Max Mara Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2015

Marilyn Monroe was the muse of the Max Mara design team. Her famous 1962 beach shoot with George Barris, in which she covered up in a Norwegian sweater, camel blanket and sea-green towel, fueled the color scheme and lineup of retro bombshells in deluxe knits and coats.
Gigi Hadid, the model of the moment, opened and closed the show in a pair of mannish camel coats clutched around her like she had a chill, covering everything but her cleavage. An oversize take on the traditional camel cable knit was pretty perfect. Anyone in the market for a big coat to sink into next season will have options: a nubby tailored overcoat; a turquoise fur; a pale-pink brushed alpaca. For novelty, there were colorful leopard prints and shiny quilted silk styles with fur linings. Retro lady bombers, sweatshirts and pencil skirts fleshed out the merchandise for those who want something to wear under the coats.

Fendi Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2015

The Fendi-collection was all about geometry, experimental volumes and a little fun. Inspiration for stage and invitation was the work by Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp. But while they referenced her circular work, much of what was on the runway was angular — coats, dresses, even pants were made from pieced-together panels.

This collection was a fusion of faux-utilitarian pragmatism and flamboyance. There was a bit of the Alpine worker to the pinafores and chaps-like leather additions attached at the hips to skirts. Bibs and aprons in paneled constructions were fastened by giant buttons. Continuing with the add-a-flower motif started two seasons back with orchid corsages, here, birds of paradise popped out of color-blocked fur and shearling bags.

The fabric splicing intrigued — the simplicity of the two-tone white coat that opened the show to graphically collaged coats and a witty felt gilet over corduroy pants wrapped in tubes of shearling from the knees down. The diversity continued through to silhouettes; looks came long and lean, long and swingy, short and crisp, and big, bigger, biggest, with the mega-statement coming on the big side. Lagerfeld and Fendi did outrageous takes on the puffer, including out-to-there short jackets over slim skirts and some strapless dresses.

Prada Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2015

For fall 2015 Miuccia Prada wanted to make what women like: bows, colors, decorations. On one condition: it had to look her way. And so it did. Her vision of prettiness fused retro shapes with technical foam jersey for a mix of past-future dissonance.
Prada opened with neat Sixties shapes she’s worked before, but now in technic foam, mixing girly and acid colors to quirky effect (“Soft Pop” was a title for the collection). Trim jackets had schoolboy spunk over cropped bell-bottoms, and shared the runway with lady coats and beautiful high-waisted dresses in cuts derived from midcentury couture. Again, the designer veered from the obvious, perverting the look into baby-doll tunic-over-pants ensembles.

Alberta Ferretti Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2015

Alberta Ferretti was designing with portraits from the Italian Renaissance in mind. No wonder the collection had romance, femininity, a little mystery and imagination. Sometimes a bit too literal, like the red hood, trimmed in crimson fur on a puckered princess-cut coat with a zip front for a little sporty panache.
Ferretti makes beautiful, feminine things, such as the group of filmy, ivory chiffon and organza peasant blouses with blouson sleeves, high ruffled necklines and traditional lace embellishments. Likewise, the sweeping crotchet knits, ethereal black-and-white lace gowns and short dresses with elaborate embroideries that reflected the deep, fiery tones of dawn and dusk.

Gucci Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2015

It was Alessandro Michele’s debut at Gucci this week. And his fall collection felt like a sharp break from Giannini’s Gucci and also Tom Ford’s version. The new man at the helm has a decidedly more romantic outlook. His Gucci girl is an ingenue with an eccentric side, one who looks as though she’s picked out her clothes at estate sales and vintage stores, and mixed them with handfuls of heirloom rings, chunky rimmed glasses, the occasional pompom hat, and fur-lined horse-bit loafers. The collection included colorful coats with fur cuffs and military leanings; fluttery, shapeless botanic print dresses; and unlined, skin-baring separates.

Marc Jacobs Catwalk, Fashion Show New York FW2015

Last season Marc Jacobs’ collection was all about military as an influence, his fall 2015 collection is military precision with no military reference. Everything was planned, crafted and polished to arch perfection, starting with the beauty — severe top knots and makeup; pristine manicures and pedicures despite gloves and covered shoes.

Within this exacting platform, Jacobs determined to parade the essence of the Marc Jacobs brand. To that end, he reviewed his past collections, selecting favorite recurring themes or specific elements to rework here: trompe l’oeil, dots, feminine looks in masculine fabrics, masculine looks in feminine fabrics, embellished coats, decorative sweats, patchwork furs, sweaters with argyle and heathers created with dazzling embroideries, references to art (Paul McCarthy; Space Invader), Saint Laurent, cartoon characters.

