Balmain Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Balmain’s fall will be all about boxy jackets, small pants and tight dresses. Oh and let’s not forget the dazzling detailed Faberge egg-like embroideries that popped up throughout  the show. Especially those highly decorated pieces were the most remarkable ones. Even though there won’t be many women who can afford those thousands of hand embroidered pearls and crystals.

Yet as delicate as those pieces were, designer Rousteing still made it look cool and effortless, in line with what Balmain stands for. Besides his gorgeous creations there was not a lot of fuss going on at the show. Models barely wore any make-up, had their hair down (slightly messy) and walked around on their low(er) heels with their hands in their pockets. It’s the easy chic that works so well on the streets and it’s the cool effortless vibe that makes young women love the brand so much.

Though the Balmain look has been quite the same for a few seasons, Rousteing carefully introduced some changes. Jackets became boxier, some flared (velvet) pants were added to the mix of skinnies and even a 7/8 skirt made it’s appearance. It will be hard for the brand to step away from it’s success formula of skinnies and pointed shoulders, but today’s collection proved Balmain is right on track.

 

 

 

Rue du Mail Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

It was a sporty chic collection, Martine Sitbon presented yesterday, designed for a somewhat ‘androgynous woman with a strong attitude,’ as she told the press.

The sportive part of the show was visible through the use of color (lots of different colored sleeves), the silhouettes (baseball jacket shapes), the materials (jerseys and knits) and the details (lots of zippers). Chic were the black & white knits, the macramé lace, the laser-cut bouclé and the silk bright colored dresses that closed the show.

There were some tricky parts of the collection though. The cutouts can easily become very tacky and the same goes for the red watercolor print. Just as long as the Rue du Mail women keep their looks on the sporty side, they have nothing to worry about. Even better, next fall they’ll be all the rage.

Ann Demeulemeester Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

The models at Ann Demeulemeester’s show wore a wild crown of hair, blades and black feathers. They had long leather gloves on their arms and black leather pants that melted into long boots. There was lots of black leather and velvet, but more inbteresting was the inky, midnight blue color. The collection had powerful outerwear and dark elegant dresses — worked in variations and fabrics rich with dimension. Tailored jackets and trenches came cut up into asymmetrical folds with sculpted collars. Long, lean dresses were simple aside from a single drape at the neckline or back. This was surely a tough, graceful women.

Mugler Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

At Mugler, the creative director Nicola Formichetti and designer Sébastien Peigné,  linked directly to Thierry Mugler. Their point of reference was the designer’s 1997 “insects” couture collection, with supermodels in patent leather and bug-eyed masks. It resulted in a subtle translation  like in the pattern of a black and white dress with super-sized shoulders and glossy black croc appliqués on a sheer form-fitting dress.

Gareth Pugh Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

The black confetti surely gave the show of Gareth Pugh a moody edge. Not that he needed this, since his collections always reflect a dark, mysterious mood. Somehow Pugh let go of his fetish looks and toned things down. There was lots of leather, fur and a contrast of volume. Appealing were the  fuzzy black fur coat that opened the show plus the sharp-shouldered dresses with a leather bodice and a full fur skirt. Luckily Gareth Pugh didn’t forget to put some drama ans exaggeration in his presentation, that’s what a show also is about.

Rochas Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Busy seventies prints and warm winter shades were in the mix at Rochas. Inspired by the pottery of the Swedish ceramicist Wilhelm Kage designer Marco Zanini created outstanding winter looks, which, some say, balanced on the verge of becoming ugly yet stayed graceful and gorgeous.

A printed – green and off white – dress was matched with a sixties geometric printed coat in the same green and purple. A beautiful knit skirt and matching, belted sweater formed a great winter duo. A shiny pair of metallic pants and skirt looked like the finest PJ’s. And a mustard ribbed sweater matched with pants in another yellow shade looked odd, but cool.

It was the combination of cosy knits and metallic kaleidoscopic prints that made this collection unique. The warm shades (purple, bronze, ink blue, mustard yellow) that make us long for winter, even though we’re very looking forward to summertime.

Zanini maybe presented his looks in a scruffy way; in real life these midlength skirts, silk tops, jacquard pants and heeled sandals can be some serious showstoppers.

 

 

 

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Dries van Noten delivered another piece of print-art yesterday with his fall 2012 collection. It was innovative, colorful, ultra-chic and real. The Belgian designer was inspired by historical Chinese, Korean and Japanese costumes he saw at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He photographed the garments for large scale prints which he cut into various pieces to create graphic blocks. So the side of a beautiful patterned oriental coat became the decorative motif for a skirt etc. The collection was ultra elegant with that typical Van Noten menswear touch which made it wearable and cosmopolitan.

Round Up Milan Womenswear FW2012

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 21^st 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

 

 

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2012

There were several really great aspects of the Gianfranco Ferre show today, inspired by Helmut Newton’s photography.

1. Designers Frederico Piaggi and Stefano Citron chose the most stunning shades, from deep emerald green to beautiful burgundy.

2. They opted for strong, architectural looks, which made the models look elegant and confident.

3. They, as did many other Italian designers, played with texture in a modern way.

With a focus on cut the designers created the most original, asymmetric looks. They emphasized the models’ waists by lines or belts and gave the girls more appearance by adding multiple collars.

Unexpected shapes and thick unflattering materials gave the collection a daring allure, which very well fits with today’s trends. Piaggi and Citron may be new at the Italian fashion house; with this collection they surely are on the right track.

Roberto Cavalli Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2012

The fall-collection of Roberto Cavalli is, well, a classic Cavalli: glamorous and strong, with lots of leather and fur. It started with maxi fur ballgown skirts with sequin luxe T-shirts and feathered baseball caps all in one look. Then came elbow-length gloves and little puffy skirts on little halter dresses strewn with sequins and beads and more baseball caps to go with it all. It had a more grunge feeling then last season. The biggest surprise however, was Naomi Campbell who closed the show.

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »