SS 2010, Balenciaga Brings Back The Street Warriors

If nostalgia is Miucia Prada's prescription for a recession, Nicolas Ghesquiere is certainly looking forward and arming his girls with stripes of leather, bright colors and veggie dyed leather pants to fight the way out of it.

It was Nicolas' design in 2003 that brought me into fashion. I was attracted by his aesthetic of this lean yet energetic girl. It was natural for him to dive into the Balenciaga archives during an economic boom to study the old master’s work, but after the uber feminine drapy outfits shown for the FW09 season, it is about time for him to return to his true self.

Many (Americans) have argued that this collection reminds them of Rodarte. This makes me chuckle because the Rodarte sisters were perhaps still in school when Nicolas commanded the world with the tough chic image. I have always believed that Rodarte has copied Balenciaga way too much, but without the elegance or refinement.

One major difference between excellence (such as Nicolas Ghesqiere) and mediocrity (the Rodarte sisters, I’m afraid) is that the former keeps evolving and refining one idea with great attention to details. One can compare the SS2010 collection to Nicolas’ old designs presented for SS03 and FW03, and hardly ignore the difference in material, color and construction. The silhouette is the same, yet the technique has been significantly enhanced: Patience pays off.

The following tops are another good example:

(FW 2006, FW2008, Rst2009 and SS2010, pictures from style.com)

It is the Nicolas Ghesquiere aesthetic, with Cristobal Balenciaga’s sense of luxury. I have no doubt that it will be a very expensive collection, yet the spirit is so straight forward that the commercial lines will do extremely well.

Yohji Yamamoto, Alexander McQueen

Paris fashion week ended with the inevitable failure of the Yohji Yamamoto brand and the theatrical (as always) Alexander McQueen show.

Yohji Yamamoto is one of those cult brands that only a small circle of customers follow. However, when every other brand is creating a niche to support its vision, Yohji has failed to do so. Balenciaga has used its Motocycle bags and the capsule collections to make profit, Givenchy remains THE place for evening dresses following "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Lanvin's evening dresses make women feel sexy and special, YSL has a loyal following among the 40+ socialites and its bags are selling well, and the list goes on. Yohji has nothing but Y-3 yet it took on Limi Feu to burn cash. The price point is also off although it isn't a problem unique to Yohji.

McQueen, on the other hand, has learned to be theatrical yet maintain its commercial success. No matter how shocking his runway presentation is.

McQueen is a Savile Row educated master in cutting fabrics. This show is an apex of his work in past seasons: All he has been working on is to cut a piece of fabric and make it visually striking. The computer generated prints are cut, draped and sewn to enhance the 3-D like images. He also attempted to create very structured looks with soft fabrics such as silk chiffon. As crazy as the runway outfits look, his showroom was filled with adapted looks ready for a commercial success. His formula works.

How to Create Soft, Loose Waves (Not the Beachy Look)

Beachy waves are out, as are shiny perfect curls. Instead, loose, sexy curls are in. Find out how to get them with these step-by-step instructions.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 20 minutes

Here's How:

1. Prep hair with a styling spray (I love Bumble and Bumble's Thickening Spray, which works wonders on fine hair). Spritz on roots and comb through hair.
2. Part hair down the center.
3. Blow dry hair, scrunching hair as you go. If you have curly hair, don't scrunch, instead dry straight with a paddle brush.
4. When hair is about 90 percent dry, separate hair as you would to create two pigtails. Secure pigtails with pony tail holders.
5. Take one side and twist hair in one direction. Hair will naturally twist itself into a bun. Secure at ear level with a ponytail holder. You can keep hair in place with bobby pins.
6. Repeat on the other side, so you have two buns at ear level.
7. Blast the buns and your whole head with the dryer for about 5-10 minutes or until hair seems dry.
8. Leave hair in buns for 10-20 minutes to set. Just before you leave, take hair out of buns and finger comb curls. (Do not brush out). You can apply a texturizing spray to separate the waves and keep them from looking "too perfect."
9. Spritz hairspray and you're done!

What You Need:

• Styling spray for regular hair or volumizing spray for fine hair to prep hair
• Blow dryer
• Ponytail holders
• Texturizing spray
• Hairspray

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