Few days back I was reading an article comparing minimalist and maximalist, but at today’s show Roberto Cavalli told Excess is my success; inspiration from tradition date back to the Renaissance, 16th century motifs & architecture. Fur jackets were woven with leather strips on traditional looms. And, where Roberto would once have used photo-prints to color his collection, here he actually picked up a brush and painted les fleurs du mal on his accessories.
The Navy, blue & purple magic continued from Jil who made an already come back. The set was made with a metallic polyhedron carved into the floor something which is rare and precious, Diamonds, fur, golden emblems of luxury. "You buy gold when you don’t trust the future," Sander said backstage. "But we’re optimists. The skirts proportions to flaring just below the knee that was convincingly with timelessly elegant. Jackets were elongated, slightly suppressed at the waist. Coats were mannish, reassuringly oversize. Buckled shoes with a big heel had a solid Puritan quality. Feel of sober with a touch of timeless elegance was seen in the collection, with a deep sociological thought. This is what make Jil real special.
Ter et Bantine came with a clean and clear look, a coatdress was almost monkish, sweater to pants for a trompe l’oeil jumpsuit, the long patch worked suede skirt paired with a cropped sweater. Simple but substantial, it managed a difficult balancing act: drama without overt sex appeal. The model look very liquid pale with hair style of water mermaid all brushed back with clear naked eyes.
A very unique atmosphere which is ‘Austere but romantic’ seems an autumn forest from which the models walk outward. The austerity already insinuated itself with last season’s monochrome, but here it was even more stripped to the bone. Masculine flannels and tweeds were cut into strict, angular silhouettes, diagonally zipped, and paired with riding boots, lavish stoles to gloves, bags, and boots, from a glossy band of beaver on a skirt hem to a capelet of the same on a maîtresse-stern coat-dress of charcoal flannel. Colors seen were black, gray, beige, sea green and natural furs along with brown and black boot.
Bally‘s Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler outfitted their presentation space like haute igloo. Those dogs ran away with the show, but when you managed to tear yourself from the Instagram opportunity, there were smart shoes and outerwear to be found here. As for the coats, the designers got inspired by Lee Miller, the World War II photographer turned Vogue portraitist.
This time Dolce & Gabbana went to Sicily again but into the Cathedral of the place. As they say "the art of mosaic-making is a slow and precise one." There were dresses printed with Monreale’s famous Byzantine and Venetian mosaics, and just as many lacy frocks in cardinal red. There is a romanticized view of the Catholic Church, inspiration was depicted as prints in the dresses and tops, gold is seen used enormously in the jewels, bags and crowns as accessory. Towards the end came dresses with deep red color with embroidery.
This collection from Missoni is a tremendous change from their past, it wanted to take refuge under the covers and make the world go away. The clothes retreated into the sanctuary of the boudoir, with flowing, languid lines that echoed pajamas and bathrobes, or huge, blanket wraps that suggested consummate coziness, even in a shawl-collared, tuxedo-styled version. The two impulses—cocooning and confrontation—were tricky bedfellows. Missoni’s current challenge is clearly to reconcile them; no doubt the brand is going more modern.
In the final day Gianfranco Ferre showed a very stylish and modern collection. Federico Piaggi and Stefano Citron did a wonderful job; popped lapels; big, looping obi-style belts; jackets tucked into pants, it was clear from the beginning that the designers were feeling confident; this being the first time that they’ve presented outside of Ferré’s headquarters. The collection has newness and something load to speak, we all hope that the brand find its way out to boom again.
Blogged by Amal Kiran Jana from Milan at 2.30 A.M