STUDIO 325

Antonio Marras A/W 12 Milan Fashion Week

Creative director of Kenzo until last year, Antonio Marras is renowned for his feminine clothes that have a hint of nostalgia or hark back to a vintage era. For A/W '11 models walked to a back drop of an image of Marras' mother, with the collection a show of polished beauty from the 1940s and 50s, that was drawn from memories of his mother's elegance. This season the image was replaced by the story of a showgirl and singer, Milly, who defined the showspace and inspired the theatrical curtain reveal of the models for the finale. The music set the scene perfectly, with a score fit for a 1920s silent black and white movie. The clothes were ladylike, showing coats patched together with floral vintage fabric, tweed and brocade. I particularly liked the elegant collars, which had been seen in crisp white for A/W '11, and also the Japanese-style wrap skirts as seen below.

Images: Vogue

See my post of Antonio Marras A/W '11 Milan Fashion Week last year.

Labels: Antonio Marras, Fashion, Fashion Collection, Milan, Milan Fashion Week

Raf Simons last show for Jil Sander- AW12 Milan Fashion Week

This was the last collection of Raf Simons for Jil Sander, where he will go next is unknown (perhaps Dior, perhaps to concentrate on his own line), so the show understandably had a feeling of an end of an era, but also an excitement for new beginnings. The collection in typical Simons style was characterised by elegance and simplicity, with a pretty colour palette and calm, minimal shapes. Collarless cashmere coats were two-toned, with a light pink exterior and a pale cream interior, whilst dresses seemed inspired by vintage lingerie. The simplicity in the detail and the level of craftsmanship was the real winner; the clothes were well structured and beautifully made. And for someone who has had no formal training in womenswear, and who joined the brand with experience solely in menswear, this clearly is the beginning and not the end for Raf Simons.

Images: Vogue France

Set in the Milan showroom, designed by Gabellini Associates, the collection was set to a romantic backdrop of seven perspex plinths, encasing bouquets by Antwerp-based florist Marc Calle.

Images: Style Bubble

Previous showspaces for Jil Sander.

Menswear Autumn/Winter 2012

Womenswear Spring/Summer 2011- Thierry Dreyfus lighting.

Autumn/Winter 2010

Menswear Spring/Summer 2010

Spring/Summer 2008- Raf Simons chose a simple backdrop of their Milan showroom, designed by Gabellini Associates, with lighting by Thierry Dreyfus.

Images: Wallpaper

Labels: Fashion, Fashion Collection, Fashion Icon, Jil Sander, Milan, Milan Fashion Week, Raf Simons

It's Showtime: Prada A/W12 Milan Fashion Week

It's always interesting to see what Miuccia Prada has up her sleeve for her collections, especially with the hype of the recent Prada Menswear A/W12 where models were replaced by a cast of actors, the likes of Adrien Brody, Jamie Bell and Gary Oldman. For the womanswear, the setting was just as opulent; this time with a vibrant geometric purple carpet contrasted with modern neon lighting. The showspaces of a Prada catwalk are always something to talk about and often set the theme of the season's collection. Designed by Rem Koolhaas' AMO think tank (part of OMA), the show sets are experimental; previous shows have played with a sea of blue foam seats for the S/S 2012 menswear, and the A/W 2009 shows were placed on an archipelago of timber islands. The catwalk has become just as much a spectacle as the model's walking down it, and with so much of a collection now seen online, designers have to catch the attention of their audience, whose concentration span is fast declining. This collection certainly made the eye stray and wonder over the clothes; models sashayed down the catwalk first in a uniform of black, but steadily towards the end of the show in retro, geometric, colourful patterns. You can see that the plush carpet was somehow an enlargement of these shapes, a nod to the mosaic prints adorning the military trouser suits.