Caught between the glories of its past and the uncertainties of its future, the haute couture industry presented a fragmented image in the showings of its spring and summer collections last week.
Forgetting that fashion is based on change, some couturiers relived their past successes and others marched in place, while a few showed eccentric clothes.
Discussions are going on at every level as to whether the rules for acceptance to the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne should be changed, as if that will solve everything.
Twenty-one designers are members of the government-supported group that organizes the haute couture industry and schedules its twice-yearly showings. A cause for sadness among the admirers of Claude Montana`s modernistic clothes for Lanvin was the announcement that his well-received collection would be his last for the house.
The president of Lanvin, Michel Pietrini, said Montana, who made his reputation with ready-to-wear shown under his own name, refused to be involved with the Lanvin ready-to-wear collection. Montana will be replaced at Lanvin by Dominique Morlotti, who has designed menswear for Christian Dior.
No looking forward, or back
Probably the best argument in favor of the status quo is the work of Yves Saint Laurent, who celebrates his 30th anniversary as the head of his own couture house this week.
His collection, which opened up no new directions, stressed clothes that were wearable, pretty and superbly constructed. The technical prowess of his workrooms was demonstrated by the perfect cut of suit jackets, princess dresses and long, slender evening styles that could be dazzling without any scarves, jewels or other extraneous decoration. Often they were shown that way.
He didn`t even fool around with hem lengths, the conundrum of the season. The hemlines of both his narrow and his full skirts stop a reasonable few inches above the knees.
Slightly more noticeable is his trouser length. All his pants are cuffed a few inches above the ankles, giving a clear view of the high-heeled shoes. There wasn`t much of a leg show in this genteel collection. Only occasionally was a skirt unbuttoned to give a glimpse of thigh.
Polka dots were everywhere, usually in black or navy with white; they overshadowed even the flowered prints, and were even on some shoes and hats.
Little girls` fantasies
Take a little girl with a big box of crayons and the ability to illustrate her dream of a pretty dress, and she might produce pictures that resemble Emanuel Ungaro`s new collections. Jackets have tiny waistlines and flirty peplums. Sleeves are puffed at the top like Victorian leg-of-mutton styles. Brilliant prints suggest a secret garden. Polka dots and ruffles are everywhere. Even the bustle effects would make pretty pictures.
His dresses were draped to show off the body in very seductive ways. Pleats and hemline flounces move provocatively. Sheer lace bodices are full of intrigue. So many little girls, when they grow up, find they can live out their fantasies in an Ungaro dress.
The long and narrow
The immensely popular Karl Lagerfeld ushered in an era of longer skirts at the House of Chanel, but typically he denies this. ”The new skirts are narrow, so they remind you of the tights women have been wearing for some time,” he said. ”The skirts are split so the legs can show.
”You really can`t tell where the skirt ends and the legs begin.”
Of course you can. The jacket is still there to anchor the eye on something familiar. But he made some significant changes in the jacket, too. Instead of the easy, boxy shape that characterizes the basic Chanel jacket, he pulls it in close to the body, then zips it up the back. The buttons are still there in the front, and they`re bigger than ever.
Still, his hemlines were hardly the most arresting part of his show. More disconcerting was his deconstruction of fashion. He ripped silk organza into shreds. Then he piled the shred on some of the big hats that, he said, symbolized the fact that women`s heads were in clouds.
Clothes that work
Meanwhile, Hubert de Givenchy showed shapes that flatter a woman`s body and colors that are light and bright; those are the effects he was after. He is sure that is what women want, especially today, when the idea is not to look obstentatious and when a reasonably complex style at an established house costs $10,000 and more.
More than ever, there is a desire for clothes that work. And so there is a special place for Givenchy`s gently fitted suits loosened up with skirts that are pleated all around and have an insouciant swing, for his shirtwaist dresses softened with puffy sleeves, and his 3/4-length coats for mild weather. All are in cheerful but not strident flower colors.
Polka dots cavort on navy and white party dresses, just as they did at Yves Saint Laurent`s collection.
Hanae Mori, whose conservative clothes are favored around the world by women in the diplomatic corps, brings a little zest to the traditional spring suits. A slash of white across the shoulders brightens a navy blue suit with an irregular jacket hemline; triangular navy inserts at the sides are slimming on a white suit.
There are no in-between lengths in the Mori collection, but a number of floor-length styles are shown for formal evenings. A black dinner suit with an elegantly crafted shirt would be appropriate for professional women taking clients to dinner.
Gerard Pipart, who has designed the clothes at Nina Ricci for almost 30 years, is marginally more adventurous. He plays around with longer hemlines, for example, showing calf- to ankle-length shirtdresses and pleated skirts. Pants with wide legs resembling culottes are particularly successful. Along with hair ribbons, turbans and big horsehair hats, these styles evoke the flavor of the `30s.
Wedge-heel shoes, polka dots, white collars, peasant blouses and bare midriffs are other styles from an earlier time that have been revived at Nina Ricci for another fling. At a time of fashion retrenchment, their acceptance seems plausible.
