Vogue Russia: Palace Intrigue

Minions, please get out a Number 2 pencil. There will be a short quiz.

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Charlotte Rampling for V Magazine

Working it like no one else can.

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Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2010

In which T and Lo hit the wall.

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Givenchy Spring 2010 Haute Couture

Luxury, darlings.

FWD:

"Ricardo Tisci, Givenchy's current couturier, staged the Spring 2010 collection in the same grand ballroom, where so many YSL shows were held. Likewise, the images of this show recalled the legendary 1976 Carmen collection by the late Saint Laurent himself.

Nonetheless, the sense of elegant modernism throughout was impressive, from the opening tuxedo pantsuit, delightfully jazzed up at the waist with ostrich, vulture and nandou feathers, to a sublime bolero in similar feathers, this time in powdery hues. Tisci’s fashion is rarely easy to wear, but the sense of catering to a demanding stylistic elite is at times breathtaking.

Every detail was carefully thought out in his show, right down to the trompe l'oeil minimalist off-white booties. Or even before the show - Tisci’s invitations are miniature works or art in themselves. This season, the latest collector’s item was an hallucinogenic image of goddess’s face, back lit curtains and Pop Art squiggles, capturing the exotic mood of this arty fashion moment.

“Beauty, early '70s Paris, erotica and, of course, Serge Lutens,” said Tisci after the show, referring to the French perfumer and filmmaker, who created the makeup and hair for Vogue shoots by photographers as esteemed as Richard Avedon, Bob Richardson and Irving Penn."

We loved this collection. The looks get more and more luxurious and rich until you reach the final look, which is just stunning in its use of texture and color. In fact, the whole collection is so textural that you just want to reach out and touch these garments. In addition, it felt modern and edgy in a way that some of the other couture collections only wished they could be (not Valentino naming Valentino any Valentino names Valentino). Once again, we have to complain a bit about the styling, though. We just hate it when every girl is styled to look exactly alike. We suppose the argument behind it is that you're supposed to look at the clothes but there's a robotic, creepy Stepfordness about it that just grates.

[Photos: Catwalking.com/WireImage]


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Givenchy Menswear Fall 2010

Jesus loves me
This I know
Because the House of Givenchy
Told me so.

FWD:

"They say that religion and politics don’t, or should not, mix. But what about religion and fashion? Well, in the hands of Givenchy’s designer Riccardo Tisci it can lead to all sorts of witty and thought-provoking fashion, especially for men, as he showed Friday night, Jan. 22, in Paris.

Many looks in the Fall 2010 show featured a golden crown of thorns, albeit worn as a necklace, in the latest collection that tapped into Tisci’s religious and historical obsessions. The very fact that he and a French fashion house evoked the suffering of Christ before an audience of 300 in Paris said quite a lot about current European zeitgeist and debates about integrating Islamic communities into Western Europe, especially at a time when the French parliament is debating a law to ban the wearing of burkhas."

We'll get to our thoughts in a minute. For now, take a look:

Okay, our reactions are a bit disjointed but we'll try and sum them up. We both love the bare, stripped-down, ascetic quality of the collection. There are quite a few really beautiful pieces in there. The skinny pants/strappy sandals combo is a great look, modern and strangely ancient-looking at the same time. As for the skirts, Tom thinks they look utterly ridiculous. Lorenzo says if he was 20, he'd wear them. Tom looks at Lorenzo like he's nuts and asks, "With black shiny tights and strappy sandals? Good luck getting laid." But even Lorenzo admits that the styling in that instance is a teeny bit much.

And speaking of a teeny bit much, there was on our parts a tendency to roll our eyes at the concept of Jesus on the runway because it's been done and it doesn't really have the power to shock anymore. On the other hand, in light of France's religious squabbles, it makes more sense. A Jesus runway show in America would be featured every night on FOX News for a month, but it means something very different here. So it took us a second, but we came around to the idea, especially since it's not so much a Jesus show as it is a show playing with the themes of religious austerity.

Besides, even Jesus would say "Verily, that skirt and tights combo does suck."

[Photos: Catwalking.com/Getty Images]


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