Showing posts with label Sportsmax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sportsmax. Show all posts

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Live From... Milan Fashion Week, Day 4

Sportmax 



A more rustic layered look from Sportmax, where, as you would expect, we were offered some great outerwear and knits combined with the contrast of lush embroidered evening separates and sportif furs, all inspired by the colours and landscapes of a cold Northern Europe.

The look: Love in a cold climate
Silhouette: Tailored and casual layers
Key items: Outerwear is the mainstay of this label - and it was here in spades - from the caped parka to the long, lean blue coat with patent trims and the mixed furs that also appeared as a cosy sweater dress. Two of the most covetable outerwear pieces were a rugged canvas jacket with astrakhan detailing and the long, lean trench in gleaming toffee-apple patent. And to layer under those protective looks - wide silk crepe de chine pants in the palette’s rich colourways, overdyed fur gilets (best in a black mink hooded silhouette), quilted skirts with slashed hemlines and a raft of rustic knits with fur panels, reworked Fair Isle pattern and deep cowl necklines etched with a plaited knitted edge
Colour: A cool palette of black, white and grey undercut with vivid cornflower blue, chestnut, cognac, teal, pumpkin and rich damson
Fabric & knit: An incongruous melange of fabrics that gelled into a tactile urban look. Cashmere and Donegals were offset with the contrast of gleaming patent, and there was plush fur including glossy black mink and curly lamb, crepe de chine, lace appliquéd sheers, embroidered sheers, jersey and a slew of gilded paillettes for a neat tank top
Print & pattern: A soft winter floral in grey and white, with twinkly coloured paillettes; richly coloured floral embroideries on sheers
Details & trims: Contrast piping, patent rims, leather rouleaux ties
Footwear: High laced chunky boots in a move on of this winter’s trend for heeled walking boots, high chunky sandals
Accessories: Gauntlets, socks, patent belts, fur tippets, drawstring pouch bags, clutch bags, boxy clutch purses

Emporio Armani


Maybe it was the upcoming Oscars that turned Giorgio Armani’s thoughts to the world of cinematic references, in particular the genre of film noir, but it was a brave move in a season full of technicolour to send out a collection based almost entirely on a chiaroscuro of blacks.

The look: film noir
Silhouette: Elongated and layered
Key items: The collection played with layering concepts, teaming elongated tunics or slashed skirts over a variety of pant shapes, topped with a series of neat jackets. The look created an offbeat play on proportion, not least a semi-sheer below-knee tunic over deep cuffed jogger-style pants and a curvy tailored waisted jacket. There were velvet culottes, mannish cigarette pants, track pants and a ruffled peplum all-in-one or alternatively, simple skirt shapes, all worked with hip-grazing jacket shapes and saddlebag-style pocket belts. A series of wafting LBDs had a refreshing lightness of hand and for a finale, two vividly coloured Mongolian lamb chubbies
Colour: Black on black, maybe veering towards anthracite occasionally, with highlights of cornflower and hyacinth blues
Fabric & knit: A chiaroscuro of layered blacks worked in matt-sheen combination, with sooty velvet and fur, Mongolian lamb, brushed wool, leather and wet-look sequins, satin and breezy sheers
Print & pattern: A black Scottie dog motif on a black sweater, a black-on-black floral pattern
Details & trims: Sequin detailing, covered buttons, velvet cutout appliqué
Footwear: Knee-high gaiter-style boots, flat slip-ons with a deep sole, T-strap sandals with leopard trimsAccessories: Alligator, Mongolian lamb and patent bags, long gloves, forager caps, I-spy black eyewear

Bottega Veneta 



With bouffant beehives, opaque white hosiery and a plethora of swing coats and shifts, it was hard to ignore the 60s mood at Bottega Veneta yesterday – an era that has been influencing many of the key players in Milan this week.“I wanted to experiment with technique and craftsmanship to an extreme degree. I felt the right canvas for this kind of innovative workmanship was a silhouette that was clean and uncomplicated,” explained Tomas Maier. 

