MILAN: After Gucci’s heads and Dolce & Gabbana’s drones, Milan Fashion Week wrapped up Monday on a tranquil note with shows by Japanese designers.
The six days of previews for next fall and winter is likely to be the most talked-about in a long time. Gucci’s Alessandro Michele’s message reverberated well beyond fashion world’s epicenter when on Day 1, he sent out two models carrying replicas of their own heads through a pristine operating room backdrop. And the fashion crowd was awestruck on the penultimate day when Dolce & Gabbana unveiled their latest handbag, flown down the runway by a bunch of drones.
These houses are providing master classes in how to grab the attention of the new consumers. The trick remains to stay true to the brand’s traditions and DNA — something being undertaken by new and new-ish designers at Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli, Marni and Jil Sander.
One of the highlights from Monday was Mitsuru Nishizaki’s latest Ujoh collection combining British-inspired check, plaid and stripe fabrics with his own trademark asymmetrical and layered silhouette. It was the Tokyo-based designer’s third year showing in Milan.
Trousers got an update with mix-matched tapered legs, one in black, one in a red burgundy, with an asymmetrical button closure. The look is layered with a tunic-style sweater.
The attention to detail and workmanship come through in an off-the-shoulder black dress with a ruffled hem decorated with a field of blue embroidered flowers that continue into lacy 3-D adornments.
Nishizaki has tapped the Milan trend of wrapping, with knitwear that bunches and hugs the frame, and large oversized wraps that fasten over the shoulder with a leather strap. One in British plaid is covered with lurex intarsia.
Another Monday highlight was Atsushi Nakashima, who debuted his first collection in Milan last year and sees similarities between Milan and Tokyo, in that both cities cherish and pass on traditions.
He stays close to his native Japan, however, when sourcing textiles. They included a double-face patchwork of panels that read inside and out, including washing instructions and instructions for wearing hoods.
The mixed men’s and women’s collection included a series of trenches, bombers and duffel coats in khaki and olive green, and his-and-hers matching sweatshirts with neon lizards, worn under suspenders.
Milan’s wacky, wonderful fashion week closes on quiet note
Milan’s wacky, wonderful fashion week closes on quiet note
Bella Hadid leaves Paris for Los Angeles launch event
DUBAI: Supermodel Bella Hadid jetted from Paris to Los Angeles this week to launch her latest campaign with US fashion retailer Revolve.
The Palestinian US Dutch model was on hand in France earlier in the week, where she hit the runway at the Saint Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week.
She then flew across to Los Angeles to launch a campaign with Los Angeles-founded retailer Revolve, which was set up in 2003 by Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas.
Hadid fronts a campaign launching the e-commerce department store’s first-ever in-house brand, Revolve Los Angeles.
“Born from a deep understanding of the modern woman and inspired by the city where it all began, our eponymous fashion house is a new expression of effortless glamor,” the new fashion label posted on Instagram alongside black-and-white images of Hadid in a selection of looks.
Prior to her trip to Los Angeles, the model showed off French label Saint Laurent’s latest collection in Paris.
Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello, marking his own 10th anniversary at the helm, sent out a parade of razor-sharp Smokings — the house term for its iconic women’s tuxedo — with plunging necklines and elongated silhouettes that crackled with the same transgressive energy founder Yves Saint Laurent unleashed in the 1960s, the Associated Press reported.
But Vaccarello didn’t stop at evening wear.
He extended the same sensual, body-skimming tailoring into daytime suits in fluid pinstripe fabrics with almost no interlining, effectively arguing that the tuxedo silhouette belongs in a woman’s life around the clock.
Plenty of brands in Milan showed strong black pantsuits this season, but the Saint Laurent version still occupies its own territory — sleeker, sharper, more loaded with meaning.
The other half of Vaccarello’s equation was lace, stiffened with latex and tailored into structured cardigan-like jackets and straight skirts.
It was lace with backbone — tough, not delicate.
Paired with smoky eyes, chunky gold jewelry and slingback heels, the collection made a case that Saint Laurent’s codes are as potent as ever.
