No Show

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It’s super interesting.

I’m sure you’ve all heard that there will be no Céline show this season : Phoebe Philo, the famous artistic director for the brand, is expecting a baby in April and so has decided to replace the show (which has to be something terribly stressful) with an informal, intimate presentation.

We don’t know much more (and that’s how it should be), but the first reaction I had, personally, was to be super pleased by the strong message sent by the designer. After the downfall of designers in recent seasons, to see someone take the risk of actually giving herself a personal life, it shifted something for me… Something really hopeful.

We already knew that Phoebe Philo took a break between Chloé and Céline to take care of her kids – which potentially helped her develop her professional life as well if you consider the incredible comeback she’s had for the past four seasons. She also had the entire design studio move from Paris to London so she could stay close to her family.

And it’s just so cool how at all the shows, her parents are always there, right in the front row. Her way of navigating her professional and personal life is really inspiring.

Okay, all these sentiments are sweet and all, but I’m curious to see what happens with this Céline “no show.”

Some people say choosing not to show could put the brand at risk. In that case, if this “pause” for Céline results in some sort of loss of momentum – with people losing their jobs for example – will everyone point the finger at Phoebe Philo?
A friend was telling me about a story in the French newspaper Libération : there was a study showing that ethnic criteria, which used to be the first professional discrimination factor, has shifted back (yeah!), but the first factors now are gender and maternity / pregnancy (ouch).

As we can see, it doesn’t take a lot to scare the markets and the recruiters. So to cancel a show…

Tell me, what do you think of Phoebe Philo’s choice ?

Translation : Tim Sullivan

Mimi by Sara Vidas SS 2012

Sara Vidas Spring / Summer 2012. Pictures: Oliver Rust

O how positively surprised I was when Swiss womenswear designer Sara Vidas told me her Spring / Summer 2012 collection was to be called ‘Mimi’ which has been my nickname ever since I was able to speak but couldn’t pronounce my very own name. I simply took the last syllable and repeated it, that’s how my byname strategically was constructed and decided til doomsday. MiMi has just shared a secret with you.

Sara Vida's collection 'Mimi' is inspired from the suburban bakeries and coffee shops in Switzerland.

The spring / summer 2012 collection is made for women of all ages.

Enough of me now, let’s see what Sara Vidas‘ Mimi is like: ‘Mimi likes sweets, but she is not too sweet. She loves to pick a lovely cake from a colourful display. Mimi knows what she likes, when ordering patisserie as well as when choosing her look for the occasion. She knows to mix her styles and takes well care of her favourite pieces. She does not take herself too serious, but still appears very sophisticated. Mimi spends her spare time on cruise ships on the various Swiss lakes, where she enjoys observing other tourists through her sunglasses. She loves the irony and is very young at heart.‘ I see no difference.

Caramel pudding, marshmallows, icing in various pastel tones, stracciatella, whipped cream and the cherry on top.

Fine jersey gets combined with laces and bead embroidery.

Chiffon and plissé meet velvet applications.

Sommery hats and sporty head bands are combined with tennis skirts and 1960s velvet appliactions, chic boleros and white caps, brogues in patent leather and seemingly random vintage sandals. Peter pan collars come in small and big, white and black versions while contrasting bright red heart-shaped applications cheekily accentuate chest and nipples. Contemporary polka dots accompany denim in 1980s cuts, frilled socks belittle the slightly circus-esque look and beeded clutch bags add glamour to it.

Young and fresh, yet chic.

Sporty and playful.

It's older ladies that get Sara Vidas' full attention with their fresh and spirited looks.

At her second catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week, the models walked slowly to soft jazz music, just like a little girl imagining being a movie star. It felt like relegated into a begone time when fashion was a much slower industry and the shows were such that one found time to actually look at the clothes rather than just being overwhelmed by an impressive event.

Sweet and cheeky.

"I wish I could live from my work one day." - Sara Vidas 2011

Like in her previous collections, Sara Vidas liked to hang all sorts of things around the models’ necks, such as clutch bags with red hearts or mini plastic bags on oversized lether and metal straps. This season, statement pieces go with statement pieces. MiMi will do.

