Valentino © Copyright 2014
Freedom of expression as a result of a natural inclination to undermine the rules, simply by ignoring them, even though knowing them to perfection.
In defining the ever evolving form of the Valentino man, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli look at this season inspired by outsiders and freethinkers; individuals who stand outside movements, groups and schools; artists for whom innovation is an authentic, spontaneous gesture rather than a pose.
They elicit an effortless masculinity, but also a subtle taste for silent sedition, and synthesise them into a poetry of renewed softness, yet another piece in an overall design style wherein fashion is conceived fluidly as a tool for sculpting the identity of the individual, and Couture comes in from another direction to support and define the quest for uniqueness.
There reigns a sense of controlled relaxation, moved by the energy of mixing the whole. The silhouette is precise, with soft, loose volumes.
Long polo shirts are worn under nonchalant suits in accumulations of prints sometimes geometric, sometimes fantastic: psychedelic stripes, bestiaries, landscapes, flowers, continents.
The idea of the uniform, with its ancestry at once military and utilitarian, suggests the craftsman, interpreted and translated in the choice of tactile materials.
The savoir-faire of a masculinised Haute Couture insinuates itself everywhere, generating shifts and transformations: Camubutterfly brocades swarm on field jackets and army-inspired garments; light coats are double knit and trimmed in leather; even the white shirts are made from impalpably fine wool, in a constant search for weightless solidity.
The layering of iconic, authentic garments combines formal and sporty, in the awareness that millimetric interventions can upset the overall balance, leading to genuine progress.
Existing schemes are shattered forever, yet without shouting, mixing prints, wearing shorts with a suit, using a windbreaker as a jacket.
Naturalness pervades the choice of materials: raw silk shantung, viscose blends, brocades, chambray, cashmere and silk, barathea with a masculine feel. The colours are organic: stone, ruby, mint, sky blue, sand.
Sneakers in viscose jacquard with hi-tech soles, lace-ups with thick soles, soft brocade bags and enamelled pins signal the expression of free thought: “Reality, with a dash of magic”.
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Tags: SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015, VALENTINO, VALENTINO SS 2015
Sun, September 14 2014 » Fashion Blog
Escapism: constant movement, urban dwelling, or simply travelling without moving, listening to one’s own soundtrack on the earphones. An easy, breezy attitude pervades the new FENDI Collection.
Summer – a healthy, positive state of mind – infiltrates the concrete jungle, permanently, morphing the wardrobe of the contemporary man along the way.
Velocity is the essential quality. It means smartness, absence of clutter, concentration: pieces that are reduced to their archetypal essence in order to respond to a function.
The fundamentals are all included: the zip-up blouson; the mac; tailored suits, lean trousers and immaculate shirts; the jean jacket; bermuda shorts.
Seen through the FENDI lens, they turn into statement pieces, expressing a new quest for twisted normality: you have to get really close and touch in order to discover a pervasive taste for innovation and experimentation.
What looks like sandblasted denim is leather printed through an innovative technology that has been bonded to get a rubbery feel. Pixels swarming on a bomber are a mosaic of the smallest guanteria leather squares, or an intricate basket weave.
Tuft of fur add a tactile element. Jacquard fabrics have an utilitarian appeal. Even linings are taken away, in order to create faster shapes that are as surprising in the detailed inside as they are on the outside.
Flashes of primary color brighten up suddenly: on rhythmical stripes; hidden in the weave of sturdy cottons; on charms hanging from the bags.
Otherwise the palette is essentially summery: khaki, cream, white tones of pale blue, jeans and blue, light grays. Materials marry FENDI’s very own sense of luxury with a certain pragmatism: Cuoio Romano leather, bonded leather, crocodile, jacquard cottons, cotton/linen mixes.
Escapism is finally condensed in the accessories: Selleria backpacks with crocodile tails as talismans, the male Peekaboo covered in tribal signs, sandals and slides. Barefoot with a suit as the ultimate sign of writing your own rule-book.
Created in precious Selleria or croco leather, in amazing colour palette, earphones developed in collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre provide the soundtrack.
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Tags: FENDI, FENDI SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Sun, September 14 2014 » Fashion Blog
For this collection we began with images of childhood seaside holidays on the British coastline. We started to look at the similarities between the pixelated graphics of late 70’s arcade games played on the pleasure pier and Native American art.
The pixelated patterns and acid colours reminded us of something tribal, a little Native American, so this gave us another avenue to explore.
