I always try to observe couture collections as an outsider of the fashion industry, objectively one might say. Because, and I don't think I'm alone here, I see couture as so specialized, so directional, so individual that I actually find it quite hard to comment on it without just using hundreds of adjectives, which is fine, but not very insightful.
What I do know about couture is that A LOT goes into not only every collection, but more specifically every piece. It's the time where designers splurge on materials, embellishments, details to create something unique and customized, far from their commercial ready-to-wear collections.
Riccardo Tisci's last couture collection (spring 2011) for Givenchy really did have wow factor by the bucket load. Japan was his main focus. Japanese robots and toys - for the (Philip Treacy) headgear and shoes anyway. Style.com reported that 'one outfit required 2000 hours of cutting and 4000 hours of sewing' - this is couture people!
So taken with Givenchy's couture, with it's 3-D wings, beading, exotic feathers and extraordinary laser cutting, the A-list set stepped out in some of the dresses to show us exactly what they looked like in movement, i.e. GORGEOUS!
It's one collection that has got people talking; E!'s Fashion Police couldn't decide whether they loved or hated Cate Blanchett's Oscars gown. But I guess when you've got people talking about something, you've done your job well.
I fell head over heels for Tisci's latest, did you? What do you think of the collection? Would you kill for couture?
