Spring 2012: D&G

For D&G’s last show ever, they pretty much batted a completely boring game. There were clearly an absolutely insane amount of prints in this collection…and multiple cuts and styles etc. What there wasn’t was any variation. Everything was the same cut with different combinations of the prints. There was an Hermès scarf feel to the entire collection and it did not work for me. It was utterly boring. The sad part was that this completely embodied the wild and fun spirit of D&G, yet it lacked the touch of artistry that is generally there. D&G is generally not as big a hit for me as Dolce & Gabbana — there is always that, just a little TOO much of a certain trend thing going but they have a market and definitely went out with a bright and memorable collection.

Credit: style.com

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D&G Fall 2011

D&G Spring 2011

Spring 2012: Comme des Garçons

So, I’ve never actually reviewed Comme des Garçons before. I’ve looked through their collections but never been particularly impressed. Rei Kawakubo used a more…manageable? inspiration than usual: White Drama. Supposedly it works its way through the stages of life — birth, marriage, death and then the afterlife… A few of each are represented. Of the more traditional pieces, Kawakubo referenced the current trend of looking to the 50s/60s for inspiration.  There was also inspiration from Cristobal Balenciaga — unusual for a designer to explicitly reference another competitive brand. With all that went down in Japan, Kawakubo’s collection was meaningful on so many levels. After all of the horrible destruction, the sign of transcendence and rebirth is really important and meaningful. This was amazing on each and every level.

Credit: style.com

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Spring 2012: Antonio Marras

If there is one thing that Marras does well, it is creating a completely unique collection each season. For the fall, Marras’ collection was very dark and mature while for the Spring 2011 he went casual and floral. Here we have another, COMPLETELY different one. He was inspired by a play called The Maids by Genet. I haven’t read this/seen it, but it is (apparently) a wonderfully complex show. He did a lot of color blocking and contrasting entirely floral pieces — pattern blocking in a sense. Many of the pieces were sexy and alluring yet completely shapeless. That’s the ultimate sign of beautifully crafted pieces in my mind — the ability to create something intricate and feminine from something that looks utterly unflattering on a hanger. Many things — color scheme, base pieces and patterns were taken from the show which I will obviously now have to see. I really cannot wait to see the next way Marras completely subverts his previous collections.

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Antonio Marras Fall 2011

Antonio Marras Spring 2011

Spring 2012: Bottega Veneta

I’ve always been a fan of Bottega Venta. Thomas Maier is a genius and one who is not often praised for his skill with the craft of designing. My favorite thing about Veneta collections is that absolutely nothing is off limits. Silk the glistening leather work perfectly in the most wildly paired colors, pleats and navajo prints become a perfectly logical combination. The big trends here was pleats — almost each piece was pleated in the most beautifully crafted way. Maier turned pleats — a sign of stiff, rigidity and office wear — into something feminine and delicate. The bustier tops were gorgeous and sexied up the pleated dresses that were perfectly contrasted by their wild and daring prints. Bottega Veneta set a perfect show on the runway in Milan this fall, one that definitely deserves a huge amount of attention.

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Bottega Veneta Fall 2011

Bottega Veneta Spring 2011

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Spring 2012: 3.1 Phillip Lim

The pastels in this collection were absolutely breathtaking. The way that he colorblocked the same colors in different ways. Always one step ahead of the trends, Lim was spot on in a wild way — from the fun, translucent raincoats and trade off from neon to pastels and adorable summer suiting pieces. He even toyed with my least favorite trend — the mixing of mesh and cut outs, it never works for me. This was an enigmatic and brilliant collection. The pieces were all unique in conception and style. I cannot wait for these pieces to hit the racks, they’ll be perfect and fly off the shelves.

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3.1 Phillip Lim Fall 2011

3.1 Phillip Lim Spring 2011

 

Spring 2012: Chloé

Chloé was just one of the many labels that endured a designer shift between the Fall and Spring shows. Hannah MacGibbon directed Chloé for a few years — keeping the style of the brand but not pushing it any farther. It was a pretty stagnant time period but not necessarily a bad one. Waight Keller has a strong resume behind her, having worked with such important names as Ford and Pringle of Scotland. For her début, Keller played it pretty safe. She seemed to stick with MacGibbon’s sense of the Chloé aesthetic while attempting to dive into the peak of Chloé’s recent success — the Phoebe Philo days. It had the same playful prints and masculine cuts — most of the looks included pants and the few dresses could have been cut identically from the Spring collection for 11. When Lagerfeld worked at Chloé, he did a lot of the florals which Keller worked with here. Rousteing made a bang at Balmain, yet Keller seems to be testing the water more before (hopefully) diving in.