When many of these motifs first appeared in the Jacobs lexicon they were simpler: a dress with faux-pleats made of fabrics was just that. Here, everything was jeweled, embroidered, grommeted, sequined. Brocades topped crinolines and lined furs. A tweedy twinset was in fact sequins; an argyle, faux-python embroidery. Shearling was shorn into checks, mink sewn into chevron stripes and worn on the reverse side. Mannish coats flaunted sparkling jet cascades.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk fashion Show New York FW2015

The work of the abstract expressionists of the midcentury New York School inspired Proenza Schoulers fall collection. The designers looked specifically at the work of Helen Frankenthaler.

The collection pulsed with a raw power that started if not quietly, then simply, in the unfinished edges of thick tweeds and escalated into an intense tribal reverie. The first look set the tone of bravado — a tweed jacket and pants, everything about it exaggerated: unfinished seams, extralong sleeves; wide, looped-over self-belt; pants made of flapping panels, giant-sized fishnet hose, a thick, circular shawl encasing the shoulders.

All of those elements would recur, becoming more extreme in a fabulous display of fashion. The dominant silhouette was lean through the torso, releasing into more volume starting with the powerful lineup of coats and jackets in spotted calf, boiled felt inspired by the splayed felt work of Robert Morris. The fabrics were major, from the array of tweeds to various needle-punched treatments, including a black and red chiffon crepe that created a mottled, aged effect.

The weightiness of the outerwear found counterpoint in a new take on the bandage dress, wrapped and slashed to reveal skin and attitude. Another dress, a white sheath, got tufts of au sauvage fur at the waist and shoulders. Eventually these ideas mingled, becoming increasingly decorative for the finale of triballike motifs rendered in slashes, eyelets, grommets and intense embroideries, worn by a procession of glamorous she-warriors. Power dressing of a different sort.

Michael Kors Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2015

Opulent restraint, that was the theme of Michael Kors fall 2015 collection. A very American idea referring to Wallace Simpson, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. All of these women understood how to play with the yin and the yang.
Kors’ fall collection was runway reality at its most alluring. He showed both languid and tailored, the former in pretty bias dresses and sweater dressing; the latter working that gender yin-yang crossover — tweeds, trousers, crisp shirts and especially the outerwear, including a trench-cape hybrid worthy of an ultrachic Sherlock. In the opulent column, Kors’ fabrics were luxe, but often quietly so — the tony cashmeres and wools, the silk foulards.

Oscar de la Renta Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2015

It was Peter Coppings big night, presenting his debut collection for the house of Oscar de la Renta. And it was a graceful start. His Oscar debut was part homage, part anthology representative of the house’s range. He offered the spectrum: pretty dresses, constructed suits, sleek coat-over-dress looks. A series of graphic tweeds were inspired by the configurations of the buildings and windows he sees out his studio window; the legacy of celebratory color pushed Copping toward the occasional vibrant day look, including a full-skirted suit in fanciful red-violet. Copping infused the evening pieces with a certain youthfulness by using unlined lace for bodices, and working on new necklines. Some of the grander ball gowns could’ve used more fine-tuning. But if the fit on those numbers wasn’t quite as finessed as longtime Oscar followers remember, Copping demonstrated his deft sense of color—midnight blue and violet, chartreuse and bordeaux—and a special eye for detail. An ivory column with black embroidered flowers was exquisite, all the more so when it walked by and you got a look at the deep lace inset in back. There was a lot of poise in that gown.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2015

Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier’s are now designing the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection for one year, and their message of youth, energy and grit remained strong and unwavering in attitude and aesthetic.

Bartley and Hillier have already secured their girl’s identity through a commendable consistency in the collections — the military references, graphic art, motor jackets and tailored skirts with tulle. For fall they steered in a defiant but positive direction, drawing on references including the work of artist William Morris, the Guardian Angels, the 1979 film “The Warriors” and Jeremy Deller’s political posters, which were channeled into graphic decorative statements.

The most notable progression were the long, lean silhouettes of structured maxi skirts and dresses, some with utility pockets, some bearing Morris’ pretty Arts and Crafts prints in shades of bright blue and muted green. The length gave the look a cool maturity that resonated in the refined cuts of neat, tailored fencing jackets, skinny cropped trousers and short dresses with molded bell-shaped skirts that had a smooth buoyancy.

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