"It's a mix of fragility with sharp cuts"

So I was reading about Olivier Theyskens and looking at some shots of his pre-fall collection for Nina Ricci, and so far, this is the most promising look of the collection -

Other than that, the rest of looks didn't make a huge impression on me, but you can't tell much with eight looks.

I am still trying to get my head around the old-lady suit he's got here -

I can't decide that whether on a person who isn't slumping and trying to shrink her neck it might look better. Or maybe it's the damned shoes. Will people should doing clumpy oxfords as fashion? This look is too much like the monkish stuff Raf Simons has been doing for Jil Sander.

The Nina Ricci girl, Mr Theyskens told Style.com, is "more modern, more loose, and more cool."

I'm not really feeling it here. I want to see more of the "cool girls who mix the ladylike looks with some messy touches" look he's talking about.

This dress might be it, but it's really about the accessories and the way the girl is wearing it. It's not necessarily a Nina Ricci signature -

But it's all certainly a departure from the all-out pretty Lars Nilsson used to show...except for the look the dress Reese Witherspoon wore to the Golden Globes perhaps.

The colour is fresh for evening, but the colour choice, as well as shape is certainly not new. And this dress looks a bit jarring compared to the other looks -

I was interested in these looks -

Certainly there wasn't much by way of daywear (streetwear is perhaps a more accurate term) during his Rochas days. It would be great to see how what kind of ideas he can pull out from his mind. He talked a bit about denim, which, well, not everyone does well. I'm a bit skeptical about that.

It was pity that Rochas was so abruptly shuttered - it takes time to properly build a house image and look, and now he's got to start all over again.

I guess it doesn't do to be too harsh or critical about these things - after all Mr Theyskens' success at Rochas was really one of the few success stories, creatively speaking. Patrick Robinson had to leave Perry Ellis (amidst critical acclaim) and didn't make that much of an impression at Paco Rabanne; Roberto Menichetti didn't last too long at Celine; Lars Nilsson had to make way for Mr Theyskens (after abruptly leaving a successful reign at Bill Blass); and Riccardo Tisci is still trying hard at Givenchy, having taken over from a valiantly out-of-depth Julien McDonald.

I think Mr Theyskens' got interesting ideas germinating in his head, but by his own words so far, it doesn't sound like something we all haven't heard before. Let's hope his fall collections speak for themselves.

Pictures and source from www.style.com