a bit of fashion- Bruno Pieters Spring 2010 RTW

well, folks, clearly the fashion correspondent has been slacking for many months. It's not that I don't want to say anything about fashion, I just need to be provoked. In general, I want to report on couture clothing, because the motives in the making are (probably) less suspect than in the ready-to-wear collections. And yet, I see that I am extremely predictable. If I just report on couture collections when nothing is jumping out at me- and it hasn't been-, I will simply tell you that Armani Prive is proof of the existence of god, that Christ appeared to Armani in a dream and gave him a one-on-one tutorial in how to design, cut and sew pants and jackets for women, and etcetera. throw in a mention of "my lord! black velvet!" and "large bow ties!", and the report is complete. In order to not do that, I will use this fashion post to respectfully disagree with Nicole Phelps who, in writing for Style.com on the Spring 2010 (yup, already) Ready-To-Wear (yes, I am writing on RTW!) collection by Bruno Pieters, claimed that the shortfall of the collection was that it doesn't include "enough that a girl could really wear". I was taken aback by this because this is one of the most wearable collections I have ever seen. I would happily wear almost every piece. Every piece if I was somewhere where showing one's boobs was not a faux-pas.
I will tell you what I like about it. The simplicity and expertise. The perfect ratio he has achieved between soft, draped lines and sculpted, geometric lines. Also the well-calculated balance between concealing and revealing, both the body, and the methods of construction in the clothing. Simple, elegant choices of fabric, unimbellished. lovely, expert draping on the dresses, and expert cutting and assembly (combined with a choice of the perfect weight of fabric) on the little strapless rompers with big pockets. There is some great and notably not excessive use of gauzy fabrics, layering, transparency, and unusual patterns to play off the effects of these in visible seams etcetera. I am also a sucker for the cowl/hood, when used well. it just says "class" like nothing else. With garments like these, a covered head can really complete the tableau. I'm including some images, but check out a slideshow of the whole collection, if you're interested.