Enough with all this Laura Bennett stuff (for now)! Let's get back to being judgmental (as if we ever left). Our Fairy Godmother showed her Spring 2008 collection and we have opinions.
Lorenzo likes this a little bit more than Tom does. Honeys, whether we like it or not, the seventies are back and we're all just going to have to ride this one out. No one likes a good Rhoda Morgenstern head scarf more than us, but even we are getting tired of seeing so many of them. This whole collection looks like the first 5 minutes of The Love Boat, when all the extras in the background boarded the ship in their late '70s attire while Carol Channing, Gabe Kaplan and Charo traded quips with Gavin MacLeod.
Those sherbet-y colors are definitely big this season and we welcome them after the last couple seasons of blacks, whites, and metallics. On the other hand, Diane honey, some colors would be better off if they're not seated next to each other. That pink, green and blue caftan in the first picture looks like what our grade school nuns in the '70s called "Eucharistic Banners." We would all be forced to make them in art class out of felt and glitter with cutout shapes of doves and candles and poorly etched phrases like "PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD" and "MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE" scribbled on them like ransom notes.
Oh! And another thing. Caftans? Really? Are we all going to have to watch a bunch of Mrs. Ropers wander the streets for the next couple of seasons? That, we can do without.
On the other, other hand, there are some beautiful prints in this collection and once you get away from the big, blousy caftans, some of those silhouettes are smart and flattering.
Take it all in and tell us what you think, darlings.
Lorenzo likes this a little bit more than Tom does. Honeys, whether we like it or not, the seventies are back and we're all just going to have to ride this one out. No one likes a good Rhoda Morgenstern head scarf more than us, but even we are getting tired of seeing so many of them. This whole collection looks like the first 5 minutes of The Love Boat, when all the extras in the background boarded the ship in their late '70s attire while Carol Channing, Gabe Kaplan and Charo traded quips with Gavin MacLeod.
Those sherbet-y colors are definitely big this season and we welcome them after the last couple seasons of blacks, whites, and metallics. On the other hand, Diane honey, some colors would be better off if they're not seated next to each other. That pink, green and blue caftan in the first picture looks like what our grade school nuns in the '70s called "Eucharistic Banners." We would all be forced to make them in art class out of felt and glitter with cutout shapes of doves and candles and poorly etched phrases like "PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD" and "MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE" scribbled on them like ransom notes.
Oh! And another thing. Caftans? Really? Are we all going to have to watch a bunch of Mrs. Ropers wander the streets for the next couple of seasons? That, we can do without.
On the other, other hand, there are some beautiful prints in this collection and once you get away from the big, blousy caftans, some of those silhouettes are smart and flattering.
Take it all in and tell us what you think, darlings.
Watch the Elle Magazine video of Diane Von Furstenberg's Spring 2008 collection:
(Photos:Brooke/WireImage)
(Video: Elle Magazine)
66 comments:
Left side pics:
#3 - love it, but there isn't a white girl in the world who's going to be able to pull off that color.
#5 - love it, I could do without the hat.
#9 - snore.
#10 - looks like a Tequila Sunrise.
#15 - Delish.
Right side:
#6 - LOVE the dress. But what's that French addage about taking one thing off before you leave the house? Lose the headscarf! One or the other, sweetums, not both. This is true for more than one pic on this side, especially...
#11 - see above.
Blech.
I hate the idea of caftans as well. But girl knows how to work a print and work it well.
There were some GORGEOUS pieces in the collection and it certainly had a clear point of view.
Don't mix prints. You're not Uli.
Not even close.
It looks like DVF dipped into every crayon in the crayon box, from muted retro hues to bright. Some I love, some I hate.
I love DVF, but that first dress was FUG!
#1 - vagina.
#8 on the right - ovaries
On the whole, liked the collection. Not sure that I'd wear 90% of it myself, but I enjoyed the color and movement of the pieces. About the music...anyone else think it was kind of strange to be hearing "big girls, you are beautiful" while a parade of super thin models walked by?
Such pretty pretty colors, enough with the black and white already!
