Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Funky Sweaters

Forget those Nordic printed knitted sweaters we’ve seen the last couple of years; upcoming fall it’s all about the cool printed ones. And the crazier the print, the more popular the sweater, so it seems…

Balenciaga introduced multiple versions of a space printed jumper, while Humberto Leon and Carol Lim created a tiger printed sweater for Kenzo. We spotted horses at Altazurra and a spooky creature at Diesel. Jeremy Scott and Asish took it even further by showing knitted smileys and Bart Simpson tops. Add a few outstanding graphic prints from brands like Sportmax, Moschino and Stella McCartney and you’re sure there will never be a dull moment this fall… fashion wise, that is.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Hourglass chic

As a result of last season’s peplum hype this fall it is all about the accentuated waistline again. At Etro and Dior we still spotted some gorgeous peplums, yet other brands (Oscar de la Renta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Rodarte) created the same hourglass effect by  belting tops, jackets and even big winter coats.

This brings the waistbelt back in the picture after a few years of absence. And guess what, it’s getting bigger again. Sonia Rykiel and Victoria Beckham may still have opted for smaller belts, yet as seen at Michael Kors, Yves Saint Laurent (Saint Laurent Paris), Acne and Fendi big belts are back. Wear yours in a shade matching your outfit and create that elegant super feminine figure.

Jan Boelo Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Going big
After having presented his previous collections in the afternoon Jan Boelo will hold a big evening show in collaboration with phone company Sizz during upcoming Amsterdam Fashion Week. And so Jan is going big with his collection too this season. “We’re creating about forty to fifty looks this time, twice the number of looks we did last year”, says Boelo. “Of course it tougher, but the number of team members working on the collection is doubled too and we’ll get some extra help the coming weeks, so we’ll manage. Since I only want to show the strongest looks we eventually might edit out about five of them during the styling process, but for now we’re just creating enough options.”

In the navy
The theme of Jan’s spring summer collection will be military, inspired by an editorial in French Vogue. “I’m showing all kinds of variations of the uniform. The army and the navy will be big themes in the show. The runway show will be a triumph, after battle. This means besides uniforms I will present garments men and women wear when returning home after war, for example leather long johns. All designs (in shades of sand, army, navy, red, white, blue, silver and gold ) will be slightly destroyed and the models’ hair and make-up too will look a bit off, in line with the theme”, Jan explains.

Seks & wax
The pieces will have a slightly different fit compared to last season, yet there’s no doubt they will still breathe the same amount of sex and rock. Jan: “The military jackets will be extremely tailored, T-shirts will be super tight, yet pants will be slightly looser and there is a focus on the shoulders. You’ll see my signature leather and jersey, plus I’ve used a special wax fabric for some of the coats and jackets. I will even present a sweater knitted out of chains, we are working on right now.”

Shine on
Jan already has a famous clientèle of mainly artists (Caro Emerald, Daily Bread and Ellen ten Damme) who wear his designs on stage. And it seems he inspires them as much as they do him. “The fabrics I use work really well on stage, since they’re often very shiny. It’s the stand out pieces (his metallic pants and baroque jackets from previous collections) that are selling the best. In Paris (where his designs are sold at Le Vestibule) a selection of Jan Boelo jackets was even sold out in four days. Jan: “The great thing is that even abroad mostly musicians and performers, people I’m inspired by, buy my designs.”

Celebs
And oh my do stars love Jan Boelo. Ever since his first fashion show he has had a star studded front row, something he never would have imagined. “I’m only 24 years old and I am actually just starting out. Sometimes I can not even believe some of the famous Dutch artists would actually come to my show.” Looking far ahead with his career is thus something Jan doesn’t do. “It’s hard to plan things, but of course I would love to expand. I would like to sell my clothes in London, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia, but time will tell if that will happen.”

Friday the 13th
For now Jan is finishing up his collection and is excited about the show. “I’m showing on the same day as Bas Kosters and Spijkers en Spijkers, so it will be a great day even though it will be Friday the 13th. I’m looking forward to putting on a great show together with them. ‘Cause I feel making Amsterdam Fashion Week a success is something you do together.”

Jan Boelo will show his Spring Summer 2013 collection on Friday 13 July at 09.00 PM

Karssenberg-Greidanus Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

First time
Karssenberg-Greidanus will present their work for the second time during Amsterdam Fashion Week. For the very first time designers Sanne Karssenberg and Cleo Greidanus are presenting a summer collection, named CloudScape. Sanne: “Up until now we’ve only been working on winter collections and art projects, so this will be our first spring/summer collection. Now don’t expect it to be all airy and bright, ‘cause the show won’t have that typical summer feeling.”

Rainy summer
No bikini’s or tropical blouses, these designers translated ‘summer’ in their very own way. “We’ll show shirts and dresses that are perfect for summer. Plus, we’ve designed raincoats that are right for our rainy Dutch summers, since we always like to design functional clothes that made for protection.” And it’s not just the weather these coats refer to, the designers used rain as a metaphor too. “Rain stands for the large amount of data we receive every day, which can be kind of an overload. The raincoat can feel as a safe cocoon, but can be kind of suffocating too.”

Hello color?
It’s the first spring/summer collection but it is also the first time the designduo is working with color. Well, color…“Before we always used ‘non-colors’, now we’ve used shades of white, grey, black and red. We used these on lots of jerseys, some transparent plastics, knitwear, glass-like materials that represent water drops.”

