#2015 – Alessandro Dell AcQua

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Alessandro Dell Acqua made his eponymous label, No21, a go-to brand thanks to his well-known signature which highlights his love to a feminine, sensual woman. His innately Italian sense of style mixed with his favourite tunes of George Michael makes his collections feel chic, but in an effortless way.

AW15 – Alessandro knows, how to mix contemporary with opulent – a tweed pencil skirt worn with a gold-patent jacket; a hoodie styled with hand-embroidered dress – those are just few examples of how this designers rolls in fashion. For autumn-winter 2015, the designer of No21 brought a lot of blush pink which beautifully contrasted with all of the shades of grey and beige that overlapped on the catwalk. The two snow-white looks were excellent, too – the coat and dress with floral embroideries are dreamy.

Resort 2016 – Dell AcQua fused many themes at a time – the marine chic which involved stripes; ethnic prints; oriental textiles (look at the canvas shoes!). All of that mused about the idea of a perfect “tropical escape” wardrobe. The midi skirt with a sexy cut-out looked truly gorgeous with that over-sized chunky sweater, while the warm colour of curcuma gave a laid-back mood. Throughout his fashion tenure, Dell AcQua is known for his talent of mixing feminine silhouttes with masculine forms – the sailor jacket is the must-have of the collection, combined with one of these crispe checked skirts.

SS16 Men – “I took a big risk, breaking the mold I have created myself,” The designer of No21 said backstage. “It was time, I think. Freedom was high on my agenda. I’d like to convey a clear message of fashion as an amusing expression of personality. We can do that in Milano, too.” Indeed, the new collection for men was totally different than all the others up to date. Totally new silhouettes – shorts which reminded skirts; over-sized knitwears (which, basically, landed on my wish-list); great varsity jackets and elegant peacoats. The textures here became more tactile and softer. And the ultra-long t-shirts and tank-tops gave us a chilled-out vibe (just like in the women’s collection for Resort 2016), just like the boots, which had their laces tied in a slouchy way.

SS16 – Care-free. Comfortable. These are the words that can easily describe Alessandro Dell Acqua‘s spring-summer 2016 collection. With George Michael’s moody tune playing during the fashion show, the models of the moment – Lineisy Montero, Molly Bair, Stella Lucia – wore long, silk dresses in delicate cigarette prints. The romantic colour palette was broken by gypsy-esque florals and modernist stripes. Also, the collection was plenty of the season’s favourite bias-cut slip dresses thrown over t-shirts – this gave the entire collection a very easy attitude, and the socks styled with sheer skirts were a throwback to #normcore. These clothes will definitely hit the stores with success, just like the statement tasseled, raffia sandals. These will be truly popular next season, as they are the instant favourites of street-style stars. Also, it’s worth to note that within the summer season, No21 starts expands its fashion line into eyewear. The first silhouettes are all about circular, simple forms and comfort of wearing.

I must admit, that season after season, Alessandro builds his fashion identity with amazing speed – this collection can be called as the best one to date. And no wonder why. It’s really good.

Designers of 2015 – Stella Jean

December 12, 2015December 12, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Born in Rome and of Caribbean descent, Stella Jean’s aesthetic is a fusion of her Creole heritage and meticulous, Italian craftsmanship. As a designer who respects ethnical matters, Stella Jean should be praised not only for her breath-taking clothes, but for her idea of giving women and men around the world (from Burkina Faso to Kenya) a chance to do their craft in ethical and comfortable conditions!

AW15 – At the end of March, I went to Milan to preview Stella’s AW15 – the embroidery, the prints, the colour combinations looked impressive. And what’s interesting, thanks to mixing classical, Italian heritage with the Bollywood-inspired theme, the AW15 collection is absolutely avoiding the word “kitsch”. There’s nothing too excessive about this collection – basically, Stella delivered a set of wearable pieces decorated with mesmerizing embroideries and bold print matchings. These voluminous skirts look so great with the ethno-patterned knits and simple, checked shirts!

