Oh yeah, we've Met.

It was the intense gushing on Twitter a couple of days ago about the gorgeous gowns at the Met Ball 2012 that piqued my interest and had me typing 'Met Ball 2012' into my Google search bar. With the exceptions of the odd balls like Coco Rocha with her pink curls and canary yellow pant suit, Alexa Chung in the shirt-under-a-leather-accented-bandeau-tubedress and Leighton Meester's washed sepia look, the A-listers proved again why they command the eyeballs all over the world.

The photo, taken by Kevin Tachman, speaks for itself. Being under the spotlight is no joke. Just imagine the incessant flashes of light, beeping from the cameras, yelling from the reporters, shouts from the photographers as they fight for attention, jostling and pushing behind the 'Do Not Cross' line. It probably takes effort assuming nonchalance and ease in the face of such chaos. The photo starkly juxtaposes the glamour and exclusion of Hollywood with reality - competition, jostling, fighting tooth and nail to get what we need in order to get what we want.

It's literally all eyes on you and these eyes stay on you long after the event. Technology has enhanced the longevity of images and words more than we can ever imagine. Once these photos are launched into the www universe, they don't ever leave. As usual, women come under scrutiny - intense, extensive and unforgiving scrutiny - especially at such events. The media is a sucker for red carpets and the ever-brilliant PR companies will not hesitate to leech on the vast amount of media attention bestowed on the event (a ball, a benefit or an awards ceremony) at no expense, after all they're not the ones wearing the gowns and under the spotlight, they just reap the harvest - numbers, eyeballs, coverage and talking points. Society encourages such voyeuristic activity, supported by technology and an incessant need for more images, more pictures, more proof. So much is seen and so little is heard yet no one ever stops to question anything.

No, I am no Luddite, in fact, I am more than happy to catch a glimpse of the gorgeousness strutting down the red carpets (and runways for that matter). I just think everyone needs to take a step back to consider how far we've come, what technology has afforded us and how we are using it and to what effect. Then only can we appreciate what we have come to take for granted and relish it all the more (and hopefully use it more wisely).

Camilla Belle was nothing short of stunning in Ralph Lauren.

Carey Mullian sparkles in Prada

Emma Stone in Lanvin

Jessica Alba channels bronze grecian goddess in Michael Kors

Jessica Biel in bespoke Prada

Lily Collins in a romantic Valentino which I believe only she can pull off

Emily Blunt in a coral Calvin Klein Collection

Gisele Bundchen, THE body beautiful, in Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci

I have to say it is a waste if such beauty isn't shared.


♥,
Fir

Valentino Autumn/Winter 2011-12 Couture

The combination of delicate embroidery and sheer fabrics in this collection brought out the fragile beauty of the models. They looked graceful in the slim silhouettes, reminiscent of ballerinas belonging to a Russian ballet troupe as they glided slowly down the runway. Chiuri and Piccioli do all of this while staying true to the Valentino vision of femininity, incorporating the famous Valentino Red, lace and ribbons into this refreshingly light and luminous showcase of pure craftsmanship.

Clearly, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are on a roll.

♥,
Fal

Hail Valentino, Past, Present and Future

After hearing Fal's rave reviews, I couldn't wait to visit the Valentino Retrospective Past/Present/Future exhibition myself. Finally, it was my turn to get up close and personal with Valentino's exquisite Haute Couture creations. I was so impressed that plans are underway for Fal and myself to visit the exhibition again.




Valentino's love for glamour and embellishments as well as a cheeky disregard for trends renders his creations timeless. I amused myself thoroughly by playing "guess the year this dress showed". (I was often wrong.) Indeed, Valentino's works of art are so removed from fashion trends that come and go that one can only hazard a guess the date of his designs. It was so hard to place the creations in any particular era.






Ruffles, volume, florals (and flowers), sequins, embroidery, fur, faux fur, feathers, ... You name it, you got it. Valentino manipulated all these and more into his creations and they never seemed out of place, so his gowns never looked out of style.







Valentino's technical mastery and interesting techniques were stunning. The elaborate and intricate embroidery that Valentino used to add to uniqueness of his designs was mind blowing. It's a pity I couldn't get a good picture of any of the beautiful embroidered pieces. One fascinating technique is the Budellini which is the concentric use of strips or braids of material applied to the gown in order to highlight certain parts of the body. Valentino always made it a point to accentuate the woman's body, particularly her waist. The Budellini technique is excellent in producing an alluring hourglass silhouette of the woman's body.




Red, which eventually became the signature of Valentino, suits the label to the tee.






I personally love this red gown. It is a classic, so simple yet you'll definitely take a second look.



When the Valentino gowns are made to make your jaw drop, they, well, make your jaw drop. When they aren't made to surprise, shock and awe, they are gorgeous classics. Executed to perfection with ordinary fabrics and clean lines, these are equally breathtaking.






I agree with Fal that pictures do not do any of the gowns justice. I apologise for the bad pictures. The exhibition hall was terribly dim and it was impossible to use flash because the gowns were (rightly and cleverly) encased in thick glass.

One really has to make a trip down to the exhibition to take in Valentino - the gowns, inspirations, embellishments, the man himself - in order to understand just why Valentino Garavani is revered one of the great fashion designers of our time.

♥,
Fir

Valentino Retrospective Exhibition in Singapore

I had a chance to get upclose and personal with 100 of Valentino's wearable works of art on exhibition at the Resorts World Sentosa last Sunday and the pieces did not fail to take my breath away.

The works on exhibition definitely revealed Valentino's trademark of female sophistication and exemplified how he constantly brings out the beauty in a woman. What I loved most though, was his attention to details - From mixing fabrics to using embroidery, there was always something special in every Valentino piece that made it stand out.

My favorite dress of all, was this haute couture piece which I would wear in a heartbeat. Named the tattoo dress or “oiseaux de nuit”, this dress in Chantilly lace, feathers and 'lave' really speaks volumes about Valentino's slavish attention to details.

The exhibition also revolves around particular themes that unites Valentino's design approach over the past 50 years, such as, geometric patterns and graphic prints, volume, pleats and ruffles, animalia, flowers, and the 3 distinctive colours that have embodied Valentino namely, white, black and the 'Valentino' red.

Anyway, I'm terribly sorry for the lack of pictures, but I have two very valid reasons for this, the first being that photo-taking was not allowed and there were security guards stationed all over the exhibition, ready to stop people from whipping out their cameras and snapping away. The second being that photos really don't do these works of art justice because you have to see them in reality to appreciate just how beautiful they are. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

The Valentino Retrospective Exhibition is held at Resorts World Sentosa from 22 December 2010 to 13 February 2011 and tickets can be purchased from Sistic or at Resorts World Sentosa ticketing counter.

Photos courtesy of Resorts World Sentosa, Harpers Bazaar, Our Brisbane, The Age

♥,
Fal