“Spring 2020 evolves the codes we are building at Bottega Veneta. Our focus is on process and clarity; immediate and direct.” Daniel Lee, Creative Director.
This collection plays with proportion, soft structure cutting through tension and technique with a clean new ease. The balance of colour is calm, bold, rich and defined in black, chocolate brown, gold, tapioca, orange and tones of blue.
Jewellery disrupts the silhouette, weaving through tactile surfaces. Classicism contrasts modernism with refined techniques: knot, weave and knit. Materials feature in their purest form: Wood, gold, lacquer, stone, leather, cotton and the body.
Accessories resonate with the attitude of beauty and comfort. Uncompromising and unstructured, contrasts are essential. Collage, texture and nuance; each a continuous extension of each other. Bottega Veneta embodies warmth, desire, joy and celebration. An elevated reality to live in.
“Bottega Veneta is about the individual, it’s for you.” Daniel Lee, Creative Director.
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Tags: BOTTEGA VENETA, BOTTEGA VENETA SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
‘Fiction needs more female spies,’ says feminist writer Natasha Walter, ‘after all, women are trained to keep secrets’. Her fiction debut A Quiet Life puts a woman at the centre of a spy thriller. She’s not the first –action adventuress Modesty Blaise has been around since 1963- but she’s one of very few.
The latest is the BBC America phenomenon Killing Eve. It has won a bunch of accolades (with nine Emmy nominations pending) and its writer, woman-of-the-moment Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been hired to polish the script of the new Bond movie. Due to premier next Spring, Waller-Bridge says it will ‘treat women properly’. And hopefully we will get a dash of her tongue-in-cheek humour.
Max Mara imagines the wardrobe for a film yet to be made. All the tropes are there, but turned around. Modesty Blaise is the new 007. She admires Bond’s elegance, but questions his modus operandi. Bumpy car chases, shootouts and cataclysmic explosions -dangerous, dirty and unnecessary, she thinks. With a strategic hint and a well laid trap, she manoeuvers her adver- sary into surrender. No need for a gun then, but the holster makes for a very stylish design detail.
Our film begins in London; a car rides through rain streaked Whitehall, heels click briskly in the corridors of power, the dark hush of a wood paneled office. She wears spy-style trenchcoats and sharp shouldered three-piece trouser suits in ‘sharkskin’ and Prince-de-Galles. Later, lunch at a discreet Mayfair watering hole; she wears a playful mix micro foulard prints in black and white.
To the airport; she never travels without a generously proportioned bush jacket and a perfectly designed Whitney bag. The latest are small, soft and neat or big enough for overnight (you never know). A private jet delivers our heroine to a palm fringed island. She crosses the glittering bay by speed launch to a sequestered hideaway.
She favours tropical military uniforms –shorts that graze the knee and multi-pocketed shirts in eau-de-nil, shell pink, and powder blue. Perfect for keeping cool when chasing through the jungle. She is prepared for every eventuality. Cocktails with the subject of her assignment? A grand affair at the Governor’s mansion? She has long pale paisley print bias cut skirts and fluid pastel gowns with tough looking braces.
She walks across the lawn to a waiting helicopter in a flurry of diagonally placed silk volants. In this film –and in real life- Max Mara never lets her down.
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Tags: MAX MARA, MAX MARA SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
EMANCIPATED EROTIC MOOD
This is N21’s first co-ed women’s and men’s show. The collections come from the will to stretch beyond won ground; from the desire to talk about a natural erotic inclination; and from the need to rethink attitudes so as to indulge a notion of fashion that promotes renewal.
“I wanted to do a co-ed show with the women’s and men’s collections because I care about giving a narrative unity to my idea of fashion. I think Fashion is a unique and global concept and that only a person who wears the clothes expressing it is able to personalize it, namely accord it a gender identity and transfer to it a distinct personality: her or his own. This conviction has always been the springboard for my work method. That’s why the initial inspiration behind this collection is a sense of eroticism that cuts loose from exclusively sexual expressions and becomes a means for speaking through the body. That’s also why I designed the same clothes for women and men, without falling into the no-gender trap, yet having the two genders — female and male — meet in a continual intersection of references re lines, volumes and fabrics. This also affords me the chance to express a disruptive viewpoint: one contrary to the conformism and moralism that in current years have been imposing too many rules on people’s lives and therefore on fashion as well”, says N21 creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua.
