PORTS 1961 FALL WINTER 2013 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Fiona Cibani’s Ports 1961 Fall Winter 2013 collection is inspired by the iconic style of Lee Radziwill. A timeless aura that radiates newness for a women who is utterly content in her laid back style. Class, courage and composure, but never casual.
Oversized coats and tops are layered over full skirts and dresses cut just below the knee. High belted waistlines on A-line shapes give attention to the hips, yielding a lean sensuality.
A color palette of cherry, chestnut, saturated French blue and pine are off-set by cool ivory, sepia and charcoal.
Textures are key with combinations of Astrakhan and double silk-wool pile, mink-cashmere knits, leather bonded wool jacquard and silk sable bonded with neoprene. Bi-color, Damier macramé is hand constructed in an oversized top and slimming skirt.
Metallic stiletto Oxfords and malleable bags compliment the subdued color palette adding a hint of glamour reminiscent of the socialite within.
Refined yet modern, pared down yet deluxe; Fiona Cibani’s Ports 1961 Fall Winter 2013 Collection captures the spirit of Lee Radziwill, timeless and elegant, like the women herself.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, PORTS 1961, PORTS 1961 FW 2013-14

KRIZIA FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Jorge Luis Borges would love Krizia’s new Zoo, which could perhaps even appear in a new edition of his famous “Book of Imaginary Beings”, which the great writer suggested should be browsed “as if playing with the changing shapes revealed by a kaleidoscope”.

Because this time what we have is a zoo of dream animals, the fruit of unexpected contaminations between different species: a zebra with a giraffe or a tiger, a fox with a Mongolian fur, or marmot, and a even a mink crossed with an original geometric creature.

The result is coats the likes of which have never been seen before, both in the form of furs, and in prints, embroidery or devoré. To get us started a panther-inspired look is mixed with a biker in the very first model, with willowy black leather silhouettes offering an enigmatic image.

Male and female, light and shade, east and west (with a visible samurai influence), blend together in a new interplay of contrasts, a kind of mirror canon.

This is a fashion designed for a proud, feisty woman who is prepared to defend the fragility hidden beneath her symbolic amour, seductive black leather bodices treated like a light cuirass, with laser perforations, interwoven stripes and laces as well as ribbing, plissés and matelassé, creating volume and emphasising the shoulders.

These are straight in fabric garments, round in leather ones, even pagoda-shaped in certain Japanese-inspired armour-accessories, in perforated leather, joined together with metal staples.

Jackets, trouser suits and overcoats draw inspiration from a masculine, sartorial wardrobe – even including a tuxedo – with a feminine interpretation. Close-fitting trousers. Dresses with a couture style, but up-to-the-minute.

The Krizia plissé returns with a new pinstripe that creates an unexpected glow on the crest of a wave or with a diamond pattern or in leather.

Materials: leather, suede, reinvented fur, cashmere, silk, double satin, often with a raw-edged cut, devoré velvet, platinum laminates, all-over embroidery: it’s all about the mix.

Colours: from deep black to platinum, which optical effects, to the softness of dusty beiges, to increasingly bright shades of burgundy, culminating in pillar box red. Evening dress in shiny platinum.

Knitwear features new handmade effects, as well solids and spaces, in a mesh with contrasting yarns in a mix of wool and transparent nylon. Body-hugging full-length tricot overcoats, some with blazing lining; glossy coatings; plissé effects, kaleidoscopic metal; animalier inlays create forms in movement.

Accessories: nodowa gorgets, collars and bracelets in perforated leather, jewel shoes with a 12-cm platinum heel and sparkling decoration in platinum or crystal and imaginary animal-spot motifs. Open boots with light weaves of laces and interlacing, likewise for certain sandals. Rings with geometricized beasts’ heads.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, KRIZIA, KRIZIA FW 2013-14

JUST CAVALLI FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

The Just Cavalli Fall/Winter 2013-2014 collection describes an exotic and exciting journey which appears to hover between ancient and contemporary times: the lightness of the fabrics and the magnificence of the traditional Asian decorative elements are embedded in the prints and highlighted in the textiles.

The silk jumpsuits’ flowing silhouette enhances the femininity of the female body by gliding almost imperceptibly along the skin, and super-slim pants are combined with matching or contrasting printed outerwear. The dresses are short and sensual, paired with deconstructed jackets; or long and fitted, completed by fur micro vests.

