THE CADBURY COLOUR PURPLE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

Cadbury purple, less commonly known as Pantone 265c, has been on our collective visual radar for the past 100 years, ever since the Birmingham chocolate company switched the colour of its packaging in tribute to Queen Victoria's favourite colour. We're used to seeing it, ripping it, scrunching it and gifting it but how about wearing it?

Cadbury purple at Balenciaga (via catwalking.com)

lilac at Christopher Kane (via catwalking.com)

At the latest round of SS14 shows, there was lots and lots of lilac. If anything's going to move us on from pink next summer then it will be a pretty light purple- lilac ball gown skirts, lilac sweatshirts, lilac denim, lilac anything and everything. But coinciding with Cadbury's long-running legal battle to secure copyright on its signature hue came a smattering of true deep dark purple outfits which made me think, very shallowly obviously, that I would really like to buy some purple clothes soon. Cadbury even sent a model down to LFW dressed in a Cadbury purple dress to promote their cause but still unfortunately lost their five year fight. Nevertheless, I still think that we will always associate the colour of Dairy Milk bars and Milk Tray boxes with Cadbury rather any random given confectioner who decides to jump on the purple bandwagon.

Cadbury purple crops up in the new Wes Anderson (via itsnicethat.com)

Cadbury purple at MaxMara (via catwalking.com)

Marc Jacobs uniform jackets for SS14 (via catwalking.com)

Anyway, I was reminded of this new fashion need again this afternoon when I clicked through to the trailer of The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson's latest offering. Lo and behold, the lead character Gustave H is a hotel manager and he, along with all the other members of staff at The Grand Budapest, wears Cadbury-coloured uniforms which also have a hint of the Marc Jacobs SS14 Victorian jacket about them. These are niche fashion observations I know but it never fails to amuse me how various cultural threads can chime together so that it seems like they might have been planned. The hotel is even this season's candy pink in case you're not ready to move on to lilac and purple yet! Now I know that that purple thing I want is a shiny-buttoned uniform jacket.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson's new film (via itsnicethat.com)

FRIDAY FASHION TO-DO LIST

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

FEAL is off to Paris for a few days so expect updates on our escapades while we're there. In the meantime, here are three fashion things to do now...

1. GET TO SOMERSET HOUSE FOR YOUR FLYKNITS

Nike do a brilliant job of creating real excitement around their brand and product launches. Next week, they're bringing the new Flyknit Lunar1+ to the good people of London with a big event at Somerset House. Pop in and get the supremely cool knitted trainers steamed to fit your feet then take off on a run in which you'll 'explore the city in a whole new way'. The experience will be based in the courtyard of Somerset Houseand you'll also get to see lots of inspiring outakes from Nike's running history. The experience is open all day from 9-6. Go, go, go.

2. BUY A BLACKSCORE T-SHIRT

The slogan tee thing is completely huge right now. Every other street style picture is a girl with a kooky phrase or wittily altered slogan plastered across her chest. The latest, and sweetest, version of the trend comes from Blackscore who have produced Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn tees. The man behind Blackscore is Simeon Farrar, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing sometime back. He is both an artist and a fashion designer who brings a great sense of beauty and fun to whatever he does. That's what is so great about these tees; they're whimsical rather than confrontational. Get yours here 

Queen Delevingne tee £30

3.  FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH THE NEW BALENCIAGA

Alexander Wang showed his debut collection for Balenciaga yesterday. Rather than going completely mad for it, as one might a Wang bag, most commentators have been measured, calling it "a confident, uncomplicated debut" (Jess Cartner-Morley in The Guardian) and "quietly respectful" (Hamish Bowles on US Vogue). From my chair, it looks like terribly complicated stuff made to seem simple, see the knits made to look like crackled leather (that detail via Cathy Horyn on Twitter). The detail I am most obsessed with  is how the catwalk images were taken with a mirror behind the models so that you can see front and back views at once, genius.

