SUI HE - JEAN PAUL GAULTIER F/W 2012

BALMAIN FALL/WINTER 2012 RTW

Balmain is always quite the crowd pleaser, and this season justified the house's current status as fashion's dangerously lovable darling. Olivier Rousteing has certainly done a great job at maintaining the momentum of his predecessor, Christophe Decarnin, and maintains the brand's fan base seamlessly. The young creative director (he's only 25 years old!) generated a collection decked in the usual Balmain staples: rockstar-friendly leather jackets and tight little body con dresses - all caked over in pearls and crystal embellishment. My favorite piece was a leather shirt/jacket featuring an embroidered floral design amongst a galaxy of diamonds. So beautiful! I've seen and held a few of these pieces in person, and they weight so much, I wonder how the models managed to drag themselves down the runway. Some of the velvet pieces were quite stunning; the burnout details on all the pants and shirts make them quite covetable. Yet another collection that leaves me gaga for Balmain!

DOLCE & GABBANA F/W 2012

Love doesn't begin to describe how I feel about this collection: I absolutely adore the super Italian-esque confections of the design duo D & G, and this collection is definitely a favorite of mine. The staples of the collection were black and white garments, heavily embellished with gold embroidery and ornamentation a-la-Baroque. I wish I could live my life looking as though I were walking down a Dolce & Gabbana runway, everyday! Reading through TFS, many people on the message boards seemed discontent with the collection, saying that it has been a while since Stefano and Dominico have deviated away from an inspiration that treats Italian culture as a kind of folklore. Sometimes designer's throw the same collection down the runway, season after season, and it gets old. But sometimes, a designer finds a style that is wholly theirs, and it works for them and they can cultivate it in new ways that allow its beauty to morph. Chanel tweed jackets never got old, and tight lace peek-a-boo dresses don't have to either so long as Stefano and Dominico work at keeping it beautiful and interesting, every time we see it. For now, I'm still not done loving their collections, and I'll be looking forward to more of their aesthetic come September.