#quynhparis

[thel-list]

View this post on Instagram

#quynhparis #nyfw @stylefwny #stylefashionweek love the #colorblock (at Gotham Hall)

[linetk]

View this post on Instagram

#QuynhParis #stylefw #FWLA #privehair (at The REEF L.A.)

[oneporktaco-blog]

lafw: quynh paris

(images via can)

if i'm often dismissive of the series of shows that happen about the city in somewhat random fashion that tends to make up the event we know as 'los angeles fashion week,' i suppose it's because, as i've often decried, there's no real consistency, either to the makeup of the week (which is dragged into something more like a month) itself, nor the designers that we see, most of which slide in laconically, only to disappear from our view just as they've piqued our interest (or in most cases, before, so that we never really take much notice, anyhow).  so it's usually with a mix of feelings that i welcome any house that at all draws my eye. 

and with all this in mind, i'm not quite sure how i feel about the quynh paris s/s 2013 collection, which centered largely around house designer nguyễn quynh nhu presenting a variety of evening-y dresses that, presumably, are meant to reflect her semi-nomadic lifestyle (which is detailed in the blog bite me! music + fashion as roving between lausanne, paris, saigon, and los angeles--and you can read more about that on her bio page) and perhaps, yannow, like, something to the effect of 'global glam' which we often see such multi-city'd designers courting the aesthetic of. 

alors.  as they carried on, "(s)ome of the looks were dramatic and others exuded a playful energy. A variety of looks graced the runway from chiffon harem pants, to billowy floor length gowns, to asymmetrical bustiers covered in metallic webbing," and made it a point to note that the designer is striving to achieve "wearable art," which i'd say she captured in some of her more eclectic, multi-textured (and coloured) pieces that made me want to examine them closer, although by the same token, i'd say that nothing like cohesion was ever achieved within the show. 

was she seeking a sort of mermaid/beach debris-type of story?  this was the best that i could gather from a handful of the looks that seemed to better coalesce, but i guess i should admit that i can't really tell.  and, quite frankly, this is something that we've frequently encountered as a problem at lafw, although by the same measure, i'd expect ms. nhu's work to fit in better, aesthetically speaking, and in the general thrust of her collection, with the fine-finery that graces the catwalks of almaty's kazakhstan fashion week, rather than the all-too-casual los angeles.  yet perhaps we should be grateful to homegirl for mixing things up, no?

anyway, perhaps getting as close as we will to actual background on the show, the blog style fashion week la wrote that the designer's "dramatic style often transforms her models into walking art installations. She has created pieces with the delicacy of exotic flowers and others with the structure we might expect to find in futuristic buildings. The designer utilizes vastly different textures, fabrics, and forms, often in the same garment." 

meanwhile, according to the blog akiquang, "(t)hese pieces are designed for professional settings, their cut exaggerating the figure and incorporating unexpected draping. While these are perhaps less theatrical than some of her other collections, they still possess that unmistakable unique structuring and design that has come to be recognized as Quynh Paris’s own."  uh-huh.  why do so many people think that we really benefit from these generic descriptors that tell us basically absolutely nothing about the collection at hand?  feel free to send me hateful emails if you feel opt ever starts firmly going down that road.

so, in final thoughts, i'd say that certainly ms. nhu had some lovely looks, and while i'll grant that they were probably spectacular in person, whereas we can only benefit so much from these images, i'm not really sure what to make of it.  she sometimes incorporated wholly casual numbers, like the booty shorts-and-tank look that appeared to have nothing whatever to do with her sculptural evening gowns, and her palette was as varied as her ideas appeared to be.  what is it these designers have against telling a single story with their shows? but, nevertheless, i was pleased at the introduction, and i'm honestly hoping we can see more of quynh paris, to see it develop as a house.  and with that in mind, it's as though the heads at lafw have snickered their evil snicker, and decreed that, since we wish it, no, it will never occur now (check out some nice additional images at the lafw site).

(see the final walk-through video here)