Thursday, December 22, 2016

Atelier Versace Fall/Winter 2015-2016.

Sun. 07/05/2015.






Donatella goes Music Festival? Pardon Moi? Well, get ready for Haute Couture Festival girls in the mould of Glastonberry and Coachella at the house that Sex built! Donatella Versace's Fall/Winter 2015 Atelier showing was inspired by equal measures of Stevie Nicks and Lollapalooza. Flower girls who are more daring than your usual festival goer, revealing more skin than might be seen as decorous for such an occasion, especially when that skin is encased in exposed skin tight, body shaping corsets in which diaphanous raw-edge Chiffons, Devoré Velvets and figured Lace are spun about in gossamer and fairy-tale like configurations. 

For Versace, Donatella especially, this is brazenly new territory, Donatella is not given much to limpid, dreamy, ethereality and this presentation saw her break with her usual Power Woman aesthetic and indulge in something much more romantic, all the while cloaked in the phenomenal technical wizardry of her couture ateliers. Those ateliers whipped up some truly dazzlingly masterful concoctions that defied imagination. Spinning webs and floating panels of fabric onto corsets that had become the centerpiece of the gown, not the accomplice, bisecting fraying edged materials with beading and lace and crafting them into elaborate confections. The best possible moment was when Hanae Gaby strode upon the stage in a flotilla of shredded petals of pleated Aqua Blue Organza that were worked to resemble huge Ostrich feather plumes amassed into a Magnificent Ballgown. It was a Breathtaking piece de mode to be sure!

The only thing that grated on ones nerves, there was no releif from all this floating, liquid-y finery. No day wear to speak of, nothing to cut the gauzy, hippy-dippy grungy Haight-Ashbury meets 90's Seattle and add a much needed counterpoint. To the end, the collection felt more than a small amount redundant. But with such beauty on display, and such beautiful technique, Donatella could be forgiven for getting a little carried away with herself!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Up Next: Fall/Winter 2015 Haute Couture.

Thurs. 12/22/2016.





Dear Readers,

Another Year is nigh over, I am trying to catch up. I am seasons and seasons behind, but if i can make some progress and keep moving forward I just might get to the end and be on track! Have Faith. Send me your positive thoughts!

Take Care and Happy Holidays!


Yours,

Terrill Lawrence Sanford.

Céline Resort 2016.

Thurs. 10/22/2015.






Who this woman is exactly, that dresses in Céline, is a TOTAL Mystery to me. Phoebe Philo's Resort collection for 2016 for the label is as mystifying as it totally outlandish! The clothes here are often so incomprehensibly bewildering, that to call them dysfunctional would be bordering on a compliment! Most in the fashion circles swoon over this, let's call a spade a spade, shall we... "SHIT" like it's Mother's Milk. Sorry, I don't really like that particular flavour of Kool-Aid that they are drinking! Maybe, it is me. Perhaps, I simply don't get it... I'd like to comfort myself with that knowledge and hope that at some point I WILL GET IT, yet my brain doesn't work like that and I can't get this. It's too damn... Horrendous! 

Philo seems to be defiantly trying to push people's ideas of what is fashion, but in a way that comes across as snotty and boorish. Like she's too cool for the rest of the pack. What it equates to is some unwearable trash masquerading as Fashion. Let's be frank, there are treasures amidst the trash, A Pencil Striped Trench in a Pretty Sea Blue and White had legs, as did a Palomino coloured shaggy fur with Leather tie closures, that piece was killing it, to be fair! But the rest... A Dung Heap! That's about as good a comment as I can muster! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tracy Reese Resort 2016.

Mon. 07/06/2015.






If you like Pretty, then Tracy Reese's 2016 Resort collection has all the things you need to be as Pretty as a Peach! A truly delightful excursion filled to capacity with Bright, Happy, Upbeat and Unabashedly GIRLY clothes made for Woman and Girls alike! Sublime, Positive colour was the most gleeful facet of the collection, Robin's Egg Blue, Mica Pink, Ocean Blue, Electric Turquoise, Coral... Plus a healthy soupçon of Neutrals, Black and White. Swishy dancing skirts and ruffles added more lively flair to the collection and a breezy attitude topped it all off wonderfully so!

The best pieces were actually, the ones that did indulge their lighthearted and girlish sides the most, A Sweeping Robin's Egg Blue flora and fauna print sundress was as easy as Sunday Morning, while a Flutter sleeve wrap dress in a graphic Black/Neutral print had equal parts of Dressed Up and Casual and could manage both, handily! While a White Lace dance dress with Black over-embroidery was a polished and masterful take on the perfect dress for a Summer Night! 

Reese managed to create a Fanciful collection that was not bogged down by saccharine condescension or lack of sophistication. It was how a True Woman wants to dress when she wants to get in touch with her inner Girl! Most women I know, are always happy to dress like their inner youthful self, yet still remain 100% Grown Ass Woman! Quite the Fetching Combo, if you ask me! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Nina Ricci Resort 2016.

Sun. 07/05/2016.






Guillaume Henry presented a fascinating and brilliant Resort collection for Nina Ricci, where he was just ensconced a few months ago. For the second collection under his design, it hit, practically, every note pure and true! Henry's collection is a little less Frou-Frou than what Peter Copping did at the label, but the essential concern with femininity was forefront, (as it should be) yet handled with a somewhat more décontracté air about it. 

The best takeaway, even though the Girly clothes were deliciously delightful, Henry packed the most punch in his virtually detail-less pieces that had a graceful and easy everyday appeal but still looked anything but basic! A beauty of a Shift dress with a gentle flared "Swish" of a hem in Bone was super easy for day, and could double for Cocktail duty in a nanosecond. A Natural Linen Trench was as perfect as any woman, in any city, in any country, could possibly desire! Also, a long, Gauzy sleeveless Black gown/dress with raw edges at the neck and armholes, paired with a Midnight Blue peacoat proved to have a versatility that could transition it from day to night without any worry or concern! 

Henry is quickly staking his claim at this storied Maison and adding his own flavour to the mix. What Copping left behind as a template, Henry is subtly shifting and adjusting to bear more of his signature, yet still give the Ricci woman what she desires... That is a Recipe for Success, if you ask me!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Balmain Resort 2016.

Mon. 07/06/2015.






One-Trick Pony. The phrase that has, with exceeding quickness, become forefront to encapsulating the styles of fashion that Olivier Rousteing has been parading forth for the house of Balmain. And, to be sure... It has worn SUPER Thin at this point. His clothes have always had a Larger-Than-Life sense of "Look At Me!" to them, as well as more than it's fair share of trashiness and classlessness... It has been what has attracted the sluttier and of no class quotient of Celebrity-dom like the Trashy, Whorish Kardashians and such ilk. And Rousteing has courted this army of slutty bunnies with an insatiable appetite and desire to clothe them in ever more tawdry wares.

His Resort collection, unfortunately enough, was more of the same. Helplessly Tacky and even worse to say, Hopelessly Predictable. Rousteing's designs stick out like a Sore Thumb and announce themselves about a half hour before they arrive to whatever event they will be slinking around at. Just too much of it is congested and smothered in overworked surfaces and techniques and this time, Heaven Help Us All... Disastrously, RUFFLES! Yes, Darlings... that WAS a tiered and ruffled Suede Flamenco skirt you saw on Ysaunny Brito. Lord Mercy Jesus!

The collection was so difficult to find any sort of sophistication in, and that was deeply to it's detriment. It didn't come across as ugly, but it damn sure verged awfully close. The "Ugly" aspect was that the clothes didn't so much empower as enhance, and what it was enhancing was all the wrong things. I have nothing at all against Slutty Sexy, Gianni and Donatella have crafted a Exquisite universe of pushing the boundaries of Slutty/Sexy, but Chez Versace, it has always been crafted with Class and Elegance. Rousteing seems to know nothing of those Twin Scions. He really should get to becoming friends with them... Tout De Suite!





That's All.





Bye4Now!


Monday, December 19, 2016

Miu Miu Resort 2016.

Sat. 07/07/2015.






In the world of Miuccia Prada, Fashion journalists, bloggers, magazine editors, store buyers and generally any hanger-on adjunct to the fashion industry, all seem to have deep, philosophical thoughts on each and every collection Madame Prada produces and all try to peel back the often times innumerable layers of subtext AND context to try to get at the beating heart of meaning of Miuccia's always percolating and astutely agile mind, Yours truly, included! Some go WAY too far and over indulge themselves in a practical onanistic orgy of verbal diarrhea that definitely proves that they like to read just how clever and insightful they are and edge themselves to an orgasmic release of Self-Important superiority of language... (You know who my eyes are gazing on as I write these words...)

