Trend Report FW2010: Fabulous Fifties

Women with curves can be happy ‘cause coming fall is about the feminine silhouette. Breats, hips and butts don’t have to be hidden, but are celebrated! We see circle skirts, wasp-waists and accentuated breats.

Louis Vuitton and Prada definitely were the trend setters for this fifties vibe. Marc Jacobs showed a whole collection full of women-friendly designs. He even let some of the bigger models walk in his fashion show to point out that some extra curves can look just fine.

Miuccia Prada did the same thing. She mainly accentuated the breasts with her dresses. And she let models without a size zero, like our Dutchies Lara Stone and Doutzen Kroes, walk the show.

Apart from Vuitton and Prada designers like Paul Smith, Dries van Noten and Fendi showed some fifty-inspired outfits as well. Dolce & Gabbana did so too, yet they showed pencil skirts instead circle ones.

So this fall, you don’t have to worry about your fuller hips and big boobs. Celebrate them by putting on circle skirts, small waist belts and tight tops.

Ps. Wear a headband or a Brigit Bardot-esque ponytail to complete the look!

Prada Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The menswear summer-collection Prada sent out yesterday had a sporty marine-vibe thanks to all the blue & white, the navyblue fishermen-sweaters, the boxy bermudas, wide trousers and lots of keels. It reminded me of the sportsgear sailors wear during a storm or a windy day at the boat. It looked boyish too because of the oversized silhouettes, the multi-colored knitwear and last but not least the shoes with thick soles. You could almost hear them squeeze.

Prada played with proportions too, the slim and tight-fitted 3-buttoned suits contrasted with the boxy outfits and reminded me of early Raf Simons-collections. Not only because of the fit, also the way the models looked with their sharp faces and impeccable haircut and the Bauhaus-music.

This was the second collection that tried to bring bright colors back into menswear, orange, green, yellow, red and blue gave the collection an energetic feel.

In a review at style.com I read Miucca Prada was also inspired by simple uniforms like that of postmen and doctors and that she wanted everything as simple as possible in terms of fabrication, construction and silhouette. That’s why she used cotton (lots of denim too) and that’s why she landed on the idea of working-clothes.

Spring is in the air #10

Contemporary fashion. Miucca Prada always finds a way to mix the classics with something quirky and modern. I mean, wearing chandelier-like dresses over a white shirt and shorts. Yet the result is glamorous and fresh. That’s all we need on a beautiful day.

Prada Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2010

You don’t wanna fight with the new Prada-woman. She looks sensuous and very elegant in her 50’s housewive dresses, but she’s in control and self assured. She is who she is.

This was yet another Prada-collection which leaves you distressed and thinking about what was going on. Someone called it retro-future, severe chic or restraint meets assertiveness,  I would call it women breaking free. Disturbing jazz filled the room and the models were walking down the runway with beehive-hair, bare faces and in prim dresses with high pointed shoes.

Take a closer look and you see the silhouette of the breasts sticking out, push up ruffle bra-dresses and a glimpse of knitted collars at chic coats and LBD’s with a plastic ruffle. It was exciting to see fuller-figured girls at the show – Doutzen Kroes and Lara Stone a.o. – who walked secure and celebrated their femininity. Interesting were the sweater-dressing – a blue cable knit at a full cable knit skirt – the dark 50′ prints and the rubber coats in camel. The collection was about sex appeal, but in Prada’s world, it’s not about baring all. It was conservative, sometimes almost funereal, except for the suggestive, exaggerated focus at the bust.

Hopefully the thick knitted knee-highs and maillots don’t itch too much, because they add just that edgy touch to the outfits. Especially worn with those fragile looking patent leather shoes.

Milan Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Prada

The Prada-show was held in the designers ideal – virtual- world full of facts & figures, info-graphics and spaces. A world that seems  more appealing to young people who easily absorb all that information. It was the young Miucca was aiming to. The models strolled through the labyrinth of info in their sometimes childlike, polished clothes in bright camouflage-prints or bleached colors, beige and black. The collection had that typical vintage Prada touch – like an old seventies Vogue Homme – without being too dorky. The look was polished, almost synthetic, but the colors (yellow, rose, blue, beige and black) and fractal-camouflage added the right dose of reality and warmth.

Milan Catwalk Show fw2010: impression of prada

An impression of the stage at Prada, a labyrinth of information, facts & figures and choices regarding (virtual) daily life. The world of Prada, as the designer said.  The audience was seated in colored blocks or at a high tribune.

Trends ss2010: fantastic plastic

How can you protect yourself from the rain and still look sexy?

Zac Posen, Sonia Rykiel, Frankie Morello, D Squared and others gave us the answer: you just wear a transparent plastic raincoat. In this way you’re still showing the great outfit you’re wearing underneath and your silhouette stays visible too.

For next spring transparent plastic was used by several different designers. Isn’t it typical that at least four designers came up with a see-through raincoat, independently of each other? At all four shows these raincoats also popped up out of nowhere and didn’t really connect to the rest of the clothes in the collections.
But the raincoat wasn’t the only transparent plastic item; there were bags and shoes as well, for example at Prada. D Squared and Charles Anastase both had transparent bags too.

Michael Kors used the plastic for his bathing suits and bracelets. Out of everything we saw the most fantastic plastic was made by Frankie Morello. He came up with a chique Chanel-looking plastic jacket, which had collar and cuffs made out of fabric.

Tess van Daelen

Milan Fashion Week Impressions #4

Prada Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

The Prada ss2010 collection was one of those collections with a deeper message, but I could not figure it out immediately. Something old, something new, a bit of vintage fifties Miami and clean, modern shapes, artificial meets today’s reality. There was a hint of sportswear with the bikershorts, wide (halter) tops and transparant bags and shoes. Prints were stunning: projections of beachlife, chandeliers and flowerprints in black and white, greytones and pastels. It was more about the message and concept, than wearability.

Prada’s moviescene

The setting of the Prada-menswearshow looked like a large Alice in Wonderland box with shiny walls and shiny black & white floor. The quotes that dressed the set came from old black and white movies that highlighted the discussed masculinity. The effect was dazzling and somehow disturbing.

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