Fashion and Beauty

Here is a piece I did on Balmain's Fall/Winter 2008 Fashion Collection. I should note that all of the items of clothing that I reference in the article can be seen here on this blog. So after you read the article, check the back entries for the photos of the pieces.

I wanted to spend this week sharing some of my fashion articles that I've written. Enjoy!

Today's article is about John Galliano's Spring/Summer 2008 Fashion Collection.

Building snowflake designs into a dress can be very dangerous. I mean, snowflakes are such a childlike thing, so it runs the risk of looking very immature and silly. But this doesn't. Build lace snowflakes onto a black background and you have a cool contrasting dress. On the side, there are multiple layers of tulle, as if the dress is spilling out from under a snow that's become so heavy that it weighs it down. Which is interesting all by itself. We think of snow as being lightweight and fluffy, but in this case, it's the dress that is, not the snowflakes. Very nice job on this piece.

Hmmm. I'm not really in favor of this look. Instead of being a cute, somewhat punkish suit, the ruffles make it look more like a bandito. This is one fashion piece that I'm not really anxious to own.

While the other peacock dress is good, this one is not. Dress or headwear, if you want to be honest. The headwear is just goofy, and looks absurd. The dress looks like a cheap, acetate taffeta (or maybe a garbage bag), with a corset over the top. Ick!

The lacework on this dress is amazing. And working the peacocks into the design is absolutely inspiring. It's a very masterful design, and they did excellent work on it.

Look closely at this dress, and you'll realize that it's made of a bunch of red loops. It's like a weird, looped shag carpet. I love the innovation of the piece. Is it wearable?? Not really. Well, I wouldn't wear it anyway. :D

Except for the black rubbery looking leggings, this would make a perfect dress for a goth wedding. It's a really beautiful dress, and I'd love to see it in white at an actual wedding. Black's okay, but I think it could be better in white.

I honestly love this skirt. Though I can't be sure, I believe it's made of hundreds of thousands of layers of the thinnest black tulle you've ever seen. Look at the side and the bottom, and you can see little parts where it's thin. That leads me to believe it's that way down to the very bottom.

Absolutely beautiful, and really amazing how much work was involved.

This is a really interesting piece. Sure, it's kind of ridiculous in its size, but the execution of making a garment with feathers is really difficult, and this was done beautifully.

This dress reminded me of something an Empress would wear. It's perfectly balanced, with the skirt underneath, because neglecting that one aspect would make the dress too full in the hips. My favorite part is the shrug. This is so barely there that it looks like she's wearing tissue paper. Not only is the fabric translucent, but it slips so far to the back of the shoulders that it's the smallest shrug in existence. Which is saying a lot, since shrugs are such a tiny little piece of clothing anyway.

This is an extremely delicate looking dress. The embroidery is absolutely breathtaking, and it's so intricate that you can't help but respect it. I think the skirt is rather bland, but the jacket more than makes up for it, and ultimately, it provides a nice balance to the entire piece. The ruffles along the edge of the jacket are the most beautiful part, and give it a truly luxurious look.

This is an adorable suit. I think the way the zipper on the suit slants is interesting enough. But the the really interesting thing is that the piping on the pants matches the slant of the jacket. It provides a really crisp look to an otherwise overly fancy suit.

Though this collection is meant to be dresses that resemble something various female heads of state would wear to an official function (if they were to dress in outfits that resemble their cultural heritage), this doesn't do it. This dress resembles Cruella DeVille much more than an English outfit. It's probably the most costumey dress of the entire bunch.

This ruffled shrug is really beautiful. I'd have to say that if anything, this is the one and only trend for the fall. There seems to be a lot of clothing where the fabric itself is manipulated and folded, in order to create the garment. If you want a good example, Rami on Project Runway has done a lot of this. Alexander McQueen has always been pretty good at this, but I'm noticing it in more and more designers.

I like this outfit, and I think it's a beautiful, classy, and also playful design. And look at that beading on the bodice. *sigh*