John Richmond Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2012

With thick eyeliner and colorful lips Richmond’s models paraded on the Milan catwalk today. They looked sexy to the max in their shiny, see-through, embellished dresses. As the show went on the level of sexiness increased.

While some of the first looks seemed appropriate for a business meeting, many of the outfits appeared even too daring for a cocktail party. Like the long black sheer dress with the low v-neck, the mesh top with the strategically placed leather breast pockets or the white/sheer glitter dress with long fringes at the bottom. None of them looks which a lot of women would leave the house in.

Yet the Richmond women perhaps will. They will lunch in the skirt and blouse ensembles, they will join their husbands on a boat trip in some of the simple dresses and jackets and they will seduce others in the over the top sheer designs. It will be a perfect summer 2012.

Gucci Catwalk Fashion Show Milan ss2012

From the flowing, moody jewel-colored Seventies style to a more constructed, hard and geometric jazzy style – that’s the turn Gucci-designer Frida Giannini took this season. And this anniversary-collection looks quite different. Polished as ever, but with jazzy influences (flapper-dresses), references from the Twenties and Thirties, Louise Brooks, African Art and Man Ray. But also the geometric lines of the art deco style the American way – as in the Chrysler building – and the metallic surfaces. Giannini herself said in the show-notes she wanted to show an optical side of femininity, a sculptural glamor.

Well, glamorous it was, and polished but somehow it lacked a certain softness and sensuality. Maybe it’s because of the mix of equestrian elements like striped, double-breasted jockey-jackets, the green/ocre/white and black. Or the straight lines and hard metallics.

Hopefully we’ll find more of Gucci’s sensual warmth in the museum that’s soon to be opened in Florence.

 

 

Highlights London Fashion Week ss2012

Some 104 shows and presentations in London in one weekend. After one week of New York fashion this seemed an unreasonable task, but journalists, buyers and photographers succeeded. And just before Milan takes off, we want to present you the highlights of London ss2012. Erdem, Burberry, Christopher Kane and Paul Smith all delivered beautiful collections which made sense and also fitted in the trends we saw already blossoming in New York.

Burberry Prorsum

Christopher Bailey was paying homage to all things natural. Skirts with high, tight waists  teamed with form-fitting tops of striped crocheted wooden beads. Woven raffia, in stripes of mustard and navy or plum and black, made super slim, high-waisted pencil skirts under cropped, cotton Parkas. There were African inspired prints for draped dresses, jackets and skirts.

 

Erdem

Erdem’s focus was again on florals, which he re-uses season after season. This time round they were  pretty: buds of cornflower-blue, lemon and poppy-red dotted, off-the-shoulder dresses, chiffon skirts and shifts.

 

Christopher Kane

To create his “ghost fabric”, an iridescent metallic floral that crackled with light and movement, Christopher Kane layered four materials including an organza made almost entirely of aluminium. He mixed it up with semi-transparent dresses patched with flower stickers, washed-out pastel satins,  sleeveless cricket jumpers and flat sandals.

 

Pringle of Scotland

This was Alistair Carr’s debut at Pringle’s womenswear.  Knits were the star, from trompe l’oeil intarsia technique that made light work of chunky herringbone. Twinsets were present too, fastened at the back for summer. There were also silk dresses patchworked together with twinset buttons.

 

Paul Smith

Sir Paul and his team know more about tailoring than any other womenswear designers, that’s why is menswear-inspired womenswear-collections always looks so stunning and perfect. And his use of color is unique.

 

Giles Deacon

The collection and show of Giles Deacon seemed a meeting of heaven and hell. The angelic looks of feathers, silver dresses and laser cuts combined with vivid red detailing to offset them. The swan became the overriding theme, featuring as it did as a print on everything from couture-esque gowns to trousers and tunic and in tiara’s. This was drama to the max.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spijkers en Spijkers Catwalk Fashion Show London ss2012

No doubt that the Roaring Twenties are the favorite era of the Spijkers-sisters. They picked this period – in which women tried to free themselves –  before as a source of inspiration. Spijkers en Spijkers are not alone in this for next summer, in New York there were more designers who were influenced by this stylish period, like Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch.