Front view/ back view Balenciaga AW13

Christopher Kane sells 51% Majority Stake to Luxury Group PPR, joins roster including Balenciaga, McQueen, Stella McCartney and Yves Saint Laurent

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

Christopher Kane

It's been tough keeping this one quiet, but at the stroke of midnight today, January 15th 2013, at last the news became public (my lip has been buttoned for ages). Christopher Kane the 30-year-old Glasgow born designer has sold a 51% stake of his business to the PPR Group in order to develop his business into a global luxury fashion brand.

This is brilliant news for a designer who graduated eight years ago with his Fashion MA from Central Saint Martins, and became an instant critical and commercial success. It makes today a very good day for British fashion and the education and grant system that supports and nurtures young talent, including not least the NEWGEN scheme which launched Chris into London Fashion Week for his first colour-popping show in September 2006, for S/S S2007. (Although sadly, if Christopher Kane was looking for a university place in England today, his 18 year old self would not be able to afford the fees.)

Even better, Kane will not be moving his catwalk shows to Paris; he stays in London.

In aligning with PPR Group (Printemps-Pinault-Redoute) Kane joins an impressive portfolio of luxury brands jockeying for 21st Century domination including Balenciaga (with newbie Alexander Wang as creative director), Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent with Hedi Slimane at the helm. His achievement is particularly sweet given the biggest fashion rumour connected to his name over 2012 was that he may be heading up design at Balenciaga following his departure from Versus, and the departure of Nicolas Ghesquiere from Balenciaga. "The Balenciaga thing wasn't a bad thing" Kane told Style.com, "but I had to make sure I denied that straightaway so that the PPR investment in my business didn't look like a consolation prize."

If this still leaves you slightly baffled as to its significance for Kane and the wider fashion picture, here are a few reasons why this is important news. Fans of Christopher Kane can rejoice in the knowledge that the Dalston, East London based designer will now be able to A) open stores globally over time, B) launch leather goods (woop!) C) spend more time creating his signature collection and less time on paperwork and the running of what was very much a family business with a small team of close confidantes.

"He is still the one and only graduate who was ever awarded New Gen funding right out of college," says Sarah Mower MBE the BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent who discovered Kane while he was still at university. "We took a risk, which was stunningly well rewarded with his first neon-bandage show in Holland Park in September 2006 - one of the best London fashion shows ever and one which not only launched him, but marked the beginning of the wave of creativity and self-confidence which has transformed London in the eyes of the world." As head of the New Gen who has nurtured Kane from day one, Mower is also understandably pleased that he is staying loyal to his homeland. "I'm thrilled that Christopher has no thought of showing anywhere but London. That fact is the absolute proof and endorsement of how this city has been transformed as the international platform for new ideas."

For Kane and his business partner and sister Tammy Kane this means they needn't worry financially for a long time to come. Selling 51% of your company to one of the world's most powerful luxury groups is a mahoosive payday. Alexander McQueen is rumoured to have got £30 million in 2000 when he sold a 51% stake to the Gucci Group (as the fashion arm of PPR was still called then when it was co-run by Tom Ford).

It is worth noting that what Christopher has pulled off is even more impressive than it looks, as PPR group has not backed a young designer for a decade. Indeed, this is the very first fashion acquisition actively made by PPR chairman Francois-Henri Pinault; all the previous acquisitions were made under the leadership of Tom Ford and Domenico de Sole.

Francois-Henri Pinault described Kane as “ A truly great talent who in just a few years he has built a very distinctive and exciting brand with a unique DNA." For his part Kane told  US Vogue "Tammy and I have been dreaming of what we would do since I was about nine years old...we instinctively feel that PPR understand what we’re about and how we can grow- not headlong, but step by step. It’s fantastic to have that sense of security.”

I'm so proud of Christopher and Tammy and utterly delighted for them. They have been building their brand cleverly and diligently from day one, and it really couldn't happen to nicer people. Onwards!

PLAYING PRE-FALL DRESSING UP

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

It's nearly time to snuggle into your Christmas jumper and be done with proper fashion for a week or so, but before that we mustn't forget that the next round of collections- Pre-Fall 2013- is trickling in slowly, giving us a little taster of how we might be looking a year from now. In traditional FEAL fashion, I've got out the Big Head to demonstrate how I might possibly look in some of my favourite looks so far...