The look: The prim and ever-polished Betty Draper
Silhouette: Soft shouldered A-lineKey items: The show opened with a 60s-infused daywear section – collarless A-line swing coats, boxy skirt suits with trimmed cardigan-jackets, and polo-neck sweaters layered under almost sporty jersey tunics. Swiftly the collection moved into cocktailwear, with a series of sleeveless shifts in silk and lace worn with short necklaces of coloured stones that made up the bulk of the show. There were also slim pencil skirts overlaid with a long swinging fringe and softly shaped fit-and-flare dresses before the arrival of four corseted gowns in folded duchesse satin. Notably, there were no trousers/pants in the collection
Colour: An opening passage of sherbet pink and orange with ochre, coral and shell pink set against Canova plaster white; these shades together with flashes of peridot green were later tempered with backFabric & knit: Shaggy mohair teddy-bear fur, fuzzy pilled wool, dimensional bouclé wools, mohair jacquard, cashmere, crochet knits interwoven with strips of suede, jersey, silk, chiffon, tulle, silk lace and tinted wool lace, silk duchesse, lightweight nylon, waxed leather
Print & pattern: Crackled or scratch prints, overprinting, a spray-painted trompe l’oeil lace
Details & trims: Superfine lace overlays, raw edges millefeuille ruffles running vertically 
Footwear: T-bar courts with skinny straps and skinny heels, either with lace-covered pointed toes or printed cage-straps worn with opaque white hosiery
Accessories: Patchwork woven leather bags with short leather fringes, a clutch bag decorated with spiky leather leaves, a satchel in acid-rinsed silk velvet, hand-painted python and washed ostrich; costume jewellery was made in blackened silver with black and champagne-coloured stones, silver lace cuffs and necklaces; fine jewellery arrived in yellow gold with a black finish and featured faceted stones including morganite, Madeira citrine, fire opal, gold citrine, and Palmeira citrine – this notes the first time Bottega Veneta has used coloured stones other than diamonds in its fine jewellery range

Jil Sander 



Raf Simons’ winter collection continued with the references to maximalist mid-century couture he first touched upon for Jil Sander last season, but this time he added a wintry skiwear influence that brought graphic lines to his oversized silhouettes.

The look: Winter sports
Silhouette: Overblown volume accentuated with padding, slim graphic pants shapes
Key items: Ski pants – with stirrups threaded through wedge-heeled shoes – were the leitmotif, underpinning the overscaled upper proportions. In line, there were tight-fitting hooded knits and padded, skiwear-influenced pieces – including wide-cut jackets, tees, tulip skirts and ovoid-shaped maxiskirts, with shapes referencing the mid-century couture themes Simons has explored before. Coats, jackets and simple tops were cut broad across the back, with shoulders and sleeveheads pushed outward – volume was then loosely controlled with martingales that were anchored at the front or back. The season’s drop-waisted silhouette also made an appearance as a midi-sleeved egg-yolk yellow dress with low, softly tied belt
Colour: Graphic black enhances primary red, yellow and blue, which formed the core palette, occasional highlights include chartreuse, kelly green, mallard, brown and pale silver-grey
Fabric & knit: Experimental surface textures including three-dimensional micro-quilting, embossed treatments, a heavily crystallised surface, fuzzy velour, pebbly bouclé and chunky knit stitches; lightweight down-filled nylon, felted wool, dense tight knits in stretch techno fibres, duchesse
Print & pattern: Warp printed floral duchesse satin, sporty geometric zigzag intarsia
Details & trims: Stirrups or zipped ankles on pants, short turtlenecks, backward-facing one-button collars, silk astrakhan and looped bead embroideries
Footwear: Leather or floral-printed satin wedge-heeled ankle boots with a slot in the heel to thread the stirrups of ski pants through, either lace-up, pull-on or buckled with a mechanical ski-clip
Accessories: Formal ladylike handbags with two top-handles, slim brightly-coloured clutch bags, a through-handled shopper and a hard-box briefcase-style bag with handbag strap; bags and shoes were inspired by Jacques Adnet

Roberto Cavalli 

 
Although the show notes touted a woman who could travel towards new worlds in a space shuttle, when the parade of familiarly rock ‘n’ roll bohemians stepped out into the light it was obvious Roberto Cavalli had not stepped into a new frontier entirely. Instead, his futuristic inspirations arrived via metallic embroideries and gilded fabrics that refracted rays of light all the way to outer space.“I want women to become designers of their own look. I created clothes made up of many layers – soft and structured,” said Roberto Cavalli.

