Weird occurrences: I almost posted this image last night before the Giambattista Valli show. It’s grisaille, an eighteenth-century painting technique that resembles the kind of arabesques boiseries you see in old French mansions. Giambattista Valli used it as inspiration in a show dedicated to the Petit Trianon in Versailles.
But I didn’t. Because, after all, what if it didn’t fit with his upcoming couture show? Halfway through said show - dresses with ‘Grisaille’ embroideries, grey on grey. How odd.
It’s a similar thing with an image I posted for Dior, of John Galliano’s first couture collection for the house. I used the phrase ‘globe-trotting’ to describe it, as alongside ballgowns in the grand European tradition, Galliano showed dresses dedicated to the Masaai and to Chinoiserie. So did Raf Simons yesterday, over 15 years later.
Intuitive, or just fashion being predictable? These are the kinds of thing that pop into my mind when I wake up this early. It’s an 8am call time for the Chanel show, as I’m going backstage to see the make-up artist Peter Phillips. I’m also hoping to hassle the lovely Sam McKnight, as I haven’t seen him for donkey’s.
