Round Up Paris Womenswear FW2012
March 9, 2012 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Paris, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
We have seen some supreme tailoring in Paris, resulting in sensual rounded shapes, exaggerated and challenging proportions and exciting fabrics. The world is clearly connected and the runways as well. Power looks, sculptured contours and very literary historical references were all over the place. Where we first spotted a hint of powder pink romance this was too scarce to be labelled a strong influence. The general feeling of tough powerplay and getting ready to withstand challenging times is ruling. Executed in a careful play with the existing parameters of couture, yet tailored with the contemporary flavor for bold statements. Think big.
It was not just the silhouette that takes on new dimensions this season; there is also the stage. Vuitton and Chanel confirm the feel for drama, stage setting and grand gestures. Catwalks became movie-sets, the models actors and the garments costumes. To quote one of the grand old NY ladies in the wonderful upcoming documentary: ‘Advanced Style’. ‘I dress up everyday for the theatre of my life’. That reflects clearly the attitude of women who opt for the most eccentric looks that where shown in Paris past week. These represent the icing on a cake that tasted very well, but were confirming the fact that the flavors of cakes today are not regionally bound any more. Globalization is a fact in fashion.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
FIERCE
Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent staged fierce and perseverance. Ferocious, brave and powerful women with a provocative attitude. Forceful shades as black and red gain power by leather sheen, high polish and slick coatings.
SCI FI
Balenciaga and Chanel teamed up showing challenging material with a science fiction character. Priestesses of techno cult in bonded materials, plastics, liquid films and technical coatings and foils.
SCULPTURE
Lanvin was the master of sculpture. An expression of exalted womanliness with a generous emphasis on the curve. Comme des Garçons took it to an extreme by showing models as paper cut dolls and labeling these as ‘the future in two dimensions’. The exaggeration of shape, the bringing back contours to the explicit essence, seems key.
HISTORY
Louis Vuitton takes us back in the old days by showing series of costume outfits that stand out by their absolute supreme elaboration and embellishment. Making history relevant once more by showing truly innovative skills and craftsmanship in embellishment, scattering crystals generously.
ORIENT
Style.com claims that Haider Ackermann has the most sophisticated color sense of anyone in Paris and we just want to confirm this. He seems to reflect on the orient; the passionate shades of the east in subtle monochrome harmonies are stunning and truly inspiring. This combined with the intricate and elaborate patterns Dries van Noten showed are great inspirations for garments that will please the crowd.
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Round Up Milan Womenswear FW2012
February 28, 2012 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, Milan, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
Milan was all about beauty and redefining feminine presence. The importance of womanhood translated into powerful design. Reports noted clear, modern sensibility and elegance rooted in the classic past, but applied to today’s woman. From linear, architectural statements to rock and roll romance, from virtual princess looks, to pre-Raphaelite twists and martial arts references. Inspiration was well documented and there seems a clear wish to find the context behind these hybrid collections. Where New York mixed identities Milan reinforced them. We spotted impeccable tailoring, love for crafts and embellishment, sublime couture and a daring choice of materials inspired by the wish to tap into the duality of the 21st century woman.
Prada was much more then just ORIENTALIST, with a vibrant collection with strong contrast and sharp & graphic silhouettes. In these outfits we see a glint of the well spread oriental inspiration shining though with opulent, high tech embellishment. Marni also joined this direction.
Many designers explored a dark color palette, but the DARK VISION of Dolce & Gabbana was at the same time an Italianate vision of palazzo life. They showed, as Bottega Veneta and Aquilano.Rimondi did, a more costume message.
Sportmax explored details in martial arts dress forms and applied these to a TECHNO FORWARD collection, combining natural and tech materials with retro futurist flavor. As did Fendi and Max Mara.
Raf Simons at Jil Sander was one of the designers for whom it was ALL ABOUT BEAUTY, both impeccably tailored and meltingly soft. Bottega Veneta presented a more powerful woman, but also beautiful in every detail.
Missoni, Roberto Cavalli and Fendi showed their NATURALIST character by applying their masterful crafts to nature’s textures, weaving an urban wardrobe out of wood, stone, fur, tree bark, and mica-sparkled minerals.
