Paris Haute Couture A/W 09: Valentino’s mourning attire, Jean-Paul Gaultier’s silver screen |

It was good to see that Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli started a de-cloning process at Valentino and that they are little by little going towards a new direction.

Black tulle and lace prevailed at Valentino’s Haute Couture A/W 09 collection and some looks were even accompanied by fetishistic lace masks perfect for sensual cat-women.

The designers played with the nude/black dichotomy, creating contrasts through these two shades and mainly employing the nude colour as a sort of canvas on which layers of tulle or fragments of black lace were applied.

In a way the main colour chosen for this collection mirrored a sort of Victorian preoccupation with death, almost recalling the two main shades – black and ivory – in Edward Killingworth Johnson’s painting “A Young Widow”.

Feathers, frills and ruffles abounded, an oversized ribbon was applied on the back of an otherwise linear dress and a cascade of thick black roses seemed to be applied on a cage-like dress.

Short mini-dresses encrusted with beads also made an appearance, confirming that this collection was mainly aimed at a younger customer, a more aggressive yet fragile muse.

There was a major problem, though, or rather a few problems: first, the whole concept wasn’t entirely new and the slightly decadent masks reminded of Dai Rees’ crystal laden face masks; second, the designers found themselves stuck in the "evening limbo".

In their first haute couture collection they seemed to have been able to provide more looks for different times of the day, yet in that case they had carefully studied the archives of the maison.

Left alone the designers displayed a flair for well crafted pieces and a high knowledge of refined and sophisticated looks and precious craftsmanship processes, yet they also showed their limits and the fact that, while they might not convince Valentino’s more mature customers, they may not be able to appeal yet to younger generations – no matter how many draped looks à la Rodarte they can produce.

Iconic movie divas are one of Jean-Paul Gaultier’s constant fixations and so is cinema. It was only natural then for the designer to move from cinema and from his own archive while he worked on his A/W 09 collection.

Even with no cinematic soundtrack or props such as cameras and set lights it would have been easy to spot Brigitte Bardot under the first leather trench coat paired with film frame stockings, Louise Brooks in a golden beaded flapper dress and lavish fur or Greta Garbo's androgynous style in Ninotchka evoking suits, while a corseted dress called to mind the protagonist of Belle de Jour and furs the looks in Anna Karenina.

Rather than going back to a specific decade, Gaultier mixed films from various times with his own signature looks, his stripy shirts got for example mixed with the sailor looks from Querelle de Brest.

Metropolis became a wonderful excuse for a rigid cors
et-like structure over-imposed on a fluid evening gown, Barbarella’s costumes in experimental materials such as plastic and metal were turned into a dress and thigh-high boots made with film stills or rolls of negatives and a silvery mermaid dress reminded of the classic Marilyn Monroe look.

The final wedding dress seemed a shorter version of the bridal tiered dress that gave Philippe, the dressmaker out of Falbalas (another inspiration for Gaultier – check out the clip at the end of this post, though, you’re warned, this is a spoiler, since this clip is the very end of the film) a dramatic hallucination.

The hallucinatory quality of the finale was also given by faces of Hollywood divas such as Mae West, Rita Hayworth and Jean Harlow, projected on to the bride’s face and on the background.

Cinematographic connections were interesting and there were some rather wearable items and impeccable tailoring for what regarded trench coats, tuxedos with velvet revers and casual sequinned overalls.

You could argue, though, that there wasn’t anything new about the main inspirations and presentation, but, in such a toned down edition of Paris haute couture fashion week, we’d better not complain.