DIOR FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK

Dior© Copyright 2019

Each new collection is an alchemy born of the confrontation between images, bodies, silhouettes and language. For Maria Grazia Chiuri, this creative mechanism is no longer about breaking with the past; rather, it’s a gateway to rediscovering and celebrating the richness of House codes.

For this ready-to-wear collection, the Artistic/Creative Director turned her attention to Teddy Girls, the female counterpoint to Teddy Boys – one of the first British subcultures – as a way of revisiting the 1950s, a post-war period marked by Christian Dior’s New Look that Maria Grazia Chiuri has seldom explored before. The queens of a ravaged landscape, Teddy Girls were impertinent characters with wild quiffs who wore Edwardian-style men’s jackets with velvet scarves, ample skirts, jeans and black leather jackets.

These references offer a new perspective on the 1950s, which Maria Grazia Chiuri chose to associate with the character of Princess Margaret. Ever the rebel, the young princess in 1951 elected to wear a dress by Dior – rather than one by a British dressmaker – for her official 21st birthday portrait photographed by Cecil Beaton. Fascinated by the mix of classicism and subversion, elegance and rebellion inherent in English culture, Christian Dior drew from it many sources of inspiration, as illustrated by the exhibition Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, now at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. One by one, Maria Grazia Chiuri reclaims Dior codes, drawing in turn from its lexicon to create and reinvent the designs of tomorrow.

Thus, the Bar suit is revisited along a more masculine line, through cut, fabric and a velvet collar. It converses with gathered skirts made suppler through the use of technical fabrics that are also worked into dresses inspired by Christian Dior’s nipped-waist silhouettes. A conceptual and stylistic reinterpretation of the Fifties infused with the spirit of “sportswear”, mixed with the House’s signature elegance.

The first in a series of historically referenced themes, the black leather jacket by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior – an homage to the underground culture of the 1950s and 1960s, and particularly to the French “blousons noirs” – is here revisited by Maria Grazia Chiuri.Through the modernity of its materials and techniques, the iconic silhouette of the Miss Dior dress – which Christian Dior designed for the Spring-Summer 1949 haute couture collection – expresses the mix of strength and grace the Artistic Director favors. This inspiration also informs evening dresses composed of bodysuits and skirts that may be embroidered with transparent paillettes or embellished with flowers in relief. Low-heeled shoes are tapered and cut low in front. A new palm tree version of Toile de Jouy recalls the work of the artist Mario Schifano, and appears on a series of shirts or combines with checks and gingham, in black and red or black and white.

“Subcultures” confirm – through the style sense they appropriate – that the simple fact of choosing one’s clothes becomes a political semaphore. Silkscreened t-shirts pay homage to the literary works of Robin Morgan, the American feminist poet, with elements from Sisterhood is Powerful (1970), Sisterhood is Global (1984) and Sisterhood is Forever (2003), which celebrate the concept of sorority.The show’s scenography relies on ABCs – with each letter representing a different woman – created by the Italian artist Tomaso Binga, a woman who chose a masculine pseudonym as a way of parodying the privileges reserved to men alone. In so doing, the pieces in the collection reconnect with an idea of femininity that transcends gender and anatomy, and further the exploration of identity that Maria Grazia Chiuri champions in her reinterpretation of Dior’s history.

(more…)

Tags: DIOR, DIOR FW 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20

MARINE SERRE FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK

Marine Serre© Copyright 2019

Time warp yourself into the future. Apocalypse has struck. Ecological crises and climate wars are destroying the last remains of civilization as we know it.

However, small numbers of survivors are finding refuge in shelters and caves deep underground. Tiny branches of rather peculiar people are birthing communities of an entirely new kind.

Here something is brewing, fermenting, yeasting, radiating.

They are morphing and transforming a weird new style. A new pluriversal mode, equipping them for embattling a hostile old world, while defending their delicate own.

They mobilize the shamanic animalism from forgotten tribes, strangely but effectively combining them with Apollo space-suits and action-hero tailored coats. Shiny puffed jackets, fluorescent yellow uniforms, ponchos made of bedcovers and hanging hybrid robes…

Their fragile yet radical street-style goes mad, with balaclavas, psychedelic velvet, and dresses from garbage – jewellery embellished from driftwood and shells next to valuables from the trash-heaps of history: microchips, glistering metals and old coins.