"People on this world's streets are my biggest inspiration" - Sara Vidas 2011

Photography by Oliver Rust


© STYLECLICKER - Mimi by Sara Vidas SS 2012 is a post from: www.styleclicker.net

Les Belles Actrices Françaises

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I love French cinema and its actresses, especially at that moment when, before the super international celebrification and the 12 bodyguards that go along with it, they have that simplicity and that sparkle that make them so magnetic.

At the Chloé show, sitting in front of me was Aïssa Maïga, Marina Hands, Lou Lesage and Camille Rowe.

Four girls I really like a lot.

From The Front Row / Valentino

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I really loved this collection, everything, the dresses of course, but also the hair, the make up, the jewelry, the lightness of it all and the flat shoes that make it all look sooooo easy.

It’s really so cool to witness what Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri are creating around the Valentino brand. Slowly but surely emerges a new Valentino woman…

And I am already dreaming of that black long dress (third picture) for next summer.

Craziest Shoe Of Paris Fashion Week ?

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It took me about two minutes to understand what kind of UFO was walking in front of me at the YSL show, but as soon as I ended up realizing well, this a shoe, I almost immediately started really liking it.

You would say, it’s very editorial. Meaning, unwearable.

But then I also showed them to the girls at the studio, and they also really liked them ! They would wear them. So what do you think ? Would you wear them ?

Fashion Week Handbags: Hermes Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

It must be difficult to take over a storied and iconic brand like Hermes, particularly for a designer like Christophe Lemaire, whose most high-profile gig before taking the reins of the French luxury giant was the top spot at Lacoste. Those are two very different posts, but Lemaire has managed to incorporate his own brand of crisp sportswear into the Hermes identity reasonably well. He’s not a showman like Jean Paul Gaultier, but if that’s what Hermes had wanted, they probably would have stuck with him.

If I could make one little request, though, it would be to see Birkins and Kellys on the runway. Hermes Spring 2012 didn’t have any, and with handbags playing such an integral role in the brand’s success, it would be nice to have a more public look at what Lemaire can do with the Hermes’ most iconic products. As Gaultier showed us for all those years, they make an excellent canvas for invention.

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The Louis Vuitton and Hermes flasks, for the ladylike drunks in all of us

Images via Vogue.com

While cutting the photos for yesterday’s post about Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 runway bags, I almost missed this little darling. Cutting photos is mind-bendingly tedious work, and it’s easy to glaze over and become something of a Photoshop robot while in the process, particularly for a show as handbag-heavy as Vuitton‘s. Just before I went into full zombie mode, though, I realized that a lone model wasn’t carrying a bag at all, but instead a Louis Vuitton Flask.

But this wasn’t the only flask to make an appearance on the Paris runways. Hermes showed one too, and it had a neck strap so that you wouldn’t get sauced and lose it. How convenient! For a photo of that one (and a Friday-appropriate discussion of all the designer boozing to be done), you have to make the jump.

Details are sketchy on these item in particular, but based on the photo, it appears to be half logo-etched stainless steel (or maybe LV will get fancy and go with sterling silver?) and half white crocodile. You know what that means, ladies? White croc stains like you wouldn’t believe, so no dark liquor shall pass the neck of this delicate flask. Clear booze only! That means vodka, gin, white rum and fancy tequila are all Vuitton-approved. Whiskey of all varieties, spiced rum and the Cuervo Gold you drank in college? No way.

And then there’s the Hermes flask, which has a different aesthetic quality entirely. It’s colorblock and modern, which should help with spillage, theoretically. Except that it’s suede, so Jeeves (let’s face it, no one who actually uses an Hermes flask is filling it herself) is going to have to be extra careful with that little funnel that comes packaged with flasks to make filling easy. From what I understand, Hermes women only drink gin, so at least there won’t be any unsightly brown stains on the yellow portion.

These items, if produced, will be available for all your drinking needs circa January 2012.

Fashion Week Handbags: Miu Miu Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Excuse me for this moment of bluntness: Miu Miu should consider “refreshing” its handbag team.