We combined pixel block tartan prints and jacquards, crystalised tartans and needle punch techniques, linear prints and dancette lines in knits and fil coupe shirting. There are star tooth prints and weaves, embellishment and beading, raw edges and fringing.
Some archive bondage pieces found their way into the collection, reminding us of certain details applied in Native American tribal wear and also a nod to the first appearance of this trouser during the 70’s.
For this show we are supporting the Pig Pledge which is a campaign to encourage people not to buy or eat factory farmed meat.
Vivienne & I are both vegetarians but we are urging people who do eat meat to always find out where it is coming from and to avoid meat from animal factories.
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Tags: SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SS 2015
Sat, September 13 2014 » Fashion Blog
Diesel Black Gold © Copyright 2014
Iconic menswear references are mixed to create a new context; a direct approach to dressing for Diesel Black Gold’s spring-summer 2015 collection.
The idiosyncratic look melds Diesel Black Gold’s core vocabulary. Tailoring is layered with sporty tracksuits, denim and corduroy, military jackets inspired by an officer’s uniform and motorcross style leather jackets. A street sensibility is created by familiar dress codes.
Coats and jackets come tailored in cool wool, a velvet tuxedo style or micro corduroy fabrications. An indigo denim jacket is bonded with leather. Tops are paired with relaxed fit tracksuit pants. Zipped sporty track tops with stripes are layered under narrow shouldered jackets or trench coats.
Motorcross style graphics are applied onto leather jackets in tonal white on white or multicolor, while other biker jackets feature graffiti style lettering. Military officer uniforms and their ornamental details inform cotton twill jackets, embellished with red piping, epaulets and metal buttons in the collection’s palette of navy, khaki and black.
Five pocket denim jeans are given a broken-in wash to their dark indigo, white and black tones. Corduroy pants in black, navy, khaki and white. Cold dyed to mélange effect, knits and T-shirts have a tactile, lived-in appearance and feel.
Cropped biker boots with buckles that zip at the heel, and other boots crafted from khaki suede have a worn-in finish. The sneaker is constructed with leather and suede and worn as a contrast to tailoring.
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Tags: DIESEL BLACK GOLD, DIESEL BLACK GOLD SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Sat, September 13 2014 » Fashion Blog
Sat, September 13 2014 » Fashion Blog
Andrea Pompilio © Copyright 2014
He’s a rebel, the son of bourgeois parents, looking to make his mark on the world. Into their wardrobe he goes, ready to change up the elegant Italian tailoring and designer labels inside. He converts the classic shapes into a lineup that’s more his style.
Bold accents from his punk world contort their dress codes. He puts an oversized eyelet, like a stretched ear lobe piercing and brands it onto sartorial pieces, using it to perforate shirts and trench coats. He applies studs allover shirt collars.
He considers the monogrammed shirt, the status symbol of the Italian bourgeois man, and does his own version, putting macro chenille letters, as found on college jackets, onto T-shirts.
He dresses by merging the clashing style and attitudes of two generations in layers with sandals like those he’d wear to the pool. The detail-rich look creates Andrea Pompilio Men’s Spring Summer 2015 collection.
Layered and constructed with differing lengths, the silhouette has movement in profile. Poplin shirt hems are trimmed with a plisse skirt of fabric, like a punk’s kilt. Sweatshirts are layered on top, some embellished with three-dimensional tonal burnt and hammered paillettes.
A pair of large front pleats on the pants gives extra volume to their carrot form, with an elongated tab that closes at the hip; while drawstring baggy shorts with a back pocket are classic street wear.
A narrow shouldered single or double-breasted jacket cut from crisp cotton or linen is a graphic final piece. The jacket closes with a strip of fabric across one side of the waist, a design detail taken from an old military uniform.
A palette of nudes soften the layers; tones of flesh, sand and beige are worn together or mixed with pastel yellow, pop yellow, sky blue, robin’s egg blue, Bordeaux and cherry.
A contrasting colored fabric strip runs over the shoulders and down the tops of the sleeves of a trench. Appearing like an aura, the stripe outlines the profile of the coat in traditional technical textile or an ultra dry-handed taut Japanese cotton.
Tailoring is worn with accessories designed to debase its formality. Ribbed socks cut off at the toes are paired with leather sandals with serrated thick rubber soles. Pliable leather totes rolled at the top resemble classic shopping bags.
Sporty outerwear shows cool indifference. A boxy K-way with scuba style zippers features a large eyelet on its hood, and a jacket is trimmed with rubberized hook and eye closures.