Then, inevitably, a dangerous other side, a wild inner nature, so long repressed, returns embodied on the scene.

What the old world had carefully cut off and ignored comes back transformed, and with a deadly vengeance – allied with today’s swarms of jellyfish, bush fires, or hyper resistant superbugs. In an explosion of green, pink and grey silver, the artificial dividing line between nature and culture collapses, and the arrival of a new being is foretold.

Welcome to MARINE SERRE’s hallucinaut FW19 collection. The future has begun.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER 2019 WOMENS COLLECTION, MARINE SERRE, MARINE SERRE FW 2019-20

BACKSTAGE MOSCHINO FW 2019-20 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

(more…)

Tags: BACKSTAGE, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, MOSCHINO, MOSCHINO FW 2019-20

MOSCHINO FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

GAME SHOW

“Fashion, come on down!” This season Jeremy Scott invites you to the Moschino Game Show. Win big! With so much fun, no one leaves empty-handed, it’s an unabashedly joyful exercise in super-camp fun. Yes, you could win a trip to Aspen. Maybe a brass bedroom set. How about a new washer-dryer? Or even the grand prize… a brand new car! As your host for this evening says:

“It’s a bold, technicolor escape from reality that you look forward to at the end of the day. There’s a reason that game shows are beloved by millions of people around the globe, with as much variety as there are people. ”Survey says… Jeremy, you are correct! Our lovely models will be teasing some highly desirable fashion prizes tonight. So let’s take a look at what you could pre-order!

The daily grind is just a state of mind…. Our decadently cut dresses, embellished and jewel-adorned gowns, overlay prints of high impact household product packaging. From cleaning materials to breakfast cereals – with artisan-applied panels and stripes of sequin and crystal – are designed to make you feel like you’ve won life’s jackpot. For dress-down days, there are variations in denim.

The soignee shapes carry over into a suite of high-impact gowns – in fabrications running from gold and embroidered silk organza to starburst sequin – fit for high-rollers of every persuasion. This is a collection of grand dreams, spectacular fantasies, bright lights and extravagant prizes; the perfect fit for this seasons Met moment.

Here on the Moschino Game Show, everyone goes home a winner. Then there are the fabulously cut and draped silk jersey dresses in bold color that come heaped with jeweled necklaces and jeweled cut-out panels – finery fit for daytime TV or a night extravaganza. Slot machine prints, gold dollar sign denim and leather and coin print dresses are all on the money – big bucks, no whammies.

Gold and platinum biker jackets come fringed with precision-cut chandelier crystals. You could walk away with a floor-length (faux) fur, complete with (faux) fox face – deal or no deal? And for an extra bit of luck we’ve recruited the Good Luck Trolls for a series of dresses and (faux) furs decorated with game board panels. So, will you win big? Wear Moschino, and you already have.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, MOSCHINO, MOSCHINO FW 2019-20

ANTONIO MARRAS FALL WINTER 2019 COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

Antonio Marras© Copyright 2019

(more…)

Tags: ANTONIO MARRAS, ANTONIO MARRAS FW 2019-20, FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20

GIORGIO ARMANI FALL WINTER 2019 COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

Rhapsody in Blue

Interior, night. For the first time, Armani/Silos is hosting a runway show in the setting that encapsulates and summarises the work of Giorgio Armani. Feminine figures, slim and slender like pencil strokes, move throughout the rooms together with strong yet graceful men.

In what they wear, they are complementary expressions of the same vision, united through the colour blue: deep and vibrant, the Armani shade par excellence pervades everything, defining a timeless, velvety elegance that is perfectly balanced. The female silhouette is elongated and curvaceous, sketched with short jackets close-fitting at the bust, trousers with curved edging, pencil coats and draped blousons.

Collars disappear, and asymmetrical markings sweep over the pieces like brush strokes, adding a sense of motion to the figure, along with an interplay of inlay work. The effect of movement is also suggested on the surfaces, which are covered in photographic prints of knots and drapery, enlarged to the point of becoming abstract.