Sometimes... it's just to say... Fuck That Noise and leave all the bloviated over analysis to the Four winds and just enjoy the goddamn show! You Know? That was the feeling I think Señora Prada was trying to convey with this collection... Turn your Brain into the "OFF" position, Sit back, Relax, and have a moment to just enjoy and have some FUN! Her Miu Miu Resort 2016 collection was the perfect collection for the 4th of July, full of it's own kind of fireworks and raw energy! It was sexy, and for once with Miuccia, GENUINELY Sexy, not subliminally or intellectually, but Good, Pure, Red-Blooded Sexy! It was, in it's way, Pretty! It was Raucous. And it worked! From top to bottom! 

She staged a Party, a Rave some say... I think it was hearkening back more to the days of CBGB's and the late 70's where S-E-X was seen as a Healthy and Good thing and there wasn't all those connotations of Sluttiness and Kardashian-like trashiness to sex! I saw more Blondie than Courtney Love. Even though there was a Grunge aspect to the collection to be sure, Prada sent out a wild cacophony of ideas that held together seamlessly and truly made the onlooker smile, not from some arrogant sense of intellectual knowing, but from the fact that these clothes didn't feel like they were thought out in any manner, they just seemed thrown on and ready to go out the door to the party! 

It was a Feel Good collection to be sure, something we haven't witnessed from Miuccia in quite a while, and it LOOKED GOOD! Her recent efforts for this label have been hackneyed and belaboured to DEATH and looked overwhelming. This, on the other hand, Was effortless! Proving (overly analytical types out there...)  One needn't always "THINK" About one's fashion... and that includes one of Fashion's Greatest thinkers of all time... Miuccia Prada!





That's All.





Bye4Now!


Roberto Cavalli Resort 2016.

Thurs. 07/02/2015.






In the midst of waiting for Peter Dundas to transition into the storied Casa de Cavalli (A place he has occupied in the past, and as of this writing occupies no longer, staying for only the hottest of minutes!) the design team whipped up this overdone and frankly, predictable froth of a Resort collection. Cavalli is a house stuck in it's own history and is perpetually propagating the same old tropes and ideas over and over again, ad nauseam. In it's better moments it simply borders on lazy and boring, in it's worst, dreadfully leaden and forgettable. There is no freshness, no relief from the consistent reliance on the archives and the past fashions and signatures of the house. 

This was absolutely no exception. Fringe, Haute Hippie looks, Sheer Black frocks, Denim, Bowie-esque Tuxedo jackets... Et Cetera... Et Cetera... you know the rest. If it wasn't so garishly overworked at times it would be desperately bland. Were the pieces wearable and fashionable...? Yes, they were. Were they anything we haven't seen in a dozen different regurgitated incarnations before? No, they weren't, and that about sums it up, to be totally honest! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Martin Grant Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/29/2015.






Consistency can sometimes be considered Damning with Faint Praise in the fashion echelons. It can be used, somewhat pejoratively, to say that a designer, while creating fabulously beautiful work, that they may be a little staid and let's face facts... It's used to mean a designer is Boring! Simple as that! Martin Grant is one such designer, and that's the Humongous shame of the industry that this Master of the art of Fashion is considered just that... CONSISTENT! He IS consistent. Consistently Amazing.

Yes, his clothes don't shout, "This Is A Martin Grant Outfit!" One, His clientele are already well-versed enough in the magic of his clothes to know another acolyte when they see one, so they needn't any reason to shout, and... Two, his large customer base don't want their clothes to offer that kind of klaxon blaring to the loudest possible decibel! They prefer the quiet, innate chic that comes with wearing Martin Grant, and Grant, is eager to oblige, for he isn't given much to hollering himself.

Grant reminds one of, in some small, minute way, the great Cristobal (Last name NOT needed!) He works his magic, perfecting his ideas and readjusting them to each new season while never losing the inherent principles that his design is based on,,, Kinda like Yves (Again... LAST NAME NOT NEEDED!) but without all the tortured neurosis! For that reason alone, His clothes have been swabbed with the brush of.., Classic. Which is all well and good, but Grant has the technical facilities to compete with Couture, (and imagine if he were given the reins to a couture house how AMAZING that would be!) and "Classic" seems to my point of view, come off as much of a Backhanded compliment, 

But all that is academic really. One should focus on the clothes, No? Grant's 2016 Resort collection is one of great fun and chicness! Using a strict palette of Black, Blue and White with touches of Camel, Grant crafted a soignè collection full of Sophistication and Slickly Stylish pieces that would cause the master YSL himself to perhaps weep (although that man did cry at the drop of a dime, so maybe not the best comparison!) Anyways... Grant kept things mercifully unfussy and clean, until the last Four looks, there wasn't one whit of embellishment to be found! It was refreshing to see such austerity presented with so much Verve and Joy! His collection positively sparked with ebullience! 

There's no need to fastidiously earmark each and every piece, they all brimmed with excellence. but a few did make the heart flutter a bit more than others... A Champagne White Satin tie-neck blouse with Black French Cuffs and high-waisted wide Black Trousers envisaged the best days of Yves done in a modern mode, while a Black Swing coat with Blue stripes had the same envisaging, yet this time of Balenciaga. And Grant's riff on "Le Smoking" Two Words...

UTTERLY... FLAWLESS!

Come to think of it... those words kinda encapsulate the whole collection quite succinctly!





That's All.





Bye4Now!




DSquared2 Resort 2016.

Mon. 06/28/2015.





DSquared2 Resort 2016.

Dean and Dan Caten produced a Resort collection for their 2016 DSquared² collection, that while including some nice and exciting fare, proved ultimately, Juvenile and Puzzling. The looks, on the whole, had a 12-under vibe that didn't play out as an adult take on childish clothing, it just looked like an adult dressing in high-end Kid's clothes. Another aspect, Zero Sophistication. The Caten's work looked Mall Chain Store quality. For Never 22 or some such thing. The most interesting piece was a Mini-Checked peacoat trimmed in vibrant Yellow. 

The DSquared² collection had a visible fun-ness that was hard to escape, it also had a searing lack of haute-ness and chicness. The Caten's found inspiration, as the set from their look book would imply, from the school yard... And it showed! Unfortunately, that's where it should have stayed. 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

David Koma Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/26/2015.





David Koma Resort 2016.

Just like his Debut Resort collection, this Review will be brief. David Koma showed his first outing in the Resort arena for 2016, and as debuts go, it was a solid, if not occasionally head scratching performance. To get to the meat of the matter, those winged leather abutments and his penchant for swooping, puzzle piece like cutouts can quickly be dismissed as distracting and not helping the clothes one iota! When Koma concentrated on his Body-Con looks and his way with Scalpel precise cutting to emphasize the best aspects of a woman's physique, he was hitting Home Run atop Home Run!

Take, Par Example, The Black Leather dress with a curvilinear cutout like a circuitous mountain rode that was inset with leather lacing from sternum to thigh... SUB-LIME! Or the Black Crepe gown that featured the same Leather laced inset slashed down the front of the gown asymmetrically to a scandalously high slit. Sexy as All Get Out! There were other miraculous moments such as these, but they were somewhat obscured by all the over design and intricacy that added up to nothing at all but quirkiness in the end. With more focus, Next go round for Resort should be a Top-Notch Outing!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Belstaff Resort 2016.

Weds. 06/24/2016.






Simplicity can equate to Luxury. The new head of design for Belstaff, Delphine Ninous practiced that mantra with her latest effort for the house of Belstaff, an old British house of design, like Burberry, Daks, and so forth, that made it's name in Motorcycle jackets made from a Waterproof cotton, then moved into luxury leather on a par with that of Hermès, but without all that Horse-y Equestrianism. Ninous' is trying to reposition Belstaff in a more sportif niche, to that end, her Resort 2016 collection is very much a step in the right direction.

Abandoning much of the Leather-centric collections of the past, Ninous has began taking some of the tension out of the clothes and letting them breathe and relax a little more. Cropped pants, relaxed knits, flowing materials abounded and it made for a somewhat beach-y, boho vibe that felt quite right! Layering was the key to the success of the looks mostly, because it added an unencumbered, effortless, spontaneous and breezy feel to the separates that gave them that flash of interest. A Light Grey heathered Tweed coat glided easily over zippered ankle sweats and an Ice Grey Leather jacket worn over a sheer, wavy printed Hazy Grey Button-down. Or the intrinsically easy Black Duffle tunic top with Bungee pulls at the waist and buttoned surplus pockets over a more intricate skirt... it almost qualified as an evening look for the So-Cal thinking kinda gal!