The look: Darkly bohemian with a hint of burnished sparkle
Silhouette: Long and layered
Key items: There was a mix ‘n’ match quality to the pieces in the collection – straight-leg cuffed pants decorated with intricate embroideries or vertically-placed fringing, low-slung pants with a draped pocket , printed sheer blouses topped with sharp-shouldered blazers or ornately embellished wide-cut jackets; devoré maxidresses paired with tailored waistcoats or long-length fur gilets with elongated armholes and shorter drop-waisted dress options topped with feather or fur chubbies
Colour: The collection was laden with gilded metallics of burnished gold, copper and bronze with touches of black and pewter, while rich aubergine, merlot red, midnight blue and a pale vapour grey rounded out the palette
Fabric & knit: Wafting mousseline sheers, devoré, velvet, silk, tone-on-tone baroque floral jacquards; feathers, glossy calfskin, fox, wet-look or metallic leathers and snakeskin
Print & pattern: Degradé animalia including signature snakeskin, creeping Art Nouveau florals
Details & trims: Lashing of metallic embroideries, flyaway feather trims, pieced furs, copper sequins, plissé sheers, short fringing, gold bullion embroidery
Footwear: Heeled loafers with kiltie fringing and tassels and lace-up ankle boots both featuring a 14cm horn-shaped heel and a forepart platform handmade from leather and metal worked with stitching to simulate the bezels of crocodile skin
Accessories: Long flyaway scarves accessorised every exit – strips of georgette and lurex-shot sheers can be custom-arranged via 300 tiny covered buttons for a modular effect; the long-strapped Diva bag launched last season reappears decorated in collection-coordinated metallic embroideries

Pucci 



Citing Tyrolean hunters, Grimm’s fairytales and Robert Polidori’s restoration of Versailles as points of departure for winter, it was clear Peter Dundas had moved on from the boho-luxe look he has successfully carved out at Pucci over the past few seasons. Instead there was more structure and less billow, fewer thigh-high splits, and those sharp-shoulders were replaced with historical puffs.

The look: Tyrolean Heidi gets glammed up
Silhouette: Body-conscious, with no lengths shorter than the knee
Key items: Referencing traditional Austrian costume, Dundas offered sexy corseted dresses with ultra-low scooping portrait necklines, dirndl skirts with wide waistbands, a loden riding coat and puff-shouldered leg-of-mutton sleeved jackets. However, cropped lederhosen pants perhaps edged too closely to the costumic side of the Austrian inspirations. More successful were the button-cuffed pants featuring contrast inner-leg patches and signature tailored and cropped options. These were teamed with pussy-bow blouses – ruffle-fronted or neatly pin-tucked - and those puff-shouldered jackets and shorter smoking styles with wide revers and bow-tied. Despite his new direction, Dundas didn’t ignore his red-carpet clients with a series of mallard green jersey gowns featuring sexy slashes and beaded or sequinned sleeves
Colours: Green was the central colour with shades including dense loden and pine, with mallard hues for evening; elsewhere there were shots of ochre, magenta and turquoise, with lashing of gothic black
Fabric & knit: Embellished loden wools, flannel, signature printed jersey, suede, overprinted jacquards, velvet and devoré, taffeta, fine gilded lace, silk and chiffon; astrakhan, Mongolian lamb, fox and marabouPrint & pattern: Pucci prints in a peacock feather-like formation, all-over swirling prints, hand-painted renderings of signature prints
Details & trims: Ornate jewelled embellishments inspired by Victoire de Castellane, taffeta bows, pussy bows, pin-tucking, puffed sleeveheads, low-scooping portrait necklines revealing fine Chantilly lace lingerie details, tone-on-tone embroideries, goldwork and bullion embroideries, overprinted silk fringing
Footwear: Low-cut heeled pumps with three skinny ankle straps, string strapped sandals, multi-strapped suede knee-high boots
Accessories: Feathered alpine hats, jewel-buckled belts

Moschino Cheap & Chic 



After 3 weeks of back-to-back shows and hectic travel schedules, everyone in the audience at Moschino Cheap & Chic’s showing was more than aware of the Big Four fashion capitals, the locales which provided the inspiration for a witty collection of gamine looks that should have an international appeal.