1. GUCCI

Checks and tartan are looking strong for next Autumn. Gucci's woollen dress has a strong, pulled together silhouette with a hint of kilt, the perfect balance of chic and traditional.

2. 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

This is quite possibly the archetypal example of what a Pre-Fall (or Resort) collection is all about; it would be quite perfect to put on this entire look, walk out of the studio door and go live life, rucksack slung over shoulder.  You'd be wearing key, hard-working wardrobe pieces with a fashionable but not slavish hint at trends. Winter Turquoise is looking like a big thing, following on from the Celine coat of AW12. 

3. PROENZA SCHOULER #1 and #2

As a simple styling concept, Proenza's concoction feels bang on- take a monochrome colour block sweater, add statement skirt and simple heels. Done. It feels like a wearable, day to day move on from the final looks in Raf Simons' first Dior collection- the black jumper with iridescent ballgown skirts. I couldn't decide between the artsy blue optical skirt or the burnished gold so I stuck my head on both. 

4. ALEXANDER WANG

Will we be seeing grey marl sweats on the Balenciaga catwalk? Possibly not, but Wang's Pre-fall draped luxe sport get-up seems rather fabulous to me although not sure I'd wear the whole look all together. The easy but versatile sweatshirt would be top of my list. 

5. THEYSKENS' THEORY

Oh dear, I'm going to make another Dior reference, but don't you think this sheeny dress coat is a little bit like those updated Bar jackets which Simons did? It's glitzier and comes with what looks a bit of a nasty belt however it fits perfectly into the idea of wearing a jacket as a dress which is really sexy in a Roxie Hart kinda way. 

6. CHANEL

I really ought to have picked my tartan choice from Chanel's Paris -Edinbourg collection, however I by far prefer Lagerfeld's interpretations of Elizabeth I attire, all virginal white gowns with ruffs at the neck. If only I had the photoshop skills to transport the intricate plaits which Sam McKnight created for the occassion onto my own 'do. 

ALEXANDER WANG TO BALENCIAGA AND THE REST OF THE WEEK IN FASHION

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

This has been a huge fashion week... Here's all the news you need to know.

ALEXANDER WANG HEADS TO BALENCIAGA

The murmurs (read, Twitter frenzy) began yesterday but this morning- as Nicolas Ghesquière began his last day- it was confirmed by WWD that one of New York's most successful and best-loved young designers is heading to Paris to design at Balenciaga. Here's what the fashion industry thought...

Alexandra Shulman ‏@AShulman2

Vogue UK: Alexander Wang Named Balenciaga Creative Directorhttp://bit.ly/TxrCtm  Another fashion mystery solved. That's a big leap for Wang

susiebubble ‏@susiebubble

So the whispers have been confirmed Alexander Wang is to go to@BALENCIAGA - an astute business decision more than anything else

Melanie Rickey ‏@fashedatlarge

Big news in fashion land: Alexander Wang IS taking over at@BALENCIAGA. The brand will become less pious and more accessible..and so it goes

bryanboy ‏@bryanboy

Congratulations to Alexander Wang for the Balenciaga gig! A new era...

Alexander Wang is off to Balenciaga (image via wmagazine.com)

JW ANDERSON TO DESIGN FOR VERSUS

Following the end of Christopher Kane's work at Versus, it was announced on Wednesday that Jonathan (JW) Anderson will be the first young designer to collaborate with Versace's sister brand as they head in a new, digitally focussed direction. We'll get to see the result of the collaboration at a New York event in March or April 2013. JDubz and Versus have given us a hint of what's to come, releasing this fabulous image by Bruce Weber starring Stella Tennant, from 1996. This photo has apparently inspired the collection. Bring on the New White Jean.

JW Anderson's Versus inspiration (Image via fashionologe.com)

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH CHRISTOPHER KANE?

So now we know that Kane won't be heading up Balenciaga, but has got more time on his hands thanks to the end of his Versus deal, there is increasing specualtion that he might be getting ready to take his own brand to the next level. He is rumoured to have held talks with PPR who were behind the expansions of Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen's label. A Christopher Kane shop is something we would REALLY like to see. Watch this space...