The collection’s irreverent mood is captured in sunglasses that look like two disparate models cut in half and molded together, with oversized lenses and a fine wire bridge.
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Tags: ANDREA POMPILIO, ANDREA POMPILIO SS 2015, SPING SUMMER MEN 2015
Sat, September 13 2014 » Fashion Blog
Andrea Incontri © Copyright 2014
A traveler with the soul of a photojournalist. Eclectic and inquisitive, a modern Marco Polo. Full of curiosity as he observes the world around him. Taking notes and drawing up images that can awaken the memory of a trip. This is the man of Andrea Incontri’s SS15 collection.
Blazers and new trench coats made in faded linen dèlavè, a blending of authenticity and tradition. Double breasted jackets, because the meaning of adventure means more than just to travel, forms embellished with the straps and bels of backpacks and totes.
The super colorful silk and cotton knitwear with contrast borders and piping. Disruptive elements such as a lively blocks of color in bright yellow, orange, creamy whites, and dessert tones.
Quick designs like sketches on paper reinvent the texture of masculine herringbone and checks. The agile, yet decisive strokes of a pen create the geometric mantras of t-shirts, pants and printed leather jackets while the soul of the fabric remains the canvas of the bags in which to print.
Backpacks and shoulder bags of oversized proportions. Flat envelopes that open like a reporter bag. The accessories along with the shoes, slip-ons and oxfords or a more gent- ler style of cross sandals and sleepers all in soft calf leathers, suede and nabuk.
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Tags: ANDREA INCONTRI, ANDREA INCONTRI SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Sat, September 13 2014 » Fashion Blog
A day at the opera. This is how John Varvatos describes his Spring/Summer 2015 collection, alluding to Queen’s iconic record “A Night at the Opera.”
“I wanted to take formal ideas inspired by evening pieces and approach them with a casual attitude for the day time, exploring a new idea of youthful and sexy elegance,” says the designer.
“I mixed classic sensibility and a loose, romantic attitude. The idea of bringing evening to the day is explored by introducing formal, in a non-literal and quite modern way.”
“The image is elegant, while at the same time romantic: crinkles, washed suede and hand-made rough accessories draw a very chic figure. The result is a young and energetic new way of dressing during the day, drawn from the formality of evening-wear.”
The collection is characterized by a smooth and dressy allure, dominated by an alternation between a loose attitude and refined, yet confident lines.
A yearning for relaxed elegance pervades most of the outfits that are extraordinarily light in weight and feel: proper cuts and expert tailoring create the idea of a romantic attitude through fabrics that have been sophisticatedly degradé woven and coated, for a contemporary naturalness.
The silhouette is stylishly well defined, yet constantly comfortable, with a twist: coated and waxed linen cutaway jackets are paired with slim trousers to complete a nonchalantly proper shape.
The confident, yet comfortable cutaway construction is emphasized by inner wire that allows one to shape the collar. Flawless jacquard wool/silk suits are modernized in lightness, through unique finishing for a refined and innovative construction.
The rigor of evening tradition opens up to informal possibilities. Elements of man’s evening wardrobe are interpreted in personal views: tuxedo jackets get a lived-in patina with a shifting degradé effect that looks printed, but is actually woven.
Trousers add a contemporary feel to the look: dress pants, as well as, slim fitting jeans draw an energetic figure. The play on opposites is resolute: coated and waxed waist coasts and vests, worn under suits and cutaways, give a visually strong silhouette.
Stylish and sensual tuxedos, as well as sleek three piece suits express a contemporary and confident vibe, and are invariably worn with tank tops and long, degradé effect silk scarves replacing shirts and neck-ties.
An embossed snakeskin motorcycle jacket punctuates the collection with an edge that is synonymous with a rock “n roll sensibility. A tactile and soft jacket gets a sweater look through linen and metal for a touch of sensual sophistication.
The play of refinement and ease, mixing day and evening, is highlighted by proper details: zippers stand out on masculine trousers; bone buttons enrich jackets to punctuate the nonchalantly elegant figure.
Meticulous attention to cut and detail go hand-in-hand with research on patterns. The play of textures completes the idea of a return to elegance with a quintessential dash of toughness and youth.
Style, line and function come together in a harmony of fine materials and masterful craftsmanship. The color palette is understated and sophisticated: from off-white to a myriad of grey shades, to khaki and black.
