PARIS FASHION WEEK SUMMARY

So that's it! Another Paris Fashion Week over for another season! I've really liked a lot of different designers this year and it's interesting to see the different style that Paris brings to the scene.

There was the recurring mix of both pastels and darker colours shown throughout the week. Dark, more rich toned colours aren't normally what you'd expect to see for Spring/Summer but they've been quite popular this year. Brights also featured a lot but I think monochrome colours still remained strong. 

In terms of trends at this fashion week, whites featured quite heavily again. There was also a strong presence of richer, jewel toned colours along with pastels. With a mix of both tailored and more delicate pieces there was a lot on offer across collections this season. Lace featured  in quite a few shows across the week including at the Nina Ricci and Louis Vuitton shows.

Obviously one of the main pieces of news was Marc Jacobs leaving Louis Vuitton. It's sad that he's leaving but it's going to be exciting to see both what's next for Louis Vuiton but also Marc Jacobs' own brand as well.

I hope you enjoy this coverage of Paris Fashion Week! Were there any shows that were your favourite?

Thanks for reading!

Follow on Bloglovin'

CHANEL & LOUIS VUITTON - S/S 2014

Chanel and Louis Vuitton are designers I always keep an eye out for at every season. My favourtie collcetions from both of them to date are definitely the Spring/Summer 2014. This year was a lot different to what I was expecting so thought I'd do a separate post on the two collections, together.

Louis Vuitton S/S 2012 is my favourite designer collection shown at a fashion week. I loved everything about it, so year on year I can't wait to see what the designer brings out to top it. This year I wasn't wowed but I was however, intrigued by this collection. Firstly, I loved the setting! With a mix of a carousel, escalators, lifts and fountain, it was a lovely mix of settings from previous shows. The whole show was rather dark with the whole of the set being black. I had, and still have, mixed feelings about this collection. I really like the more wearable pieces, such as the denim, the solid dress and the jackets but I wasn't as big a fan towards the full lace pieces or the body suits shown. The colour palette was all black, to make the set, for the main fabrics with a small amount of denim running throughout. The shapes were kept quite classic in their design with the lace really adding to the collection. Overall I loved the settings, the attention to details and the way the collection was shown, but some pieces just didn't appeal to me as much as others in previous collections have.
I couldn't not post about Louis Vuitton without mentioning Marc Jacobs leaving the brand. I really love Marc Jacobs work for Louis Vuitton and I will be sad to see him go. It'll be interesting to see what Louis Vuitton brings next season but also interesting to see what Marc Jacobs does with his own brand!

Much like with Louis Vuitton, the Chanel S/S 2012 cat walk was amazing. The attention to details with the slick, wet look hair and the whole under the sea theme was just beautiful. The 2013 collection I liked, with the interesting use of patterns and the extremely interesting hula hoop style handbag, so I was ready to see what this season could bring. With over 80 looks there was a lot to see with this collection. There was such a wide variety of textures, colours and patterns used that there wasn't a look that didn't attract my eye or capture my attention in some way. The classic Chanel pearl featured in the show once again. This season it was in the form of two giant pearls on the end of a necklace. The main fabric used was tweed which was really interesting to see. I'm still not to sure how I feel about that for Spring/Summer though. I think the jackets would work really well for the colder Spring months but it's not a fabric I instantly think of using for Summer due to it's weightier nature. One thing I really liked about this collection was the amount of colour involved. There were pieces that were bright and fun with almost a brickwork bright patter (seen above). Other pieces had a softer, more subtle, colour choice with more mutual greys and oatmeals being used. One of my favourite pieces from the collection was an outfit with a multi-coloured tweed dress with an over laying black vest (above, top left). It really caught my eye and I just really liked the look of the multi-coloured tweed as it's something a big different. Overall, I liked the collection but I'm still unsure of some of the pieces shown. The pieces worked well and there was a lovely variety. It was nice to see so many designs but still each one being kept different from the next.

I had mixed feelings on both shows this year but after looking at the both multiple times now they have started to grow on my a lot more. What did you think of think of the Chanel and Louis Vuitton collections this year?

Follow on Bloglovin'

*Photographs via Style.com

PARIS FASHION WEEK #3

The third and final post in a series, featuring some of my favourite collections from Paris Fashion Week this season.

Elie Saab's collection featured lots of different colours, shapes, fabrics and embellishments. Each outfit varied with no two outfits being too similar. The pieces were split into coloured sections with around 5 in each colour or pattern. They colours used were coral, white, forest green, multi-coloured flower detail, red, monochrome and finally back. The overall feeling of the collection was very feminine with the dresses
For many of the pieces the shapes of the outfit was kept simple but with detail being added through the embellishment. One of the most interesting pieces that used embellishment was a simple full length, white dress with a high neckline (above, second from left). This dress on this dress really caught my eye and look beautiful. Not only was there this texture embellishment added but also lace was used in many of the pieces to add another dimension and texture into the collection. The colours used and the pretty embellishments and florals on many of the pieces really made this a lovely Spring/Summer collection.