Spijkers en Spijkers took the silhouette and used their signature geometric play, colors like black and white to form their collection. Dresses dominated the collection, a loose pantsuit here and there and fragile chains as decoration or part of the construction. Fringes added a frivolous detail.

 

Marc Jacobs Catwalk Fashion Show New York ss2012

For a change, Marc Jacobs closed the New York Fashion Week. The Lexington Avenue Armory was decorated like a dance hall situated in the twenties.   As the Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach started, a sweeping gold curtain parted to reveal all the models waiting to hit the runway.

The collection was a cocktail of strange elements. Starting with the see-through plastic cowboy boots. And also: drop-waist flapper dresses, denim workwear, clear plastic sewn into skirts and dresses, sporty sweatshirts, and techno-checks.  Some of the silhouettes looked like last season’s narrow silhouettes, but there were also boxy, drop-waist shapes that reminded of the 1920’s. There was plenty of fringe,  bold-colored sequins and paillettes, and a lot of that clear plasticTextural experimentation was strong in this collection. To journalists backstage, Jacobs explained he didn’t want his collection “to feel real”.

 

Ralph Lauren Catwalk Fashion Show New York ss2012

Ralph Lauren took inspiration from the The Great Gatsby, the movie he designed the clothes for in 1974. When he designed the clothes it started a mini Jazz Age at that time and Lauren’s career took off. It seems the time is ripe for an updated version of this style, especially now Baz Luhrmann is busy with a remake starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan.

Lauren loves the feminine/masculine mix and that shows. There were  wallpaper floral t dresses,  pastel silk pajama pants, and “vintaged” cashmere sweaters with fake moth holes. For accessories: raffia platform sandals, embroidered and fringed bags, and delicate scarves.  As for the masculine side:  pinstriped three-piece suits with cropped pants, shorts, full trousers and the leather Perfecto jacket. For the evening Lauren introduced silver flapper dresses and column gowns.

 

 

Hello streetfashion. Bye bye New York.

Just take a last look at the inspiring streetfashion in New York. Look at the bags (tiny), look at the shoes (high), and keep smiling. Maybe it’s you we’re catching with our camera the next time.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York ss2012

It was pure irony, the ss2012 collection of Proenza Schouler. But beautiful irony. Their inspirations included Fifties car interiors; Googie architecture, and the work of Morris Lapidus, the architect behind Miami’s  Fontainebleau hotel. Well, to put it simple: it was about questionable taste.

Key pieces were tight cropped sweaters and a cobalt A-line skirt in eel skin that formed one-half of one of the lineup’s best looks — but the collection was not so  serious and sophisticated affair. McCollough and Hernandez worked their references with originality, precision and craftsmanship. They were not afraid to use the so-called bad-taste elements, like tiger-print car interiors and the orange, green and gold palette from the Seventies.
What made the collection strong was the mix of pinup and sultry secretary. Bustier tops were paired with pencil skirts in neon and tropical prints. Yet there was a crafty undercurrent throughout. Raffia was woven into color-blocked knits and remarkable dresses that had cutout maillot tops and wide-weave cage skirts. For the finale, the designers embroidered  Hawaiian florals on tulle dresses with open backs and narrow skirts. Talking about modern retro.

A day in the life of a memory card in New York

Let’s follow this memory card of Peter Stigter on his journey through New York City. This digital memory travels from show to show and finally ends up in the hands of photo-editor Lisa Klappe.

3.1 Phillip Lim Catwalk Fashion Show New York ss2012

Just when you thought you couldn’t have any more rich, over-the-top prints and screaming colors, Phillip Lim moved in with a refreshing palette. His collection  was full of sorbet colors — icy peach, pink and yellow — served on silhouettes that were relaxed. There were loose, racer-back tanks and track pants with zippers at the sides, some that concealed or revealed a stripe.

It was a relaxed basis on which Lim layered and explored a-symmetric cuts. Lim started gently, with tanks and slipdresses outlined in fluttering folds designed to catch the breeze. His program cited kites as a source of inspiration, and the fly-away motif was pretty and serene in small doses. The message at large seemed to be sporty minimalism.

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