Damir Doma, International Herald Tribune

10 | TUESDAY, JANUARY25, 2011 INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE . YOUTHWEAVER TheNewYorkdesi gnerPhil ipLimchose the Paris Mint to show his 3.1 PHILIP LIM coll ection. And ther e was a sense of newly minted elegance to the slip-on tops that the designer compared to ‘‘car covers’’ ; andto whathe called‘‘sartorial idiosyncr asies. ’’ They included hook- and -eye fastenin gs, zipp ered vest s, space-dyed , head-to-to e jerseyand sleek shoes from Japan. It all answered the question posed by Mr. Lim: ‘‘How do youmake eleganceyouthful?’’ MEN’S FASHION special report PARIS The historic arched arcade is pretty and quaint. You could imagine a Parisian crinolined lady with her para- sol walkin g the blue and white tiled floor. But last week end, you were more likely to see Reese Witherspoon’s red- soledLoubo utin s clic kingalongthepas- sag e, pas t win dows shi eld ed wit h blown-up photographs, as she dropped intoGiamba ttis taValli’ s newstoreat 30 Rue Bois sy d’ Angl as , near the Madeleine. ‘‘It’s a private place, secret — and I chose it for this quality: Curiosity is my muse,’’ says the designer, who has built a following within the glamorous Euro- pean set since he moved to Paris from hisnativeItaly , sett ingup hisfashionla- belalmosteightyearsago. The flowering from his Roman roots can be seen in this 140-square-meter, or 1,500 -squa re-fo ot, boutique, with its stone pillars and tiny garden sprouting with olive trees. The eclectic mix that rock s the baro que incl udes benc hes with crocodile skins stretched like lazy lizards and Venetian chairs with jewels embro ider edon theseats— asif a wom- an ‘‘was changing and left her jewelry on a chair,’’ says Mr. Valli, referring to the lush, pearl-encrusted creations of Luigi Scialanga, who is also the store’s archi tect. The tensi on is between the mode rnist gray concret e floor and a ceiling that looks like an ancient Italian palaz zo,minus thefrescoe s. ‘‘Modernityand decadence, ’’ says the desig ner , alth oughthisdoesnot applyto the clothes, which are fresh, pretty and womanly, with the current spring col- lect iontintedwithpinkin cont rasttohis signa tureblackcockt aildresses.A scat- terin g ofhis earl ierdesignsgivesa light touch of heritage. Prices start around ¤1,50 0,or $2,04 5. Acce ssori es inclu de cove tabl e animal-print shoes and bags both pretty and prac tical. A coll abor atio n with Longchamp has turned that label’s air- port-friendly nylon folding bags into a luxurious leather version, and the com- binations of lush velvets in Roberta di Camerino’s bags are also being recon- figur ed forthe store . Maki ng the shop persona l, but not egotistical, is Mr. Valli’s mission, which explainsboth the fashion collaborat ions and the eclectic mix: original sketches by Yves Saint Laurent, the designer’s hero; a perfume combo with Cire Trud- on pro duc ing the Fr enc h rose and Tuscan black pepper candles. Every- thing — including the shop furniture — canbe orde redon reque st. Mr.Valli’sattitude to dressingwomen is that an outfit has to have a balance split evenly between the designer’s inspiration and the customer’s personal style. Thatvisioncome s toge therinthe couture salon above the store, dedicated to private clients, where Ms. Witherspoon could order the wedding dress of her dreams. Isn ’t Mr . Va lli, as a clas sic dress- maker with a quirky spirit and a busi- ness built with no outside investment, just the fresh and free spirit that Paris hautecoutu renever had? ‘‘Haute couture today is used to sup- port an image — it’s not what it used to bewhen I work edwith Robe rtoCapucci and Emanuel Ungaro, when there were won derfu l wome n comi ngto bedressed for dayt ime, ’’ says Mr. Va lli, whos e storeis achic monu menttobringin g the perso naltouchback ina world of corp o- rateluxury. SUZYMENKES MATERIALMAN The translation of the VALENTINO men’s image from Roman gentleman to mod- ern elegance has been subtly achieved byits curre ntdesignerduo.Usingutilit- arian or techno fabrics, like mackintosh waterproofs, cashmere compacted with thermal mater ial and leather bond ed with flannel, the streamlined collection keep s itsrevolut ioninsidethe peaco ats, bomb erjacketsand carcoats. Luxury is also internal and personal for Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, who used fur as a coat lining and cashmere as a soft green sweater veiling the torso. The result? A credible make overfor thebrandValen tino. RUDOLFNUREYEV The translation of ‘‘Diaghilev and the Gold enAge of theBalletsRusses’’from Victoria & Albert Museum in L ondon to JOHN GALLIANO’s catwalk may have been Hats off to easy elegance HATS, FROM PAGE 9 PARIS The boys of Britain have shaped up to be this menswear season’ s location inspiration. We have seen shows with everyth ing from punk y London street kids to red-coated military men, not to mention the plethora of tartan check. At KENZO, the designer Antonio Marras took the trendand madeitcomple telyhisown.Moti vat edby Engl ishdetecti venovels , Mr . Marr as expa ndedthe idea of British style to include inspiration from all over the island. Sending out bowler-hatte d models insuitsof head-to- toecheckorruggedouterw earin earthytonesthat, layeredwithgeometricknit vests, loo kedhardyenou ghto tak eon thehighla ndhills. Thedesigneralsogavethe