SUZY MENKES

Whilst we all get our knickers in a twist about what the Balenciaga version of a Wang Rocco bag will look like, or what a Wang version of a Lariat will be, Suzy Menkes has been summing up the state of fashion now in her inimitable, concise and searing way. Her piece "Dirty Pretty Things" from today's New York Times is well-worth a read. Find out more about Menkes' approach to fashion and her career in this interview from AnOther.

Suzy Menkes has been guiding us through the current fashion upheaval (image via Anothermag.com)

J CREW OPENS IN LONDON

This is ridiculously exciting- J Crew is opening on Regent Street sometime next year- I've heard conflicting reports as to when. Some say March, some say "late 2013". I'll be saving my pennies judiciously. It's part of bigger expansion plans for the fashion meets preppy brand beloved of Michelle Obama.

J Crew SS13 shoes from this week's day 

JUSTINE PICARDIE'S NEW HARPER'S BAZAAR

Sienna Miller graces the cover of January's Harper's Bazaar, the first issue under the new editorship of Justine Picardie, find out more about the writer and journalist- who penned last year's brilliant Coco Chanel biography- in her interview with the Evening Standard. The magazine will be out to buy on Monday.

THE BRITISH FASHION AWARDS

Stella's jumpsuit attracted many admiring/envious comments (image via telegraph.co.uk)

Stella McCartney was the big winner at the British Fashion Awards on Tuesday evening, taking home Designer of the Year and Designer Brand of the Year. Here's the winners list in full and a few videos to give a taste of the proceedings. As with all the very best formal events, everything didn't quite go to plan, The Telegraph's Luke Leitch summarised the evening's gaffes and standout moments.

The BFA winners...

British Style brought to you by Vodafone: Alexa Chung

Outstanding Achievement in Fashion: Manolo Blahnik CBE

Emerging Talent Award – Ready-To-Wear: J.W. Anderson

Emerging Talent Award – Accessories: Sophie Hulme

Emerging Talent Award – Menswear: Jonathan Saunders

Special Recognition: Harold Tillman CBE

Red Carpet Award: Roksanda Ilincic

Accessory Designer: Nicholas Kirkwood

Designer Brand: Stella McCartney

Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator: Louise Wilson OBE

New Establishment: Erdem

Model: Cara Delevingne

Menswear Designer: Kim Jones for Louis Vuitton

Designer of the Year: Stella McCartney

                 

                 

                 

                 

VOGUE'S DOCUMENTARY

You've seen The September Issue, read Grace Coddington's book. Why not make it a hat trick with Vogue: The Editor's Eye, a totally fabulous looking new documentary which will look at how the stylists at Vogue, including Coddington, get those thrilling shoots which sum up fashion moments. If you have access to HBO then set a reminder for December 6th, if not then we shall have to patiently wait for a UK release date. Tell us now, please!



VALENTINO AT SOMERSET HOUSE

Valentino; Master of Couture opened this week at Somerset House, making the stately building beside the Thames the ultimate place to be this month, what with the Tim Walker exhibition, ice rink and Christmas Arcade. Be sure to book your ticket soon. In the meantime, get a taster of what's to come with the second and third installments of the documentary about the exhibition. I posted the first film a couple of weeks ago.

SCHIAPARELLI, ERDEM'S GEMS AND OTHER FASHION STORIES

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

In my relatively short time working in fashion, one thing (of the many things) I have learnt is that the industry can really pick its moments when it comes to potentially huge news stories. There's none of the bang-in-the-middle-of-the-working-day punctuality of, say, the Leveson report. Take the frenzied rumour that Christopher Kane would be moving to Balenciaga, that all kicked off bright and early on a  Saturday morning while confirmation of Raf Simons appointment to Dior was announced on a Bank Holiday Monday. I really wouldn't be surprised if some major development weren't revealed while we're sitting down for the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day. In fact in the time it has taken me to write that paragraph, it has been announced that J.W Anderson will be the first designer to work with Versus on their new approach of collaborating with young talent. Meanwhile, in the middle of last night, Cathy Horyn published a piece which suggested Alexander Wang is set to take over at Balenciaga when Nicolas Ghesquière leaves in a few days time. The FashEd's comment on that snippet is "So Alexander Wang would give up his own successful business in NYC to be a salaried employee of PPR in Paris to design Balenciaga?".

