Fashion en Francais - The House of Chanel

WOW I haven't blogged in a while. My bad... it's finals week so I've been working my ass off to get everything done before the end of the term. I've also been dreadfully ill, but enough with the excuses. I've got to get onto writing two posts today to make up for the lost time - one of which you're reading, and the next which will appear tomorrow.

Ooooooooh this is my favorite part of Spring, no doubt. Paris Fashion Week rises above all the rest to exemplify the qualities in fashion that have us all coming back for more, beautiful season after beautiful season. I actually have a specific love and weakness for French fashion thanks to my mother's very French background. Si une femme est mal habillée a Paris, on remarque sa robe, mais si elle est impeccablement vêtue, c’est elle que l’on remarque, apres tout. ;)

The House of Chanel was founded by the one and only Coco Chanel (aka the single coolest woman of all time) in 1909 in Paris. Even then Chanel was known for an extremely high level of sophistocation, workmanship and a modern simplicity that in 1909 was something extraordinary to behold. Imagine being 21, having the squeeze into a corset every day, and one day this woman comes along and says you don't have to wear that corset anymore - straight is in. Needless to say she became very famous and successful very quickly and the reputation of the House has been consistantly respected as the most exquisite haute couture the industry has to offer. When Karl Lagerfeld took over the line in 1983, he renewed that sense of freedom and elegance to the line, maintaining the basic Chanel staple silhouettes and textile choices.
This season's collection was ridiculously good. It appeals to two types of people. It's got the classic tweed jackets and the lace etc, but Lagerfeld has paired the black lace with black leather to make long straiht dresses. The most delightfully surprising thing about the collection was the presence of lots of baggy pants and tops, giving the collection a tom boy feel that has been missing from Chanel for decades. These are clothes that both, the fashionistas who love the luxury will wear, as well as the regular women like me who realize you've gotta wear flats when you're running around the city with garment bags and sewing machines. AmIRightLadies??
I just loved it. And if I become a millionaire in the next little while, I'll be sure to buy up the whole line. LOL.

Anyways I think this is an amazing step in the right direction for Chanel and definitely for the industry as a whole. After all, Dolce and Gabanna are making matching hers and hers suits and dresses, and Louis Vuitton is making women soldiers and body guards! Love it!

Short and sweet and I'm off to write about what I've been dying to write about for weeks - check out my reviews of the John Galliano and Christian Dior shows at this season's Paris Fashion week. ;)

Le Couturier: Origami, Fashion-gasms and "Un-Wearable" Clothing

I love this time of year. I'm not talking about the horrifying weather or the desperate feeling that Spring will never come, but the fashionable cure for all of those woes at the end of January/beginning of February - the new Spring Couture Collections. Our own line, Petey Couture (a line we created for the purpose of creating wearable art,) is released in April to accomodate Alternative Fashion Week. I find it kind of perfect thought because as we create the pieces for our own collection, we're viewing the newly finished masterpieces from the House of Chanel, the House of Dior and other fab fashion houses all over the fashion world.

I spent the entire day yesterday and today sketching, pattern drafting and creating little paper, origami flowers for one of my dresses for the Couture line. It's called a Kusadama Flower and it's pretty simple to make, but it involves a lot of patient cutting out squares and gluing little bits of paper together. I'm only alright with it because I know it'll be stunning on the final pieces. I also figured out how to make fabric swirl the way I want it to on the front a dress without actually changing or losing the structure of the garment. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

I didn't have to work today, so I decided to take my time and make flowers all day while doing my laundry and grocery shopping. It's a nice day off from the regular rush of day to day life. I've spent a lot of that time philosophising on love with John and Yoko in the 1973 documentary of the making of Imagine "Gimme Some Truth" (amazing,) and now about life and fashion with Karl Lagerfeld in the recently recorded French documentary "Lagerfeld Confidential."
I find it difficult, while watching John and Yoko in all their glory talking about life frankly in a way they've always been admired for. I think about the relationship to that type of lifestyle as opposed to the lifestyle I've chosen - an unashamed, slave to fashion and art. The unfortunate argument about Couture is its relevance to society in today's context. I believe the answer to this argument is that Couture is for fashion, what the symphony is for music. It is loved for its greatness and only the very best of the industry with the most talent and the most respect can partake in the trade. The symphony is not widely attended in most cases, and exists as a tribute to truly high quality music. I always think of my dad's response to Couture (my father is the epitome of Canadian, mid-fifties father...) which is only that the clothes are "un-wearable" and therefore useless as a sort of fashion. I mean, really, fashion is the most frivolous industry in the world, but why is it that in our over-capitalized world we must take our frustrations with frivolity out on fashion? Let us have our fun, will you?

I'm also trying to find a couple more models for the presentation of the Couture line at FAT this Spring. I think it's pretty obvious from our past photo shoots and shows that we do not tend to use models that are conventionally perfect looking or model like. I'd pick a girl with pretty eyes and an ass over a twig with a plain face any day. So if you think you have a unique look, or you know someone who might fit in with our style, email me at vanessapetey@gmail.com for more info!!
So for now, check out the following Couture collections and keep reading this blog for Petey Couture updates over the next couple of months! Hello February!!

Christian Dior
Chanel
Jean Paul Gautier
Valentino

Until then,
V