Maxime Simoens

The enthusiasm that enlivens the beginning of Maxime Simoens’ career is rare in Paris. He seems to be the designer everyone has been waiting for – a young designer who does not try to restore old fashion ideas, but who knows how to adapt his talent to what women want to wear nowadays perfectly … After having trained with Elie Saab, Gaultier, Dior and Balenciaga, Maxime Simoens launched his own house in 2009. Soon, his innovative and luxurious style draws attention from the press and it girls around the world – Melanie Laurent, Blake Lively, a dream for him who after ten years of theater, was destined to become director. It is this passion for cinema and it’s actors which leads him to get inspired from the heroines of Sofia Coppola for his last two collections.
For his haute couture show, Simoens insisted more on reality. Only 20% or so of the pieces he put on his catwalk could be defined as couture. As for the rest, it was quite streamlined.

Haute Couture 2011

Bouchra Jarrar

Giambattista Valli

Valentino

Elie Saab

Chanel Haute Couture

It was on the glowing set of the reproduction of the Place Vendome under the glass of the Grand Palais that it took place Monday July 4th the 2011 Haute Couture Chanel show. Yes it was an exact reproduction of the French Place Vendome in black and white, the only difference being the Coco robot replacing Napoleon at the top of his column. The set was dark and glistening, like rain had just fallen. A perfect film noir atmosphere, in other words. And Karl Lagerfeld had the perfect script for it – Coco’s own life story. At least that was one way to look at the collection that seemed to go through time in a non-chronological order. The show opened with Chanel tweed suits, which didn’t make their appearance until the twenties, and it closed with “lamp shade” evening silhouettes that echoed the work of Paul Poiret, the early twentieth-century Parisian designer whom Chanel helped render irrelevant with her innovations. Meanwhile Michel Gaubert’s soundtrack created an aural equivalent of temporal mash-up by following new English pop with bursts of Stravinsky (he was Coco’s lover in the twenties). This walk through Coco’s time wasn’t an entire surprise: Lagerfeld chose wisely the name “Les Allures de Chanel” as a hint. The mystery still remains. The collection was so dominated by shades of black, gray, and midnight blue that the odd accents of fuchsia looked like accidents. Even the white was defused with a drizzle of dark beading or shadowy veil or even a glittery black tank. The dark mood was a continuation of the one from the Fall ready-to-wear show. In conclusion, the somber luxury of the wardrobe Karl Lagerfeld is proposing for dark times is immensely seductive.

People at the haute couture fashion shows

As always, your favorite stars were the first noticed at the front rows of all the Haute-Couture fashion shows.

Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackman, Anna Mouglalis and Elle Fanning at the Chanel Haute-Couture fashion show and Katie Holmes and Elle Fanning at the Giorgio Armani Haute-Couture fashion show.

Dior haute couture fashion show

This show is the telltale of the happy ascension of Bill Gaytten. For too long he lived in John’s shadow, then suddenly fate conspires to throw him into the lead role. He finaly has the chance to do everything he has ever bitten his tongue over. To top his luck, he has a team of the industry’s best who have cherished him these long years for the kind and creative little man he is. They are prepared to help him fulfill his dream : Stephen Jones with his headpieces, Jeremy Healy on beats, Michael Howells with his set design, Pat Mcgrath on makeup, Orlando Pita on hair. All is done not only by love for bill but also because they want to acknowledge the achievements of his fallen master.
The inspiration: the Memphis movement of the eighties. The openning outfit – a crazy-paving jacket with ruffle collar and a full pleated skirt – caught the postmodern madness of Memphis. The rest has a similar assault-on-couture-orthodoxy vibe. There was also a Bar jacket or two in the mix, acknowledging Dior’s legacy.
With this show, the dior woman turned into a disco dolly, colorblind, funky, blowing her hair countering gravity and ready to go to any disco club and dance her heart out.
The finale washed away that funky and colorful madness. In came Karlie Kloss, dressed as Pierrot, sad clown all alone in the spotlight as the soundtrack failed and glitter showered down.

The Haute Couture show calendar has arrived

On Monday, July 4 opens the first haute couture autumn-winter 2011-2012 with Anne Valerie Hash. Presented in it’s 10e arrondissement shop, the Haute Couture line of the young designer will start off the festivities with a timeless testimony to French craftsmanship. From the Palais Royal to the Rodin Museum through the Theatre du Chatelet, monuments of French heritage will welcome the latest creations of the biggest names in fashion. Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani Privé, Givenchy, Chanel, Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Eli Saab will give life to their fabrics, enlighten the podiums, hit the floors. After four days, the main actors in the fashion world will give way to the tunisian fashion designer Azzedine Alaia who will close the event by spreading the charm of the Orient. Absent the past two decades, Azzedine Alaia has set aside his principles and complies with the schedule of haute couture. And since a princess dress does not come alone, collections of jewelry will also be presented on the final day.

Monday, July 4, 2011
10:30 ANNE VALÉRIE HASH 36 boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, Paris 10e
11:30 CHRISTOPHE JOSSE location pending
12:30 BOUCHRA JARRAR Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe, 2 rue Corneille, Paris 6e
14:30 CHRISTIAN DIOR Musée Rodin, 79 rue de Varenne, Paris 7e
17:00 ALEXIS MABILLE Théâtre du Châtelet, 1 place du Châtelet, Paris 1er
18:00 ADELINE ANDRÉ Hôtel d’Ecquevilly, 60 rue de Turenne, Paris 3e
19:30 GIAMBATISTA VALLI location pending
20:30 IRIS VAN HERPEN location pending
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
11:00 GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVATE Theatre National de Chaillot, 1 Place du Trocadero, Paris 16e
12:30 Maison Rabih Kayrouz Couvent des Cordeliers, 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine, Paris 6e
STEPHANE ROLLAND 2:30 p.m. Location pending
4:00 p.m. WORKSHOP GUSTAVOLINS Area Nicolas, 25 rue de Montpensier, Palais Royal, Paris 1
ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER 5:00 p.m. Location pending
6:00 p.m. See invitation GIVENCHY
8:00 p.m. Location Julien provided on hold
10:00 p.m. CHANEL Grand Palais, Avenue du General Eisenhower, Paris 8
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
10:00 VALENTINO Waiting Place
11:00 On Aura Tout Vu See invitation
12:30 ELIE SAAB Waiting Place
14h30JEAN PAUL GAULTIER 325 rue Saint Martin, Paris 3e
4:30 p.m. MAXIME Simoen BETC
17h30FRANK SORBIER See invitation
Thursday, July 7, 2011
See invitation 12h00AZZEDINE ALAIA
1:00 p.m. BOUCHERON, CHANEL JEWELRY, Chaumet, Dior Joaillerie, MELLERIO & Van Cleef & Arpels By appointment from 13:00 to 18:00

This week’s runway looks: maxi dresses

Elie Saab

Chloe

Valentino

Ralph Lauren

Alberto Ferretti

Mulberry

D&G

Christian Dior

Chanel

Chanel Show “collection croisière”

Sunshine and good mood over at the Chanel fashion show where all the Chanel addicts made their appearance.
– Blake Lively, the new face of Chanel;
– Alexa Chung and Poppy Delevigne, the two it girls couldn’t have missed such an occasion;
– Rachel Bilson;
– the French actress Clémence Poésie, who got to see her friend Blake that she met in season four of gossip girl;
– Anna Mouglalis and Vanessa Paradis, Chanel icons.

Looks: