Posts Tagged ‘Dries Van Noten’

Most of America watching the Oscars on Sunday night probably didn’t “get” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s blue, white and black column print gown by Belgian designer extraordinaire Dries van Noten – it wasn’t tight. It wasn’t solid. It didn’t have a long train. It didn’t have ruffles or tulle. It wasn’t sexy. And it was PRINT, for God’s sake! When was the last time we saw a print at the Oscars – or anywhere on a red carpet? Maggie’s a fierceless fashion girl – she wears a lot of Dries, whose collections always sell out at Barneys – and she didn’t repeat herself this awards season at all. Her RM Roland Mouret peach tight gown at the Globes was sexy. Her Lanvin at the Spirit Awards was chic, albeit it needed some kind of bra or corset to really make it work. And now the strapless blue print Dries, which we KNOW she KNEW wouldn’t be what critics would expect – and of course, she was a nominee for “Crazy Heart.” Okay, so maybe it WASN’T REALLY an Oscar style gown – who gets to decide what an Oscar gown IS, anyway? We applaud its unusualness – as did the New York Times today – and we applaud her always being different. She was wise to put her hair back tightly with this look, wear splendiferous little bell earrings, and pink lipstick. Maybe she didn’t look exactly like what we expect an Oscar nominee to look like – but she looked exactly what we expect a NY fashion girl to look like.

Maggie Gyllenhaal did attend the major award shows this season because of her role in “Crazy Heart” – but she herself wasn’t a nominee. Now she is officially an Oscar nominee in the best supporting actress category, and we’re very excited to see how this affects her fashion choices for the next month. After all, Maggie dresses outside the Hollywood rule book – she lives in NY, works with NY stylist Leslie Fremar, and wears exceptional designers like Dries Van Noten from Belgium and Albert Elbaz for Lanvin. We loved the RM by Roland Mouret peach colored fishtail gown she wore to the Globes, with her hair up and red lipstick. So this adds a real high fashion element to the Oscars. Of course, we expect Carey Mulligan, Penelope Cruz, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick to wear amazing looks – and both Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe have shown their fashion moxie in the last few weeks. But Maggie is a serious avant gardist – and we have a feeling she will wear an unusual label and really go for a visual statement. After all, she just doesn’t play it safe. – Merle Ginsberg

Dries Van Noten will be in New York City this fashion week, the first week of September – but of course, he’ll be back in Paris for his own spring 2010 show in early October. But he’ll be in NY to be honored by The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT’s at their pre-Fashion Week traditional luncheon will still go on as planned with the Award for Artistry of Fashion. The council’s committee includes Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey, Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley, designers Isabel and Ruben Toledo and Diane von Furstenberg. Barney’s Simon Doonan will  emcee the ceremony, which means it will be both reverential – and hilarious.

And L.A.;s major Dries fans should know that some of the fall 09/10 pieces have already arrived in Barneys Bev Hills and there’s a full Dries fall window already, including this interesting print dress. Fall is full of solids, and so is Dries’ collection – filled with slouchy trenchcoats, pencil skirts, blouses and jackets in dusty rose, violet, tan and gold. So this is the one print, outside of leopard, that we’ve even seen anywhere. It’s on a blouse and skirt, and of course still animal print, but in black and white with violet and gold – so chic. Check out those windows.

Barneys Beverly Hills has some good markdowns now – lots of shoes (including Louboutins) and spring clothes by Marc Jacobs, Derek Lam, loads of Marni, Thakoon and more. There’s even a small window of Givenchy on sale on the second, designer, floor. BUT the really big exciting sale starts on June 4, next Thursday, when the Dries van Noten, Lanvin and Nina Ricci go on sale. First markdown for these brands is forty percent off, and many of the pieces do go fast, so set your blackberries and iphones for next Thursday. Early. We particularly love the metallic brocade Dries pieces for spring – those can go right into fall, which is all about shine and lurex.

 

People: this is serious. Many many pieces from the fabulous Dries van Noten fall collection 2008 – printed chiffons on incredible fabrications and colors in very boho shapes  - are at the Maxfield discount designer store on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills – for something like two to three hundred dollars apiece! These are dresses and skirts and blouses that all started at $1200.00 and above. We HIGHLY recommend you check out these pieces, because Dries is classic, and the fall collection might have been his most classic yet. Even when Barneys sold them at 80% off, there weren’t deals this good to be had.

These days, trunkshows are the new window shopping – but closer, and even, hands-on. If you love, love, love clothes - like we do, you can visit with the fall collections just off the runways via trunkshows, where the pieces are shipped from store to store.

There, you can touch them, hold them up against yourself, and see if your craving is real. You can also ask that the look in your size be shipped to the store, and that you be phoned when it shows up, in July or August. (Maybe times will be better then and you can buy it!) But there’s no obligation to buy – so you can have fun and spend no money.

Tomorrow, Monday March 23, Barneys will present the Dries van Noten fall trunkshow on the second floor in the Beverly Hills store. The Dries fall collection was unusual for our favorite Belgian – it had few prints, and had a palette of pinks, oranges, yellows, burnt siennas and rusts – and was comprised for 1940’s style slouchy trenchcoats a la “Casablanca,” and great looking pants, dresses and tops. Dries is a modern classicists, so his pieces really can be worn for all time, and they are priced much below other designer pieces. And remember – at the trunkshow, you don’t HAVE to buy anything. It’s from 11 to 6 at Barneys tomorrow. Oh, and Style.com called Dries fall one of its top ten collections for fall (Lanvin, Bottega and Balenciaga were all in there – our faves). 

   Under our favorite holiday category, GIFTS FOR YOU, add onto the must-have list: pieces from the amazing fall 2008 Dries van Noten collection. It’s a historic collection – and there have been many historic Dries collections – but this one being the IT-est of the IT Dries collections. Fall was all printed chiffons in amazing color washes and prints and colors, and every piece can be worn in a variety of ways, and look amazing with all the other pieces. They can be layered for fall, but will look just as now and easy and hippie chic come this spring and summer.

 

    Dries is only carried in a few stores in Southern California, and there is only one store where the collection is on sale: Barneys. You won’t find it online, either – you’ve got to go to Barneys second floor fast, cause my friends, the stock is dwindling. There are printed chiffon leggings marked down by sixty percent, incredible dresses, slips to layer, jackets, blouses and skirts. It’s all so chic and really, truly, seasonless. HORDE this collection if you can – I’d rather have fall Dries than anything else out now, and even though spring 09 Dries is pretty fab – he’s headed in a much more pared-down direction, and if you like his ethnic ostentation, stock up now. We doubt Barneys will have much left after Christmas. – Merle Ginsberg

 

Calm down now – the Commes des Garcons for H&M does not arrive into the Sunset Plaza and Beverly Center H&M locations until Thursday, November 13th at 9am (we are setting our alarms now) – and we strongly advise that if you are interested in the women’s pieces or men’s or both, you get there by Friday latest, or it will all be gone. But there are other doings afoot at H&M: on Tuesday night, the brand hosted a holiday – we’re taking EARLY holiday – party and shopping event at the Sunset Strip store. Attendees were treated to 25% off and a team of Christmas gift-wrap specialists – and the economic woes of the country and the big exalted prices of European brands are doing nothing but making H&M MORE popular. Mischa Barton stayed for the whole event, wearing H&M’s most popular holiday dress – a short black leather babydoll dress with a bow back, and the HOT new Commes des Garcons detailed black coat. “I’m a huge fan of H&M,” she admitted. “True fashion is about mixing high and low, and I love to put H&M pieces with designers pieces – and of course, I live for their designer collaborations. They’ve made themselves into a true fashion brand.” Sporting long long blonde hair extentions and a red feather clip on her hair, she joined the shopping fray, and found lots of new pieces she liked. Michelle Tractenberg, Garcelle Beauvais, Mena Suvari, and Jamie-Lynn Sigler – who recently appeared on “Entourage”  - were also dressed in H&M – but still shopping like mad.

 

But when three of Hollywood’s chicest girls – Nicky Hilton, Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore – showed up to shop, there was a slight gasp in the store. If these ladies are shopping H&M – and wearing H&M – well – really, who needs Barneys? (Those who love Givenchy, Lanvin and Dries van Noten, that’s who.) It’s certainly worth looking at how these girls put the pieces together. And if you’re a friend of theirs, Fashion Rules has a hint for you: you are getting H&M for Christmas!!!

 

From the chicest spring summer collection on the Paris runways: a modern clean look from Dries van Noten.