It looks like the press had their knives sharpened and ready to skewer the actress-turned-leggings-peddler, and they weren't disappointed.
See the slings and arrows in action:
• “Pas possible,” said Fabien Baron, the noted French art director shortly after the Emanuel Ungaro show on Sunday. “Call the fashion police!”In fairness, many expressed sympathy for new designer Estrella Archs and noted that she had only three weeks to pull the collection together, but a look at the runway photos is a grim experience, despite the forced merriment of all the hot pepto-pink minidresses and apparently frequent boob-flashing featuring the sparkly pasties. (The pictures keep reminding us of Kira Plastinina. It's that bad.) Ms. Archs, it appears will be given the benefit of the doubt. La Lohan, not so much. Many suggested that the still very much alive Monsieur Ungaro must be mortified to see what has happened to the house he worked so hard to build, but if he is wise, then he will have simply averted his eyes from the entire revolving designer affair that has plagued his label for a long time now. Also widely reported on was the crush of press and paparazzi outside the show, and a bloated photographer's pit. Lohan was reported to have had tear-filled eyes at her runway bow, though they have been variously described as tears of joy at her accomplishment or of humiliation at the tepid response from the audience. Apparently, reality had fully set in by the time of the post-show party at the Hotel Plaza Athenée, which was described as subdued and poorly attended.
“We love Lindsay Lohan — as an actress,” Mr. Baron said. “Period.” At the next show, Greg Kessler, a photographer for Style.com, was snapping pictures of front-row guests and asking them to pose as Ms. Lohan by holding up their hands, ashamedly, in front of their faces.
• This quickly devolved into a bad joke of a fashion show, one with questionable color combinations, "bad eighties" draped silk jackets and drop-crotch pants, old-fashioned and ill-judged fur stoles, and, yes, tasteless sequin pasties. To top it off, the fabrics and the construction lacked the finesse you expect from a famous Avenue Montaigne brand.
• As for the clothes, they looked cheesy and dated.-WWD• It was hard to imagine that Ms. Lohan and [chief designer Estrella] Archs could concoct a collection that is as cringe-worthy as this.
• The result of the last-ditch collaboration between Archs and Lohan was better than expected, though it must be added that expectations were rock bottom.
More questionable looks included a white bustier dress so short it left the model's rear hanging out, spandex bandeau tops and a suit worn with nothing more substantial underneath than sparkling heart-shaped pasties. Bafflingly, many of the models had larger versions of the pasties affixed to their foreheads.
• Nothing in the collection evidenced any real skill or discernible design work. In fact, you could probably find a lot of it already on the shelves at Kitson. I did hear someone remark that they liked the shoes, which had narrow, stair-step heels.
Still, there's really no defending this misguided collection, other than as a desperate bid for attention from a house that hasn't mattered since its founder retired in 2004. I just don't think it's the kind of attention they had in mind.
• [Regarding the after-show party] Bigger crowds have turned out for free champagne at store openings.
• For a start, there were not as many of the visible bras that have been out there on other catwalks. But that was because there were often no bras at all — only wardrobe malfunctions, bits of black masking tape or sequined pasties popping from jackets tricked out with hearts.
• It was entertaining, certainly, but quite what any of it had to do with a name that once stood proudly for bourgeois elegance and, even more so, Parisian sophistication is less clear.
• The best that can be said is that they tried.
There were some truly hideous fashion faux pas. Silver sequinned "pasties", for example, belong in a lap dancing club
The real result of this whole effort will be revealed in a few days —maybe a week— after the Spring orders are evaluated. At that point, the true verdict will be in on Ungaro CEO Mounir Mouffarige's gamble, and by all reports, it's not looking too promising.