Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Milanese Trend Report : COLOR EXPLOSION


I think the Milanese designers this season went to a dinner together and decided to just put a jolt on our eyes for Spring 2011. Each collection brought an energy like never before in Milan, in fact Tim Blanks said that it was probably the most up-beat Milan Fashion Week he's been for a long time!

If New York designers decided to keep it simple with all white looks, Milanese designers won't stand for such somberness. Colors, bold colors, and even bolder colors dominated the runways of Milan Fashion Week. In fact the colors were so bold, primary colors just almost disappeared altogether.

Prada is probably one of those shows that energizes you, while you can't really pinpoint what is it that makes it that energetic. Was it the shape, the colors, the monkey embroidery or the banana print? The shape are amazing, and each individual pieces are so quirky that it's kinda amazing when everything is being put together.

Raf Simmons for Jil Sander took the collection way forward, it was so sleek, clean, and modern as Jil Sander always are, but then the colors are so bold it is as if he wanted to show that with minimalism you can still take it to the next level and be attractive.

Max Mara's collection started with very muted skin tone at the very beginning, sort of an homage to the house's signature probably, but then it went very colorful and happy towards the middle and closes with very solid brave colors. I like the casual sportswear element of it, the simplicity is probably why it was so good and somewhat luxurious.

Marni is back to it's roots as well, taking away all the lady-like element Consuelo Castiglioni brought back the original quirky smart ladies who love and wear Marni with pride. This time the shot of colors make it even more special. Combining brave colors with neutrals like cream and brown makes the girls modeling it look super cool and smart, which I think Marni customers are.

Donatella Versace said she started digging through the print archives of the house, and she was deeply inspired by the Greek print that the house is synonymous for. But then the print itself was colored, put across horizontally and vertically, and fringed. It was a really cool new way to play with the heritage of the brand, and definitely something unexpected but still very symbolic of the brand.

Missoni took the girl from last season and dyed it in neon. The free spirit of last season is still felt throughout the collection, but this time, acid color dominated the runway. Every color you can imagine is being put together in one outfit, making it the ultimate color explosive collection of the season, but dissecting the collection, each pieces are amazing unique pieces that screams young and trendy Missoni generation.

It's been a while since we see this many colors on a Gucci collection, but this time Frida Giannini decided to show the colorful side of the Gucci girl. It's a new kind of glamor for the Gucci girl, the looks and the silhouette is undeniably Gucci, but then the amazing new colors took it to the next level. It was refreshing kind of glamorous.

The dynamic duo Aquiliano Rimondi went very Italian for their collection. I thought out of everyone who do explosive colors this season (which were basically everyone in Milan) they did the most exceptional job in putting all the colors together. It is so easy for bold colors to overpower the outfit itself, but they make it still about the beautiful silhouette and the fact that the woman wearing it look stunning in their clothes.

One of the most star studded show in Milan this season was full of colors as well. Peter Dundas for Emilio Pucci proved himself to be worthy of the position with one of the best collection from the house since the departure of Christian Lacroix. Beautiful colors are everywhere, and the ladies look like they're just ready to go to the Greek islands enjoying their cocktails in their fabulous colorful outfits.

So it is no wonder that Milan is so vibrant, the positive energy is absolutely empowering and I'm just so glad that we're seeing something other than camel that was just raging last season.

CIAO!!!

note: Images are from style.com

Monday, October 11, 2010

White Summer Energy


So what is the dominant color during New York Fashion Week for Spring 2011?
WHITE

So it's been a long debate whether white is considered a color or not, since white is apparently the state of colorless, but no matter what, no less that 25 designers open their show with an all white look.

Basically the message this spring is that with white you can be all sort of things. Monique Lhuillier who started her show with this stunning white dress is very much lady like and elegant, as well as Isaac Mizrahi's pull toghether suit.

The 90s minimalist look that echoed so loudly during the week was projected nicely by Calvin Klein, Reed Krakoff and Max Azria, it's white and it's minimal, pretty much that was what's projected from the first look.

Edun and Michael Kors just go straight to the casual dressing, make sense considering white is the most relaxed color you can get. Michael's rich hippie interpretation was incredibly chic, and Edun is taking the brand a step further by being more fashion conscious this time.

For all the inner tomboy inside of you all, Christopher Lemaire's last Lacoste collection open with a look that just made me think of a little boy having fun dressing up, while it's actually a womenswear look. Nicole Miller's boyish and square interpretation of the tailored shook the basic plainness of white into the very core.

For the quirky out there, Alexander Wang didn't disappoint. Channeling Helmut Lang and some Japanese designer but taking it into a modern very sporty level, expanding his fashion vocabulary with a non-black collection, the very first time for him. While another young fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra, brought back Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana, but instead of making us reminiscing, he made us imagine. But no matter how quirky these two boys are, they all start with white.

So white is the color of the season? I certainly hope not. It's literally too painful to see another all white look walking down the runway since literally too many designers start with an all white look. At some point white can be impractical and unflattering for most ladies.

But then again, I love that summer energy brought in by the white. I love how white can also mean optimism which we now all-so-desperately need.

For now... Ciao!!