I’m not saying that the Miu Miu Spring 2012 handbags are bad; they’re not. They’re fine for the very narrow look of this runway show, but they’re not particularly relevant to anything beyond it, and most of them certainly don’t look like what the Miu Miu customer carries in her day-to-day life. I’d carry one because I’m a huge, unapologetic Miu Miu fangirl, but beyond that, I can’t see these bags having a wider appeal.

Every season, I fervently hope that the brand’s runway bags will be fabulous enough to inspire the sort of devotion and panicked credit card-swiping that its shoes do, and my dreams are so rarely answered. Second-guessing Miuccia Prada is a rare thing for me to do, but in this case, a couple new members to her team might serve the overall brand (and handbag lovers everywhere) well. In the past few seasons, purses seem to be something of a lost business opportunity for the brand, and a well-positioned label like Miu Miu should be turning out It Bags hand over fist.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Valentino Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Now that shows have officially closed for the season and all the bags have been seen (by us, anyway – we’ve still got some more posts for you guys!), I feel comfortable saying that Spring 2012 is probably going to be a bit of a boring season for accessories, at least compared to what we’ve grown used to recently. That being said, a few major designers who have been struggling to find their voices have stepped it up this season, at least when handbags are concerned.

Valentino Spring 2012 is one such collection; I did a lot of complaining about the brand’s Fall 2011 runway bags, but this group is altogether more refined and well-conceived than previous lines have felt. Some of last season’s elements, including studded hand straps, can be found in these designs, but they’re used in ways that feel more natural and functional. This is the collection that Valentino should have showed last season, but I’m glad they decided to show it at all.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Louis Vuitton Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Every season, waiting for the Louis Vuitton show is torturous. It comes at the very end of Paris Fashion Week, which is the last city of the season, and its arrival taunts handbag lovers for a full month. Unlike some designers whose brands make a great deal of money from accessories but you largely eschew the use of bags on the runway (we’re looking at you, Yves Saint Laurent), Vuitton knows exactly what we want – THE BAGS. SHOW US THE BAGS.

And befitting off all the anticipation, the bags from Louis Vuitton Spring 2011 are particularly lovely. Model after model strode the runway with trend-appropriate pastel satchels on their arms, many in wallet-draining crocodile. If you’d like to see one of these beauties in your closet come spring, you best start making the financial arrangements now. Also, I’d recommend ridding your house entirely of foods that cause stains – no red wine around these lovely accessories.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Chanel Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

No matter the season, you can always count on Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel show for at least one thing: a very strong theme. For Chanel Spring 2012, you had to look no further than Kaiser Karl’s seashell clutches to find the oceanic common thread that ran through the entire collection. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that Lagerfeld was inspired by the shore; after all, the runway was lined with sand.

I’m not sure how many times a woman will have an opportunity to wear a conch shell-shaped clutch in her sartorial life, but if you’ve got a beach wedding on the horizon any time in, oh, the next ten years, I’d hazard a guess that these are the best bags you’ll find to carry to such an event. As always, Chanel will do lots of non-runway bags if you’re looking for something a little less literal, but a few of these bags make me long for a beach vacation something fierce.

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Fashion Week Diary

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Kids, when the Miu Miu show finally arrives, that’s when you know that the fashion week is coming to an end. It’s a good time to ask… The Big Fashion Questions :

Did I really say yes to the photographer that wanted me to jump in front of his camera the other day after the Chloé show? 

Yes. I also said yes to the team that does cinemagraph (the kind of animated gifs that you have do a moving pose for… Well it’s not easy to explain but It takes forever and you feel extra awkward doing it) I said yes to a unknown TV crew that asked me to answer some pretty weird questions and I said yes to Alexandra Golovanoff who asked me to do a huge grin in front of her camera (“Not a cute grin !” She said “Try to be VERY ugly!”)… And so I said yes to a guy who just wanted me to jump in front of his camera .

When I am tired, I have no more moral strength,

So yeah… Now’s the time. Just ask me what you want.

What’s the big mistake to not do at the beginning of fashion week?

Wear flats. When you start off with flats, wearing any pair of heels is gonna feel like climbing the Everest. Heels during this past fashion week? Not so much for me…

I have worse : I bought a pair of flat Zara shoes in a moment of desperation (“I can’t walk one more step in those heels ! Oh here, a Zara ! Cool !”) and they are super cute + super comfortable.

