Sportmax.

Fri. 02/27/2015.

Sportmax.

The MaxMara Offshoot label, Sportmax, has of late, truly come into it's own and stands now as a Contender for Best Refresh of a House! Fall 2015 saw the house design team striking hard a balance of Minimal and Luxurious with a decidedly Artsy edge A La Louise Trotter at Joseph and more comparatively, Phoebe Philo at Celine (Incidentally, where many of the team there have recently strayed from to take residence here)

Fall was full of Masterful riffs on the Autumnal requisites, Incredibly luxuriant sash waist coats (this season cinched with a very utilitarian looking Leather Cord) in Plush Cashmeres or Woolens, or more Architecturally in Buttery, yet Industrial looking Leathers in colours like Cumin and Burnt Orange for the leathers and Toast and Buckwheat for the fabric coats. This led off down some wayward paths of experimentation with Patchwork blocking and Floral prints that never really coalesced into anything desirable or anything other than Confused looking!

The simpler and more reductive things were kept, the more splendid the outcome... A Curry Leather Reefer on Binx Walton... A Black Off-Shoulder Cable-knit Sweater dress with a wide fold over Rib-knit cuff at the shoulders was hearkening back to the 80's but looked as modern and as wearable as can be for now. The same could be said of an Absolutely, Exquisitely Breathtaking Honey colored Mink Duffel coat that won the show with Frightening ease! It was truly Exceptional!

The Sportmax team has still a little way left to go, some bumps to smooth out yet, but the trajectory being plotted augers well for them to step up to the next plateau and really show the Fashion world what they have and to distinguish them from and step out of the shadow of their more well known Big Sister Label, MaxMara, and carve out an Identity of their own! With the kind of clothes they are currently producing, that should not be an Insurmountable problem in the least!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Agnona.

Fri. 02/27/2015.





Agnona.

In the last of his collections for the Italian Cashmere House, Agnona. The women's side of Ermenegildo Zegna, the Tedium of designing for this brand, which had begun to show for Spring in a somewhat Confusing Jumble of a showing, was more than Clearly evident. The collection for Fall 2015 had none of the Gravitas and Spark of his earlier, far more inspired work, in his early days at the house. Here, the Sparkle, the Wit, the intellect felt drained away and in it's place... a Staidness that didn't suit such a Brilliant designer, the same designer who almost Single-Handed, Reinvigorated the house of YSL.

The Fall output of Pilati for Agnona consisted of a Brief snapshot of Drab, Carpet looking materials cut into utilitarian coats and separates, some tickled with a Vaguely Ethnic embroidery, over Mannish plaid pants and absurdly chunky, clunky crochet knits. The clothes didn't look... Homely, but they came damn close! What they did feel were Artless and Homogeneous, words one would never dare to think that would be associated with Stefano Pilati! The pieces were and ARE Perfectly wearable... But is that what we expect from someone of Pilati's Ilk?

Maybe, this was best for all involved that Pilati move on and focus on the Zegna side of the equation for a while. He had quite clearly lost that loving feeling that had suffused his work at Agnona in the early days, There was such promise to be fulfilled here, and that it has sunk to the Bottomless sea of Fashion Could Haves... One is left a little empty by the void. One can hope Pilati finds the Ideal Outlet for his Womenswear Creations and pools his energies into that vessel with Fervent Passion, Because the Fashion Landscape is a little less Enjoyable without Pilati's vision dotting the Terrain!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Emporio Armani.

Fri. 02/27/2015.

Emporio Armani.

You reach a certain point at times, where you simply have to give up on things and stop wishing they would change and improve. To just, let them be what they are and will be and give up any expectations of advancement and let them go. Emporio Armani is just such an instance! First off, You have to give Giorgio Armani his Props! The man is an Icon and still can, when you least expect it, or more truthfully, expect NOTHING, whip up something Fabulous and Surprising. That, sadly, happened not in the Fall 2015 Emporio collection.

As per the usual, It was a Celebration of the Familiar. Themes and Shapes and styles we've seen far too often, trotted out over and over again, in a numbing similarity to what has gone before. Armani is stuck in a Horrific loop of plundering his own archives and regurgitating them up again with ever so slight tweaks to make them more than blatant Carbon Copies. This collection had the Double indignity of being Ugly as All Out Hell yoked upon it to boot. The Colours were Sad and Drab and Dreary or just downright Garish. The Silhouettes, Odd, bordering on Bizarre. It had NOTHING going for it. 

There of course, were pieces that will appeal and that ARE Appealing, but the constituent whole, was a Shoddy, Shambolic Mess. One that would have been better suited to being aborted before it's inception! 

That's All.

