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