#7 drop the hat
#11, 12, 13, 19, 21, 21 are all fun
My all time favorite (even though I am not a fan of the mullet dress) #30 - that looks so….perfect
This is the first time this year that I actually got excited about a collection as a whole
That first one reminds me of a Georgia O'Keefe flower (which are all body parts cleverly disguised as flowers). Thank goodness someone else already said which body part it is. :)
Yuk! The rest, kinda blah. Love the Mrs. Roper comment. :)
It kinda looks like DVF recycled some prints from one of her own collections from the 70s--awesome then, a little too literal now (same problem I had with La Kors). Some of the prints are lovely, even the ovary print, but big prints on vouminous fabric can have the effect of making the skinniest girls on the planet look big--I'm thinking of the green and white number on the right side.
To give her a little credit, though, she did update the silhouette somewhat better than Mr. Kors.
I only wholeheartedly love the saffron yellow dress, which with my Scando-Irish coloring I could never pull off. :(
Alexis
Some of the pieces are really cute. Not too wild about the prints and the vagina acid trip is going to give me nightmares.
This collection isn't so bad. Whenever I hear "bringing bacvk the 70's," I tend to think more of disco, bell bottom jeans, "Starsky and Hutch" sweaters, and all the gloriously hideous crap you can read about on "Fashion SWAT."
LOVE love the last dress. Very Uli like.
Gorgeous collection! I love every piece.
I love all of it. I love flowy breathable materials. Nobody does prints like DVF...well, Uli.
It's interesting to see Diane Von Furstenberg stepping away from her iconic wrap dresses and embrace flowing, colorful ones. I read somewhere that she drew inspiration from escapist island fantasies.
Ew, god not the 70s, I'm still recovering form the 80s.
I love this and I covet most of the collection greatly.
The third row down, both pictures-love the shape, love the colors, love the pseudo batwings on the right side. I love the sunset colored pieces in the middle. Then, four up from the bottom on the left, the yellow dress is divine.
Definitely not a fan of the more blah greens and the heavier prints. Also not a fan of the overly blousy look. It's been a very tailored slim silhouette for awhile now, but it shouldn't swing -so- far back towards, well, near muumuu.
I'm just glad for the return of color!
The first two were definitely ugly, but they got better after that with a few aberrations along the way. (I agree about that green and white print.) There were a few prints that should have stayed in the shop, but overall pretty nice.
Just makes me miss Uli all the more. Where is she? What is she doing? Why has she, arguably the most saleable of the designers of the last 3 years, not gotten into production yet? Sigh.
Overall, I think the collection is lovely; the flower prints are gorgeous, DVF is the mistress of the geometric. And while I'm all for all colors living together in harmony, that yellow/blue/green thingy makes my breakfast beg for escape. The Tequila sunrise looks-- fantastic. As for no white girls pulling off #3-- the 1 wearing the look is very fetching, quite boho, and the other 3/4 of the world's population will definitely find value in the look. Look #7, however, I just don't get at all-- & the hat is totally incongruous. Ick.
Emma P.
QUOTE:
That pink, green and blue caftan in the first picture looks like what our grade school nuns in the '70s called "Eucharistic Banners." We would all be forced to make them in art class out of felt and glitter with cutout shapes of doves and candles and poorly etched phrases like "PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD" and "MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE" scribbled on them like ransom notes.
Falling off my chair! You guys just gave me a flashback to Catholic school. LOL
OMG, you guys are totally right about the Eucharistic Banners dress! I had a flashback to Catholic school as soon as I saw it.
My favorite dresses are the bright orange dress with the slim silhouette and the one DVF is wearing. Unfortunately, though, I couldn't wear that orange color without scaring Linus Van Pelt off the Great Pumpkin forever.
There are some beautiful pieces here but a few of those prints (and the 1st one) just hurt my eyes. I think DVF saved one of the best for herself--she looks great.
I have dibs on #5 on the right!
Frankly, I'd take anything of DVF--if only to get the fabric if I couldn't wear it. It's light, airy, looks extremely comfy and chic, without being blah or safe which La Kors can drift into.
I always imagine myself with perkier boobs & butt, fantastic shoes & hair, and an ice-cold cosmo when I see her clothes. Regardless of the fact that I'm living proof that gravity is a b!tch, my feet scream when I wear heels, I have to keep myself from putting on my pjs before 7PM, and my big nighttime treat is caffeine-free diet Pepsi.
