Rochas
PARIS, March 1, 2006
By Sarah Mower
The fact that his first model was carrying a miniature ladder, and wearing a sooty-black suede pantsuit with a jacket unfurling to a buttoned-up Victorian vest was the clue. This was a collection inspired, as Olivier Theyskens said, by "chimney sweeps. But more relaxed and very refined. A lot of black and gray—and the idea of climbing up to see the clouds above the city."In other words, Theyskens is a poet at work, a Belgian poet to be specific: a young man well equipped to evoke the dark and edgy side of the fashion mood without losing sight of either pragmatism or romance. He did that by taking the colors of coal, smoke, and the fugitive shades of urban twilight to a collection that ran from skinny tailoring and boyish shorts to puffy-skirted cocktail dresses and airily textured evening gowns.
One of Theyskens' strengths is the way his confident, unhurried personal style allows subtle developments to unfold without reneging on the work he's already firmly established as Rochas signatures. Thus, the trouser suits he introduced last season are now appearing in new variations—sometimes with fitted vests, sometimes with narrow cuffed pants or double-layered jacket lapels. Meanwhile, he's refining his highly influential covered-up dress shapes, sliding in a long-sleeve ladder-knit sweater dress alongside black bobble-lace cocktail dresses with skirts stiffly padded to stand out from the waist.
Ultimately, what sets Theyskens apart is a uniquely nontheatrical ability to shade romance into realism, and if there's anyone who's responsible for the turning of the tide toward restraint, it's him. His evening gowns, with their sweeping, undulating petticoats, were a perfect example of that. Even though they had such presence, they were rendered with quiet simplicity, printed with roosting birds on telegraph wires, or trailing narrow scarves floating like ether from the shoulder.
/
/
/
see all designers ›
Fall 2006 Ready-to-Wear
#
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
E
|
F
|
G
|
H
|
J
|
K
|
L
|
M
|
N
|
O
|
P
|
R
|
S
|
T
|
U
|
V
|
W
|
Y
|
Z
|
-
#
3.1 Phillip Lim 6267 -
A
A.F. Vandevorst ADAM Akris Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Alexandre Herchcovitch Alice Roi Andrew Gn Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Antonio Berardi Aquascutum Araks -
B
Badgley Mischka Balenciaga Basso & Brooke BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Bill Blass Blumarine Bottega Veneta Boudicca Brian Reyes Brioni Burberry Prorsum -
C
Calvin Klein Carolina Herrera Celine Central Saint Martins Chado Ralph Rucci Chaiken Chanel Chloé Christian Dior Christian Lacroix Comme des Garçons Costello Tagliapietra Costume National -
D
D&G Daryl K Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
E
Elie Saab Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emma Cook Emporio Armani Erdem Etro -
F
Fendi -
G
Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
H
Hermès Hussein Chalayan -
J
J. Mendel Jasmin Shokrian Jean Paul Gaultier Jenni Kayne Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Junya Watanabe -
K
Kai Kühne Karl Lagerfeld Kenneth Cole New York Kenzo -
L
Lacoste Lanvin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
M
Maison Martin Margiela Malandrino Malo Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs Marios Schwab Marni Martin Grant Matthew Williamson MaxMara Menichetti Michael Kors Missoni Miu Miu Monique Lhuillier Moschino -
N
Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Naum Neil Barrett Nicolas Andreas Taralis Nina Ricci Noir -
O
Oscar de la Renta -
P
Paco Rabanne Paul Smith Women Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Pollini Prada Preen Proenza Schouler -
R
Ralph Lauren Richard Chai Richard Nicoll Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Rodarte Roksanda Ilincic Ruffian -
S
Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Sinha-Stanic Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Strenesse Sweetface -
T
Tao Temperley London Thakoon Threeasfour Tory Burch Trovata TSE Tuleh -
U
Undercover United Bamboo -
V
Valentino Vena Cava Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Verrier Versace Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Westwood VPL -
W
Wunderkind -
Y
Y & Kei Y-3 Yigal Azrouël Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
Z
Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
ERROR:
