Just yesterday, Roman fashion house Fendi invited guests to their Milan location to view the final collection designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld. There was something to be said about the atmosphere upon location, the screams of the fur protesters on the outside in comparison to the somber mood on the inside, it was an aspect that was very Karl Lagerfeld. How regardless of protests, laws or whatever was happening, the iconic designer had a code which he lived by and carried to his grave, which is something to be respected.
Of course, the Fendi Fall Winter 2019 collection was an ode to Karl and his half a century with the house. As an apt sound track of Lou Reed & John Cale’s Small Town played in the background, it set the mood for what was to come, a compilation of Lagerfeld’s signature designs throughout time. Starting from the beginning with his classic silhouettes, the first look made it’s debut as a double breasted suit dress with a poignant white bow around the neck. Throughout the collection , the looks featured a various number of different styles and tailoring, the iconic Fendi logo monogram , designed by Karl himself in his ‘Karliagraphy’ font appeared on coats and cabochon buttons there were also floating bow belts, pleated trouser, asymmetric lapels, tulle bodysuits , pointed collars and laser cut leather outwear. Neutral tones of ivory tulle, cognac and beige contrasted shades of sea green, yellow, tangerine and azure. Each piece holding the common thread of the late designer’s expertise. The iconic Fendi Baguette was also transformed into versions of embossed pillow patent, vegetal leather and a multi-strap utility harness. The entire collection was a celebration of Mr. Lagerfeld as a designer whose inception created a whole new era of designers and whose vision helped to shape the Italian house into the brand that it is today. “The bond between Karl Lagerfeld and Fendi is fashion’s longest love story, one that will continue to touch our lives for years to come. When we called just a few days before the show, his only thoughts were richness and beauty of the collection,” to quote Silvia Venturini.
Yesterday Italian fashion house Prada welcomed guests to their show space in Milan, for the viewing of their Fall Winter 2019 Women’s collection. Being the same set to that of the menswear show last month , this show was a continuation of the Frankenstein storyline established in the previous show, from a slightly different perspective. Last season designer Miuccia Prada’s focus was on the outcasts of society, she crafted a collection mainly inspired by the social Frankensteins of society, which was a dark but interesting stimulus. However this season, she decided to shed light on the more affectionate side of such a love story , being love stories like Frankenstein and his Bride. The collection titled “The Anatomy of Romance,” was an exploration of the gloom of love and romance and their duality. It spoke to that turbulent pull one has towards love even when you know it will end in turmoil. As a violin instrumental of bad romance plays in the background, a model struts the runway in a full black gown with an embroidered yellow rose to the side. This was the mood, this was a woman who was strong, feminine, who falls in love and gets her heart broken every time, yet always gets back up to try again. The collection also featured a military utilitarian nod: army green skirts, massive patch pockets, black trouser suits, along with fun features such as lace veils and skirts, a Frankenstein + Bride printed dress, mohair fur ear and head muffs and also mohair fur backpacks. As much as this collection focused on the dark side of things, it also focused on love’s duality and it’s potential to bloom, with flashes of flower prints and embroideries throughout the story. Last season Ms.Prada had lots of fun with a quirky, interesting collection, however this season, the pieces were more practical and serious and also very Prada.
In past seasons, Austrian designer Arthur Arbesser often referenced art from the Viennese Secession for inspiration behind his collections. However, the only valid explanation for the designer’s dexterity in design and architecture intricately executed in his last collection is for him to hold himself to the same standards as one of these artisans.
For Fall Winter 2019, the designer welcomed guests to an indoor sound-reflective rock climbing site on the outskirts of Milan . As the show began, the space was first filled with an arrangement of elegant orchestral music complemented by the clank of approaching rubber boots. Calf high rubber boots fashioned in black, white and blue carefully paired with a selection of colours from Arthur’s palette. The collection took inspiration from the architectural context of his Milan studio which was designed by Luigi Caccia Dominoni in the late forties with a bourgeois classic Milanese aesthetic. Each look was skilfully paired with the most unexpected complementary colours: pomegranate and lychee shade pants, yellow and olive, checkered shirts and skirts, feather textured blouses, architectural jewellery. This collection felt very personal to the designer, as if the woman he was dressing would be a woman he would not only be dressing, but be crafting, and grooming. She felt free, artistic and at the same time cryptic, almost like the a female Picasso who took you on a very personal journey throughout her abstract process, but instead of paint, her chosen medium is fabric.