I wanna be a glamazon!
I love the pink and orange that have emerged as key colors. I also like the ocean shades of blue and green, as well as the neutrals. Spring 2008 is going to be a very bright season. I like that!
I love the “african safari” looks. Those prints are gorgeous! I love her, love her dresses, even managed to buy a couple of her dresses, and I love them.
i love the palm print...in all the colors! but i agree, it just makes me miss uli. could someone please fund her collection!!
nso said...
There are some beautiful pieces here but a few of those prints (and the 1st one) just hurt my eyes. I think DVF saved one of the best for herself--she looks great.
I agree 100%. I miss her on the show. She was a fabulous judge.
I just can't get over that first one.
It's beyond the symbolism of Vagina Hats.
It's like someone said "Let's make a HUGE technicolor labia and wear it as a DRESS!"
"That pink, green and blue caftan in the first picture looks like what our grade school nuns in the '70s called "Eucharistic Banners." We would all be forced to make them in art class out of felt and glitter with cutout shapes of doves and candles and poorly etched phrases like "PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD" and "MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE" scribbled on them like ransom notes."
After reading PRG from Day 1, I'm finally getting a screen name to stop being anonymous. And now may I say, you have just made me suffer the most intense flashback of my life. I should comment on the fashions but I am mentally trapped in Sister Carmen Marie's classrom right now. Thanks for the fantastic laugh.
Sweetie pies, we obviously have very different ideas of what the word "caftan" means. To me, a caftan is an ethnic stye, a loose, floor to ankle length T-shaped garment with long sleeves and usually a keyhole neckline. It can have a lot of style if done with conviction. I didn't see anything like that here, just a bunch of long shapeless sundresses. In hideous color combinations.
QUOTE:
That pink, green and blue caftan in the first picture looks like what our grade school nuns in the '70s called "Eucharistic Banners." We would all be forced to make them in art class out of felt and glitter with cutout shapes of doves and candles and poorly etched phrases like "PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD" and "MAKE ME A CHANNEL OF YOUR PEACE" scribbled on them like ransom notes.
I nearly spewed coffee across my keyboard-and, dear T&L, my own church (Lutheran) also suffered from some truly FUGLY banners in the 70's.
And the comment about Mrs. Ropers roaming the streets? I AM spewing coffee on my desk thinkiing of that!
oh, yes, the DVF collection...I was thinking of Uli and her prints as I viewed DVF's. Will someone please connect our Uli with some money so she can get going?
I love it all.
How come the '70's colors were ok for Michael Kors, but for DvF, they're suddenly old? That's got to be some kind of record for something going out of fashion-- before Bryant Park closes!
I hate the prints, and there's a bit too much fabric here and there, but mostly I like it more than L'Orange.
Makes me miss Uli, too.
Quit being bitches, it was great!!! You don't have to ear it if you don't want.And I'm betting your moms are going to LOVE it!
Yeah that's the problem anon - my mom would have loved this -- shit, 35 years ago she was wearing this type of thing at the beach, I've seen the pictures. I just have a problem looking at girls younger than me (and I'm 24) walk the runway in stuff that looks like it came out of Carol Brady's closet during seasons 4 and 5 of the Brady Bunch.
Pic #6 (according to the file name, second to last on the site) and #34 (last dress) are the only two that I personally would consider even trying on. If I could pull off #34 (and I'll be conceited and say that I think I could), I would legitimately lust after it.
As for the rest? Eh. Not all is terrible - I like some pieces better than others. The two pant outfits (29 and 31 -- especially 29) could be really good on someone with the right body (I'm too short -- I've got the long legs, but no torso and that kills those types of shirts -- but I love the pants in 29) - and some of the dresses could also be really cute - but I just can't get past the whole Florence Henderson aspect of it all. It's not that it's '70s -- it's that a significant portion looks like stuff women 35+ wore in the '70s. Hey - that's not a huge problem, in and of itself, but it doesn't work when you have 16 year old girls modeling it.
But it's DVF - I love her, but almost all of her shit is resort wear that women of a certain age with beaucoups of money buy and wear -- so really, I guess it fits the right market. It does look like something you would see at the Hampton's (which makes it odd to debut in Fall..but again, it's DVF)
OMG. Flashback!
