Neil Barrett Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Neil Barrett stepped away from his sporty, street-vibe style and managed to change masculine classics from around the world to a modern universal wardrobe. The look was still urban and fresh, yet more ageless in design. He used batik prints, camouflage, nautical stripes and kimono patterns – reworked and fused together to conjure “an idea of a global masculinity.”  The mix of patterns did not overwhelm, because Barrett kept them together with one color story: all gradations of navy and indigo, with touches of black and white. The tight palette counterbalanced a wider spectrum of fabrics, with lots of denim. Low in the crotch but narrow on the hip, cuffed or with rolled-up hems, the  indigo bottoms let off an air of American workwear. Barrett performed the trick on non-denim, too, experimenting with slouchy and easy silhouettes as opposed to his usual sharp-cut look. As for tops, the designer went with spring’s hot new category: sleeveless V-neck tunics.

Marni Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

With a Tim Burton-esque soundtrack playing in the backround, Consuelo Castiglioni’s return to the Milan runway with Marni men’s wear captured the awkward juncture between boyhood and the adult world. Outsized collars splayed over leisure suits that could have been nabbed from an uncle’s Seventies vacation wardrobe. Pants, whether loose or slim, were often too short and showed chunky socks and sandals.

It all had a naïve charm that was true to Castiglioni’s retro-tinged aesthetic. She embraced workwear codes to explore that no-man’s land between leisure and the office: employing lots of Maytag-repairman blue, or shades evoking Soviet-era uniforms; adding utility pockets to shrunken blazers, and splicing suit sleeves onto boxy shirts. Somehow the queasy colors, funny shapes and occasional flash of noisy floral prints managed to work together.

Jil Sander Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

In a season marked by soft shapes and rivers of fluid fabric, Designer Rodolfo Paglialunga presented a Jil Sander-collection with full of geometric shapes and far from soft & fluid silhouettes. Trousers stretched only to mid-calf, while suits came with knee-skimming shorts, and were made from lightweight leather, shiny, coated canvas, or crinkly parachute nylon.

The muted palette featured dove-gray, pale olive and black, while adornment came as a utility strap running down the side of a sleeve, and rectangular, colored patches in leather or dark shades of blue or brown. Bright abstract Japanese-style flower patches on denim jackets and snappy short-sleeved shirts added much-needed perk to the collection.

Streetstyle Icon: Helena Bordon

She is the daughter of Donata Meirelles, former international director of the Sao Paulo boutique Daslu and current style director of Brazilian Vogue. So no wonder Helena Bordon simply breaths fashion and style. Not to mention she earned her fashion credits herself.. The Brazilian beauty is a designer (she recently designed a capsule jewelry collection for Brazilian company LOOL), an entrepreneur (she’s the co-founder of the high-street fashion chain 284 (think: Zara of Brazil)) and a blogger (helenabordon.com). She effortlessly matches her Fendi bag with her MiuMiu coat and Gianvito Rossi shoes. While she can look casual cool in J Brand jeans, James Perse T-shirts, and Tod’s flats. A perfect blonde do and a sunkissed skin to match. Helena is always in the mood for some color or print and loves to support local designers: “Every time I go to Paris Fashion Week I try to bring Brazilian designers with me—to introduce them to the world.” She documents those travels as well as fashion picks, favorite restaurants and stores on her blog and she curates an e-commerce section. Her style changes a lot, therefore Helena has had countless totally different streetstyle appearances. But she has made a name for herself and is recognized by fan and photogs in every fashion capital she visits. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Kate Moss, Kate Bosworth and Miroslava Duma are some fashion ladies Helena would love to switch closets with. Yet with pieces from Chanel, Dior, Elie Saab, Prada and Peter Pilotto, we figure she has more than enough designer items to pick from herself. Now let’s drool over some of her coolest streetstyle pics…

Hot List: 21 shades of…

Summer officially starts within a week. You can see and feel it in everything; nature’s buzzing, festivals are popping up, Nike running sessions all over and the gym and yoga classes are overbooked (of course we do our exercises too. Promise!). But if you haven’t yet started with building your ultimate summer wardrobe, why not start now? Beach ready or not, the streets are craving for some new season fashion highlights too. Your shades may not be the starting point, but consider them to be the cherry on the cake. Picking the right pair is as significant a style marker as finding you the right pair of shoes for your first date. And maybe even more important: no summertime Instagram photo feels complete without a striking pair of sunglasses to get that double-tap from your followers. So choose wisely when it comes to size, colour and fit. Oh, and before we forget: leave your modestness at home, it’s gonna be a bold and quirky SS15.

1. Keeping it fresh on hot summer days – Classic white frames

2. Saturdays’ hangover – Oversized, yes please!

3. Feeling your Dutch roots – Orange fever

4. Cultural weekend break – Powerful frames

5. Late summer nights – Ombre-effect

6. Aviator attitude – Hot child in the city

7.  Bold red – Why only a red lip when you also have red sunglasses?

Model Focus: Rianne Van Rompaey

She exclusively walked the Prada and Louis Vuitton AWshows. Well, what more could a fresh faced model ask for? Rianne Van Rompaey aimed high, dared to be selective and is now taking the fashion world by storm. She may not have walked that many runways, but judging by her publications and campaigns the 19 year old Dutchie doesn’t even need that. Rianne graced the covers of iD magazine, Rika magazine and Vogue Italia. She was featured in British Vogue, Industrie magazine and Love magazine, to name just a few. Her strawberry blond hair and green penetrating eyes make this upcoming Paparazzi Model Management talent easy to remember and hard to forget.

Trend Report SS15: Not over(all) it

Overall, “pair of overalls”, bib-and-brace overalls, dungas or dungarees. So many names, so many functions. Who would have ever thought this casual attire would ever make it to the center stage of the fashion scene? Well, start believing it now because this golden oldie has been revamped and ready for action this SS15.

With denim being one of the biggest trends for this season, it’s likely you already have one overall in your closet. The two of them have been intertwined since forever and seem to dominate our wardrobe every few years as they go way back. The first pair of jeans were created in 1873 by Levi Strauss. He created an affordable denim version of the overalls silhouette once used by the British Army in the mid 18th Century. In the 19th century, the overalls became the uniform of the day laborer, worn by miners, mechanics, railroad workers, and farmers.

The ’90s were a big moment for overalls as it became the personal style of hip-hop artists like Tupac, TLC, LL Cool J and DMX. Wearing them without a shirt on underneath or better yet, one strap unbuckled and tucked in their Timberland boots. And the garment’s popularity extended to an even bigger stage when it started to appear in popular tv series like Beverly Hills 90210, Friends and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And can’t we all remember TV style icon Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) wearing her fitted overalls on a trip to the country on Sex and the City? She was a hot child in the city, for sure.

No wonder the fashion pact began to sell one-piece overalls -taking it from practical to posh. Dungerees have proven their fashion charm beyond toddler domain and have evolved from functional clothing and runway favourite into our favourite summer gear and the ultimate festival compagnon (especially with shorts). The easy, wear-it-with-anything is playful and casual, but can also be dressed up very chic (in leather). No time for considering; let your imagination flow as these classics are the new chic.

Fashionclash festival 2015, this was Day 3

Fashionclash Festival 2015 has come to an end. Last night the festival closed with an impressive Graduationshow of Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts (MAFAD), performances and a ceremony in which three designers were honoured with prizes sponsored by magazines Chapeau and Kaltblut and Fashionclash. Winner of the Fashionclash Festival Talent Award is the label LAT designed by Lautaro Amaeo Tambutto, winner of the Kaltblut magazine award is Patrick de Padua and Chapeau honored MAFAD-student Paula Reichert with their talent award.

Trend Report SS2015: Classic Duo

Some trends just never go out of style. Take the leopard print or the little black dress. Each and every season they make their appearance on both modern looking and more classical looks. The same goes for black & white, a classic duo that never gets old. Even though the summer season might be more about color and print many fashion houses opted for monochrome looks. A safe bet, you can hardly go wrong with. Lots of checks (Balmain, Sportmax, Michael Kors) and stripes (Marni, Victoria Beckham). Some floral prints (Anteprima), a few polka dots (Marc Jacobs) and a wild touch of zebra (Roberto Cavalli). Fringes at Fendi, mesh at Balenciaga and embroideries at Chanel; enough variation to make you stand out without wearing actual colors. Then again who could resist the ultimate minimalistic chic attire we were presented with at Avelon.. Black pants and a crispy white shirt; a match made in monochrome heaven.

Fashionclash Festival 2015, this was Day 2

The second day of Fashionclash festival 2015 was full of surprises. The designermarket, the exhibition and of course all the different fashionshows and performances. There was interesting footwear, a mix of folklore and kitsch and a lot of experiments with prints. Here’s an overview of day 2.

 

 

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