Thu, June 28 2018 » Fashion Blog
ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA COUTURE SPRING SUMMER 2019 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
Weightlessness
A narrow catwalk runs in the distance between the pools facing the Oscar Niemeyer building which houses the Mondadori headquarters. This remarkable piece of architecture looks once monumental and immaterial, as if suspended, acting as a telling backdrop for a collection that marries sharpness and functional ease with a pervading sense of lightness.
Alessandro Sartori keeps perfecting his vision of the contemporary metropolitan wardrobe, fusing the performance and speed of sports with the refinement, attention to detail and precious fabrications of couture tailoring. Turning the atelier into a lab yet keeping the humanity and warmth of craft, he devises new species of clothing: sartorial breeds stemming from the seamless morphing of opposite worlds.
This season Zegna challenges technique and image even more. The silhouettes are capacious and airy, the mix of elements bold and personal. Shirts and jackets collide in hybrid forms, with an oversize fit, experimental collars and playful double sleeves. Bombers and anoraks are matched with tailored high-waisted double pleat trousers, completely rewriting the template of the suit. Parkas both long and short gain the airiness of a shirt. Degradè checks and souvenir prints add rhythm, while perforation and meshes provide an even airier feel of immateriality. Knitwear is a building block for inventive layering. In keeping with the morphing of categories, sneakers and sandals marry opanka constructions with the technical details and meshes of sport style, all of it on bold soles.
The juxtaposition and addition of elements is enhanced by the color palette which places side by side shades and nuances in variations of intensity. The amalgamation of pale blue, Tropea pink, bow green, desert, sunflower yellow, mocha, nautical blue and loganberry red is painterly and individual.
Fabrics merge the technical with the refined: Century Cashmere with a waterproof membrane; textured Tussah silk produced by Lanificio Zegna using yarns obtained from wild, natural sources; blends of silk and cotton, cotton-linen satin, tumbled wool, perforated or embossed baby-calf, mesh.
“Creation for me always stems from a technical challenge. I am presenting shapes that are bold and voluminous, yet very light, in layers of meshes, wools, silks.” says Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori “I found the same challenge in the architecture of this space. It is the perfect place to unleash the Zegna crew of individuals who recognize themselves in the XXX logo, which runs from the clothes to the set-up, unifying the message: a symbol of couture craft that is also the most personal and unexpected expression of Zegna”.
Thu, June 28 2018 » Fashion Blog
Sat, June 23 2018 » Fashion Blog
MOSCHINO SPRING SUMMER 2019 MENSWEAR + WOMEN’S RESORT COLLECTION – LOS ANGELES
MOSCHINO CIRCUS
Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Children of all ages! Welcome to the most spectacular, most fascinating, most incredible… Mos[t]-chino Show! Trapeze artists, acrobats, popcorn, cotton candy, unicycles and clowns. Moschino’s Creative Director Jeremy Scott is reaching into the circus of today’s events and pulling a rabbit out of a hat – or rather, a tiger.
This season is Moschino’s answer to the current state of affairs. From peony-pink ruched tulle dresses with giant multi-colored daisy appliques, to harlequin Lurex brocade suits, silk georgette gowns with floral appliques outlined in tiny crystals, tiny round paillettes mirrors dotting a floor-length black gown.
The message is a cinematic bow to the accusations, the scandal, the “news” of today. Scott asks us to step into the Moschino house of mirrors with him as he breathes joy, levity and life into the uncertainty. However, this collection is acutely aware of the act from which it must distract. There is a darker side to the mirth and frivolity.
A literal dove-covered bodysuit is juxtaposed by gold cord soutache embroidery shaped in the outline of a skeleton is a key thematic element on tuxedo suits, tracksuits and jumpsuits. Blood-red beaded embroidery over a nude tulle gown creates a visually “slashed” and “torn” illusion beneath an operatic ruched tulle overcoat.
Carefully sewn metallic bugle beads hang from colorful polka dots on a white gown looking like an illusion of dripping paint, unfinished and abandoned. The message is clear – amidst the adversity, there is hope. This is communicated in the vibrant metallic trinkets stitched into quilted black tulle – just slightly obscured but dazzling in its own right.
