Thursday, February 24, 2011

Live From... Milan Fashion Week, Day 1

Gucci 



A tour de force autumn/winter collection from Frida Giannini for Gucci’s 90th anniversary, showing where the designer relentlessly mined the fertile seam of 70s influences that sang with wonderful colour mixes and the glossy confidence bought by the ultimate in luxe fabrications.

The look: Glossy sophisticated 70s
Silhouette: Long and lean with A-line flare
Key items: Giannini nailed the glossy 70s look to a tee, from her skinny military coats to her tank-top knits, teamed with below-knee culottes or wide flared pants, and the slick snakeskin pencil skirt topped with a powerful fox-fur chubbie. Mongolian lamb-trimmed super-skinny suede coats, shirtwaister dresses (an emerging trend we highlighted in our New York City analysis), pussy-tie bow blouses and cropped jackets were all items we can expect to see transcend to the high street next winter. And for evening, timely red-carpet Oscar moments with her flowing chiffon dresses in a technicolour palette, sporting thigh-high slashed skirts, plunging halter necklines and clustered silk petal trims
Colour: A glorious romp of 70s colour, from the aquatic turquoises and oceanic blues that Giannini teamed in clashing combinations, to her sizzling orange, ochre and poppy-red combos and Biba-esque raspberry, amethyst and purple - all grounded with a passage of monochrome grey, black and white
Fabric & knit: The Gucci heritage came to the fore with a raft of supple suede and leather, glistening snakeskin and patent, Mongolian lamb, goat hair and fox. Luxe tweeds, bouclé and chalk-striped flannel were offset with the decadent touch of silk chiffon, velvet and satin charmeuse
Print & pattern: A singular micro spot and a black and white grid check
Footwear: Knee-high heeled boots, snakeskin ankle-strap sandals
Accessories: Wide-brimmed felt fedoras should help finally lay the high-street trilby to rest, silk bow-tied scarves, skinny belts, fox stoles and collars, boxy snakeskin bags

Alberta Ferretti 


Vintage influences were also the guiding force behind Alberta Ferretti’s autumn/winter showing, with simple 60s silhouettes bringing a gamine charm into play in an explosion of vivid brights and playful pattern.

The look: 60s
Silhouette: Simple A-lines
Key items: The collection was strong on daywear, with some great coats and neat tailoring based around simple A-line shapes, maybe offset with a self hip belt or a wide-set stand collar. Elsewhere the same coat shapes were worked in glistening sequined patterns or in the luxe touch of dyed sheared mink. Flared pant shapes bought into the 60s look, along with gamine A-line shift dresses and the thigh-length tunics teamed with matching flared trousers - a strong emerging trend for next winter. A softer look came into play, with softly waisted chiffon dresses sporting bow-tied necklines, and for evening a series of short beaded or crystal-embellished dresses, and long gowns in vivid prints or draped satin charmeuse with asymmetric sleeve and shoulder details
Colour: A burst of vivid clashing colour reiterated the palette seen earlier in the day at Gucci, with an emphasis on vivid aquatic turquoises, electric blue, cobalt and ink, offset with the contras of pumpkin orange, poppy red, magenta, orchid pink and terracotta
Fabric & knit: Compact luxe wools worked well for the collection’s neat tailored silhouettes, with the softened appeal of silk satins, chiffon, tulle and lace layered with sheared dyed mink and glistening all-over sequins
Print & pattern: A singular wave stripe ran vertically down a colour-blocked shift dress, coordinating with a scalloped pattern coat. Bright stylised floral with a Baroque wallpaper feel on a satin ground. Single overscaled motif worked in all-over sequins
Details & trims: Crystal embellishment, embroidery, 3-D floral trims
Footwear: Over-the-knee stretch velvet boots in plain brights or embroidered
Accessories: Simple beaded tie belts

No 21 



Pretty flower-like colours and simple styling were the hallmarks of Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s autumn/winter collection, full of go-anywhere separates and a raft of delicate dresses that had a highly commercial appeal.

The look: Understated femininity
Silhouette: Controlled and simple
Key items: The pencil skirt was a key feature throughout the collection, teamed with simple matching shell tops to form a new tailoring option, a mannish tailored shirt or a slouchy marled sweater that had the added appeal of a cheeky lace back. Slim cropped pants were the alternative bottomweight, great to team with Dell’Acqua’s metallic jacquard or slim cardigan-like tie-belt coats. Dresses were slashed to the waist, and for evening a selection of beaded shifts with wafting ostrich-feather trim, a feathered chubbie and camisole lace shifts
Colour: The designer’s signature faux nudes were in place, but took second place to his pretty mix of fragile winter flower colours, such as primrose and jonquil grounded with greige, black and winter white
Fabric & knit: Cashmere wools, metallic jacquard, lace, ostrich, embroidered cutwork organza
Print & pattern: A simple stylised floral motif worked in soft tonal colour. Random sequin abstract pattern
Footwear: Elegant pointed ankle-strap heeled shoes in faux nude tones; T-bar courts in pales with bright strap detailing
Accessories: Vivid red drop earrings, bright envelope clutch bags

John Richmond 



John Richmond designs for a certain sort of glossy vamp - she’s a little bit rock chick, a little bit LA good-time girl, the kind for whom bed-head hair and smudgy kohl-rimmed eyes are de rigeur, whether she’s in a strict pinstripe suit or a thigh-high body-con skirt and biker jacket. She doesn’t do trends - just sex appeal.

The look: Good-time girl plays sophisticate
Silhouette: Sexy bod-con
Key items: The pencil skirt is a key item in the John Richmond girl’s wardrobe, along with her sexy bandage thigh-high dresses and slick power suits. She will wear a white leather biker next winter, along with some throw-on plush-touch furs and a mannish pantsuit. Skirts and jeans are in leather with laced detailing, and for evening she likes nothing better than sassy sequined cocktail numbers, or if it’s a red-carpet affair, she’ll be sporting a marabou-trimmed gown with a leather bodice and flowing train
Colour: Black and white with shades of caramel, espresso and oxblood red, and for evening, raspberry and emerald
Fabric & knit: Leather, denim, tweed, masculine chalk-striped flannels, teamed with sheer silk chiffons, viscose knits, dense jersey, metallic cloqués, and lots of fur
Print & pattern: Playful spots, a rose motif worked in fur, shard-like appliqués on knits
Details & trims: Leather lacing on skirts and jeans, embroidery and appliqués
Footwear: Fur booties, over-the-knee suede boots, strappy vamp sandals
Accessories: Fox furs, fur ear muffs, spiked belts

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