Bye4Now!

Blumarine.

Fri. 02/27/2015.





Blumarine.

This is not your Mothers Blumarine. Whereas some decades ago (the 1990's) Blumarine was all about Flirtatious and Flagrantly Feminine Frippery, as of the past couple seasons, Anna Molinari has Recalculated what the Blumarine label is and means and how it fits into the fabric of the Modern world and what the Fashion Scene has become as of the mid 2010's. There would seem to be something of a Struggle and Disconnect and failure to contextualize what the DNA of the brand is in the light of the New World. Maybe, that's why Molinari decided to go back to the Early 80's Disco scene for inspiration...

Working, Unusually, with more Shadowy, Muted colours, the Sex Kitten Blumarine woman was on full Display, Scads of Bare leg, Keyhole necklines, Plunging backs... yet that was part of the problem of what was working against the collection. While some of the pieces were quite fetching, A Deep Rose Sweater dress with Patch Pockets was a Hands-Down Success, a lot of it didn't feel very relevant. Much of it felt like it was trapped in a Time Capsule. Molinari seems at a crossroads on how to proceed and looking back, at least in a style like this, is not the answer. The gowns in the Finale that were done in Sheer material with Appliques of Vibrant Velvet flowers were Modern and Sexy and solved the Equation, where as those Heavy Beaded gowns that looked like "Dynasty"era Gala creations did not.

In this New, Fast Paced Fashion world, Many designers have been caught with their asses out in the wind and trying to reconcile what they love to do with what is Modern and Current. Some have adapted Quickly, Some simply were ahead of the curve, and some have been sadly, sinking in the Quicksand with no idea of how to get out. Blumarine seems to be one of the brands that needs to find it's way out of the Muck!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Moschino.

Thurs. 02/26/2015.





Moschino.

Whereas Jeremy Scott's first collections for the Milan Fashion Casa, Moschino, were Brash and Outlandish to the point of Distraction, their Boldness and In-Your-Face Directness and Cheekiness were Irresistible and more importantly, Authentically Uplifting. Comic, Yes. A little Daft... Yeah! However, Genuinely Joyous. Even with all the Hair-Brained Hilarity and Puns and Jokes, the reason the collections succeeded (Riffs on McDonald's for his Debut, then a Pink Barbie Dream for last Spring) is that within all that Ridiculousness, There were clothes that women wanted to and DID wear... In Abundance!

So, it would seem, Scott has hit upon a Formula for success. Outrageous = Profits! Smartly, the Over-The-Top aspect hasn't threatened, (at least, NOT YET) to overtake the actual clothing, for within Scott's Cacophonic vision of Modern Moschino, the clothes for Everyday and Everyone have kept the trickery somewhat in Check. Fall 2015 showed a Maturing of sorts, and a Quieting down of the Excessive, by Scott. Hooking onto a theme of Early 90's Hip-Hop and R&B (of the T.L.C. Ilk) replete with side turned Baseball caps, Heavy Metal Bling and a skewing of Athletic wear gone Hood, Scott showed a Tamer, but still Infectiously Merry collection,

Opening with riffs on the Quilted Puffer jacket/coat that were styled to look like Sleeping Bags (Brilliant!) Scott showed an Unerringly deft hand with Eye-Popping Colour, in all sorts of Lurid combinations, from Neon Orange to Electric Blue to Firecracker Red and everything In-Between! There were also Gratuitous plays on "Looney Tunes" and whereas in the past, Franco Moschino and his successor, Rossella Jardini, made fun of Chanel, for it was the most Obvious brand with the most Iconic pieces of Fashion and Logo, Scott has far more territory to explore and Ape. as he did with his version of the Famed Louis Vuitton Canvas bags that have themselves been poached by everyone from Coach to Michael Kors! Scott/Moschino's take was just more Blatant!

From there, things took the path, pretty much, that Scott's Moschino collections so far have traveled, this isn't to say it was Boring, but Predictable would be more accurate. The Denim this season was Patchworked with Gold Leather. There were Faux Furs in everything from Graffiti styles to Camo (In a Deliciously Sickening Hunter Orange and Green!) and a trotting out of variations on the Moschino "Toy" Fragrance Bear, from a Hoodie to a Print, Evening wasn't as Decadent as in previous collections and felt a trifle 80's Prom-like, yet, the White Beaded "Graffiti" Gown was Red Carpet Ready without a Doubt!

Scott has found his sweet spot at Moschino, this collection wasn't his most gratifying effort, but it was still filled to the brim with Wearable, Funny, Fabulous Clothes that women of all ages can wear and the public can get a little Giggle at. Truly, what more could one want?





That's All.





Bye4Now!