News Archives -- Michele Mode

Forget the glorious circle of life. As Oscar’s red carpet looms, let’s diss about the sometimes less inspiring circle of fashion.

From Demi Moore’s lace-edged bike shorts with shiny Marie Antonette side panels in 1989 to Kim Basinger’s Bride of Frankenstein puff piece in 1993, stars once styled themselves for Oscar – and showed why they’re actors, not stylists.

Then true stylists rescued actors from themselves, giving them looks that were elegant, timeless and unassailable. But also safe – too safe.

Now that fashion formula has evaporated faster than any fad. Irony of ironies, designers and fashion stylists – who should protect their clients — are shoving them into the overwrought abyss of fashion victimhood.

Alas, there’s not a sequin or ruffle these gown-seekers can resist.

So don’t be surprised if Oscar’s 2018 carpet is a sea of custom WTF: the next gen of Kate Hudson’s recent Valentino heart-printed prairie dress, or Zoe Saldana’s repeat offending party on top and disaster on the bottom dresses, often by Givenchy.

Take back the night, I beg of you, starlets. Go sleek, simple, sexy. Or stay home.

1989 — Demi Moore in her own creation

2017 — Janelle Monáe in Elie Saab

2018 — Kate Hudson in Valentino at SAG Awards

MAKE IT STOP!

 

1. Asymmetrical ruffle tiers — too many offenders to be named.
2. Piles of patterns — yes, you Gucci, Diane von Furstenberg and Prada.
3. 
4. Vomit — Delfi, Thurley, Alice + Olivia, Coach, Gucci.
5. Shredded jeans — Stay in California closets where you belong.

Give yourself over to this stylish feast – and reserve two hours for the experience. I loved it so much, I was dying to return soon after a preview of the glamour, romance – and artistry – of Oscar de la Renta. So I did.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s tribute to the Dominican Republic designer comes alive thanks in part to its styling and accessorizing by his close friend and former Vogue editor, Andre Leon Talley.

I’m already contemplating a three-peat to savor again these top 10 fashion moments among 70 artworks:

10. A red-sashed black-dotted white flamenco dress meant to be danced in was a favorite of de la Renta and Talley.

9. A rotating platform allows viewers to admire from all sides a strapless silk tulle stunner worn by former Houstonian and New York socialite Allison Sarofim a dozen years ago. Shimmering shooting star embroidery bedazzles not only the top layer but those beneath.

8. What an exit Taylor Swift made at a recent Met Gala, as the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art fundraiser is known. Her ballet pink gown has an oversized origami-style bow.

7. Nearby stands the favorite black dress of de la Renta’s wife, Annette. Talley told me Mrs. de la Renta was her husband’s muse and would’ve worn the LBD (as in lacy) to the MFAH’s Oscar gala – if it weren’t on display.

6. Video of de la Renta’s beloved 500-acre Kent, Conn. garden tricks the eye, making a mannequin in a beautiful floral gown seem to glide through lush, English-style hedges.

5. The Kardashians didn’t invent the bare midriff. An Asian-inspired gallon lace, beaded and rhinestone-adorned wool crêpe column that’s scooped out at its sides dates to 1968.

4. Not only does the audio tour offer insights into de la Renta’s life but also catches the fabulousness that is Talley. And for many spectators, this is the first opportunity to hear de la Renta himself and the whiskey-throated voice of leading Houston philanthropist Lynn Wyatt.

3. Rarely are costume exhibits as well staged and lit as this one. Mannequins seem to be gossiping among themselves. One sits on a bench and leans forward as if she’s about to remove her Manolo Blahnik mules.

2. Spectators get an inside glimpse of the gorgeous garb fine arts patrons have worn to local balls or dinner at the Wyatt Hyatt, as her and husband Oscar’s River Oaks manse was nicknamed. Former First Lady Laura Bush, Houston First Lady Elyse Lanier, anesthesiologist Yvonne Cormier and philanthropists Carolyn Farb and Rosanette Cullen all loaned their party wear.

1. Last, as at a runway show, the  pièce de résistance is a wedding dress. But not ANY wedding dress. It’s the one Amal Alamuddin wore to marry George Clooney. This is the very first time the late de la Renta’s final couture gown has been shown since their 2014 nuptials in Venice, Italy.

For more dish, read “And the Oscar Goes to…,” my story in the November issue of Houston Modern Luxury – and see the exhibit itself before it closes Jan. 28.

Then, like me, you’ll want to hurry back.

Forget candy. ‘Tis the season for spooky get-ups. The following looks may get your creative juices flowing for creepy costumes.

