Friday, March 4, 2011

In Paris, Ovations Where Merited

It might have seemed stagey, bringing out the white-coated seamstresses and tailors of Dior’s ateliers to take the bow, but considering everything — the turmoil and publicity of the last week, but, above all, the high place that skilled hands have in French fashion — the gesture was sincere, and it was received with a cheering ovation.
If there is a stranger episode in the history of fashion than the sudden fall of John Galliano, who faces charges of anti-Semitism, it is hard to think what that might be. But it was clearly the aim on Friday of Dior and its chief executive, Sidney Toledano, to bring off the show, at the Musée Rodin, with professional tact and dignity.
Beforehand, Mr. Toledano spoke from the runway in French, his first public comment on the incident that has shaken the 64-year-old house. He said, “It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be.” He called such statements intolerable and said that it was “our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims,” recalling, too, that Christian Dior’s sister had been sent to Buchenwald.
There could be no segue to the business at hand, the showing of tweeds and damsel chiffon, but to acknowledge the people who work behind the scenes at Dior, “the heart of the house,” he called them.
With the street outside jammed with more than 300 spectators, holding cameras but curiously subdued, as if for a funeral, and extra police, American retailers said Dior handled everything as well as could be expected.
The clothes reflected the pattern of recent Galliano seasons — say, a gutsy suede coat or knitted jacket contrived to look careless and cool, with romantic fur, little checked shorts or knickers, and over-the-knee platform boots. The collection sketched a pretty view of autumn, in Bordeaux, olive and teal, with bouclé knits, sugary organza dresses, and a feverish light gray fur jacket that moved to and fro as the model walked.
But the show also had, inevitably, that mechanical quality of a bad dream being enacted. It must have felt that way to the people backstage as well, so used to the energy of Mr. Galliano for some 15 years.
Next week, Mr. Toledano will begin focusing on finding a new designer. One person mentioned, at least in the front row, is Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, a talent and a commercial success story. But Mr. Elbaz said backstage on Friday: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.” He added, trying to make a wallflower joke, “And, anyway, nobody has called.”
Mr. Elbaz knows how to refresh a brand, the way a gardener snips-snips-snips, and things begin to grow again. His simple but powerful idea for fall was a three-piece wool ensemble along straight lines, in dark camel or gray, hemmed above the knee and shown with plain low-heeled shoes. One look consisted of a trim cape worn with a sleeveless smooth-fitting jacket and skirt. He filled out the starkly feminine silhouette with a black wide-brimmed hat.
It’s a different look than we’ve seen from anyone this season, and from Lanvin. And isn’t that the point? Lapels were trimmed in thin gold metal, and there were chunky metal rose cuffs and coiled rose necklaces, a motif repeated in blown-out silk prints. The collection had a brisk youthfulness, with a blast of rose-red gazar for evening and off-the-shoulder looks in wool or washed faille that were essentially sexy T-shirts.
Roland Mouret also had a good show on Friday, with a lot of polished sportswear. Among the best looks were an olive wool blouson with a slim black stretch crepe skirt with a slit front, wide indigo trousers, and a lovely violet halter-neck blouse with gray-flecked cuffed trousers. He had his signature dresses with soft pleats, but they looked less fussy this time. Mr. Mouret recently opened his first boutique, at 8 Carlos Place in London.
The seamtresses and artisans of the Dior ateliers, who took to the catwalk at the end of the show.


Source: The New York Times

No comments:

Post a Comment