Stella McCartney showed a collection with florals and rich colours and fabrics. Many of the outfits shown in the collection were trouser pieces. The shapes of the trousers were kept feminine with the more tailored style but with the fabrics allowing them to be slightly looser and more floaty than a traditional suit trouser. A large flower print was used on many of the pieces. The print wasn't too big or overpowering but instead worked really nicely with the cut to the clothes. The silky fabrics used for many of the pieces, both as the main fabric and as accents to some other pieces gave a more luxurious and rich feel to the collection. I really liked this collection. Although the pieces were kept fairly simple, the fabrics and colours really created a nice rounded collection with pieces that are suitable for the new season.

Neil Barratt is a designer I've never heard of but it was one that attracted my eye due to it's simple nature and easy to wear pieces. It was quite a small collection compared to others. There was a mix of sweaters and skirts both in simple colours. It was an overall casual collection but one that still had a feminine feel to it with the more structured skirts and looser fitted pleated skirts. It was an overall monochrome affair throughout the collection with just a few pieces containing a pop of red. There were high necklines with scooped necks and the hem lines were kept a bit shorter with an added layer of cycling shorts added underneath for some of the short skirts.

I really like the Valentino collection this season. It was a collection that featured different ideas and a theme we haven't really seen this fashion week. To me it had quite a Gothic/Medieval feel to the collection but I really enjoyed. There was a mix of hem lengths which really worked nicely with both the fabrics and styles of the collection. There was a mix of fabrics from the lighter laces to the heavier pieces. There was an amazing amount of detailing and embroidery which gave a really luxurious look and feel. The patterns on show were amazing and very intricately detailed. In terms of the colours shown they are slightly darker than we have seen this season in other collections. Although they may not be that typical colours for Spring/Summer, I really enjoyed the look of this collection and the colours worked well with their richness and the embellishment shown.

I hope you enjoyed this post today so please do let me know your thoughts! Make sure to check out the coverage of the shows as some and steaming live and check out Style.com. 

Thanks for reading!

Follow on Bloglovin'

*Photographs via Style.com

PARIS FASHION WEEK #2

The second in a series, featuring some of my favourite collections from Paris Fashion Week this season.

Veronique Leroy's collection consisted of elegant pieces that really caught my eye. I loved the shapes of the collection from the longer dresses to the structured jackets. The necklines were kept high with many of the dress having a shorter hemline, falling above the knee. The higher neckline helped to balance the pieces out well. The colour palette was kept basic with neutral colours such as whites and blacks being used. This added to the more formal and sophisticated feel of the collection. My favourite part of this collection was the details. The layering and fullness of the skirts really created interesting silhouettes, whilst still keeping to a classic shape. 

Giambattista Valli's collection really felt like a Spring/Summer collection to me. There was a great variety  of pieces that would be suited to either occasion. For Spring there were some more structured piece in the form of jackets and skirts which would work well for the colder weeks at the beginning of the year. Then you had the more Spring pieces which came in the form of long dresses created from floating fabrics. The fabrics were kept light, airy and feminine. It wasn't just the fabrics that added to this Spring/Summer feel the colours were kept light and pastel toned for many of the pieces. There were high necklines, especially on those pieces that featured a higher hem line. One of the prettiest details shown in this collection was the 3D flower detailing that could be seen on some of the pieces. It really added something to the dresses without over powering them.

Sacai has been one of the more interesting and unusual collections that I've seen so far this week There were a great mixture of patterns and colours which really worked well as a whole collection. The colours ranged from more muted browns and darker navys to bright oranges and metallic blues. Not only was there an interesting use of colours but a few of the shapes and styles of the pieces were different to the usual as well. There were varying waistlines throughout the collection. Some were dropped to below the hip line whilst other pieces a higher empire line to them. The silhouettes of many of the pieces were kept quick basic with some having little shape and simple going straight up and down. I did like the overall look of this collection. There were lots of pieces in it that caught my eye and I loved the pastel blues shown as well as the bright oranges, both perfect for Spring/Summer.

Celine featured many pieces with a graphic design print aspect to them. There was a mix of more solid skirts as well as pleating in sheerer fabrics also been done in a few of the pieces. As well as this mix of fabric we also saw some more solid pieces compared to those that were heavily patterned. The graphic design print used was fairly basic and really worked well with the designs. It added something well as the shapes of the pieces themselves were kept fairly basic. Layering was used quite a lot in this show. On some of the pieces we could see a longer skirt underneath with an added long top piece on half which would cover over the hips. This was an interesting look but one I think worked well. The necklines were all kept high, with the tops either having a slight scoop in the next or a lot more rounded right at the top.

Maxime Simoens is one of my favourite collections from those I've picked for today's post. I loved the look of the collection and it really caught my eye. There was a great use of detail being down with ruffles, layering and fringe detailing. The looks were more masculine that some of the other collections we have seen. The shapes and styles used though really balanced this out and there was still the feminine side to the pieces there. The looks were kept quite monochrome with the occasional colour such as blue popping through. The other fabric choice was a thick metallic fabric (above, far left) which work really well when mixed with the added black details and trim. Collars featured on some of the pieces either layered underneath a top jumper section of by themselves on a shirt. 

I hope you enjoyed this post today so please do let me know your thoughts! Make sure to check out the coverage of the shows as some and steaming live and check out Style.com. 

Thanks for reading!

Follow on Bloglovin'

*Photographs via Style.com