AW15 Men – For autumn-winter 2015, Stella focused on India and Nepal – warm colours, enchanting embroideries and oriental silhouettes appeared not only in her womenswear collection, but also in men’s. The boys look good in this lifey, printed splendour! The kaleidoscopic jackets, hand-stitched pea-coats and turquoise trousers rule. Also, this collection brings Wes Anderson’s emotional Darjeeling Limited mood to the men’s wardrobe.

Ave Cesaria by Stromae started to beat from the speakers. The ultra-modern venue of newly opened MUDEC Museum striked all of the guests. Just like the absolutely unexpected collection delivered by Stella Jean, the most bold and ethical-fashion thinking person in Milan. Stella Jean’s spring-summer 2016 collection marks the geographical and emotional map on which the main stages of Italian migrant identity are charted. And that’s not all. South America, North America, Africa and Europe are the destinations, that the Stella Jean woman reaches. As the show-note said, “the port of departure, so to speak, is Italy, represented by its sharp, sartorial qualities” – comfortable, wearable silhouettes were visible in over-sized pants and Euro-sleekness of polo shirts. Then, the journey continues, and Stella takes us to Brazil, full of raffia ruffles and Cariocan multi-coloured flounces. The imaginary “travel” itinerary is ready for the next place – the Andes, represented by artisanal and hand-painted motifs including pinatas, daily life of women wearing traditional bowler hats and striped tunics which reflected Andean style.

The ethnical beauty of the collection is contrasted by American varsity jackets and over-sized cowboy shirts, while trench coats and men’s formal striped shirts made a sign of London’s well-known Savile Row needle. However, it is worth to note that some of the fabrics were hand-made in Burkina Faso. Stella Jean and her SS16’s flowing dresses, boxy jackets and “amphora-like” skirts not only made a strong impression, but also felt very right for the current, migration conflict. The collection was like a melting-point of cultures, filled with beauty and creative freedom. Also, it proves that fashion can be politically important.

#2015 – Alessandro Michele

December 8, 2015December 8, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

The year of 2015 was a strong nod to the beauty of Italian craftsmanship, and it’s all thanks to Alessandro Michele. At the beginning of the year, nobody has suspected the designer will revamp Gucci from an Euro-sleek wardrobe of Tom Ford and Frida Gianini into a poetic journey with such success. Michele’s feminine silhouettes, pussy bow shirts and Dionysus bags are the world-wide best-sellers – and I am a great fun of his romantic Gucci girl.

AW15 – Once upon a time, Alessandro Michele entered the house and everybody was like “who is this guy?” His first collection for Gucci perfectly highlighted his style. Michele gave us Wes Anderson-like aristocratic grannies, romantic poets and lots of other things that Frida Gianini has never introduced to the label. The sheer lace tops are totally opposite to the “woman of success” blazers Frida used to show off so oftenly. The entire attitude changed and even the advertisemnt campaign’s (now elusively photographed by Glen Luchford, not enhanced-filter of Mert & Alas) mood evolved into something more chilled-out, relaxed and… surprisingly, appealing.

Resort’16 – The pre-summer Gucci show was not only a surprise due to its appearance in New York. It was intriguing. The word “eclectic” came up constantly, when Michele was talking about the collection backstage. He also talked of “love” fuelling the collection, which incidentally appeared on a sweater in French –”aveugle par l’amour”. So hippie and optimistic, which is what Michele’s vibe is all about. “I’m inspired by a lot of things – from the street, antiques, vintage wardrobes. It’s impossible to explain the exact point of inspiration. It’s about being free to love, free to express, free to show who you are through the way you dress,” said Michele. “Luxury means that you show the way you dress with eccentricity. It’s almost like a new kind of jetset – instead of roaming around the world, you’re roaming with your clothes.” As you see, even the approach to luxury, which is up to now an essence of the brand, has changed.

But coming back to the venue. Gucci chose an inustrial, gallery space in New York’s Chelsea, furnished with Persian rugs. As a remix of orchestral soundtracks started up, the garage doors to the gallery were raised up and the models walked in from the street, looking flawless and so realistic. And the street is certainly where Michele sees his eclectic cast existing. No wonder why the clothes might (or even should) remind you of Williamsburg’s thrift shops and Milanese flea markets, where the clothes are all about kitschy embroidery and cheesy patterns. But in case of Alessandro Michele and his mesmerising Gucci affair, it was all about hand-made embellishments (the snakes!), gold glitter on the shoes, soft lace and imperial Astrakhan jackets.