REFERENCES Micro floral print fabrics create androgynous outfits where jackets with wide lapels and ventilated sleeves make a smart match with shorts layered over pants. Print nylon forms parachute dresses. Duchesse serves to define voluminous anoraks with keyhole opening in back. Cady shirts have high collars plus long bow closures at back of neck; both men and women wear these shirts with baggy bermudas. Chiffon plissé skirts are washed, as are leather shirts and gazer jackets, so as to obtain imperfect effects and lighter weights. The masculine weight of knit sweaters is contrasted with allover crystal beading.
ATTITUDE Very elegant, the collection features made to be styled in the wearers own way, making keen use of atelier tricks of the trade: jacket sleeves open up; tops play a morphing game on the torso thanks to clever buttoning; a chiffon dress forgoes sleeves and takes on a slip-dress pose; floppy bows work to construct sheer dresses while flat bows on baby-doll dresses have the look of passementerie; plissé skirts in part leather part chiffon add sensuality to movement; men’s jackets and pants preserve the same cut and fabric in the women’s version; other plissé skirts have wide hems the specific result of washing.
ACCESSORIES Cubic is the name of the sandals with cubic-sculpture heel and split-in-two sole that present the same prints and crystal beads as the clothes in the collection. There are also short pointy-toe medium-heel mannish boots in black, green and brown. A leather envelope bag, often with micro floral print, comes in micro and macro sizes.
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Tags: N°21, N°21 SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
An arrival in Milano becomes an escape from the city. Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos present their Spring Summer 2020 collection with a dose of solar optimism, swirling with the smudged florals and acid pastels of symbolist painting. Nostalgic, carefree inspirations accumulate in saturated colour and palpable textures, imbuing fresh separates for women and men with a playful elegance somewhere between the ballroom and the beach.
From iridescent to towelling textures, a focus on elevated fabrics in boyish workwear shapes joins the Peter Pilotto vocabulary of ultra-feminine drape – playing crisp and matte cottons off hammered silks, japanese wools, sandy knits and plush terrycloth.
Riffs on polos and bowling shirts contrast the sophistication of corsetry and belted sash volumes, whilst roomy jackets in topstitched damask or stonewash denim are layered with ruched, asymmetric skirts.
Pleated shorts or straight pants push all-over print stories to new heights, as petals and leaves blur against aquarelle washes. Engineered knit pieces breathe as ribbed lurex column skirts, mockneck crop tops and crochet-effect cardigans.
The Peter Pilotto leather goods collection arrives in myriad ice cream tones of nappa and satin, from crescent satchels and rounded backpacks to printed floral totes and double duty mini pouches. As though floating off the body, crystals or opaque stones congregate in celestial jewellery and adorn sparkling stiletto sandals.
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Tags: PETER PILOTTO, Peter Pilotto SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER MEN 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
Making clothes that embody a sense of uniqueness by applying the rules of a renewed tailoring to make every day dressing special. Alberta Ferretti’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection is dedicated to women of character, women who want to identify themselves in a narrative that uses fashion to stand out.
« I started working on this collection with the idea of creating a contemporary story, trying to find a balance between the feeling that women have for fashion and the carefree attitude of today. I decided to deepen my search for customization, to make each garment the chapter of a story and transform everyday clothing so that it can be applied for many special occasions. »
Alberta Ferretti
The collection, framed by an emotional video installation created by the artist Fabrizio Plessi, maintains the integrity of design precision while simultaneously communicating the same emotion and feeling through atelier techniques to ready-to-wear.
Small embroidered capes turn into tops and are paired with suede trousers or washed and dyed denim with a tie-dye technique that mimics the inlay; washed silk dresses are constructed with patchwork of colors alternating with crochet work, fabrics with black and white animal prints with psychedelic graphics make up the dresses, jackets and trousers; white or black shirts in embroidered muslin combine with chiffon: elements that define a refined day attitude to inspire dressing well every day.
The evening offerings transition to blue, through a degradé effect that sinks into black. Chiffon ruffles create “tremblant” surfaces; dresses consist of fluid and layered lines stand alongside those embroidered with micro- beads and varying sequins.
This quest to personalize every look also addresses accessories. Suede bags inlaid with a patchwork effect are combined with flat sandals with leather straps and jewel details.
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Tags: ALBERTA FERRETTI, ALBERTA FERRETTI SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
EVOLUTION
‘My first year at Burberry was about understanding and refining the new codification for the house. With that foundation in place, I feel ready to start exploring what’s at the heart of this incredible brand.
In the archive, I discovered this beautiful story at the origin of our past. Thomas Burberry was a young pioneer and a self-made man who built his company during the Victorian era – a time in Britain for great change and progress and an era that has always inspired me and my work. He chose to present his company with an emblem of a knight on a horse, but for his family crest, he instead chose a unicorn. Thomas Burberry was a daring innovator but also a romantic and a dreamer.
