Pixiepalace

Today I’m looking at the fall 2006 collection from Balenciaga. I know that it’s a big fashion house, but I really can’t say that I know anything about them. I can’t remember anything that I know is Balenciaga. And I’m not wild about this show, so that may explain it (if their previous collections have been like this one, anyway).

The show opened with this suit in four different plaid fabrics. The idea of this suit is ok (I’m sure it looked good on paper), but the result leaves a lot to be desired. The skirt pleats are odd, the jacket falls in kind of an awkward way, and the proportions are strange. And I hate the shoes. Aren’t the models tall enough at 6 foot whatever? Why do they need freakish, nearly unwearable platform shoes? And I can’t help but wonder what she is doing with her hands.

Ok, there were a couple of versions of this dress in the show. It just doesn’t work somehow. I like the idea of it, the anchor being used almost like a tie and the slightly dropped waist both could be really good, but it just doesn’t look right! The pleats in the skirt make it stick out really strangely. The pleating issue you see here ran through the entire show. Many of the skirts and dresses and even tops had this problem. I do like the jacket. The curly-cue collar is very cute and unique and it looks comfortable and warm.

Oh, and the hats? I don’t get them either.

Ok, the ruffle on this dress is so weird. It looks strange and has the same pleating problems discussed above. How would you hold your arms down at your side? How would leaning back in a chair work? This is not only impractical, but also ugly! It’s so strange! And there were lots of times this weird little mini-ruffle thing appeared. It showed up on the bottom of skirts and dresses, the hems of tops, and some of the skirts were basically elongated mini-ruffles that stuck out from the waist to look like they had short farthingales under them!

I think that this was the only dress in the show that I really liked. I still think the mini-ruffle is a little odd, but it kind of works on this fitted dress. Too bad this was about the only one!

The show ended with this dress in four different presentations. Only one used different fabric (a black and white print). The others were all the same white dress. On had a white scarf like this pink one and one had a blue headscarf that tucked under the dress in the front. I think this dress could be pretty, but it’s so straight as to be unflattering. One of the models almost looks like she was stuffed into a pipe!

Overall, I really hated this show. It’s just so very strange. There are clearly a lot of sixties influences at work here (there was even a pantsuit with too-short pant legs and sleeves), but none of them really work to make attractive or flattering clothing. We know it can be done (Marc Jacob did it a few years ago), so why is this so off? I just can’t figure it out!