First View New York FW2012: Sculptural

Here we sure have a silhouet statement for the season. Sculptural minimalism in dense wool. Luxurious layers of wool, double face or bonded materials, cut, folded and wrapped. New volumes curved and cut away from the body. Rounded shoulders, peplum jackets with wrap, pleat or belted waists.

A novel boldness that shows precision in tailoring, luxurious fabrics and a love for architectonic constructions.  Peter Som shows felt type wrap coats with linebacker shoulders, Thom Browne gloomy, monolithic sculptures with some intricate tailored details, Narcissi Rodriguez goes crisp and neat avoiding unnecessary details and concentrating on the perfect cut, where Ports 1961, shows a strong bold silhouette in interesting textured materials.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View New York FW2012: Oversized

Contours are moving away from the body. Silhouettes rely heavily on the look of seventies American Sportswear. Belted trenches, wide-legged jersey trousers and midi-length dresses. Wide shouldered blouses and bold masculine dress coats with long lapels. Technical parkas and super size rounded sweaters. We recognize David Bowie reflections in broad padded shoulders and zipper closures in almost any garment. Pants are huge and chimney legged and skirts are full, flared, pleated or slitted.

Proenza Schouler translates this look into iconic statements: boyfriends’ jackets in massive volumes, which make the women inside ever so tiny, skinny and lovely. Donna Karan alternates her dressed-up Marlène looks with wide sports coats, Marc by Marc Jacobs shows flared full skirts where Philip Lim translates masculine parameters into sensual feminine sportswear.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

First View New York FW2012: Nomads

A walk on the wild side shows us a myriad of decorative textures, contrasting layers, lovely decorations and a free flow of cultural heritage.

In the Year of the Dragon, global travellers pick up the local and turn it into a lovely metropolitan mash-up. A nomadic lifestyle is reflected in a rich layering of elaborate items. Most headed East for inspiration that reflects in a warm lava and volcanic colour palette combined with gold and copper. Cosy wraps and roomy, up scaled jackets show an interesting combination of urban glam and relaxed in some cases even cuddly comfort.

Rag & Bone masterfully mixes the 70s flavoured bohemian spirit with cool urban design, Edun confirms its favour of crafts and decoration, where Proenza Schouler realises an interesting study of eastern artisanship and kimono shaping.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View New York FW2012: Eccentric

Is this the kick off for an era of extremities? Or just another flow of reminiscence of the 60s en 70s, when pastiche and thrift shops came in favour. But now it get’s the luxury make over. The spirit of frivolous, brocante, scarce collectors items and precious iconic couture with a daring twist. Anna Piaggi and Iris Apfel are the muses to watch. Ab fab furs, chunky knits, lush velvet and corduroy, rich embroidery and tapestry. Proportions are blown up, giant is the size to go for. Supersized jewellery, hyper hats and bold stoles. Some take it serious and embrace the crafts aspect, some take it modern and throw in some digital printing and finishing, where others go for the humorous edge. Marc Jacobs most extreme with fluffy supersize hats, Nicole Miller revives vintage with some Boho touches, Libertine scatters dazzling glitter over luxurious crafted textures. Entertaining, exiting and fun is a good status for fashion.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View New York FW2012: Dressed Up

Sensual form-fitted peplum dresses show that a long lean contouring tube can take on lots of characters. Twisted, folded, tucked, pinned and draped in sleek jewel toned satins with sophisticated not-so-daring slits. Sculptural minimalism makes a powerful silhouette since the fabrics’ contour and shape the body neatly. Smooth curves, pure and severe. Peter Som refers to the traditional peplum dress, Diane von Furstenberg goes more drama with severe asymmetric draping. Victoria Beckham is in control, as she always is, in compact and dense bonded jerseys where streamlining colour inserts play a trick with the eye. Donna Karan shows the most masterful tailoring. Artful compositions create a ultra modern look, clearly inspired by a retrospect on Marlene Dietrich emphasized by the Stephen Jones Fedora’s for an androgynous twist.

 

 

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View New York FW2012: Fabric Manipulation

Kicking off this fashion season brings us a lovely series of highly manipulative as well as manipulated materials. Powerful polished jackets, high gloss and sculptural, framed, lean sensual silhouettes. Waxed and laminated fabrics have interesting stories to tell. Shrunken wool, lacquered tweed, bonded and laminated aspects. Embossed surface effects, skin textures and smooth plains.

Leather, lacquers and plastics. The shine, the pile and the pattern add a touch of sensuality and glam to stern, sporty and robust outerwear.

