Quotable

districtl — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:56:55 EST

Even the teenage Anna is seething.

"If thousands of people get to feel included from the outside, than actual, inside attendance will become more and more exclusive. Otherwise, how will the important people know they’re important?”

-an Anonymous magazine editor regarding efforts on the part of many designers to break down fashion's wall of "exclusivity".

Alexander Wang aired his show in Times Square, Dolce and Gabbana will be available directly onto your iPhone, and Showstudio is streaming more live shows than ever before. Technology is breaking down the barrier between the riff-raff and the runway, but you can never alienate the elite.

Balmain takes a backseat to Schiaparelli: Dolce and Gabbana A/W 2009

districtl — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:43:52 EST

The Balmain shoulder- story of the season. But what happens when one of the industry's premiere design duos goes to the root of the trend and unearths something major?

Two Elsa Schiaparelli suits from 1938; note the exaggerated shoulders.

This season, Dolce and Gabbana went back and beyond Balmain; instead, they took their inspiration for the particular brand of ballooned shoulder they sent down the runway from the great pre-WWII fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Schiaparelli was one of history's most progressive designers: while her Parisian house went out of business in 1954 following World War II, she was decades ahead in introducing synthetic materials to couture as well as experimenting with more exaggerated shapes and silhouettes.

Dolce and Gabbana brought a classic elegance back to a trend which this season has been associated with some of our more avant garde designers. While their palette remained simple, they also paid homage to Schiaparelli through their more than occasional hot pink ensemble- the designer's signature color introduced with her first fragrance, "Shocking". Despite the heavy influence from the classic couturier, Dolce and Gabbana stuck to their guns and flaunted their irreverent ingenuity with checkerboard prints, graphic gowns in a Marilyn Monroe motif, and a sleek array of menswear inspired feminized tuxedoes.

Another great Italian house stays true to its origins. Bravo.

Photos from MetMuseum.org and Style.com

District L

Quotable

Balmain takes a backseat to Schiaparelli: Dolce and Gabbana A/W 2009