Emporio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

You’ll never know what to expect with Armani. But one thing you know for sure: he does his own thing being it off trend or not. Well all the tough leather he sent out today was on trend, we’ve seen it in more collections this week, but the erotic edge was new and daring for a label like Emporio Armani. The designer  probably got caught by Lady Gaga’s videoclip Alejandro, in which he dressed the police-like posse.

But if you leave all the styling behind, what is left are some good, black leather pieces. Like a skinny pant, a (sleeveless) jacket and a shirt. Perfect items to mix with a pair of jeans, a short or  loose, linen pants. And please, shall we ban the mix of shiny leggings with bermuda’s? That’s something for soccer-players who are afraid of the cold, but not for normal human beings.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Like at Versace, the soundtrack used for Gianfranco Ferre’s fashion show was a song by Talking Heads. Their hit from 1977  ‘Psycho Killer’ was on the speakers and surely had a good rhythm for the models to walk on.

For summer 2011 Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi used a soft color palette with hues of beige, light blue and gray. Light stripes and graphic zigzag prints were added to several looks.

According to the show notes Gianfranco Ferré was going oriental with this collection. This was visible through the sober sweaters with standing colors and the tops that closed diagonally. Perhaps the weird hats (that matched with not one of the outfits) belonged to that theme as well.

Most of the blouses, jackets and pants looked comfy. Yet they also resembled men’s pyjama’s and therefore won’t become a huge hit. On the contrary, some of the double breasted jackets, a few trench coats and the final look (a black & white tuxedo) were perfection.

Unfortunately the collection didn’t breath summer. There were precisely three shorts, no tees, all looks had long sleeves and the models wore too much layers for spring/summer.

Bottega Veneta Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

The Bottega Veneta show was a parade of sexy, well-dressed men from the beginning till the end. Apart from making beautiful garments Tomas Maier had fun with it too. There were all sorts of playful details on the clothes he designed.

One detail that kept coming back was a thin loose-hanging collar/piece of fabric. It had absolutely no function, it was just a funny accent.

Other playful details Maier added were lots of zippers, drawstrings, pockets and rolled up sleeves and legs. Those gave the outfits a more technical and sporty look, while the double breasted suit jackets with the pointy collars appeared more formal.

Maier chose to use a few colors (blue, red, green), but managed to keep the looks very manly. The leather bags, that bring in an important part of the fashion house’s sales, matched with the hues of the clothes.

Altogether the suits, the belted trousers, the leather shorts, the parkas and the torso-revealing tops made a steady menswear collection from which any modern man would love to have one or two items…

..together with the bearded models and their hot bodies it all resulted in a wonderful fashion show.

Jil Sander Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Set in an old park in the hills of Florence, Raf Simons sent out an energetic menswear-collection for Jil Sander thanks to the beautiful bright colors and vibrating stripes. I watched the Web stream – but even without being there the clothes looked crispy and clean and very upbeat. Color was the message, without trying too hard. They worked best when mixed together, like orange pants with a turquoise sweater or a purple coat mixed with pink, turquoise and nightblue. The patterns were surprising too, especially the multi-colored stripes that made a psychedelic effect and will definitely be adapted in the fast fashion-collections. Softer were the flowerprints, that gave a particular touch to the vibrant color-blocking.

The collection consisted of shorts (as seen in many other collections), casual jackets, shirts, trenchcoats and belts which gave  it all a sporty touch. Nice details: the reflecting spots at the back of jackets and the colored soles of the shoes.

Let’s hope men will catch up with it, at least with a  colorful shirt or coat – it will definitely make the sun come out.

Burberry Catwalk Fashion Show ss2011

For the recent wintercollection of Burberry Christopher Bailey went back to the roots of the old British label: the trenches of World War 1 en 2. And for his recent summercollection Bailey mixed the army-wear with skintight, vintage biker-pants and cropped weathered jackets.

Once again Bailey got all the military heritage at the stage and restored all the accents, like epaulets, belts and straps. The trenches looked sharp and clean. Colors were alike moving from black tot navy-blue, khaki and green. It looked like a solid, commercial collection with lots of items to put on your wish-list. If I were a man I would definitely save money for a black biker-jacket, a thin shirt and a clean, leather trench. But as a fashion-collection it did not stand out – I’ve seen better Burberry-collections with great shirts and accessories, in new colors and interesting daring  design, combinations or fabrics.

But hey, these are the days of surviving in the fashionworld.  And I forgive the designer for being so honest and calculating. Thanks to him Burberry is still going strong. It’s simply time to invest in great classic pieces, fast fashion can wait for now.

Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Dolce & Gabbana keep on celebrating their 20th anniversary with memorable events. Not only a cocktail and exhibition in the Palazzo Marino (City Hall) in the centre of Milan, but also with great theatrical fashionshows. The shows not only tell the story of their roots, but also of their creativity and passion.

Today’s menswearshow was all about passion and drama. The duo took inspiration from their beloved Sicily, especially from the fishermen. They took their simple, but inventive way of clothing – pants held together by a rope, fishnet-shirts, simple linen suits, sandals and shorts – and translated that in a casual, relaxed collection with white, black and sand as their main colors. I’m sure there was something for actor Morgan Freeman or Matthew McConnaughey who were attending the show.

But the most dramatic part was the performance of singer Annie Lennox. Dressed in a  huge ballgown she played the piano and acted like a real diva. Her voice sounded better than ever and she sang her evergreens passionately.

Calvin Klein Catwalk Fashion Show – SS2011

Today’s Calvin Klein collection had an overall sporty vibe to it. This was visible through all kinds of aspects, like the hi-tech sneakers, the sweaters, the belly-exposing tops and jackets, the many zippers, the (partly visible) Calvin Klein logo and the sunglasses hanging on cords.