In all respects, the collection was deeply experimental and trying a lot of things to see how they cohered together and if they worked, since the edit was sharp and clean, it hung together absolutely wonderfully. Ninous seems to have a grasp on the aesthetic she is trying to evoke, This outing proved she does have much more to say, and with the way she's saying it, we all will most likely, be listening.





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Alexander McQueen Resort 2016.

Weds. 06/24/2015.





Alexander McQueen Resort 2016.

To make a Long Story, Short... Sarah Burton is NOT Lee Alexander McQueen. And, In that, lays the rub. Burton has had to craft the new world of McQueen in her image, not Lee's. Otherwise, it would have been a slavish adaptation of the real thing and had little to no meaning. BUT... And here is the big thing that one has to be aware of... There also is a LEGACY that Lee Alex left us that she has to pay obeisance to. In the beginning she did, it was perhaps a little clunky and veered too closely to what the label's creator did, but in a couple seasons, she had found her balance. Then things began to go amiss.

As Burton's confidence grew, so did her ardor it would seem to recreate Alexander McQueen in her own image, Cherry-Picking here and there idealistic homages to Lee himself but now pushing ahead into her own envisioning of what the label was to mean to today's woman. In doing that, she began letting the principles and guidelines of the house go by the wayside. One could say, Yes, Lee Alex created some of the most DEVASTATINGLY Beautiful, Fragile, Poetic and Romantic clothes ever seen, But like the most Beautiful things in nature, as with Lee, or a Rose... His beauties had BITE! They weren't anodyne meaningless trifles... there was a story, a HISTORY, to all of his beauty that had the slightest (and sometimes far more than the slightest) hint of Decay, or even... Depravity, to them that made them resonate! Burton has lost that Bite! That core of Shock that made you want to turn away, yet were compelled to keep looking!

This Resort 2016 collection is a prime example of this. It's too... PRETTY! Pretty for the sake of Pretty! And that was DEFINITELY never McQueen territory! It stumbles too far away from Lee and virtually crashes into Maria Grazia and Pier Paolo country! Yes, the pieces here are at times EXCEPTIONAL, Know that, but where's the Danger, the tawdry, even unpleasant backstory that always suffused the greatest and even the not as great, pieces of McQueen of yore? Burton has pretty much turned her back on that and her collections have become... Pedestrian to say the least by the standards of the house!

Are there some Magic pieces here, God, Yes! A gown in Black scrunched Silk with Green and White Flowers embroidered on it with a Long Line Corset bodice and tiered skirt is Breathtaking, while even that it hews way too close to Valentino, a couple of sheer gowns with lavish floral embroidery are Magnificent creations, especially the one with Lavender needlework and paired with an Olive Motorcycle Jacket. Yet, now... looking at these pieces, as Sumptuous and Lovely as they may be (and are,) if you did not know beforehand that they were McQueen... would any of them indicatively say to you, Alexander McQueen? Just by looking? If you go with your gut, you'll have your answer and you'll know why on the level of being a McQueen collection... This is a Fail. An Epic Fail!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

KaufmanFranco Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/23/2015.





KaufmanFranco Resort 2016.

Pristine and Streamlined. That was the takeaway from the Superb collection presented by Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco for their 2016 Resort collection for their label KaufmanFranco. Executed entirely in modernistic Black and White, the collection was a treatise on Techno/Luxe sportiness with a Glamourous hand. Everywhere the eye happened to fall, there was something Fierce and Powerful in the clothing to witness. This woman that Kaufman and Franco are dressing is no wallflower nor is she a delicate ingenue. This is a Strong, Take No Shit Woman that knows how to look equally Ball-Busting as she does Opulently dazzling!

Kaufman and Franco's collection showed an attention to the past work of Donna Karan in the 90's that made her clothes so elegantly infused with Strength and Fortitude that one might have thought they should have been installed at DKNY rather than the Public School boys, But that's moot at the moment anyhow. Here the interplay between Tough and Chic was always evident and definitively inspiring. A Chic Leather blazer with a Leather Bandeau and wide trousers all evinced in Black was Sexy without being slutty, A Black trimmed White shift dress gave the illusion of two pieces, a crop top and skirt, while being entirely composed as one piece, seemed to fully enmesh Modern and Classic in one sleek and stylish breath!

While the collection was inherently Graphic and Bold, Minimalist even, it was the evening gowns that fully defined this aesthetic. One gown seemed to propose a Slim, White bandeau paired with a Iper High-waisted black column skirt, but once one looked closely, was comprised of sheer Sheer Illusion that gave the look of two pieces, (yet again, Brilliantly so) when in reality it was a one-piece gown. Another stunner was a Black Leather bra top affixed to a Backless Fishtail column gown in Virgin optic white that splayed into a decadent train in back and had very little hint of anything virginal about it!

To boil it down to it's essence,.. It was a Masterpiece of a collection! One that conjoined the twin hemispheres of the Present and the Future in one Chic and Sexy package. Kaufman and Franco outdid themselves with this one! They should be very Proud.





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Monday, November 14, 2016

Marni Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/23/2016.





Resident mistress of Kooky and Quirky, Marni's Consuela Castiglioni Resort 2016 collection was an All-Out, Unabashed foray into the hinterlands of said quirkiness and kookiness. It was a little bit of imagination defying, for it went off in many different directions and seemed to hold them all together cohesively, as if bound by some magical incantation. One moment, a Ziggy Stardust Pink and Green Velvet Pantsuit, the next, a minimalist moment in Rust splashed head to toe in a slouchy, utilitarian pantsuit, onto a bewilderingly psychedelic Alphonse Mucha influenced Art-Nouveau floral print dress in Black and Pink and Yellow and deep Brick Red. Zany... Oh, Yes. Eclectic, You Bet! But most honestly, all par for the course Chez Marni!

What struck the most resonant chord was just how pared back all the eclecticism was here, there were surely, eye-jolting colour combinations and wacky, off-the-wall offerings, but all this was realized mostly in solids and blocks of colour, that broken apart, didn't look as difficult to wear as they did all slapdash, crazy quilt style as presented. With that in mind, the collection had a fun viability that made considering the pieces much more of an approachable idea, as would be integrating them into daily wardrobe rotation... Although, if you've long been a passenger on the Marni Crazy Train, this simply is another stop along the journey and functions as more madness to feed your Delirious sensibilities!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Emanuel Ungaro Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/23/2015.






In what could only be described as a Restrained collection, at least by Fausto Puglisi standards, his Resort 2016 collection for the house of Ungaro was not restrained, but at times, Refined and even more surprising, Chic! Now, no one is ever going to accuse Puglisi of trawling the hallways of Chicness, not ever, that's simply not his Bag, but with a house like Ungaro, it's a place he's going to have to get familiar with if he wants to effectively do the clothes for the house their due justice. And from what has gone before with his shenanigans for the label, it's something he's only, with this collection, embraced!

There were smart and saucy suits and pants galore, but there was something, I don't know, Parisienne about this collection, that while still having that daring Va-Va-Voom Italianate thing about it, there was something more aloof here, even with all the plunging necklines and thigh-high hem, something Soignè! Maybe it was the more relaxed and unaffected attitude of the clothes, or the dynamic feminism that wasn't so much as "Come Hither" as it was "Look, Not Touch" From the Opening mix of Stripes in a dashing blazer and blouse worn over wide trousers to a Spectacular Grey Pinstripe Pantsuit or the Louche high side-slit gown in a Blue-on-White wallpaper print with a ruffle in the edge of the slit. 

Well, WELL worth mentioning as well was an Impeccable Suit in Grey with tiny ruffles at the edges that encapsulated the magic that was Emanuel to a T! Or the Sinuous Black gown with a ruffle on the Shoulder that was Gala Ready! Puglisi found his Sweet spot this time around and it makes one's mouth water at the prospect of what he could achieve if he adhered to the archives even more so, this time it looked like he took a brief thumbing through and found enlightenment. Just think, a deeper dive might just lead to Nirvana. 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Fausto Puglisi Resort 2016.

Mon. 06/22/2015.






Poseidon and Captain America. Que? Well, In Fausto Puglisi's mindset there was something of a correlation, for his Resort 2016 collection, he was inspired by a statue of the Greek God, Poseidon, along with his Olympian brethren, immortalized in stone, and encircled in chains, that he passed on his way to his childhood school in Sicily. He worked that idea in with a theme of Shields (Which also was perhaps gleaned from Poseidon) and naturally, for the Pop Culture literate, would segue right to Captain America, of course.

