and other people...

Anne Valerie Hash, whom I like very much and once dedicated a looooong post extolling her virtues,has always shown her collections during hautue couture season. Now she's created her first full couture collection (and I understand she's going to show ready-to-wear now with everyone else in September), and while I miss her raw, layer-y tailoring, there a few nice looks from her show - sort of a glammed up, polished version of her usual stuff -

Some of pieces, like the red dress and the green parka looked a bit derivative (the dress looked like fall '06 Chanel couture and didn't Narciso Rodriguez do something like this for fall '07?) but I suppose having more additions to the couture collections is a welcome thing - the more points of view the better. The stuff looks a little too spare for couture maybe, but I read on fashion inc. that Ms Hash had to redesign her collection because Lesage couldn't accommodate her orders. Definitely looking out for her work come next season.

Boudicca's couture week debut last year was okay, nice, but I didn't love it then. This season was better to me, they've taken lace and made it look cool and unfussy. Since they lightened up a bit, I've grown to love their ability to take a single idea and do all kinds of magic with it. I think this collection really shows the fine quality of their designs and craftsmanship -

The last dress in particular should be seen from the side -

I first read about Cathy Pill in Vogue, but I haven't been able to really follow what she's doing, so it's great she's showing her wares at a more high-profile venue, so that those with less fashion connections (like me!) can see what she's been up to. And yep, her collection is well worth checking out -

I like how she's mixing draping and wrapping with unfinished tailoring - sometimes it looks unwieldy and overwrought but there were some great silhouettes.

And of course, her prints - which was what I fell hard for in the first place - are fantastic -

I find the collections shown during couture week - couture and otherwise - so much more interesting in the sense that they are divorced from the usual trends shoved down our throats - it's truly a different point of view from each designer. Ready-to-wear has lots of original thought too (Prada, Balenciaga, Lanvin) but at couture, designers considered slightly offbeat (but not backed by powerhouses like LVMH etc) can really shine and be looked at in a different context, away from the whole circus that is RTW.

Pictures from www.elle.com and www.style.com