So not only was I on flats.

But wearing the same shoes everyday.

From Zara.

What a fashionista.

Did I succeed in doing anything with my hair ?

Nope. Fast bun, everyday. No time to do better. I am not proud.

Will I succeed in keeping my perfecta fashion week streak going all the way through Paris?

Nope. The day I got to Paris, even though I had continued on with daily running and yoga and eating decently well all through London and Milan, I forgot everything.

I had a glass of red wine, left my running shoes in my suitcase and attacked the morning croissant disaster (Morning croissant, how could i live so long without you ?)

Justification : I’m just too busy.

Reality : I’ve lost all will. Give me anything, I’ll eat it.

Was carrying two suitcases with me to try to be relatively well dressed everyday for three weeks worth it ?

Mmmmmm… No. Thanks to the crazy Indian summer we had, I think I barely used 5% of what I had packed. The elements are against my fashion icon destiny.

Did I take my bike on the plane with me from New York City ?

Question asked by… Actually quite a lot of people (???!).

No no no. I rented it, and in Paris even found a place who delivers your bike at your hotel. Isn’t that chic ?

So, with everything I have seen, do I know what I want to wear for next summer ?

No idea. I think I have a fashion indigestion… Give me a few days.

Am I becoming a party animal?

Totally!

I found a dress in 5 minutes, with no added drama. I borrowed it from Gucci (I was able to close it in spite of the croissant disaster), I put my hair up with a lot of styling gel, put too much black on my eyes and there you go. I even booked a driver to not have the painful one-o-clock-looking-for-a-taxi-in-Paris-in-an-evening-gown thing, I had fun, I danced, and oooooh crap. I have nothing more to tell you it was so fun and uneventful and I am such a party animal.

Well. A party animal who went back before midnight.

Guys, it’s a good start.

I know, a start but fashion week is over, etc…

Well but look at that beautiful recap ! I am becoming a total fashion week pro ! Weeeeeell, almost.

Next season I’ll be on top of my game. I’ll even try to change my hair everyday.

All right, off to Miu Miu ! Lots of kisses and thank you so much for following fashion week with me !!!

Fashion Week Handbags: Chloe Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Psst. You guys. It’s safe to come look at these pictures from Chloe Spring 2012 because finally, at long last, Chloe has turned the handbag corner! The company had to give Hannah MacGibbon the heave-ho after last season’s disaster and bring in Clare Waight Keller from Pringle of Scotland to fix things up, but based on Chloe’s Paris Fashion Week show, it was an incredibly shrewd decision on the part of the brand’s parent company, Richemont.

Waight Keller did well to focus on doing a single shape (a shoulder bag with modern finishes) in a variety of colors and sizes; MacGibbon’s downfall was her seeming inability to edit her vision down into a cohesive finished product that made as all want to be the Chloe girl. Alternately, I know I want to be the girl who carries these handbags (not to mention, be the girl who wears the pretty-but-modern pleated dresses that populated the collection), and making that feeling happen is the obvious first step in what looks like it’s going to be a Chloe comeback.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Celine Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Maddeningly, Celine tends not to show many of its bags on the runway. We get a little glimpse here and there of where Phoebe Philo’s brilliance is headed for the season, but mostly her fans are left waiting for spy pictures to surface to get a better idea of where our money will be headed in the coming months. For Celine Spring 2012, though, my money might be headed straight to the runway bag that you see above.

It’s all in the painted edges, you guys. Otherwise, this might be just a boring (but impeccable) shoulder bag that I would surely notice but might not necessarily consider buying. The neon edges give the bag a subtle but very important step toward modernism, and that’s when Philo’s at her wearable best. The rest of the bags are equally elegant, and I’ll have you note that several of them are hobos – they’re coming back, I swear.

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So Simple So Perfect

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I am going to take this image of Marina and put is as a screen saver on my Iphone for the days I am complaining I have nothing to wear.