Puglisi has a thing for Pop Culture, and at this current interval, Marvel is one thing that is the Poppiest of the Pop, so it was fitting it would seem, for Puglisi to appropriate one of it's heroic icons for Fashion Cross-Pollination. Throw in Puglisi's undying penchant towards all things Gianni (Versace, that is) and you have a pretty strong collection that provided some growth for the designer and didn't seem to labored down by his signatures that he commonly revisits collection to collection. 

With Zippers and Shields and Chain and more, the ebullience of Puglisi's offering was offset by some pretty Rough & Tumble clothes, sexified to the Nth degree they may have been, but there was an almost warrior-like sense of strength in the pieces. Puglisi is still a little to attached to his Hallmark pieces, but here he refreshed them in a way that was pleasantly agreeable. All one can say about such a development is... More, Please!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Bally Resort 2016.

Sat. 06/20/2016.






Pablo Coppola is showing ample proof that he has the skill and facility and intuition that is required, to make Bally a more well-known name in the Fashion firmament and in time, a major player. Bally was a label that through the 80's and 90's and into the early aughts was a force to be reckoned with, in terms of it's heritage and legacy, somewhere along the way though, through financial changing of hands and the ever fickle world financial market, the label lost some it's lustre and was seen as stodgy and old-fashioned and not "Current" The rotating head design directorship didn't help matter either. Enter Pablo Coppola. He took over from the team of Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler who had done a pretty awesome job of revitalizing Aquascutum of London and then Herz went on to Amp up the design quotient at DVF, when the duo decided to leave Bally and part ways in 2012.

Coppola has been calmly and steadily, reinventing Bally to not only be known for it's shoes and crave-able handbags, but also it's solid and forward Sportswear. His collection that he whipped up for Resort 2016 was prime material that he's steering the ship in the right direction. easy, classic, recognizably luxe pieces with a contemporaneous slant. There were Fishing Lure foulard printed silks cut into simple slip shifts and pajama pants that had a bit of a wacky element to them, but added a playful sense of freedom to the lineup and juxtaposed against more stolid pieces, like a rigourous Navy Peacoat and slender Jeans, or a startlingly fine tailored Pink Pantsuit, they injected some fun and surprise into the mix.

Most notably, the collection was filled with Sharp, Sleek Leather pieces that women will be coveting from Jump Street, a fringed Black Leather Shirtdress, a Searing Geranium Red Bomber jacket with Rose Pink flares, or the superbly chic and Mod Traffic Cone Orange Zip-jacket and skirt ensemble. Coppola isn't yet, breaking any molds, but he also isn't going the conventional route. He is keeping the Bally collection and look current and out front with the rest of the pack in what's happening now in fashion, and gently threading in his own sense of what that looks like. As he gets more comfortable, we can be assured we will see Coppola showing a more characteristic hand and taking Bally to the Next Plateau.





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Blumarine Resort 2016.

Sat. 06/20/2015.






With an Exceptionally beautiful demonstration of fun, flirtatious, feminine sweetness and coquettish sensuality, Anna Molinari's Resort 2016 presentation for her label Blumarine, was some of the best work seen from the designer in some time. Every piece was sweetly girlish and laced with just the barest twinge of naughtiness that is signature Blumarine, mainly due to the sheerness and thigh-grazing hems. Though all this was achieved with out immodesty or licentiousness, it came off more seductive than vampy, and altogether terrific!

As breezy and romantic as most of the outfits were, there were many pieces that translated outside of the getaway scheme of things, even though they would work in those situations quite equally. A Hyper Turquoise Trench accented with Lace was work-ready and ready for a night in Ibiza, while the Denim Matelot pants worn with an embroidered top was the Chicest answer to Casual Friday one could imagine. Molinari typically has an expert hand when it comes to Lace and Floral prints and her usage of both here surpassed Top-Notch, especially a delicately provocative Black Lace and Chiffon gown.

Molinari showed her forte with a deftness and acuity that was breathtaking, and the clothes mimicked that, her Resort collection was one to marvel at and filled with womanly wonders for many a day to come!





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Bye4Now!

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Marchesa Notte Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/19/2015.






Like it's big sister label, Marchesa, Marchesa Notte was inspired by Morocco for it's Resort 2016 collection, and while it did not reach the same Fantastical lofty heights of it's sibling label, it still had the polish of it's counterpart. It certainly veered a little younger and being that nothing really spikes past the $1,500 price tag (and that the Mothership label offerings can skyrocket past that for just a pair of pants and the gowns are of the more usual ilk of being sextuple the price of these pieces) it still offers a sense of elegant lavishness that will not have you selling all your earthly possessions to afford a piece. 

And with that in mind, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig certainly do give you Maximum bang for your buck. In the lower price scheme of things, many of the pieces here could slip seamlessly into the parent label and not many on the outside looking in would be the wiser. That just shows how Legion the talents and skills of Chapman and Craig are, that they can produce lower priced pieces that sacrifice none of the rarefied air of the more costly label. Take for example, the strapless White gown with a Hole-Punched Broderie Anglaise-style overlay in Golden Taupe... It was as dazzling and richesse as anything the duo did in their main line. Or the partake of the Blush Pink lace gown with a sheer overlay that was festooned with trellised floral embroideries, a sensation to be sure! 

Chapman and Craig know what makes a eye-catching and breathtaking piece of evening finery, that they can whip those concoctions up in both the Stratospheric of price labels and in the more humbly priced, with equal precision and expertise and with the same amount of impact, is a testament to two brains that are working at full tilt! Women across the world are simply the beneficiaries of such Brilliance!





That's All.





Bye4Now!



Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Marchesa Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/19/2015.






It was an utterly GLORIOUS return to form for the duo, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, at the Marchesa label this Resort season. The duo's 2016 Resort collection was a bountiful Treasure Trove of Exquisiteness. Taking inspiration from Morocco, Chapman and Craig sculpted, embellished, embroidered, ruffled, draped, and gilded their way to Perfection! It was such a Sumptuous buffet of Delicious Confections that one could hardly pick one from another to earmark as standouts. It was all so Devastatingly, Luxuriously, Opulently Wondrous!

Chapman and Craig can be forgiven somewhat, for producing nothing but Evening wear, it of course can run towards the overindulgent at times and one can get an upset fashion tummy from all the treacly sweetness of all that gossamer fantasticim, as with any house that primarily trades in the confectionary, Ooey-Gooey-ness of all evening collections. But, The Marchesa duo go so beyond the pale of normal evening wear creatuers, that they can be allowed to do that thing they do so well, unencumbered by disapproving clucks from the Peanut Gallery.

What pieces stood ahead... A TRULY majestic Sapphire Blue ballgown festooned with Lace floral appliques and freshened by the simple T-shirt style of the bodice, only showing more fantastic cantilevered cleavage with it's deep neckline. Or a Stunning strapless Rose Pink Faille gown with a gathered side ruffle and fishtail hem that was a Traffic Stopper Deluxe! A White lace gown with Lavishly overscaled flowers splayed down the contours of the side of the gown that finished off in a asymmetric "Hi-Lo" hem had an inherent awe that was palpable. Also of note, the purity of a shimmering Pearl White column of luminous silk that was traced with White Lace appliques around the torso, that as Breathtaking an evening gown as it was, could easily do double duty as a Divine Wedding gown... Train and all! 

Chapman and Craig easily blew this one out of the water! It was a Radiant and Sublime treatise on Fairy Tale Evening pieces that never once bored or over saturated one's eyes with gloops and globs of Saccharine Frou-Frou! This was an Adult, Grown-up, Sophisticated and above all, Mature, not Girly or Frilly lineup that captured one's breath, and then stole it away completely! DAZZLING! 





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Bye4Now!


Josie Natori Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/18/2015.






Let's be blunt. Shall We? Josie Natori is NOT trying to revolutionize fashion or reinvent the wheel. Straight out facts! She has a Loyal and WIDE Upscale clientele and you could see the woman who shops her clothes (and wears them, FAITHFULLY) also shopping at St. John and Escada and Tadashi Shoji. These are not Fashion Forward clothes, they are Optimistic, Pretty, Upbeat, Classical pieces with a little edge and enough modernity to not look dated, boring or atavistic. Is that intrinsically a bad thing? Not in the least. But, Natori isn't going set off any Fireworks of fashion ecstasy anytime in the foreseeable future.. and that's... OK!