The color wheel is highlighted by flashes of russet and military green. Fabrics and yarns are soft, yet roughly lived in, intense and tactile: coated and printed linen, cotton, washed suede, brushed vacchetta and embossed snakeskin.
Accessories include supple, contemporary, hand dyed brushed leather boots with canvas and metal detail, laceless studded wingtips. Natural vacchetta, or embossed snakeskin totes and bags are enriched with artisanal touches such as coated weaves and exposed stitching.
Calfskin suspenders with metal details and new timeless sunglasses complete the masculine look.
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Tags: JOHN VARVATOS, JOHN VARVATOS SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Thu, September 11 2014 » Fashion Blog
SPRING 2015
Ennio Capasa, designer:
“For Spring 2015 men’s collection, I have been led by creative freedom. I looked at the icons of Rock and Roll that are the roots of my style: from Mick Jagger to David Bowie, Lou Reed and Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards. They all express a sense of liberated elegance. It is time to look at the future with fresh eyes, abandon cliché, surprise with a free spirit”.
Fabrics
Twisted silk & cotton gabardine, Viscose gabardine, Micro wool twill, Pinstripes on turkish satin, Printed crêpe de chine, Matt fluid viscose canvas.
Colors
White, Beige, Light blue, Mid blue, Orange, Deep Purple, Black.
Outerwear
Elegance with freedom, Row edge and thermowelded fabric mix, Interfaced jackets with large lapels, Fluid bikers with 70’s details, Jackets, blousons and short jackets, Vintage revised with decor details or twine stitching.
Knitwear
70’s Inspiration, In stretch matt viscose, Reversible jacquard prints.
Shirts
Slim fit, In crêpe de chine and printed gauze fabric.
Pants
Two different fits, Skinny rock biker, Flared.
Shoes
Pointed ankle boots in calfskin, Calf and hyers or with metallic details also suede tie and dye.
Bags and accessories
Hobo bag with shoulder strap and mini messenger in suede with stitching leather details, Studded belts with trimmed metal loops or slim double lap, Printed silk foulards with geometric patterns Paisley, Sunglasses in acetate and metal.
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Tags: COSTUME NATIONAL HOMME, COSTUME NATIONAL SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Mon, September 1 2014 » Fashion Blog
11 REASONS TO DEDICATE THE COLLECTION TO GIGI RIVA
1) Because Gigi Riva played 442 matches on 446 with No. 11 on his shirt.
2) Because Gigi Riva is the champion that all the children would have liked to emulate.
3) Because Gianni Brera renamed him “rumble of thunder” and no nickname was more appropriate and I love it.
4) Because Gigi Riva is the revenge of a ‘childhood made of anguish, poverty, denial and bitterness.
5) Because, thanks to Gigi Riva, Cagliari was said to be the prodigy of a team winning in the scirocco area…. isn’t it beautiful?
6) Because Gigi Riva had a shot that drills through nets, an extraordinary overhead kick, a skillful and dangerous header, and when he kicked diagonally from the left he found the lower corner with his eyes closed.
7) Because even the old women from Orgosolo, shrouded in their dark brown shawls with long and waving fringes who go to church at five in the evening and who know little about football, know Gigi Riva.
8) Because on April 12, 1970 in an interview Gigi Riva said … I like Sardinia. I think it is good for me, especially to my health ….. humidity does not exist here, there is no snow, there is no fog. I think that .. one day for me and for my children .. Sardinia could be the ideal place.
9) Because Gigi Riva used to received 100 love letters a day and the poor postman distressed by his labor problems was to unload all those letters at his hotel in via Sanna Randaccio.
10) Because even if Gigi Riva used to have an island exploding for him every Sunday, even though he was courted by every team, he always had a shadow of melancholy in his eyes, on his lips, in the timbre of his voice.
11) Because Gigi Riva can be summed up in one sentence by Gozzano: I don’t like things that could have been but were not.
And 11+1 reason because in 1970 the “red-blue team” won the championship.
CAGLIARI ITALIAN CHAMPION.
A revenge for an island abused by men and by nature.
A revenge for all those who continue to live on the island and especially for those who had to go away and that from a distance feel even more connected to their land.
Today, frustrations, sufferings and disappointments are cancelled.
A revenge: to be the first and to be the champions of Italy.
THE BEST.
Ps: And still, above all, a reason:
Because …….. we still need heroes and Gigi Riva is a hero.
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Tags: ANTONIO MARRAS, ANTONIO MARRAS SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2015
Mon, August 4 2014 » Fashion Blog
