Celine AW11

                                                                                              Just love it.

'Anatomy Of Change'

   Labelled as the most anticipated show of mens fashion week, 'Anatomy of Change' was the debut menswear show of Nicola Formichetti (Lady Gaga's stylist) for Mugler. Billowing veils, sharp suits and many surprisingly wearable pieces in dark hues of black and navy, with touches of bright orange here and there, this show was definitely a good exhibition of Formichetti taking the Mugler brand forward.

   The show also debuted a remixed track from Lady Gaga's new album 'Born This Way' called "Scheiße" (German for Shit/Dammit.) Being one of the most followed artists on facebook and twitter, she heavily promoted the show and therefore creating more hype.

Sharp tailoring with slim fit trousers accessorised with latex mask and gloves.

  The baggy trousers trend gave contrast against the slim fit tailored trousers.

Bright orange tailoring brought a welcomed splash of colour to an otherwise muted colour pallette. The above images also show the contrasting silhouettes of the trouser styles: slim fit and baggy.

Bright orange is used again but very subtly on the thumb of the glove. The subtle introduction of this colour was rife throughout the collection tying the whole collection together.

 Black billowing veil teamed with baggy trousers.

Teaming the plastic veil with white tailoring towards the very end of the show reminded me of the couture bridalwear at the end of couture runway shows.

   

   Although I really do like this collection, the styling, rather than the actual design of the garments, is what made it for me. Take away the video in the background, music, setting, accessories and heavily tattooed models, there is no true Mugler genius. Although, saying that, Formichetti has produced a very wearable collection and presented it in a way that makes it look that little bit special.

Christian Dior SS11 Couture

    John Galliano's couture collection for spring 2011 brought a touch of 1940's and 50s glamour and was said to be a homage to renowned fashion illustrator of those eras, René Gruau.
    The Italian born illustrator famously created the new look for Dior's advertising campaign and is heavily associated with the Haute Couture of the time.

Gruau's fashion illustrations for Christian Dior.

  With clinched waists and full a-line dresses, the Dior collection exhibited an array of truly stunning, classic Dior couture and the refined yet sultry colour palette jumped about from rich, sexy reds and smoking greys to pastel shades of pink and lemon. The 1940s inspired curled hair, scarlet lips, winged eyes and elbow length leather gloves brought a touch of old Hollywood glamour.

 The mix of bold and more refined pieces in this collection really do pay homage to René Gruau's bold yet clean-cut style of fashion illustration. The collection captures the era of Gruau perfectly yet remains true to the classic 'Galliano for Dior' couture style.

Black Swan and Mulleavy genius.

    Powerful, disturbing, mesmerising; are just a few words to describe Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller, "Black Swan," yet, apart from the fantastic cinematography and the storyline which leaves you walking away in a state of shock, awe and confusion, the costumes were consistently outstanding.

    Designed by Rodarte, design duo and sisters, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the stunning ballerina outfits were breathtaking and exhibited true costume design genius. Introduced to Aronofsky by Natalie Portman, who plays the lead role of Nina Sayer in the film, Rodarte not only designed the ballerina outfits for the production of 'Swan Lake' within the film but also the knitwear featured in the film, from leg-warmers to wrap-around cardigans.

                                                     Original Sketch for Ballerina Costume.

                                                         Example of knitwear in the film.