The fashion industry seems to be wrestling with whether haute couture is still relevant to the modern fashion model. On the one hand vets like Oscar de la Renta say it’s outdated and useless; on the other, business trackers note a marked spike in couture purchases – largely due to new customers from the far east. In any case, couture houses are responding by tweaking their approach. With designer Riccardo Tisci at the design helm, Givenchy opted to take its Fall 2010 Couture presentation off the runway and into the excessively ornate rooms of a Paris salon.

“I want to make couture even more special than it is, and not just another catwalk show,” Tisci told WWD “People can really experience the couture moment: See it, touch it.”

via Style.com

According to Tim Blanks, the designer was inspired by artist Frida Kahlo and her fixation on anatomy and mortality. From our commoner’s perspective, one might think Tisci was just trying to capitalize on the Google-powered Frida Kahlo internet search spike this week Yet if were able to get up close and personal we’d see zipper pulls made of little bones and porcelain belts shaped like spinal columns. Very apropos for a Kahlo inspired collection.

The Broken Column, 1944. Oil on canvas. 15 11/16 x 12 in. (40 x 30.5 cm). Collection Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño, Mexico City. © 2007 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust

via About.com

We’ve caught a glimpse at some of Givenchy’s ads for Spring/Summer 2010. Their nice, but they don’t make me swoon like the runway presentation did. Model Mariacarla Boscono has made the leap from catwalk to campaign. She’s paiedr with Natalia Vodianova and a bevy of male models. The two women are an interesting combo: one with such a hard look and the other so childlike.

Source: Fashiongonerogue.com

There have been plenty of lovely collections this season. Tracy Reese was nice, Christopher Kane was inspiring, and of course my Galliano delivered for Dior. But not until now has any collection made me gasp with delight. Such is the case for Givenchy Spring 2010. Riccardo Tisci is pretty much my hero right now – well on his way to Cult sainthood. The fall couture collection was amazing and now this… *swoon*

It was hard to edit down, as the entire show was amazing, but view the Cult picks below. Click for larger views.

photos: wwd.com

As much as I prefer Fall RTW over Spring, I do Spring Couture over Fall. Still the couture hows in paris this week have had some stellar highlights, including a beautiful (if not entirely original) show from newcomer Alexis Mabille. See the gallery below for Cult picks from Mabille, Chanel, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Armani Prive, and Christian Dior.

They say the Lacroix show almost did happen. It would have been a tragedy, as it was a close second behind my favorite – Givenchy.

Another fashion patriarch has passed:

PARIS – Jean-Claude de Givenchy, once head of Givenchy’s couture and fragrance businesses, died on May 18 in Cannes, France, of cancer. He was 84.

De Givenchy was born in 1925 in Beauvais, France. He began working with his brother Hubert de Givenchy soon after the Givenchy fashion house was opened in 1952.

A former Air France executive in the U.S., Jean-Claude de Givenchy returned to France, where he was charged with running Givenchy’s haute couture business and its fragrance activities, which were started in 1957. Among the brand’s notable scents from that period were Le De, L’Interdit (which was created for Audrey Hepburn), Eau de Vetyver and Givenchy Gentleman.

Jean-Claude de Givenchy left Parfums Givenchy after it was sold to Veuve Cliquot in 1981. Givenchy’s fragrance and fashion businesses are now part of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Source

Sad for the family, I’m sure, but he definitely a long and impactful life. I was first introduced to Givenchy, like many people, via the fragrances. Now, while I’m hardly a purveyor of the exceedingly high-end collections, I certainly am an appreciator. In fact the couture line for Spring this year was one of my favorites. Thank you Monsieur de Givenchy!

I don’t care for the makeup on these models. With the exception of the black girl, they all look three days dead. However, I did love the impressive range shown in this collection. It has a rugged by optimistic future feel to it. We love.

photos: nymag.com

If I were a hippie bride with no tits, I’d wear Anne Valerie Hash

Addition bridal looks, click for

If I were a bride marrying after 40, I’d wear Elie Saab

If I were an moody & dramatic bride, I’d wear Givenchy

If I were an artsy bride, I’d wear Maison Martin Margiela

If I were a bride, I’d wear Elie Saab.

photos: nymag.com