SS16 Men – “Detournement is the art of taking some parts of the past and using them in the present with a contemporary approach and away from their original contest” is what Alessandro Michele of Gucci said before his SS16 show for men. “I love to work with the past to translate the future,” explained Michele, and although his designs are certainly rooted in Gucci’s heritage (those horse-bit loafers, the green and red equestrian stripes, bee motifs and famous GG logos) they update the house’s codes in a way that’s unrecognisable, thanks to his desire of not wanting “to stay a prisoner inside of the brand.” There are many retro references, with suede jackets and wide collars adapted from classic silhouettes of the 70s, but there is, as Michele puts it, no room for nostalgia – his focus is on youth. “They really are the future – when someone asks me what the future is? The future is now, between us, between young people,” he says. Also, the dynamic, new creative director of Gucci has a truly amazing point of view on beauty for men fashion. “My idea of masculinity is beauty,” Michele said backstage. “If you want to be beauty you can be beauty how you want; it doesn’t mean that you are not a man or woman.” This statement is strongly visible in this collection – hand-made embroideries, royal textiles, tudoresque rings and that Italian “dolce vita” attitude towards life is felt all over these clothes. As it is in Italian fashion philosophy (thank you, Miuccia Prada) to have female models in a menswear collection, the mesmerizing robes and silk scarves were jaw-dropping for both genders. And even though, many of these clothes feel like out of this era, they are all looking far into the future. It is a great pleasure to have a peek at all that artisanal beauty and reflect on it in the same, poetic way. Maybe because Michele himself is a great poet?

SS16 – Breaking down Gucci‘s recent spring-summer 2016 collection is like reinterpreting every painting in a museum. Each look is totally different. And each has its own woman and story behind it. For his first, womenswear summer season, Michele made embroidery his first privilege. Hundreds of embroidered, tiny sequins created cartoonish trompe l’oeil bows, frills and collars. One look with a bra and skirt was entirely constructed in this style – and if you are an observant person, you could notice adorable lady-bugs embellished on ties and parrots over-laying lace shirts. There is no better way to experience the craftsmanship of Alessandro’s vision as to see the newly renovated Gucci boutique on Via Montenapoleone. Here, you can touch the clothes from both autumn-winter 2015 and resort 2016 collections – each piece is absolutely different. A hand-embroidered bird on mink-coat lining; velvet flowers decorate the head-pieces; surely, “the devil is in the details”. I totally agree with that in terms of Michele’s Gucci, and Italian fashion in overall.

Moreover, the designer of Gucci tipped his toes in Italian fashion history for this season – there were references to early Missoni’s lurex zig-zags and the bold 70’s of Italy. Michele said he had been thinking about the Renaissance and the 70s specifically – both great eras for Italy in their own ways. Although this very bright collection was all about femininity (the ruffled dresses, the flower pussy-bows), it had a lot to do with punk. Biker jackets (of course, embroidered with roses), spiked killer-heels and sharp and mini-skirts were there too, during the fashion show. Gucci by Alessandro Michele is generally called “vintage” or “nostalgic“. But the designer totally disagrees with these two words. “It’s a big trip! Of course I am interested in personal style and quirkiness. There are things here that look vintage, but don’t really exist as vintage—it’s the illusion of it. I’m not nostalgic! I’d like to shake it up again.” You can love or hate the new Gucci. Spring-summer 2016 might look too bold, if you look at the collection through the thumbnails – however, one thing’s sure for both of the sides. The attention paid to the detail was missed for a long time in ready-to-wear seasons, just like the real splendour and beauty of Italian craftsmanship. And Alessandro Michele is pioneering it once again in 2015. And in 2016 as well!

#2015 – Massimo Giorgetti

December 5, 2015December 5, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Italian fashion has never been so energetic as it is now! The year of 2015 is definitely the year of youth for Milan. And the most evident prove is the bold revamp at Emilio Pucci, which is directed by the extremely vibrant aesthetic of Massimo Giorgetti, the designer behind MSGM.

Resort 2016 – I won’t hide it, the Peter Dundas era wasn’t ground-breaking for me at this heritage brand. His super sleek Pucci women felt so unexciting and monotonous that there is no wonder why he left the house for Roberto Cavalli. However, tfirst collection of the new creative director, Massimo Giorgetti, has something that caught my eye. It made me look at Emilio Pucci from a totally new perspective. The designer of ultra-trendy MSGM brought an eccentric vibe into the house of kaleidoscopic prints and luxury goods – multi-colour fringe coats, florals and eye-killing colour combinations. Giorgetti’s side-buttoned blouses – a nod to the signature Pucci silk scarf – sat strangely on the body, while his one-shoulder button-downs featured elongated sleeves. Giorgetti has a sense of measure about eclecticism: his women didn’t look odd, but rather like the Clueless character which suddenly appeared in Milan.

SS16 – Massimo takes us to a utopian beach-side, where everything is possible. The sailor-girl theme was reflected in various shades of blue and the meticulously embroidered fish motifs ornamented tank-tops and dresses. Dreamy and romantic, but with a modernistic edge at the same time. The accessories, which caught my eye instantly, made the cut. The colourful, leather bucket bags made every outfit look electrifying, while the feather sandals had a playful twist. Just like the plexi sunglasses. Giorgetti is the real renaissance at Emilio Pucci, and 2016 already looks like a great year for the house!

#2015 – Vetements

December 1, 2015December 1, 2015 | Design & Culture by Ed

Vetements in French means “clothes” – but Vetements goes far beyond the meaning of clothes in today’s fashion industry. It exaggerates clothes. It elongates the sleeves, gives volume to cowboy boots and makes floral grandma dresses look provocative, and kind of sexy. Led by Demna Gvasalia and six other anymous designers, who met while working as design team at Maison (Martin) Margiela, Vetements is the new force which makes fashion rules feel even more useless than ever.

AW15 – Even their autumn-winter fashion show wasn’t a typical event where clothes were celebrated in a traditional way. But don’t think it was done in a fussy, Chanel way – oh no. The “creative network” of the brand took their guests to Le Depot, a sleazy sex-club, where everybody felt a mood of anti-fashion. At first sight, you might not really understand the collection – but in reality, it is not that deep in its meaning as you might think. These clothes, even though look pretty grotesque, are wearable. Gvasalia claims “as long as we can make clothes that people want to wear and they find them cool and relevant, that’s my understanding of hype”. Although the styling is complicated and well-considered (or not), separately the clothes are easy. Take the over-sized trench coat. You can wear it with everything – even if you might look like a hobo, you look like a anti-fashion person. But the thing about Vetements is, that you need to feel this anti-fashion thing. And live in it, consciously.

SS16 – For summer, Vetements presented its collection in a tacky Chinese restaurant. But, even though the SS16 mood-board wasn’t focused on China nor on Asia, it reflected the spirit of this place through old-fashioned kitsch. Floral dresses inspired by aprons of Gvasalia’s grandmother, sequined capes, velvet sweatshirts and tunics – and all of that bound up with ultra-long leather belts with Harley-Davidson-style buckles. The eerie soundtrack of the collection perfecly described the new season’s attitude – it began with gentle waltz and then abruptly descended into Mayhem – the Norwegian heavy metal group. The black hoodies featuring a print based on Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic burst confusion (maybe one of Vetements’ designers loves / hates this film?), however the leather jackets that were constructed to be comfortable when sat on real bikes made much sense. The must-have, best-selling jeans were renewed to be more comfortable and affordable. In other words, the summer version of Vetements is rather an expansion of the last season’s wardrobe than a new idea. But in reality, it absolutely made the collection feel more desirable, just like the cowboy boots or sock heels.

2016 will be a very special year for Vetements’ leading designer, Demna, as he is going to take Balenciaga under his creative direction! And basically, I can’t wait to see his debut collection in March.