Milan Fashion Week

Milan Fashion Week is like a breath of fresh air after the whirlwinds that were New York and London. I had 182 images saved in my 'Milan' folder- but managed to narrow it down to 46! I think I pretty much deserve a standing ovation for that.

Onto the commentary:

Alberta Ferreti: floaty and feminine, amazing embroidery and draping- like I mentioned earlier, shows like these are a breath of fresh air. Where NYFW and LFW have crazily conceptual and thought out stuff, Milan and Paris shows are somewhat more laid back and flowy. This show was very laid back and flowy.


Aquilano Rimondi- the prints were beautiful, giant ruffles and bows was a theme, and the shoes were pretty amazing as well.


Bottega Veneta- the makeup is always beautiful, and the last purple dress was stunning. It sort of blasted out amongst the massess of graceful white shadows that were shown earlier (and if you look closely, you can see an orange dress coming out in the background. This was equally amazing, like a massive fireball or something, but I couldn't include it because I promised myself to keep to three images per show)


D&G- they went out to the wild wild west this season- there was denim and neckerchiefs galore- heaps of aviator sunnies, tanned leather and bustiers. Sort of reminiscent of Hermes a year ago, but adorable nonetheless.


Dolce and Gabbana- A very Spanish feel (or South American to be more correct). And apparently, they ended the show with a swarm of models stampeding down the runway, all wearing tightly corseted body suits. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to share, but it sounds pretty show-stopping (yes, pun intended.)


Emilio Pucci- the king of print didn't show his usual psychedelic patterns this time round, but it was beautiful anyway. Legs went on for miles and miles- with all the super short mini dresses and swim suits, to the infinite slits going up the longer dresses.


Fendi- one of my favourite shoes this season- pastels, sheers and high waisted skirts paired with skinny belts, there was this amazing draped jumpsuit that I could not include for reasons mentioned above. Be sure to check out the whole show.


Gianfranco Ferre- Gorgeous as usual, very 'hard meets soft' with all the soft architecture, and gold leaf paired with floaty organza.


Luisa Beccaria- as usual, very floaty and feminine- lots of drapery, florals and cascading frills. Not exactly unusual or cutting edge, but I'd wear any of these in an instant.


Moschino Cheap & Chic- insanely cute- I'd kill for those daisy sunnies (do you reckon they'll ever sell something similar at Equip?!). They also had a daisy hat starting the show. I loved the giant bows, the bell sleeves and the full high waisted skirts.


Moschino- the first look that came out looked faintly Chanel, but everything soon turned out like a bowl of ice cream (note: this is not a bad thing. This is a terrific thing actually). It was definitely very summery with the cherry prints and poofy dresses.


Prada- Absolutely my favourite show so far- The makeup and hair was all very Lolita, and the clothes were SOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. Prada definitely turned around, with the last few seasons reflecting the economic crisis (thigh high fishing waders anyone?), to happy beach-goer prints, and beautiful chandelier dresses.


LOOK. AT. THE. DETAILS.


Versus- back from a six year break, and better than ever. Cut outs seem to be definitely making a comeback lately, and Versus was no exception to this trend. I also really liked the metallic gladiator dress- definitely adds a very dominatrix-ey feel.


All images from style.com

Cruise

I grew bored and decided to whip up a bunch of cruise-appropriate outfits. WITH INVENTED PERSONALITIES TO WEAR THEM. YEAH, extra fun for everyone right?


She is like the young version of the crazy cat woman, except she's not crazy. Her boyfriend would drop her off on the back of his motorbike. Her boyfriend happens to be very hot with a lot of stubble, and all the girls wont be able to help but swoon, even though they're not even on the boat yet. She probably has a gun in her clutch- not because she's violent, but because she's kinda like Catwoman but with a gun. And she has a mask too- like catwoman, not because she has to hide her identity, but because the mask is pretty hot.





If this girl had a name, it'd probably be something really long and hard to pronounce. She was painting before the cruise, so her arms are still all covered with paint- but the paint matches her dress so it's okay. She really just threw her outfit together, because she doesn't like wasting time getting dressed when she could be painting. But she put on fake lashes in case her shoes or dress or necklace failed to dazzle people. Halfway through the night, she grew frustrated at her eyelashes so she yanked them off, and continued to dance the night away.



If she had a name, it'd be something really pretty like Lola or Lela or or something with a lot of L's in it. She arrived to the cruise in a horse drawn carriage. She was scared the food served would be disgusting, so she brought a stash of macaroons in her really cute clutch just in case. She received a lot of compliments because her skirt is so poofy and because her clutch is really cute. The clutch has two high heels as a clasp, in case you haven't noticed.

At a time where everyone wheres bandaged bodycon dresses, this girl goes one step further by wearing a Herve Leger bodycon dress- with a cut out and a funky shoulder no less. She goes to the bathroom a lot because her red lipstick wears out really easily, and when red lipstick wears, you can really tell. She accidently steps on the feet of a lot of people, but she fails to notice because she towers over them in her 4inch Louboutins.


She arrived in a limo just in time. She literally outshone everyone. She is the sun of the dancefloor (because she's golden and emits light, get it?) She likes dancing a lot, and also gets picked up by guys alot. At some point during the night, some guy will attempt to kiss her, but she will slap him, and her fierce ring would probably leave a mark.

Et moi? I thought I had a dress all planned until last night (when I should've been studying Ancient History). I bought the fabric today, and everything is well underway! TEEHEE I have decided to keep everything hushhush for as long as I can keep my mouth shut. But I'll just let you guys know that the fabric I bought was red chiffon. Flaming red. Scarlet.

Marchesa

I know I promised Marc Jacobs today, but Marchesa showed today and it blew my brain to bits, so I simply had to blog about it. Sorry if this excess of fashion-week related posts bores you. There are just so many things to show everyone, and so much time to try and waste (time that should be spent studying).

So Marchesa today wasn't much different from the previous season, or the season before that. But that's fine with me, I love what they're doing:


This is the most amazing dress in the world. Look at those lase cut roses. LOOK. ARE YOU LOOKING AT THEM. DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND MY AMAZEMENT. I repeat, this dress is the most amazing dress in THE WORLD.


The rest of the collection was pretty amazing too:






I know Marchesa cops a lot of crap from people. People complain that the girls behind Marchesa don't 'design', they 'embellish'- that season after season, its just floaty frocks, soft architecture, pretty beading and explosions of tulle and organza.

But I don't see what's so wrong about it. I mean, not every designer can be a Karl or a Miuccia. And personally, I think its good when collections reflect the current state of the world- but it's even better to give the finger to the economic crisis and showcase a collection of extravagant confections. It takes your mind off more depressing things.

It distresses me that no website has closeup photographs of the collection. The collection would look a hundred times better magnified. It's a waste to have such intricate beading and embroidery, and no close-up photos for non fashion-week attendees to drool over.