Romanticism

Who knew we would be just lucky enough to be in Paris while Fashion Week 2010/2011 was going on? It would have been silly of us not to try to attend a show (or two) while there. I mean, how often can you scope out first hand fashion and style before it even hits the Internet for the rest of the world to see? After an appointment at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, we quickly hopped on the 6 metra and made our way to the epicenter of where this was all supposed to go down.

Although we knew we would be late to the show and miss everyone entering, we decided to wait and scope out all the other eager fashionistas, hoping to get glances of Valentino’s work, peer at other well-dressed beauties, and snap pictures for the blog, too. Before we knew it, we could hear the music pumping from behind the doors and within fifteen minutes, the show was over and the crowds were rushing out of the door, probably onto the next show.

There was a massive flood of beautiful clothes and shoes, and we caught a glimpse of what is definitely the It shoe of the season – the new pointy-toed Valentinos. These bad boys dominated the Valentino show like no other. Easily enough, we spotted seven different women wearing them, either the flats or the heels. Though personally I’d never wear them, they are still beautiful.

Before we knew it, models were streaming out from the back door entrance, of course then being swarmed by a massive amount of photographers. Some were kind enough to take a moment and pose, while others were in a rush and wanted to be left alone. Not only did we get to see some models, but Alexa Chung decided to surprise us as she rushed from the back entrance to her town car.

With people swarming the models, it was the perfect opportunity for Valentino himself to make a run for his limo and be whisked away. But those pesky photogs were more then ready for it. We were lucky enough to be close to him and get a good snap of the orange-faced genius behind this year’s gorgeous collection. 

Any other person would see that the show was over and that all the VIPs had left, and assume it was time to leave too. But not us. We figured, why not sneak past security and see the runway itself and hopefully get some glimpses of the clothes. And that’s exactly what we did. Right into the room where we did our very own strut down the runway and sat in the same seats as important editors. Symmetrically designed in all plush white, the runway was the perfect setting for Valentino’s beige, black, salmon, and red French-romantic garments.

When we got our fill of runway walking, we decided to head out and it turned out that it was the exact moment they were bringing out the clothes in the racks. Multiple racks came out holding the garments and we managed to peer through the plastic lining. Seeing the clothes up close in person was unbelievable. Seeing the actual fabric and tiny miniscule details in the work, I realized why this man is so famous for what he does.

I’d have to say, Valentino definitely stepped up his game with this collection. For a while I really wasn’t too impressed with what he was putting out there but this blew me away (or it could have just been the adrenaline rush of being at fashion week). But all in all, I’d say this was a successful adventure in Paris.

Much appreciation to Alec Bastian for taking all of the photos in this entry and being so kind when commanded to snap pictures of shoes, bags, etc. Check out his photography here.


xoxo

- Paulina


all photos © Alec Bastian (www.behance.net/alecbastian)