This weekend in continuation with the Fendi #BaguetteFriendsForever series, the Italian luxury brand released the second installation of the sequence which is set along the vibrant streets of Hong Kong. Titled “The Missing Baguette,” the film features Taiwanese DJ Dizzy Dizzo, Singapore-based fashion IT-girl Yoyo Cao, Japanese model Hikari More and Korean DJ Peggy Gou on the hunt in Hong Kong for Hiraki’s lost Baguette which she accidentally leaves at Fendi store while shopping for new merch.
Last week the brand launched the campaign #BaguetteFriendsForever which includes a series of short films featuring the storylines of inseparable groups of friends around the world throughout one of their daily routines which is centered around the iconic Fendi baguette. The first episode was titled “The Baguette is Back” and was an adventure set in the streets of Shanghai China. To be released next week is the final episode which features the backdrop of the Big Apple and a special guest too. Stayed tuned for more. To shop the looks , visit Fendi.
Last weekend guests were invited to the Milanese headquarters of Italian fashion house Fendi for the presentation of their Fall Winter 2019 menswear collection.
For Spring Summer we were presented with a collection where Venturini drew inspiration from one of the main men in her life, her son-in-law Nico Vascellari, a performance and visual artist who according to her “transforms himself on the stage,” revealing several facets fo himself including a dark side. From this came a collection of light and dark which featured shorts, fanny packs, buckets hats and other streetwear like pieces. However for this season, the creative director chose to muse upon one of the more, or if you dare say, the most tailored male figure in her life. Karl Lagerfeld was the guest artist in this season’s collection to which he contributed to physically and creatively.
“I have never seen him wearing sportswear; he is always wearing tailoring in a contemporary way, ” stated Venturini Fendi, which was exactly what represented the theme carried throughout the collection, — “tailoring done in a contemporary way.”
Upon entry, guests were treated to the scenery of a black and gold replica of Karl Lagerfeld’s personal Parisian library. Then came the models who were clad in classic tailored pieces which made them seem like wealthy fashionable modern day librarians. Tuxedos and shirts were made in organza and accessorised with gold chains, there were puffer parkers and jumpers made in two different colours, high collared shirts and asymmetrical double-breasted suits all made with a palette of black, beige, brown, accents of red, blue and a calligraphic version of the FF logo.
Most looks were accompanied by several forms of baggage which included Fendi logo-ed briefcases, trunks and newly introduced male versions of the brand’s iconic Peekaboo bag and Baguette. The man created throughout this collection was a tailored contrast to the street-like Fendi man previously seen, but he was in fact a character who wore timeless well-made pieces flexible enough to pull out the closet during any season of the year. Visit Fendi for more.
Last men’s season Italian designer Massimo Giorgetti welcomed his audience to volleyball courtside for the viewing of a collection inspired by the beachy sport. However for FW19 , Giorgetti had a rather more dangerous impulse for the inspiration behind the latest collection. The art of motor racing culture and the adrenaline from the velocity behind it was his sole focus this season. “MSGM is evolving. Speed has always been at our heart, the fast passion of life. What do we do as we grow? We go faster,” to quote the man himself.
The collection was aptly titled TURBO and featured graphic pieces inspired by the thrilling qualities of the world of motor racing. It included knitted jumpers and t-shirt with the slogans “more speed” and “run away”, bright coloured parkas and trucker jackets, wide cut denim cargo pants inspired by pit crew uniforms, motorsport newspaper stories printed on coats and of course the customary reference to Milan with an embroidered blouse of the Duomo’s skyline. The collection was a rather tailored offering to the table of streetwear as was included a selection of double breasted blazers and wool coats complimented by both sneakers and formal footwear. See more at MSGM.
Last season designers Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo launched the womenswear branch to their minimalistic Italian label Sunnei in commitment to their vision of building a worldwide community amongst the brand’s fan base. For FW19 , the brand invited guests to an airy liberty-styled white room in Milan called Palazzo del Ghiaccio (translates to ice palace) which was previously used for ice skating.
The location itself accurately represented the brand’s aesthetic, it was large and simple but procured an admirable level of architecture. The seating arrangement dispersed the fashion hierarchy by not featuring second or third rows but a simple maze of seats which placed each guest at a reasonable distance from the passageways. This was quite unlike what any other brand would do which was exactly the brand’s major message of the season. They presented a collection which made you note that they were not designers who follow guidelines or go off trends but rather create their own. With inspiration from personal experiences throughout high school and college, the duo crafted a collection of women’s and menswear featuring flared trousers, bumpster pants, knit sweaters and blouses, and pastel colored pieces. It included standout pieces such as a sweater with a pixelated meadow and cloud landscape from the Windows 98 OS background along with interesting versions of their classic boots and sneakers. The 41-look collection was very ‘Sunnei.’ Each look contained the brand’s special ingredient of maximal minimalism with small grains of nostalgia carefully sprinkled. Visit Sunnei for more.