A superhero bodysuit beneath a literal red satin cape, a lion tamer tuxedo in a beaded sequin leopard pattern – lean into the unknown, embrace it, become fearlessness itself. When society feels like a tightrope walker leaning in the wind, Scott is here to entertain astonish and impress. So step right up, admit one, run away with the circus and … let the show begin!
Thu, June 21 2018 » Fashion Blog
MOSCHINO SPRING SUMMER 2019 MENSWEAR + WOMEN’S RESORT COLLECTION FASHION SHOW LIVE STREAMING – LOS ANGELES 8TH JUNE 2018 7.30 PM PDT
Watch the Moschino Spring Summer 2019 Menswear and Women’s Resort Collection Fashion Show in Live Streaming – Los Angeles 8th June 2018 7.30 PM PDT. Stay Tuned…!!!
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Thu, June 7 2018 » Fashion Blog
CHANEL CRUISE COLLECTION 2018-19 – GRAND PALAIS PARIS
THE CRUISE, THE TIME FOR A STOPOVER WITH CHANEL
More than just a tradition, setting out on a journey for the Cruise collection is a highly anticipated rendezvous. It’s the guarantee of a change of scenery, of beaches, of beauty and discovering a place, an era, an art de vie.
When Gabrielle Chanel presented a small collection at the end of Fall 1919, intended for holiday resorts and Biarritz in particular, did she have any idea she was initiating a brand-new fashion movement? Did she know she was bringing forth the first ever Cruise Collection? American Vogue sensed the thrill, revealing in its November edition that year, that the couturier’s designs, although « do not differ particularly from those which she exhibited last year », they formed a collection that « differs entirely from anything else shown in Paris at the same time. »
Lighter, imperatively more comfortable, these unlined designs in jersey and these sweaters were ideal for yachting, spa towns, seaside resorts, and sun-drenched destinations like the Riviera and Venice with its Lido beaches. Six years earlier, in Deauville, she had launched outfits inspired by sailor suits, that she revisited in woollen jersey, then in silk jersey. They were as soft as they were fluid, practical to wear daily without ever loosing that established CHANEL allure. From sailor to cruise ship, there was but one step.
Chanel pushed ever further the cursor of this small line judiciously wedged between two seasons. Responding to her own needs, she added suits and evening dresses for holidays and luxury cruise ships, then very fashionable for a life «of destinations», one that pierced the cold months of a Parisian winter with rays of sunshine. An originality revealed by Harper’s Bazaar in December 1933 in an article about «Cruise clothes», and then again by L’Officiel de la Mode in December 1936, delighted to discover «a very complete mid-season collection» and that perfectly illustrated the unique concept of Gabrielle Chanel’s fashion.
To never be like anyone else, to swim against the current, to make her own desires and lifestyle her principal source of inspiration, this was what guided Mademoiselle Chanel in her creativity. A sea lover, she sailed at length on the yachts belonging to the Duke of Westminster, the Flying Cloud and the Cutty Sark. It was while docking in Monte-Carlo on the Flying Cloud, that she discovered the village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and fell for the charm of a domain which from 1928 would be home to her property La Pausa. It was on this same boat that she met architect Robert Streitz, to whom she entrusted all the work on her Provençal residence.
Irreverent with her tomboy style, Gabrielle Chanel was occasionally seen on the deck of these boats heckling with Bendor, as the Duke of Westminster was nicknamed, sporting Bermuda shorts or wide-cut men’s trousers and a gilet that we today would call oversized. She was often seen basking in the sun, eyes shaded by her famous sunglasses. This woman who revelled in her freedom more than anything, felt what women would soon be dreaming of : a fashion for now and for the future, visionary in every detail. Gabrielle Chanel’s talent didn’t need to prove itself anymore.
And neither does Karl Lagerfeld’s. At a time when fashion had almost turned its back on the so-called cruise collections, the designer spun the ship’s wheel the other direction. As soon as he arrived at the helm in 1983, he breathed new life into this hyphen between two seasons and it has continued to grow, becoming one of the most important moments in the year. Is it just about slipping a few swimsuits and light dresses in-between two suits? Absolutely not! Responding to the needs of those who seek sunshine in the winter was not enough: Karl Lagerfeld thus transformed Cruisewear into a line that anticipates the warmer days to come, a completely renewed wardrobe, never stuck to the previous one or the one to come.
