The Big Round Up Womenswear FW14, Part 3

This is part three of our trend-overview of season FW2014. Take a closer look at Cosmic, Warriors and With a Swirl.

COSMIC

(Dsquared², Balenciaga, Gucci, Wang, Iceberg(

A touch of Barbarella spotted at Dsquared² with a slice of lunatic glamor. Much more strict, square and bold, the sporty hybrids of Balenciaga show a playful touch of humor. Cosmic starlets in leather mini’s at Gucci. More utility at Balenciaga, ready to hunt or to enter the lab? Chunky sweaters treated with crinkly silver foil, like an astronaut’s space suit at Iceberg.

 

WARRIORS

(Haider Ackermann, Rick Owens, Rick Owens, Haider Ackermann, Barbara Bui)

Brace yourself, the troups are nearing. The heroins of Haider Ackermann, show feminine and masculine symbiosis, in longer then long sumptuous slouchy suits.

Family tribes and high priestesses at Rick Owens wear sleeveless tunic dresses and ponchos in primal knit, felt and leather skins. Modern day cocooning goes elegant at Ackermann in lush jersey cap-sleeved onesies, the hit of the season. Barbara Bui shows chunky and sharp tailored jerseys.

WITH A SWIRL

(Chalayan, Dries van Noten, Christopher Kane, Roland Mouret, Just Cavalli)

Most excitement was in the added dynamics. All moving layers and slits in Hussein Chalayan’s gauzy gowns, glittering in liquid textures. Dries van Noten’s pattern mania shows psychedelic swirl with a rave quality. Christopher Kane’s organza dresses ruffle, since composed of fifty dark-trimmed leaves of the fabric. Sculptural as well as ethereal. Roland Mouret’s stiff coated tweed is animated by a swirling laser cut fringe skirt. Just Cavalli shows racy metallic collage prints, exuberant applications and skirts with an elegant swirl.

The dynamic promise of technology!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

The Big Round Up Womenswear FW14, Part 2

This is part 2 of our trend-overview of the coming fall season. Between the continuous feel for sobriety, for real clothes and a new found spirit for informality , we did spot some true fashion statements. In percentage not that many, but nevertheless there. Found mostly in expressive materials, holographic coatings, laminations, cuts, fringes, 3D embellishment and eye-catching patterns. Where past seasons were strong on craft we now sense a steady shift towards technology.

Take a closer look at Crafted Luxury, l’Art Decoratif and the Wild Ones.

 

CRAFTED LUXURY

(Céline, Altuzarra, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Michael Kors)

Love for raw refinement. Céline wrapped her model in fluffy feather fringe, Altuzarra in simple elegant shifts from crafted tapestry weaves, Stella McCartney’s comfy tweed parka’s showed an earthy tribal feel, where Michael Kors went for maximum luxury in ombré pullovers, chocolate brown feather fringe and masculine suits made of floating luxurious cashmere tweeds.

 

L’ART DECORATIF

(Missoni, Burberry Prorsum, Bottega Veneta, Peter Pilotto, Tod’s)

Missoni showed abstract patched tanks in boiled and felted knit. Reflecting on Bloomsbury, Burberry hand-painted cashmere shawls to be worn on mohair coats. Technical wizardry was used to create this pattern magic – zigzag puzzles at Bottega Veneta. Exuberance and excess in trippy and clashing geometric prints at Peter Pilotto, where Tod’s showed mosaic-like lozenge patterns in multiple techniques.

 

THE WILD ONES

(Miu Miu, Saint Laurent, Fendi, Alexander McQueen, Marni)

A flavour of the primal. Miuccia Prada layered her padded and quilted dresses with grand volumes of fluff for Miu Miu, Saint Laurent‘s cool, pop princesses strolled the catwalk in fur, lazy with casual extravaganza. As human cats in long haired fluff. Wild beauty at Alexander McQueen, and – this is a quote – incongruous incursions of fur at Marni, just figure out yourself what this might be…

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Round Up Womenswear FW2014, Part 1

As always we where overwhelmed with the flood of fashion beauty and material excellence coming over us during the global fashion weeks.