Alex Wang shows the most experimental and surrealist versions of all, Jason Wu goes for decorative quilting and padding, Prabal Gurung matches pile with gloss where Victoria Beckham lines the military with sensual skin. A strong statement to start with!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Kicking off this fashion season brings us a lovely series of highly manipulative as well as manipulated materials. Powerful polished jackets, high gloss and sculptural, framed, lean sensual silhouettes. Waxed and laminated fabrics have interesting stories to tell. Shrunken wool, lacquered tweed, bonded and laminated aspects. Embossed surface effects, skin textures and smooth plains.

Leather, lacquers and plastics. The shine, the pile and the pattern add a touch of sensuality and glam to stern, sporty and robust outerwear.

Alex Wang shows the most experimental and surrealist versions of all, Jason Wu goes for decorative quilting and padding, Prabal Gurung matches pile with gloss where Victoria Beckham lines the military with sensual skin. A strong statement to start with!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View Paris ss2012: Couture Spirit

The clear read line through Paris catwalk shows is a couture spirit reminiscent of the fifties and sixties. One designer more then the other found ways to translate this precious era in a contemporary and new look. Finding a shared challenge in the search for new proportions yet clearly inspired by the rounded full shaping of that era. Materials where traditional and precious, yet some realised that typical sculptural aspect in novel manmade yet ever so luxurious fabrics. A, I and egg shaped, reduced and iconic, minimal use of details and executed in mostly black and white.

Going back to the archives was what most designers did. Céline created a masterful understated and reduced version and managed to shape couture within a desirable ‘Philo’ mould. Dries van Noten offered grand couture looks in pouf dresses and skirts, finding a way to update by combining these with print and sturdy biker jackets. Rick Owens shifts in all its striking understatement between pillar and egg. Where Balenciaga made the most modern translation by truly redefining couture’s contours. He turned urban wear into couture, so took another road to come to richness by giving city wear the haute treatment. Rochas, how else could it be, took it factual and dived fully into archives using silk duchesse and organza to show the full flavour and grandeur of the couture legacy.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

First View Paris ss2012: Poetic Vision

Viewing the first Paris collections immediately made clear that 50’s Retro, Tropicana and Crafts are definitely on trend, worldwide.

But here we want to highlight a different mood. A lovely tale of heroines travelling the world, picking up inspirations, connecting and merging the east and the west and marrying these influences in lovely, narrative and poetic stories.

The spirit is romantic, exquisitely elegant and fuelled with craftsmanship in tailoring, embellishment, pattern as well as cut. Some glowful decadence in androgynous looks with a daring sensual twist. Shades of China show in dangling tassels, kimono-like wraps, north-African caftans and western suiting. Manipulated city- and landscapes in photo print as well as historical engravings of gardens of Eden.

Ann Demeulemeester goes sensual and combines fluid flared skirts and dresses with elongated suit coats. Severe black suiting with barely-there veils and free flowing fringes. Dries van Noten adds ruffles and ruches to pure, stern silhouettes and narrative prints to bold black and white. Rick Owens adds roundness and softness to column-like contours. Each of them envisioning a positive future. To speak with Owens: a gateway to heaven.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View Milan ss2012: Dare to be Bare

How relieved where we when top-lengths dropped covering midriffs generously half a decade ago. After seasons of revealed bellies the elongated tops seemed so much more luxurious and sophisticated. Yet now we seem to enter a period of hedonism once more, celebrating the body, enjoying fashion and consuming style.

It might be a more reduced and considerate attitude, yet true fashion lovers do go for show-off. A rich variation of midriff-baring sweet nothings show once more the likes for frivolous looks. Where the Belgium professor Helmut Gaus once ‘proved’ that skirt-lengths dropped during depression, these research results surely don’t correlate with top-lengths moving up in depth of crisis. In Milan we note barely-there bandeaux at Versace, lush wrap tops at Blumarine, puffed and crafted tunnel tops at Prada, where Emilio Pucci goes gypsy with intricate lace trimmed  bra-tops.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View Milan ss2012: Sweet Memories

Celebrating the sweet is what Miucca Prada preaches for ss2012. Reminiscent of famous movie-moments these catwalk beauties look soft, smooth and sensual. This polished romance is not always just innocent since frivolous fabrics alternate with shimmery plastics and lush leather. Dressed up looks show a continuous interest in accessories and jewelry with supersized glasses, sparkling jewelry and charming bags.

Blugirl goes innocent, with sweet florals in pretty pastels, where Fendi adds a touch of concealed drama in ladylike looks. Fabrics as well as shapes have pin up appeal; lovely lace tops, frilled aprons and pretty plisse skirts. Adding to the lust for print, as we noticed in New York, Milan shows Fifties inspired patterns in the loveliest of colour schemes.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

 

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