Junya Watanabe Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear SS2016

From what planet did these models came from? Or is this future Africa? We weren’t quite sure. The collection, which was represented at the Paris museum of the history of immigration, showed us oversized neckbands, wild animal (lace)prints on dresses and a whole range of beautiful bold colours: bright yellow, royal blue, olive green, orange, white. It definitely felt fresh en summery. The animal printed capes hanging over their shoulders and the voluminous draping and folding around the body, we would almost forget we were still in Paris. Although the cornerstone of the collection was the shirtdress, seen in almost every look, we were slightly distracted and still in awe of the spacious head creations (could this be the avant-garde sister of Marge Simpson?) and futuristic tribal jewellery. The big rubber belts and hoops around the models necks, XXL bracelets anchored the sleeves of some shirtdresses or a harness around the chest made out of black patent leather. Although it wasn’t quite clear what the exact message of this collection was, it was quite refreshing to be looking so much forward in time, instead of looking on history repeating itself over and over again. To quote Anna Wintour in The September Issue: “Fashion isn’t about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.”

Christian Dior Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear SS2016

Ask bad girl gone good and Dior muze Rihanna to come visit your show (and hoping she’ll be on time) and you know it will get crazy. And so it did. The paparazzi was all over her, while she was attending the red carpet in a pale pink oversized coat from the Haute Couture Fall 2015 collection.

But equally so important was the palpable question that hung above everyone’s head: What kind of exterior would Raf Simons come up with this time? It was everything to express a spring season in full bloom: a sea of blue posies against a crispy white backdrop. Although ‘the sun’ wasn’t properly positioned in the sky, it gave us the first tingles of spring. And it got even better when the models walked down the runway. The collection had to be simple and calm. Drifting away from the embellishments, bright colours and classic hourglass dresses. And thus he presented us ultra wearable clothes; little shorts, cute tops, scalloped hems, chiffon and pleats, smart tailoring, thrown-on parkas and a mainly black and white colour scheme. And if you looked really closely you could see the tight scarves and chokers, with jewels and metal tags, that nodded back to ‘1947’, the date when Dior presented its revolutionary New Look collection for the first time. Not to mention those bags, that got us women trembling for some Dior in our closets. Previous collections may have been more revolting and spectacular, but never underestimate the power of simplicity and calmness. We have this feeling this was probably the much needed silence before the shopping storm.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear SS2016

When attending a Dries van Noten catwalk show, you can expect two things: there will be lots of colour and there will be even more prints and textures. And you’ll probably gonna like it big time. It’s what we call the magic of Dries. He has been putting a spell on us for many seasons and it doesn’t seem to stop. Do we mind? Not a bit.

Flamboyant, bold, impulsive, vivacious, observant, infatuated, jubilant, kinky, fearless, flirtatious, those were some of the show notes expressing the feeling of this spring collection very precisely. At first sight it was a very feminine collection, with the bra tops, tulle baby-doll dresses, lots of sheer fabrics, brocade and jacquard, ruffles and many 1940’s en 50’s silhouettes and references like the sunglasses and arm length gloves. Van Noten added sparkly embroideries and sequins on to the already shiny fabrics and exuberant prints. The clashing colours such as mustard, purple, hot pink, orange and gold didn’t hurt our eyes at all. It was the rock ‘n roll victory hair roll (a Gwen Stefani No Doubt kinda style) and layering that gave it the unexpected and less serious twist, like the bra tops and blouses worn over tattoo-print sleeves and tulle tucked underneath bra’s. The double-breasted jackets, oversized blazers, slouchy trousers with exaggerated bows and some hands in the pockets gave it a more manly touch, to balance it out in that tangible Dries van Noten way. This is a woman well aware of her femininity and elegance, but she never likes to play it completely safe. On the contrary, this was the perfect dress up party.