The many suits Italo Zucchelli came up with weren’t necessarily very sporty, yet they felt quite modern. Zucchelli once said ‘I no longer believe there is a fabric that’s wrong for making a suit. You could use material designed for tents and make a spectacular suit out of it.’ And so he did. Leather, silk, satin, he used almost any fabric for his slim-fit suits. Overall they looked very shiny and smooth. And the turquoise, the beige, the light grey and the blues appeared to be a good mix of colors.

In between the slick suits and sporty jackets some models in ultra-tight swim-shorts passed by to the sound of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wildside.

The old-fashioned, fully buttoned blouses, the glossy suits and the belly-exposing tops might not be a huge hit in stores next summer, but overall the show was fun to watch. So we’re sure the people watching the show on LED screen at the Piazza del Duomo in Milan had a great time tonight.

Fashion focus: all about Anna Sui

Name of the brand: Anna Sui

Name(s ) of the designer(s): Anna Sui

About the designer(s): Anna Sui (1964) was born in Detroit, Michigan. She moved to New York to study art and design. After leaving school Anna worked for some junior sportswear companies, like Charlie’s Girls. She then started to design clothes that were sold at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Anna Sui is now sold all over the world and is particularly popular in Asia. She says her perfumes made her a global brand.

Start of the brand: in 1981 Anna started designing for herself.

First collection: In 1991 Anna Sui held her first fall fashion show, encouraged by her friends Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, who were super-popular at that time.

The Anna Sui woman: loves to mix and match and is great fun

Anna Sui women: Paris Hilton, Blake Lively, Mischa Barton, Cher, Naomi Campbell, Sofia Copola, Nicole Kidman, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Liv Tyler.

The clothes are: boho-chic,

Type of clothes: colorful, hip, rock & roll, casual/street-wear

Signature: girly, patchwork, patterns, all kind of different styles and elements combined. Anna often uses the color purple.

Collaborations: In 2009 Anna Sui collaborated with Target to produce a Gossip Girl inspired line.
Anna Sui designed cellular phones for Samsung

Awards: CFDA Lifetime achievement Award

Quotes:

‘I always had to do extra design jobs just to keep my company going for the first 10 years.’

‘There were times after I paid my employees that I didn’t even have enough money for a subway token.’

‘On the runway, I’ll do crazy styling and crazy accessories, but there’s always a beautiful dress or a great shirt underneath.’

‘I’m kind of like a show-off.’

Extra:

Anna Sui’s fashion shows always have rock music and background designs.

In 1999 Anna started her fragrance and cosmetic line. She has launched fourteen different fragrances ever since.

In 2004 Anna launched a second, more youthful clothing line, named Dolly Girl by Anna Sui.

In 2009 a children’s line was added, named Anna Sui Mini.

In 2010 Anna Sui’s collection was seen in the finale of America’s Next Top Model.

There is a Anna Sui Soho Barbie

Before Anna’s label became successful she helped out her friend Steven Meisel with the styling of his photo shoots.

Graduation Shows: HKU – Utrecht

Yesterday 25 students of the HKU (Hogeschool voor de kunsten Utrecht) presented their graduation collections. In a beautiful location, called Winkel van Sinkel, they all gave their own little fashion show. The event was named ‘Platform’, yet each student could give his/her collection it’s own name. But apart from the name, they also had to come up with a theme, a collection (of course), the styling, the make-up, the choreography and the music. So you’ll guess they’d been working on this for months.

All the hard work was definitely visible; we saw some great collections.

Let’s start with Mariko Ferrier. Her theme was ‘The beauty of the ugly truth’. Her models first walked on stage very slowly, but started to walk faster towards the end. Her clothes were a mix of beautiful and ugly details. She, for example used light transparent fabrics combined with heavy, thick woollen parts. Her pants, her jackets and her tops all had wholes in them. They were hanging together by thick threads of wool. We loved the dip-dying she used, yet the music was awful.

Then we had Barbara Langendijk. She called her collection ‘Me versus My identity’ and was inspired by the search of her own identity. Her models stepped on the runway in towering high shoes and wore eye-catching glasses. Barbara had used her own shadow in her designs, which therefore had very high shoulders. She came up with strange combinations of fabrics like velvet and very thin transparent ones. An item we very much liked, was her beige cape.

The presentation of Mark Stadman, a fashion communication student, really stood out. Mark, who named his collection ?Mark, took his inspiration from the boy-bands in the nineties. He came up with five totally different outfits to stress the individual characters of ‘his boy-band’. His models had studied strange movements and wore crazy wigs. Mark didn’t design a collection, yet he managed to portray a very clear fashion message.

Esther Vijftigschild used the life’s tale of her Grandmother’s skin as a starting point for her collection ‘The metaphor of skin’. Like your skin can tell the story of your life, Esther did that with her clothes. Her designs were a mix of light and heavy fabrics. They had accentuated shoulders and volume in strange places. The ends of the fabric were decorated with thick wool. The silhouette was long.

Roos Woudenberg designed a good collection of men’s clothes. Not only did the designs look very wearable, they were all made out of sustainable materials too. Shades like brown/deep red were combined with dark blue. Especially the coats looked strong. Hats off for Roos for this sustainable and fashionable collection.

Jan Boelo Drenth’s collection was (like his music) very Gothic. He designed everything in black from capes to trails and cowls. It felt dark and mysterious, like he intended it. Jan used many different fabrics and created lots of volume. His great passion for couture was visible is lots of small accents he’d put on his garments. The good thing about this collection was that it was cohesive and became more dramatic with each outfit appearing on the runway. The skirts and the trails became bigger with each look. That’s how a good collection works. Well done.

Fashionclash Maastricht 2010, impressions

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