Fashion Week Wrap Up: Paris Is King

by Ruthie Friedlander | 4:12 pm, March 8th, 2010

It is often said that the heart of fashion lives in Paris.  While some of today’s greatest designers walk their collections down the runways in London, Milan, and yes, even the United States, those who show at Paris fashion week have always been of another calibre.  After taking a look at this season’s fashion week coverage – from New York to London to Milan, and finally, to Paris – it is clear that the edge, the creativity, the attention to detail, and the pure craftsmanship that seems to be fading more and more in the fashion world still lives on, maybe even exclusively, à Paris.

Credit should be given to Prabal Gurung for the immense creativity shown in his first fashion week runway show in New York.  The collection emphasized Gurung’s crowning obsession with proportion and tailoring, two things at which the designer is known to excel.  And while color-blocking seems as ubiquitous as “florals for spring,” one must applaud the designer for his inspired  use of this trend.

But the majority of New York fashion week could best be described as a few home runs from the usual suspects and a series of yawns from the rest.  We know already know about layering.  We already know about knee highs, military jackets, and belts.  Not much to learn at the Tents’ final hoorah this season.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label put on a truly Westwood-ian fashion show in London, showing pieces from a fall palate of burnt oranges, deep reds, and neutral tans, browns, and deep blacks.  But the cut of the garments were familiar and while the Westwood look in itself is aesthetically interesting, contextually, the collection seemed tame.

Burberry, London’s raison d’etre if you will, was full of amazingly tailored coats (in the first look Karmen Pedaru wore a perfect black motorcycle cropped jacket with an oversized wide sheep’s wool collar).  But with the exception of Bailey‘s collection, much of London seemed messy and unkempt – and not in the good way.  Michael Herz‘s Aquascutum collection hung oddly on the models and the most interesting thing about Matthew Williamson’s show – a show that usually never fails in its excessive glamour – was the color of the runway backdrop.

Milan definitely came close to winning for the best shows this season. Most notable were Dolce & Gabbana’s pant-less, lingerie inspired collection, Gucci’s uber-glam girls (many believe this collection was Gianniani’s best collection to date), and the incredibly fitted black coats at Gianfranco Ferre‘s show — which epitomize luxury at its best.  But, while no one can tailor a suit quite like an Italian, once again: Paris still reigns.

Stella McCartney, Demeulemeester, Balenciaga, Celine, Dior, Givenchy, Haider Ackermann, Chalayan, Lanvin, Margiela, Rochas, Giambattista Valli, Viktor & Rolf, and Yohji Yamamoto – just to name a few.  This list is a roster of fashion’s most important and those with the most anticipated collections, and they all choose to show in Paris. Is it that the image of Kristen McMenamy walking down a highly patterned catwalk accompanied by two impeccably dressed body guards while wearing what appears to be a ten-pound jacket at Viktor & Rolf would not make sense elsewhere?  Would people in London not know how to react to the jawdroppingly stunning, Mondrian-eque stacked heel at Balenciaga?  There must be a reason that Phoebe Philo felt that a heavily Parisian audience would be the best venue to showcase her anxiously anticipated second collection for Celine.

Haute Couture began in France and if fashion week is any indicator, will remain in France.  Regardless of the beauty of the collections seen on runways elsewhere, there is nothing quite like the collections that walk down the runways of France.  It’s where Chanel lives. It’s where Gaultier and Dior and Lacroix and Givenchy call home. While Milan may be known for its leather and lace, London the classic trench coat-centered collections, and New York for a fashion week that for most is about everything except for fashion, Paris still remains the beating heart of the industry — for featuring the most daring collections, the collections held on a pedestal and the collections that remind us fashion still can be magical, otherworldly, and groundbreaking.

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