Pre-fall part 1

In the fast moving world of fashion, Christmas has come and gone, we’ve made our New Years resolutions and broken them, we’ve enjoyed the summer sun and we’re getting ready for the big chill all over again because it’s pre-fall 2011.

Elie Tahari

Tahari is usually all about the practicality but pre fall 2011 saw him set his sights on the bigger bucks by drifting towards red carpet glamour. Of course there were stome staple suits and shift dresses but those leather gloves and fur shrugs just took us somewhere slightly more elegant and charming. The only thing to really stand out for me was the fur and also a little leather mini, the rest was too wearable for my liking!

 

Oscar de la Renta

This collection was all about the colour; mainly bright with a few autumnal tones thrown in. The beginning saw a lot of up-town classy dressing with high necklines, low hem-lines and lets not forget, those long gloves. However, as always with odlr, never expect to stay comfortable for too long as there was a vast mixture of styles toward the end. There were some very dainty and feminine pieces next to black leather and lots of glitzy red carpet numbers thrown in at the end. Everything in this collection was beautiful, there wasnt one thing that should have been by-passed but, all of that aside, it didn’t feel like a collection; it was TOO varied and lacked a signature that could have brought it all together.

 

Narcisco Rodriquez

With every collection, it’s easy to see why Rodriguez is deemed King of the fit; every dress is sinched in at exactly the right spot to maximise curves and minimise imperfections, this was still the case with pre-fall 2011. There were some very strong looks and blocking of dark colours, however, this was juxtaposed with very soft dresses and delicate pieces. Narcisco Rodriguez has a love of fabric and this is evident in this collection through a huge variation of textures. Leather was set against wool and then again next to soft fabrics like chiffon. The odd balance made this 15-piece line very interesting.

Jason Wu

This is only Jason Wu’s second pre-fall collection and his progression is already colossal. Mark my words, Jason Wu will be of legendary status in years to come if he continues to grow at this pace. This collection was inspired by street-photographers of the early twentieth century; the Seeberger brothers; I got a very art-deco vibe through the geometrics and the striping. There was a very definite colour palette too and  each tone looked perfect beside the next. Everything Wu does is so brilliantly modern, which will take him far. I think styling is his forte; the way he puts pieces together gives him that je ne sais quoi that only the best have.

 

Chanel

Aaahhh Chanel. Does Karl Lagerfeld ever have an off day? With Chanel the strength of the collection lies in the theme and this time we took a trip to Paris-Byzance but, of course, millions of little references to other eras were thrown in willy-nilly but it always works. “Inspiration is not a copy but a starting point, taking us somewhere new” Karl reminds us. In their dresses and jewels, the models looked like modern Turkish princesses. Im a girl who loves her stones and embellishments, so this line was right up my street. Even though the show itself was on a much smaller scale than last, it is still as grand and mighty because of the quality of the design. Because of the richness of colour, pattern, texture and styling this is right up there with the greatest Chanel collections.