Now & Then XI

1. Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2013
2. Maison Martin Margiela Fall/Winter 2000

Fill in the circle. Don't cross the outline, don't look back. Carefully apply a shimmering layer. Place the circles, loosely stitch them onto the base. For quick results, apply glue. Stick to this routine.
/HORST

Now & Then IX

1. Dior Resort 2014
2. Jil Sander Spring/Summer 1993

Candy crush, crushed candy. Mr. Sandior re-evokes a feeling, pre-infused by his mentor mother Jil Simons. A passed on history of Belgian-German maximalist minimalism, now turned Parisian.
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Post London II

A false encyclopaedic guide to the London collections, presenting:
Marios Schwab Fall/Winter 2013

1. Mohammad Ehsai Double Force, 1977
2. Xena Warrior Princess, 1995-2001
3. Bernhard Willhelm Spring/Summer 2009

Horst on a red carpet could most possibly involve a Marios Schwab calligraphy dress in velvet and lace. Add a biceps tribal tattoo and a mention on the best worst dressed list is assured.
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Helmut Dialogues VII

Part IV of 'Duplicate Diptych Week'



1. Helmut Lang Spring/Summer 2001
2. Acne Pre-Fall 2013

In this case, the body-conscious 'original' is replaced by a free-spirited 'play' of volume. It may thus not be regarded as remake of a classic but its caberet adaption. The costume as tragic-comical tribute.
/HORST

Superficial Implant

Part II of 'Duplicate Diptych Week'



1. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 1997
2. Gucci Fall/Winter 1996

From 'amorphous forms' (cf. Hans Arp) to 'organic plates' at Balenciaga and Gucci by Tom Ford, strict geometry is broken into fluid shapes. Designed as a golden armour, hidden as second-skin, revealed by cutouts.
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The Real Winner Of Paris Fashion Week, An Afterthought

Gareth Pugh Fall/Winter 2013

Poetry aside, comparisons forgotten - I will now speak my word and thought, as it is.

The best collection for Fall/Winter 2013, presented during Paris Fashion Week, was - by far - presented by Gareth Pugh. It was a romantic, psychologic and deeply emotional exercise in womenswear, respectively its recurrent icon: the dress.

A balance act of soft and hard, cut and dimension. It felt massive and out of proportion, out of sight with the 'real' world. Women disappeared in grey pyramids of crispy textiles - just to be resurrected again as superhuman goddesses. Similar ideas have been proposed by Junya Watanabe and Thom Browne, and lately also by Maison Martin Margiela or Giles but it never felt as 'right' and logical. The transformation of each look happened so meticulously, one had to look twice to feel the 'difference' - just to arrive at the total other end, in the end.
/HORST

Quid Pro Quo

Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 2013

With his 15th anniversary menswear show, Raf Simons paid homage to Martin Margiela. Now, the Maison itself turns the tables. Presenting a powerful commentary on Simons' celebrated New Look, claiming back the heritage of the collective's founder and recreating the floor-length, heart-shaped bustier dress in its anti-version. The model's hands hidden in deep deep pockets...
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Image credits Catwalking

Per Refusal

Dior Spring/Summer 2013

What was I saying on twitter? - "Amazing veil setting. Sharp, severe and aggressive. Bye romanticism. Raf Sander for Dior. A striped homage to Helmut Lang." The beautiful defeat of a man and a name. The birth of another modernism.
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Image credits Style.com

Balenciaga Questions XX

1. Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2008
2. Rodarte Spring/Summer 2013

When even the Rodarte sisters repeatedly reinterpret Balenciaga, and I am not just referring to one look but the whole collection as a variation of one Ghesquière theme, we might wonder if this is a tribute or surrender?
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