Color at Bottega Veneta and some tough, '80s chic at Ferragamo
To say that the Jil Sander show went "beyond the fringe" is to simplify a stunningly creative collection of dangling strands.
In its imagination - a sweep from tribal Africa to Man Ray in the 1920s - the collection from the creative director Raf Simons was exceptional. The Belgian menswear designer, who has been making women's clothes for only three years, brought a dynamic energy to Tuesday's show, especially when the models turned around.
Slim, graphic pieces, in tones of dark and light, were inter-cut with fringing as fine as the models' pony-tail hair. The Jil Sander line embraced modernity with decoration and added at the back of the outfits an edgy sensuality. Cowl necklines sweeping low, but primarily the fringe, creating a waterfall of silken lines, played sophisticated games. The flesh appeared and disappeared as the strands swayed. The same effect gave a window onto skin in the austere front view.
Adding new accessories, like earrings created with the fine jeweler Damiani, this confident and assured (if over-long) collection even had moments of fun - intentional when a tiny bag had a long beard of fringe sweeping to the floor; a mistake when a gown parted ways, leaving the legs tangled in a mesh of threads like a beached mermaid.
"Not purity or minimalism - this is a collection where I want to show freedom," said Simons, who confirmed that he has just signed a new three-year contract with Jil Sander.
It is the mark of a great designer to absorb disparate inspirations and make the final effect as smooth as silk. Although a Man Ray image was on the backdrop, it faded as African drumbeats started and the first outfit stepped out: a lean coat over a horizontally fringed dress. There were other interpretations of Africa and of perforation, such as tiny squares, stitched raggedly around the edges. And there were calm and beautiful versions of fringe, such as a jersey dress with tiny strands at the back or a white dress with loops at each side. From a cobweb of a jacket worn with shorts to rich velvet shoes, Simons took the Jil Sander aesthetic forward with grace.
"Color!" said Tomas Maier backstage at Bottega Veneta to announce that beige was all but banished, spiced up to saffron, tan and orange - especially for the glove-soft leather tops, skirts and dresses that opened the show. They were followed by bursts of orange or asparagus green, while, on a quieter register, there were stripes of faded flowers. These prints, like wallpaper in an English country cottage, were cute when the florals were scattered over platform-sole sandals.
This maiden freshness was often pretty and supported a general trend of the season to move from urban to pastoral. But what exact message did Maier intend to transmit with the focus on girlish rather than womanly dresses? Is he through with the grownups - hence a raised-waist dress or a dirndl skirt drawn in at the waist with a belt? Only a single dress confected out of ribbons seemed to fit the designer's more familiar elegance.
Yet the ultimate conflict is whether Bottega Veneta, where the bags are more classy, clever and just plain beautiful each season, needs to be a serious player in the fashion world.
The colors that blushed ocher and saffron from the signature braided bags exuded perfection - and they would have looked just as good (and maybe even better) with a pair of jeans or Maier's vanishing pallid linens. The replacements were suits in wool jersey with that Sarah Palin look of a secretary who might have fire in her soul.
Salvatore Ferragamo is in an equivocal situation. Its worldwide stores are focused on the soul of the brand: shoes and accessories. Fashion is therefore a sidebar, rather than vice versa.
But for the creative director Cristina Ortiz, this is the time to rebuild the Ferragamo fashion architecture. Her sweeping gestures and bold lines at Tuesday's show included a sleeveless coat with armholes cut deep down to the waist, dresses with pleats flying and leather with hardware to hold the pieces together. Pantsuits even had flowing trousers that covered the shoes.
This tough chic, with a 1980s tinge, looked like a tough sell to the discreetly elegant Ferragamo woman - especially the brand's pan-Asian clientele, who are ethnically petite. But perhaps it is company policy to shake up the polite image with dramatic pieces from crimson, silken overalls, through a roaring tiger painted on a caftan or airy metallic silver holes punched in a brief dress. This boldfaced design worked best for curving silver clutches, sculpted silver jewelry and for the thick platform sandals.