The simplest outfits are always the ones that inspire me the most… But the thing is that to be really well done, simplicity calls for a lot of subtlety… The perfect asymmetric skirt (this is an Alexander Wang and tell me where I can get it, I want it !), the perfectly loose T-shirt, the perfect-size clutch and the perfectly sexy pumps to add edge… Pffff…

So easy.

Fashion Week Handbags: Loewe Spring 2012

Images via Loewe

Without a doubt, I count myself as a fan of the Loewe Spring 2012 collection as a whole. Stuart Vevers has done amazing things for the brand in his relatively short time as its creative director, and his vision showed its merit all over the Spanish company’s Paris Fashion Week presentation. I’m just not sure I love the handbags, which are the thing for which Loewe is best known.

I’ve seen enough this season to be pretty sure that the shoulder bag (and the hobo specifically) might be ready for a major comeback, but in this collection, the shape reminded me alternately of Pierre Hardy and Gucci, depending on the bag’s details. While these are certainly the types of accessories that women want to carry, I was hoping to see more work that would further distinguish the brand from its peers as past collections had. On that end, Vevers’ vision seems slightly more muddled, at least for this season.

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Fashion Week Handbags: Lanvin Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Yes! Finally! Thank you, Lanvin. This has been a down season for handbags thus far, at least on the runway. With almost every show that I expect to wow me, I come away a tad disappointed, and I was fearful that the same would happen with Lanvin Spring 2012. Alber Elbaz didn’t let me down, though; he never does. By now, that should be self-evident.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Lanvin’s bags is that they seem designed to carry things. Yes, that’s right, a designer has deigned to recognize that even our clutches have to be big enough to hold the essentials. The entire collection was clearly designed for a woman who has functional needs from her wardrobe, and the bags reflected that perhaps more than anything else. The fabrication, of course, was immaculate – the leather, sturdy but not inflexible, and the edges as crisp as anything I’ve seen this season.

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Repossi + Vogue Brunch at the Ritz

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Saturday morning, girls’ brunch at the Ritz, hosted by Gaia Repossi and Vogue.

I left my bike to the doorman who took it with a grin. It made everybody laugh. Then we went to the Jardins Du Salon d’Été, a tiny and adorable patio, hidden at the end of the corridors of the gigantic hotel.

Some of the guests were coming back from the Haider Ackermann show and trying to describe the movement of the clothes with funny gestures. Jen (4th picture) had spent the night at the Silencio and was exhausted, and Lauren (2nd picture, seating with a white shirt) was answering all the questions we were asking about her e-shop, Moda Operandi.

I have no idea what secret Anya was telling Gaia (3rd picture) but just a second before, she was showing her her jewelry. I was sitting with Alexandra (so I was so close to her I couldn’t take her picture) and we were talking about Sophie who we don’t see enough at fashion week this year, because she is so busy with her new bestseller. We were saying how we miss her and how happy we are for her.

Then Stephanie and Julia (last picture) said goodbye because they had to go to the Viktor and Rolf show. I had to rush too because I had an appointment. In front of the elevator I saw Shala, who had stolen a piece of cheese before heading to her room to get ready for the Viktor and Rolf show.

What, of course she kept her pajamas on.

I went back to the doorman and between a Porsche and a Ferrari they gave me my bike back.

Oh I almost forgot : the crab spring rolls were delicious.

———–

Yours Truly, Garance, your favorite social chronicler.

 

Fashion Week Handbags: Dior Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

Excuse me while I echo the sentiments about the Dior Spring 2012 collection that have already been expressed by everyone else in the fashion industry: It’s kind of a placeholder, yes? Months have passed and Dior still doesn’t have a replacement for John Galliano, so the collection is being designed by what the French call “le studio.” Bill Gaytten, long Galliano’s right-hand man, has taken the reins, along with the rest of the Dior creative team.

The clothes and handbags that they created are serviceable, but not surprising or innovative. The purses are all shapes that we’ve seen before from Dior, but in varied fabrications and colors, much like the clothes were. Dior seems set on making pieces that will retail reasonably well until LVMH can find a real creative voice to lead the brand, and the intention is written all over this collection.

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Summer In Paris

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So it’s ofiicially 2000 degrees in Paris, and like most of my New York friends, I brought with me only boots, coats and also 3 felt hats on the assumption of a very cool end of September, as happens usually in Paris.