A collection in its own right, with its own story, its own identity, its own inspiration, quick to nourish desire and to brighten the gaze. A collection that embodies travelling in all its forms, real or imaginary, temporal or historic, and that he wanted to land all over the world, like a magnificent postcard: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Venice, Saint-Tropez, the Cap d’Antibes, Singapore, Seoul, Cuba and even Versailles in the XVIII century and Paris, metamorphosed into the epicentre of Ancient Greece.
To dream, to let the imagination float away on a reinvented tweed, a diaphanous lace, a colorama imbued with sunshine, sublimate women in a little black dress… Isn’t that ultimately what fashion is all about? Is it not for this reason, among others, that CHANEL, is like no other and will always be CHANEL? It’s almost anchors away, so we wish you a bon voyage and a beautiful Cruise.
Thu, June 7 2018 » Fashion Blog
Fri, March 9 2018 » Fashion Blog
CHANEL FALL WINTER 2018 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
A forest has grown beneath the nave of the Grand Palais. Surrounded by blue sky warmed by a gentle sun, trees stripped bare by the season and a floor covered with autumn leaves compose an Indian summer, as Karl Lagerfeld says.
Within this decor, a palette of russets, reds and orange, moss and pine green, bark brown, prints of foliage or rings of grey wood, accompany the signature black and white of the House. Details so dear to CHANEL add their own touch: branch-like braids, jewelled buttons chiselled with leaves, sautoirs of beads and pastel-hued glass paste, necklaces and bracelets interlaced with chains and beads, cabochon and graphic pendent earrings.
The tweed, classic, downy, frayed or woven, alternates with broadcloth, cotton canvas, soft knits, corduroy and velvet. Thigh boots, boots and brogues in oxide gold leather, pink leather fingerless gloves, faux fur cuffs encrusted with feathers, and big colourful scarves all warm this modern and comfortable silhouette. “Chanel, it’s life itself, clothes that have a possibility of life”, adds Karl Lagerfeld.
The long and tubular silhouette is held with square shoulders, clean and high collars. It flares out little by little with godets and peplums in the style of horizontal double ponchos. The iconic jacket is lengthened to mid-thigh or worn short at the waist. The CHANEL suit is twisted with poncho peplums. Long pencil-cut, straight or double-breasted coats accentuate the purity of line. Each time, this is reinforced with a game of topstitching in relief.
Sometimes the sleeves are doubled with a draping from the shoulder, extended with unlined cuffs. The pencil line of skirts and dresses is interrupted with a slit, a godet and a slightly dropped waist. The belted trousers adopt exaggerated volumes. Large overcoats skim the floor, twisting the spirit of great capes by adding sleeves with wide turnback cuffs or sometimes cuffs and hems finished with feathers.
The new bag, named 31, created by Karl Lagerfeld joins the family of CHANEL accessories: the generous shape of this shopper combines smooth leather with quilted leather, printed cotton canvas or tweed. Large bags in shearling gently traverse the winter. This season the 11.12 bag is adorned with rhinestoned bark motifs. CHANEL’s GABRIELLE bag returns as a mini version to match the outfits. The camellia is transformed into a sparkling evening bag while a wooden log becomes a minaudière in precious resin.
The collection calls upon winter in a sophistication pushed to the extreme for evening. At its heart, CHANEL’s little black dress reaches its ultimate, refined and most obvious expression. Fragile dresses in embroidered tulle and organza are worn beneath a quilted down jacket finished with braid. Leather comes encrusted with lace over a little black dress with draped sleeves and is back as trousers worn with a chiffon blouse highlighted by multiple ruffles at the elbows.
Chevroned ribbons encase sheath dresses or a jabot adorns the collar of a dress in pleated tulle. Crêpe blouses are quilted at the shoulder and the wrists. Lace and black velvet are barely powdered with silver, sequins are just as subtle, never flashy. Capes in faux fur enhanced with feathers envelop layers of dresses in lace. Playing with the transparency of the material, their leaf inlayed motifs reveal the very veins of the foliage like a filigree.
This is the grace of nature, strong yet fragile, constantly reborn in all its splendour and purity. A perpetual renouveau reminding us that time has no influence on the icons, the style and the allure of CHANEL.
Fri, March 9 2018 » Fashion Blog
Fri, March 9 2018 » Fashion Blog
Fri, March 9 2018 » Fashion Blog
