I spy with my little eye... Fashion Forward, the Shows - Part 2.

The two shows that did blow me away were Michael Cinco and Ezra.

I liked the huge effort these two designers put into their Mise-en-Scene. For me Couture is about:

1- Fabric - If a Lady cannot spend more than two hours in her dress before the fabric is heating up her whole body, what's the point? 

2- Colour - I tend to think picking a colour right out of the tube of paint is too easy, but it is very personal and I appreciate the colour block concept, just not on me.

3- Heritage - By Heritage I mean craftsmanship. That comes from my years of climbing up and down the stairs in Paris Fashion Houses to visit the Tailleur and the Flou workshops...

4- Originality - In the pieces (remember, Couture is not Ready-to-Wear, it's a form of art that inspires Ready-to-Wear), and in the Mise-en-Scene.

And I did find all of these criteria in Cinco and Ezra' shows.

Michael Cinco's show started like a painting, with the whole collection on stage. The models would come to life one by one, just like dolls. The choreography was as romantic as the collection, and it was very appreciable to be able to get a glimpse of each line in order to understand the different themes. The colours are plain and classic, steady, the lines are feminine, fitted, it's all about the waist, lots of ruffles, a little bit of sparkle and a very good choice of models. I particularly loved the choice of a red head for the theatrical salmon pink bride dress! This Michael Cinco lady is chic, romantic, confident, and a little bit cheeky, kind of what we call in France, a "Femme-Enfant"(woman-child), she looks all gentle and sweet but knows exactly what she wants:

Now Ezra introduced us to his army of mermaids. The finale reminded me of Beyonce's "Run the World" performance at the Billboard Music Awards in 2011. The colours were neutral and plain here again, the volumes were lean, the lengths were long, very long, no volume but a lot of detailing, scales, appliques, bold shoulders, glitter, crowns of thorns, these dresses were subtle, you needed to come close to understand them (yes, I realise how odd that sound, some people whisper to horses, I understand dresses...). Ezra's woman for this collection was definitively a warrior, and a very pretty one, the red bride's persuasion could probably run a nation indeed!