Paris notes: Balenciaga and Zac Posen turn fashion classics on their ears [gallery]
Fashion’s future and past went head-to-head, back-to-back yesterday and it was no contest. Both Zac Posen and Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga took fashion classics and turned them on their ear.
But where Posen’s ostrich plumes trapped between layers of black chiffon seemed trite, Ghesquière’s richly-engineered fabrics in bold patterns with swerving seams were deeply satisfying. He said he wanted to bring out the man in every woman and he did. But the results were neither masculine nor feminine, but something in between.
Other touchpoints of the day: Balmain’s stud and safety-pin spree; Rick Owens’ aerodynamic draping; Nina Ricci’s feminine frills; Barbara Bui’s sexy safari looks.
See a gallery of looks from yesterday’s shows»
Bernadette Morra is the former editor-in-chief of FASHION magazine. She has been covering the Canadian and international fashion scenes for more than 30 years, first at The Toronto Star, then at FASHION. Over her long career Bernadette has interviewed many fashion world legends including Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Gianni Versace.
Fashion FWD:
The next best thing to being a fashion editor - BTS access to trends, products & news.