There was this continuous feel for sobriety, for real clothes and a new found spirit for informality motivated by utilitarian inspirations. Lot’s of chic citywear icons where given the sporty treatment. The best windbreaker, the most comfortable puff jacket, the most perfect trouser fit. Between those masses of garments some were excellent in their normality, perfect in execution, amazing in materiality. Supreme touch, perfect drape, etc. Technology is helping here and making top tailoring more accessible, performing textiles more sensual and expressive fashion textiles more functional.

Between those real clothes to please us, very close to what woman desire to wear instantly, we did spot some true fashion statements. In percentage not that many, but nevertheless there. Found mostly in expressive materials, holographic coatings, laminations, cuts, fringes, 3D embellishment and eye-catching patterns. Where past seasons were strong on craft we now sense a steady shift towards technology.

Then there is this big (in many ways) offering of the cosy and comfortable. We nearly dare to mention a return of the feel for cocooning. All about enveloping, embracing, sheltering and protecting. Wrapped in plaids, down blankets, furs, felt ponchos and most of all in knits.

Knits where everywhere this season. For separate items as well as total looks. Haider Ackermann uses them long, lean and liquid. Balenciaga is among the designers who experiment by laminating bulky knits; others just cut it as woven material, where many, as The Row, find excellence by use of precious fibre – cashmere has never been that big.

Where we expected previous season a future for narrative sets and spectacular venues this was limited to few. The stupendous supermarket setting of Chanel was the talk of the season, he vacuum-packed his bags where Iris van Herpen left her audience in awe by vacuum-packing her models. Both raised a manifest on consumerism, in Chanel’s case this is likely to be rather ironic. Political or social statements where hardly done. Fashion is where it used to be, fur is back bigger than ever without any thought or comment, quotes were there for a season in summer, but were empty phrases appliquéd on garments as decoration. Now the message was femininity, desire and being beautiful. Back to the core business of fashion.

In general it seems that designers very much care for how women feel, what a girl wants, how fashion makes them feel beautiful. Fall 2014 catwalk season was much more about the exploration of women’s fashion desires then about pushing designers signature looks.
Cherchez la femme!

URBAN TECH

(Alexander Wang, Prada, Christian Wijnants, Balenciaga, Miu Miu)

Outdoor and urban sportswear never looked that glamorous. Alexander Wang showed utilitarian city wear in experimental tech textiles, Prada staged a boxy shearling in mirroring gold. Silver foil jackets at Christian Wijnants cover tech double knit shorts and Alexander Wang laminated cabled knit monty’s to cover chain knit skirts. Miu Miu uplifted normality by adding hologram gloss to quilted shirt jackets.

 

INTER-GALACTIC ROYALTY

(Rodarte, Moschino, Thom Browne, Dolce & Gabanna, Etro)

Bumping into a Princess Leia look-a-like at Rodarte we realized that Starwars is still making waves. Jeremy Scott explored junk culture for Moschino and came up with the bright, brash and ingenious staging their urban princess, Thom Browne evoked the ecclesiastical and went for the sublime, it where king’s that inspired Dolce & Gabanna to dress up this princess, she is showing us the key towards success. Veronica Etro met her royalty during a trip down the Silk Road.

KNIT IT

(Yohji Yamamoto, Céline, The Row, Céline)

Knit is big in all senses. Impressive knit volumes – soft, bulky and warm at Yohji Yamamoto. Sensuality and tenderness is what drove Phoebe Philo towards her all knit wardrobes for Céline. Instant luxury is what the models must have felt when The Row covered them in these super-size double face cashmere knits. Simple, still and ultimately comfortable.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Gotta Move – Streetwear Paris F14

Doing a Fashion Week is like sports: the photographers, models, buyers and press are walking, running and driving from location to location at least eight times a day. Gotta Move!

First View Paris Womenswear FW2014: Mini Mini

Mini is a topic in Paris and we want to share it with you.
Lanvin goes costumy with intergalactic references in a square cut boxy mini dress with swinging metal fringe. A sculptural look with a weightless appeal. We call this mini with gravity.
Miuccia Prada for Miu Miu takes the banal, the ordinary and everyday and made it desirable and luscious. She stages young girls in windbreakers and pea coats, with rucksacks but nevertheless very chic. Girly dresses that reveal the knees, frivolous with a sporty twist.
Slimane dresses Little Red Riding Hood for Saint Laurent, with a wiff of Tinkle Bell esprit. Poppy capes that cover the Parisian classic – the little black dress. Casual extravaganza for pretty pop princesses.
Nicolas Ghesquière was listening to the girls for Vuitton – what they want, what they need. Joy was the word. Cosmic holographic coatings adorn zipped shifts in subtle skin shades in A-line cuts with a 60s vibe.
All lighthearted and leggy!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Streetfashion Paris Womenswear FW2014, Day 8

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Givenchy-sweater? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Womenswear Fashion Week fall/winter 2014. This will be our last post during the fashionweeks. We’ll be back soon. Thank you for watching.