The eveningwear is lengthened, dazzling and sleek with its sparkling garments, featuring styles as simple as t-shirts or velvet jumpsuits that make a statement with their textural, agile flair. Soft tailoring dominates the men’s collection, while midnight blue velvet adds a sense of depth: the material of choice features in short, compact double- breasted blazers, parkas and coats that are comfortable and enveloping and suggest movement.

The stylistic narrative unfolds, alternating between subdued formality that anticipates the surprise return of the tie, and an equally understated athleticism, where jackets and anoraks are paired with tailored, flowing trousers. Conscious nonchalance is the distinguishing feature – the expression of a vision of masculinity that finds power in elegance.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, GIORGIO ARMANI, GIORGIO ARMANI FW 2019-20

MARNI FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

NEUROEROTIK – fantaerotic escape game.

It is time to play, no holds barred, with a free body and free thoughts. This game is all in the head. Will you be able to escape? You have twenty-four hours of time. Being here, reading these instructions makes you all participants to the game, no matter what. The strip game consists of cheerful and solicitous counter-censorship exercises: the more you avoid and deploy it, the easier it will be to run away from the borderless escape room.

Watch out for the women who walk around the space: they are wardens – hand-welded, wrapped in chains and fornicating scarves, in crazy kilts, diamonds like chastity belts and men’s jackets affected by acute femininity.

Engage with them a neuronal hand-to-hand match, activate the erogenous zones and map the new pleasurescapes: the scattered folds will open like curtains, indicating the way. Move. Do not let yourself be deceived: what appears from a distance, is something else up close. Follow what the hormones suggest to you, sabotage every behavior and misdirect respectability. The most frivolous of them all wins. Time to start.

The meeting between two imponderables: the eroticism of body language and the mysterious plan of neuroconnections. An exploration of sensuality, looking, doing away with respectability and censorship. Nothing is as it appears, everything keeps moving. Folds and pleats twist and open on dresses and skirts, or run along scarves that are cutouts of dresses, wrapped around the neck.

Men’s jackets and coats get broken. Engagement rings hold liquid tunics together, while pixelated prints create hypnotic patterns. Fluid languors alternate with martial steadfastness: work uniforms, draping. Endless chains like composite necklaces. Stovepipe boots. Lace-up booties with high plateaus. Capacious bags or small wallets.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, MARNI, MARNI FW 2019-20

SPORTMAX FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

Sportmax© Copyright 2019

MOOD | INSPIRATIONS
For its Fall/Winter 2019-20 collection, SPORTMAX introduces a vision of classicism projected into the future, working on the silhouette. The collection develops a new concept of dynamic feminine and futuristic tailoring, that is also interpreted in the new combination of suits created by mixing two joinable pieces, wearable in multiple ways to become the classicism of the future. Sunglasses, an important new category addition thanks to the exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Marcolin Group, are characterized by strong shapes, contrasting materials and asymmetrical lines. A new sneaker collection, marked by overlapping layers on the upper in suede, rubber- effect leather and 3-D concentric circles on the soles, delineates a new dynamic shape.

SHAPES | TECHNIQUES | KEY LOOKS
A sense of energy emanates from outwear pieces, from coats to bomber jackets, that defines new volumes through the shoulders, emphasizing the play on curves and contours. Building on the concept of classicism of the future, a part of the brand’s DNA, the collection proposes oversize double-face coats and those with placement stripes, blazers and skirts combine various patterns and materials, the cashmere shearling jacket with back seams and the transformable trench coat, which can be divided into two pieces, mixed and matched with the leather vest, a key garment which can be paired with RTW pieces and knitwear, interplaying and enriching the wardrobe combinations. The sportswear-inspired attitude of lightly padded nylon dresses and matelassé shirts with graphic effects styled with baseball caps complete the look.

