For Your Pleasure

There is something infinitely sleazy about Roxy Music. It's hard to put your finger on. The dancing girls, the super model album covers, coded references to illicit sex solicitation - these all add up to sleaze, but they don't quite grasp the essence of Roxy Music's sleaze. It is like an atmosphere - a coy kind of knowledge that the band have let you in on. It is Bryan Ferry's lip curl and look of studied boredom. His faintly feminine hand gestures, the batting eyelashes. It is the rhythm of their music - it's ability to sweep you along on the piercing clarinet and guitar.

For Your Pleasure is the first tour that Roxy Music have done as a full band for almost ten years. No one thought that it would happen again. Phil Manzenerra had moved on to other bands. Bryan Ferry was doing solo work (including THAT Bob Dylan cover album), playing perverts in films, and modeling for Marx and Sparx. I had gone with my mum to see them when I was about 13 at the SECC. Their "last ever" tour. My enduring memory of it is that it was very good, that I couldn't see much (though I remember they were dressed in white suits and there was a heavy crimson velvet curtain up), and that I managed to stab my spikey bracelet through my palm as I clapped. The woes of the teenage goth.

I also recall that I refused to dance for fear of social outrage at being seen (in a dark room full of other dancing older ladies) dancing with my mother. Social suicide, evidently. But also a poor way to enjoy a gig such as this. Roxy Music was made to dance to, and dance I did. Even my slightly stiff boyfriend managed a bit of a sway by the mid point.

They played some of their older, slightly more obscure things, spaced nicely with the old favourites. 'Virginia Plain' was a resounding success, with the crowd enthusiastically bopping along and screaming the infamous last lines. Another classic, 'Avalon', had everyone swaying and singing along to the silky tones. My personal highlights were 'Here's Looking at You Kid' - a beautiful song of leave and lack regret with a slight tongue-in-cheek attitude, featuring Brian Eno's enduring electronic melody and a fabulous saxophone solo; and 'Love Is The Drug' - probably my favourite Roxy Music song and one of their sexiest. And that is saying something for a band that are famed for their sex/sleaze appeal.

Another highlight was the teenager on second guitar. About 5' 5", 15 years old, and four stone dripping wet, he didn't look like he quite...belonged...next to the rest of the veteran musicians. But he was a real talent - treating the audience to a fairly spectacular five minute solo that made the audience go wild for him. I am sure there was more than one yummy mummy marking him out as a candidate for their precious daughter. I overheard some men in the lobby after the gig chatting about him, predicting his future as great. His name was Colin Thompson, and he was possibly the drummer's son. I hope he gets where he is going, because if nothing else, it was damned obvious that he loved to play.

I was in the youngest 5% of the audience, which was a shame, as I really don't think Roxy Music are a generation-specific band. They were innovative for their day, and while their music is no longer any where near to the cutting edge now, the music has not dated in the same way much of glam rock has. Despite so many new bands looking to a predecessor for inspiration, I can't think of any that sound anything like Roxy Music. Their sound is so distinct from their contemporaries, and yet there is a certain something that is perhaps too difficult to translate in to modern music.

You could hardly believe that the men on stage were in their pension years. Bryan Ferry can still command an audience with ease. My mother came out of the gig eyes gleaming having seen the great man himself from a mere six feet. Amazing that someone who is less than a decade younger than my grandpa can have so much magnetism. It was a brilliant night, enjoyed to the full by every single person in the hall. I just hope they decide to reform one more time in the near enough future.



On a wee side note: the merch was awesome. I got myself a Country Life album cover t-shirt. Who can resist two semi-naked German models on their chest?

A small thought.

I foresee that the maxi dress is really not going anywhere any time soon. The minis just seem so lack-lustre in comparison when going down the catwalk.

Another small thought: everyone has been harping on about palazzo pants and wide leg trousers. But really...I think the straight and tailored is in. Cigarette pants all the way.

Next up - precious stone colour schemes. Jade. Gotta get me some jade.

Givenchy

The Givenchy collection is a stunning little masterpiece.

A tiny capsule of perfection. Each dress wholly unique and completely beautiful. I was slightly taken aback by it. Givenchy is one of those houses, which, much like Dior and Chanel, you have a vague idea that it's collection is going to be very lovely, very elegant, but perhaps not too revolutionary a great deal of the time. However these pieces have proven me quite wrong. I know I have not been following the fashion world for long enough to comment really, but this a truly stunning collection and one that is a testament to the longevity of this house.

Inspired by the traditional Japanese dance art 'butoh', Riccardo Tisci really has managed to take Givenchy to new heights. Butoh is a dance form that typically involves playful and grotesque movements, interpreting taboo subjects with exaggerated movements and a disturbingly slow and focused facial expression. Both beautiful and disturbing, it is perfectly captured in the Givenchy designs.
Each dress from the front appears to be a lovely creation in silk, chiffon and mesh fabrics. All intricately embroidered with Oriental designs. However, as the models turn:

Et Voila! A whole other dress! A fabulous splash of hot colour right across the back. A splendid little shock of luminous silk. How wonderful.

