Whilst laboriously translating a French CV into English for a friend, I felt impelled to look up old Style.com pictures to find Olivier Theyskens last SS02 collection for his own label.  The rest of the story of course you know as without sufficient financial backing, the label went bust and he then took up the position of creative director at Rochas and now he is currently at Nina Ricci.  Whislt 2002 was not so long ago, in Theysken years, it must seem like an age away.  It is his later work at Rocha and Nina Ricci which most people will know him from.   

However, as I look back at this collection which I thought was beautiful only in a way that could have been appreciated by a few, it makes me wonder whether designers like Theyskens would flourish more creatively without the reins of a house.  The Victorian periodic features jarring with bright neons, leather manipulation, the dead canaries floating above shoes and disclocated high necked shirts on the dresses might not all equate to commercial success but I find this sort of collection far more intriguing than what he is currently producing at Nina Ricci which isn't to diminish what he is doing for the house as I still feel we get a Theyskens 'signature' at Nina Ricci, and this is especially so when you look at his work for Richas.  However, I get the feeling there is a restraint imposed by working at a house.  For instance, I doubt Theysken's love of taxidermy [1] is going to result in stuffed owls on shoulders of Nina Ricci gowns, tailored for Oscar dress moments.      

[2]

Imagine if Nicholas Ghesquiere or Riccardo Tisci suddenly had their own labels and their house forefathers of Cristobal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy would not have any bearings on their designs (and also the resulting reviews)?  It's a topic that I have discussed at length with my aforementioned friend who holds the opinion that he would much rather design for a house and have that house to protect him financially and commercially than to go it alone with all that risk.  A valid point indeed.  Perhaps Ghesquiere and Tisci both feel the same way that their Parisian fashion house acts as a design guidance and a cocoon.

I'm just imagining a 'What if...' situation that would perhaps produce a collection that would allow each designer to go completely mad all by themselves.  But of course, once again, my head is up in the clouds...