Caroline continued her fine run for the Fall/Winter 2011 season with an impressive 17 shows in Milan, starting strong on Wednesday with Gucci. I have to say that designers have been making fabulous use of fur this season, and the Gucci collection was no different. The Italian brand kept up it's tradition of strong and stylish women, with Frida Giannini taking influence from Anjelica Husten (and hence a prominent 70s theme, which we are now very familiar with) and recent Grammy nominee, Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine (Speaking of which, was she not amazing at the Oscars on Sunday? I don't think it is any longer a question of if she will rise, but more how far...), who is fast becoming quite a style icon. Caroline had only one look in the show, but no love lost with Giannini over this, she's done a masterful job with this collection.
Next up was No.21, where Caroline had two looks. Alessandro Dell'Acqua brought in some of the minimalism that was so popular in the past few seasons of fashion, but has been seemingly ushered off the stage in favour of more elaborate looks. Far from being off putting though, Dell'Acqua's take is a clever blending of the two. From a distance, the pieces look fairly non-descript, but on closer inspection, faint patterns are noticeable, tiny details that would be missed by the fleeting and casual of gazes.
Thursday dawned with two looks at the Fendi show. I really liked the aesthetic this season; there was an almost English feel to the clothes with the fabric that were used and the cuts. At the same time, the furs were both luxurious in the Italian style, but also evoked a sort of rustic old English atmosphere at the same time, perhaps courtesy of the fact they were patched, as if many different animals were required to make each (and indeed, that may well be the case). The colour palette used was another thing I found very appealing, much resembling the burned tones that you might find in a painting by Salvator Dali. The Brasch was second out of the gates after campaign holder Anja; I am not at all displeased.
Caroline opened D&G later in the day, having two looks for the Dolce & Gabbana subsidiary. Technically she closed the show as well, being the last girl in the last look, but where this look was not shown until the finale walkout with all the girls in the poofy pompom skirts, I suppose we can't really count it. It was a playful collection, full of letter prints and many colours, not unlike what we saw at Missoni and Versace for Spring 2011 with a dash of House of Holland (remember those fashion groupies tshirts?). I don't think I'll be trading in my own Chucks for the Converse inspired wedges presented here, but it was nice seeing a bit of youthful humour at fashion week in the face of all the older aesthetics that always tend to dominate runways.
In her final show for Thursday, Caroline again had two looks. Oops, did I say minimalism was dead? Certainly not the case at Anteprima. Izumi Ogino evidently missed the memo, but the Japanese designer shouldn't fret, because despite going against the current trend of excess, her collection wasn't really anything to smirk at. And hey, she at least kept hints of the 70s in the clothes, so it's not as though she was completely off in left field. Plus, there's always going to be people who are hesitant to indulge in the bright colours that are fast becoming common, and I don't doubt that this is a group she will have success with. I was quite a fan of Caroline's second look, actually: the feathered collar adds just the right amount of spunk to a dress that you could easily wear to the office.
Friday was another three-show day, starting with one look at Moschino. I really liked what Jardini did this season: it was still a little theatrical, but she toned it down a bit for fall. Balance is essential in making a good collection, I think; when there is too much going on at once, it's all distracting and just makes your head spin. The successful designer finds a way to keep everything under control and present it in a way that allows you to look at the clothes and not feel like you are being attacked or something. At the same time though, sometimes being assaulted by fashion and art is perfectly justified... But only when skillfully done. Either way, Moschino Fall 2011 is a win with me!
Caroline had two looks at the Etro show, where there seemed to be a collision between a bazaar in Istanbul and the future. I loved the Middle Eastern influence on the collection, the colours used by those societies are always so rich, and the patterns and details are fascinating to me. Jac Jagaciak appeared to have Aladdin's magic carpet hanging from her waist in her second look, which I thought was an interesting addition. The futuristic inspiration was found in many of the fabric choices, and in the cuts on various items, particularly the outerwear, like in Caroline's first look.
