The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 2
This is the second part of our round up regarding the fall 2013 collections, which focuses on Prints, Fabrics and the designers’ favorite coming season: checks.
CHECK SHOCK
From left to right: N21, Junya Watanabe, Céline, Jesús Del Pozo, Rag & Bone
A mash up of Scottish tweeds, plaids, checks, Prince of Wales suiting and hounds tooth jacquards. Classic, twisted, cut up, patched or blown up to grandiose proportions. These are definitely all from the now – heritage inspired, college prep, BCBG, archetypal and iconic but reinvigorated – rejuvenating tradition at N21 and Rag & Bone, adding a punk coded sense of rebellion at Junya Watanabe or with artful tailoring at Céline and Jesús Del Pozo. Check marks everywhere!
TEXTILE ART
From left to right: Comme des Garçons, Chanel, Hermès, Fendi, Lanvin
Free floating freedom and fun. Cascading swatches of fabrics, rosettes, bows, thick serpentines and bold biomorphic shapes at Comme des Garçons. Rounded flounced belle Époque bustles are a joyful explosion of extravagance at Chanel. Crafted spontaneity at Hermès, fringed skins at Fendi and butterflies appliquéd at Lanvin. All with techno-barbarian enthousiasm. These are exercises in pure texture.
PRINT STORY
From left to right: Mary Katrantzou, Rodarte, Tom Ford, Peter Pilotto
Welcome to the catwalk circus. Exalted excess in a cultural cross over ranging from glam, to disco, pop to op and manga to Marvel. Fantastical shadowy landscapes in misty monochromes at Mary Katrantzou and cross-cultural multi ethnic Flash! and Bang! at Tom Ford. The very personal folksy mysticism of Rodarte and the cartoonish verve of Peter Pilotto. We are talking maximalism here!
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 1
March 13, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Milan, New York, Paris, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
Nothing as rewarding as summarizing after a grand series of shows. First of all you just note likeness and all similarities. Starting to pick out the headlines it becomes clear that there is always something really exiting to spot! Same procedure for fall 2013. Next to continuous retrospection there was introspection – designers looking inward to find a personal way of expression and re-finding their personal signature. The ones who did, did not dive into trends, the trodden paths of competition, but sourced for their most intimate inspirations. The happy aftereffect is that we met moments of sincere emotion and passion. The most beautiful quote to conclude this was coming from Miuccia Prada: “Who cares about the dress?” she said, this is about “Stories of women and life,”, Phoebe Philo declared backstage after her show for Céline: “It was coming from a place of emotion and intimacy, something instinctive. There was softness and desire, to create something emotionally engaged.”
Some collections might not have had the shock of the new and many showed that swift notion of the mid-century modern. Most interesting it was when a faint whiff of nostalgia was balanced with nowness. A lingering trend we spotted was the eccentric mixture of nostalgic wallpaper florals, art nouveau, Scottish heritage, Art Deco and Liberty blooms. All simmering in romance.
The buzz words where: intimate, feminine, elegance and emotion. Not just the collections played their roll. In some cases the interest in settings and sceneries became predominant. The Vuitton show unrolled like a silent movie. The mood was the 1920s, as the models came through each door on the corridor that was the hotel set. An atmosphere just as cinematic was the Film Noir setting at Prada – a spinning ceiling fan, shadows cast by blinds, a woman silhouetted in a doorway, waiting for…? All by means of an artful back projection. Miuccia launched her exercise in fashion as cinema.
Another hot topic was warmth generated by tactile softness. Cuddly, fluffy and sheltering. The number of soft and brushed looks grew steadily during this catwalk season. Especially coats where cuddly and generous in proportion. For some designers softness was the covering theme. Hernandez for Proenza Schouler stated: “It was all just soft, that’s the one word we were thinking about. Softness of form, softness of color, softness of texture.”
To wrap this up we point out that coats took the lead. Generally and globally this item won when it came to presence and quantity as well as quality of design. So passion, warmth, softness and coats. Setting the stage for an ice age!
We picked the frozen cherries for you, straight off the international catwalks in New York, Milan and Paris.
FEMINITY REVEALED
From left to right: Rodarte, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Chloé and Prada
From pure exposure to more subtle revelations – intimacy exposed at Saint Laurent, emerging womanhood at Chloé, modern romance at Rodarte and passionate nostalgia at Vuitton and Prada. Sensuality and emotions unraveled in cinematic atmospheres showed femininity ‘under cover’ – soft lace hidden under long tweed coats, fluffy sweaters came with a slip of a skirt and velvet dresses had a swoop of neckline.
CALM ELEGANCE
From left to right: Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas, Ports 1961
A true timeless elegance flooded the catwalks at Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas and Ports 1961. Much more serene, feminine and sensual then the calm sobriety we faced seasons before. All soft and rounded. The skirts flaring just below the knee, showing true elegance in New Look proportions. Jackets elongated and slightly suppressed at the waist and coats – mannish and reassuringly oversize. All breathed calmness with lasting value in an esprit ranging from ‘Bon Chic Bon Genre’ to Film Noir allure. Slow, calm, quiet and with lasting value.