This weekend Italian house Prada invited guests for the official presentation of their Fall/Winter 2019 Men’s collection at their signature show space in Milan. Within the area, a spacious arena seating arrangement filled with eager Prada enthusiasts and a black sponge-like floor lit up by 120 oversized light bulbs. In the background played an elegant tune of harps and violins which might have lead one into expecting a collection of tailored traditional pieces. However, what occurred next was quite the contrary. It first began with the change of music, a mix of hard rock beats aptly reset the mood for the collection which emerged.
It was a slight change of tone in creative director Miuccia Prada’s feminist voice. Behind it, was the inspiration from the birth of famous gothic tale Frankenstein, which was created by author Mary Godwin in the 17th century during a competition with her husband in attempt to see who could create the scariest story. Needless to say, Godwin claimed her victory, but released her novel anonymously due to the fact that female novelists were not highly encouraged at the time. This was what drove the designer’s influence this season, her fascination with the grunge-like ‘otherness’ and vulnerability of society’s’ outcasts, wether minorities or monsters. The collection featured symbols from the tale such as shirts and sweaters with lightning bolts circling towards the heart (an upgrade to the Prada hit shirt from last season), menswear suiting with triple belting, studded dresses, backpacks, floral printed dresses, and winter hats filled with wool lining — which was also included as shoulder pads on sweaters. It told an enticing story of twisted romance, femininity and vulnerability while also including military references. Miuccia’s Prada’s agility to switch diversify the tone behind her inspiration is exactly the quality which is destined to keep the brand alive and relevant. See more at Prada.
“Gentle subversion. Looking at reality through a filter, in pursuit of extreme beauty. “
A freshly-released Marni resort 2019 collection focuses on magnifying the traits of romanticism and elegance through the forms of pastel coloured, delicate established silhouettes. Designer Francesco Riso waved his magic wand and created a harmonious collection tied together by feminine distorted, draped and pleated pieces. Demure jackets, voluminous skirts, languid dresses, puffy skirts and soft printed dresses paired with metal-toed shoes and soft coloured leather jackets . The collection feels like a haiku pieced together by a delicate sophisticated feminist to her ex lover with the intentions of letting them know about the great strength she has gained from the horrible break up, with not too much but just enough words. Like an evening primrose, a flower which blooms in darkness, an enchantress of love which has metamorphosed her pain into a collection of welded silk, nylon, ostrich leather, denim and crepe de chine as a gesture of freedom. To view the full collection, visit Marni.
N.21 Creative Director Alessandro Dell’acqua kept things quite simple for the SS19 collection. As opposed to his often whimsical streetwear inspired looks the designer delivered a clean collection which he describes as very adult-like, and indeed it was. The first few looks were a series of black dresses, all accompanied by a pair of plexiglass heels.
Each silhouette was clean and feminine with very slight touches of fun added to them, further down there was Dellacqua’s signature touch of nude and pops of colour. Some looks appeared to be transformative series, a pink sweater and pencil skirt was followed by a pink mini dress which was followed by the pink skeleton of a dress layered over a white minidress. The designer worked with these couture-like fabrics to create a very simple straightforward collection that although appeared to be very commercial, withheld tiny interesting detailing. Dress skeletons were made out of faux ostrich feathers, a skirt suit boasted an open zipper back and tie-dye mini-dresses wore slightly oversized bows. Although this shift might be a step in the right direction for the brand, one can only hope that the birth of this austere, semi-couture N.21 woman, does not come at the cost of the designer’s ingenuity.
Fendi SS19 was all about the Italian brand’s step towards a younger generation — a slight shift in the brand’s aesthetic, which was also rumoured to be the reasoning behind the slightly titled “F” for Fendi on the invitations and at the top of the runway. Creative director Karl Lagerfeld alongside creative director of accessories and menswear Silvia Venturini Fendi curated an urban collection of utilitarian romance. Pockets upon pockets , pouches in pouches and bags upon bags, the collection was a much needed breath of fresh air that introduced a slightly younger version of the Fendi woman. Each look was just as ‘instagrammable’ as it was elegant, shades of lobster orange,burgundy, tangerine, optic white , denim and sage created flirty feminine silhouettes with hard fabrics. Also making an appearance were versions of a trendy cycle shorts along with the iconic Fendi baguette which made its comeback this season.
