AN IDEA OF DRESSING AND THE GESTURES THAT COUNT

Thank you for discussing the men's s/s 11 shows with honesty and a real point of view, so in turn I'll do the same. This men 's show season sucked. Everything was so safe , so boring, so sterile, they could've just done showroom presentations with mannequins. I was bored to tears. The best show I've seen thus far was Romain Kremer (though maybe I wouldn't wear most of the outfits, at least he put on a show). The ideas proposed in other shows offered nothing new or revolutionary.

I'm beginning to see Cathy Horyn's point about Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy man. It does look like the work of a stylist or worse a copyist. This collection reminded me of one the collections that Hedi Slimane did for YSL , with an identical leopard print motif and varsity jacket. Men wearing skirts is nothing new, particularly for"high" fashion (Buffalo/Ray Petri, Jean Paul Gaultier,etc.), but this idea has never transitioned to the mainstream, outside of kilts, I guess some garments are still thought of as gender specific. The idea that most annoyed and boggled though, was the proposal of sweaters for summer (nice as some of them were, particularly Prada), I understand the idea of season less dressing , but in this day and age of global warming, record high temperatures the world over, who the fuck is going to wear a sweater?

As for the other shows, Lanvin tried too hard to mimic the feel of the of the women's collection, Alber Elbaz hand was much too invoved in this collection, losing the essence of what was the Lanvin man. I foresee Lucas Ossendrijver leaving the house if this continues. YSL was a bore, a continuation of Stefano Pilati's destruction of the Saint Laurent name. I am awaiting with anxious vigor the day there is a new designer at the helm of menswear at YSL, and womenswear while we're at it . Thom Browne is a joke, an expensive one at that , But I believe he is in on the joke, almost like a higher class, quality and cost Jeremy Scott.

Versace, was sad , not in the I want to cry way but in this is so pathetic it's kind sad way. Do you know anyone who still wears or desires to wear Versace? Versace is quickly becoming irrelevant, scratch that it is irrelevant and Donatella's last ditch efforts to appeal to the young masses by cradle robbing young designers of their talent is failing. The clothes are lackluster and gimmicky and even the accessories are forgettable (every major design's house bread and butter), the ads are retreads of the same concept done to ad nauseum. I see Versace as a casualty of the recession,poor design and management , not yet ready to throw in the towel, unwilling to die and become the fossil it already is. Raf Simons, has never been a big draw for me (beside accessories) and it wasn't until this show that he dedicated to Martin Margiela, could I put my finger on it. It is just that, his shows always feel like a homage to Margiela, with the same cold, beautiful/ interesting fashion, but no warmth , no depth. The collections, I most identified with, desired and would buy if I could afford would have to be Bottega Veneta and Jean Paul Gaultier. These show featured men, not boys, and for the most part real summer clothing.

P.S. I know another long ass post, but you've come to expect that by now. I should do some of the reviews for style.com.