where the reader is warmly invited to wildly, and most definitely indiscreetly, speculate about the the latest Balenciaga collection
by Marko.

Serge Gainsbourg’s home in Paris; Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2008
(courtesy of Vanity Fair) La Flor de mi secreto

Is there a connection, I ask? Going through the November issue of Vanity Fair, and focusing on the story about Serge Gainsbourg’s home, or his secret world, as they aptly called it, became truly interesting after seeing one picture. The interior of Gainsbourg’s home (which will supposedly be turned into a museum soon), basically that of a discreetly lit hallway with black walls and a highly decorative carpet, was somehow too close to the feeling one got upon noticing the setting of this particular Balenciaga collection. Some critics’ initial reactions were more in the line of »cheap decoration of local hotels«. Funny. Now, it is not my place to speculate about the well known friendship between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Nicolas Ghesquière, and if it had any part in this….No, sorry, it is, but only as a possible springboard for thinking about the collection. Maybe it’s all too good to be true. And maybe, just maybe, this could be a different take or perspective on the collection, namely through the way Gainsbourg is described by his daughter. As pudique. Read the article. Who’d a thunk it? Serge, of all people, as Venus Pudica?! Well, we shouldn’t be hasty, and she’s not »pudica« but ambiguous. To gently cover is also to entice. I’m not suggesting that we extremitize this the other way and go down the way of propriety. What next? Chastity belts?

A lot of people think of armor when they see these clothes. I’m thinking more in terms of uniform, also implied in »buying a look«. This is how Jennifer Connelly looked to me in one of those dresses, one really felt the distance between her and the dress, more like a shell, really. She just put it on, nothing to it. And how liberating it can be from the pressure of constant personalizing and the stale emphasis on individuality. »Make it your own! Made especially for you! Be yourself!« Like those secret pockets only the wearer knows about.

Designers know how to tickle you the right way. Should we crack Jennifer’s shell open? No, there’s nothing behind it anyway, no eternal secret, as Jacobs, and especially Prada, nicely showed us. Perhaps the only true »secret« to be explained is hiding in the question: ‘How come there is a secret?’ or ‘When does the hint of secret emerge?’ When do we start talking that there is something lurking behind, ready to be unearthed, forcing us to slowly unveil, go down that dark hallway, that just screams of a riddle, and probably towards a door that needs to be opened. The emphasis on (un)veiling, transparency, layers….all linked to women, and Serge.

P.S.: See the video on vogue.fr featuring Carine Roitfeld and get a better look at the dark setting of the show.

Bookmark