Gianfranco Ferre was to die for. Futurist minimal chic. We thought it was dead, but it's starting to look as though we really counted our chickens before they hatched. Aquilano and Rimondi really did an excellent job with this gorgeous collection. I'm still dying over the military styled jacket that Hailey Clauson opened the show with. Truly beautiful. And Abbey Lee Kershaw was looking pretty good too, actually. Caroline only had one look in the show, but I was too focused on the clothes to really notice until after the fact... Get back to me on whether that's a good thing or not. Either way, I really love The Brasch in the minimalist look. Have I mentioned that before? Her face works perfectly with the aesthetic, and not a week goes by where I don't wish she could get a campaign with Chloe or Celine. Sitting, waiting, wishing...
Next up was No.21, where Caroline had two looks. Alessandro Dell'Acqua brought in some of the minimalism that was so popular in the past few seasons of fashion, but has been seemingly ushered off the stage in favour of more elaborate looks. Far from being off putting though, Dell'Acqua's take is a clever blending of the two. From a distance, the pieces look fairly non-descript, but on closer inspection, faint patterns are noticeable, tiny details that would be missed by the fleeting and casual of gazes.
Thursday dawned with two looks at the Fendi show. I really liked the aesthetic this season; there was an almost English feel to the clothes with the fabric that were used and the cuts. At the same time, the furs were both luxurious in the Italian style, but also evoked a sort of rustic old English atmosphere at the same time, perhaps courtesy of the fact they were patched, as if many different animals were required to make each (and indeed, that may well be the case). The colour palette used was another thing I found very appealing, much resembling the burned tones that you might find in a painting by Salvator Dali. The Brasch was second out of the gates after campaign holder Anja; I am not at all displeased.
Caroline opened D&G later in the day, having two looks for the Dolce & Gabbana subsidiary. Technically she closed the show as well, being the last girl in the last look, but where this look was not shown until the finale walkout with all the girls in the poofy pompom skirts, I suppose we can't really count it. It was a playful collection, full of letter prints and many colours, not unlike what we saw at Missoni and Versace for Spring 2011 with a dash of House of Holland (remember those fashion groupies tshirts?). I don't think I'll be trading in my own Chucks for the Converse inspired wedges presented here, but it was nice seeing a bit of youthful humour at fashion week in the face of all the older aesthetics that always tend to dominate runways.
Friday was another three-show day, starting with one look at Moschino. I really liked what Jardini did this season: it was still a little theatrical, but she toned it down a bit for fall. Balance is essential in making a good collection, I think; when there is too much going on at once, it's all distracting and just makes your head spin. The successful designer finds a way to keep everything under control and present it in a way that allows you to look at the clothes and not feel like you are being attacked or something. At the same time though, sometimes being assaulted by fashion and art is perfectly justified... But only when skillfully done. Either way, Moschino Fall 2011 is a win with me!
Caroline had two looks at the Etro show, where there seemed to be a collision between a bazaar in Istanbul and the future. I loved the Middle Eastern influence on the collection, the colours used by those societies are always so rich, and the patterns and details are fascinating to me. Jac Jagaciak appeared to have Aladdin's magic carpet hanging from her waist in her second look, which I thought was an interesting addition. The futuristic inspiration was found in many of the fabric choices, and in the cuts on various items, particularly the outerwear, like in Caroline's first look.
Gianfranco Ferre was to die for. Futurist minimal chic. We thought it was dead, but it's starting to look as though we really counted our chickens before they hatched. Aquilano and Rimondi really did an excellent job with this gorgeous collection. I'm still dying over the military styled jacket that Hailey Clauson opened the show with. Truly beautiful. And Abbey Lee Kershaw was looking pretty good too, actually. Caroline only had one look in the show, but I was too focused on the clothes to really notice until after the fact... Get back to me on whether that's a good thing or not. Either way, I really love The Brasch in the minimalist look. Have I mentioned that before? Her face works perfectly with the aesthetic, and not a week goes by where I don't wish she could get a campaign with Chloe or Celine. Sitting, waiting, wishing...
Photos courtesy of vogue.it
No comments:
Post a Comment