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FASHION DESIGNS

custom-made wardrobe More than anything, haute couture truly exemplifies the maxim, “clothes maketh the man”–established couturiers were able to improve their clients’ figures through deft handling of warp and weft. Essentially, couture is unique, prestigious and an exquisite affair

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INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

ALEXIS MABILLE A rising star on the Paris couture scene is the dashing Alexis Mabille, the young designer who has YSL and Dior as part of his curriculum vitae, along with a healthy attitude towards his art. “I think that if you love what you do, then others will love it too,” says the designer who has dressed Kiera Knightley and Carla Bruni. Mabille’s signature style: A mix of the feminine and masculine in style and fabric; light, airy, with a show of skin. His showstoppers at the Paris Haute Couture Show were a dazzling, deep-green panne velvet dress with fishnet sleeves and a sparkly red jacket over gold lamé kneelength shorts.

July 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in

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FASHION DESIGNS

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER French couture designer Jean Paul Gaultier is a genius who is forever pushing the boundaries of convention, and in doing so, has rocked the world with his innovations.

His occasional quirkiness doesn’t take away from his creative genius. Gaultier’s forté is pioneering innerwear as outerwear, ethnic and gender-bending dresses and using stretch fabrics in his signature skintight bodysuits. He wowed the industry with designs, which celebrated his imaginative and technical process–be it the fine-lined prints, fishnets and embroidery, blended with a strong-shouldered, pin-striped tailoring from the ‘80s, or the modern, highly abstract macrame and lace fecets and the printed flyaway panels, which resemble currency notes.

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INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

July 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in

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FASHION VALENTINO DESIGNS

The House of Valentino is a brand that spells extravagance and drama, thanks to its creator, Valentino Garavani; it’s a label that has designed wedding dresses for Jackie Onassis and JLo; one that is famous for its trademark luxurious gowns that are intricately detailed. Valentino’s retirement may have caused trauma for his ardent fans, but his creative directors, Grazia Churi and Pier Paolo Piccioli have done him proud with their couture collection.

The cream suits with their standup ‘60s collars, fan-pleated coats, draped-red dresses and crystal-embroidered coats over chiffon, spelled the Valentino opulence once again.

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INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

July 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in

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FASHION DESIGNS

ARMANI PRIVE Remembrance of things past seems to be the resonant call of couturiers as they fashion clothes for women in today’s downturn.

With Giorgio Armani, however, it cannot be anything but the maestro’s own signature style. But in his Paris haute couture collection, there was a distinct whiff of Shanghai in the ‘30s. You see it in the pagoda-shouldered jackets, the lacquer reds, the tasselled fastenings and the Chinese-cabinet florals. It is reminiscent of Armani’s love for the East and a fusion of Hollywood’s strapless gowns and shimmering sheaths of the ‘30s.

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INSPIRATIONAL DESIGN IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

July 2009 | www.lifestyleliving.in

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