“I am the greatest dressmaker in the world.”
Madeleine Vionnet

Many designers have made me appreciate beauty and its deep aspects, but Madeleine Vionnet is one of the few among them whose creations I felt obliged calling “artwork” rather than just “work”. And with due respect to all other high fashion couturiers whom I admire, when it comes to dresses, Madame Vionnet is the one at the top of my ranking (well, John Galliano too…). I have never thought that the look of a dress could make me gape in such awe and not just inspire me to dream, but touch me on a very personal level. The dresses of Vionnet the way she made them back in the 1920-1930s, are embodiment of a long and very old history- the history of tradition and philosophy that takes the craft of making clothes to a new dimension.Comparatively few are the people nowadays who recognize the name of Vionnet and even fewer those who connect it with anything but Sophia Kokosalaki. Not surprising, considering the fact that it took more than 60 years for the Vionnet dresses to come back to life.

Madeleine Vionnet was a French designer, whose history goes way back to the epoch of Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli and Cristobal Balenciaga. Her first Paris atelier opens in 1923, and the New York one- in 1925. The Vionnet Maison grows to employ 1,200 seamstresses and creates over twelve thousands haute couture garments through the years. Madeleine Vionnet presents her farewell collection in 1939. The Spring-Summer 2007 collection designed by Sophia Kokosalaki is the first Vionnet collection since Fall-Winter 1939-40. After 2 seasons as a chief designer however, with Kokosalaki gone back to her own collection, this May the designer Marc Audibet (Hermes, Prada..) took over. Lookng forward to seeing his contribution.

As for Vionnet, her whole life passes dedicated to creating dresses of superior grace, turning them to a natural part of the female body rather than an attachment to it. The unique philosophy of Vionnet actually lays in the belief that body structure, body movement and clothes are interrelated, with none of them being able to look beautiful without a consideration to the others. You walk, sit, run - and the dress wrapped around you, comes to life, shimmering and floating. The dress becomes the frame of the woman…

Inspired by Greek and Japanese art heritage Vionnet reflects on beauty, symmetry (and asymmetry), femininity and as a results many an exquisite dress were born to create a revolutionary new look on the fashion scene in the early years of the 20^th century.

The secrets of Vionnet- she is most often associated with the invention of the so called bias cut-a special technique of treating the fabric which allows the creation of beautiful draping- it looks simple but is in reality the result of a very complex process. She cuts and stitches together patches of fabric directly on her mannequin, at unbelievable angles, knots and twists, creating extremely elegant pieces, a very very high class dresses, with a touch of soft and almost painful romanticism, making you ask yourself how on earth she made this…

Another typical Vionnet element-this is the rose-her favorite flower, which is constantly embodied in her works as a pattern, single detail or silhouette. You can see this preserved to some extent in the Sophia Kokosalaki interpretations of Vionnet, together with the elaborate back details and fine draping and pleats. Of course the 2 collections of Kokosalaki are much more mundane in terms of silhouettes and colors, and well…include jackets and pants too, but can this be helped? With the change of the epoch, the picture has inevitably changed, so has the frame.

Let`s see what Marc Audibet has to say. And for those with passion for delicate, sleek dresses- better keep an eye on the Vionnet Maison.

Many of us have surely been in the situation, when we find ourselves clutching the lustrous new Vogue or Numero with one hand, while sobbing and counting our pennies with the other…
Well, if you are a student on a low-budget, looking for a job or have a baby on the way, but still refuse to give up your fresh /cute /up- to -date/ all -rights -reserved look, why don`t go through these tips. Might not be the most helpful ones, but are at least tested.

1. Focus: Even if you can`t afford a full outfit of brand –labeled pieces, make sure you have one first class designer item. Thus you could dress simply, and put the accent on the said item, matching the other elements to it. It could be a skirt, shirt, jacket, shoes. Or one of the five most essential accessories- sunglasses, hat, scarf, watch, bag. Use the money you got for your birthday and buy a crispy new one, or go treasure hunting to the vintage shop around the corner. What you pick is up to you, just be careful to choose things that show class, originality, or both. Don`t forget, you are going to put it through a lot of rotation, you don`t want something expensive but somehow lame that will start boring you in 3 days ….

2. Texture quality: Watch out the material of the clothes that catch your eye. High quality fabrics doesn`t necessarily mean expensive. Good texture wears longer and feels better (you know that not feeling good in what you wear equals not feeling good in your skin…and that will show on your face…) Avoid textiles containing more than 50% synthetic.

3. Mismatches: Match patterns that look impossible to match on first look. Who said brown and black don`t go along together? No, no, that`s old. Brown pants suit with a tight high -neck black top and golden jewels – stylish! Or the other way around – try a Lacroix or Kenzo type of matching, the patchwork kind of thing with many beautiful colors and geometric combinations– that is so nonchalantly elegant.

4. Killer hair style: Find a hairstyle that will show you off. Hint- this year`s trend nods towards the bob. You don`t need to make it too short, don`t do anything extreme, just add this little touch which will freshen you up and make you feel special again.

5. The smart shopper: Don`t spend money on stuff which will look good enough on you without being a brand product, such as tights or socks. There are plenty of them in all variations, everywhere. The other way around is true too- don`t buy a designer`s piece just because you found it on sale, if it doesn`t suit your body structure or style.