Chloe Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Womenswear SS2016

What would happen if you mix up western and 90’s grunge-era influences with sporty vibes? Well, you get the Chloe look of spring 2016. It’s like putting together Kate Moss and Courtney Love with the girl from the prairie; sounds like an odd combination, but somehow it works perfectly fine. The result is an interesting mix of its signature bohemian chic hit pieces such as airy maxi dresses -off-shoulder and halter neck-, printed tunics, gladiator sandals, lace details and soft colours, combined with tracksuits, sporting stripes, raw edged denim, harem pants, jogging trousers and tank tops. And did you see all those amazing rainbow colours? The flowy rainbow maxi dress, softly hovering around the models body, was definitely a statement item. Just imagine yourself in this summer stunner(can we skip winter, please?) Designer Claire Waight Keller obviously had a more youthful focus this time, though without completely falling back on the girlish and innocence again. Perhaps she felt it was time for a change and for the Chloe girl to see what’s still intact of her sturdy, grungy side. Well, it seems she’s doing just fine.

Milan Womenswear SS2016 Trend Round-up

Bonjour Paris, see you next year Milan! Stuffed with pasta, espresso’s and loads of fashion, we head towards the European fashion capital. But before we open up the French chapter of this new season, we’d like to look back on the biggest trends straight from the Italian catwalk. Let’s see what summer 2016 has in store for us.

Stripes
As seen at Pucci, Prada, Giorgio Armani and Max Mara.

Colour me blind
As seen at Marni, Missoni, Jil Sander, Sportmax and Moschino.

Sheer me up
As seen at Blumarine, Pucci, Fendi, Prada and Alberta Ferretti

Boho babes
As seen at Alberta Ferretti, Etro, Gucci and Roberto Cavalli.

Asymmetric shoulders
As seen at Versace, Bottega Veneta and Pucci.

Floral Fest
As seen at Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Fendi and Etro.

Statement jewellery 
As seen at Marni, Prada, Dolce&Gabbana and Missoni.

It’s a time of (the)waist
As seen at Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana

The bomb
As seen at Emporio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Bottega Veneta.

Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show New York Womenswear SS2016

This year year is Riccardo Tisci’s tenth at the Givenchy-house, and there was a sense of celebration and coming of age amongst the clothes. It was a collection which spelled out and repeated almost calligraphic black and white variations of the same sentences: Ivory slip dresses and rouleau-strapped camisoles with lace edges, worn over excellently tailored black pants cut to taper gently over pointed shoes. Supple crepe tuxedo jackets with tails, soft kimono coats, and transparent organdy trenches glimmering with jet embroidery. Many, many body-skimming sparkly silver shifts.

Aficionados of Tisci maybe recognized the most spectacular of his couture dresses, one with a degrade feather effect, and another with leather patches applied on tulle in the shape of alligator skin. And then there was the face decoration, taken to another level of beautiful elaboration, in studded golden jewelry, tulle frills, and lace.

Monique Collignon Couture Light Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA SS16

Mother Earth is obviously the main topic this Amsterdam Fashion Week. And for Monique Collignon it was time to turn yet another page of her earth prelude this week, revealing chapter two of her Earth Delight story. The catwalk was blocked with an enormous inflatable planet. And what better way to warm up your audience than to press play Michael Jackson, whispering his earth song in your ear (“what have we done to the world”). It led to absolute silence minutes before the lights turned off.

While her show on thursday’s opening night was based on earthy minerals, this one’s based on nature’s four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. The main differences were not so much in the designs itself, but mostly in the use of colour. When talking of nature’s treasures, you can’t skip its beautiful shades. Each element had it’s particular color scheme: Earth (soft pink, beige, green), water (white, blue, green, yellow), fire (red, orange, pink, black) and wind (black and white). Outfits consisted mainly out of dresses in all sorts: knee-lenght, ballet-like, sleeveless, covered with sequins or wrapped around the body. If you’re not a very dressy person, the elegant cinched or strapless jumpsuits might be a good option. Some looks were accessorised with animal printed scarves and clutches. No surprises there for the real Collignon fans (except for the sneakers), but just a rich collection both timeless and modern.