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Chloé Fall 2011

Chloé Spring 2011

Spring 2012: Badgley Mischka

Badgley Mischka rein superior in the girl-glam kind of fashion. It’s a bit of a niche market, with most designers airing towards ball-gown, award show couture rather than this type but it is also a style that is really wearable. While Badgley Mischka has always been a collection filled to the brim with dresses that exude the utmost femininity, this collection took it to a new level. The duo toyed with cuts more here than they have in recent collections. The show started off with a bang with strong, strong, exotic dresses that had unusual cuts and stole the show before it even began. The collection calmed down a bit afterwards, opting towards more subtle displays of the craft with the half peplums and the draped pieces. Badgley and Mischka incorporated some of their diffusion line styles in this show as well. The pieces for Mark + James are so well made that they’re practically indistinguishable from the rest of the show. There were, of course, the designer staples like the exotic skirts with the simple tops — sort of a fancier and less structured Jil Sander SS’11 piece. Those are the kind of styles that I immediately identify with Badgley Mischka in my mind. This show was a standout for the team — a rebranding where they prove that they are not confined by ultra-femininity and can really toy with other parts of the design world as well. Definitely a win in my book.

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Badgley Mischka Fall 2011

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Spring 2012: Alexander Wang

In the gluttony of post-christmas, I went on an Alexander Wang binge at Scoop’s massive sale today. Of course, his Spring collection was just as perfect as normal. As a huge fan, his chic sportswear style has completely spread throughout other collections. For the Spring especially, many designers who are usually more mainstream became very Wang style. There was a lot of the normal mesh stuff but the new was some wild knits and great workout/coldwear. Everything in this collection is going to be a great sale from the shoes to the knits to the jackets. It was wild and much more creative than many other collections — despite this, it didn’t have the authentic feel to it which is possibly because so many others are channeling his inspiration.

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Alexander Wang Spring 2011

Alexander Wang Fall 2011

Spring 2012: Acne

Acne collections always fall in the weird but inspirational category. This Spring fell completely short. It did absolutely nothing for me. There was some Alexander Wang-esque stuff with the cropped tops and halter style…the first look totally channels him for me. The whole cropped peplum bit? Everything was just a little too much. Critics quite liked this show with its Marrakech inspiration. The caftan is the staple of the collection and it just didn’t blow me away. The only piece that really got me was the black caftan with the uneven hem. The shoes were absolutely horrendous. I keep reading different collection reviews to try and see what they were so blown away by and I can’t find it. This was considered a reputation changing collection…completely miss that. In my mind, this is a blip in Acne’s collections, they’ll hopefully go back to what I love…

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Acne Fall 2011

Acne Spring 2011

Spring 2012: Oscar de la Renta

This was an absolutely strange collection. de la Renta was all over the place in this collection referencing everything from Arabian style to Victorian era…I love the new confidence and the new style behind de la Renta’s collections, but at least some organization is necessary. The show started on an insanely strong note with the evening gowns that were (somehow) dressed down with cropped crochet piece put over. It was such a strong strong note and reminded me of a de la Renta version of Valli’s gorgeous red, FW’11 closing dress. The second piece I selected also felt like it channeled another iconic collection – Stella McCartney SS’11 with the fruit and the simple style. I loved the bright yellow and the crochet v-neck. He does it so well with the retro but current. There was also some Missoni channeling in the crochet knits and dresses and the last dress — the gorgeous Tibi dresses (except in blue, which they do sell and I did buy…). Anyways, to me this felt like a transitional year for de la Renta. He had a strong-ish collection. The pieces were strong, the craft was strong but there was something missing and that was definitely the a theme. He drew inspiration from many recent collections that drew from past eras. It was interesting in the individual strength but complete lack of power.

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Oscar de la Renta Fall 2011

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