Milan: Byblos Changes Hands Again
By J. J. Martin
Photos by Gruber-FWD
Milan, Oct 1, 2002/ FWD/ --- For nearly a decade, Italian fashion label Byblos has had
more personalities than a certified schizophrenic.
As reins to the creative direction for the house passed from names such as Richard Tyler,
John Bartlett and Martine Sitbon, it's been slightly difficult to determine just what exactly
Byblos is all about.
For the Spring Summer ´03 collection, shown here today in Milan, the confused child was
passed to yet another mother -- this time the design team of Greg Myler, Stefano Citron,
and Federico Piaggi, all formerly from Mila Schon.
Under the tutelage of this trio, it seems Byblos is now taking a turn for the commercially
viable - serving up sexy and wearable separates that will find a home in many a
trend follower´s closet.
It´s safe to say that nearly all of the looks presented picked up on styles and details
that are currently in circulation, which is not by default a negative thing.
The big pant for the season, for example, was slim through the leg and wrapped up by
now-familiar bands, and occasionally featured the new high waisted silhouette.
Byblos cut these pieces well and the effect was bold and strong.
Like many other designers at the moment, the Byblos team picked up on military details
such as army style cropped jackets with oversized buttons, poncho style overcoats and a
strong use of fatigue-green coloring.
An occasional jolt of a fabulously deep orange spiced things up, as did the use of details
all their own such as the braiding detail found around paint waists, jacket shoulders, or
simply hanging loosely from garments.
Working the future style factor, the trio was on the mark with their skin tight jumpsuits -
some of which were strapless, some accented with military details, and all of which carefully
managed to be sexy and not smutty.
These will be big sellers, and so will their breezy sheer tunics - another item that's having
a fashion moment.
Byblos did theirs either cropped with big billowing sleeves or super long in a cover-up style.
This theme of loosely gathered fabric was also introduced into evening dress looks, as well
as harem-pant styles -- the former of which was met with much more success.
All in all, no groundbreaking territory today at Byblos, but it was certainly a solid start
for this newly assembled team.
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