AMWESTEN Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam SS16

In a world of fast fashion, designer Annemarie Westen wants to go back to craftsmanship, the point where the fashion process starts from scratch. “My work is never really based on a solid concept, it’s more about the feeling. It surpasses time or age and particular fashion seasons. I aim to give women a certain feeling, I want my clothes to strengthen who they are. Be equal to yourself. Sexyness and confidence is not depending on boobs or butts, but knowing yourself.” Something Annemarie herself has no trouble with, as this collection was full of her familiar signatures. Her designs are simplistic, sophisticated and wearable without losing elegance. She plays with subtle changes in the usual, using sharp graphic layers as a sign of strength, while the soft springy materials such as silk and wool emphasise a woman’s grace. But this time around she added more draping details in maxi-dresses and trousers. For a summer collection though, the colour palette was quite gloomy with only black, white and green. “Black is usually the basic pallet I’m working on, because it’s my favourite colour. And use of colour can cause distraction.” It perfectly fitted the dark, heavy music of Marilyn Manson and Pantera that reached our ears, and gave the show an even stronger heartbeat and a don’t-mess-with-me feeling. Exactly as she had hoped for.

Tailor&Elbaz Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam SS16

Two years ago designers slash models slash tv-personalities Maria Tailor and Tamara Elbaz took over Collection PRC, the label of former designer Percy Irausquin. But due to the lack of freedom and design possibilities, especially the lack of space for sporty and super trendy items, made them decide to start their own label. So they did, launching Tailor&Elbaz, a line based on their personal taste, mixing trendy with basic and casual with chic. The exact ingredients they showed today on the Amsterdam Runway. Except, they added a, let’s say, little show element to it. Because how not to go all the way when the theme is Alice in Wonderland. The catwalk was transformed into a dreamy fairytale setting, including a stretch of grass, enormous flowers, mushrooms and rose peddles. All is well, but the question was of course: what is Alice wearing today?

We can imagine Alice her wardrobe isn’t that surprising, but what would happen if you add some Tailor and Elbaz to it? The answer: she would definitely be more glamorous, rock ‘n roll and sporty. She would wear more polo dresses, blossoming skirts, pencil skirts, varsity jackets, ‘love’ and ‘queen’tops and denim shorts covered with hearts. Their color palette of choice existed of shades of black, white, blue and pink. After so much fairtytale sweetness and romance on the tennis court, the rock ‘n roll was mainly found in the many earrings, heavy cat eye make-up and severe ponytails.

This is not a collection that will make heads turn or still you fashion cravings, but if you’re in desperate need of some easy-going daywear glamour, stop searching.

House of Byfield Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam SS16

Designer Carmichael Byfield, who has Jamaican roots, had one goal this season: bringing us closer to each other and closer to nature. “I saw it on the catwalks in New York City last year, nature is a hot topic now in the world of fashion. Because it’s important to us as human beings, nature and life are intertwined forever. We should not escape or ignore it, but embrace it instead.” So he did, but in a rock ‘n roll way. We were sucked into a fifties western movie, played by modern day cowboys. All dressed in ‘daywear suits’ balancing on the edge of bold and sophisticated, like semi-transparant bomber jackets and shirts or high waisted trousers. All clothes dipped in bold colours such pink, blue, purple and green. “My collection is for men who’re not afraid of some color in their wardrobe.” He even allows the lads to show some bare skin, sleeveless jackets and unzipped jackets, without feeling like an presumptuous arrogant prick. But as we all know, a man’s world would be nothing without a woman or a girl. The ladies had 50’s retro hairstyles and red lips that would make Gwen Stefani or Paloma Faith jealous, and ladylike dresses that want to make you swing forever on tonight’s jukebox tunes. If this is a proper way to embrace our planet, we feel you Carmichael.

« Previous Page — Next Page »