Costume National Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

Apart from an all red look and a selection of full on purple ensembles Costume National told a true monochrome story today. Fresh faced models (hardly any make-up, hair undone; the kind of streetstyle coolness we know from most French editors) worked the modern, cool f/w2014 collection, which formed the ultimate mix of menswear inspired creations (pinstripes, boxy fits, large collars and suits) and elegant feminine designs (sexy dresses, sheer blouses and lots of (faux?) fur. Like the first crispy white look with a pair of loose fitting pants, brogue shoes and a winter proof fur waistcoat, worn carelessly, hands in the pockets. Followed by a more sexy attire, short dress, bare legs, high heels. A few navy & black designs were less impressive, but other than that, f/w 2014 just felt right. The CN woman is not trying to hard to fit in. She’s not desperate to look sexy or desirable. And she doesn’t dress the way she dresses for anyone else but herself. That’s why the CN woman, or girl if you will, is so damn hot. Yes, especially in that tux-inspired black suit at the end.

Fendi Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

Cara Delevingne dressed in a chic black hooded coat with faux fur detailing carrying a tiny faux fur Lagerfeld doll (the latest it-accessory?) was the first look of today’s Fendi show. What followed were lots of beautiful coats, dresses and jackets created out of a mix of fabrics (very Fendi). Wool, velvet, neoprene, mesh parts and faux fur details in all the right places filled the Italian fashion house’s fall/winter presentation. There was a focus on coats, jackets and (skater) skirts and the whole collection had a very sporty vibe. Coats got bomber jacket collars, designs had all kinds of neoprene and mesh parts and those leather boots had a definite sneaker appeal. Apart from the company’s great leather bags and few orange shaded sunglasses and that one particular doll, orchids pinned onto the fur coats (inspired by Billie Holiday’s song “Violets for Your Furs,” Lagerfeld thought of the tradition that dictated a woman’s husband or lover would pin her with a floral corsage as she set off cross-country by train, which led to travel being the theme of his new Fendi collection) formed the ultimate f/w2014 accessory. All of this was filmed by drones (flying technology objects with tiny camera’s that provide a 360 degree view) and broadcasted live on the Fendi website. Now that’s even better than a front row seat!

 

 

Max Mara Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

Inspired by Scotland Max Mara came up with a luxurious collection this week. Full of rich materials with lots of texture the brand focused on it’s strongest asset; outerwear. With a wide range of classy coats (from woolen and tweed to quilted and leather) to choose from, the Max Mara women won’t be cold next winter. They were worn with pencil skirts (over the knee, mid calf), paired with sleeveless woolen tops, designs with PVC details and crocodile printed gold creations (even shoes!). Not tucked in, but worn to their full length, far below the waist. The designs may have been classic; the careless appeal of the models (hair undone, hardly any make-up, yet bright red lips) made them look young and fresh. As fresh as the collection’s lichen green, which already has us in deep thoughts figuring out with what tone to match it.

Streetfashion Milan Womenswear FW2014, Day 1

What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that vintage Prada or your latest Givenchy-sweater? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Milan Womenswear Fashion Week fall/winter 2014.

Alberta Ferretti Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

It was clear that Alberta Ferretti got her inspiration from the woods and birds. The result was far from magcical and arty, it got a depth and sobriety via heavy textures and embellishments. Feathers were a key component of the collection — as a print; as an illusory mélange of pleated ribbon; and as a real detail.
Ferretti also played up decorative elements such as sequins, feathers, flower appliqués and ribbons. Her palette contained the colors of fall, green on the point of turning to orange, or peculiar leaf-mold tones. The textures followed suit — fabric technology duplicated tree bark, a nubby autumnal tweed was shot through with gold.

Gucci Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2014

It was a smart Gucci-collection Frida Giannini presented at the start of Milan Fashion Week. Plain and simple, functional chic with a dash of glamor. The FW14 collection seems rooted in sportswear infused with a Sixties vibe: crisp, precise shapes softened with a palette of pastels — pinks and beiges; dusty blues and greens. The tailoring for jackets and pants were lean and mannish.
Dresses and belted coats retained the clean shapes while expressing the more feminine side of the Gucci range.

For evening Giannini offered a series of short, structured dresses including several in leather their bodices decorated with bold encrustations of crystals.