6. Be creative: Yes, it is not that hard. For one thing- avoid the one-pattern look, stereotypes are enemies of fashion. Don`t spend every day of the week walking around in tunic dress, tights and flats, or skinny jeans tucked into knee high boots.
For another thing- experiment with what you already have. Here is a pretty simple one which I think works when the rest of your outfit is too much on the sober side. Get a silk scarf, put it around your neck without tying it. Put both ends of the scarf through a small beautiful ring. Move the ring all the way up as if you are fastening a neck tie…and you get a female version of a neck tie! That would look fabulous with a half unbuttoned white shirt (if you can afford a Jil Sander one, or something looking like a Jil Sander..)or a Dior Homme type of vest…wow!

I just came across a recent survey among American men, according to which the actress Sara Jessica Parker was ranked as The Most Unsexy Woman in the world, who looks anything but sexy in her role as Carry from “Sex and The City”
Hello? Guys? I am really curious to see the men who made this statement and I will tell you why.
You must be blind not to acknowledge that Sara Jessica is not your typical sexy kitten, who would make you drool and turn after her on the street. No offense, but indeed she is scrawny, with O-shaped legs, a face a bit on the long side… She does not fit in any clichés of a beautiful seductive woman, you would say. What a boringly predictable remark.
Have you asked yourselves how come “Sex and the City” is so popular and watched all over the world? Have you noticed how, in spite of Sara Jessica`s “imperfectness”, all the designer clothes she wears on and off screen, look really elegant, bearing her own touch of originality and freshness(something which many other celebrities fail to achieve despite their better physical features and money)?
Sara Jessica Parker is a perfect example of the new type of role-model/ muse, who catches the eye exactly because of her “imperfection”- a word I would readily swap for “nonstandard charm”. Despite her far- from -classic -beauty features, she possesses some difficult to define little something which makes you give it a second thought and look at her again instead of walking off. And she is not the only one of her kind. Look at Irina Lazareanu, Chloe Sevigny, Kate Moss. They are not beauties, but you will often see them in the fashion magazines along with gorgeous creatures like Laetitia Casta and Gemma Ward. And their faces will stick into your head. Why?
Well, for one thing – they intrigue us with their unconventionality. Unconsciously we try to figure out what exactly attracts us, because if following the clichés we have come to believe in, we are not supposed to like the way they look…They are anti-stereotypes clashing with our common sense, and what could be more inspiring?! It`s weird but think about it- with a beautiful woman wearing designer clothes, you look at her and think “Wow, she would look great in anything”; with a woman like Sara Jessica Parker you get more than that – you really do see what she wears, the way she wears it and keep asking yourself “Wow, how did she do that?”. Well, I will tell you how, just 3 tiny points I discovered by looking at Sara Jessica: 1) get to know your body- your best and worst parts; 2) don`t be pretentious; 3) enjoy what you wear…
Another reason is the fact that, in purely physical aspect, Sara Jessica, Chloe and Cie remind us that there is more than one way of being attractive and help us regain our confidence, which is, they say, (and that`s a cliché I like) the true key to our sex appeal.
So, guys, next time you come across a Sara or an Irina on the street, don`t look away- ask her out for coffee and try to find out how come the cell phone of the homely little thing never stops ringing…

I am not going to start by saying “Compared to last year…” because no one cares to look back when so much new has just been born and hot out of the catwalks!
I don`t think any of the designers surprised us in some extreme way, but let`s be fair and give them the deserved respect- the creators are human beings after all, not miracle –makers.
With or without miracle, there was plenty to see and surely more than enough to make us the girls dream.
Sensual romanticism and femininity, girlish cheerfulness and elegant sophistication, nostalgia for the past and look towards the future, adventurous spirit and ethnic/tribal/print elements-all of it was there and undoubtedly, with place left for more interpretations. That`s the fashion I love!
As for the colors, with a few exceptions, most creators have chosen natural pastel tones, earth colors, white, black, grey, pink, purple, gold and yellow. Among the designers who preferred more vivid, pulsating colors were Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Elie Saab, John Galliano, Kenzo, Dries Van Noten and Valentino.
The silhouettes are in general floaty and flary, with soft lines, broad square shoulders, big sleeves and baggy pants.
Care to hear my personal choice?

*The 3 best brands for the season- Lanvin, Rick Owens, John Galliano.

Why Lanvin? - Because of the simple yet sophisticated look that would make any woman feel comfortable and gorgeous at the same time.
Why Rick Owens? - He is a professional pattern-maker and knows all the secrets of the layers, folds and drapes that make a piece of clothing unforgettable.
Why John Galliano? - Because his dresses are vibrant with life and love for what he is doing.

*Designers better keep an eye on- Givenchy, Anne Valerie Hash.
*Creators who brought up mixed feelings…- Louis Vuitton, Karl Lagerfeld.
*Creators who offered no more no less than expected but are worth mentioning- Victor&Rolf, Yohji Yamamoto.

And my pickups, this time according to the occasion:
*For casual leisure time- Chanel, Marithe+Francois Girbaud.
*Lunch with the girlfriends- Celine, Chloe.
*Elegant afternoon party or charity event- Valentino, John Galliano (and scarves- turned -to hats by Christian Lacroix).
*Evening- Elie Saab, Chado Ralph Rucci.
*Business meeting- Christian Dior, Costume National.
*Night out- Jean-Charles de Castelbajak, Balenciaga (and the Junko Shimada shoes).