TREND I-SPY

  As you all know by now, I'm fascinated by any sort of head or face covering. At his season's Couture they were ubiquitous. Whether they alluded to the Middle East both present and past, The Arabian Nights! or the Western mid-century modern ('30s, '40s, '50s) ideals of femininity and beauty, the result was the same, the exotic allure of the part-concealed and part-revealed female face.  Armani Privé  by Sarah Mower on vogue.com   Towards the finale, he sent out graceful dresses in black velvet and midnight-blue sequin, on models whose heads were veiled in crystal-edged face-coverings—a vaguely  Arabian Nights  counterpoint to the fifties netting seen in other Paris collections this week.   Christian Dior by Tim Blanks on  style.com Past and future met again in an evening ensemble that matched the athletic ease of a citron silk knit to the grandeur of a floor-sweeping silk skirt. And the veils that Stephen Jon...

Haute Couture for Spring 2011 was shown in Paris a few weeks ago. I searched through them on Style.com looking for future trends in fashion design. I looked for commonalities between the collections but felt as if I found very little. Each couturier seemed to work from their own set of design principals and inspiration. For Alexis Mabille it was the white plaster maquettes of sculptor, Atoine Bourdelle , Alexis Mabille At Dior, John Galliano looked back to the work of fashion illustrator, René Gruau, the illustrator "whose work for Christian Dior in the forties and fifties created the house's most iconic imagery." (Tim Blanks, Style.com) Dior For Jean Paul Gaultier it was punk rock. "The invitation safety-pinned a piece of fishnet to a piece of cardboard. The run of show named outfits after "Anarchy in the U.K." and "London Calling." And that was Sid's "My Way" playing as we walked in." (Tim Blanks, Style.com) Jean Pa...