“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupe
The City of Lights lights up
from the Grand Palais
to Rue Saint Honoré
with the spirit of the holiday.
Pleine de couleurs.
De nombreux fleurs.
Avenue Montaigne, Place de Vendôme,
red, green, and gold.
The crisp, cold air feels warmer,
and when you thought it couldn’t get more magical than the former,
The City of Lights lights up.
As if Paris wasn’t already beautiful enough, every corner and cobblestone gets enhanced with captivating details during the holiday season. Whether it’s the festive Prada window displays that light up Printemps or the serene blue and white orbs that garnish the Champs Élysées, the ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde or the little bursts of vitality that line every street, the city truly comes to life. There’s no escaping the holiday spirit or the magic that comes with it.
Joyeux Noël et Joyeuses fêtes.
All photos by Scott Shapiro
The energy of Paris Fashion Week is the type of thing that sticks around for life. After only my first experience with a monumental fashion week, I’m already addicted to the atmosphere, the vitality, and the fashion that exudes from every corner of Paris. Though the energy died down a bit- everyone gets exhausted by the end of Fashion Month- there was still so much beauty and inspiration to be seen. Already nostalgic, I can’t wait for next season’s madness and excitement. But hopefully next time I’ll be reporting from the other side ;).
All photos by me
What would fashion week be without the glamor and the stars? The endless parade of models and street style is bound to feature a few appearances from major celebrities, including a very chaotic, blurry frenzy surrounding Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s presence at the Givenchy spring/summer 2014 show (very poorly depicted above). But it doesn’t stop there. Carine Roitfeld popped up around the city she calls home, representing a notion that could be reflected throughout the rest of these fashion week activities. The comfort of “home” could be seen amongst the attendees and other characters in the fashion fête, as everyone appeared in a natural, genuine environment. It’s the true sense of the term “candid” that really defines Paris Fashion Week.
If the last post didn’t do it for you, there’s plenty more Paris Fashion Week where that came from (please excuse that awful cliché). Those few ensembles that are less thirsty and more tasteful truly give me life; impeccable style is honestly its own art form. But let’s be real, insane outfits can get a little tiresome. What never seems to get old, however, is seeing models in person, as the stunning faces that grace magazines and runways are even more mind-bogglingly incredible in real life. What especially stood out to me was a more personal encounter with my current favorite, Malaika Firth. In her first season, the exquisite Kenyan-born mannequin is already owning runways, though she balances her success with a pleasant, polite attitude. When struggling to understand a French voicemail, I had the privilege to briefly aid her, commemorated by the photo above. Sorry if I seem like an obsessive fan, but it’s not every day I’m exceptionally inspired by a model, especially not a new face. Not since Gemma Ward’s heyday has a girl looked so amazing.
Okay, but let’s stay on topic.
On a less positive, though extremely humorous note, protestors from the Ukrainian feminist group, FEMEN stormed the Nina Ricci runway earlier this week, making headlines for their shirtless shenanigans. Yes, two members of the radical organization really took their tops off to reveal the phrases “model do not go to brothel” and “fashion dictaterror.” I’m not really sure what these ladies were trying to accomplish, as their poorly written slogans imply illiteracy. Unfortunately, FEMEN’s ability to make it on the runway resulted in heightened security at the rest of Paris’ top shows. Keep it classy, ladies.
There’s plenty more to be said about wonderful encounters with the likes of Grace Coddington, Anna Dello Russo, Liu Wen, and others, as well as precious puppies at Maison Martin Margiela and melancholy makeup at Comme des Garçons. But why not have a look for yourself?
All photos by me
Anna Wintour leaving the Rochas show
Lindsey Wixson and I
A look from Sharon Wauchob’s spring/summer 2014 collection
Magdalena Frackowiak leaving Balmain
My current favorite, Malaika Firth leaving the Lanvin show
Grace Mahary at Dries van Noten
Fei Fei Sun at Dries van Noten
Kai Newman
Meghan Collison
Though I unfortunately wasn’t able to attend many of the shows during Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2014 (hopefully I’ll be among the glamorous guests next time), the atmosphere alone provided an amazing first taste of a fashion week experience. We saw stellar collections within the first few days, several of which I hope to review as soon as possible; from Dries van Noten to Rochas to everything in between, the City of Lights was more vibrant than ever during the routine week-long extravaganza de la mode. But there’s just as much to be seen off the runways with unlimited models, celebrities, and street style.
Speaking of the latter, “peacocking” was at its peak, as you can probably tell from some of the exorbitantly extravagant ensembles. The ubiquitous French term for the shows is défilé, which literally translates to “parade,” and the sidewalk sideshows definitely embodied that concept.
However, that’s a topic for a separate discussion, and just like the actual collections, you can expect me to elaborate soon. But for now, here’s the first look at the atmosphere, the energy, and the cast of Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2014. Enjoy!
All photos taken by me with select photos from my Instagram
“Till he, the fated mariner, hears her cry, and up her rock, bare-breasted, comes to die…” -D.G. Rossetti
Model: Taylor
Spring/summer, fall/winter, spring/summer haute couture, fall/winter haute couture, pre-fall, resort, and other collections. It never stops.