Schiaparelli pink (image from vogue.com)

Another ongoing fashion rumour is that LFW favourite Erdem Moralioglu might be getting ready to take up the reins at the newly revived Schiaparelli. Diego Della Valle, who owns the label, has pushed back the relaunch from January to June which means there are only a couple of months at the most before a designer needs to be appointed. Unlike Balenciaga, where whichever designer is chosen will have the immediate legacy of Ghesquière to contend with, as well as the codes of Cristóbal Balenciaga himself, Schiaparelli has been a dormant label since 1954. As well as creating madly fun and beautiful clothes, Elsa Schiaparelli employed her surrealist aesthetic with jewellery. Her Uncle was astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli and she would apparently sit with him and study the stars as a child, maybe looking at all those sparkles in the sky prompted her to branch into making shiny things of her own? Her pieces were kinds of sophisticated satire on conventional jewels, using the usual materials but crafting them into vaguely unnerving pieces. The bug necklace below, for example, was meant to create the illusion of the wearer being inundated by hundreds of insects.

Schiaparelli Lobster brooch (image via debutanteclothing.com)

Schiaparelli floating insect necklace (image from brooklynmuseum.org)

The lovely Erdem, perhaps in preparation for his Schiaparelli role if we allow ourselves to get utterly carried away with mere hearsay, has created a capsule accessories collection for online retailer MyTheresa. To be even more tenuous, the range includes chunky crystal earrings and necklaces not so very dissimilar to Schiaparelli's mid-century designs. Is it just me or do you see an element of bird in the earrings? The range only launched a couple of days ago and some pieces have sold out already. Whether you're into speculating on fashion comings and goings or not, there's no denying that a Christmas stocking full of Erdem x MyTheresa would go down a treat.

Bracelet £288

Crystal earrings £269

Lace shoes £486

Cocktail ring £225

BREAKING FASHION NEWS: NICOLAS GHESQUIERE LEAVING BALENCIAGA

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Nicolas Ghesquière by Irving Penn (image via Vogue.com)

PPR has this afternoon announced that Nicolas Ghesquière, who has been Creative Director at Balenciaga since 1997, will be leaving at the end of this month. Despite his long tenure, the news comes as something as a surprise after fashion's recent period of "musical chairs" seemed to have settled down. Indeed, amid the excitement of the debut collections from Raf Simons at Dior and Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent last month, Nicole Phelps ended her glowing review of Balenciaga SS13 with a statement underlining the house's importance in the Paris mix...

"What Ghesquière did today was a reminder to us all that Paris fashion isn't a two-man game."

SS13 flounces from Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga

Rumour has it that Ghesquière has been holed up in New York during the Sandy chaos and was spotted shopping in Barney's and "holding court in [the] tea room" (via @JillKargman). There has been plenty of praise for Ghesquière from key industry figures as news broke...

Balenciaga ‏@BALENCIAGA

Thank you Nicolas for bringing back all Cristobal Balenciaga’s values and creativity. Read more: http://bit.ly/PRpj5I 

Dazed Fashion Team ‏@Dazed_Fashion

Nicolas Ghesquière & @BALENCIAGA are to part ways at the end of this month after a spectacular 15 year collaboration that shaped 00s fashion

Derek Blasberg ‏@DerekBlasberg

Very depressing news for my well-off, fashionable fans of avant garde, conceptual French fashion: Nicolas Ghesquière to leave Balenciaga.

Alexandra Shulman ‏@AShulman2

Nicolas Ghesquiere unarguably one of the biggest talents in fashion leaving Balenciaga where he has been incredible 

There is already speculation that Stefano Pilati, who recently left Yves Saint Laurent and had landed a post at Ermenegildo Zegna might be a prime candidate to take the reins. Watch this space...