GREY MOOD
From left to right: Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Céline, J.W. Anderson, Lacoste
Concrete caught by the fuzz. Grayed-out and foggy marls were key for fall 2013. Brushed mohair, heathery and airy fleeces, compact felts and tarmac shaded double-face and bonded materials. This all added up to strange and sculptural beautiful cloths. Asphalt fleece and mohair knits are paved with iridescence at Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney wrapped her models in pinstripes, where Céline knotted hers in felt touch woolens. Monastic tunics at J.W. Anderson and fossil florals at Ports 1961.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Bed Time
March 11, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Paris, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
Cosy is not the usual aspect spotted on a Paris catwalk. But nevertheless we met a snug bedtime spirit in Paris with models flaunting out of hotel rooms in silky, lush pyjamas, lace-edged-negligees and flowery dressing gowns. Roomy, soft robes that showed the generous proportions of menswear. Sensual and intimate voluptuous bathrobes lined in marabou. Fabulous, sheltering cashmere wrap-coats in baby blue, pink, camel and blush in smooth, winter-weight woolens and brushed plaids. And thick silk pyjamas printed with English tweed patterns or tender China florals.
Softness and desire seemed a re-found aspect, in touchable styles that established an intimate dialogue between the masculine and the feminine.
Carven is rounding out with oversize coats in teddy bear textures. Cinematic sceneries at Vuitton, in a film noir esprit, showing various states of dress and undress in a midcentury inspired atmosphere. Stella McCartney goes square, though softened, in snugly, velvet touch robe coats.
We noted a refreshing sense of ease, slightly quirky and off beat and an inspiring invitation to cuddle up.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Homme/Femme
March 4, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Paris, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
No worries, no battles, but the male/female story seems one of this seasons headlines. From “Garçonne”, the boyish look tailor-made for women, to military influences, Bowie androgyny, collegiate prep and just elegant women wearing the pants…
Colors were almost entirely plays on black, in different shades and textures, and with neckties wafting gently, like the soft, full pants. Bespoke tailoring alternates with nonchalance in plus size jackets with cool swagger. Decorative details soften an otherwise severely serious look.
Vanessa Bruno showed the boy stuff in boxy pinstriped jackets; contrast collared shirts and full pleated pants. Raf Simons showed patented perfection with couture class. Dries van Noten, added some collegiate Fred to frilly Ginger, which made a gorgeous cocktail. Lanvin topped youthful innocence on couture looks by adding talkative jewelry.
One thing is clear; no one felt for clashes, this was all love and peace between man and women. This is just the ideal gear for contemporary women; elegant clothes that connect the genders, classic icons of masculinity and femininity, clothes that are comfortable, wearable and decent.
For women well in control of there lives as well as there looks.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View Paris Womenswear FW2013: Craft Allure
March 3, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
At first glance serious, plain tailoring reigned the runway offering this season. At second glance it was an ode to artisan-ship. Escaping the rat race to show the it-silhouette,most designers want to be true to themselves. They move back tot where they started and want to show the value of tailoring and fashion. Genuine emotion was fueled into collections where some felt like pure poetry. From rebellious expressiveness, energetic artisan-ship, to inventive and refreshing embellishment. Primal and tribal intensity to cheeky freedom and fun.
Maison Martin Margiela’s line-up looked like a fresh start, showing expressive crafts carefully embedded in Margiela’s masterful tailoring principles. Dior fused casual flair into a very couture collection by adding a series of chunky craft knits, Dries van Noten was inspired by ballroom dancing and scattered crystals, feathers and flapper fringes. Rick Owens showed rare, but very effective decorative touches that seemed like experimental exercises to explore the ancient crafts of basket weaving.
How crafts add couture allure.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View Milan Womenswear FW2013: Cool Wool
February 25, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Milan, Stijlspot, Stylespot, womenswear
It seems designers are expecting severe temperature reduction by introducing all Glacial Age-proof wardrobes. Especially since these cover the tailored city wardrobes and not performance outdoor gear. Coats seem the main subject of interest this season as well as woolen skirts suits and plaid shifts. And not in featherweight seasonless qualities but in chunky textured versions. ‘Wool is cool!’ definitely seems to be the credo this season. In bespoke luxurious plains as well as washed, bonded and felted versions. Prints, tweeds, color-wovens, plaids, marls, and some with coated and embellished finishings. All showing extreme elegance and a touch of nostalgia and romance. Wool is ideal to play with proportions and volumes, it can drape as well as shape. On the surface it can shows chameleonesque qualities, and can be sculpted in any volume or proportion. Ideal for the minute excises in tailoring that most designers are into.
