The Intertext Of Hedi Slimane II

1. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2013
2. Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2013
3. Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2014

Until now, I wasn't that much aware of the Slimane gender blending. Yes, the womenswear invite showed men in suits (swaying a hat) and the menswear invite featured an illustrated (vaguely feminine) heart, yet, the crossing of sexuality seemed nothing more than a visual/conceptual tease. Androgynity was always on Hedi's Dior Homme agenda. With his offerings for Saint Laurent, it feels more like a campaign for asexuality. In fact, he creates duplicates, an intertext within his own world. That of sequins, bows and leopard print. I am buying it. Lipstick included.
/HORST

A Short History Of Eyes In Popular Culture

1. Comme des Garçons Shirt Spring/Summer 2008
2. Prada Spring/Summer 2014
3. Unknown
4. Wolfgang Tilmanns Augenlicht, 2013
5. Wolfgang Tilmanns Headlight (b), 2012
6. Shao Yen Fall/Winter 2013

Blue, brown. green, black and pink. Embellished, bejeweled, photographed, laser-cut. Do you see what I see? Do I see or do we feel? Do we see at all? It is a surrealist projection: looking at eyes as irrational act.
/HORST

A Short History Of The Bandeau Top In Popular Culture II

1. Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 1998
2. Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2010, David Elfin Spring/Summer 2010, Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2009
3. Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2010
4. J.W. Anderson Spring/Summer 2014
5. Julius Spring/Summer 2012

The manly adaption is owned by Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier and Raf Simons. Visually cutting away shoulder and arms from the rest of the body, the foremost muscular parts are put on display. A study of the fragmented male.
/HORST

Stepsisters: Jil and Miuccia II

1. Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2014
2. Prada Spring/Summer 2014

Two women, two collections, two extremes. While Sander raises the waist line and crops the top part with three-dimensional effect, Prada is framing the female bust with double-layered strings of sequins. Together, they create a revearsed heart-shape as main principle of construction.
/HORST

Post Paris XXXII

A 'False Encyclopaedia' double feature with Matthew Lindgren, discussing:
Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013

As a child, my passion was dressing up and playing roles much larger than myself.
I would tie yards of red velour around my body like a nightie and recite Maggie's lines from 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'. Of course, I didn't understand the weight of the words I was saying or the implications of the character I was portraying, but the aesthetics were all there.

Laden with menthol and sin, Marc Jacobs presented a slinky hotel scene with characters dressing up and covering up. Women exited their rooms in silky lingerie and haphazardly-thrown on fur coats and walked through the dim hallway peering at the audience. It was a scintillating presentation, to put it mildly.

The clothes, however, lacked this stimulating. They seemed to be less Elizabeth Taylor sultry, more Lindsay-Lohan-as-Elizabeth-Taylor sultry; the fallen dressing up as the great. The plunging v-necks and lace-lined dresses almost felt forced, reminiscent of post-pubescent middle school girls showing off to potential partners at a homecoming dance; the child dressing up as the woman. The plaids felt heavy and the coats could have been pulled out of a moth-filled box from the attic. Somehow the silks felt dirty. If this is the aesthetic Marc sees the Louis Vuitton woman in, then he did a wonderful job. He should also be commended on some of the more structured coats and the craftsmanship on the red carpet-bound final gowns. The fur bags are beautiful and will have great success in the market. The true test of this collection will be in its sales. Will the Louis Vuitton woman want to dress up for parties in printed silk dresses and sequin-dipped coats? If not her, perhaps her children will.

/MATTHEW

'Girl, Interrupted' might be the best term to describe Marc Jacob's latest exploration of his Louis Vuitton signature. The negligée night crawl collection is perfectly tailored for a delusional 'real housewife' who'd love to promote her own person as a brand. From Betty Boop to Lindsay Lohan and Joan Rivers, selling 'herself' was never more emancipated, vulgar and self-ironic. Her look: silk pyjamas, lipstick and fur.
/HORST








1. Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013
2. Elizabeth Taylor Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, 1958
3. Edward Hopper Night Windows, 1928
4. Disney Pretty Pretty Princess Cinderella Edition
5. Betty Boop 1930
6. Joan Rivers What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most, 1997
7. Girl Interrupted 1999
8. Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2013

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