omg. it's alberrrr

**Alber Elbaz gives Lily Donaldson an adjustment before the show. (Jean-Luce Huré for The New York Times) ...by way of cathy horyn's blog.

i heart this picture because it's quintessentially the place where we all hope to be, as aspiring fashion designers...at the top, working with gorgeous models, working until the last minute of a runway show, and essentially expressing ourselves to the world thru clothes and having people listen, understand, appreciate, applaud..and wear. or at the very least, be inspired. i mean, it's a show. capital S.

and yet, on a simplistic level, stripped away of the perceptions of the glamour, press, partying, celebrity-ing, this is also a snapshot of what we as designers DO do everyday...fit clothes on a model to make sure what we and everyone sees is what we want them to see. the way we tuck something in, the way we combine colors, the way we choose to dictate proportions...ultimately, the way our vision translates onto people wearing them is our prerogative, as fashion designers.

as an artform, fashion is just like any other - a mode of self expression. it's not just clothes. each piece has a raison d'etre, a specialness to it that makes it worthy of making and creating. to see the results as a piece of wearable art is what drives the inner fashion-artist. and then to wear it and love it and have it be a part of your lifestyle is kind of the ultimate reason, no?

as a business, fashion is kind of crazy...and lucrative at the same time, if you succeed and become a somebody...with oodles of money and loyalty around you to sustain your creative vision. unfortunately, as a business, the clothes DO become just clothes. it's about production, quality control, sourcing economically and efficiently, what sells and what doesn't sell...

and then in the end of it, to have the creative vision intact, season after season, even after cycling through the laundromat of production and the press....now that's success.

oh, the dichotomy of fashion...

hm...i guess i also love this picture because it's alber elbaz and lily donaldson. i mean, come oooon.