Miu Miu Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

Miucca Prada presented a Miu Miu collection on top of this season’s trends: athletic practicality, fantastic knits and novelty furs, a subset of outerwear.
The attitude was perky and young, captured in neat, sporty nylon jackets layered over hooded windbreakers and quilted minis. They came in combinations of sweet pastels — white with pale pink, sea-foam green and baby blue — and classic bolds — gray with royal blue, kelly green and yellow — that were eventually gussied up with foiled brocades and chunky embroideries. Throughout, the slightly Sixties silhouettes suggested school uniforms, particularly the series of tailored gray wools and sweater-and-skirt looks.
Everything was highly wearable, utilitarian even, when it came to the long raincoats that came in clear plastic or traced with bright graphic stripes, and flat rubber rain boots.

Hermès Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris FW2014

Hermès-designer Christophe Lemaire ended Paris Fashion Week on a sophisticated note, with a lineup executed in the ultraluxurious vein the house is known for.

Lemaire surfed on many fall trends, most notably men’s wear via oversize coats and suits and textures boldly mixed in a variety of surfaces. There was an overall ease to the relaxed silhouettes, including the opening look, a chic gray coat over a white shirt and slouchy pants.
Standouts came with Lemaire’s play on the silk scarf. He worked it in unexpected ways — the back of a shearling vest, for example, or as the base of a silk-and-cashmere shell top shown with a decadent mustard-colored crocodile skirt.

This is Hermès, and so leather was key. Lemaire used it for a black draped dress and a dark green coat with an easy, sporty fit, among others.

 

First View Paris Womenswear FW2014: Knitdressing

 

Knitting is clearly a theme. We list here 4 designers, but can give you many more, who opt for the soft and cuddly. Staging strong women in tender knits, in all its textural and shapely variations.
Sonia Rykiel, plays with traditional body-wraps, all with a Rykiel wink and twist. Sleeve-scarves and semi-pelerines on layers of velours touch crafted jerseys. Stella McCartney’s chunky knit pyjama-style pants might become the seasonal must-have item. She manages to add some sex appeal to this snug look. Wrapping and knotting in a semi-relaxed way is obviously on trend.
Celine shows her knits sleek, lean and slender, in subtle glitz, vibrantly accessorized with crafted jewellery.
We see more artful knit representations at Issey Miyake. Mixing masterful layers of exquisite monochrome textured variations. Oversized blanket wraps, fluffy sweaters over silver sculpted pants.
But there is more – among them the surreal knitting at Viktor & Rolf combining crafted knits with digital cable-knit prints, and Haider Ackermann with sumptuous longer then long rib knitted sweaters and matching pants.
Knits intertwine the tough and the tender.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

Louis Vuitton Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

Tired of a full month of fashion editors had every reason to stay in Paris till the very last day of fashion week. This morning Nicholas Ghesquière debuted at Louis Vuitton and every fashion professional was eager to discover what his first, highly anticipated collection would be all about. It was about the Vuitton legacy, so the show notes read. Ghesquière took away all the spectacle Marc Jacobs had been creating for the last seasons (remember the train, the escalators, the carousel?) and lead the focus back on the clothes. On a criss-cross of daylight lit catwalks models sported sixties inspired A-line creations. Like knee-length skirts with sweaters vests or little tanktops. Like high waisted patent leather pants with tailored jackets. Like playful printed dresses with front zipper details and shaggy cream trenches. Like patchwork pants with boxy tops and camel swing coats. All in a fall fitting palette of greens, oranges, camels, grays and green, paired with luxury travel bags (no Vuitton show is complete without those) and ankle boots with strap detailing. The bare legs and cleavage might be a little too opportunistic for winter season, but Ghesquière made his point. He gave the French fashion house extra wearability in order to expand the brand’s market internationally, yet added enough edge to keep things modern and us interested.

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