I WORE some of these looks as a teenager, living in Europe at the time.
All I can say is that I think some of these higher profile designers owe Uli bigtime...
There are some breath-takingly UGLY prints here. Not all, but way too many for such an accomplished designer.
I liked some of them, but mostly I found myself getting seasick, trying to follow the shifting waistlines and silhouettes up and down and around and around.
there were some pieces that i just was NOT feeling, but those prints! gorgeous! her signature prints are just a pleasure to take in!
DVF is a style icon. She's such an amazing designer. I love the collection!
Diane Von Furstenberg’s collection was called “Under the Volcano”. You can see why. I love the bold prints and bright colors.
DVF's jersey wrap dress is part of Met Costume Institute's permanent collection? That's pretty amazing. Good for her!
Considering she's spearheading the drive to make fashion designs copyright-protected, she sure is ripping herself and other designers off left and right in this collection.
And the 10th dress down on the right - that looks like one of Zulema's dresses!
I was WONDERING how many times people were going to mention Uli in the comments....
Ugh. The only one that I would even remotely consider is the one DVF is wearing.
Love it! Go DVF! She took it and updated it in a fun way. Even the crazy Eucharist caftans work. This woman OWNS IT, bitches. She invented it, in fact. Laughable that we should think she is no Uli. I'm sure Uli would be embarrassed to read the comments that suggest DVF ripped a page from her book.
Bitch can work a print. I realize its been said, but just sayin' it again.
and it was that very caftan that was the first one out during the finale-ending-walkthrough as well... i didn't mind it too much though but yeah it certainly is seventies.
loved what alek wek is wearing though.
I guess I'm confused: since DVF arguably started the whole "working with prints" thing (okay, Emilio Pucci and DVF) and has totally built an empire on it, why are people saying the emphasis for working with prints was from Uli?
During the season, Tim Gunn had repeatedly commented that he hasn't seen anyone with such an eye for prints *since* DVF, but I certainly don't think that DVF is copying Uli.
Now, I do agree that Uli does younger/hipper styles better, but I also can't help but think that you really won't see many of the DVF shapes from the runway in stores, anyway. The fabric, maybe, in her signature wrap dress, but the shapes? For the most part she sticks with very standard shapes in the stores (or the stores I go to only order the standard DVF shapes).
Boys, boys!
A while back we had a tutorial in these pages on the difference between caftan and muumuu. There isn't a single caftan in this collection (nor a muumuu for that matter). There are long, billowy dresses with fitted bodices. Anyway, I think they're pretty. I only object to flounces around the bottom. Flounces can turn a grown up dress into a little girl dress, which is really a drag.
Diane always looks fabulous but I don't like her runway shows.
Just makes me miss Uli all the more. Where is she? What is she doing? Why has she, arguably the most saleable of the designers of the last 3 years, not gotten into production yet? Sigh.
Have patience. I'm sure it takes awhile.
eeeeeeeehhhhhhhh.
Not so new or great.
I'm so glad I'm not the only person that saw the first dress and screamed 'vag!'
in a word? boooooooooo. that is some ugly ass shit right there.
Anon 12:23 -Uli had a few things on QVC a while back. I remember seeing a dress but haven't seen anything lately.
Oh, my god! I think you guys went to my grade school! The Eucharistic banners and "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (as sung in _Godspell_). Will we ever forget Sister Margaret Mary (fill in your favorite nun name here) and diagramming sentences?
But I'd have loved to wear that green and white print then, and I'd love to wear it now.
I miss Uli.
Hee! Scrolling through the comments, I can see that I am far from the only one who thought those dresses could benefit from some Ulification.
Are those shoulder pads? Oh dear god please tell me I'm not seeing shoulder pads? I will NOT wear those blasted things again - 40's Crawford classic look be damned. And it really doesn’t suit the Miami meets Caribbean chic she seems to be going for. Honestly? No offence to Ms. von Furstenberg - but the majority of that collection looks like a Ule and Zulema love child badly in need of a time out!
By the way - I really love Ule and Zulema's designs - individually. I just don't think they work well as combined and interpreted by Ms. von Furstenberg for this collection. Just sayin'!
:)
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