COLOURS | MATERIALS
The collection plays on shades of grey with sartorial-inspired fabrics, like pinstripe wool, herringbone and stripes, and delicate colours of nature, which almost announce the arrival of spring: touches of white, beige, sand, light blue and caramel. Crossing materials with one another, wool is mixed with leather to create contrasts between matte and shiny effects. Bright colours on the padded nylon garments and on the printed and patterned knitwear vibrates in stronger hues of rust and bright blue, turquoise and green.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, SPORTMAX, SPORTMAX FW 2019-20

MISSONI FALL WINTER 2019 COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

Stepping into the blue of a chroma key. The color allows the change of the background however one prefers, teleporting characters across eras and places, in a flip.

It’s a stargate, if you like. The Missoni chroma key is a door that connects different moments in the history of a fashion house that’s been active for more than six decades and has endlessly explored every path of knitwear.

The blue door connects the present time with an instant placed on the cusp of the mid seventies, when volumes were long, lean and liquid, and fashion danced around the body.

A time of high waists and elegant elongation; of enveloping coats, flowing capes and hoods. A flip, and the fluctuating lines materialize here and now, into the blue, in a wardrobe of jacquard coats, capes, jumpsuits, suits and dresses, put together with enveloping moves.

The glitter, the shine and the sparkle so defining of that era return, just like the bonnets and the pierrot collars, which however are brought to decisive proportions. The sparkle of lamè carries in the mens wardrobe, where shine, suiting and wide pants rule.

The long élan of Missoni bridging its own present and with its own past follows a clarity that is a matter of line as it is one of surfaces. Color blocks and blown-up jacquards stimulate the gaze in strict yet gentle ways.

The chroma key allows everything to come back. As such, it knows no nostalgia.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, MISSONI, MISSONI FW 2019-20

ROBERTO CAVALLI FALL WINTER 2019 COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK

The persistence of memory – how it shapes the present, how it forms the future – inspires the Fall/Winter 2019 Roberto Cavalli collection by creative director Paul Surridge. It evokes memories of Cavalli – not direct references, but reflections. Embracing, celebrating, evolving, it asserts the codes of the house: vibrant colour, a distinct print language, an artisanal touch. Alongside universal ideals of status, allure, beauty and confidence. These too are fundamentally Cavalli.

Clothes move with the body – freedom is confident. The clothes interplay between fitted and draped, a dynamic esprit. Plissé silks ebb and flow, sometimes interrupted with a twist in their precision, and knits cling to contours yet shift in motion. A modern ease. Joie de vivre.

Tailoring is rigorous, sculpting: it defines. A compact silhouette drawn from frock-coats references timeless notions of status, and the structure of tailoring offers dynamic rigour when combined with liquid silks. Menswear relaxes tailoring – here, ease equals power,translating a modern deformalised attitude into sartorial dressing. Mens and womens clothes interchange, exchange. They have a memory of each other.

Cavalli’s key code of animalier is here impressionistic, refracted into a stylised, Modernist tiger print, shadowed, in unexpected colours. It appears as prints across fluid silks, as embroideries that appear painted on the skin, and in intarsia shearlings – abstracted, but always with a memory of its origin. Python is recreated as a hand-drawn pattern in jacquard, or as sequin embroidery keyed close to the body, drawn from archival styles. These are reflected in Art Deco-inspired evening dresses, the memory of the 1920s, a source of inspiration for Cavalli past and present.

The colour palette is rich, embedding subdued tonality with glimmering jewels: midnight navy, black, fresco pastels, porcelain, alongside chartreuse, lagoon-mist blue and bougainvillea.

Accessories are founded in anchors, classics, archetypes. Bags become embellished status symbols carrying “Bold C” hardware; jewellery plays with crocodile scale motifs, like a modern armour. Shoes have strong chiselled toes, on both high-boots and evening mules, balanced on a finely-tooled bevelled gold heel. The same sharp, squared toe appears in menswear, on an elevated ankle-boot – shown alongside the iconic Roberto Cavalli V1PER sneaker.

Throughout, like a heartbeat, is the artisanal touch that defines Cavalli. Delicate embroideries, intricate fabrics, a memory of the human touch. Quintessentially Roberto Cavalli.

(more…)

Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2019-20, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, Roberto Cavalli, ROBERTO CAVALLI FW 2019-20