campaign, and as with Saint Laurent, they have made everything make so much sense. Crinkly denim pencil skirts look so much more appealing now.








Still lifes! Or accessories advertising. Whatever.































Saint Laurent images from The Cut
Miu Miu images from Fashion Gone Rogue