Lanvin Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

Xtravagant, Xtreme, and Xperiment; it was a triple X collection for Lanvin. The extravagant part was visible through pleated leather, shiny satin and large amounts of fur. Among other creations a big fringed, flamenco tweed dress could pass for the extreme part. And overall Alber Elbaz seemed to have been experimenting with silhouettes, textures and.. fringes. Starting of pretty raw and edgy, the show turned more glamorous and sophisticated towards the finale of color blocked, fringed (of course) party dresses. Wide brimmed hats often covered the models’ fresh faces, chunky pieces of jewelry and tasseled leather bags truly made a statement as well. It all felt quite heavy shows on the runway, but seen in daylight, without the darkness of the show area and the extreme styling, there will be beautiful slip dresses, silk gowns and tweed skirt suits for that elegant Lanvin lady. Backstage Alber said he wanted to go back to the dream factory fashion once was all about. And a dream it was.. a fringed one, that is.

Balmain Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

“This time, the only travel I did was to myself, to my generation and to global ethnicities”, Olivier Rousteing stated backstage. And so we arrived in his jungle where models were more ethnically diverse than ever and it was all about camouflage colors (with a few pops of yellow and red) as well as animal prints. This wasn’t a regular safari, it was safari chic at it’s finest. Elaborating on his pre-fall collection (when he was talking about he was talking about a more all-inclusive Balmain—one that embraces different ethnicities and cultures) Rousteing introduced an army of pencil skirts, worn with peplum accents and statement khaki jackets. Without showing a lot of skin his models were super sexy rocking cargo pants and rigid leather jackets with large pockets. Robe details, metallic accents, colourful fur, statement (and we mean a real statement..) golden jewelery and a large focus on the waist made us all want to book a fall safari trip with Rousteing.

Please enjoy the pictures for now, our review will follow shortly.

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

The overall look and silhouette of the Balenciaga-collection was determined by a strong, rounded shoulder; architectural arcs and folds; slim pants, all with a vaguely futuristic feeling heightened by details such as zippers.

Alexander Wang worked his knitwear premise creatively, delivering it with casual panache and a touch of tough.

He opened with impressive wool coats and jackets, big, horizontal scuba-inspired zippers making for aggressive decoration on their backs. Over each of these he put a beaver “apron scarf” with an attached kangaroo pocket knitted from shoe-laces and rubber cording. Some coats came in a polyester jersey that aped cabled textures; others were knitted and fused to outer shells of latex or leather. Dresses were structured shifts, their graphic quotient intensified with bold zippered strips, a detail used on pants as well.

For evening he tweaked the sweater motif, bejeweling the arc with lavish encrustations of pearls. He paired it with pants and a satin knot-front bodice.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW20914

Dries van Noten not only presented his fall/winter 2014 collection in Paris, he also prepared an exhibition in the Museum des Arts Decoratifs. His fall collection was audacious and practical, making for powerful, chic-with-a-twist viewing. Op Art graphics and color-centric rave-culture inspired the Belgian designer.

One of Van Noten’s great strengths is his ability to control visually intense motifs, any apparent randomness is intentional. His swirls, overlapping triptych circles and broken-striped grids were applied with bravado executed oh-so-carefully. At times, he went for the contrast of the caustic-on-classic. At other times, he opted for full-on visual shock value. Undulating stripes were another interpretation.
Throughout, Van Noten integrated athletic references — jackets and pants with zippers and parachute details that stood in contrast to the collection’s more obviously polished fare. Either way, he kept his proportions ample, right down to the primary accessories: big, 3-D flowers.

Rochas Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear FW2014

For his Rochas debut collection designer Alessandro Dell’Acqua ensured he made a true statement. He presented a ultra feminine collection full of voluminous skirts, coats and dresses. Beside elegance the looks breathed luxury too, visible through the rich materials (velvets, jacquards, brocades) and embroidered details, which popped up everywhere. In a sober color palette ranging from baby blue and pastel pink to burgundy, petrol, navy and gold Dell’Acqua introduced fluffy winter coats (in fact two of them worn at the same time), tassled over the knee skirts, woolen fifties dresses, crystal encrusted bodices, embellished blouses, peplum tops, patent leather jackets and a finale of stirdy floor sweeping gowns. To make the oversize silhouettes even more powerful he added bright leather beaded gloves. Dell’Acqua sure had no trouble expressing himself and with so many statement pieces neither will the Rochas woman come fall.

Our review will follow soon, meanwhile enjoy our images.

