PFW09

Painstakingly went through all the Paris shows—yes, all 7 pages of designers on Style.com—to find to my amazement that I could single out Viktor & Rolf's FW09 collection as my absolute favourite. You've to see it for yourself here because the show has to be appreciated in its entirety. I loved nearly all the looks and details.

I've always been a fan of Viktor & Rolf for their simple yet conceptual designs, but this one takes the cake. This collection was a throwback to the Elizabethan era—not widely recognised as the Golden Age and height of the English Renaissance for nothing—a brilliant time in the development of the arts. Although the pendants harked back rather to 'virtuous' Victorian than elaborate Elizabethan, all in all, it was a very exciting collection. The clothes were flawlessly executed, the overall result impeccable. The seemingly infallible duo sent out painstaking pleats, depressed ruffles, facets/flowers/fur for texture, draped dresses...... Oh, it was Shakespearean. I only wish I could have been there to see how marvelous it must be in reality.

Other standouts also include:

• Elie Saab = exquisitely simple in beautiful hues (blues and blacks and light greys)
• Dries Van Noten = great basics in perk-me-up tones
• Comme des Garcons = love the girly layering and detail, and great-for-buffets laidback silhouette
• Junya Watanabe = illusive facepaint > complex squishy jackets
• Veronique Branquinho = for making winter wear a less dreadful prospect; and not forgetting
• Nina Ricci = THE SHOE which I featured earlier here.

Anyway, more fashion posts to come as I focus on this year's spring shoes. Being season appropriate is truly tough when your wardrobe is not really weather dependent. I apologise for the lack of photos, most of the collections I picked should be viewed as a whole in order and preferably in sequence to do them justice. All shows mentioned above can be found on Style.com, click here.


Love,
Escapist