Kathryn Milan Catwalk Fashion Show FW14

Designer David Turner is behind the classy women’s and men’s line Kathryn Milan, which he launched during the Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek Amsterdam. He creates a new evolution of luxury, bringing his sense of simple elegance and style, with an infused influence of European class, to the fashion world.

The Big Round Up Womenswear SS 2014, Part 3

This is the third and last part of the 9 big trends we spotted for the coming spring-season: Tribal, Showgirls and Understated.

TRIBAL

From left to right: Missoni, Moncler Gamme Rouge, Givenchy, Missoni, Givenchy

Make way for the fashion tribes. It was all feathers and fringe, African inspired patterns and crafted textiles. At Missoni a subliminal strand of exotica trailed through the collection embracing tribal artisanship and textile crafts; Monclers Gamme Rouge touches on the feathery froth of the urban jungle, celebrating diversity in a multiracial catwalk and a natural assimilation of urban cultures; Givenchy shows the car crash of  two cultures—the fragility of Japan and the draping of Africa – brewing a hot and exquisite mixture of African romance and Japanese elegance and fragility.

 

UNDERSTATED

From left to right: Hermès, Salvatore Ferragamo, Donna Karan, Stella McCartney, Paul Smith

There is value in simplicity, in effortless and sophisticated silhouettes, impactful and strong in execution. Hermès shows the look particularly long, lean, light and relaxed, executed in a late Seventies vibe; Salvatore Ferragamo makes it polished in an unpretentious way; Donna Karan shows the fundamentals of a beautiful line up, showing languid dresses in an inviting palette; Stella McCartney shows easy feminine shapes, designed on instinct, staying true to her aesthetic;  Where Paul Smith shows a sexy, shrugged-on attitude and a carefree confidence.

SHOWGIRLS

From left to right: Rodarte, Julien Macdonald, Miu Miu, buying viagra Roberto Cavalli, Louis Vuitton

Dressed to face the spotlights. Rodarte exclaims “Los Angeles” – staging fringed brocade bras and satin leopard diner jackets; Julien MacDonald shows a metropolis-reminiscent body matching his glambassador status, his motto – “you can’t have enough of glitter!’; Miu Miu displays a rebellious view on femininity – pretty and perverse, the classics of a bad girl; Roberto Cavalli keeps it savvy and seductive, in clingy, webby laces and repurposed reptiles – telling stories of silver-screen dreaminess; Where Louis Vuitton tries to awaken “the showgirl in all of us’ with an emphasis on fearless and fabulous denim with crafty lace patchworks.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

The Big Round Up Womenswear SS 2014, Part 2

This is the second part of our Round Up for the coming season, which focuses on the designers’ favorite print for ss2014 – Flowers – and the glamor of shiny fabrics.

SHINE & SHAPE

From left to right: Rodarte, Prabal Gurung, Balenciaga, Ports 1961, Christian Dior

This is all about personal fixations and idealized heroins acting on a contemporary stage. Rodarte reveals tacky satins with  faint 80s references on a sunset strip and a Hollywood boulevard in outfits that show stardom and cool couture confidence; Prabal Gurung shows urban glam in Marilyn Monroe inspired dresses and outfits; Balenciaga sculpts to go where couture and twenty-first-century technology meet; Ports 1961 merges the bold and the boxy with silk, satins and lace; Where Christian Dior concludes that respect for the past is all well and good – but the future won’t wait…

 

THE FLORIST.01

From left to right: Antonio Marras, Aquilano Rimondi, Christopher Kane, Dries Van Noten, Hermès

Botanical gorgeousness was all around. At Antonio Marras with otherworldly fashion sensibility; At Aquilano Rimondi jewel-like in its coloring, couture like in its obsessive polish and exotic in its pattern; Christopher Kane shows flower activism “We live because of flowers and trees”, his spreading blossoms show a lush physicality and he emphasises viagra online pharmacy cheap the flowers’ reproductive capabilities; Dries van Noten finds paintings of bulbous tulips at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, he translates them, as if stenciled by magic, onto cloth; He might have met the Hermès team there – scanning the same sources.