This is the story behind this collection, a collection inspired by our past and dedicated to our future. It’s the evolution of our Burberry kingdom.’
Riccardo Tisci, Burberry Chief Creative Officer
Burberry presented its new Spring/Summer 2020 collection in West London tonight. The collection, called Evolution, is a celebration of new house codes and is influenced by the time Burberry was founded – the Victorian era.
The show was presented in a vast theatre which was transformed to feature a giant mirrored cube at its core, which lifted as the show started to reveal a Victorian-inspired sound system installation with rust flooring and ceiling. The space reflected the palette of the collection with hues of white, grey, silver and neutral earth tones.
The collection mixes innovative techniques with classic fabrications. Victorian-inspired silhouettes create cinched waists and elaborate sleeves for both men and women, while fluid fabrics and hybrid details such as detachable and extendable hems feature throughout. Introducing Anne on the runway, our equestrian-inspired style detailed with Thomas Burberry Monogram hardware and bridle straps. Signature unisex bags are reinterpreted – from Lola, in miniature and bum bag iterations, to the giant Pocket Bag.
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Tags: BURBERRY, BURBERRY SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
ECOSEXUAL
For Spring Summer 20, Christopher Kane continues to explore and break down the taboos around desire.
Make Love with the Wind, Sleep with the Stars, Feel the Flowers… this season, the Ecosexual collection encourages us to become intimate with nature by indulging in earthly pleasures.
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Tags: CHRISTOPHER KANE, CHRISTOPHER KANE SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Mon, September 23 2019 » Fashion Blog
post – colonial body
In the midst of our daily lives, we take behavioural codes and the invisibility or the confidence of the body for granted. At times we are lost in euphoric exoticisation of the body, but we barely question how the physical presence and demeanour can be affected or moulded by various historical events which took place in the world.
In this light “The Postcolonial Body” is a study of dance and movement amongst various ethnic groups which have been colonised by Western forces. America and Japan have been the two focus points of inspiration. South America as the example of deeper infiltration of colonial attitudes stemming back to Spanish and Portuguese occupation between the 16th and 19th century, whilst Japan as a much shorter-lived example, but one which has become subject to remarkable consequences, where the economic, cultural, and social landscape has been heavily moulded by the US occupation during 1945-1952.
The collection fuses dance and movement from South American dance genres and Japanese ritual enactments celebrating seasonal rites of fertility and abundance. Part imaginary, part a study; the clothes are conceived in a spirit of enforced joy and protest at the same time.
The clothes and the fabrications:
The structure of the clothes is inspired by drapes mimicking moving bodies from genres which fuse dance of the European immigrants, former slaves and working classes of people, as well as looking at contemporary dance which instigates a sense of physical discipline and restraint.
While the collection is imbued with the above themes, the shapes and surfaces of the Chalayan wardrobe remains wearable and practical.
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Tags: CHALAYAN, CHALAYAN SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Mon, September 23 2019 » Fashion Blog
Today I’m asking myself: what is the meaning behind putting on a runway show? I want to question why fashion shows still exist as someone who has worked in the industry for more than two decades. I’ve always celebrated and embraced a collaborative spirit which remains a significant motivation for me this season. Rather than putting together my SS20 collection autonomously, I have incorporated the creations of other independent artists whose talents, stories and aesthetics have touched me. I want to give back what I have received as we simply cannot proceed without being generous, caring or conscious of the world that surrounds us.
You will see the jewellery designs of Marla Aaron whose work I immediately fell in love with. Her jewellery evokes that disruptive punk attitude mixed with extremely refined details through re- imagining the “lock”. I’m delighted to have men in the show again this season, each wearing sandals by K.JACQUES. The designs remind me of the South of France; they have a simplicity yet capture a careful savoir-faire that compliments the craftsmanship of my own designs. All of the hats on the runway come from ReHats – a small company based in Berlin. I love the products because they are recycled, creating something special out of materials that would otherwise end up as waste.
Off the runway, this season is a big moment for me personally as we launch a more sustainable ‘factory- to-retail’ hanger in collaboration with Arch & Hook and with the support of the British Fashion Council. The Arch & Hook BLUE® model is the first 100% recycled and fully circular hanger made from ocean plastics, providing an eco-friendly version to the billions of garment hangers usually sent to landfill after that apparel distribution process. Crucially the BLUE® hanger is recyclable and can be collected for re- use or re-manufacture into hangers over and over again.
As a company we have been supporting Maggie’s Centres over the last couple of years, inspired by the work the charity does with cancer patients across the country. Our shoe stock used for runway shows will raise money in a special sale at my headquarters in London, with 100% of takings going to the charity. The ethos is giving back; caring.
