Sep 27, 2012

A Carven Virgin

Recently I've been reading the blogs about the French label Carven, that is recently revived to its former glory. Reading its history timeline is quite fascinating and, being reminded of the Russian History lectures during my former student days, these are the points that I'm highlighting:

images via Carven website

image via vintagefashionguild.org

 In May 1945 Carven (the name derived from the creator Carmen and her aunt Boyriven) opened their first shop selling Haute Couture at Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées. Having reached the international audience in the 1960's, the brand expanded into creating uniforms for airline crews, most notably for Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, dabbled in a successful ready-to-wear line and they even created signature perfumes.



As time passes by, and as Madame Carven retired from her haute couture production, the year 2010 saw Guillaume Henry appointed as Carven's art director. A former senior stylist and first assistant to Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, he has brought a breath of new life into Carven's legacy.

Youthful, petit elegance is always synonymous with the brand. The petite elegance and good-mannerism somehow resonates in its newly-launched menswear line. For Spring Summer 2012 Henry brought schoolboy charm to its maiden collection for men. 

image via percevalties.com
"I was thinking of a family picture, of the brother of the Carven girl."
Guillaume Henry, on the collection inspiration.

I personally love this collection's inspiration from childhood clothing. Peter Pan collars, pleated shorts and cropped shirts embody the true spirit of schoolboy charm.


A look from Carven SS2012
image via style.com

While I absolutely did not wear things like from this collection during my formative primary school years (I was stuck, like almost everybody else, in the government school system - this meant wearing a uniform of hand-me-down white shirts and navy blue pants or shorts, with white canvas shoes that I needed to wash weekly and apply whiteners onto them), I am particularly attracted to the unapologetically good-mannerism vibe that the clothes project.






Wearing Carven shirt, Cheap Monday pants, Jil Sander shoes

Nowadays we're seeing too much 'I'm bad,  it's cool' looks from the runways (ehem, Givenchy) and somehow this collection appears fresh and distinguished from the rest. The young vandals have already many outfitters and for the 'good' ones, here is the collection that is possibly apt for them, even though there is probably no obvious ground-breaking elements in the design.

The other factor that was appealing to me, as selfish as it may sound, is the sizing. The clothes run in small, and of course I was happy that I did not need any alteration for the shirt that I purchased! In fact, I was more boggled over the fact that I could not even fit into the smallest size of shirt, with this being an European label and all (which I assume generally tend to run larger sizing). 


A different tone of blue under a different lighting. Wearing the same Carven shirt with Topman khaki pants, Prada shoes, Celine bag

Carven items are also surprisingly tagged at a lower price compared to its competitors. Somewhere between high fashion and high street, if you will. This is augmented by the generous discounts at Club 21 Singapore which prompted my speedy purchase.


Carven Menswear AW 2012/13
image via carven.com 

Henry continues the boyish charm concept for the Autumn/Winter 2013 collection. I just love how the styling plays with proportions of outerwear and the shirts - simple, but effective. With Carven finally will be reaching Kuala Lumpur, I hope this is the end for me and other midget-y guys to search for properly fitting quality clothes, and have fun with fashion at the same time.


written by Hafidzudin
twitter@naboonies

3 comments:

thompsonboy said...

Guillaume Henry is FABULOUS! Let's all keep Carven a secret from all these fashion sharks

Emma Homestay Bandar Tasik Puteri said...

thompsonboy, let's cross our fingers!

Unknown said...

nice blog!
i followed! do you want to follow mine?


xzoé
lightningfactory.blogspot.com

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