Street meets Couture

So a friend of mine was supposed to do a photo shoot with me last year, before he got called into Spain last minute for an ad campaign. He then had to go to Jamaica, then London..blah blah blah. As you can see, this shoot never happened. His idea was to have a photo shoot with my dresses in the middle of Union Square where all the skaters are. Well....look what I found that was shot around the same time... ironic. Obviously my dresses aren't Versace or Haute Couture...  I wish I knew who the photographer was for this shoot.

 

 Versace Atelier

 Givenchy Haute Couture

 Christian Dior Haute Couture

Eugenio Recuenco

So I received an email from a friend last night :  "I am having dinner with Eugenio Recuenco and throwing my camera in the trash when I get home"...I thought, who is Eugenio Recuenco? Well, now I know. The video below is for Nina Ricci, the once French couturier and still a luxury brand. Dramatic and absolutely seductive. Check out his other videos here.


Nina Ricci
Uploaded by erecuenco. - Watch original web videos.

Tim Walker

Sometimes Tim Walker's photos are a little too much for my taste, but then some of them make me stop in my tracks. Below are a couple worth noting from Vogue Italia March 2010 issue. Lady Grey: Models Stella Tennant and Imogen Morris. Are these dresses haute couture? I have no clue, I don't have this issue. But it's Victorian inspired a gorgeous:

Saint Hill & Von Basedow

I was sketching out dresses the other day, and thought how beautiful it would be to have an endless train with ivory ruffles - sure enough, I came across what I imagined in this photo. Designed by Saint Hill and Von Basedow, the train itself is on ivory silk and ruffles created with French lace. All hand made. (Photo courtesy of realweddings.com.au)

I don't know much about this design house, but I do know that there was a retrospective during haute couture fashion week back in January, at Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador of France residence, in Paris, France.  (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images and courtesy of life.com) 

Guo Pei

I've always been mesmerized by embroiderers who do embroidery all their lives, even until they go blind. Hand technique is such a beautiful art, so that's why I love doing beadwork and knitting. It's not evident in my dresses I design, but just you wait!!  I absolutely appreciate this art. 


I know that one has to be accepted into the world of "haute couture", but there are definitely designers who I feel deserves this title. One of them is Guo Pei, as all her designs are made entirely by hand. 

Check out these "haute" shoes (haha!)  and I also added an up close photo to show you the details her dresses have. 

Christian Lacroix + A Great Bottle of Scotch

Since my last posting about Christian Lacroix, I always wondered what he was up to. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Houston based jewelry designer Ana Maria Sanchez, I found out that he designed the bottle for Chivas Regal. Talk D-E-C-A-D-E-N-T. I like using capital letters and dashes...

The Clients, Haute Couture: by Juergen Teller 1999

I wanted to know more about haute couture clients, since no one really knows who they are. Back during WWII, there were about 15,000 haute couture clients, and today there is only a handful, although the President of Chanel is saying there's a 30% increase all over the world. 

I came across this photo series by Jeurgen Teller, the photographer who does the Marc Jacob's ad campaigns. He shot these pics back in 1999 for W Magazine.  

Controversy lies in the fact that these are women of wealth who seem to spend on "fashion". To me, they are spending money on art. If I were Chanel and sat in my studio with a handful of fitters and seamstresses and spent over 400 hours on one gown, mostly a lot of handwork,  I think it is considered art - "high dressmaking", as what haute couture means. We can talk about "juicy couture" or "couture" collections later. I have postings already on this and don't want to keep repeating myself... but hey.. you just can't compare a Cartier diamond necklace to a diamond pendant from Zales. Yes, I like using these comparisons. 

The Client, Haute Couture: Ann Getty, Paris

The Client, Haute Couture: Jaqueline De Ribe, Paris

The Client, Haute Couture: Marie-Chantal of Greece, Paris

Wing Shya

As I was searching for inspiration, especially in the couture realm, I came across this Hong Kong based photographer who did many stills for Wong Kar Wai, a very well respected film maker. This picture is from a 2009 shoot with Flair Italy. The model's name is Egle Tvirbutaite and Vittoria Cerciello as the stylist. This was definitely a couture driven photo shoot, as you should definitely Google it when you get a chance. The photos are exquisite. The great lighting and styling allows you to see the details of the pieces.

And now because I want to complicate things, I have no idea where the costumes came from for his "personal" photoshoot below, but the images are so encapturing, that the costumes look like haute couture. I will never say that it is, but I will say that it looks like it. Model is Liu Wen. 

Christian Dior

I can't get over the decadence of Christian Dior's haute couture line. I know that Paris Fashion Week has just passed for ready to wear, but I am really looking forward to the next haute couture shows.
This is Christion Dior in the 50's before Galliano's time . It's like a flower that is about to bloom. Gorgeous. This is a signature dress that I've seen many times before:

Then you have this from last summer's show for Fall 2010. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. These flowers have bloomed.  I am just so in awe of these photos. It's like art. 

So really, I just wanted to decorate my page... 

The Princess of Monaco

Wouldn't you think that all princesses would have their wedding dress designed by a couturier? Not Grace Kelly. Costume Designer for MGM Helen Rose crafted her lace adorned dress. The dress still used 25 yards of silk taffeta, 98 yards of silk tulle, and 300 yards of Valenciennes lace. It's still decadent within its own right, but not Haute Couture. Helen Rose continued with her brand and made a consumer line called "Helen Rose Couture", but once again, as I've stated before, it depicts high end in America. It shouldn't be confused with Haute Couture.