What Natori did produce for her Resort 2016 assemblage were Crisp, Bright and innately wearable pieces with a little Zhuzh to them. Virtually every piece had some shade of White in it, from the Snappy opening outfits in Spectator Black and White, of which a Beautiful Clutch coat in White with Black String embroidery, paired with White trousers and a Black top was especially Desirable, to the supreme easiness of a Flame Orange tie-front top and White pants. A definitely welcome addition and a bit more saucy was a shimmering iridescent Fuchsia tunic top with cape sleeves and matching leggings that had appeal for both day and night times alike!

So, it wasn't causing the pulse to race, but Natori gave a solid lineup of clothes that any modern, active woman would aspire to wear and that her loyal, well-heeled clientele will be eager to gobble up and absorb into their already Natori-Rich closets. All in All, A fine effort, indeed. 





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Bye4Now!

Maison Martin Margiela Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/18/2015.






Forget for a minute of two the sexless, androgyne models in the Maison Martin Margiela Resort 2016 Look Book. Forget the continuing conversation that is still floating around about Gender and Identity and all that. What may have been offhanded to house head, John Galliano, in light of the clothes, seems more superfluous than anything. The thing to concentrate on are the clothes, that Resort seems to be where we get the best synthesis of Galliano and Margiela. This collection was less obedient to the stylistic ideals set forth by Margiela and then the design team that helmed the label when he deposed himself. It had that Essential... MAGIC, that was so very indicative of the best Galliano Escapades. Reined in to an almost bland degree, but after all the bloated flotillas of collections that we had come to expect from John, bland is far more appetizing than it sounds!

If Bland is too inflammatory a word, than restrained might be more effective. And it is within that restraint that Galliano has hit upon some serious fashion. The fluidity and structure of the opening Trench was as much evidence of Galliano's Virtuoso hand as anything could possibly be, or the Glamourous slink of the Black double-face Sequined gown which spoke to Galliano's intuitively extraordinary way with Evening wear. But it was the short Ink Blue dress with a Bias-Cut Chiffon overlay printed to look like it was a window beaded with Raindrops and rivulets of water flowing down it, swished in an asymmetric flurry of material that affirmed we were in the land of Galliano, and was Drop-Dead Fabulous.

One can only hope that at some point, the Extravagance that was the unstoppable Juggernaut called John Galliano will raise himself from his slumber and inject more of himself into the Margiela work he's doing. Don't get me wrong, what he is producing now is the always interesting period between epochs, and the things he is doing at the house are Spectacular. But it's almost as if we're seeing Galliano through the prism of Margiela. I, for one, cannot wait til it is the obverse of that and we see what Margiela looks like through the Fantastical lens of John Galliano! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Acne Studios Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/18/2015.






For all the talk of inspiration being gleaned from Cubist artist Albert Gleizes and Post-Modern Pop artist Mario Schifano, all piqued by a book on the life of the Mythic Senora that was Marella Agnelli, the Acne Studios Resort 2016 collection was a lot to take in, especially considering it's brevity. Head Designer, Jonny Johansson crafted, as he was quoted, a collection that had "Naïvety and Toughness" and the collection lived up to those words in a Splendid manner indeed. Johansson's Acne woman is also something of a Eclectic spirit, or as he said, "An Expressionist" and that lent a defiant and delightful air of the Unhinged to the clothes.

The duality of the collection played out most evidently with the opening Trench in a Linen/Poplin Bonded material in a luminous shade of Stone, that was as chic as it was eccentric. This play of ideas lent a feeling of imbalance between the directions of the collection that was actually thoroughly refreshing and daring. On one hand, you had the classically leaning Red Leather trench, which was purely elegant in form, then on the other hand, you had a Black Suede/Leather coat that was tied and knotted around the midsection and looked experimental and bold. It was just this interplay that gave the collection it's gutsy appeal and kooky sensibilities. 

Johansson walked a tenuous line between Modernistic and Eccentric and managed to capture the best of both ideas. It was a Rather Brilliant manoeuver, one that paid off with Attention-Getting clothes that will keep Johansson's woman quite well appointed, fashion wise! Definitely, A Win! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Emilio Pucci Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/17/2015.






One way to approach being the new Design Director of a Historic and Storied fashion house is to embrace the history of the house while trying to delicately balance infusing your own aesthetic into the already well-established DNA of the brand and while remaining respectful of the heritage of the maison. Or... You could do like Massimo Giorgetti has done at Emilio Pucci, and run like mad through the house, sweeping out all that is known and recreating it in your own craven image. With a house like Pucci that has seen the likes of Christian Lacroix, Matthew Williamson and most recently, Peter Dundas... That might actually be the best way to make something of the house.

Firstly, Where Dundas had made the collection one of the most coveted, photographed, hyped and celebrity swathed brands known to the man, his approach had become exhaustingly predictable and not a little stale. It was as if the song on your iTunes was stuck on repeat. While Scintillating, it was also due for a Refresh... One might not have imagined this radical a refresh, yet it was still far more welcome than another Dundas Rich Hippy collection! Giorgetti wiped the slate not only Squeaky Clean, but threw the slate on the floor from the Penthouse balcony! What remained is in essence a Channeling Pucci into HIS aesthetic and not the other way round. It wasn't a totally convincing or harmonious coalescence, first collections rarely are, but it was certainly interesting, and above all, Refreshing!

What it did have, was that madcap, magpie charm that has been so spellbindingly championed by Alessandro Michele at Gucci, yet, since Giorgetti has been doing his thing, this exact aforementioned thing at that, before Michele was installed at the house of the Interlocking G's, Giorgetti might be seen as it's progenitor, although he does not push it to the hair raising extremes that Michele does, one could say they are spiritually related! The proof being, this debut Resort 2016 collection was nowhere near as eclectic and kooky as Michele's Gucci, but there are parallels. Giorgetti virtually totally eschewed the signature graphic prints of the house and only vaguely alluded to them in a couple of looks. What remained was a Fun, Mad, Esoteric collection filled with witty and gamine pieces for the new and old Pucci customer alike. 

Maybe this isn't what the Dundas loyal Pucci girl is looking for, but the for the modern Quirky Fashionista, she'll find the printed Slip dress in shades of Pink, White and Black belted over an Amethyst blouse an easy transition from the past to the present, as well as a Lacquer Shiny dark Mineral Blue Patent coat. which was calling out to any woman, regardless of what designer her allegiance is to! Giorgetti did a fascinating Volte-face here and in some ways it worked fantastically, there were, naturally, some wrinkles that need to be pressed out, but it's looking good for the future of the house. It may not be the direction anyone was expecting, in fact, when Dundas took over from Williamson, it was quite the sea change in style at the label and it took a few beats for everyone to get on board, but on board they did get, and if Giorgetti does his thing right, they'll be on board for his new vision as well!  The only thing that Giorgetti needs to keep in mind, even though a new broom sweeps clean, one is well armed to not completely dismantle or disregard the past, Pucci hasn't survived so long by not being cognizant of it's past glories. Giorgetti would do well to remember that! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!


Givenchy Resort 2016.

Weds . 06/17/2015.





Givenchy Resort 2016.

Regarding Riccardo Tisci's Appalling Resort 2016 collection, I shall be as brief as I can without seeming blunt. There was nothing here I liked. From the Sickening colour combinations to the dowdy and aging looking pieces that also looked dated and throwback, there was not one outfit that I could find myself endorsing other than to dress the needy. To call it Hideous would to do a disservice to the word "Hideous" Not only did it make the models look misshapen and lumpen, it also made them look fleshy, and not in the voluptuous way. Tisci can truly design the most taxing and aesthetically gut-wrenching clothes and still be regarded by the fashion world at large as Masterful and Visionary... Well, Chillrens, I am not biting on that hook!

This Resort collection was a Colossal Monument of SHIT! Game. Set. Match!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Kenzo Resort 2016.

Weds. 06/17/2015.






Carol Lim and Humberto Leon fashioned one helluva perfect Resort 2016 collection this Go-Round... Save one little hiccup. The Lookbook was Frustratingly and Aggravatingly photographed in some Wild lands outdoors and fuzzily focused and proved why I patently LOATHE when designers do not put on Proper shows and decide to indulge their inner "Artiste" and use a Lookbook to show off their collections. If there is never another presentation done like this it wouldn't be soon enough! Lim and Leon took Exceptional clothes and photographed them in the most inaccessible way as to negate anything other than their esoteric photographic idea, I, for one, was Incredibly miffed at this approach! Why disguise the clothes so, especially when they were this enthralling, with artsy-fartsy pictures that did more to obscure the beauty of the garments than elevate them! I hate, Hate, HATE Lookbooks! 