The look: Fashion well travelled
Silhouette: Short and feminine 
Key items: A series of four separate mini collections from each of the four fashion capitals of Milan, London, Paris and New York, were given their own fashion flavour; all spelt out the same message - that fashion is universal in any language. For outerwear, that meant a sweet tailored coat with a bow trim, a cropped duffel and parka, a knit-sleeve biker and black-and-white baseball jacket, capes and ponchos. Cropped pants, flirty skirts, floor-sweeping maxis and chic lace empire dresses were offset by four shift dresses, each depicting a famous landmark from each of the four cities. Fine-gauge knits with a flower intarsia and an Argyle hybrid
Colour: Camel, black and winter white, flannel grey, guardsman red and purple
Fabric & knit: Luxe wool and cashmere, nubbly tweed, leather, fur, brushed plaids, lacePrint & pattern: Four landmark photoreal motifs – the Duomo, a London telephone box, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty - a pretty floral in black and white or a lilac colourway
Footwear: High-heeled loafers in vivid patent or metallic leather, fur ankle boots, flat Mongolian lamb moccasin boots, heeled patent ankle bots
Accessories: A chain handle shoulder bag with an Eiffel Tower print, feathered bags, knitted gloves, fur hats and hoods

Friday, September 24, 2010

Live From... Milan Fashion Week, Day 2



D&G


From chalet girls to flower girls in just one season, D&G was in full bloom yesterday, with a parade of country-cottage florals and tablecloth checks in an unashamedly girly collection.
The look: Pretty picnic with a touch of gypsy romance
Silhouette: Flirty tiers and wide-cut pants
Key items: Bloomers are fast becoming a collection staple for D&G, and this season they arrived either as a voluminous linen pair or tiny gingham versions peeking out from behind apron skirts. The wide-legged straight-cut gaucho pant was also a key item played out in repeat through various fabrications. Both were teamed with cropped peasant blouses, strappy sun tops with ruffled peplums, or printed button-down shirts. Elsewhere there were floral dungarees, flared jeans, playsuits, trapeze smock dresses pulled off the shoulders, and a denim pinafore layered over a rara-skirted gingham dress. The signature finale was a series of floaty chiffon maxidresses in gypsy tiers, with pussy bows, blouson sleeves or ruffled necklines
Colour: Red, white, denim blue and a raft of delicate pastel shades as grounds to the floral prints Fabric & knit: Linen, chintz cottons and poplins, rustic crochet, dark denim, lace, printed chiffon, gingham and Vichy checks, PVC
Print & pattern: Disney-licensed Snow White placement T-shirt graphics and a host of garden florals - roses, hydrangeas, freesias, violets and mimosas - overblown, ditsy or sprigged, worked on pale grounds such as washed sage green, sky blue or dusky pink
Footwear: Cork wedge platform wellies with ribbed-knit turnover cuff, extreme platforms with woven wedge soles featuring a corsage at the ankle
Accessories: Printed headscarves; oversized canvas shoppers, totes and slouchy shoulder bags; five-pocket concertina-construction Lily Twist handbag in printed florals on white ground


 Haute


This season sees a new creative direction for Haute under the steerage of British design duo Marcus Constable and Catherine Brickhill.
The look: "Dress Sculpture" was the collection title
Silhouette: Bursts of sculptural volume, occasionally short and swingy
Key items: Voluminous DB cocoon coats, storm-caped utility jacket and gilet, abbreviated tux jacket with chiffon faux-layer, pencil skirt with sculptural fin at the side, or a short and swingy skirt with large godets; ruched and pleated cotton jersey tops; cocktail dresses including a tailored satin sheath or sweetheart-shaped babydolls; bustier maxidresses and a tailored cigarette-pant jumpsuit with a fin working asymmetrically across the torso and the hip
Colour: Faux nudes, washed saxe blue, navy, silver and grey, gold, black and white Fabric & knit: Unprocessed cotton, silk guaze, striped silks and linen, organza, satin crepe, cotton jersey, metallic taffeta 
Print & pattern: Graphic black-and-white Art Deco-influenced linear pattern, an all-over painterly Baroque pattern
Details & trims: Origami-inspired pin-tucking, pleating and ruching; sculptural fins and folds, raw and frayed edges, silver paillettes with short beaded fringe
Footwear: Pointed satin platform Mary Janes with spike heel; multi-strap courts
Accessories: Skinny black leather waist belts


