Haute Couture Laid Bare
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday January 9, 1995
THE VERY title of this Canadian magazine-style series is a giveaway: we are here to ooh and aah at the flittings of the designer butterflies and glow-worms that light up the fashion industry.
Which, as an amateur fashion aficionado, I am always happy to do. Hell, I even don't mind the supermodels - a bit of tinsel in a tarred world.
But Ooh La La has just a few too many sequins and beads, and not enough structured tailoring.
It's a breathless, how-campy-can-we-get look at the doings of the local (theirs) fashion scene with a formula that runs like this: Two glam model lookalikes present stories on young designer shows, a touch of controversy like the Benetton ads, a profile on a usually inarticulate designer and excerpts from the haute couture shows. All of which is flashed to us with lots of zappy camera angles and groovy pop music.
With shows like this, no wonder Absolutely Fabulous never seemed to run out of its bitch and stitch material.
Ooh La La is so fragmented and segmented that it's tiresome. And a bit passe'. Let's face it, we've seen this style of television done better by Beatbox and Attitude. Even Video Hits is more interesting.
Fashion fiends might glean some tidbits about gold bursting onto the catwalks; social anthropologists will count the number of AIDS-inspired, fashion-oriented charity events with awe. But a friend who works in the local (ours) fashion industry commented, "There isn't a lot to learn, is there?" No, but as we agreed, turning back to our discussion of the January sales, at least Canada is doing something to promote its industry.
© 1995 Sydney Morning Herald
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