I’m very attracted to simplicity this season; showing less about what you own, perhaps even about who you are. When you pair a top with a trouser, there’s an elegance. That attitude continues through textural eveningwear; new volumes and a subtle mixing of fabrics; the American sportswear-inspired mood of sequin skirts; the workwear appeal of check suits; the double pleating on wide-legged trousers.
A designer should define silhouettes not just clothes: this season’s silhouette is the evolution and continuation of my work over the years. By incorporating tailoring and craftsmanship into my collections, I’m inviting you to play with the silhouette as a way to convey personal style. Talking about style, this collection takes inspiration from that 80s era in New York during the financial crack when the city almost went bankrupt. During those moments, we reinvent and define ourselves, changing fears into something positive that in turn brings newness. What is luxury in times of crisis? It’s style.
The charity shoe sale will take place on 3rd October 2019 at Roland Mouret, 8 Carlos Place, W1. Each pair of shoes will cost £40 with 100% of takings going to Maggie’s Centres.
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Tags: ROLAND MOURET, ROLAND MOURET SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Mon, September 23 2019 » Fashion Blog
Roksanda’s Spring Summer 2020 show will be taking place at the Serpentine Gallery and Pavilion for its third summer season, continuing to merge the world of art, architecture and fashion. Models will pass through and around the pavilion, designed this year by the architect Junya Ishigami. Ishigami has created a delicate slate canopy, which appears to defy gravity, hovering within the natural surroundings of the Serpentine garden.
Adding to the narrative of the season, Roksanda has created a vibrant flame coloured catwalk that criss-crosses through the gallery and over Serpentine’s garden, as a nod to the work of Cristo and Jeanne Claude’s ‘The floating Piers’. Roksanda’s story will unfold within this natural environment that captures her devotion to the exploration of architecture, colour, light movement and the recalibration of the vision of femininity.
The collection draws influence from the work of Mary Weatherford, in particular her body of work incorporating neon rods, which cast industrial light onto fields of colour. The concept of building colour and creating three dimensional form, is developed further through the re- interpretation of art posters that have been layered over time, slowly peeling to reveal what was there before, influencing ideas for print techniques, with double exposed imagery being exploded to a vast scale and subsequently printed and sprayed with colour.
Embodying the effect of a canvas that is still work in progress, these layered prints go through an additional process of being sprayed, painted and then pleated on long drop waist dresses and skirts layered with tailoring.
This season focus is on further exploration of tailoring, seen as relaxed luxurious day dressing, combining melange jersey and wool in soft, oversized elongated shapes that are layered with a more traditional super 130 menswear cloth. Sophisticated muted tones are layered together, added scarves details are integral to jacket necklines.
Soft muted palettes continue with trench coats, that are spliced with contrasting back panels. Utilitarian outerwear in the form of parkas have been slashed in bolder-ways, revealing internal facings and interior colour-blocking, in saturated candy pinks and crimson reds, snapdragon, ivory and flax.
Dramatic, voluminous dress silhouettes are created in cotton and taffeta, with a variety of fine accordion pleats giving an almost corrugated feel. Playing with perceptions of proportion and sculpture, exaggerated pleated collars spill over the shoulders and move freely when the wearer walks. These forms are off set alongside feminine draped jersey dresses, which are lean and sylphlike. Following the contours of the body, flowing from shoulder and hips alike, the body swathed in fine gauge jersey.
Fabrics this season are informed by these artistic processes, a traditional menswear tailoring with slubs mimics the look of an artists canvas, while metallic yarn is woven into taffeta to create a sculptural and crushed effect in gowns. Modernist details and craftsmanship continue in Roksanda’s bag range, this season the ‘Flat bag’ and the ‘box bag’ appear in shades of marron, petrol, stucco and snapdragon and the ‘Louise W’ can be seen in shades of snapdragon and olive.
In collaboration with Malone Souliers, the shoes that accompany the collection are made from soft leathers, toes are pointy and elongated, flat shoes and heals are spliced and colour blocked, and boots are slouchy with fine contrasting ties.
COLOUR
Maple leaf, ochre, arctic, mauve, stucco, flax, marron, candy, crimson, amber, snapdragon, cerulean, petrol.
FABRIC
Technical taffeta, super 130 wool tailoring, crushed metal taffeta, compact cotton outwear, silk satin, fine gauge jersey, double bonded crepe, wool jersey, bonded cupro.
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Tags: ROKSANDA, ROKSANDA SS 2020, SPRING SUMMER WOMEN 2020
Mon, September 23 2019 » Fashion Blog
