If school’s finally out for summer, Miuccia’s girls are taking their time out with a twist of macabre, spiced with a dash of B-movie goth glam. In a collection that was a far cry from Prada’s chirpy sweet prints, Miu Miu clashed Natalie Portman’s Mathilda with Kristen Stewart’s Bella, the resultant, haughty defiance had a somewhat forbidding edge – no doubt aided by the addition of severely parted, slicked back hair and dramatic red-ringed eyes.
The show started demurely enough, with a starchy high waisted full skirt and midriff skimming long sleeve black top, but that innocence was soon offset by long-line bra tops, lace brocade coats and flirty capes that skimmed the shoulders and tied at the front with a large silken bow. Patchworked folksy prints and Renaissance borrowed patterns added a homespun flair – these could have been clothes made at the kitchen table – ditto the hand stitched shirring and embroidery detailing that added interest to bandeau prom dresses and extreme paper-bag waist skirts.
That said, there was a nothing contrived about the aesthetic, but rather a refreshing naivety to the mix-and-match styling that heightened the girlish grunge vibe. One look clashed a black and white off-the shoulder cape with a ditsy floral crop top, a double layered lace A-line skirt, a blue bag and cowboy-style mules – if that sounds like a lot, it was, but it’s testament to Miuccia’s genius that she was able to keep all the elements in balance.
For a summer collection the colour palette was surprisingly muted (clearly that’s effect hanging out with vampires will have on you) – teal and burgundy hues were finally lifted with dramatic oxblood reds, and pops of sky blue, only to replaced by softly shaded mustard and dusty pink.
Posted by: Victoria Loomes
Much has been made of the lightness, even frivolity that has emerged from the catwalks for Spring Summer 2012 – leave it to Marc Jacobs to up the ante in a more literal format in his collection for Louis Vuitton. The now much analysed carousel that took centre stage at the Louvre’s Cour Carrée (a comment on the merry-go-round of designers that has characterised this season or a nod to Jacob’s impending move to Dior?) was the perfect backdrop for a series of pitch-perfect candy-coloured creations that never veered too far into the saccharine.
In an abrupt about turn from Winter’s revved-up dominatrix undertones, Jacobs was thinking about feminine fragility – and one with a distinctly Sixties flavour. Whilst the palette –lemon sorbet, apple green, peach melba, lavender blue and buttermilk syrup – could have come straight from the counter at Laduree, the silhouette owed much to the decade of free love. Trapeze skirt shapes and empire line waists were uncomplicated and vaguely liberating, oversized buttons, pretty broderie anglaise collars and layered daisy appliqués nodded to a doll-like innocence that was undercut by the sheer force of Jacobs’ realisation – much like an overdose of those sweet macaroons, the sheer perfection was almost dizzying.
This collection was an ode to wearable summer daywear, albeit that which comes with a couture-worthy status. From the voluminous swing jackets, to the delicate laser cut dresses, the reworked bikers, prim princess coats and crisp shirting – each and every piece was an ode to accomplished craftsmanship. Unsurprisingly, there was plenty for accessory lovers too – clutches with pastel trimmings, sheer monogrammed shoppers and lattice baskets – let us not forget this is Vuitton a global business with a varied and demanding client base. Ever the canny businessman, this show saw Jacobs marry creativity and commerce with the expected aplomb….and when it comes packaged in treat-yourself, sugar coated shades, who’s to argue?
Images by nowfashion.com
Posted by: Victoria Loomes
It’s incredible how much undersea action there’s been on the catwalks this season: from Donatella Versace’s sorbet-shaded water nymphs to Giorgio Armani’s classically poised silhouettes and iridescent fabrics in deep aqua shades, and right up to Karl Lagerfeld’s full-throttle ocean-floor Grand Palais spectacular for Chanel, rippling with chiffon scales and strands of pearls. It’s felt like a way of escaping into an alternative universe – one part Waterworld, three parts The Little Mermaid.
But Sarah Burton tapped into something far more sinister – almost primeval. Her collections over the last few seasons has been by turns melancholy, modest and majestic, honing Alexander McQueen’s thrilling theatricality into a serenely poetic new phase.
Turns out, that was just the calm before the storm. This was a collection less unveiled than unleashed, with Burton’s eloquently crafted tailoring and rapturously soft gowns plunged into a primeval world filled with menace, hypnotic reptilian sheen, and an enthrallingly dangerous allure. Gorgeously sculpted tailoring and dresses in liquid golds and delicately sensual pastels gave way to increasingly dark visions, with the models’ heads submerged in thick lace mash, shoes with lacings that twined up the leg like eels, and layers of barnacle-like fabric clinging to the body. There were moments after moments of pure poetry – a shimmering, silver sheath bursting into a sea of foamy white tulle, or a terrifyingly romantic floor length cloaked gown, shading from virginal white through coral to intense red.
There was a recurring sense of near-nightmarish intensity, of a duel between the idea of dissolving into the ocean’s serene embrace and the choking terror of drowning in a world of darkness. It was an unexpected shift for a designer who has won worldwide recognition over the last year for a far more demure vision of womanhood: but it was a welcome assault on the senses, coming right of the end of an exhausting round of fashion weeks, which jolted us with the sense that all of McQueen’s shows had – the sense of thrilling possibilities still to come.
Images by GoRunway.com
Posted by: John-Michael O'Sullivan
Kaiser Karl swapped Autumn Winter’s smoldering volcanic ash for an underwater inspired scene that whipped the front row into a Twitter frenzy. As is so often the case at the Chanel RTW shows, the catwalk provides collection clues even before the first model exit – and in classic Lagerfeld style, there was under-the-sea inspired ideas aplenty, mixed in with expected house staples, pearls a-plenty, and some body-con swimwear for good measure.
Glistening, iridescent textures were applied across a classic knee-length shift in a clever contrast of fabrics, the light-reflecting properties of the woven fibre (a play on fish scales perhaps?) thrown into sharp relief when paired with boucle and a demure funnel neckline. That same technique was repeated on a boxy, cropped swing jacket, layered over a drop-waisted dress with a softly pleated hem. Slinky luxe sportswear, wet-look vinyl trapeze jackets (detailed with multiple utility pockets and gold buttoned epaulettes) and tendril appliqués played with the idea of iridescence further, the latter trailing off v-necked dress or meandering across a prim pencil hem. There was a further nod to aquatic immersion in the colour palette, which veered from summer whites to refreshing ice-cold blues and soft mint green, lifted with accents of teal or sun-bleached coral.
Of course, this wouldn’t be Chanel by Lagerfeld if the collection focused simply on one idea – Karl’s knowledge and passions are caught in a wide net, and so too are his inspirations. Cast into this underwater mix were Kandinsky-esqe prints (think riotous sequin swirls on with black outlines on dramatic dresses with shaped bubble hems or draped backs), dramatic, borrowed-from-Balenciaga volumes, delicate tiered ruffle skirts, leather look hot-pants, lighter-than air angular tops and dresses that could have been made from folded tracing paper, and minimalist geometric piping that accentuated curved seams or added graphic intensity to lightweight, slouchy knits and oversized boucle tunic tops. Yet despite the inexhaustible tangle of ideas, the seemingly endless executions and multiple variations, nothing Lagerfeld ever does feels overwhelming. That, in truth, is where his success lies – in the creation of immense, something-for-everyone collections that manage to maintain the personal intimacy which Coco herself favoured. Long live the Kaiser!
Images by nowfashion.com
Posted by: Victoria Loomes
