Lilacs & Lace: Designer Genius

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Designer Genius

These days I feel the term “genius” is bandied about a little too often. It takes away from the true meaning of the word.

But there is no other way to describe Mr. Jean Paul Gaultier. The man’s creativity is astounding.

So yes, I finally made it to the De Young for their Gaultier exhibit. If you live in the Bay Area, run, do not walk, to this event. The only negative thing is the overwhelming amount of fabulousness (although I am sure that this was done on purpose). You really will need more than a few hours to digest all of it.

I have been lucky enough to see Yves St. Laurent, Balenciaga, and now, Gaultier thanks to this local musem. Thank you, De Young!

And while I would never choose to wear some of his designs, there is no denying the fashion genius that is Gaultier.

If I ever had the opportunity, I could absolutely see 85% of those fabulous vintage Balenciaga pieces in my closet (as if I would ever be so lucky?!!). And I would kill to wear approximately 70% of the YSL couture collection that was featured in San Francisco. The brilliance of Gaultier is a bit more, how shall I say, esoteric. If I had the opportunity to become a collector, about 40% of the amazing designs would be my cup of tea.

As amazing as the construction may be, I will never wear a bodysuit, even if it is designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, himself. So while some of the pieces are a tad out of my comfort zone, the pure genius of this man is clear in each and every garment/sketch/photo/runway show.

And the man loves his fishnets . . . that’s it – I am in love!

My outfit for the day started with the purple silk.

I have cotton remnants from other projects that I keep because I cannot bear to throw them away. Often, I pull them out and get really frustrated when there is not enough yardage for any of the projects that I want to make.

This blouse was no different. I have a cotton watercolor floral that was going to work perfectly with my purple silk skirt. The image was clear in my mind, and it was going to be lovely. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.

So I pulled out another possibility.

I still did not have quite enough to cut everything out, but I was very close. Instead of putting the fabric back in the drawer, I used the silk from the skirt to line the sleeves. And it worked very nicely.

Overall, I am very pleased with this outfit. I just know I will get a lot of wear out of both of the pieces. Separates are so very versatile!

By the way . . . have you ever had an issue with an invisible zipper buckling? Well, if you have the chance, check out that vein-embroidered flesh colored body suit. Even couture pieces have less than perfect bits! It is somehow reassuring to see that absolute perfection really does not exist in this world. If only I could remember that when a particular project is making me crazy!