The pieces that stood out from the pack, even though it was a pretty damn illustrious pack to start with, included a Sublime White halter dress with two studded snap attachable/detachable layers that let the wearer take it from above-the-knee to mid-calf to floor sweeping in length! It was a Marvel. A Cream Zip top with matching elastic hem pants had a New-Safari look to it that was particularly ravissante! There was much more to love and please a customer, but again, a lot of it's appeal is wilted by such silly indulgences.  Hopefully, next outing, Lim and Leon will show us the clothes, and not their vision of how the clothes react in the real world. That's what wearing them does, not pictures!





That's All.





Bye4Now!





Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Rag & Bone Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/16/2015.






If you're the kind of gal whom's tastes in fashion run more towards the Urban and Sportif side of luxe city dressing, then Marcus Wainwright and David Neville have you well equipped to face wherever your day takes you with their Resort 2016 offering. Brief though it may be, it was packed with pieces to travel with a woman no matter her destination. Not really designers for the Boardroom or Luncheon at the Le Cirque, Wainwright and Neville serve to clothe the woman on the go who is active and keeps an eye downtown while her address may be uptown.

Taking an All-Weather tack, there were coats and high neck sweaters as well as shorts and sleeveless jackets to be had. Admittedly and strangely enough, it was the clothes that hewed closer to the cold weather side of the equation that were the most striking and compelling. A tweedy Grey Duster and pants combo looked like sweats material from afar, but up close proved more substantial, while a hefty Oatmeal colour duffel coat paired with cropped leather pants looked Mt. Everest ready and would be a welcome addition come the next Polar Vortex! 

Wainwright and Neville put together some straightforward and minimalist pieces here that won't interfere with their clienteles Modus Operandi. They will incorporate themselves into what she already has and give her some new and fresh alternatives to consider. It was pretty much a Win-Win for all involved!





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Bye4Now!

Topshop Unique Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/16/2015.






The head designer at the team behind the label for the Topshop stores, Geoffrey Finch, provided some pretty, wantable pieces for the label's Resort 2016 outing. From a pair of Crushed Velvet pantsuits that had a certain Dandy-ish swagger to them (Especially the one in Baby Pink!) to a tough but chic leather T-shirt dress and onward to a deliciously luxe faux Lynx coat worn with a Lamé top and Jeans! There were many other favorable options and not much to quibble with here and and all said, was a pretty solid lineup of clothes to take home and wear in the city and anywhere else a woman will need to be! 





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Bye4Now!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Valentino Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/16/2015.






Mae West once said, "Too much of a Good Thing... Is Wonderful!" and oft times that can auger true, in the case of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, the inverse is more apt. Their Valentino Resort 2016 collection was yet another example of the duo's penchant for, as they would say in Italian, "Abbondanza!" A veritable Smörgåsbørd of surfeit, and as much of the collection was typically. Dazzlingly Exquisite, it was also so much profusion of ideas and clothes that the message of the medium was lost and led to diffusion. A serious streamlining of the multiple ideas and redundancies would lead to a more coherent collection, as it stands, again I stress, 95% of it was Superbly Fantastic, but it was simply put, just too much of a Phantasmagoria. Not everyone is Karl Lagerfeld or Domenico and Stefano and can keep the narrative line plumb, through such a prodigious amount of outfits!

What was there that was Spectacular, was spectacular on a level that not even Lacroix might have envisaged. However, within saying that, the ubiquity of some of the themes that play out over and over again in a Valentino collection, have grown assuredly stale and frustrating and lack invention. The Penitent dresses with the high necks and long sleeves cut to the floor have become a parody of themselves and look about as fresh as Two-Day old Scrambled eggs! Same goes for the Virgin/Whore dresses with the nigh indecent Crotch-Grazing hemlines that say Sleazy with their length, but naïve with their Faux innocent necklines and Quasi-Juvenile prints and embroideries. Lastly, I am as much for Sheer Chiffon and net and Lace as the next person, more so in fact, but it's a crutch that is leaned on so heavily by Chiuri and Piccioli, that where one was at a point anesthetized to seeing it so much, it now has come full circle and is more factually, quite alarming. It borders on Vulgar, and more accurately, Tacky! 

In the end, one could mention the newness of the Blue Folkloric print section that was a strong winning point in the collection or the more refined looks that had not one bit of sheerness to them, like the vaguely Japonesque Intarsia Mink coat with flying Crane motifs and tiny flowers (A Marvel, by the way) or the stunning Sanguine Red evening gown that was a Showstopper of epic proportions and made all those elaborate printed and embroidered evening frocks look gaudy and irrelevant. Lest, we leave on a negative note, be it known, what Chiuri and Piccioli do is of Extraordinary caliber, it has garnered a Huge cult of the most famous and recognizable of celebrity and fashion cognoscenti, in person, those elaborate assemblages of print and embroidery and whisper-light materials are Jaw-Dropping, and that should not be overlooked. The simple fact remains though, as spellbinding as all that work and elaboration may be, it has become expected and intrinsically rote by this time. Chiuri and Piccioli need to shake the Valentino tree a bit and see what falls out, it might surprise them and hopefully, the rest of us as well! 

*As of this writing, it is well known that the duo have parted ways at Valentino with Chiuri heading off to Dior and Piccioli the sole designer of the house of Valentino. This is written in the spirit of the times before those announcements and moves*





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Bye4Now!





Paco Rabanne Resort 2016.

Tues. 06/16/2015.






Julien Dossena has begun to carve out what Paco Rabanne will become under his designing hand, a little futuristic (suitable to heritage of the house), modern, athletic and sporty with an edge. His Resort 2016 offering from the house is all those things wrapped into a neat and tidy package full of impact. These are not exactly EASY to wear clothes and call for bodies that are toned to a high polish of perfection, but they are eye-catching and unique and offer something new to the fashion narrative, if not exactly different. 

This brief exposition had a duality between Romantic and Severe that was a little edgy and a bit soft, The pieces communicated a certain toughness, i.e. Angular cuts and flashes of exposed skin, also with Leather and Laser-Cut mesh abound, the Rigour was more evinced. With trapeze shapes and fluid skirts and a certain Black Tank dress that fell away from the body, the softer side came through. It wasn't wholly successful, but it was exciting to see someone putting together things in a new way and when it did work, like the strappy Black Leather Zip jacket ensemble, it was quite the achievement. With more tweaking and refining, Dossena will catapult himself smack in the center of the conversation of what the future of fashion will look like, and that's not a bad place to be in! 





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Bye4Now!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Elizabeth And James Resort 2016.

Mon. 06/15/2016.






While it may not be as extremely luxe and serene and quietly sumptuous as it's Big Sister line, The Row, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's Elizabeth and James shares much of the same aesthetic in it's DNA, just not pushed to the same acute degree of Minimalist apotheosis. The E&J line is a little more relaxed, sportif without being nonchalant. The Olsen twins view of fashion is unswerving and pointedly linear, to it's benefit, not detriment. It is an Oasis in a sea of rapidly fluctuating fashion viewpoints, which are trying to serve many masters, Mary Kate and Ashley are serving only one, Themselves. Nothing More, Nothing Less!

So, Elizabeth and James comes as a less studied and less refined respite for the designers and is a welcome slackening of their usual themes, this collection felt playful and serious concurrently, a sharply tailored Denim Pantsuit one moment, a super easy and unencumbered combo of a voluminous creamy White Tunic top and Black Palazzo pants the next. A Black Bathrobe coat had sublime appeal and assured wearability, whilst a shimmering White Tuxedo jacket with a filmy bias-cut gossamer Silk Slip skirt was a surprisingly nuanced evening option. The collection abounded from beginning to end with endless options to delight and attract, every piece could integrate itself into the Olsen's customers wardrobe in less than a nanosecond as well as into a newcomers closet. That's the magic of both labels, Why spend time trying to reinvent yourself, when you've already discovered who you are! 





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Bye4Now! 


Friday, October 7, 2016

Reem Acra Resort 2016.

Mon. 06/15/2015.






Designer Reem Acra proclaimed that Resort 2016 for her label was about "Happy Colours!" and indeed they were "Happy" in the utmost. In her absolutely Excellent and joyous outing for Resort, Acra showed her skills at making Devastatingly Beautiful Evening frocks. Now, I know I rail against any designer who works exclusively on the evening end of the fashion spectrum, but there was just something rather Regal and Dramatic about this collection that it could be easily forgiven that usually fatal (in my view) Flaw. 