KA-POW AW12 TREND PART 1: COMIC BOOK FASHION FOR WONDER WOMEN

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Most of you reading will be familiar with terms like "having it all" and being a "super woman" which are used unsparingly across the media to describe how females in the 21st century could/should live our lives. No matter whether it is article in a women's magazine advising readers how to fit having a gazillion children around training for ironman triathlons and running a business or a scaremongering piece in a certain daily newspaper warning of all the awful things which happen to society when women work, there has never been more debate around the merits of living up to Helen Gurley Brown's ambition of women "having it all". Inevitably, fashion has picked up on this notion with an ever growing cohort of designers aiming their collections at women who are occupying roles both at home and in a work environment- see Lauren Cochrane's insightful piece in today's Guardian.

Frank Miller's neo-noir Sin City (image from wikipedia.com)

Pencil skirts and perfect black trousers are all very well, but we can flip this on its head and make everything that little bit more FUN. That's because alongside the office appropriate dresses and mid heels which are the absolute practical investment this season, there is a bit of cartoon wonder woman wit being introduced into the equation by the likes of Nicholas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga and Phillip Lim. Through his AW12 and pre-fall collections, Lim has become the poster boy for comparing the wonder women we all want to be (with a little help from our clothes) with the comic super heroine who's right up there with Batman and Superman . Lim told Style.com that "Everyone wants garments to be superheroes. This 'fill in the blank' should save your day, your week, your year."Thus, he gave us fabulous black/white tailored slacks and a completely chic, wear-everyday tweed coat but also threw "ka-pow" knits and accessories inspired by Sin City and V for Vendetta into the mix to make his own cocktail of literal comic book heroism and metaphorical wardrobe wonders.

3.1 Phillip Lim clutch at Matches press day. Now you can buy it £345

3.1 Phillip Lim Kapow sweater £390 at Matches

Mr Lim mixes up his superhero comics with his his superhero clothes for pre-fall '12 (image from style.com)

Lim has taken his comic book fixation a step further for Vogue's Fashion Night Out. He's teamed up with Jan Duursema, a comic book artist with a speciality in Star Wars, and comic strip writer John Ostrander to produce Kill The Night which touches on all those issues of multi-dimensional lives but in a properley super heroine kind of way. It is described by Lim's people as a "A story of duality and metamorphosis, day and night, black and white, love and betrayal. Things are not what they seem. Look again."

Ghesquiere's concept for Balenciaga AW12 made the brand a corporation with models transformed into IT workers and Vice Presidents. While the idea was grounded in the reality of modern office life, the notion of something a little more cosmic entered the collection via a series of highly covetable sweatshirts with slogans like "Join a weird trip" emblazoned on the front alongside sci-fi imagery of skyscrapers and far off galaxies- a landscape which a be-caped superhero could fly into at any moment.

Balenciaga AW12 (catwalking.com)

While being a 'have it all' woman might be made out to be a pretty stressful role in life, I love that Lim and Ghesquiere are turning this on its head and imbuing us with a sense of wonder woman can-do attitude. This is by no means fashion's first foray into comic book fun. I've been doing some delving around and speaking to an absolute expert on the subject so tomorrow there will be a second installment with full on geeking out on fashion's relationship with cartoon superheroes.

You can sign up to receive a copy of Phillip Lim's Kill the Night at his website

SKY SCRAPING: FASHION GOES CORPORATE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Jonathan Saunders AW12 is shown against the backdrop of the London skyline (image from magazine.motilo.com)

It began in London on the Sunday afternoon of fashion week when most people were probably at home enjoying the final remnants of the weekend. For the fashion crowd, it was time to work and Jonathan Saunders underscored this by ushering us up sleek escalators and speedy lifts to the the 20th floor of the Broadgate tower to watch his AW12 show. It may as well have been Monday morning, had it not been for the setting sun which greeted us upon arrival in the floor-to-ceiling-glazed showspace. As we waited for the show the to begin, the sky was a soft orange and London’s skyline clearly visible from within the clean, corporate surroundings. A stunning venue.

