“UNCLASSICAL”
A new view on elegance. For Autumn/Winter 2019, PORTS 1961 Creative Director Nataša Čagalj and her team examine archetypes of bourgeoise dressing, twisting the classic, the known, to become different.
Pared back and precise, the collection is built around cut. Gestures of draped cloth, inspired by foulards and handkerchief swatches, animate silhouettes with flying panels and scarf-effects. Layering evokes an idea of protection, of revelation in the unwrapping. The interiors of bonded fabrics in generously-cut outerwear match the clothes worn underneath, a take on a conservative twinset.
Evoking scenarios of bourgeoisie life, a baroque wallpaper pattern becomes a placement print on cottons and wools, interrupting the surfaces. Sometimes a skirt is literally twisted, to show its other side.
There is play with the age-old building-blocks of a wardrobe: coats, suits, dresses – classics. The clothes are layered up and stripped away, a lady coming undone. The signature PORTS 1961 white shirt is dissected, deconstructed – the collar becomes a decorative device, skin exposed. Knitted dresses are dissected into composite parts, allowing slashes of skin to be revealed. Woollen work shirts are carved out in back.
There is a touch of trompe l’oeil toying – again, a twist on the expected. Jackets appear with double- front, as if layered over other pieces; trousers worn underneath dresses are actually boots, with attached sleeves of cloth; jewellery features locks of hair, the earrings appearing to add length to the wearer’s own. And a sequence of furs are actually created from weightless looped yarn knits.
Fabrics are pure, assured: cashmeres and camelhair, wools coated and bonded, houndstooth and prince-of-wales tailoring, cottons. They are rendered in a hyper-classic palette of grey, camel, black and white, weighted with off-kilter touches of carmine, satsuma and eggshell. Animal patterns – reworked zebras, leopard – are recreated in jacquards and knit. For evening, stretch and double face duchesse satins in striking black and white evoke masculine tuxedo dressing, but feminised.
The whole is an emotional journey – pulling apart, putting back together. Twisting, turning, voyaging. A layered exploration, each outfit offering a fresh port of call.
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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2019-20, PORTS 1961, PORTS 1961 FW 2019-20
Mon, February 18 2019 » Fashion Blog
A collective collection, of individuals in individual looks. For autumn/winter 2018, Ports 1961 is an urban tribe. Striding between divides of town and country, male and female, decorated and minimal, the collection responds to a mood of perpetual change, underscoring the peripatetic state of contemporary life and the notion of travel intrinsic to the identity of Ports.
Creative Director Nataša Cǎ galj and her team draw inspiration from reality – the reality of a woman’s wardrobe, the world around her, her social and cultural identities. Decorative motifs are drawn from the actuality of fabrics and manufacture: MADE IN ENGLAND and MADE IN ITALY are used for jacquard patterns and prints. These echo the internationalism of fashion today, and Ports’ identity in particular. Graphic capes are based on manufacturing labels, and care instructions taken from cashmere goods. These respond to another reality – that of luxury now.
There is a mood of bricolage – the innate freedom encourages combinations of different elements and themes, united in their diversity. The Ports 1961 show takes place in the Tanks of Tate Modern.
Art meets artisanal – a sense of the hand and of craft is vital to Ports. Textures and textiles place 2-D and 3-D side by side: finely woven Japanese wool, double-face silk cady and slick coated cottons contrast with intricate, hand-woven and hand-knitted textiles and 3-D print finishes in gloss or flock. Double-face fabrics feature trompe l’oeil animal patterns in differing scales, jacquarded into reversible double-face capes. A mohair twinset is knitted with holographic fringe, their iridescence echoed in waterproof coatings on suiting and cottons, and sequins form “showers” of fringe – practical and witty takes on the inclement British weather. The palette contrasts sombre shades of suiting with bright injections of colour – rich browns, camel, greys and khaki against ginger, pillbox red and Wallis blue.
Both silhouettes and inspirations are free and layered. Flyaway rectangular panes of fabric lend movement to shapes, shoulders are wide and eased off the body, pleated skirts animate. Garments shift, change and transform. Panels and sleeves can be added to and subtracted from pieces, the former drawn around oversized tailoring to transform shapes and perception, defining the waist to shift from masculine to feminine – another move, a different kind of travel.
For autumn/winter 2018, Ports 1961 debuts a full line of accessories. Shoes are flat, mannish brogues in leathers or silks, alongside block-heeled boots. The handbag offering includes the new Hatton, shown both as a ladylike frame shape and compact, elongated clutch with signature modernist burnished-brass clasp. The rigour and precision of these accessories form a contrast to the freedom elsewhere.
This collection traverses new territory for Ports 1961 – a different journey, a fresh terrain. A new tribe.
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Tags: FALL WINTER WOMEN 2018-19, PORTS 1961, PORTS 1961 FW 2018-19
Fri, February 23 2018 » Fashion Blog
Thu, April 13 2017 » Fashion Blog
Fri, May 13 2016 » Fashion Blog
Ports 1961 © Copyright 2014
This season, Ports 1961’s woman has two souls inspired by the spirit of the Greek goddess Artemis: one strong and warrior-like; one sensual and feminine. A combination that expresses the svelte power and stealth of the eternal huntress.
A sensual colour palette of crisp white combined with the creamiest ivory, recalling the nacre of a deep sea pearl. Nude tones balance pale rose pinks and whisper-soft taupe – all anchored by the precision of the purest black.
Artemis inspired A-line shapes and long, languid forms with geometric elements, balanced in turn by fluid, flyaway silks, cottons and knits, express a mood of total control and self-determination.
The bold and assertive spirit of the iconic No.10 blouse is reinvented in luxurious athletic fabrics and details, such as a sporty silk mesh and pique ‘plastron’.
Sexy, short kilt and wrap skirts have evolved from FW14. Wide trousers are rethought with a detachable peplum on the waistline, creating an elongated ‘lift’ effect. Cropped pants add variety with the latter in a sheer silk-cotton voile.
Twirled godets and gently billowing gussets stand out on ultra-light dresses in silk and cotton silk twill. Meanwhile, multi plissé dresses feature enriched panels and straps inspired by the huntress’s armour.
Fiona Cibani channels the warrior goddess and invites women to follow Artemis and her fleet-footed elegance with sculpted designs, divine details and a poise and attitude that demonstrates the apex of female empowerment.
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Tags: PORTS 1961, PORTS 1961 SS 2015, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2015
Mon, September 22 2014 » Fashion Blog
Thu, March 14 2013 » Fashion Blog
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
Wed, March 13 2013 » Fashion Blog