Perhaps, it was the brevity of the collection that kept it from growing stale, or the invention, every look was something new and exciting to look at and marvel in awe over. Even though it was only 26 brief looks, there still was too much to properly expound upon, lest we forsake concision. Suffice it to say, nearly every look was worth a lengthy exposition of praise. From the Gorgeously Diaphanous Tsavorite Green Chiffon plunge draped neck gown with it's modest embellishment of lace in the bodice, to the quietly dazzling short Black dress with it's Chiffon capelet top accented with Gold Lace. 

The best looks though, were the ones that were the most Opulent, if not exactly in ornamentation, but in design and scale. A rustling Red Taffeta ballgown was one of those examples, with it's Lace looking embroidered bodice and bustled skirt. Or, take for example, the Schiaparelli Shocking Pink gown with it's beaded Lace overlay at the top that was TO DIE for! The Fairy Tale Masterpiece of a confection in Strapless Hot Pink Organza with Gold Lace applique embroidery at the bodice was also a Princess-y Dream come to life and was one of those gowns that captures the attention of everyone. 

Acra displayed a deft and agile hand at knowing when to restrain herself and when to let herself loose. That play of Tension and Release, Extravagance and Austerity, Quiet and Bold, made for a simply Gorgeous collection, one that if a woman is looking for something to Blow people away when she steps out at night, she'll have the most numerous and best options available for the task! 





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Bye4Now!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

MSGM Resort 2016.

Mon. 06/15/2015.






All-in-all, there was nothing truly objectionable about Massimo Giorgetti's Resort 2016 collection for his label MSGM, It was too expansive and diffuse, and what the Fudge was with all those flapping folds of fabric and slouched off-shoulder "Sleeves" that essentially looked like errant bands of fabric affixed to already complete pieces? Befuddling. And Irritating. Save those Colossal lapses in judgment (the color palette was also distractingly, OFF, to boot) there were pieces to be had that could enhance the pieces that a woman might already own.

A Carrot Orange Suede Bathrobe coat (also it's exact Dopplegängers in Spice and Smoke Blue) was very nice, a Suede shift with Matisse like insets had flair also. An ensemble in Ultramarine Blue, White and Crayola Sea Green consisting of a Tunic over wide pants with a thick running stripe down the side had some punch to it and was very easy to make work for all. There were a few other moments that didn't cause severe head scratching, but they were few and far between in this overlong opus. Giorgetti would do himself a world of good, next outing, to Edit more sharply and leave the tricks for kids! 





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Bye4Now!

Giambattista Valli Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/12/2015.






From the delicately naïf Black embroidery on the White shift dress that was the first look of Giambattista Valli's Resort 2016 collection, we knew we were in comfortably familiar territory. As the looks progressed, all of the usual Valli tropes were alighted upon and visited. From minute floral prints to Swingin' 60's Mod hemlines and dress shapes, to all things ruffled, Valli delivered all the things that keep his loyal and slightly eccentric customers happy and coming back for each iteration. 

Nearly a decade into his own label though, the tiresome feeling of ennui has begun to set in, not so much on Valli's part, he seems to love what he does as much as when he first started, but on the part of the viewer. His clients might like being stuck in the perpetual loop that Valli's clothes and aesthetic seem to be stuck in, but not all of us are drinking the Kool-Aid. This Resort collection is glaring proof that as lovely as what Valli produces from season to season, the daring and risk have left his work and things have grown fallow and stagnant.

The clothes... For what they are, ARE certainly lovely, perhaps here a bit too Lolita-ish, but convincingly lovey nonetheless. The only problem that arises is... We've seen all this, the flared tunics over pants, the Girly Virgin/Whore dress with the Crotch grazing hems, the wallpaper prints that look like they were ripped from the walls of "Peyton Place" or "Bewitched" the literal, EVERYTHING, we have digested and processed many times over by now, I, for one, don't have it in me to look past the redundancy of it all and keep a unbiased eye cast over the whole mess. Valli is in desperate help of getting his needle firmly unstuck from the groove... or maybe a little more vulgarly, Get his Head out of his ass and look around for some fresh ideas!





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Bye4Now!

Opening Ceremony Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/12/2015.






A rather convoluted and particularly esoteric narrative about a 70's Housewife who raises Show Dogs was neither helpful or exactly a hindrance to the Resort 2016 collection displayed by Humberto Leon and Carol Lim for their label Opening Ceremony. It was in fact, rather an unnecessary distraction and would have been best to keep under wraps and for the viewer and buyer, to dismiss in it's entirety. And now, in doing such, On to the Clothes.

Lim and Leon provided a Fine bevy of interesting and well-designed pieces with a modernistic approach that recalled Courrèges and Cardin, just not as space age-y. From the Black Shearling and Leather jacket that was the first look in the collection to the Futurist Black Zip jacket and Apple Green skirt Combo that was probably the strongest look in the entire lineup. A Black Tunic with wavy ruffles down the sides of the sleeves also bears mention. 

Lim and Leon created a Forward thinking and easily wearable collection, that despite it's rather florid backstory, succeeded on it's own merits as just pure fashion. Who needs a story when it comes to looking good? 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Sportmax Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/12/2015.






In the recent history of the label Sportmax, it has definitively shown that the label (under it's Anonymous creative team) has moved away from the shadow, and style, of it's big sister label, Max Mara. This has been most evident by the fact that the look of the Sportmax clothes are in little, to no way, beholden to the tenets of it's sibling label. That can prove to be a bit tricky sometimes, establishing an identity of one's own when there is an already well-defined identity and DNA present at your companion house. Yet, the Sportmax Team seems capable and fully ready to do exactly that.

Their brief and nautical inflected Resort 2016 collection had sufficient quirk to keep it different and interesting, (i.e. Mismatched Pockets) but had enough classically easy looks to make sure the clothes still will appeal and sale. With a palette of almost exclusively Navy, Black and White, these pieces are destined to work for all areas of a woman's life, and injected into the mix, was a muted Brick Red, shown only in Suede on a couple outfits, to add a little pizzazz to your life. Nothing was overly tricky or outré, but it was just enough a bubble off plumb to distinguish itself away from Max Mara in the best way possible.





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Christopher Kane Resort 2016.

Fri. 06/12/2015.






As with any Christopher Kane collection, there was an awful lot to digest in his rather well-done Resort 2016 collection. One could say there was a lot of... "Heart" in it (Ok. Shoot me now for the Pun!) Kane took the Heart Motif... TO HEART (Someone Stop me!) and ran with it in a collection that again, was glutted with a surplus of ideas and needed a serious and sharp edit, but of what was shown, there were many stand alone pieces that made the effort worthwhile. While there was Tweed and Lace and Lace prints, and Pleats, and Hearts, and Molecular prints and More and More and MORE... Individual pieces offered some sure fashion Joy!

Take, for instance, the Lilac pleated silk and Lace gown intersected with a Nude-y Makeup Beige and refreshingly cool Mint Ice Cream Green lace, Fantastical! The Dark, DARK Grey Tweed pantsuit closed with a Single Heart Button was stellar as well, even more so for the fact that from a distance, it looked like a Speckled Tweed, but upon closer investigation, was actually little Dots of Color embroidered into the fabric. And it was proven beyond any Shadow of Doubt, that when Kane takes a Reductionist view and leaves all the fiddling and experimenting alone and JUST DOES SOMETHING SIMPLE, he can be Stunning, as in the simplest of Black shirts worn open revealing a Heart-Shaped Bra and a Slit skirt in Cardinal Red that had a little Heart at the top of that slit. It looked Sexy and Devastatingly Chic, Even a little naughty!

Kane has to subdue his instincts to try and do every idea that comes into his head in a season at once, It just becomes too taxing and muddied when he throws all his ideas against the wall at one time and hoping they all stick. Sometimes there is Magic in those ideas, but most often, It's just a lot of shit sticking to a wall! Edit, My Dear Christopher.... EDIT!





That's All.





Bye4Now!


Monday, September 26, 2016

Theory Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






Effortlessly Perfect. Perfectly Effortless. Lisa Kulson proposition for Resort 2016 for the label Theory was in a simple word, Astounding! You can Hashtag that one! The collection Kulson put for was free from Superfluity and Excess. It was distilled to a Pure and Unadulterated essence that was so exquisitely crafted and quietly eloquent that it defied all perceptions and ideas of what "Modern" has become to mean. Classical expressions, with some gentle tweaking, can be as resolutely "Modern" as anything, especially when it's at such a nigh untouchably high level of performance, as Kulson's work for the label is!