No, I am not complaining. Nonononononono no. It’s so good to ride around the city on my bike in this weather.

Just, when I see Daphné with her super cute and light dress, only one thing comes to my mind : I want to steal it !

Fashion Week Handbags: Balenciaga Spring 2012

Images via Vogue.com

I always feel good about buying a Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag for a couple of reasons, first and foremost because I’ve loved every one that I’ve ever owned. Almost as important, though, is that the overwhelming retail success of those bags makes it possible for Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere to do what he does without quite as much pressure to make a collection that will sell well at retail. He does his best work when he’s at his most conceptual, and conceptual clothes are usually not retail darlings.

I’d encourage all of you to take a look through the entire Balenciaga Spring 2012 collection because, let’s face it, Ghesquiere is that good, but you’ll get an idea of what was going on just from the bags. Half were ultraminimal two-tone shoulder bags and boxy shapes, and the other half were the kind of smallish bags that we’ve come to expect from the accessories industry in general, but with a very Balenciaga twist. Straps and buckles jut out from spots where you don’t expect, creating a counterintuitive look that still functions as you think such a bag should.

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Delfina

delfina-delettrez

When I discovered Delfina Delettrez’ jewelry, a few years ago, I must have made a funny face : She has the habit of representing everything that gives me the creeps:

- All right. You’re going to find out everything that scares me -

Skulls (yes I know it’s crazy, but I never liked the idea of wearing a thing with a skull on it. Imagine my terror in the last few years ? All these people wearing that… poor me!)
Spiders (I am sure you understand that one)
Eyes (I am kind of a freak when it comes to talking about inside body parts. I just can’t watch a tv show like Dr House. Worse: Nip/Tuck! I really can’t talk about that. Even, you know the people who make their fingers crack ? Ewwwww I don’t say anything but it makes me feel like I am going to faint !)

- Is that weird? -

These symbols being some of Delfina’s favorites, it took me a while to get past that and go see her jewelry.

But each time I would see her during fashion weeks, I would find her style (she wears a lot of vintage and skirts and looks like nobody else) and her presence amazing. And she would always wear a piece of her jewelry, which I always found fascinating.

Anyway, I went there yesterday and loved the way she presented, on those huge and surrealistic wigs. The jewels are incredible, and I loved the big hearts where a piece of her hair or of her daughter are incrusted… You can see the pictures clicking on the arrows.

It reminds me of Carine Roitfeld who said somewhere the she had a phobia of scissors and that looking at her archive she found that she had done a ton of fashion spreads with scissors.

I guess that’s the beauty of creation, understanding what scares us to help us see past reality…

This is how much luggage Rachel Zoe took to Paris Fashion Week

Photo via Fashionista.com

As if we ever expected anything less from superstylist and brand new mommy Rachel Zoe. That’s eleven suitcases and two Louis Vuitton bags, for those of you who are keeping score at home. At first, this seemed like an outrageous amount of luggage when we saw the photo on Fashionista, but is it really? Let’s do the math. (Also, take note: These are real suitcases, not fancy, flashy kind. Real travelers know when the utilitarian luggage is warranted.)

We can see Rachel’s husband Rodger in the picture, so that’s two people who we know are there. Based on our dedicated viewing of The Rachel Zoe Project, we know that at least one of Rachel’s assistants probably traveled with her (Our guess? Joey.), and it wouldn’t surprise me if the couple had also brought their brand new baby. So that’s four people (even if one of them’s an infant – Skyler still counts!) who are spending a week or more overseas, and it’s for what basically amounts to a fashion trade show. That requires lots of different hair and makeup looks, particularly for someone as high-profile as Rachel.

So that’s two suitcases per person with an extra (for shoes, natch.), which doesn’t sound so completely outrageous as it does when you think they’re all for Rachel. But maybe they are all for her, and Rodger’s sad, lonely Samsonite is trailing along behind him, too low behind a mountain of black luggage for us to see. I’m merely impressed that anyone owns that many suitcases – here I am, whining about finding storage space for two. And on top of all that, I don’t even want to contemplate the baggage fees.