First View Milan Womenswear FW2014: New Understatement

 

There are alternative ways to make a woman look beautiful. We saw brave and masterful innovative cut and pattern-making, smart updating of traditional skins and silks and an intelligent play with shades and light. The outcome looks new, modern and understated – sophisticated elegance with a self-evident comfort and natural flair in shapes that are not all that natural. What we look at are complex drapes, mathematical mosaics, intelligent coupes and smart technical finishing.

Tomas Maier, for Bottega Veneta, called these fab outcomes “puzzles’ – simple silhouettes with clever nips, skilful pleats and intelligent trompe l’oeil illusions. Ending up to be comfortable dresses in a sensual cosmetic pallet, to make women feel good.

Alessandra Facchinetti for Tod’s found ways to use leather less like skin and more like fabric which leads to streamlined, modern, women friendly outfits in lacquered patent leather.

Where Bottega Veneta uses ‘puzzles’, Tod’s mentions ‘mosaics’, both as results of in-depth explorations of pattern-making. Their efforts are inventive, unorthodox and challenging classical tailoring standards.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

First View Milan Womenswear Fw2014: Avant Garde

Where other designers stage fashion, Prada treats us on tales and inspirations. A holistic experience, theatrical performance, and an inspirational happening. As always firm-rooted in cultural heritage she reflects on Germany’s cultural avant-garde and the oeuvre of director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

It was a scenery flooding with vibrating contrasts – black, gold and furious red – transparency and opaque – veils and shearlings – matt and shimmer.

Deco-influenced patterns and silver trimmings among others at Prada. Bold gold-fringed starlets at Just Cavalli, corsage accessorized furs covering veils at Fendi and constructivist shearlings covering slink sheer shifts at Prada.

Inspired by Fassbinder’s love for culture and telling a story, he also showed her the darker sides of life. She mused on the opposite of rich, the doom and gloom of glam and casted sensual and eccentric she-devils wearing Prada.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

Giorgio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

Giorgio Armani went green with his fall 2014 collection. In combination with gray that is. According to Armani green, lime-green – is a stimulating color and a bit avant garde. But the result was more classic in the end. Armani opened the show using different shades of gray, often in combination, for jackets, pants and dresses. He loosened his tailoring for easy coats with one-button closures at the neck.

Then the green showed up subtle, as a small stripe on a jacket collar, but later full on, in dresses and integrated separates.

Evening started with black jackets and T-shirts over fluid green pajama pants, some of them crystal-embroidered. The mood was casual. Pretty gowns followed, some cut with bodice treatments. These came in gray and black with varying degrees of lime.

First View Milan Womenswear FW2014: Touch me Feel Me

 

The FENDI show, by Karl Lagerfeld, opened with fitted dresses erupting into tufts of fur at their seams. Lagerfeld punned that the effect was a “fur escape”. No escape though when it comes to fur this season. Puzzled we are spotting the overwhelming flood of critique-less fur. Gone are the days of manifest, consideration and reflection. Strong felt when it comes to the multidisciplinary, industrial and less known fashion designers of this era, so little when it comes to the globes powerful fashion stages.

Hairy surfaces are favoured and savoured in many ways this season. The superior quality of Italian craftsmanship demonstrated in pixel patch-working puff and fluff at Fendi. Strolling the Highlands in Max

Mara’s discreet and natural precious knits. Where Just Cavalli rocks in rich tapestry brocades and manipulated hair and fluff patterns.

‘Violets for Your Furs’ was the Billie Holiday’s song that inspired Lagerfeld – cold comfort for our furry friends.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

First View Milan Womenswear FW2014: Soft Spo(r)t

Here the accessible side of fashion on show during fashion week Milan. Soft touch comfy wear with a sporty esprit in plain and simple near-traditional shapes. Parka’s, trenches and woollen shirt-dresses reflect the spirit of the 60s neat and polite society, as exclaimed by Gucci. Orderly details and subtly shifted proportions, jut raising or lowering the waistlines. In sophisticated off-color-combinations that add that contemporary touch so much needed to trigger the desire-and-buy-me-machine.
Just Cavalli in general went for the hairy fluff, but here he wrapped his model in snug short shearling in a pretty pale pastel. At Fendi zippered skirts and parka’s, sporty as well as romantic, with tufts of fur on luxurious casual coats. And also Gucci tapped into the casual side of its heritage, with smart double-breasted coats, short high-waisted dresses in sugary macaron-shaded and faded pastels. To quote Suzy Menkes for NYTimes: ‘All good and luxurious stuff’.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

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