Story to tell
Karssenberg-Greidanus have been absent for a while, but decided to show again during Amsterdam Fashion Week, since they felt they had a new story to tell. “For the first time we are launching a more wearable collection, we felt people should see that. We want people to know the story behind the collection and with a catwalk show you can tell that story. It is slightly more stressful though, because we really want the collection to portray the right feeling.”

Pre-show ritual
Sanne: “We’re pretty right on track. Every now and then I get a small anxiety attack, but apart from that the show preparations are going well. We hope we have time for our pre-show ritual on Wednesday. We like to go to the hairdresser together and get a new haircut as a last preparation for the show and a welcome getaway from the design studio where we are spending all our time right now.”

Karssenberg-Greidanus will show their Spring Summer 2013 collection on Thursday 12 July at 08.00 PM

See some the first impressions of the collection below.

Giambattista Valli Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

For next winter Giambattista Valli presented quite a sober collection. He showed knit dresses, checked coats, knee length skirts and sleeveless tops all with one and the same focus point; a wide belt around the models’ waists. Perhaps the designs were a little less sexy than in a average Valli collection, but it definitely fit right in with today’s trends. Looks were cosy and appeared perfect for a cold winter day. Yet some of these looks can be deceiving since some of the knits were actually trompe l’oeil effect printed on airy fabrics. Still, no matter what choice of fabric all outfits were perfectly balanced. Tops looked as great with fur-ish skirts as they did with transparent pleated ones. Some full on graphical printed (and colored) looks (Marni-ish) and a golden croc leather coot stayed classy. And the sheer evening gowns which ended the show mixed covered sexiness with sophistication in a unique way. Now that is how you present a wearable cohesive collection.

 

Nina Ricci Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

‘Nostalgia for the present’ was the theme of the Nina Ricci collection. It was about young girls playing dress-up in their mother’s and grandmother’s clothes, as Peter Copping told the press. This translated through tops with too long sleeves, extra large skirts and some of the dresses which were one size too big.

It made the models look like dolls. Dolls dressed in chic, but scruffy designs. Like slipdresses patched together with tweed and lace. Or somewhat destroyed jackets with fringes all over.

Though most of the looks were very ladylike, we also got a bit of a sporty vibe. Especially one of the last outfits, a sheer houndtooth skirt and jacket had sporty chic written all over it.

In this collection too it was all about mixing different materials, patchwork really. Wool and fur, lace and tweed, leather and satin, for the ultimate luxury looks with a bit of an edge.

 

 

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

At Balenciaga we were high in the sky. Because the show took place on the 27th floor of the Paris skyscraper ‘Tour Cristal’ and since we fell in love with it’s beautiful fall collection. One shown by a complete Balenciaga Inc. company, including employees, interns and an IT department.

Ghesquière introduced new silhouettes and new proportions (coats with big rounded shoulders and padded sweaters with puffy sleeves).

Sheer dresses were presented in different shades with asymmetric metallic and animal printed accents. Knee high skirts were matched with thick stiff sweaters and short jackets. He even showed his sense of humor, by introducing parachute pants and sweatshirts with crazy slogans like “JOIN A WEIRD TRIP” and “OUT OF THE BLUE”. At the end those same parachute pants were elongated till the models’ waists and worn with V-neck sleeved tops and corset-like variations.

So many different looks and yet each one so strong and unique. Working at this Balenciaga office seems like a dream job to us. We can already picture ourselves behind our clean desks just daydreaming as a real life catwalk takes place in front of your eyes everyday.

Salvatore Ferragamo Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2012

At Ferragamo it was all about military meets femininity. And who would have thought an army of women could look this sexy?!

Strong heavy coats were combined with elegant lace skirts and heavy skirts, on the other hand, were matched with sheer off shoulder tops. Playful bottoms were worn with body hugging tops and tight pencil skirts formed nice duos with loose, airy tops. This way every single look was perfectly balanced.

Models wore their hair in tight partings and looked fierce with their short chokers. Yet the soft make-up made it right again. Super feminine, tough and strong, or something in between; Salvatore Ferragamo is your brand for any of those fall/winter looks.

 

Missoni Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2012

Long, lean silhouettes determined the Missoni fall/winter collection we saw today. And while the looks were very feminine, Angela Missoni added a fresh touch of grunge to her outfits. It was visible through the hair (divided into three parts), the eye catching jewellery (large earrings – in one ear – brooches and matching waist belts) and the odd styling (wrongly buttoned vests).

The new look for fall was also dictated by patchwork details (we saw earlier this week) which combined knits with fur. Presented in shades ranging from faded pastels tot seventies shades to different grey and turquoise tones it made up for a graceful collection.

Skirts and dresses below the knee were combined with body wrap tops and long leather gloves. The label’s signature zigzag print had made way for lines, stain-like prints and graphical patterns.

Angela showed a fresh, young collection and clearly tried to do something different this time. And well.., we think she succeeded.

John Galliano Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Galliano’s models seemed to have walked straight out of the glamour days of the past. They looked elegant and sophisticated with looks in their eyes as if they were death serious. Even though they wore patent leather jackets, fur coats and shiny gold tops; they kept their poker faces on throughout their walks.

Here too, it seemed pants are getting looser, whilst jackets are getting more and more tailored. After today we will definitely put those waist belts on our Menswear Musthave List. Yet we’re still in doubt if that fur T-shirt should end up there as well…

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