kilta moder n updat e, cut to cover just one leg and worn over high- waisted pants. And it is a testament to Mr. Mar- ras’s talent that even a pair of knee-length school- boypantslookedlikea viab lesartoria l alte rnat ive. Inspired by Oscar Wilde, the Japanese designer MIHARA YASUHIRO’s signature collection was a beau- tiful thing to behold. As music played live by Hir- omi Uehara, Mr. Yasuhiro’s world-famous jazz pi- anistwife,washedover theaudience , thedesigner sentout rela xedand roma nticcreati ons. Shrun kenBritishschoo lboyjacke tsthat finis hed in a cape lapping down one side of the body; well- worn knit shorts, unraveling at the hem; and cot- ton jersey blazers worn twisted about the body gavethe impre ssionof cheri shedclothin g thathad beenperfect lyworn in. The experimental designer also came up with thick cable-knit pieces that seamlessly melded the real thing with somethin g Mr . Yas uhiro called ‘‘photo-jacquar d’’ — a matching print that was bonded onto the clothes. The final result was a col- lecti onrich withexpert ly exec utedideas. DAMIR DOMA’s all black-and-white collection was builtfromthegroun dup. Acco rdin gto thedesign er, the thick-heeled shoes worn on the catwalk were a stan d forclothin g coul d perch on,likea sculp ture. From that pedestal grew baggy pants and over- size tops that used texture — quilt ed jackets, nubby sleeveless knit sweaters — and a mix of matt e andshinefinishesto givethe clot hingdepth. Showing more form- fitting clot hes than in past shows, Mr. Doma was still able to convey his co- cooningaesthetic withoutoverwhelming the wear- er. JESSICAMICHAULT From Land’s End to John O’Groats PHOTOGRAPHSBYCHRISMOORE/KARLPROUSE Giambattista Valli: Rocking the baroque DAMIR DOMA KENZO MIHARA YASUHIRO The Italian designer Giambattista Valli in his store near the Madeleine, a Paris landmark. KEENAS MUSTARD The globe that glowed on a backdrop screenwas perha psa messa gethat PAUL SMITH had gone glo bal . In fac t, the silve red surfaces of puffa parkas and thechunkybagssuggest eda journ eyin- to space. Yet the True Brit designer is fixed in place: England with an edge to its tradition. By cutting all references to King and Country in favor of an indeterminate stre etstyle,Mr.Smithlostthecheekyel- egance of his Brit cool. The result was clothesthatwere perfectlywearable.Yet tan leather jackets and what looked like a digitalized animal print did not make the usual Paul Smith impact. A mustard duffl e coatwasthebest ofthe bunc h. ARTY INSIDES In the confusion of a designer leaving a brand, the CHRISTIAN LACROIX name is at- tached both to his own theater projects — and to the Maison Christian Lacroix. It is to the credit of Sacha Walckhoff, who worked at the couture house for 18 years, that his interpretatio n of Lacroix menswear was both respectful and joy- ous. The secret was to keep most of the references — symbols of the Camargue region, Old World theater programs or even a lipstick kiss — on the silken in- sideof a jack et. Mr. Wal ckho ffaddedsomeideas ofhis own, lik e shi rts wit h fak e pul l-u p sleeves, from blue collar workers of the past to Inte rnet browser s of toda y. Check s, plaid s, knit s and lush velv et jac ketswillall peop le thestorethat isto be reopened this year on Paris’s Left Bank. SUZYMENKES BLANKET COVERAGE Fash ion has been there before : The back stag e reve aled to the audie nce, capturing the rush and drama that is normally hidde n behin d the runway. For the MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA, tha t wasthe onlyenerg y enge nder ed— give or take a blanket puffa coat — in a collection that had fine tailoring for coats andsuits.Even long , lankhippiehairon some of the model s did not convin ce that this was a collection flowing out- sidethe main strea m. ROMANTIC POET In taking the 18th-century British poet Willi am Blake as her muse, ANN DE- MEULEMEESTER enric hed the colo r and text ure of her work and produ ced a heartfeltcollection. Without ever resorting to costume, the designer intro duced her own ro- mant ic poet ry: horse hair capp ing heads, bold gauntlets, vests buttoned highagains t bareskin,cutawa y jack ets, white snowflakes dotting tailoring. All this was developed in the context of the designer’s signature slim silhouette to mak e a bea uti ful and emo tio nal ly char gedcollec tion . Andas thefront-r ow guestPat tiSmithput it:‘‘It’ spoetryyou canwear.’’ tooliteral. But the theme that danced through the menswear coll ectio n had some powerful moments: the swish of Rus- sian greatcoats; the chic severity of the ball etmaestroin tophat andblackcoat; the nervy ele gance ofdancers lapped in bri ght sil k; and esp eci all y Rud olf Nureyevas fashionmuse. Mr.Galliano’ s interpretat ion of the renegade dancer and his narrow 1970s silhouette caught thespiritof thismenswearmoment . VALENTINO THOM BROWNE JOHN GALLIANO ANN DEMEULEMEESTER PAUL SMITH MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA 3.1 PHILIP LIM CHRISTIAN LACROIX figures, these men showed off tailoring in bold checks; various cross-dressing items , like puff-sleev ed blouses and flipped-up skirts — and a smattering of impeccably cut morning dress jackets, rein forci nga fashio n fortails.

Damir Doma, International Herald Tribune

Documents

Transcript of Damir Doma, International Herald Tribune