Also - Asian models. I know the theme is Japanese, but to have all-Asian models for a Paris haute couture show is really quite rare. Perhaps it shows the influence of Japanese Vogue and the growing Asian couture sector. Either way, a controversial, and fairly welcomed move. For such a veteran house as well. You have to take the small victories.

Armani Spring/Summer 2011 Haute Couture

It is strange that, despite all being of the one fashion week, there is barely a single note of similarity between two of the high profile shows: on one hand we have Galliano and his reworked New Look - full of fantasy, beautiful silhouettes and a true sense of glamour and elegance; on the other hand we have Armani Prive.
Armani is the king of good tailoring. His looks are always smart, sleek and full of a tight elegance. In both menswear and ladies fashion, it is the Armani suit which carries the collection through. His look is always ornate but never whimsical. He tends to set new trends and yet never pushes the boat too far into the stormy seas of the totally unwearable/totally covet-able.

The Spring/Summer 2011 collection is one of the most innovative I have seen of Armani in recent years. A continuation of his lunar theme from last year's collection, this year it has been taken to dizzying new heights. Apparently his inspiration this year was a treasure chest - and the clothes certainly do remind of a beautiful gem discovered, not on Earth, but on Mars. These clothes are made with incandescent fabrics and plastic detailing. They shimmer as the lights hit them. Combined with metallic flying-saucer hats (designed by Philip Treacey!) pulled low over the eyes, the models have taken on an alien look that complements the clothes while reinforcing the concept of the collection.In terms of the cuts: The straight style dress with a drop exposed waist doubling as a pocket skirt is a new silhouette for Armani. It is an interesting extension of the 1920s straight flapper dress cut, as well as a departure from the strict body-tailoring that is the norm. I don't know how wearable they are though. Dior's clothing may be fantastical, but I can see Galliano's collection out on full display on the undeserving red carpet. These dresses however, as truly beautiful as they are, may just be a shade too brave for any aspiring and insipid starlet.The other, and less exciting and no less lovely, designs of the collection are more to the Armani brand - fitted bodices, incredibly well-cut cigarette leg trousers and a lot of embellishment.

Two of the cuts that really interested me were a jacket with an assymetric cowl neckline and dresses that had a kind of ellipses effect at the waist exposing not skin (hurrah! down with the peep-hole!) but a lovely red ruby satin.Armani seems to be furthering the trend for jewel bright colours - Prada's collection last year featured that luminous jade that is going to be all over the place (as proven by the recent Golden Globes carpet) and Armani appears to be pushing for a wider trend of gem-brights.The shatter effect as embellishment on some of the pieces will hopefully steer the high street away from the full sequin - it would be nice to take a little bit of change on.

This collection is luxurious in it's innovations. I only hope it might cause the high street to challenge itself a little. I can't afford anything from Armani, but I can stretch to H and M. What pains me most is that collections like this almost never filter down - it is so much more expedient for the high street chains to stick to the nude, minimalist, soft tailoring thing that they have had going on for the past however long. I don't want to be nude and soft! I want to wear fuchsia lipstick and appear as though beamed down from another world!

A new direction

So, I am feeling a new direction. New heart, and new thrill. All because of the Galliano for Dior Spring/Summer 2011 Paris Haute Couture show.
Having waxed lyrical about the sheer brilliance of the show, both flatmates have requested that I should maybe write my ardour down. Probably so they don't need to hear about it. So I think a new direction is called for here - a bit of inspiration - I am going to write all that I love. And what I truly love is fashion. I love the performance, the drama: dressing up and dressing down. I love a gown that I can move within that makes you feel like you might be wearing a masterpiece. I look at the shows on the catwalks, and I see the beautiful works of art gliding.
I know some people condemn high fashion; they say it is too expensive, unrealistic, ridiculous, not for the average person. And this is true. It isn't, and nor is it pretending to be. Just as an art collector must know, the most beautiful paintings are often the most expensive. An original copy of Dickens will set you back the cost of a brand new BMW. There are wines that sell for thousands and thousands of pounds. All masterpieces in their own way; so why not fashion?

Galliano's collection has captured some of this marvel. His pieces are generally beautiful. All dramatic, all show-stopping. And yet there is something about this particular show that has set it apart. One expects Galliano's collections to be over the top and slightly ridiculous in the sheer amount of ruffles he has managed to graft into one frock. In fact, one expects it to the extent that it has, in recent years, perhaps lost some of it's magic. But this year, the magic is most definitely back. And boy, does it sparkle and shine.