Author: Carol Mongo

In the more than two decades of reporting on fashion collections, I have noticed that the most successful designers are those who turn a deaf ear to the ramblings of the press (both good and bad reviews),  while remaining faithful to the aesthetic needs and tastes of his clientele. This is especially true in the world of Haute Couture where the clothes cost a fortune and the number of women affording them a scant few. This also applies to a man whose name is synonymous with high fashion, a man who, for 45 years, embodies all that is great with Italian design….Valentino. Continue reading “Valentino, Best of Italian Design”

Adieu to the King of Style —For many of us in fashion, today marks the end of an era. Yves Saint Laurent, the undisputed king of fashion, has been laid to rest and I, like many other style mavens on this planet, mourn the lost of this great fashion legend. Long before there were rebels like Jean Paul Gaultier with his signature conical bras, or innovators like Issey Miyake who transformed objet d’art into sculpted metal bustiers or even Phat Farm’s gritty, hip-hop, “streetwear, there was Yves Saint Laurent who introduced all of this and more to the world of high fashion. “I participated in the transformation of my era. I did it with clothes, which is surely less important than music, architecture, painting … but whatever it’s worth I did it,” the designer said in 2002 upon his retirement. Continue reading “Homage to Yves Saint Laurent”

Visitors to the French capital looking to learn about Paris fashion are in for a real treat this year. This summer, there is an exceptional amount of style exhibitions on view for every taste and style. Moreover, each and every show tells a fascinating story about a different fashion icon. Continue reading “French Fashion Exposed”

 America has its strip malls; Hong Kong, its streets lined with vendors till dawn. But nothing beats Paris for the variety and originality of its shopper haunts. Spring is the perfect time for an escapade to the numerous “villages,” the city’s self-contained terrains dedicated to antique objects and art, in particular that of shopping.

Continue reading “Paris’ Shopping Villages”

For the past two seasons, the biggest trends to march down the catwalks from Paris to Hollywood have been elegant and sophisticated. It’s the kind of look inspired by Alfred Hitchcock divas like Kim Novak or Grace Kelly, more than a half century ago. Back then, the designers who epitomized French couture were Dior, Balmain and Givenchy. However, the man considered to be the master in this domain was Cristobal Balenciaga. Continue reading “Cristobal Balenciaga… Master of Style”

 “The most Parisian of American designers”

With his first Paris boutique opening this fall, Marc Jacobs will be the toast of this October’s “Fashion Week.” Paris’ Bon Marché department store tributes this key American fashion designer, as the guest of honor for its current thematic expo dedicated to New York. A sampling of 21 exclusive garments from his eponymous collection is presented within a spectacular “room,” with anthracite walls, barren branches and spotlights. Continue reading “Marc Jacobs”

In 1981, Yohji Yamamoto was part of a small group of Japanese designers who defied traditional modes of fashion by introducing androgynous frocks to the runways of Paris. This “intellectual fashion,” as it was called, replaced frills, bows and silks with sober materials and experimental cutting and draping, much of which shared a base of Japanese industrial uniforms. A graduate of the famed Bunka Gakuen college in Tokyo in 1969, Yohji launched a label called “Y’s” in 1972. Continue reading “Yohji Yamamoto’s “Intellectual Fashion””