The 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival officially kicked off last night in (you guessed it!) Cannes France. Last night was the Opening Ceremonies with the festival opening up with Baz Luhrman's new film "The Great Gatsby".  Superstars Nicole Kidman and "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou kicked off 12-days of red carpet fashion at the opening night festivities. The prestigious Riviera movie event provides both big fashion houses and (rarely, but sometimes as in Audrey Tautou's case--see below) up-and-coming designers with unparalleled opportunities to showcase their work before a global audience.


At the fashion house of Lebanese couturier Elie Saab, a favorite with award ceremony regulars--according to france24.com--the Designer (or at least, their PR dept.) never make the first move. "We don't contact them: they have to want to wear our robes," said Elie Saab's Emilie Legendre, adding that a large number of fittings were done this year in Los Angeles, London and Paris. I somehow doubt that the PR companies of the designer brands do not contact the actresses' pr agents to offer a gown or two, especially for such a high-profile event like Cannes. This, I do not believe. But irregardless, Cannes has become a BIG Red Carpet "Fashion Show". Speaking of, let's discuss the Red Carpet so far:

Jennifer Lawrence in Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013: Jennifer Lawrence chose this "hot off the runway" Blue/Black Strapless Taffeta Gown by Christian Dior. The Fashion Show happened just last week, so this dress must have been quickly packed and sent to Lawrence's Stylist immediately after walking the runway!

It also looks slightly different so this could have been a version created just for Jennifer.

There is no doubt that Christian Dior Haute Couture is one of the hottest labels right now and every actress would die to wear one of Raf Simons' gowns, but with all the choices available to an A-List Actress like Jennifer, I am surprised by this very safe and rather boring choice.

What do you think?

Strapless COUTURE, Watteau backs, Simple Sublime...and then there's Versace:


Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week began yesterday in Paris. For those of you who need a quick "re-freshening" on Haute Couture:
*Only certain design houses/designers are allowed to be members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture--and be allowed to use the word "Couture" in their title and/or advertising--and of course, be allowed to show Couture Collections in Paris.
*There are only a handful of brands/designers doing Haute Couture (which translates into "high sewing", "high dressmaking", "high fashion"), including Dior, Valentino, Giambattista Valli, Elie Saab, and so on.
*Almost every seam on a Couture garment is HAND-DONE. Yes, even a simple side seam of a pant! Couture garments can take hundreds--if not thousands of hours to complete.


*Couture are custom made/made-to-order clothing (as opposes to off-the-rack), beginning with the client choosing the design via the fashion show look books, an appointment is made, consultation, follows, a muslin/toile of the ordered garment is made, 3-5 fittings follow, and then a final fitting and/or delivery of the garment.
*A Couture jacket can cost about $30,000, $45,000+  for a cocktail dress and $100,000+ for a gown.

*There are only an estimated 2,000 clients in the entire world who are considered regular customers of Couture. These clients used to be very wealthy American socialites (usually from Texas or NYC)--as well as Euro royalty. Now, most of these clients hail from Russia, the Gulf States, Middle East, China, and Brazil--the so-called "emerging nations" with the most multimillionaires./billionaires.

*In terms of the "bottom line" and business, Couture makes only a small profit; it can cost around $1 million to mount a runway show (making the clothes, hiring the models, location, flying in A-list celebs to sit in the front row). The Couture Collections are used as a marketing tool, to sell auxiliary items of the brand--such as perfumes, sunglasses, accessories.

*Finally, actresses get to borrow Haute Couture for big red carpet events--such as the Oscars, Golden Globes, etc. They usually will wear the runway/showroom sample (so therefore, they must fit into the runway size 2) because it is too costly to create a separate dress specifically for them but there are exceptions. The Couture gowns are then returned to the designer so it can be part of their Archives.

Now, let's discuss this season's Couture, beginning with Dior and Atelier Versace: