Raf Simons showed again in Paris, that less is more. And more is more! In the rythms of Kylie Minouge’s Slow, the models walked the runway decorated with thousands of exotic flowers in beautiful dresses and skirts. But first the amazing venue- the Dior show for Summer 2014 was happening in the Rodin Museum in Paris, with a breath-taking view on Montmatre. In a huge campus, the guests were amazed with the smell of exotic flowers and trees from around the world- the colours and natural sunlight made it even more awesome. Coming back to clothes- well, that was something mesmerizing. The shoes stole my heart- stilettos with laces and embroidered flowers were a mix of sport and couture. Just like the collection itself. Delicate, but sporty sweaters were worn with tulle skirts; the suits were revisted thanks to prints on the back; typical Summer dresses were embroidered with flowers. In other words, it was something very fragile and without pretence.Possibly, this is the most beautiful collection of this Summer season… Bravo, Raf!
Flowers
Flowers. Christopher Kane SS14
“Making flowers look new is not easy. Kane did so by dissecting the blooms’s decorative potential, quite literally. Petals were singled out as large-scale ergonomic cutouts traced in shiny patent that gave a graphic, pop effect to clean silhouettes in pastel solids and engineered lace” declared WWD after SS14 collection by Christopher Kane. Shortly: I LOVE IT TOO BAD. BEST, BEST, BEST! Everything was so amazing in this presentation. These laser cuts on dresses in flower patterns, the sweatshirts with flower cross-sections taken from Biology book, this high-tech made dresses and tops in spectrum colours. The flower biological anatomy was the key of the collection- I never thaught boring Biology lessons can be so inspiring! The emboidered petals, stems, anthers and stigmas looked fantastic on all closing dresses… and the “iron” droplets topic? Oh my, simply fantastic. Everything in this collection is so perfect and cool- why not- Christopher Kane is a real fashion genius, and I am happy Kering Group didn’t kill his spirit! Christopher Kane SS14 rules!
Rhapsody. Jonathan Sunders SS14
This was really a Summer of love for the SS14 Jonathan Saunders collection. This British designer had a mind-blowing rhapsody of colour, flowers and patterns in his best to date collection. I simply fell in love with everything from this collection- the shirts with transparent florals, the rodeo inspired jackets, flowless dresses for every Summer night out, and the shoes… The colours were typical for Saunders- his classical bordeaux and the blue neons. After seining this collection, I just want to say I miss Summer too bad…
England. Mary Katrantzou SS14
Mary Katrantzou’s SS14 collection was all about… Yeah, prints and… England! The queen of prints again mastered this what she does best, and this happened- brogues (type of shoes for men that are hand-made in England) and lots of English gardens appeared on fantastic dresses created by Mary. The collection indeed is very beautiful- I really like the topic of shoes covering dresses- that sounds a bit strange. But this V neck dress looks really good. The next dresses covered all over with fairy-tale gardens looked too amazing. Jackets, tops and trousers looked like flower-bombs and additionally decorated with printed gems, it looked even more spectacular. What’s most exciting about this collection, is that all these prints are so 3-D… And at the same time they don’t make the women silhouette visually look fatter! Why? It’s all thanks to amazing Mary Katrantzou.
LFW: Get The London Look
Sister by Sibling- this youthful and cool collection by London based Sibling for women is just right for Summer- lots of exposed body, swimming wear and colours were seen in this great collection. I really loved this shade of violet that was present her- so refreshing! Blooming flowers for sure inspired the designers of this label- the last looks looked like flower bombs. There is also this part about transparent nets… perfect for a beach party spent in a sexy way!
Preen- I really liked this fluo-scentic collection- the flower prints, geometric cuts on dresses and the cool, flowless vibe is simply very Preen. Well, this dress with collar and flowers feels a bit deja vu from last Summer, but who cares- these are the flowers of the season. This plastic-like neon pink dress is fabulous- and these skirts are lovely. It’s all cute but with distance!
Richard Nicoll- Richard’s SS14 collection felt a bit too last season- stripes and geometry aren’t on A list. I expected something better from Nicoll- his last collections were reallu cool with their minimalistic vibes. Well, I can’t say the collection is bad. No it is not, but could be a bit more different. It’s chic, but not for London’s creativity. However, it’s for sure very comfortable and practical…
House of Holland- I love this! It is so Frida Kahlo! The collection from Henry Holland is inpired with Mexico- that’s visible- all these colours, prints, again colours- are really cool. I am certainly in love with the religious t-shirt and purple dresses with heart prints- so romantic. The tank tops and blouses from the collection would be perfect for a small Mexican trip… thumbs up for this fantastic collection!
Design & Culture by Ed 