The knitwear plays with volumes, often in dégradé jacquard animal print, occasionally embellished by quilted silk sleeves, or high-neck and sleeveless in soft angora wool.

The prints, which represent the most distinctive and iconic Cavalli element, are inspired by the traditional Bhutanese culture and garments. Opulent metallic sequin embroideries are placed on pants and jackets and are also used to decorate the denim.

The colours are vibrant and intense: blue, orange, yellow, red and jade.

Boots with a red cylinder heel are created in python leather and jaguar printed pony or in leather combined with goatskin. Velvet open-toe ankle-boots, with stylized flame print soles and the same red heel, are decorated with small buttons.

The wraparound style acetate sunglasses come in bright colors with mirrored lenses. Some outfits present the refined necklaces created with silk threads and jade ornaments, worn by the Bhutanese aristocracy and called “tears of the gods”.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, JUST CAVALLI, JUST CAVALLI FW 2013-14

FRANKIE MORELLO FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Frankie Morello© Copyright 2013

ATMOSPHERE
Pierfrancesco Gigliotti and Maurizio Modica bring an army of super-feminine, mysterious femmes fatales to their runway.
If the show were a film, it would be set in 1950s Los Angeles and the woman on the catwalk would be an intriguing Black Dahlia in a fine balance of the second half of the last century and the present day.

FORMS AND FABRICS
Shapes and volumes were constructed with no concessions to fluidity, created in stiff materials such as double cloth/matelassé lurex and wools/silk fabrics.
An interplay of opposites is a fundamental element. The more traditional fabrics give a new twist to casual models, such as the hoodie, while the more classic models, like the midi skirt, are made of technical textiles.

ACCESSORIES
The spotlight is on accessories with a graphic appeal.
Rigid, two-dimensional handbags and “Romy”, a small, rigid cylinder made of brushed calfskin.

COLOURS
Bordeaux, all shades of reds and pinks.
Black and white, touches of grey, silver, asphalt and through to metal.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, FRANKIE MORELLO, FRANKIE MORELLO FW 2013-14

BACKSTAGE N°21 FW 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

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Tags: BACKSTAGE, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, N°21, N°21 FW 2013-14

N°21 FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

N°21© Copyright 2013

The cult of perfection is paralyzing. Error – deliberate, maddening – sparks action and generates motion.

At once seditious and above reproach, Alessandro Dell’Acqua plays at scattering the cards all while keeping his cool. Now his signature flair for opposites, liberating love of clashing forces, intensifies to a point bordering on outré. Against a backdrop of severity elegance. Fascinated by the pure precision of the bourgeois wardrobe, where male items define the essence of practicality, he makes clear shifts, subverts the rules, tempts fate yet stays within classic chic boundaries. Setting the tone is the quiet tension between masculine and feminine.

Rich & rough, daytime & evening, expansive & concise are intermingling and overlapping concepts. The sheepskin duffel-coat mimics a fur. The fireman jacket takes on a lustrous glint. The grunge style goes classy as flannel shirt and macro-check knit offset a deep slit skirt with gorgeous floral sequin trim and a glittery pullover pairs off with sharply creased and freshly cuffed pants (showing thick crystal-encrusted hose underneath). In pursuit of a dynamic balance, sleek coats and slim pants counteract the excessive elegance of tops casting a glance at couture. Offbeats notes – Swarovski crystals and jets edging the breast pocket on a mannish shirt, gold bands hiding discreetly in the lining – enter the picture and characterize the scene. Accessories set in motion a conversation between gentleman & gentlewoman all about cabochon crystal-studded heel penny loafers, spike heel moccasins and ladylike chain-strap clutch bags.

Luscious fabrics: gazar, nylon, flannel, viyella, lace, crepe de chine, dry wool. Bourgeois chic colors: beige, camel, white, poudre, sky blue. Plus unusual hints of metallic hues.

