Second City Style Fashion Blog - Style, Luxury, Beauty & Shopping

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. As Always, Lovin' Lanvin. Saving the Best For Last. Second City Style Fashion Blog

Fashion Week wouldn't be complete without a review of one of my favorite design houses right now. Alber Elbaz closed Paris Fashion Week with the most amazing collection of all the shows, not to mention Lanvin yet. Elbaz keeps outdoing himself and it makes me excited to see what he does for fall. I digress. This show could quite possibly be the best demonstration of fine fashion craftsmanship of all the fashion weeks this spring. The best of the best, if you will. Sorry for the love feast, but I have always loved Lanvin. As someone who appreicates the art of fashion, this show nearly made me cry it was so stunning.

The show included amazing ballooned, toga-like draped and wrapped dresses, ostrich plumes and feathers to the extreme, trenchcoats, Parisian 'signature' white blouses (although with an amazing ruffled, over-the-top twist) paired with black pencil skirts, flowing long gowns, shorter gowns with beading, feathers and fringe and gorgeous hues of sapphire blue, magenta, red, emerald green, and marigold.

The last model down the runway wearing the female version of the tux that has become Elbaz's calling card (for himself), which might have seemed odd after the array of gowns, but was actually brilliant when Elbaz's appearance immediately followed in a very similar male version. For technical brilliance, cutting, draping, execution, and sheer excitement and anticipation, Alber scores a 10.

-Lauren Dimet Waters

Photos: NY Mag

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. You're a Star. So Jacket Required. Yves Saint Laurent. Second City Style Fashion Blog

Yves Saint Laurent is kind of like the French---either you love them or you don't. Some need something a bit flashier and others look for something more minimalist. But there seems to be something for everyone in YSL's spring '08 collection. Most striking is the way Pilati was able to blend the classic pieces we've come to adore: vests, jackets, skirts and rectangular blouses and skirts (and yes, even pantsuits!) with pieces that like bags and shoes will no doubt become "epitome" pieces from this year. His knockout multi-colored sparkling star dress and white off-the-shoulder white blouse with star applique speak a contemporary language just as playful as it is thoughtful. Bravo.-- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. A Saturday By the Seaside. Stella McCartney. Second City Style Fashion Blog

I could emphasize the floral elements of Stella McCartney's spring '08 collection but that would somehow be missing the point. While her colleagues in Milan and Paris (but especially Milan) were infatuated by the dramatic colors and flashy Mediterranean hues McCartney took a simpler but much more seasonal and savvy approach. Charming and hopeful her palette was clean-- sea blues, white, and of course wave-inspired patterns accompanied florals as well. The mood was light and fun and sans pretension. Cool, confident and completely embraceable. -- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. A Flurry of Florals. Dries van Noten's Eclectic Overload. Second City Style Fashion Blog

Dries van Noten's elegant and easy spring '08 collection brings to mind yet another reason why I am a fashion editor and not a fashion designer. It takes patience, education and an incredible attention to color, texture and shape to mix and match these patterns without looking like your dressing a granny from Miami. Rich colors and soft silhouettes are what keep each ensemble looking playful and not passe.

Nevertheless, I might add a quick buyer beware. Although I hope to address this in a future Molina Manifesto I also want to draw the consumer's attention to the fact that these dresses were NOT meant to be duplicated in cheap polyester-- the cheaper these get, the worse they will look. Trust me. Buyer beware.-- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. Asymmetrical Allure and Circular Logic. Givenchy. Second City Style Fashion Blog

Don't mistake them for mere polka dots. These are circles; large circles, three-dimensional circles, grommet-lined circles, and even sheer circles. Above all, they are weighted circles-- even when embellished on fabrics other than the heavy leather jacket. And oddly enough it's the layered and perhaps even sculpted lines and edges of asymmetrical skirts, jackets and shirts that seem light, maybe because they can move so easily as one walks down the runway. Regardless, Givenchy literally has an edge this season-- and certainly deserves a second look given the rare conceptual astuteness.-- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. Final Voyage: Valentino. Second City Style Fashion Blog

What will we do without Valentino at the helm? His spring '08 collection, and his final show, left us all just a little sad despite the brilliant colors-- everything from vibrant pinks and violets to pastels to black and white, yellow, red and white checks and turquoise. Using his typical gesture to the strong, confident woman (not afraid of her body or her love of adorning it) he really gave a complete, well-edited show that speaks volumes with just a glance.-- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. The Mad Hatter. Christain Lacroix Uses His Head. Second City Style Fashion Blog

This is one of the best collections to hit the runway by far. Lacroix manages to stay interesting and alluring without pandering to some uber-trend, showing a ton of skin or by going for celebrity model "guests" clomping down the runway. Instead the house relies on its innate ability to capture the essence of Paris in the springtime-- filled with color, shape, fun and something completely unexpected-- hats, ahem. With the exception of shorts and a pair of exemplary swimsuits there isn't one hemline that goes above the knee -- and it still has exuberance and youth, do you hear that grandma jezebels? It's called style.-- Joanne Molina, Senior Editor

Photos: Elle.com

Paris Fashion Week Spring '08. Sheer You Can Wear. Karl Lagerfield. Second City Style Fashion Blog