How about …

A Walking Dead zombie bride inspired by this exquisite Oscar de la Renta ensemble at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

A high-end Pretty Woman, courtesy of Neiman Marcus.

A match-up with this Day of the Dead manicure by @LucyNailsIt or this sleek, chic set by Australia’s @GetBuffedNails, both for NAILPRO Magazine.

Sharp AND sweet, right?

 

 

Talk about a grand exit. If anyone knew how to make one, it was late great designer Oscar de la Renta.

Even while dying of cancer in 2014, de la Renta was debonair, charming and cheerful, clad in elegant and pressed silk pajama and robe.  “He could’ve had a dinner party there for a king and queen and he wouldn’t be out of place,” recalls Houston philanthropist Lynn Wyatt.

But has the dapper designer truly left us? Never. His brand lives on, astutely run by stepdaughter Eliza and her husband, Alex Bolen. Co-creative directors and head designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia also trained at Oscar’s side.

And now comes a new exhibit:  “The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta” Oct. 8 – Jan. 28, 2018 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It even has a strong hometown slant, with gowns worn by locals Wyatt, Beyonce, Carolyn Farb, Elyse Lanier, Dr. Yvonne Cormier and Margaret Alkek Williams.

Finely styled by former Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley, this is no musty retrospective. Mannequins seem to be gossiping, taking breaks on benches or roaming de la Renta’s beloved Kent, Conn., garden – while wearing timeless ball gowns with tremendous trains.

“It’s like walking through a movie,” says CEO Alex Bolen. “It has that kind of drama.”

Don’t consider this fashion show a curtain call for de la Renta. Rather, it’s a testament to his enduring artistry.

When will fashion’s revolving door — which just ejected Lanvin designer Bouchra Jarrar — slow down?

No time soon. “Fast fashion” rules – and I don’t only mean Cos, Zara, Topshop,  H&M and Forever 21, which imperil high-end apparel’s sales by ripping hemlines off runways and into stores at a fraction of the time and cost of designer versions.

But dépêche mode also drives the impatience of investors — who demand prompt profits, and pulled Jarrar from Lanvin after a brief two seasons.

Today’s consumers are equally restless, always thirsting for new, new, new. And they want a quick fix: I see, I buy.

Not having experienced finer apparel’s quality of fabrics and craft, they settle for things easily ordered online that always fit: shoes, handbags and accessories.

But there’s so much more to fashion than what’s fast. Like what?

Try fabulous.

Lanvin, then designed by Alber Elbaz, who also was sent packing

The talk of this year’s collections isn’t hemlines or hats. It’s a searingly revealing interview in rag mag Vestoj with fired British Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers. “To be honest,” she says, “I haven’t read Vogue in years.”

Why? To quote Chambers, who styled photos for the magazine, “I know glossy magazines are meant to be aspirational, but why not be both useful and aspirational? That’s the kind of fashion magazine I’d like to see.”

Bitter is a bad look, but I suspect you’ll side with those journalistic goals. I do — that’s what I’m about as a style writer.

Lucinda Chambers, Courtesy of Dvora/REX/Shutterstock

Silly me. When I saw the “Culture” headings on women’s magazine websites, I assumed I’d find more stories about art fair Basel than what’s base, as in sex-tape tycoon Kim Kardashian pitching contour kits.

Wrong. The only culture readers want is “pop” – as in celebrity fixations or reality star scandals. That’s because the force behind online culture isn’t literature, art exhibits or concertos. It’s clickbait. Thus, Oscar refers solely to Academy Awards hype, and late great Oscar de la Renta’s only relevance is having designed Amal Clooney’s wedding gown.

So here’s your news flash: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston hosts a one-of-a-kind exhibit this fall of de la Renta’s divine dresses from across the decades. That’s culture – as in to-die-for silhouettes and trend-setting creativity.

As a fashion editor who’s savored not only de la Renta’s runway collections but also conversations with the dapper gent in Houston, New York and Paris, it saddens me that his charm and talent are a tough sell in Web World.

If only today’s “cultured” knew what they’re missing.

 

“I like to design in bursts, so I’ll be running around the office in the morning choosing fabrics, draping on forms, reworking silhouettes,” revealed CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Jonathan Simkhai while showing highlights from his Fall 2017 collection at Tootsies in Houston today. “Then I’ll wind down in the late afternoon, possibly with a glass of wine in hand.”

For a collection this sure-handed, we’ll toast to that.

#TBT  Long before Coachella, there was Karl Lagerfeld, designer at Chanel and Fendi — and a Renaissance man.