Roberto Cavalli: Electric Dreams Safari
@ 1:56 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Milan, News, Runway Shows
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MILAN, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — Entitled ‘Bohemian Safari’ with the prints so stylized that the traditional animal prints and jungle shapes and forms, Roberto Cavalli can easily be a purveyor of electric dreams.
With almost everything in digital format nowadays, it is so easy to morph a natural shape into something unrecognizable. Thank goodness that Roberto Cavalli did not fall into that trap. Though he probably utilized today’s high tech tools, you can still his hand as a designer.
Take the ‘enlarged leaf’ print for instance. At first glance, you don’t see it as a leaf. Then, your eyes start to focus on the ‘veins’ and the different shades of green that sometimes turn to purple, and you realized that it is a leaf seen under a magnifying glass.
Or the animal prints on the swimsuits. The background colors were changed into the summery shades of blue, green and orange, but you can still recognize the leopard spots. Saving the best for last, how about the collarless leather jacket that is ‘woven’ using tribal weaving techniques.
(Click on thumbnail to see bigger photo)
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(Photos by Lisa Helm)
DSquared2: Barbershop Squared
@ 1:09 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Milan, Runway Shows
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MILAN, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — From the soulful church of the American South, to the Double D Ranch in the American Southwest and now, a barbershop that offers fashion, Dean and Dan Caten found the perfect balance between great clothes and a great show.
Sharply tailored three-piece suits to streetwear, plus the famous DSquared2 Jeans, the DSquared2 Spring /Summer 2009 collection is a DSquared2’s fan come true, all shown in a stage set that could have easily been for the next installment of the very popular movie Barbershop.
Now, add to that all the bling that were shown on the runway, Dean and Dan just got a big nod from the hip hop aficionados.
(Click on thumbnail to see bigger photo)
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(Photos by Lisa Helm)
Malo: White Delicacies
@ 8:48 am June 28, 2008Filed under: Los Angeles, Milan, News
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MILAN, June 28, 2008/ FW/ — Merging all the colors of the rainbow into one, Malo’s Spring Summer 2009 collection performance was all white. The pure color is often overlooked for all its innate qualities, not only white not colorless but it’s so colorful that it is literally light.
The reality that something looks so simple but is in fact quite in depth and complicated is exactly what Malo looked at when designing their Spring Summer collection.
Using the Polo as a canvas Malo played with the white, by using the color in 12 different designs that blended shades, material, and cuts. The result is a beautiful collection that at first glance looks quite simple but in fact, like the color white, has so much more to offer.
The Polo is the perfect iconic piece for Malo to have chosen for the season. As the lines between formalwear and sportswear become ever thinner, the Polo, becomes the obvious classical answer. Malo see’s the potential of the piece as something sporty, classy and elegant all at the same time and thus chose the Polo as the backbone to the collection.
Paying attention to details everything from yarn to weave is considered and the result is some of the highest quality knits in modern, yet classic, designs. Silk, cashmere, cotton and linen were the fabrics used to make up the collection but the way Malo works with them every piece of material is exquisite and ethereal. With over 300 hundred people working on production and development Malo is able to come up with techniques and processes that make their material uniquely precious.
For the Malo Spring Summer collection they used all their newest techniques to produce ultra fine cashmere and cashmere blends. While material was a large part of the collection cut and design also played a big role. Sleeves were either short or long but fits and collar shapes ranged. From slim fitted to loose and relaxed or very small to elongated. The purity of white allows basic rules to be broken with out affecting the unity of the collection.
Malo’s 12 versions of the Polo may all be one color but what lies within that color is so much more.
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(Photo’s by Lisa Helm, click on image to see bigger photo.)