Order and disorder exchange places, while somewhere between apparent errors and artful provocations today’s exciting contradictions find energy and come to the fore.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, N°21, N°21 FW 2013-14

BACKSTAGE MILA SCHÖN FW 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

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Tags: BACKSTAGE, FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, MILA SCHÖN, MILA SCHÖN FW 2013-14

MILA SCHÖN FALL WINTER 2013-14 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Mila Schön© Copyright 2013

The Maison Heritage. The “focus” addressed to the real Mila Schön essence: at the origins of its shapes, structures, volumes and elements which had created an innovative Luxury-à-Porter, among the Milanese “bourgeoise”.
The Fall-Winter Collection 2013-2014, revives that “touch”, which is nowadays a summary of determined, marked and seductive elegance.
Four shapes and languages characterize the collection. The use of leather- byker style mood – to tops and bottoms, Eva Kant skintight body suit, and overcoats, some of them enriched by original Bells Sleeves and fur inserts, for both day and evening occasions.
Volume strength, precious fabrics, minimal shapes, mini and macro ruffles, total Black styles, are mixed to transparency , a part of the collection defined See Thru Peplum. Leitmotiv colors : brown, orange and black, are mixed together with “Maiolica” archival prints, enriched for the evening with strass, creating a cascading effect for a Sparkling Lights concept.

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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2013-14, MILA SCHÖN, MILA SCHÖN FW 2013-14

CANALI FALL WINTER 2013 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

The Fall Winter 2013 collection while remaining coherent to its deeply Italian soul, it embraces international echoes and influences : in the background St. Petersburg, the Western taste and opulence of its architecture, the light of a winter day that slowly rises in the most European cities of Russia, fairy-tale landscapes and rarefied atmosphere of color notes.

Echoes and quotations – Gogol, Mark Rothko, and Sonia Delaunay – are transformed in the tailoring of a parade coat in saturated colors and precious coats of velvet, double-breasted suits in the rigor of refined, luxury fantasies in silk scarves and waistcoats , in the softness of a warm but strict fur lining.

A composite but casual elegance, where the codes, strict time, are now little more than a sophisticated game through which to express its own unique personality of a man who is a little ‘retro and a little’ edge.

Exclusive fabrics – cashmere, silk, Casentino and bouclé – marry the classic tones of brown, blue and gray, mixed with saturated and intense colors as purple, brick red and dark, or in those colors of mineral oil, petrol blue and malachite.

Dry and comfortable cuts for clothes for single and double breasted, but the coat is the undisputed star of the collection, precious and large wool-silk and mink inlaid, or soft boiled wool resulting in deco, or military-style lofty and sumptuous, with astrakhan collar.

Upon completion of impeccable style, important accessories in crocodile, perfect touches to a luxurious collection in memory of a past in which men chose clothing as an expression of status symbol.

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Tags: CANALI, CANALI FW 2013-14, FALL WINTER MEN 2013-14

Z ZEGNA FALL WINTER 2013 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILANO FASHION WEEK

Z Zegna© Copyright 2013

THE URBAN WANDERER MEETS THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Today. Yesterday. Tomorrow. Different time frames that characterize the new Z Zegna AW 2013-14 collection, a counterpoint of today’s fast-paced and digitally-connected society with outdoorsy tradition and meticulous craftsmanship borrowed from the distant past.

An artful and youthful balance for a demanding man with a nomadic soul whose agenda blurs the line between work and leisure time. Contemporary clothes for a dynamic and urban lifestyle where heritage elements bond with innovative constructions and fabrications – heat sealed garments, heat taped details, the search for three dimension. The raincoat, instead, morphs into the rain suit.

Caravaggio’s moody and intense color palette permeates a collection filled with shades of brown, from tobacco to sienna, ash gray and ebony, plus flashes of kingfisher or cadmium red matched with navy.

The exclusive fabrics are rough, tough and matte. A mismatch of layered textures anchored on felted wools, degradé effects, wool and silk blends that resemble shearling, winter cottons and jersey bonded with worsted wools, all of which ooze timeless endurance as in the best Zegna tradition. Classic patterns – stripes, argyles, checks and quilting – blown up or manipulated to become textured graphic layers for rustic outwear.

In lieu of the coat, dapper three-button blazers are layered over one another to modern effect and paired with conical pants, either flat-front or single pleat. New is the “Atelier” fit, a highlight for the new sartorial suit that features blazers with a nostalgic feel. The shoulders are deconstructed or bold and sharp, reminiscent of the Italian sartorial tradition. Sturdy and authentic garments such as wide-sleeved shirts peeking from under fitted vests nod to heraldic gestures, conveying a sense of protection.

All in all, a pragmatic and functional message that channels a sense of clarity and order in today’s fast-fashion maelstrom.

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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2013-14, ZZEGNA, ZZEGNA FW 2013-14