This was the most cohesive and complete collection to date. It was also the epitome of the omnipresent word luxury which played out in his silhouettes, color and fabrics. There were Indian references seen in the beautifully draped, silky, icy silver and petal pink skirts mimicking mini dhotis. The draped skirts met a jacket–dress hybrid, a structured shoulder-padded tuxedo-jacket combined with draping, luxurious silk-satin on the sides, belted with golden obi-faced sashes and black lace bandeaud. The dissected jackets and his puff-sleeve, long, bare-v-neck silk jackets were reminiscent of Yves Saint Laurent.

His touch of menswear, this time, was constructed with an even more feminine touch. There were tops worn with the tulip flowing skirts that were like a second skin of sequins. They sparkled and shined snuggly around the body. Ghesquiere paired a strong and structured but still luxurious top with a softer and more feminine bottom. He made the contrasting materials and designs work.

The drapery stole the show. It was so luxurious and alluring that he managed to sneak it into every dress, skirt, and even pant. Ghesquiere revisited the Balenciaga archives and brought back the 60’s soft shoulder and dramatic pleating and draping, making it relevant and elegant in today. The dresses and skirts were as delicate as fresh tulips. The drapery was mostly ruched to one side and created an asymmetrical hemline.

There was a fabulous burnout velvet dress in an hourglass silhouette with puff sleeves, similar to his printed jackets, with and a skinny peplum manifested with a skinny belt. Although there was mostly black, a dash of decadent frosty silvers and pastel pink, there were some sharply tailored short dresses with princess waistlines in a animalistic, marbleized and primitive underdones; both cool color combinations of black, white and green or cobalt blue and then warmer tones in reds and oranges.

My favorite garment will definitely make the buyers ever-shrinking edits.  Nicholas created a draped pant that looked like a harem pant in silk where the pleating was so soft and beautiful around the thighs, it looked like a skirt over pants when it fact it was just one garment. These soft and low slung harem pants are a must. The layers drapery is not only luxurious but luscious, it is a highly stylized piece that can be worn with anything you already own and make the outfit look glamorous no matter what it’s paired with. There were also some slim trousers and even they had some fluidity.

Ghesquiere also played with leather either in his obi sashes and belts or lining of his velvet coats. The shoes were just as appealing and detailed as the carefully constructed clothing. There were platform sandals with bandanna-like bowties around the ankles and fabulous platform booties that looked like drops of paint had fallen on them.

This collection was what fashion is all about-luxury, quality, novelty, and a delicious decadent dose of drapery.

Favorite=Fendi

Fendi:  This was a collection for an austere, strong Woman Warrior.  The silhouettes were straight up and down, with the shoulder on boleros, jackets, capes, and dresses pointed out and up like dog ears when they hear someone at the door. These were Medieval Mistresses with black head wraps and even at time hoods.  There was a sharp, chic but serious undertone to this collection and Lagerfeld paid incredible attention to detail.  His master craftsmanship made raw hemlines from faraway look shaggy but up close showed various linings of fur, mohair and treated cashmere.  He stays true to Fendi’s legacy of fabulous furs by using the same processes today as they used in the 1940s; treating the fur and perforating it with many holes so that it feels and looks lighter. That is exactly what he did with the carefully calculated furs, mohair and shearlings which came in cropped jackets, knee length coats, and many chubby nubbys worn with slim black or khaki drainpipe pants.  The shoulders of the fur coats were different colors of fur with one white coat looking like black floppy dog ears hanging down.  Fur also trimmed many jersey dresses; one of my favorites was a hooded light grey nanook dress with furry shoulder trim that was cinched in the body with a black bare chest plate creating a tiny waistline and, to top the outfit off, the model wore black and brown wooden bangles from the wrist to the elbows. Wooden chokers also were styled to match.  There was also a Medieval story played out in this collection towards the second half where Lagerfeld used black breast plates like armor for the models to wear over their loose dresses and even over a fluffy fur short dress. There were beautiful cap sleeve slouchy velvet dresses paired with thigh high Mary Janes or round toe suede and leather booties. Another look that struck my eye was a knee-length lace dress made of paper thin leather bisected by a black chest plate and paired with matching above the elbow leather black gloves trimmed in the same leather paper thin lace.  Fit for a Medieval princess. The palette was basic black with heather grey furs and cream striped minks potted in the mix. The boots came in black and a forest green and they created new shoe: a Mary Jane thigh high boot.  And what would a Fendi show be without the bags? There was the previous seasons slouchy tote silhouette but this time it came in shellac silver in mini and large versions along with furiously fur handbags that matched the outfits perfectly.  Fantastic luxurious furs-Cruella Deville would certainly approve.