Carven out a new path...

I have acquired a new brand to love. It's not new at all (newish to me) - it's been around since 1945 and it's also a Parisian Fashion House. Music to my ears. The founder, Madame Carmen de Tommaso was Chanel like in adapting clothes to the everyday life of women.

Creative Director Guillaume Henry took the reigns in 2009 keeping the classic sophistication and adding his own quirky twists, as all the greats do. The collections since then have been achingly minimalist French chic, with modern twists.

   

                   

                                  

                                

                                       

The RTW collection features bandage dresses, bold tailoring and sartorial details. I love the jungle print, oversized coats and the banana applique sweatshirt.The black perforated cotton skirt is divine. We can see the classic elegance of the past (the green off -the-shoulder satin crepe dress with ruffled sleeves) and the futuristic modern (his take on the classic duffel coat above). The small chain detail on the dresses and belts is gives classics a modern twist and the block shoes from the latest collection go with everything.

In 2010 Carven made its first forray into menswear and I will be posting about that very soon. In the meantime I'll be getting the kiwi print collar and sale shopping the satin black lights collection. Divine.