To say that the Jil Sander show went "beyond the fringe" is to simplify a stunningly creative collection of dangling strands.
In its imagination - a sweep from tribal Africa to Man Ray in the 1920s - the collection from the creative director Raf Simons was exceptional. The Belgian menswear designer, who has been making women's clothes for only three years, brought a dynamic energy to Tuesday's show, especially when the models turned around.
Slim, graphic pieces, in tones of dark and light, were inter-cut with fringing as fine as the models' pony-tail hair. The Jil Sander line embraced modernity with decoration and added at the back of the outfits an edgy sensuality. Cowl necklines sweeping low, but primarily the fringe, creating a waterfall of silken lines, played sophisticated games. The flesh appeared and disappeared as the strands swayed. The same effect gave a window onto skin in the austere front view.
Adding new accessories, like earrings created with the fine jeweler Damiani, this confident and assured (if over-long) collection even had moments of fun - intentional when a tiny bag had a long beard of fringe sweeping to the floor; a mistake when a gown parted ways, leaving the legs tangled in a mesh of threads like a beached mermaid.
"Not purity or minimalism - this is a collection where I want to show freedom," said Simons, who confirmed that he has just signed a new three-year contract with Jil Sander.
It is the mark of a great designer to absorb disparate inspirations and make the final effect as smooth as silk. Although a Man Ray image was on the backdrop, it faded as African drumbeats started and the first outfit stepped out: a lean coat over a horizontally fringed dress. There were other interpretations of Africa and of perforation, such as tiny squares, stitched raggedly around the edges. And there were calm and beautiful versions of fringe, such as a jersey dress with tiny strands at the back or a white dress with loops at each side. From a cobweb of a jacket worn with shorts to rich velvet shoes, Simons took the Jil Sander aesthetic forward with grace.
"Color!" said Tomas Maier backstage at Bottega Veneta to announce that beige was all but banished, spiced up to saffron, tan and orange - especially for the glove-soft leather tops, skirts and dresses that opened the show. They were followed by bursts of orange or asparagus green, while, on a quieter register, there were stripes of faded flowers. These prints, like wallpaper in an English country cottage, were cute when the florals were scattered over platform-sole sandals.
This maiden freshness was often pretty and supported a general trend of the season to move from urban to pastoral. But what exact message did Maier intend to transmit with the focus on girlish rather than womanly dresses? Is he through with the grownups - hence a raised-waist dress or a dirndl skirt drawn in at the waist with a belt? Only a single dress confected out of ribbons seemed to fit the designer's more familiar elegance.
Yet the ultimate conflict is whether Bottega Veneta, where the bags are more classy, clever and just plain beautiful each season, needs to be a serious player in the fashion world.
The colors that blushed ocher and saffron from the signature braided bags exuded perfection - and they would have looked just as good (and maybe even better) with a pair of jeans or Maier's vanishing pallid linens. The replacements were suits in wool jersey with that Sarah Palin look of a secretary who might have fire in her soul.
Salvatore Ferragamo is in an equivocal situation. Its worldwide stores are focused on the soul of the brand: shoes and accessories. Fashion is therefore a sidebar, rather than vice versa.
But for the creative director Cristina Ortiz, this is the time to rebuild the Ferragamo fashion architecture. Her sweeping gestures and bold lines at Tuesday's show included a sleeveless coat with armholes cut deep down to the waist, dresses with pleats flying and leather with hardware to hold the pieces together. Pantsuits even had flowing trousers that covered the shoes.
This tough chic, with a 1980s tinge, looked like a tough sell to the discreetly elegant Ferragamo woman - especially the brand's pan-Asian clientele, who are ethnically petite. But perhaps it is company policy to shake up the polite image with dramatic pieces from crimson, silken overalls, through a roaring tiger painted on a caftan or airy metallic silver holes punched in a brief dress. This boldfaced design worked best for curving silver clutches, sculpted silver jewelry and for the thick platform sandals.
Story taken from- http://www.iht.com/
