11:51 p.m.
I just ran across these YSL wedge-heeled sandals for Spring 2008, and I think they pretty much encapsulate, in one effortless swoop, what I find so fascinating about the upcoming collections:
“Close your mouth, ma’am — no one likes a drooling gawker.”
The muted pastel of the new Verde hue, the cork wedge with the wash of color slathered indelicately just under the leather foot bed — the casual artiness of it all is a total knock-out punch.
Yves St. Laurent has been struggling to regain its once vaunted spot in the fashion world ever since Tom Ford came and went, so it’s encouraging to see Ford’s successor, Stefano Pilati, producing items that hearken back to YSL’s classic, feminine origins while yet embracing today’s emotional minimalism.
The wedges are also offered in black as a kind of no-brainer option, but it’s apparent that in Verde is how this shoe was really made to present.
Stefano Pilati quote: “The biggest mistake you can make when dressing is to pretend you’re someone else. Proportions are everything. Don’t wear jackets with big shoulders if your shoulders are small. Don’t dress like a kid if you are old. Clothing should be a representation of a body, not a distortion of it. That said, I love women in men’s clothing.”
I feel like, with Spring 2008, I’m witnessing a new generation of designers come into their own. Yes, you can play spot the influences, but what’s intriguing is witnessing the preceding decades compressed and cobbled together to result in unique compositions that stand on their own.