For his Spring Summer 2019 collection Viennese designer Arthur Arbesser chose to embrace the concepts of the finished product along with the process in a collection which explored these two notions in a unified manner.
Arbesser often revisits his hometown for inspiration, however this season the designer looked towards Italian sculptor Fausto Melotti to further influence the collection. Melotti’s work often mirrors qualities of humanity in ways which are mathematical and geometric while still inducing harmony. This is quite similar to the making of a garment. Arthur used the concepts of rhythm and abstract within Melotti’s work to craft a collection of colourful patterns and textures architected in ways which framed the body as an art form. The designer imagined his ideal woman to be, “a woman who works in a studio with clay and gets her hands dirty, but isn’t afraid to go out at night and have fun.” The collection also held an abundance of pattern, jackets, skirts and pyjamas often carried several panels of print, which in some ways were similar to Melotti’s work of swirls and stripes. Also notable were the uniquely formed earrings which hung from the body like mini-sculptures. The designer’s celebration of disharmony shed light on the beauty of imperfection and non-symmetricality in a perfect polished kind of way.
For Marni’s spring summer 2019 collection creative director Francesco Rizzo invited his audience in bed as he presented a collection which celebrated the importance of human touch. Rizzo imagined a designer’s world where the clothing was all handcrafted as opposed to being manufactured, similar to the world of a painter or chef.
The collection glorified the inaccuracy of an artist’s hand in a way which highlighted the creative process. It was about that aha moment in the studio where the fabric is draped on the dress form with pins and tape and the light hits it and the character comes alive. The moment before the finished hems and tightened seams, or as he said, “a journey from the white of the rough canvas to colour, seasoned with prints and embellishments.” Vivid splashes of colour were complemented by prints of the human form along with draped skirts, finger painted patterned coats and skirts. Each piece of jewellery was crafted to mimic leaves and miniature versions of the female form. It was just the right balance between artistry and commerciality while still keeping in mind a very playful Marni signature. It might be safe to say the designer at Marni is just the perfect pairing. He has caught his stride on the path of equilibrium for high sales while still withholding the characteristics poetry and craftsmanship.
Last Saturday evening, creative director of Milan based label GCDS Giuliano Calza brought forth a show which in fact might have lent truth to the components of the aptly-comprised acronym — God Can’t Destroy Streetwear. Out of all the shows of the season, this was a gathering of the most diverse group of audience members, that which included fashion editors, journalists, all types of hardcore streetwear enthusiasts along with a few Italian celebrities . All surrounded by GCDS branded vending machines , accessories and signs , all apart of the inspiration behind the SS19 collection labeled The Futuro Beach.
Upon initial sighting, the first few pieces which strutted took some getting used to. They left a taste in one’s mouth which made you unsure of wether it was a collection to enjoy or one to scrunch your face at in disgust. However upon further analysis, that taste began to simmer and one began to realize that it is nothing but vodka, and that this, was a party.
The designer aimed to give forecast on a new era, one where he says is not only about aliens and plastic material, but quality and craftsmanship. “I wanted to talk to young people and to get them thinking about the future, plastics water shortage and the environment. Full sustainability is impossible and I wanted this show to be a wakeup call.”
Three breasted women in midriff tops, transparent vinyl dresses, highlighter pink hair, telephone handsets and fruits which hung like jewellery were all ornaments which complemented a collection of streetwear. The brand’s collaboration with Pokémon inspired animated sandals, character appliqué which strung a fun cartoonish feel throughout the collection. Although streetwear might have been rumoured to be dead earlier this year, Giuliano’s ability to put on a show might have just landed him the title of the ringmaster and at his feet sits quite a roaring audience.
During Milan Fashion Week, Prada presented a new chapter of The Iconoclasts project. Having launched in 2009, it has already seen the likes of Katie Grand, Carine Roitfeld and Olivier Rizzo stamp their trademark on the Prada brand.
This time it is the turn of Edward Enninful, currently fashion and style director of W Magazine. Taking over stores in Milan and St Petersburg, Enninful’s vision was inspired by the energy and original thought of the 1920’s ‘Harlem Renaissance’ in America. “Miucca Prada’s work always begins with a conversation. Drawing from this notion I looked to the ‘Harlem Renaissance’… a period of original thought when creative minds inspired and embraced a new cultural identity. I felt that this was an appropriate narrative to incorporate into this season’s Prada collection,” he explained of the project. His installations were on display last week, and information about future iterations of The Iconolasts series will be released soon.
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