 Maurizio Pecorara


A bang-on-trend hit from day two of the Milan shows, Maurizio Pecoraro's collection was inspired by the late Yves Saint Laurent's work from the 1970s. The clothes traversed jet-set poolside chic to colourful Studio 54 disco glam.
"It's 70s bohemia! I went to Paris on holiday and saw the recent YSL retrospective and I was blown away. On my return, my dream was to continue my passion for what I had seen," Maurizio Pecoraro told WGSN.
The look: A 70s hit paradeSilhouette: Midi and full lengths with the occasional super-short surprise
Key items: Midi-length pencil skirts, high-waisted flares or hotpants teamed with halter tops, shells with single-shoulder waterfall ruffle and swingy caped tops. Breezy sheer kaftans, swingy skater dresses, maxi tent dresses and a finale of white shirts and smocks with decorated yokes or bibs
Colours: Creamy latte neutrals, pale gold and white were the cornerstone colours, punctuated with pops of orange, violet, mustard, magenta, cobalt, sunshine and turquoise
Fabric & knit: Macramé, crochet lace, linen, muslin cheesecloth, matelassé, metallic organza, super-fine nylons, soft raffia
Print & pattern: A watery floral degradé, a black-on-neutral mono-colour floral
Details & trims: Hand finishing, raw edges, crystallised all-over sequins, handmade flower appliqués crafted from macramé and decorated with semi-precious stones; large sculpted covered-wire corsages
Footwear: Flat platform sandals
Accessories: Fringed messenger bags, wide-brimmed straw sunhats, leather or suede cummerbunds, multiple beaded bracelets


Prada


Miuccia Prada upped the ante on the second day of the Milan shows, sending out an exuberant exercise in colour and print that took fashion back to basic building blocks in terms of colour and shape. 
“It was all about workwear and cotton and very simple. I used all the shapes from the menswear. Everything was in Japanese cotton. But then I wanted to do something like a musical. Something more bold and feminine. Something between minimal and baroque. Something more brave,” Miuccia Prada told WGSN. 
The look: Playful and simple with the emphasis on colour and print
Silhouette: Elongated and lean with the simplest shapes reworked through colour and pattern 
Key items: Prada played with the simplest shapes - boxy zipped jackets, easy pencil skirts, cropped boxy tops, V-neck uniform-like tops and shift dresses, strappy ruffled-hem sundresses, round-shouldered 2SB tailoring - and reworked them in various permutations of vivid colour, prints and stripes
Colour: Like the silhouettes, colour went back to basics. Think paintbox primary brights, poppy, cobalt and jade, offset with clashing fuchsia and tangerine, a deeper pine green and inky blues, accented with a flash of crisp white and a grounding of sooty black
Fabric & knit: Simple honest cottons and canvas
Print & pattern: A riotous and irreverent mix of simple stripes, with hand-drawn Baroque scrolls and cherub imagery, cartoon monkeys and bananas, along with a Josephine Baker-style dancing-lady motif
Details & trims: Flounced hemlines on simple shift shapes, mini ruffles at necklines, pop-pom trimmed hemlines
Footwear: Deep platforms and wedged heels defined the season’s footwear, worked in stripes and chequerboard patterns with laced uppers or simple ankle straps. Meanwhile, 20s-style T-bars and Mary Janes came in striped basketweaves with round buckles
Accessories: Fox-fur stoles were brightly coloured, and bags were worked in the palette of vibrant matching brights or simple stripes, with chunky double-handle shapes, envelope-style shoulderbags and smaller purse effects. Eyewear took up the Baroque theme with curlicue frames, and hats appeared as huge striped sombreros.