Giuliano Fujiwara: Zero Gravity
@ 8:39 am June 27, 2008Filed under: Milan, News, Runway Shows
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MILAN, June 27, 2008/ FW/ — Using technology to reference nature, Giuliano Fujiwara, came up with an innovating and compelling collection for Spring Summer 2009. As time passes and the ‘new cool’ changes, so do the people along with it. Technology has slowly worked its way into heart of fashion as have the techies behind it. There is no longer such a thing as a computer geek and Giuliano Fujiwara knows this and designs for those who 10 years ago might not have been cool but now are the hottest things.
The S/S collection is based on a play of classics, proportions and textures. Techies have taken to heart their past dorkyness and have invented a new cool that breaches the edge of futuristic. Mid-calf length pants are worn with cool confidence as are all-over bold graphic prints. Colors play on the intangible parts of nature from the ever changing surface of the sea to its deep mysterious depths.
In these places gravity is changed and although still on earth the rules are not the same. Whether in the far corners of the earth or the vast depths of the internet, the Giuliano Fujiwara man makes his own rules and defines his own life.
High glosses, sheer knits and medium sheens are blended together to represent this lack of rules. Jacket sleeves may reach the wrist or be cut off a few inches after the elbow. Proportions have no standards to follow; shorts and jackets get shorter while hats are elongated and bags are enlarged.
Bracelet’s and necklaces made of plastic and wood add depth to relaxed silhouettes. This mix of natural and synthetic materials also plays a role in the fabric content. For knitwear, wood and milk fibers are mixed with cashmere. For a crease proof fabric used for hand-made small jacktes, a combination of wool and mohair are used. Fujiwara even finds away to use the same fibre you find in Japanese paper, by blending it with cotton.
Giuliano Fujiwara may be grounded on earth but he see’s clearly where rules are meant to be broken and where that can easily be done. His collection is a fresh take menswear and an innovative journey into textiles. The collection not only looks ahead but, in some ways leads the path.
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(Photo’s courtesy of Studio Franca Soncini, click on image to see bigger photo.)
Roen: The Casual Rock Star
@ 1:32 am June 27, 2008Filed under: News
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MILAN, June 27, 2008/ FW/ — Miami in the 1970’s was in it’s prime and a magnet to the rich and famous. It was a place of freedom, experimentation and relaxation all at the same time. For Spring Summer 2009 Roen’s inspiration comes from this spirit in Miami where fashion and style are taken on with ease and a relaxed attitude.
Clothes fit with ease and hang sensually on the body accentuating the relaxed mood to the collection. Pants take on both pajama style looseness and rock style snug in daring prints, denim, and linen. Jackets are well fitted but with a light weight that gives off a casual cool.
The Roen man exudes his coolness through his laid-back attitude by wearing rock star clothes like it’s ordinary. A gray cheetah print suit paired with a T-shirt, gloves and baseball hat, all in black, seams like the most ordinary thing when matched with the right attitude.
Roen is all about the rock star and if anyone knows how to be loud and casual cool at the same time, it’s a rock star. From the side of the pool with an afternoon cocktail in hand, to wild night parties the dress code stays the same, no restrictions and everything goes.
While black plays a huge role in the color palette there is also a blend of pastel hues with darker shades. Daring in style the collection mixes sax blue, beige, pink, camel and green. Prints are modernized takes on animal skins like green leopard, gray and black tiger, and gray cheetah. Pants, jackets and shoes add pop accents or make up the complete outfit in the animal prints. The combinations are daring and anti-fashion fashion, they are not trendy but instead full on stylistic pieces.
Roen’s collection stays true to their roots and luxury customers. Materials of the highest qualities have a lightness that casual and sensually hang on the body. Silk, cashmere, extra light wool and Egyptian cotton are mixed with stiffer linen and light gauze to give a textural appeal for the hotter seasons.
With out going back to the 70’s Roen pays tribute to them and the wild days in Miami with his modernized version. Although his collection may be the antithesis of what’s going on in the high fashion scene, that’s always been his trait and his collection is no less stronger for it.
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(Photo courtesy of Studio Franca Soncini, click on image to see bigger photo.)