Olivier Theyskens

>> Suzy Menkes's 1.7 million-plus words during her twenty years as fashion editor at the International Herald Tribune were commemorated on Saturday with a special video. "You've made me cry . . . To earn a glowing review from you is the holy grail of fashion," John Galliano declared.  Anna Wintour, Franca Sozzani, Karl Lagerfeld and then some all honored the Samurai, Olivier Theyskens with his words as much as his pompadour hairdo — which apparently got a big laugh.  Even Marc Jacobs chimed in — but only with kind words, and no sticking out of the tongue.  But let's be honest — in the middle of show season, who would dally with such an influential reviewer?

Delirious fluttering romance has never appealed much to us, which explains why we can't stand Jane Austen or expansive Edwardian romances, but we do love a knowing reinterpretation of the genre hence our affection for steam punk and Dodie Smith's dark commedic romance I Capture The Castle.

Olivier Theyskens too seems to share our desire to make something more of the magic of Edwardiana. But Nina Ricci's Spring 2009 collection isn't simply in the vein of over done gowns and dusty organza, there is deeper and more haunting history of Theyskens' work here. As in I Capture The Castle, many of the hallmarks of the romantic era are there, brooding beauties, gauzy flights of fancy, and yet there is a sense of decay and displacement as neither the collection nor the novel are in the proper timeline required to be taken at face value. The backdrop is right for romance but the time, place, and viewers are not. And therein lies the strength of the Spring 2009 collection. We have the woody colors, the billowing sleeves, and then we have bared legs ripping us out of any hoped for historical place holder.

If the construction were not so impeccable on the fly away dress panels connecting the hose we would wonder at a kind of deliberate deconstruction at work in order to show the legs in the midst of otherwise full gowns. It gives the sense of a tearing away at the original to create something new, not a simulacrum of an age gone by, but a sad renewed sense of the "now" even as the world (as is the case of Smith's protagonists in I Capture the Castle) moves on without them. Brooding, sad, and deeply romantic Theyskens' collection for Nina Ricci is hardly commercial enough to appeal to many. It doesn't veer enough to the side of authentic period romance to make sense to anyone that isn't just a little twisted in their own interpretations. We imagine Olivier Theyskens as something of Dodie Smith's Cassandra Mortmain, living between two worlds, a genius without any appropriate ending.

Nina Ricci has reopened its Paris store on Avenue Montaige after a 6th month renovation. Olivier Theyskens' new gray cozy interior has contributed to daily sales tallies roughly triple that of last year.

Short Starbucks lines seem like a good thing until you realize that no one is shopping. The deserted Vegas Starbucks is given as evidence that things are unusually subdued at Magic Marketplace

Japan Fashion Week, which runs September 1st through the 5th, is a challenge for Japanese designers.

Stefano Pilati faults Tom Ford for giving women what they want. We are torn on this opinion.

Sallie Underwood Baker, fashion collector, one cool broad, has passed away

Canadians need a little extra insulation to keep warm in their frigid winters. Or at least that is the sense we get considering the outcry over Quebec retailer La Maison's use of overly skinny models. The catalog has been recalled and everyone is happy again.

The Venice Film Festival debuted Valentino: The Last Emperor. While the title references the famed designers it is really about "the deeply rooted, inspirational and unique union between Valentino and Giammetti."

»Marc Jacobs was seen at Charles de Gaulle looking at the Marc by Marc Jacobs bag selection, en route to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July [WWD]

»A same-sex model couple formed recently, involving a "French Vogue favorite" and a "tattooed catwalker" [Style File]

»Alber Elbaz waxes philosophical on pink [The Moment]

»Olivier Theyskens thought the The Kills's performance at the Longchamp party was an underground, word-of-mouth-only show [Style File]

»Is Anna Wintour feuding with Interview? [Gawker]

»The bar at Mario Testino's opening party went dry 20 minutes into the event, so the topless male waiters had to offer up water instead [Style File]

»Sean Avery got traded to Dallas . . . a move that might put a damper on his burgeoning fashion career [Daily Intel]

»Full Rag & Bone Resort 2009 collection [Style.com]