Berenice Abbott's City Arabesque, 1936 (from Flickr.com)
Her images encompass all that is evocative about   the huge
buildings which tower over us in cities

The very next day, Saunders’ contemporary, Christopher Kane, also chose a shiny modern office building as the location for his show. Fashion is not akin to associating itself with these almost spaceship like behemoths of capitalism, but it seemed like Saunders and Kane were interested in introducing them to their fashion equation. Maybe some of their biggest customers work in these places?

Chloe AW12

In fact, the overarching theme of the Paris collections that designers clearly more concerned with dressing the working woman, as opposed to the socialising women - though of course party dressing is always a bit part of fashion.  Over Paris Fashion Week, the big players have been showing collections aimed directly to the heart of professional women and her wardrobe including Lanvin, YSL, Stella McCartney and Celine to name a few.

Stella McCartney AW12

Yves Saint Laurent AW12

Balenciaga's uniformed ushers (image from Jessica Michaults' Twitter)

In Paris last Thursday, Balenciaga overtook a space on the 27th floor of a tower in the Beaugrenelle area for their AW12 show. The vision of kane and Saunders was this time extended; attendants in Balenciaga uniforms guarded the entrance to the venue, as if to ensure that no spies from rival corporations were allowed through. Nicholas  Ghesquière  had apparently spent months with his in-house artist Dominique Gonzalez- Foerster to perfect his reimagination of the historic French house as a corporate machine.

The fogged up view across Paris from the Balenciaga venue (from Emily Sheffield's twitter)

Suited, booted and gloved corporate clones (Image from Vogue Turkey's Twitter)

 He told Style.com that he has become obsessed with the time in the late seventies and early eighties when ‘France became Modern’. Perhaps when the private sector is promised as our only hope for economic recovery, there is a renewed fascination with how vast companies operate, both now and in the past, and the aesthetic which their hugeness entails- the uniforms, the logos, the company colours and dress codes. I know from friends who work in the city that they often end up wearing the same clothes and eating the same food as their colleagues, simply because of the culture which exists in their companies.

The corporate mood ran right through into the clothes, where Ghesquière used concrete grey, cobalt blue and black as the colour anchors. The shapes were sharp, futuristic and, all importantly, architectural. There were also sweatshirts with superhero cartoons emblazoned on the front, these emphasised the fantasy element of Balenciaga Inc.

Balenciaga AW12

Balenciaga AW12 

Balenciaga AW12 (All catwalk images from catwalking.com)

Whilst in Paris this weekend, I found time between shows and showroom appointments to visit the Berenice Abbott exhibition which is currently on show at the Jeu de Paume (a mere hop, skip and a jump from the Tuileries show venue used by numerous designers).

Canyon Broadway and Exchange Place by Berenice Abbott, 1936 (image from www.artblart.wordpress.com)

Abbott, a photographer who died in 1991, has a varied repertoire which reflects her desire to show ‘the whole American scene’. Some of her best and most fascinating photography was done in New York in the 1930s. She undertook an almost decade long project to document how the city was changing during this time. Her images sum up what is really awesome about the huge sky scrapers which are now familiar sites in most major cities- the precise architectural thought plus the end purpose of providing a place from which hundreds of people gather with the collective goal of making insane amounts of money.

Broadway to the Battery by Berenice Abbott, 1938
 (image from lalettredelaphotographie.com)

The Flatiron building, 1938 by Berenice Abbott
(from www.photographersgallery.com)

Abbott said that 'New York is the most phenomenal gesture ever made'. Arguably, the period in French history which Ghesquière looked back to would have been quite different without New York's sky scraper prototypes. Right now is not so different- we may not be building these towers in the quantities of previous decades, but they are symbols of what got us into the financial crisis and what will probably end up getting us out of it too. In fashion specifically, there is now more than ever, a kind of admiration for designers who turn their creativity into good business. So who can blame them for having that on their mind when they pull a show together? There aren't many better ways of getting the message across than by holding your show in an elegant, corporate space rather than an old car park. Plus, as Abbott's work shows, these places are really quite beautiful.

Berenice Abbott is on at Jeu de Paume until 29th April. Check here for further details