 

THE FLORIST.02

From left to right: Comme des Garçons, Mary Katrantzou, Jonathan Saunders, Preen By Thornton Bregazzi

Here sweetness comes with en eerie edge. Comme des Garçons looks nearly pretty, in pink floral nursery patterns; Mary Katrantzou pumps up the psychedelia of her prints, showing florals exaggerated with embroidery; All-new Summer of Love for Jonathan Saunders, showing psychedelic sunsets and giant globes that glow like alien suns while trance music drowsily drones and opium poppies shimmer on organza starburst floral prints, all to show perverse delight; Where Preen shines brightly with foil silk floral anoraks and shiny pink shifts in cellophane nylon.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

The Big Round Up Womenswear SS 2014 Part 1

 

Against the chaotic backdrop of modern times we witness more extreme fashion scenarios this season. After a rather calm start in New York, with safe recycling of the successful and proven of previous seasons, creative energy was unleashed in Milan and a more dynamic spirit came to full strength arriving in Paris. There we experienced a mind-blowing climax during a happening loaded with raging energy staged by Rick Owens.

We sense the spirit of activism. Obvious in all quotes and messages boldly embedded in clothes that are both dynamic and wearable. Fashion used as a billboard for rage, concern, care, as well as joy. Designers tend to dive deeper into the context of their collections, want to give meaning to their actions and draw strong narratives that speak to the imagination.

Empowerment is one of the more politically driven manifestos. Women in general, women in Africa – from Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Céline and most obvious at Prada – and there are more…

A booming interest in art conveys a sense of unbridled energy and optimism. Paint is dragged, dabbed, pulled and splattered across garments. Clothes are used as a canvas and art on stage is used as a backdrop for calm and beautiful clothes.

Africa provides key inspiration, fringe and a tribal beat as the theme of the season. The echo of Africa is omnipresent. As mentioned above, reflecting on the fate of women, but also on its cultural vibrancy, its folklore and rich aesthetics – designers place it in a new context and translate it into high fashion looks. Let’s hope the interest is sustained, translated into positive action and that something is in it for Africa….

We are entering a brave new world in which science and technology are the driving forces behind new innovation across the design industry. Balmain and Céline are among the designers who show impressive examples of technical fashion textile innovation. With hypermodern materials and an energetic attitude, sport was one of the stories that engulfed the runways.

We listed 9 strong influences straight off the international catwalks in New York, London, Milan and Paris.
ARTWORKS, FIRE BRIGADE, GRAPHIC AND SPORTY, SHINE AND SHAPE, SHOWGIRLS, THE FLORIST 0.1, THE FLORIST 0.2, TRIBAL, UNDERSTATED.

Let’s start with the first three.

ARTWORKS

From left to right: Viktor & Rolf, Céline, Céline, Kenzo, Chanel

A fest of art processes and a good portion of fashion activism generates primary, urgent expressionism in giant strokes and squiggles. A one off sprayed couture canvas energizes the plain range of Victor & Rolf; slaps of primary colors like tribal brushwork and big, bold, bright tunics and skirts wild with fringe frame the power of women at Céline; artful ocean drawings point out the cause of overfishing at Kenzo where Chanel poses its products of crafts and artisanship against the backdrop of an art gallery.

FIRE BRIGADE

From left to right: Undercover, Emilio Pucci, Hermès, Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior

We signal an alarming portion of red. Walking billboards shout the revival of logo mania during the show of Undercover – showing impressive activism and manifestos in vibrant fierce red; Emilio Pucci chooses red for streetwise gym clothes to express extreme body confidence; Hermès shows red in a rendezvous with romance resonating the faint echoes of Africa; generic version of diflucan At Alexander McQueen power women are painted in dazzlingly tribal red; Where Christian Dior paints poisonous red to stress the harder attitude. Fashion is politicized and shades have a meaning.

GRAPHIC & SPORTY

From left to right: Viktor & Rolf, Victoria Beckham, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Céline, Ports 1961

Sport proves to be one of the big drivers this season. Viktor & Rolf dress dolls and play sporty tailoring games with knife pleats and sharp crested blazers; Shape, leggy and cling where the buzzwords for Victoria Beckhams crisp line up showing athletic body-harness dresses; City smart sports layers make easy outfits that are cut with efficiency by 3.1 Philip Lim; Céline goes ragga style in this elongated string vest look, layered with a yellow jumper tied around the waist; Where Ports 1961 shows sports clean and sharp, matching bold boxy tops with generous drapes in full swing.

 

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

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