Fendi


A breezy summery look from Karl Lagerfeld, who addressed the season’s trend for all things 70s with his romantically inspired showing full of easy smocks, drawstrings and flowing sleeves. 
The look: 70s romance
Silhouette: Soft and blousy
Key items: Smock shapes proliferated from easy drawstring-waist dresses to off-the-shoulder bloused tops, often teamed with a full mid-calf skirt or softly cut wide pants. Caped sleeves added volume, and there was a play on hemlines with high-low effects and gentle bubble hems. Tailoring came as a short-sleeved pantsuit, and shirtdresses featured wide square-cut sleeves and longer-length fluted skirts
Colour: Crisp white married with a palette of cool blues that ran the gamut from cornflower through ultramarine and marine to a range of pretty aquas. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there were warm sunny apricots and peachy oranges with a flash of red and violet
Fabric & knit: Cottons, waxed finishes, silk, grid checks, hopsack weaves
Print & pattern: An engineered scorched-paper print, pressed flower-inspired floral patterns
Details & trims: Drawstring and elastic-cased details
Footwear: Block-heeled ankle straps, chunky wedged platforms
Accessories: Bi-colour bags in grained and smooth leathers. Leather belts, striped bags, alligator-trimmed bags, fur stoles, scarves decorated with miniscule fur pom-poms


Luisa Beccaria


There may have been nothing directionally new, but it was a deliciously feminine and highly commercial collection from Luisa Beccaria, full of the kind of pretty dresses, skirts and tops that uptown girls will love to wear.
The look: Feminine and romantic
Silhouette: Soft and fragile, waisted or softly draped
Key items: Soft blouses and skirts were key components of Beccaria’s fragile feminine looks, with fluttering fluted sleeves and smock shapes teamed with delicate A-line or easy pencil skirts. Dresses came as wrap shirtwaisters and pretty sundresses, or for evening, floaty draped chiffon columnar shapes. Pleat shorts and crochet knit pants-and-cardie combo added a sporty twist while still retaining the collection’s overtly feminine edge
Colour: The palette mirrored the romantic mood, with shades of white layered with pale poudré pink, rose, raspberry and peach, palest primrose and cappuccino
Fabric & knit: Fabrics were delicate and fragile, reiterating the collection’s feminine mood, with organzas, silk chiffons, eyelets, cloqué, weightless Chantilly lace, cottons and linen, and fine-gauge knits
Print & pattern: Micro florals in shades of washed red, blue and green worked in pretty stripes on a soft white ground; mixed florals on pink grounds and a splashy poppy print
Details & trims: Self-coloured embroidery on organza used as inserts, cut-work hems, pintucks, knotted details on caped sleeves, multiple ruffles
Footwear: Stain wedged espadrilles, T-bars
Accessories: Suede belts with corsage trims, wide corset belts, canvas poppy-print bag


Sportmax


A youthfully inspired collection from Sportmax, who bucked the trend for romantic and flowing 70s looks in favour of something sharper and more graphic, with crisp swingy 60s shapes and a clean-cut colour palette.
The look: Swinging 60s
Silhouette: Short and sharp with simple trapeze lines
Key items: The trench manifested itself as a swingy crisp white outerwear piece, as well as appearing as a sleeveless dress and a bustier over a simple white sleeveless shirt, while a trapeze-line PVC mac was another stand-out coat shape. Elsewhere it was all about youthful babydoll dresses - best in dark-washed denim - culottes and belted jackets, tunics, fluid pants and A-line shift dresses
Colour: White and inky blue accented with poppy red, strawberry, hot pink and orange, a flash of chrome yellow and black
Fabric & knit: Simple crisp cottons, denim, broderie and eyelet in varying patterns, wet-look patent, suede and organza, paillettes 
Print & pattern: Stripes, a silhouette butterfly print, a collaged check and stripe pattern in satin weave sheers
Details & trims: Metallic applied butterflies, guipure lace applied butterflies, snaps and zips
Footwear: Strappy courts with ankle ties
Accessories: Boxy bags on long leather straps, sporty belts