Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2013

Dries van Noten always follows his own feeling, that makes his collections so real and honest. For ss2013 the Belgian designer mixed everything he loved – mens/womenswear, grunge and spontaneity – in a contemporary collection. He had enough of minimalism and plainness – just at the time nearly every designer is going for minimal elegance. Van Noten took basic pieces and cut them in the plaids and checks of retro street culture, pattern clashing against pattern, sometimes in the same garment. Yet lightness reigned, in both color (muted pastels that held court with earthier tones) and in the constructions of the fabrics.
Like much of the tailoring, the  decorativeness was informed by the designer’s fascination with couture. Skirts were adorned in front with appliqués of rosettes; a sweater got embroidered sleeves; organza ruffles became a wrap.

Giorgio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Giorgio Armani kept his ss2013-collection ultra subdued with cloud-like colors that moved into a range of lovely blues. The first part of the show contained sportswear pieces worn in layers, often a short jacket over a tunic and pants.  Airiness was the point, and often, the effect, as Armani worked mostly in lightweight silks. Armani’s message of elegant ease he delivered via jackets with softly pleated, flyaway backs; a  focus on shorts and some dresses in gentle prints. Into evening celestial prints and dazzling crystals — grids, starbursts and spheres — exploded against grounds of black and navy.

Missoni Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Angela Missoni re-imagined the label’s signature knits through interesting plays with layering and transparency, often veiling the pieces in soft organza for an ethereal effect. A short fitted dress in a patchwork of pink knits was visible under a looser one in pink organza, and a sequined sheer floor-length gown was shown over a white knit version that hugged the body.
Missoni has a strong eye for color – often in gradations of greens and oranges – and the silhouettes and proportions were in control so the clothes had a certain allure. The final black dresses had a slight futuristic vibe.

Marni Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Firmness. Sparseness as elegance. The new Marni collection is a weightless exploration of volume. Form is reduced to its pure essence, laid bare to expose the precision of the cut and beauty of the fabric.
Clothes stand away from the body, gently drawing moving contours around it. They float, fold and turn. Silhouettes are clean and sculpted: A-line, trapeze and to the knee.
A sense of spontaneity is focal: dresses look like fabric was folded, rather than cut, into the final shape; pleats and peplums create sensuous additions on tops and skirts. The tension between delicacy and strictness adds nuance: short-sleeved shirts and matching pants are as efficient as uniforms; basques bring focus on the hips; flowery patterns are feisty.
The color palette contains white, black, dark green, touches of aqua, pale grey, orange, red, purple. Firm, compact fabrics enhance the bare pureness of the lines: cotton canvas, tape jacquard, bonded leather.

Emilio Pucci Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Peter Dundas, the British designer at Pucci, proved himself capable of designing collections for this Florentine house without the famous kaleidoscopic Pucci-prints. And still, it’s as glamorous and elegant as it ever was.
For Spring, Dundas filtered his style signatures through the lens of Vietnam. The designer used occasional military reference as well as traditional Asian motifs and showed bomber jackets, sheer veiling, tattoo embroideries, and a cargo jacket in kimono-style. The collection did have some prints, but they were not the focus.  This time Dundas layered a woodblock motif over the vintage find to make it modern.

Jil Sander Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Pure, minimal, reduced. Jil Sanders first women’s collection under her own name since 8 years was exactly what she is know for. The designs were both pure and true to her way of looking at clothes, which is to make an intelligent, respectful appeal to women of all ages. The show opened with a sleeveless coat-dress that, over a white blouse, looked like a schoolgirl jumper. It was followed by another coat-dress whose sleeves fell to just below the elbow. Dresses were her focus. Working in structured fabrics in wine and navy, Sander cut almost everything with room, usin constructions and techniques to sculpt, round and extend shoulders, sleeves and hips. Movement underscored the collection, like the jacket whose subtly exaggerated back swung elegantly; or the oversized culottes that swished like a silk skirt; or the boots with zips that spiraled around the calf.

Antonio Marras Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Antonio Marras took his show as an opportunity to throw a little party. He wanted to celebrated a new alliance with manufacturer Castor with a wedding party. Guests where sitting around little tables drinking coffee and eating iced sponge cake. The models paraded about in dresses and coats made from patchworks of bouclé fabrics, damasks and tweeds in candied almond shades.

Bottega Veneta Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Tomas Maier  focused intenso on dresses and the silhouette for the Bottega Veneta ss2013-collection. The dresses had a strong Forties-vibe with slender shapes and without hard shoulders. Each design looked like a treasure found in a vintage shop, but without the dust. These dresses glanced back at the past, but the cuts were modern and the embroideries state-of-the-art.
It was the workmanship that made these dresses so special. Like a  dress collaged from two different flower prints, the bodice folded and pintucked and the seams, all of them, edged with glossy strips of snakeskin lined with matte bronze studs.

Sportmax Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Just Cavalli Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Roberto Cavalli took the sea as inspiration for the spring collection of Just Cavalli. The show opened with a white biker with “pearl”-studded sleeves. Short dresses were covered in sequins that looked like mermaid’s skin. And the handkerchief hems of chiffon slipdresses trailed like underwater plants.

The collection was ultimately classic Cavalli: the  jungle prints, the jaguar spots, the digital bougainvillea. Also the python, the slither of lace under the jacket, the blue majolica pattern duplicated in everything from tees to leggings, the distressed denim, and those sexy slipdresses.

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