Sportmax goes for tactility and textures in marled tweeds. Bottega Veneta curves with precision and sensual elegance. Prada adds a hint of sex to a seemingly very un-sexy material. Where Jil Sander conveys proofs of serious craftsmanship in bespoke tailored silhouettes.
Wool warms fashion hearts as well as bodies.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam.
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First View Milan Womenswear FW2013: Fuzzy & Furry
February 24, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Milan, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
It was the soft spot that caught our eye. Fashion is serious business nowadays, what makes it exiting to see some items that are slightly out of sinc. It is not in number that these fluffy flounces made impact. It is in proportions. These caused some of the models to look nearly as wide as they were tall. From slightly austere in compact curly astrakhans to fluffy alpaca piles, cosy camel teddy bear looks and chunky boucles. It needs slender, tall models to show these looks with elegance yet many may have found comfort and ease in these soft sheltering styles. Not just in jackets and coats, also in giant knit sweaters with twisted cables, trimmed and sleeved with high pile furs. For the more extreme we spotted wild fluffy Big Bird jackets and feathery hairdos.
Ports played with New Look proportions combining astrakhan jackets and hoodies with full circle, below the knee, skirts. Max Mara’s cocoons where almost caricatures’, showing bulky layers of fuzzy fur-looks in giant square tops and coats. Blumarine showed boho flair in lean long-loop-knitted cardigans and pastel shaded shearling bikers. Gucci combined sensual curves with cosy egg-shaped astrakhans and pony hair jackets.
Maybe it is time to re-hype cocooning!
Stylespot is a cooperation with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View Milan Womenswear FW2013: Film Noir
February 22, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Milan, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
Where fashion is more and more about garments and less about obvious trends that break with previous seasons, here we DO have a trend. It is back to the 40′s with a Film Noir twist. Not that we haven’t been there before. But here it is invigorated with a refreshing raw edge. Refined and elegant, sexy as well as romantic, revealing bits of darkness and gloom.
Miuccia Prada launched her exercise in fashion as cinema. She stages stories of woman and life. ‘Who cares about the dress?’ was her genius quote on Style.com. That is such a meaningful sentence. It is the emotion surrounding the garments that counts and nothing can light up the fire as powerful music and a filmic set.
Nevertheless this was all about lovely lean tailoring, extremely luxurious in desirable fabrics. Beautiful garments as cabans, peplum jackets and hourglass dresses with exaggerated hips. Tailleurs, fishnets and gloves to match with long curvaceous skirts.
Prada referenced Film Noir. She staged the obsessions and passions she shares with both David Lynch and Alfred Hitchcock.
Gucci was darker; adding austerity, vigor and fetish. An ode to craft, embellishing power women and femmes fatales. Dsquared2 dived deep into the 40′s with curvy skirt suits and shapely double-breasted jackets. All very costumy and posed.
Let’s make movies!
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View New York Womenswear FW2013: Fabulous Coats
February 16, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, New York, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
It’s been a big week for coats. Remarkable that an item that independent of the weather gradually lost its position in the stores, is now THE canvas for fashion statements.
A myriad of coat styles crossed the runways – from traditional camel capes, pea coats and prep Prince of Wales jackets to decadent furs, plastic trenches and an impressive series of stern and rigid, broad shouldered power coats with nipped and belted waists. From prim tailored trenches, reinterpreted smokings to rugged utilitarian parkas.
Most obvious where the numerous terrific coats that where stripped down and traditional, inspired by menswear suiting and tailoring.
Alexander Wang cut his coats oversize and dropped the waist inspired by boxing. Phillip Lim referenced bikers; showing motorcycle jackets, ragged shearling but also super trenches. Michael Kors themed urban warriors; fast-paced, sporty and chic in bold, boxy, sculptural shapes and Calvin Klein buckles up and goes large; with mannish shoulders in dense cloth.
Though the coat’s references are mannish the looks are generally sensual.
Great tools of empowerment.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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First View New York Womenswear FW2013: an Englishman in New York
February 14, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, New York, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
Here is a very clear and retail-friendly trend to spot. Classic English tailoring, menswear suiting materials and silhouettes referencing collegiate prep. Not that we have never seen this before. This is all about comfort and ease, not so much in the fit but more in mindset – looking good, no shock, no unease and absolutely no risk. Luckily there are some designers to give this look a twist. By adding a touch of futurism in bonded materials or a quiet but brave re-proportioning of the silhouette. But mostly this is about referencing the classic, the authentic and re-viving as well as re-living tradition in Peacoats and double-breasted coats and blazers combined with abbreviated minis.
Tommy Hilfiger stays close to its preppy roots with Prince of Wales checks and hound’s-tooth checks and plaids. Rag & Bone, adds modernity by re-proportioning and mixing materials and textures. Victoria Beckham layers her skin-tight and sexy dresses with mannish but nevertheless sensual coats. Then have a look at Marc by Marc Jacobs, Y3 and Thom Browne to see how they manage to merge these icons of tailoring with their personal signature.
Hail to history and now back to the future please!
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