Just when I thought I could take a breather after cramming for finals and rushing to get my things together at the end of another school year, I’ve been reminded of the often overwhelming pace of the fashion industry. The Chanel resort 2014 collection greeted me in a way that could be seen as harassment as I aimlessly perused the Internet. Don’t get me wrong, I thought Karl Lagerfeld’s Singapore-inspired show was one of his best works in recent years. However, I’m beginning to wonder: is fashion moving too fast?
It’s is a consumer-driven industry, and today’s consumer has a shorter attention span than a toddler. With the help of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we can see the latest from fashion insiders in a split second. Personally, I usually enjoy the luxury of fashion at my fingertips. But as designers, writers, and other people in the industry feel the need to keep up with consumers’ desires for instant gratification, it seems like they could be getting spread too thin.
Nicolas Ghesquière recently spoke about commercialization stifling his creative vision, and with the speed of today’s fashion market, this couldn’t be more apparent. In several cases, the creativity and fantasy that once accompanied high fashion has been lost in the quest for commercial, media-friendly work. I won’t call out specific instances, but I’ve seen multiple brands lose their creative vision and diminish designers’ skills. Presenting a true struggle of quality vs. quantity, it often seems that people are finding it more important to elevate the corporate side of a fashion house instead of mastering the development of unique items. As new trends come and go in the blink of an eye, it’s hard to find the real innovation.
The idea of a fickle, impatient fashion consumer couldn’t be more apparent than in the modeling world. I’ve already discussed the issues that come from this fast-paced environment, as most fashion models have essentially become disposable. The “shelf-life” of these girls has virtually wiped out the concept of a supermodel (I could go into even more detail about this issue regarding male models, but that’s another story). Each season brings a stampede of new faces poised to be superstars, but fashion industry insiders and consumers move on to the next model faster than you can swipe through your Instagram feed.
Realistically, the speed of fashion is only going to increase in the future. We can view collections in real time on websites like Style.com, while social media is becoming more advanced every minute. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing to have these things readily available; maybe I’m just too slow and need to start keeping up more. But I really hope that designers, writers, editors, bloggers, models, stylists, photographers, and everyone else involved in the fashion industry can find the balance between presenting their skills and appealing to consumers.
Share your thoughts!
“What’s wrong?” can be one of the hardest phrases to answer. For some, nothing and everything is wrong all at once.
Today I was introduced to the Semicolon Project when browsing through Facebook. The concept is to draw a semicolon on your wrist today in honor of anyone who suffers from depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, a broken heart, unhappiness, or other related struggles. The grammatical character represents that a sentence could have been ended, but the author chose not to, metaphorically relating the author as the individual and the sentence to life. Essentially, the project symbolizes moving forward through pain, and it couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.
It’s probably not the best decision for me to completely expose myself to a sea of strangers known as the Internet, but I’d like to think that honesty is the best strategy in any situation. With that being said, I’m definitely feeling the Semicolon Project. While I don’t feel suicidal, I won’t hesitate to say that I’ve faced my fair share of emotional struggles.
Something that definitely plagues me is feeling “good enough.” Whether it’s for a certain project or person or whatever, sometimes I (and I’m sure plenty of others) don’t feel adequate or worthy. This feeling of insecurity is often a result of rejection, which I’m definitely familiar with. It’s likely that I am completely inept to any sort of romantic relationship. This doesn’t usually bother me, but rejection still stings. No one enjoys being told, “I had a lot of fun last time, but I’ve been talking to someone for a while and probably shouldn’t hook up with anyone else,” or something along those lines. But what truly gets to me is professional rejection. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to my professional endeavors, and my greatest fear is failure. I always blame myself when I don’t receive the call or email I wait for from a potential employer. Of course, the frenzy of emotions can be overwhelming, sending me into a state of anxiety. Everything pauses while I think into a situation with copious detail and envelope myself in stress.
Sorry if you think I’m a little crazy, and sorry for turning this into some kind of diary entry. What I’m trying to explain is that we all have our struggles, and we all need love and support. Especially regarding the recent events that have ravaged Boston, bolstering a friend or family member’s spirit when they are unhappy is one of the most powerful acts. You never know when someone is hurting, and we need to always reach out and show that we care for others. The best forms of artwork and expression come from a sense of longing and melancholy, yet the beauty cannot be exposed if our fellow people are left in the dark.
It’s been an emotional couple of days here in Boston, but the theme of the Semicolon Project must continue past this. Possibly the hardest part of dealing with these issues is accepting self-love. In order to move forward and help others, we need to love ourselves.
I know I’m starting to ramble here, and I apologize for all of the negative themes in the recent posts. In conclusion, we need to remember that we’re often put in awful situations that put us directly on the path where we belong. In light of all that’s been going on and all of the emotions we regularly feel, continue to share positivity and affection as much as possible.
I’ve been talking a lot about moving forward, which is essential to dealing with any unfortunate situation. And now, after all of these emotional posts, it’s time to proceed and stay positive. Let’s get back to the fashion.