Milan’s collections where strong, spirited and powerful.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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Round Up New York Womenswear FW2012
February 19, 2012 by Jetty
Filed under Fashion, Featured Items, New York, Stijlspot, Stylespot, Trends, womenswear
This was an interesting week in New York. This season seemed one big exercise. Testing shapes, volumes and proportions. Trying textures, various embellishments, prints and crafts from different origins and inspirations. Probing periods, from 20s, 30s, 70s to 80s. And the fun factor is that it is hard to guess what comes from whom. It seems ideas are exchanged, copied, re-edited and re-interpreted. Identities mixed, profiles and signatures blurred. Scatter collection snapshots and guess its origins. It will be a wild guess this time!
We spot a feel for the extreme and ECCENTRIC, iconic and humorous as Marc Jacobs showed it, reflecting on grand fashion divas. Altazurra and Libertine are two among others staging artful embellishment and intricate crafts.
Ports 1961 hit on a SCULTPURAL trend, showing a peplum silhouette, one of the favorites this season. But there is more; masterfully executed by the grand master of simplicity Calvin Klein but also Philip Lim, Peter Som and Alexander Wang showed bold rounded silhouettes.
OVERSIZED is an understatement when talking about the Proenza Schouler collection. Also both Donna Karan and Y3 super sized items within their range. Y3 is one of the few collections faithful to sportswear as we were so used to in The Big Apple.
NY was DRESSED UP this season, Donna Karan hat topped ladies dressed reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich. Victoria Beckham shows shapely contouring shifts and Diane von Furstenberg sensual draping.
Friendly and relaxed were the global travellers; modern NOMADS in multi cultural referenced cuddly warps and layers. Rag & Bone, showed city nomads, Y3 global hybrids and Proenza Schouler went east.
This fashion mash-up makes us curious about what comes next!
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
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Milan Catwalk Fashion fw2010: shoppinglist
While the fashion circus is traveling to the next stop – Paris – we thought it might be helpful to give you already a sort of shopping list. You’ll never know what you might run into during the sales !
Milan was all about slim suits in techno fabrics, mixed with bulky grandpa’s cardigan’s often used as a coat and a rough knitted aged sweater. Military style is back, especially in coats – look for navy duffels in blue, aviator-jackets in black/shearling, the Monty-coat and officer-coats in army-green with golden buttons.
Black is still the new black, but also all shades of gray. The darks are often mixed with rich colors as purple and burgundy. New are camel and off white, mixed with buttery yellow.
It seems men will have their own legging as well, regarding the many long-johns we spotted in the collections. It was a favorite of Dolce & Gabbana and maybe for some women, but we’re not sure men will like them. At home yes, outside hmm (maybe only underneath a comfy ski-overall). Instead of a long-john look for a slim, too short pant with or without ‘cuffs’.
The rough look is perfect with the military boots, beautifully aged at Burberry, polished at Bottega Veneta. Fans of modern classics can stick to the Gucci-loafer. More accessories: an Italian cap, berets and an army-bag.
One of the main messages the coming season is layering: a T-shirt, a denim shirt, a jacket, a cardigan or two, something leather, silver mesh or glitzy (like patent leather, or plastic). The style moves between polished Seventies style (like Prada), Fifties playboys (Gucci) and ageless rockers turned businessmen.
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Catwalktrends ss2010: Headbands
January 12, 2010 by tess
Filed under accessories, beauty, Fashion, Milan, New York, Paris, womenswear
Although many designers gave their models a natural look and let their hair hang loose, some of them experimented with the model’s hairdo’s. We saw braids, we saw curls and we saw headbands!
Stefano Pilati created the most outstanding headband-look for Yves Saint Laurent. His girls wore the zig zag headbands you may remember wearing when you were a kid. Yet his models didn’t just wear one of them; it must have been at least ten headbands per model.
Then we had the Hermes models who wore wide headbands, some with a snake print. In the Bottega Veneta show all girls wore the same white ones. At Lacoste the models got a braided white version or a colorful striped one. And Michael Kors’s models showed some transparent plastic ones that matched with his bracelets.
Marc Jacobs of course used his headbands with bow and Sonia Rykiel had the black flat circular ‘hats’ attached to hers. Sienna Miller gave her girls a turban-looking headband for her Twenty8Twelve show.