As it is so magically simple, wasting too much time to pick through each outfit would be wasteful, It wouldn't be a chore, for everything was of such Superior caliber that it would be a joy to dissect and expound upon in great detail each and every look, but that would border on the indulgent. A few High-Water marks, an unadorned Navy pantsuit with a simple Tie-off closure instead of Buttons, the same Navy in a Detail-less Trench, a slim, limning Sand Pink suede shift... More could be added to that list, but as with the clothes Kulson created as here, Brevity carries the greatest gravitas!

Kulson is showing, with each new collection for Theory, how absolutely vital a voice like hers can be amongst the ever maddening and louder throng of designers trying to get heard by shouting the loudest but saying the least. In Theory, and Kulson's case, Sometimes a Whisper can be far mightier than a Shout! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!



Rachel Zoe Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






Rachel Zoe is a Hippy. Deal With It! The Tiny Wonder Bohemian Stylist turned into Designer is all too happy to float about like the Baby sis of Stevie Nicks and swath her dainty frame in all manner of Loose and Flowing layers and lots of Chanel and look as if she just came off the "Rumors" Tour Bus in tow with Lindsey and Mick. Her clothes are reflections of this undying inspiration as well as all things Rock and/or Roll, Bianca Jagger, Marianne Faithful, Patti Hanson, Saint Laurent Circa 1970-something, and such. 

The thing is, in that Itty-Bitty body is the Heart of a Tigress and a Businesswoman with a Ferocity that would rival one of Danerys' Dragons! So, Zoe knows, every woman isn't going to immediately respond from her gut to all that Hippy-ness, So her clothes run a gamut... And what a stunning gamut it was for her Resort 2016 collection. With more than a Dash and a Soupçon of Tom Ford era Gucci and Marc Jacobs inspiré thrown into the Zoe Robot Coupe, Zoe produced probably the best collection yet from her House de Mode.

There was Fringe aplenty, Furs, Scarf necks, Tuxedo Stripes, Le Smokings, and all manner of Delicious apparel to sop up with your Fashion Biscuit! Standouts included a SUPER Hype Black Greatcoat worn with a Snazzy Three-piece shorts outfit, all in the same Black-On-Red Floral that was a Scene Stealer! A Bit of Modern Gucci in a Ombre fur coat that went from bright Fuschia to Magenta paired with a Magenta Cropped turtleneck and floor grazing skirt. A striped Sequined Evening Gown in shades of Red, Magenta, Puce and Chocolate was hitting that Gucci note again and was, in Zoe Parlance, MAY-JOR!

This collection proved, that quite like her diminutive designers/celebs in arms, The Olsen Twins, Zoe is here to stay and here to prove she has the chops to be a Designer of note. She's taking the slower route (Being a wonderfully devoted Wife and Mother, which takes up most of her precious time) than the Twins, but is no less successful in showing she means business and that this was no mere whim of hers. Based on her output so far, it also proves she's not playing around either in her serious devotion to her work!





That's All.





Bye4Now!



Milly Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






With mostly Clean, Simple, Modern lines and silhouettes to be seen, Michelle Smith presented a Spot-on Resort 2016 collection for her label Milly. There wasn't much fuss or muss, but plenty to be excited to wear. Uncomplicated was the catchword in pieces like a lean and slim White Pantsuit, given a little punch with Highlighter Yellow Collar and welt pockets. Bright colours were accents to the mainly Black and White collection that was also touched with a soothing shade of Sand Beige, later though, Smith expressed herself a little more extrovertly with a Bright Graphic Stripe and Abstract print that were welcome addition and jolted a little more Vivacity into the outing. 

Near the end of the lookbook, Smith showed a Diamond pattern of solid and sheer that proved to be quite dramatic while still looking beach-y and easy to wear, a rather opulent, swirling Opera Coat in Black was perhaps the best expression of the fabric and looked even more breathtaking for the simple fact that the pieces underneath, a Wide Leg Black pant and a Bra Top were both so minimal. Smith showed how powerfully impactive simple clothes can be when done right. Her Milly Resort 2016 collection was a A+ Dissertation in the appreciation of the lack of the extraneous! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Cedric Charlier Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






Leaving aside the Tahitian men wearing flower headdress and Sarong that Cedric Charlier saw in a photo and which got his juices flowing for his rather fine Resort 2016 collection, The outfits put forth from the Frenchman were easily translatable from the Exotic stimulus from whence they were wrought forth into easy and above all chic, city clothes destined for locales quite far flung from the paradisiacal isle that inspired them. 

One needn't delve too deeply into the background inspiration of the clothes to see there was something tropical on Charlier's mind, from the Pleasantly Eye-Searing combo of Orange and Cyan Blue to the Sarong styling seen oft hither and dither throught the collection, to the relaxed shapes of much of the pieces. The quirky thing is, the best pieces were the ones that had the littlest obvious impulse of the islands, A Sharp belted pantsuit in Cerulean Blue or the totally essential Spice Orange Suede coat that was the first look. 

Charlier had more to offer, Draped and Drawstring waist pieces, splashy leaf prints, and loads of smart sweaters for any clime, and he had a particularly vibrant palette to entice the consumer to want to vacation in these clothes, and with their relaxed charm, that vacation could be as far as the Pink sand islands of Tahiti that inspired them, or as close as the couch in your living room while bingeing on Netflix! 





That's All.




Bye4Now!

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Alberta Ferretti Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






Indian/Safari. That's the twin inspiré of Alberta Ferretti's Gorgeous, yet, overdone Resort 2016 collection. She could have done without about a quarter of the collection and it would have been sufficiently full and exciting still. But, at times too much of a good thing can be wonderful and it's not as if the surplus detracted, it just muddied the waters, instead of being Pristine and Aegean, they were more like the old Mississippi! 

India, or Idonesia or Thailand or Bhutan, wherever in Asia it was that captivated Ferretti, was the biggest and most obvious source of design impetus, with floaty skirts and sari/sarong styling aplenty, Raja inspired jackets and vests, plus intricate prints and patterns kept things lively in the South Eastern  Asian manner throughout. About a little more than a third through, Ferretti switched gears and off to Africa we were on a Khaki coloured Safari! Where previously, not one surface was left untouched of embellishment or print, in this passage, the clothes were austerely stripped of all superfluous detail and acted as a refreshing foil to what had preceded them.

After this brief sojourn to the Dark Continent, Ferretti was back at home and finished with Black and White and was firmly in her comfort zone with Lacy, Filmy and Breezy offerings to capture her core clientele. There were some Asian inflections in the last few looks, but even these were still more Italianate in their language than full on Eastern. Ferretti offered much for her woman to consider and digest, and in the end, it was all pretty fantastic, that it had a aura of incongruity mattered little to nothing... When the clothes speak with such a beautiful voice, as these did, hiccups like that can easily be brushed aside!





That's All.





Bye4Now!

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Antonio Berardi Resort 2016.

Thurs. 06/11/2015.






Most often, the simplest of gestures make the most impact, so for all the innovative shapes and decorous embellishments in Antonio Berardi's quite fetching Resort 2016 collection, that axiom held very much true. The less Berardi played around with his clothes, the more enticing and desirable they were. It's comic to say that, considering when Berardi first appeared on the scene he was more of the Firebrand Heir Apparent to the Astonishingly brilliant pair of fellow Enfant Terrible  Brits, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen! In fact, in some ways, he outshined them with some of the most Controversial and Fuck You, Conventional, shows and collections on the calendar. 

Somewhere along the line, Berardi has left the controversial and contrived behind and has become a designer known for being innovative, but not exactly... Confrontational. It has led his clothes down some ungainly paths as of late and has also led to some truly exhilarating pieces being conceived. This resort collection shows his skills quite wonderfully. Not everything was a success, but the outfits that were, resounded with a Clarion preciseness. One aside, Berardi's play of inflated volumes, while tricky at best and decidedly Avant, were not always successful. Berardi gets points for pushing boundaries and creating a very singular silhouette, but it came off more bulbous and engorged than Soignè!

Sleeker looks yielded much more captivating results. A Black and White Gown splashed with oversized White macramé Lace was a Resounding winner as was the fluid Cardinal Red unadorned but for covered buttons gown near the end of the looks. Berardi is a incredibly talented designer, His Point of View has changed significantly since his younger days, but his skills are still something to be reckoned with. It would be nice, really it would, to see him revisit his younger self and inject some of that Hot Blooded Passion that used to consume his work. Who knows, it may push him into an even newer and better direction! 





That's All.





Bye4Now!