the lovely bones

Couture shows are always theatrical in disposition, and it was evident that Givenchy’s fall couture offering was intended to be the subtlest of dramatic operas in this class. The creations were simultaneously romantic and tragic, celebrating the fluidity of the feminine form while eerily distorting it behind a cadaverous overlay. A sense of foreboding was tangibly perceived as intimate regions of skin were peeled back from beneath skeletal motifs, suggesting the fleeting nature of youth and the regression of form to our bare bones. And yet, an elegance is cultivated from within, so refined and peculiar in feeling that it could not be professed as anything but hauntingly beautiful. Anatomical precision displayed in the geometric replication of vertebrae, joints, and other minute cellular infrastructure. A neutral colour palette, once again alluding to the visceral relationship between the garments and the body, restrained the opulence of such accents. A coat of blonde hair hinged off a seemingly levitating model, whose lower calves were obscured by tenuous swathes of lace. Ivory gowns adorned with gilded embroidery were draped lithely over slim silhouettes and cinched with a spinal column belt constructed out of gleaming porcelain. Ivory fringe lay suspended in silky straight formation against an asymmetrical appliqué of a gown’s curling tawny gauze.

Curvaceous forms emphasized by gracefully draped sheers, wraithlike plumage exhibited in exquisitely blanched degrade, and the delicate intricacies of Chantilly lace rendered in meticulously manipulated leather all spoke to the literal tapestry of finely assembled detail pervading each nuanced aspect of the collection. The obsessive compulsion reflected in every scrupulous facet imbibed the pieces with a lover’s devotion; a harrowingly passionate romance placed on the precipice of the beyond as the mortal body falls into withered decay. Muted yet captivating, sullen and ethereal, the mysterious splendor provoked from this poignant collection is sure to be a crown jewel in Riccardo Tisci's direction at the House of Givenchy.

“women have lovely bones, arms, neck, thigh
and I admire them also, but your bones
supersede loveliness. they are the tough
ones that get broken and reset.”

anne sexton, the fury of beautiful bones

sorry i've been gone for so long...missed you terribly so
x o x o

n