Best of Spring 2012. Couture

Photo source: www.style.com - Giambattista Valli 

I absolutely adore and follow RTW seasonal collections but my heart is definitely with couture lines. The Fall 2012. Couture season in Paris despite ever growing economic crises didn't disappoint.

Bouchra Jarrar

Business smart designer who's made precise tailoring the key aspect of her work, Jarrar called her new collection a "continuation of the wardrobe, of the story I've been telling since the beginning." The collections focus is on cut, double-breasted silhouettes, emphasized shoulders which continue to remain in trend from season to season, military buttons, fox fur and circular scarves, sleeveless coat dresses and lovely strong women suits. I love the comfortable look and feel of the gray suit in combination with brown accessories and circular fox fur.

Giambattista Valli

Giambattista has absolutely showed his mastery of couture inspired by an old Hollywood glamour.  My favorites were sleeveless crocodile top which emphasized waist and transitioned into a peplum flare over a white lace pencil skirt.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Designer celebrated the life of late Amy Winehouse, using her as inspiration for his couture collection with a help of corsetry wizard Mr.Pearl. The whole collection was a big wonderful couture mess of an excess featuring satin peignoir, pencil skirts, gorgeous lace, silk parkas, sequins and finally parading veils. 

Chanel

Karl presented all the shades of blue you can think of in his couture collection featuring streamlined, upbeat, tons of embroidery and forward-looking, slash pockets on dresses, boyish attitude... this collection had that well known Chanel's boy-girl thing going on, girls looked as comfortable in these couture pieces as men would in sweats on Sunday afternoon. 

Versace               

The focus of the Atelier Versace collection were „warrior women“ gowns with corset waist, daring lace teasing at strategic spots hugging the curves and exaggerating the waist, hips or shoulders, shaping the perfect hourglass figure with gold metal inserts.

Elie Saab

Known as red carpet designer, due to his shinny and sparkly but romantic and effortlessly floating gowns in none intrusive pastel shades. The unprecedented strength of his gowns is the lightness; they look and feel so light.

Dior

Bill Gayten did a wonderful, maybe a bit reminiscent of the past collection featuring sheer layers, classic black and white floral designs, gorgeous embroidery, splashes of sequins, lovely contrast in between thick massive black crocodile scales and sheer floaty fabrics. 

Valentino

Designers Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri were inspired by French royalty culture and created a collection of gentle floral print, lace embellished, sheer organza, light, feminine, modest and delicate dresses. They were at the same time practical, cultural but modern despite long sleeves and high necks. 

All photo source: www.style.com

Romantic darkness FW 2012.

Photo source: http://www.allvoices.com

Fall 2012. Collectionsoverall announced quite a serious season, darkly romantic. The common theme was harder age look, a lot of layering as if layers were there to build up to a protective shield, defending women from hard and unpredictable economic times coming up. Renaissance inspired romantic darkness was contrasted with excessive, escapist urge of more couture pieces showed – creative double reality for women, the one we live and the luxury, dreamy one we strive for.

CAVALLI swapped last season mink with crocodile, there were a lot of amazing 70’s inspired pants shown and lovely animal print sweaters. Overall, he created rather rich, powerful, excessive and sexy collection.

PRADA presented virtual princesses army, girls looked powerful and otherworldly, a bit like robotic avatars. Pieces were decorated waste upwards, skirts were styled over pants, focus was on structure, ornament and print but romanticism was still coming out as PRADA’s signature.

FENDI designed collection with modern amazons in mind. I really loved the iPad bags, wild orchid motive, spring bulk power women suits – truly fashion for digital age career women.

VERSACE. Donatella was facing her demons as she said with this collection. For me, collection was very much “girl with a dragon tattoo like”, prime motive was byzantine cross, very Goth, rock & roll feel. My very favorite pieces were chain dresses.

BOTTEGA VENETA’s Tomas Maier has showed the dark side of fashion. Collection is quite shaped; peplum bottoms were added to soften up tailored pieces with the goal to enhance the body.

MARNI showed structured perfectly tailored pieces, some great shoes and overall quite linear collection.

MISSONI sang ode to mother nature with amazing natural color shade and with its signature knits by fusing different fabrications adding innovative crystals, metallic, marble stone, latex, leather, suede and knits in layers of colors and textures.

D&G’s collection was inspired by romantic baroque with respect to Italian tradition and celebration of Italy featuring embroidery over lace, beautiful floral prints, and marzipan like shoes in a spirit of shameless earthiness. This is a “money in the bank” collection for sure.

ARMANI reinvented his style with gorgeous evening wear shorts and girlish looks in forcefully strong colors.

PUCCI designed strong women dresses showing less skin, classic and sexy with graphics expressed through fabrics and lovely pajama print suits.

All photo source: http://www.style.com

What will you remember FW 2012. Runway season by lovelies?