Reviews: Sit Back and Enjoy

Sunday, I had the good fortune of being invited to the very private presentation by Victoria Beckham. Maybe it seems crazy, but I’d been dreaming about this for a long time now. Ever since I’ve seen them at the Printemps in Paris, I’ve loved her dresses.
And I’d also heard just how irresistible her New York presentations are.

So this is what went down:

It was all in a very posh building on the Upper East Side. After I pushed through the heavy door, I made my way into a small room where soft stools were set up. Victoria Beckham was there, brilliant in a sublime black dress, smiling, warm, a perfect hostess, shaking hands with everyone and repeating their names to try to remember each one. We sat wherever we liked; there couldn’t have been more than 20 of us.

I didn’t want to disturb the hushed atmosphere. I asked the press people if I could take photos and they responded very nicely, “Why don’t you just sit down and enjoy?” I told myself that yeah, for once, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if I took a look at some clothes without having my lens between me and them….

And plus it’d be a good chance to draw.

Victoria had a seat right in the middle on one of the stools. Everyone got quiet, a model came out into the room and Victoria started talking in a soft yet cheerful voice.

” I’m going to show you my new collection. For this season, I wanted to concentrate on the sensuality of the feminine body. You’ll see that I used different materials… Starting from this cloth from a parachute, which inspired me to…”

I’ve never seen anything like it. One by one, she described her dresses. When she could, she’d add in a touch of humor, or a small gesture to show the movement of a fabric… Everyone was clinging to her every word.

Calm and relaxed, the models passed by, ethereal.

Amidst the craziness of fashion week, a moment of pure luxury, without the flash of cameras, the commotion of the crowd, without the yelling… Wow.

The same day, I wasn’t invited to Tom Ford’s very private cocktail party. He selected a very small group of editor-in-chiefs and celebrities to give a preview of their much awaited women’s line, and the internet media wasn’t exaclty welcome. It was very nicely requested not to take photos.

Here’s what someone told me:

Tom Ford took his place, and presented his models, one after the other. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you my womens collection…”

Amidst the craziness of fashion week, a moment of pure luxury, without the flash of cameras, except for Terry Richardson’s, the only photographer at the cocktail party… And we should see those pictures sometime before January, when Tom Ford decides it’s time.

I thought it was all interesting considering the questions that I brought up yesterday about the hysteria and immediacy of fashion, that these two showmen, Victoria Beckham and Tom Ford, both chose such different paths to create desire.

Translation : Tim Sullivan

*A huge thanks to Marco for sending this over to me!